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Month: September 2018

Introducing: Islamic Society

Written by Ellie Martin on . Posted in Societies.

Freshers week is in full swing and everyone’s busy stuffing themselves with free pizza and soaking up the atmosphere around campus.  One society that has, as usual, pulled out all the stops this year is ISoc – the Islamic Society.  The ISoc never disappoints over freshers week, and they have the awards to prove it. These include multiple best society awards, best society fundraisers, best society committee, and best society campaign.  All of their success is the result of and extremely hardworking committee, headed up this year by Zaidi Hamid.

Freshers week can be a very conflicting time for Muslim students, as many societies and activities can be incompatible with Islamic beliefs. ISoc provide a brilliant alternative, a whole month packed with exciting events suitable for Muslim students, but open and welcoming to all.  Events this year include food crawls, survival guide evenings tailored to the needs of Muslim students, mentor meet and greets, pyjama parties, and laser tag. These are all spearheaded headed by the infamous flagship Welcome Dinner, an excellent evening to mix with fellow Muslim students or go and sample some of the wide variety of food on offer, portraying the geographical vastness of Islam, ranging from Malaysia to Jamaica.

When asked what he would like prospective freshers thinking about joining the society to know, Hamid responded, “If there is one thing I’d want to freshers’ to know, it would be that the society is yours, we are here to serve you all in whatever way we can and put on the events you want to see. Let us know what we are doing well and what we can improve on; we are all ears. If you don’t know anyone yet, then the Islamic Society is the perfect place to make friends for life, our members are amazing and welcoming people, and our hardworking committee will always be on hand to ease you into events if that is what you’d prefer.”

ISoc have really taken the idea that university is for everyone to heart this year, and have provided society support for new students.  The newly formed Muslim Welfare team are there to help if freshers week is taking its toll on your well-being, as being away from home and having to look after yourself for the first time can be daunting.  They are there to provide a helping hand who anyone who needs it, and make transitions to university easier for everyone.  The Muslim community on campus also have access to Mohammed Ullah, their invaluable chaplain, who is there to be a professional figure of support if and when needed.  ISoc this year also have events organised to encourage support and inclusivity on campus, like their upcoming introduction to British Sign Language, giving attendees a basic intro to BSL, as well as an insight to struggles the deaf and hard of hearing community might face on campus.

The Islamic Society have also recently pledged to reduce their plastic consumption as a society, especially during events.  They are looking to move towards biodegradable alternatives, partnering with companies that are also moving towards this goal, as well as helping their members to reduce their plastic waste.

What’s not to love?  ISoc always smash their freshers events and this year is no different.  If you’re interested in finding out more details and getting involved, their Facebook page is extremely well designed with all the information you need easily accessible, and they reply quickly to messages.  Creating a support network around you at university can be very important, especially during first year as many of the experiences are brand new.  ISoc have designed the society extremely well to function for this purpose, creating a strong, supportive environment for Muslim and non-Muslim students alike.  One of the best societies on campus, you really can’t go wrong with ISoc and they can’t wait to welcome this new batch of freshers into their excellent community.

Manchester scientists in breakthrough at CERN

Written by Jacklin Kwan on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

Scientists at CERN led by researchers from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University were part of a historical landmark when they managed to successfully rotate a beam of high energy protons for the first time. The technology utilises crab cavities, a type of electromagnetic container that exert a force on charged particles and deflect their orientation.

CERN successfully tested crab cavities using a beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator. Short bursts of protons were deflected using transverse radio frequencies.After the deflection, the motion of the proton bunches almost appears crab-like (in other words, they appear to move sideways– another example of the sometimes whimsical minds of scientists). In practice, these electromagnetic cavities will help increase the overlap of proton beams that are just a few centimetres long.

The breakthrough is a crucial part of the upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). After CERN’s exciting observation of the Higgs Boson in 2012, the LHC has since been part of exciting discoveries involving exotic particles such as the elusive pentaquark. Now the accelerator is winding down for the next two years in a long shutdown before resuming business as usual in 2021 with all new detectors and data processing infrastructure.

However, crab cavities will only see their spotlight in an upgrade much further into the future. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) will be commissioned for operation after 2025, and it is during this phase that crab cavities will increase the luminosity of collisions that take place. Luminosity is the number of possible particle collisions in a given area over a period of time. Typically, we’re looking at an area no thicker than a single human hair and lasting no more than a few nanoseconds. So, when attempting to smash tiny particles at near light speeds, luminosity is a significant indicator of a particle collider’s performance. Higher luminosity equals more collisions, which in turn will mean a higher probability of rare processes being observed by the CERN researchers.

The success of the high luminosity upgrade is also dependent on several key technological innovations coming through. One such example are these crab cavities – other key research and development will be going into unprecedented advances in beam optics, focusing magnets, machine shielding, and superconducting transmission lines.

If all goes to plan, the HL-LHC of the future has a luminosity five to ten times higher than the current collider. This substantial improvement would allow scientists to not only study the exact properties of the Higgs Boson and other processes from the Standard Model, but also perhaps physics beyond the Standard Model. The Standard Model, the predominant theory of particle physics that current scientists use to describe fundamental forces and matter in the universe, does not, for example, provide a quantum description of gravitation. The larger integrated luminosity of the HL-LHC would give researchers the ability to explore exciting possibilities such as supersymmetry.

The test of crab cavities in May was also coincided closely with the beginning of civil engineering work for the HL-LHC in June. The CERN project will be part of a massive international collaboration between 29 institutions in 13 countries. Assuming a constant budget, 950 million Swiss francs (£750 million) will be spent between 2015 and 2026.

 

Photo: Jonny Whiting

Life’s freshers’ fair complaint dropped by Office for Students

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

The Office for Students (OfS) have told pro-life charity Life that they have “no regulatory remit” to intervene in Life’s complaint over its rejection from several university freshers’ fairs.

The complaint was made by Life after the University of Manchester, University of Warwick and University of Liverpool’s Students’ Unions all refused Life’s application for a stall at their freshers’ fairs.

Life wrote to the Office for Students asking for these decisions to be overturned on the basis that their freedom of expression was being impeded.

However, the complaint has been dropped by the OfS after they told Life “Our regulatory responsibilities extend to universities and not students’ unions.”

In a letter from their Chief Executive Nicola Dandridge, the OfS responded: “It is OfS’s view that organisations such as Life should be able to publicise its work and services to students.”

“From the information in your letter, it would appear that your complaint relates to three students’ unions who rejected your application.

“As students’ unions are generally regulated by the Charity Commission, we have no regulatory remit to intervene in the circumstances you describe at this stage.”

The University of Manchester Students’ Union defended their decision, stating: “We are happy for charities such as this one to represent themselves on platforms such as the several debating forums we hold, but it is not appropriate for the freshers fair where there will be hundreds of new students, many of whom will already be nervous about leaving home and starting a new University career.”

The Campus Masterplan 2022

Written by Jacklin Kwan on . Posted in Science & Tech, News.

In 2012, the University consolidated the Campus Masterplan. A £1 billion investment in the upgrading and constructing campus buildings that would take place over the next ten years.

Based on their 2016 staff update which listed the projected and current expenditure of construction, most of the funding pool has been allocated to the University’s STEM facilities. Approximately £707 million of the total £1.1 billion is allotted to projects such as the Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) (£330 million), the Sir Henry Royce Institution (£100 million), and the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre (£60 million). The final two of these projects are being externally funded.

The rest of the pool has been spread amongst more diverse projects such as building the Alliance Manchester Business School (£71 million), refurbishing Coupland 3 to be the “new home of the School of Law, the School of Dentistry, Faculty of Humanities administration, the Directorate for the Student Experience and the postgraduate hub” (£40 million), and upgrading the student residences in Fallowfield (£170 million).

 

Planned aerial view of the Manchester Engineering Campus Development
Photo: The University of Manchester

With little doubt, the University of Manchester seems to be placing its chips in its science and health faculties. In 2021, the University’s Engineering Schools are scheduled to move to the the MECD, located adjacent to the main Oxford Road campus. The MECD alone is solely funded by the University. It will be one of the largest construction projects undertaken by any British Higher Education Institution.

The University plans to transform the current Engineering buildings in North Campus, near the city centre, to be mixed-use. Aside from new residential space, North Campus will target research and STEM-related businesses that link to the University’s industrial science departments.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell hopes that the development will “cement the reputation of the city as the place to be for technology, digital, research and development businesses”. Adding that “the development offers the opportunity to transform this quarter of the city centre, generate thousands of new jobs and advance the reputation of the University”.

Sharing the ambition for the University to become more integrated into the local economy, the Manchester City Council also approved a one-off investment of up to £21 million in July. The investment will go towards a precision medicine campus in the Corridor Manchester Enterprise Zone, which generates 20% of the city’s economic output. The investment was identified as being part of the Northern Powerhouse industrial strategy.

Theformer Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, Sir Howard Bernstein, seems enthusiastic about Manchester’s future as the heart of the Northern Powerhouse and about the role of universities in this. Sir Howard has expressed the plan to devolve growth in “higher order sectors” such as advanced materials, energy, life science, and informatics (all sectors that the University specialises in).

The rebranding of North Campus to be a business hub has been projected to create thousands of jobs. As well as the construction of the Masterplan creating hundreds of construction jobs for local workers. However, several have raised concerns that Manchester residents who have not been able to access education opportunities would be excluded the shifting labour landscape of the city.

1 in 4 UK graduates in school-leavers jobs

Written by Shivani Kaura on . Posted in News.

Studies by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have found that many new graduates lack fundamental skills expected from a degree.

While graduate unemployment rates in the UK are the lowest in the world, the OECD reported, university students are more likely to end up in non-graduate jobs related to lower incomes.

The OECD conducted a survey showing that among workers between the ages 25-64, a shocking 28% of adults in England are qualified with degrees, although that 28% are overqualified for their jobs.

Andreas Schleicher, director of the OECD education and skills division, speaking at the annual Education at a Glance survey conference in London, said: “What we see is that a lot of people in the UK get a university degree but end up in a job that does not require that degree.

“When you test the skills of those people you actually see that those people don’t have the kind of skills that would be associated with a university degree.”

The survey also showed that 40-45% of loans will never be repaid, a consequence of graduates not making enough money to reimburse the costs of their education.

“The first thing we see is that lots of people [in the UK] get a university degree – the UK ranks quite high,” Schleicher said.

“The second thing we see is, for some of them, the wage premium is not particularly great. So, you ask yourself, what’s the reason? It could be that not many degrees are needed, or it could be that the quality of those degrees is not good enough.

“I do believe that a government that asks students to pay significant fees should also have a hard look at the quality of the services that are being provided to deliver for those students.”

Results showed that in 2016, 14% of international students chose to study in the UK, second after the US, despite Brexit playing a role in the decline of European applicants.

Another point, raised by researcher Maria Holcekova, was that “graduating from a non-Russell Group university increases the probability of insecure employment, such as shift work or zero-hours contracts, compared to those without a degree.”

This was concluded after 70% of surveyed students were found not to attend elite universities, 28% were doing shift work and 17% were underemployed. Among those who did not attend university, only 19% were doing shift work and 30% were underemployed.

Damian Hinds, the education secretary, has responded stating that the survey has shown the strengths of the UK’s higher education system and has shown support for students internationally.

DIY music: Who needs record labels?

Written by Callum Lunn on . Posted in Music.

When I talk about DIY music, I’m not talking about the music video for ‘Satisfaction’ by Benny Benassi; I’m talking about writing, recording, and releasing your own original music, and it needn’t cost the earth.

DIY music is something I sort of fell into. A couple of years ago, mid-way though a boozy night at my house, a few friends and I decided to write a song, using only what we had in my house, and before the night was over. Using a cheap Argos guitar I received for a twelfth birthday present, a piece of wood for percussion, and an old Casio keyboard, we wrote a song. I didn’t have any recording equipment, so I used my computer headset. While what we ended up with on that night wasn’t exactly a musical masterpiece, it had a cool lo-fi sound. It became the start of an interesting, fun, and at times educational project.

The next time we met up I’d studied a little bit more on audio production techniques. I had both learned the ins and outs of the free (yet immensely powerful) audio production software, Audacity, and basic acoustics and recording techniques. As a result, the next song we recorded sounded far better (even if the equipment does limit just how hi-fi we could sound). While having a good recording setup is beneficial, you don’t need expensive stuff; with the right settings, even your phone may be good enough to have a good time recording.

What we ended up finding through successive sessions is that making music in this way allows for a level of creativity one might not find if they were writing with the aim of being professionally recorded. It allows you to experiment, unburdened by the considerations of a studio, or even a traditional set of instruments; we used clocks, ratchets, and sweeping up brushes throughout the album.

Once we had an album together, entirely decided by whether we liked the tracks or not, we had to figure out how to package it. Even if you’re not the graphically creative type, designing your own album art is incredibly fun. It allows you to express the feelings of your music even beyond the tracks themselves. You want hidden tracks or other novelty? It’s your call; nobody is going to stop you; that’s the beauty of doing it yourself.

The easiest (and cheapest) method of release is a digital only, online. Sites like SoundCloud and Bandcamp allow you to upload your music for free; Bandcamp even allows you to set a price. There are also services that allow you to upload your music to Spotify, iTunes, etc for either a cut of your takings or a fee.

More fun than just releasing online, however, is making some physical copies. While vinyl may be the dream, it’s expensive to get made. However, tapes and CDs are dirt cheap these days, and there’s something oddly satisfying about recording on to tape in real time. When you finally take the tape out of the deck, you’re holding something that you made from start to finish; that’s definitely something to be proud of.

photo: album artwork

Album Review: alt-J – REDUXER

Written by alexwain on . Posted in Music.

As someone who has loved alt-J from the very beginning, I was beyond excited to listen to their new album RELAXER which was released last June. However, along with many long time fans, I was surprisingly underwhelmed by it; unlike their first two albums (which I could listen to on repeat for the rest of my days), this release just didn’t capture my attention in quite the same way. Enter- REDUXER, their newest album – released on the 28th of September – which endeavours to revamp the songs from RELAXER completely, including handpicked remixes, each featuring other musicians, with some artists you should try and watch out for.

The first song on the album ‘3WW- Little Simz’ is a really chilled remix with the 24-year-old female rapper complimenting the bands’ laid-back instrumentals. Little Simz opened for Gorillaz on their Humanz tour in 2017 and for anyone who watched them at Boomtown this year might recall her feature performance of ‘Garage Palace’; she’s definitely someone to keep an eye on. Another notable song for me was, ‘House Of The Rising Sun x Tuka’. This remix in particular made the song seem so much more alive which was completely unexpected. Whilst still slowed and chilled, the Tuka remix definitely adds what was missing from the original. Both of the ‘Hit Me Like That Snare’ remixes on this release stood out to me, with Irish superstar Rejjie Snow giving off almost Childish Gambino vibes – it’s definitely something I’d listen to on a chilled summer night with mates. If you’re still wanting more, ‘In Cold Blood- Baauer Remix’ is worth checking out if you are craving something a little more dramatic in sound.

What also made this album special to me was the use of different languages from several obscure and unknown artists. French rapper Lomepal added some suave charm to ‘3WW’ whilst elsewhere, Germany’s Kontra K dished out some punchy bars to his take on ‘In Cold Blood’. I personally love hearing music from different places and alt-J have succeeded in merging their niche sound with the language of other countries as a nod to their international fans. It’s a route not often taken by huge acts, so this is both welcomed and enjoyable.

Overall this album is an immense improvement to the original, largely due to it incorporating so many different artists and perspectives. This brings the depth required for me to want to listen to the album more than once that was so desperately missing in the original. RELAXER is still an interesting new direction for alt-J, one which I can appreciate for the musical and technical genius it is and would bet that live, it would be incredible. However, REDUXER is simply stands as RELAXER’s cooler older brother, and the variety of styles it includes makes it more enjoyable for a wider audience and proves that alt-J still understand what their fans want. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the greatness of An Awesome Wave if I am honest, however alt-J’s choice of remixes seems like an attempt to almost rectify the lacklustre flow fans encountered on the last LP. I know for a fact I am going to be listening to it a lot when it comes out on the 28th–  even if you aren’t a fan of the whole thing, I’m certain you’ll find at least one that you can add to a chilled Spotify playlist!

8/10

Photo: The 1975 @Wikimedia Commons

Review: The 1975’s comeback

Written by Jasmine Bennett on . Posted in News, Music.

The 1975 re-entered the music scene after a two year break with a buzzing, guitar-led track ‘Give Yourself A Try’, the first single of the upcoming album A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. A distinctly new approach to production, the first track has a repetitive and glaring atmosphere. The aggressive guitar is undercut by an off-beat drum track throughout that at first listen makes it somewhat hard to love. However, the lyrics really do make the single pop. Autobiographical anecdotes fill the song, with some bordering on humorous (“getting an STD at 27 really isn’t the vibe”) juxtaposed with tragedy (“Jane took her own life at 16”). Whilst frontman Matty Healy has never been one to shy away from personal issues within his music, this particular track feels more open. There is a sense of closure on ‘Give Yourself A Try’ not previously seen on songs like ‘Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You’ or ‘She Lays Down’ from previous releases. While the odd clashing of sounds is hard to get one’s ears round at first, it eventually settles into something catchy.

Next came second single ‘Love It If We Made It’. Drawing more on previous songs with parallels to ‘UGH’ in the heavy vocals, this is arguably resident drummer (and co-producer) George Daniels’ finest production yet. Layered with drums, synths and even strings, the electropop sound is fresh and innovative. Much like sophomore hit ‘Loving Someone’, the lyrics of ‘Love It If We Made It’ draw on our current social climate. With lashings of political criticism in reference to Donald Trump’s comments and tweets, Healy also addresses his own discomfort with celebrity culture and fame. He writes once more of the issue of drugs in the industry, with a tribute to rapper  Lil Peep. The continued use of postmodern events cements The 1975 as a band who are increasingly aware of the climate into which they release music. The best of the releases by far, ‘Love It if We Made It’ is a catchy anthem that deserves to be played loud.

The 1975’s third release ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’ begins with a deliciously tropical introduction, reminiscent of some Drake summer anthem. With a more radio friendly feel to it, ‘TOOTIME’ comes across as  distinctly less serious than the previous releases. Despite beautiful instrumentals, the production alone fails to save the somewhat dullness of the repetitive lyrics discussing infidelity. There’s just something lacking in this single when compared to its predecessors. A formulaic structure the entire way through, you can tell that this track is fluffier; less personal and autobiographical than the other two singles, causing the track to come across as light relief.

The most recent release comes in the form of dreamy, gospel-style ballad ‘Sincerity Is Scary’. Beautifully produced and arguably the ‘If I Believe You’ of A Brief Inquiry, the newest track is simply gorgeous. Underlaid by the use of brass and woodwind creates an orchestral feeling which will be a joy to see portrayed on stage when the band tours in January. The chorus rings with the lyrics “Why can’t we be friends, when we are lovers?” and for the first time in the new singles, Healy’s vocals shine. There’s something incredibly self-critical about this track – melancholy even. ‘Sincerity Is Scary’ stands as true testament to The 1975’s production, lyrics and musical talent, leaving us itching for the next release.

Photo: Lerkrat Tangsri @ Pexels

Ecosia: Ending the Student Search for Sustainability

Written by emilycushlow1 on . Posted in News.

The Students’ Union are considering changing the default search engine on campus to the environmentally conscious Ecosia.

The move would see Manchester follow in the footsteps of Sussex University, who ran a similar campaign last year.

The Berlin-based non-profit was founded in 2009 by Nuremberg business administration graduate Christian Kroll. It claims to be “just as good as any other search engine”, but with the added extra of planting a new tree for (approximately) every 45 searches using the site.

The SU Activities Officer, Lizzy Haughton, told The Mancunion: “Since the very beginning of the campaign at the end of July, both students and staff from the University of Manchester have planted 18 trees from 1,269 searches!

“Now students are flooding through the doors I’m hoping to get some badges made for the campaign, and send out an email to try and recruit some students who can take over the campaign.

“While it is necessary to use at least some paper to get the message out, this will hopefully be kept to a minimum – instead I aim to get academics on board and add slides to their lectures, and increase the likes on the Facebook page. A few posters will be stuck up around campus to get raise awareness.

“Fred, from Sussex, who started this campaign, recently took a trip to Berlin to meet with Ecosia themselves, and was interviewed all about why he started this campaign. It’s a small campaign at Manchester, but is clearly becoming a much wider issue – if all university students used Ecosia to do just 3 searches per day, this would fund the planting of nearly 6 billion trees over the course of a year! IMAGINE.

“This is such a small thing that the University can make so easy for students to use, which will in turn have such a massive impact on climate change all over the world. If you’re keen on making this happen, please email [email protected].”

With social responsibility being a key part of life at the University of Manchester, Ecosia could appeal to many students, and at a university of this size, the potential scale of impact is massive.

Ecosia claim that a university of 15,000 students could finance the planting of 364,500 trees in a year’s use. The University of Manchester is currently host to over 40,000 students.

Kroll’s original inspiration for a socially positive search engine came to him whilst travelling in Nepal, but his first start up, Xabbel, failed due to Nepal having access to only around 4 hours of electricity a day. Moving his travels onto Argentina and Brazil, Kroll came across the concept of reforestation, and coupled with his non-profit search engine, Ecosia was born.

Credit: Twitter @CycloneWGOLF

European golf champion murdered in Iowa

Written by James Gill on . Posted in Sport.

Collin Daniel Richards has been charged with murder only hours after rising Spanish golfer Celia Barquín Arozamena was found dead on an golf course in Iowa, USA. Aged just 22, Barquín won the European Ladies Amateur Championship in Slovakia this July after shooting a course-record 63.

She was found by police at the Coldwater Golf Links in Ames after golfers discovered an unattended golf bag on the course early Monday morning and alerted authorities. A police report determined that Barquín had died following an assault.

Originally from Spain, she came to the United States to study civil engineering and became a rising talent in the amateur golf world. Her university, Iowa State, had named her ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ and said the following about her passing: “Celia had an infectious smile, a bubbly personality, and anyone fortunate enough to know her was blessed. Our Cyclone [university team nickname] family mourns the tragic loss of Celia, a spectacular student-athlete and ISU ambassador.”

Her victory in the European Championship allowed her the opportunity to break into professional golf with invitations to the British and US Opens next year. Nacho Gervás, a technical director for the Spanish Golf Federation, said to El País newspaper: “She was a player who was heading for the very top, without a doubt.”

Barquín was part of the Spanish team that achieved a second and third place finish in the European Amateur Team Championships in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Ranked number 69 nationally by magazine Golfweek, she also became the second women’s golfer in Iowa State history to earn a medal at a conference tournament when she claimed the 2018 Big 12 Championship in April.

ISU’s head women’s golf coach Christie Martens said Barquín was “loved by all her teammates and friends” and was an “outstanding representative of our school.”

“We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life.”

Valve’s Artefact: A New Lease of Life for Trading Card Games?

Written by robertpate on . Posted in Games.

At the end of November, Valve will be releasing their first self-made game since Dota 2. This will also be their first foray into the genre of not-so-cardboard, card, games with the release of Artifact. With Magic: The Gathering (M:TG) and Netrunner designer Richard Garfield on board, it’s, unsurprisingly, expected to be a successful title. Also unsurprisingly, it is going to follow the predatory model that plagues many trading card games (TCGs). Does it have to be that way, though?

As a former Yu-Gi-Oh player and board game collector with friends into M:TG, it’s difficult for me not to be skeptical of the economy for Artifact. TCGs have an ever-changing competitive meta stimulated by the release of brand new cards throughout the year. Anyone trying to win and stay competitive can’t exactly avoid buying into the new cards, because they necessarily invite new styles of play that weren’t balanced for in the original set.

Consider, for example, the card ‘Skull Servant’ from Yu-Gi-Oh. It was such a worthless monster card that if you were to play it you might as well have slapped an eight of clubs on the field. The card was brought out around 2002, but it wasn’t until 2005 that the card ‘King of the Skull Servants’ was released, which tied ‘Skull Servant’ into a much more competitively relevant deck.

Eventually, the meta becomes a rabid hound with a scent for the pound, chasing you and nipping at your heels as you throw money at it until you are down to your lint. Obviously, some people can afford to keep putting their cash in, but most of us will probably end up on the dog meat pile.

The ‘power creep’ has appeared in all major, digital, trading card games. Despite F2P models such as Hearthstone’s inbuilt quests, rewards, and in-game currency theoretically offering you cards for free, it is the unrealistic time investment which will send you back to opening packs. Recent assessments see Hearthstone as a game costing you upwards of £300 per year to get all the cards in the game. Even if completion is not your goal and you would simply like to remain competitive, you’re going to hand over a lot of cash and time.

Infinity Wars: Animated Trading Card Game was fairly ‘progressive’, offering a free selection of decks to play with each week alongside opportunities to earn packs. At the time I was playing, I was telling myself the lie that fun in trading card games could be had without paying.

Even with the varied decks each week, I knew I was missing out on the point of these types of games – to theorycraft deck strategies, discuss your ideas, and try them out. So let’s all just admit, if you want to play these games you are in for the long-haul or don’t bother.

So what’s different for Artifact? Well, the fact that it has a secondary market through Steam to buy and sell specific cards for money certainly brings it closer to its physical counterpart. If you’re going into Artifact new to the genre, or a veteran Hearthstone player, my advice is don’t buy the packs. It will always be more cost effective to simply buy the specific cards you want or need, rather than piecing together the rubbish commons, and duplicates into a cardboard house you’ll soon need to live in – though you can’t even do that because they’re made of computer machine magic.

This raises the problem of rarity and how much rarer cards will sell for. That often depends on current popular strategies and cards. While you might think Artifact having fewer tiers of rarity would ensure that the lows and highs of the market don’t vary wildly that is not always the case.

Take, for example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive which has a plethora of skins for your gun. While the ‘Kraken’ shotgun and the M4A4 ‘Asiimov’ are the same rarity and in the same container the prices are wildly different. The former costs you around £3 while the other £40. The price reflects the guns use in-game, so the rarity is only a factor of the price.

Making a popular competitive deck for M:TG can set you back between £200-1000; popular Mythic Rare cards such as ‘Snapcaster Mage’ will cost you £40-50.

EA’s FIFA Ultimate team cards are one example of a controlled, card-based economy. photo:EAsports

Thankfully, Artifact’s cards are cold, soulless, and digital and so the prices are going to be much less. Whatsmore, if packs are constantly available to buy, their resale value will plummet. Crucially, the secondary market will be completely controlled by Valve and according to IGN, the designers of Artifact are aiming to push the cost of cards down as much as possible, believing that common cards will be available for a few cents.

Garfield is clearly aware of the issue of markets and wants to address it. Frankly, there might be a benefit in capping the maximum price of cards and artificially pushing them into the ground, rather than relying on the free market. The worry with that is that as more expansions are released older cards will become obsolete. If, however, a good card or two remain in the old sets their prices are likely to explode as people are less inclined to open potentially worthless packs.

The self-regulation of markets implied by Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ needs to become a hard iron fist to create affordable card-games. Valve are always going take their cut from the sales regardless, and with the vast swathes of paid cosmetic opportunities to explore (animated cards, custom card backs, player boards, etc.) there is never going to be a huge financial loss for them.

The trading card game isn’t the only format in town, with the arrival of Living Card Games (LCG). With this format, expansions are released and you get all the cards in the set for the money you pay. Garfield’s Netrunner was recreated in an LCG format and became the recently out of print, yet successful, Android: Netrunner. Hopefully, the digital world catches up to this, and we can start seeing much fairer business models for people that want to devote their loving affection to their decks and not gamble away their hard-earned student loans.

Win Bongo’s Bingo Tickets!

Written by Ethan Davies on . Posted in News.

Want to win Bongo’s Bingo Tickets for the 27th September at Manchester Academy for you and seven mates?

The Mancunion have partnered with Bongo’s Bingo to give away:

*   Reserved table at the front for you and seven mates
*   2 bottles of fizz
*   One year’s with of Koka Noodles for the winner

Want to enter? Head to this link!

(Also available at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VQZ5WGK)

Note: winners must be current University of Manchester students. Winner selected at random on 25th September 2018 at midday.

Good luck!

Felt vaginas where made as part of the Sex week Craftivism workshop: Photo: Sex Week Craftivism @ Facebook

A positive look at promiscuity

Written by Sophia Ashby on . Posted in Lifestyle.

It is undeniable that the established rhetoric which damns casual sex still dominates our society. However, there is an increasingly popular move away from prudence in favour of sexual transparency. The University of Manchester has created space for sex-positive activism, a move which has allowed personal exploration to take place.

Freshers’ Week is characterised by young adults let loose on the city without parental restrictions. However, the common narrative of regretted one-night stands overshadows a wealth of sex-positive conversations and actions happening in Manchester. According to the Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1 in 4 young adults (aged 20-24) are choosing abstinence. However, this does not  mean that sexual awareness has stagnated. The rise in media focused on alternative identities has led to a greater number of people exploring their own sexuality.

University is a time of self-exploration, and there is no better city to do that in. In recent years, advice services and inclusivity have become a primary focus within the University of Manchester. This year, the University jumped 25 places on the charity Stonewall’s Top 100 Employer list to 16th. Paul Marks-Jones, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Partner, said the new ranking proves LGBTQ+ members are “an important and valued part of the workforce.” Additionally, the LGBT Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Manchester, holds events, running comedy events, craft workshops, and much more to “increase skills and reduce feelings of isolation.”

There are multiple opportunities to get involved in  sex positive activism at UoM, for example the annual Reclaim the Night march in February. The march aims to spread awareness about street harassment directed towards women. Sex Week, run by the Student Union, holds panel discussions and art exhibitions with the aim of encouraging the creative side to sex. The University also hosts numerous sex-positive societies, such as the LGBTQ society. The society work to create a “welcoming and safe environment” for everyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ and holds weekly coffee meetings as well as Mental Health and Wellbeing Support events.

It is extremely common to feel alone in your personal sexual experiences at university, especially when those experiences are negative. The University of Manchester offers numerous services to students who need help. You can contact the University at [email protected]. Additional information about sexual health services and advice is available at fresh4manchester.nhs.uk. Here you can find your closest clinic and get answers to any questions you may have regarding sexual health.

It is easy to feel pressure to have sex, especially during Freshers’ Week. Manchester as a city, and as a University, has a wealth of support services to offer students who may be concerned about, or are exploring, their sexuality. Beyond that, the work of groups and societies to expand conversations about sex are contributing to greater inclusivity. Sex has expanded beyond its traditional definition, and formed communities effecting active change. So, while at University, embrace the opportunity to start a sexual revolution of your own.

Source: Mushin @ Wikimedia Commons

A fresh take on Freshers

Written by Ethan Davies on . Posted in Lifestyle.

This week, thousands of Freshers will descend upon Manchester. Many of them, no doubt excited to explore the university’s infamous breadth of opportunities for debauchery. Manchester’s far-reaching reputation for nightlife can make coming here seem overwhelming. This is a particular problem if such exploits are just not your thing, and finding alternative social events can seem daunting.

According to a survey from the Office of National Statistics released last year, over a quarter of 16-24 year olds have stated that they do not drink alcohol. Whether it be for cultural, religious or personal reasons, avoiding alcohol or preferring a different focus to your Freshers week needn’t be seen as a condemnation to the peripheries of university social life. There are plenty of ways to enjoy your Manchester Freshers experience, minus the booze!

One of the many benefits of going to University in a city like Manchester is that there is so much to do outside of the traditional student world. The city has a host of cultural activities: from multiple cinemas, and art galleries, to a great skate park that welcomes beginners. There’s plenty to do in the city that doesn’t revolve around alcohol. So, if you fancy a break from the endless leaflets for cheap drinks at Revs or free entry to Tiger Tiger, venture beyond Oxford Road and make the most of being in a new city by exploring the many fantastic opportunities Manchester itself has to offer.

Whilst exploring the city can provide plenty of ways to have fun without alcohol, Freshers week is also an important chance to immerse yourself in student life.  The University of Manchester has hundreds of societies catering to all kinds of hobbies, and meeting people you share a passion with could be a great way to get involved in student life and make friends without the focus on alcohol. There are also societies for which avoiding alcohol is an intrinsic part of their ethos, such as the Islamic Society. During Freshers week, ISoc will be hosting completely alcohol-free events including a Pyjama Party and LazerQuest trip.

This year there is also an ‘Alternative Freshers Week’ being organised by students from MMU, UOM and Salford University. This is a student led alternative Welcome Week that is working with LGBT societies, Feminist societies, and People & Planet societies on a number of incredible events. These include a DIY art exhibition, environmental activism workshops, and organised discussions focused on sexuality and gender diversity. ‘Alternative Freshers’ offers the chance to meet with fellow creatives and get involved in Manchester’s rich art scene and proud culture of social activism.

Manchester offers a wealth of ways to experience a Freshers outside of the booze fuelled stereotype. However, it is also important to note that being sober does not exclude you from regular Freshers events. While many new students may find a bit of Dutch courage helpful in going to parties and attending events such as Pangaea, it’s by no means a requirement. You’ll discover that despite expectations, there is no judgement for your choices regarding whether you choose to drink. Everyone is ultimately here to make friends and the overwhelming majority of your fellow Freshers won’t care if you’ve got a drink in your hand, they’ll just be glad you’re there.

More information regarding ‘Alternative Freshers Week’ can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/altfreshersmcr/

Freshers’ week freshest: events edition

Written by Chloe Hatton on . Posted in Societies.

Struggling to know what to do this Freshers week? Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the choice? If this is the case, then look no further – we’ve picked out some events that are taking place during Freshers week and beyond.

Whether it’s sports, academic, or recreational societies you’re looking for, there really is something for everyone. This is only a small snippet of the events that are taking place, so make sure you head down to the Societies and Sports Fairs on the 19th and 20th of September in Manchester Academy to find out what else is on offer.

 

Funraising x Offbeat: Brazilian Wax

When: 18th of September 22:30- 4:00

Where: Night People, 105-107 Princess Street

Who: Funraising is a platform set up by students who essentially want to have a good time whilst also raising money for charity, and blogging about all things socially focused, including mental health, the environment, and art. They have raised thousands of pounds for charity in the past through various events such as Artbox, a (not very) silent auction.

What: This time, Funraising are collaborating with Offbeat to bring you a night full of Latin rhythms, from samba to drum and bass to brazilian funk. All money raised from the night will go to Manchester-based migrant support network, LASNET. Tickets are on sale on Skiddle for £4, or can be bought on the door for £5.

 

Gaming Society Games Night

When: 17th of September 19:30-22:30

Where: The Grove, Whitworth Park Halls

Who: The Gaming Society aims to provide a space for like-minded gamers to come together once or twice a week and puts on various events like tournaments, meals, and pub quizzes.

What: The Gaming Society are giving freshers the chance to check out their weekly console night, with various setups such as Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, various party and fighting games and much more. There will also be areas for members to socialise and meet other gamers.

 

Comedy Society Introduction/Pub Crawl

When: 21st of September 19:00

Where: Squirrels Bar

Who: The Comedy Society (ComSoc) are notorious for running sessions on Stand-Up, Sketch, Improvisation and Radio comedy, and this year is destined to be their best. If you’re a student who loves comedy, whether this is as a writer, performer, or fan, this is the place for you.

What: The evening starts with an informal talk about events coming up later in the year, including showcases in November and March, before moving into the city to experience some of Manchester’s comedy scene and, of course, the very best of Manchester nightlife.

 

Women’s Rugby Taster Session

When: Saturday 22nd September 10:30

Where: Didsbury Toc H Rugby Club

Who: UMWRFC is a club built on enjoyment, development and friendship. Whether you are international standard or have never held a rugby ball before, they’d love to see you at training!

What: The rugby taster session is a great way for women to give rugby a go. All levels are welcome! During the session, participants will get to do a variety of rugby based games and exercises, as well as meet the committee and other rugby girls. There will also be free food and drink provided – what more could you want? If you don’t fancy trying to find the rugby club on your own, a group will also be meeting at Owen’s Park at 9:30.

 

Jack and the ‘Beakerstalk’ Auditions

When: 25th and 26th of September 19:00-21:00

Where: Room 6 (25th) and Room 7 (26th) of the SU

Who: The Pantomime Society don’t like to take themselves too seriously, they love to just have fun and be a bit silly, whilst putting on some of the weirdest shows around.

What: ‘Jack and the Beakerstalk’ is the Pantomime Society’s upcoming Christmas production. These audition sessions will not only give you the chance to be in it, but also see what future rehearsals will be like. If you want to be in the chorus or the crew you don’t need to audition. But in these sessions you’ll still get to play fun drama games, learn a dance, and meet new people. There is no prep needed for auditions, so just turn up and have fun!

 

Computer Science Bar Crawl

When: 19th of September 19:00

Where: Ford Madox Wetherspoons

Who: The Computer Science Society is, predictably, aimed at Computer Science students. The society has been running for 12 years and gives students the chance to take part in events and socials outside of their studies.

What: The pub crawl is mainly aimed at getting Computer Science freshers to meet their course-mates; and what better way to do this than through some drinks? Starting at Ford Maddox, the pub crawl will move to a different pub every hour. Featuring the Turing Tap, the Footage, The Courtyard, and the Garrett.

Review: Spider-man

Written by Jeremy Bijl on . Posted in Games.

I’m going to start off by saying I really, really liked Spider-man, but for a long time I couldn’t figure out why. The plot and dialogue are good but not without flaws, the world building is magnificent but sometimes feels superficial, and the villains are interesting, but hardly a rogue gallery of fan’s favourites.

I think this is because Spider-man’s sometimes elusive brilliance is almost entirely mechanical, or, in other words, found in the sheer joy of the gameplay. Certainly, I can’t remember a game that feels as good as Spider-man does to simply play. This, in turn, feeds back into the plot, the setting and the villains, embellishing the drama to make it feel more high-octane, providing truly memorable boss fights for even the most obscure bosses, and turning New York from a static beauty into a living, breathing playground.

This mechanical achievement is perhaps most obvious in the combat system. The combat, which underpins much of your activity in the game, takes the smoothly animated panache of the Batman: Arkham series, using basic block and attack controls as a basis on which to build a whole network of special web attacks, suit abilities and combos to embellish every fight into something different, and ensuring that, even after many such fights (and there are a lot), the game still has something to offer that feels fresh and exciting.

Webs are a powerful tool in Spider-man’s extensive arsenal. photo:Insomniac

Combat can thusly be approached in a plethora of different ways. You can meticulously take out gang members one by one, or thin the herd before launching a full-frontal assault. Alternatively, you can just attack, which is where the fun really begins. In hand to hand combat, you are given a huge arsenal of options. You can fly towards your opponents with webs, hit them with manhole covers, or stun/trap/freeze them with one of your many gadgets. Additionally, each Spider-suit (an honorable mention to the artists to designed these, by the way) you unlock grants you an extra ability, such as the power to lower gravity or deflect bullets.

Traversing the city is equally as satisfying, probably finally taking the crown from the head of the fabled Spider-man 2. Whether you’re flying between the huge skyscrapers that make up most of Central Manhattan or hardly avoiding smacking the ground when swinging tree-to-tree in Central Park, just travelling doing nothing in particular about is so compulsively addictive that I never even needed to use the fast travel feature, which, for a map as large as Insomniac’s Manhattan, is quite a feat.

The thing is, with both combat and traversal alike, that you barely even notice any of this happening. Spider-man is one of those rarest of games where the superb work done by the developers means that hand, controller, game and mind all seem to be in perfect, intuitive synchrony all the time.

The background against which this all takes place is, admittedly, a little less subtle and finessed. The prologue sees Spider-man bust the operation of Wilson Fisk (A.K.A Kingpin), and from then on the main plot of the game looks at the power vacuum that opens up in Fisk’s wake. The plot that ensues follows the production of a mysterious chemical called GR-27, and weaves in a number of villains, forefront among whom is Mister Negative.

photo:Insomniac

I suspect the reason for casting Mister Negative in this starring role is that his biography is sufficiently obscure as to allow Insomniac to make some vital alterations to his character history that form the backbone of his motivations within the game’s story, and so he can bring to light the story line of another recognisable villain (arguably two or three of them, actually) but it does result in the feeling that Mister Negative is somehow a supporting cast member in his own show.

Nonetheless, progressing through the central narrative is a romp. Despite the villains being somewhat B-list, they are woven together well in a story that manages to be both epic – admittedly through the truly superlative set-pieces that punctuate the main quest line rather than its narrative content – and touching at the same time. Indeed, although there is plenty of tepid, PG 13 banter and moral righteousness along with a level of foreshadowing that is truly unprecedented even in the Marvel universe, the story is sprinkled with quirky, well-written and emotional scenes that hit home with surprising effectiveness. The end, especially, really tugged on the heartstrings.

The gameplay in the main story is also packed with variety, taking you not only through your bog standard combat grunt clear-outs, but wonderfully composed cinematic cut-scenes complete with a tasteful dusting of quick-time events, excellently designed sneaking missions, quirky errands and truly memorable boss fights. There’s even some basic logic puzzles meant to emulate Peter Parker’s lab experiments, though, mercifully, these can be skipped. This helps to patch over the uneven pacing of the narrative, which plods along for a reasonably long time before exploding into life quite spectacularly.

Whilst this is all going on, Manhattan, which might be the most beautifully rendered city ever to have appeared in a video game, slowly falls apart, turning from its original self to, as Peter Parker puts it, “like some dystopian sci-fi movie.” Although Manhattan is in transition throughout the game, its elegance remains throughout, from the towering peaks of midtown and the financial district with their hall of mirrors glass panels, to the residential apartments of Harlem to the flat greenery of Central Park. Of course, its verticality also makes it an ideal setting for Spider-man from a gameplay point of view, but the quality of its recreation really is something to behold.

photo:Insomniac

Unfortunately, if I do have one major criticism of this game, and sadly I do, it’s how the city is filled. Side quests in Spider-man seem to have been inspired by Assassin’s Creed, and not just in volume, but content. Spider-man’s side quests do pay some lip service to some absent villains, but for the most part are repetitive, formulaic and hastily put together without a thought to narrative.

There are degrees in this issue: taking out enemy checkpoints is as fun as you might expect given how good Spider-man’s combat is, and bomb challenges are fast-paced enough to be worth doing, but finding fifty-five of Peter Parker’s old backpacks? Helping Howard recapture twelve of his bloody stray pigeons? Photographing local landmarks? I mean, come on, there’s even radio towers to climb up to, which even Ubisoft made a meme of in Far Cry 5. This also makes the endgame disappointingly empty, which is all the more disappointing given Insomniac have already lined up some DLC.

Nonetheless, Spider-man is an amazing game. Technically and mechanically, it might just be the best, most highly polished game ever made and even manages to sneak a few powerful emotional punches into an engaging, if poorly paced, narrative. Although it does feel as if this game was very much written with a sequel in mind (it even ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger), it utterly enthralls you from beginning to end, and, ultimately, leaves you hungry for that second installment, even seducing you into wanting to complete its unfortunately monotonous side quests because it really is that playable. For a game series that will no doubt go on to be one of the next big dynasties of the PlayStation platform, the fact that this is just the first attempt is almost scary.

8.5/10

Photo: Edwin Martinez @Wikimedia Commons

US Open: Serena Williams’ claim of sexism devalues the real plight of female athletes

Written by James Gill on . Posted in Sport.

Serena Williams has suffered many times throughout her career from racist and sexist remarks. The American tennis player, who has won 23 singles Grand Slams, has arguably had the greatest positive impact on the female game alongside others such as Billie Jean King. However, her recent remarks about sexism after being sanctioned during the US Open Final have done little to advance women’s tennis or progress the conversation around equality in sport across the board.

Wiliams was ultimately fined $17,000 for three separate violations during the final which she lost to Naomi Osaka. The first violation came after the umpire Carlos Ramos judged a gesture from Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou to be coaching. Coaching within the context of a Grand Slam refers to the player’s coach giving information through words or hand gestures during the warm up or the game itself. This is prohibited and if the umpire notices this the player will be penalised.

It is up to the umpire’s judgement what qualifies as coaching and Ramos decided a hand gesture was enough to have potentially given Williams an unfair advantage. This is something she denies, telling the umpire during the game she would “never cheat to win and would rather lose”. Mouratoglou came out and said in an interview that he “was coaching but I don’t think she looked at me. Everybody does it.”

It’s a weak defence. The umpire has to do his best to try and monitor as much as possible and it often seems that coaching slips through the cracks and goes unseen. But it is clearly against the rules, no matter how inconsistently people are reprimanded for it. Earlier in the Open tournament Nick Krygios was also accused of coaching. Mohamed Lahyani, the umpire in that game, handled the rule break differently and went to talk to Krygios.

Williams’ second code violation came in the second set with the score at 3-2. This time it was for racquet abuse leading to Williams being docked a point. Williams became incredibly angry at the penalty, saying to Ramos: “You owe me an apology, I have never cheated in my life.” The game continued briefly but at the changeover, with the score 4-3 to Osaka, she added: “You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live.”

Ramos, an umpire with a reputation for not being intimidated by players, has taken charge of finals at all Grand Slams, as well as the Olympic Games. Both of the decisions he made were according to tournament rules. Whether or not the rules, specifically the one on coaching, should be changed to reflect how the modern game is played is a separate, equally necessary, discussion. Naturally the crowd in New York sided with Williams, and the atmosphere grew increasingly toxic as the game progressed.

Her remarks led to Ramos dishing out a third code violation, penalising her a game. Now Osaka was just one game away from victory at 5-3 up. Boos echoed around the stadium and Williams refused to continue, demanding to talk to the tournament referee. Eventually she finished the match and Osaka became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam at just 20 years of age.

Osaka’s special moment, beating her idol for a Grand Slam, was ruined by the disgraceful actions of the fans. They continued to boo and berate her during the ceremony. Rather than enjoying the moment she apologised for winning and covered her eyes to hide her tears. Williams, in her runners-up speech, told the crowd to respect Osaka for her achievement. A move that showed Williams’ great sportsmanship that was partially hidden by anger and frustration.

Were Ramos’ actions sexist? Objectively, looking at the three calls, there is nothing to suggest that these were anything other than the right decisions. If the umpire notices coaching, it is a violation. The two subsequent violations were incredibly clear, and if Ramos did not act upon them, there would have been a large backlash about him favouring Williams.

British number four Liam Broady tweeted about the incident: “I think [it to be] incredibly strong from the umpire to not be intimidated by a GOAT of the game and hand out the game penalty. You shouldn’t talk to anybody in this way whether they’re an umpire or person on the street.”

At last year’s US Open Italian player Fabio Fognini was fined $96,000 for verbal abuse he hurled at a female umpire. While this was far worse than Williams, it shows that this is an issue that is taken seriously, regardless of gender.

Williams making this a sexism issue, when the umpire adhered to the rules of the game, takes the light away from actual gender issues in the sport. A recent example of which is Alizé Cornet getting a violation for adjusting her top after accidentally putting it on back to front, while the male players can take their tops off without issue, a decision the US Open since condemned.

As an incredible role model for young women, Williams’ energy is best spent where it can bring about the biggest positive change. Women’s tennis has come an awful long way with her in it, but it is events like these that cause small bumps on the tough road to sporting equality.

Manchester crowned the UK’s sporting city for 2018

Written by Sam Honey on . Posted in Sport.

It’s home to two of Europe’s biggest football teams, Premiership side Sale Sharks, and one of the oldest cricket grounds in the country.

Manchester is by definition one of the nation’s great centres of sport.

And in that spirit, it has been named ESPN’s sporting city of the year for 2018.

The study is a collaboration between the American broadcaster and the University of Bath and assesses cities based on 12 factors considered most important to fans, including the likes of History, Success, and Local Talent.

Although in benefit of a rich sporting history, it is all about the present for the city, with Manchester City racing to a record-breaking title victory last season, while rivals Manchester United also boosted the area’s reputation with a 2nd place finish in the Premier League and a run to the FA Cup Final.

Aside from the two heavyweights the city also boasts 5 football league sides, and exciting non-league projects, such as FC United of Manchester and Ryan Giggs-backed Salford City FC.

There has also been strong representation in the Local Talent category, with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Phil Foden, all born-and-bred Mancunians, making a splash for their clubs this year.

Such success stories and a prosperous environment for youth participation in sport is all down to Manchester’s remarkable track-record in grassroots programmes.

This November, the Manchester FA is preparing to host the fourth edition of its annual Grassroots awards, that recognises contributions to youth football across the region.

“For our clubs at the top to succeed, there needs to a dedicated hardcore of volunteers”, said Mayor Andy Burnham.

“Whether it is junior football, community rugby, amateur boxing or village cricket, none of it is possible without a strong network of coaches and parents”.

Former Manchester United star Bryan Robson was also keen to comment on Manchester’s enduring legacy in the world of Boxing, “I’ve always looked, and Manchester has always had great boxers as well. A lot of boxers come from the city and you go around Manchester and everybody really is into their sport”.

Some of the sport’s most-famed names hail from the city, including Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, and Tyson Fury.

Manchester’s Olympic-grade sporting Infrastructure, built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, also needs no introduction – The city has twice bid to hold the Games, in 1996 and 2000.

ESPN’s Senior Editor Steve Saunders praised the city’s performance in the annual rankings as it achieved a second victory, “Manchester’s consistency has been impressive over the years. It has never dropped out of the top two and now returns to first place in the fourth year”.

Elsewhere in the list, Liverpool, that was crowned the top city for football supporters, dropped to second overall having relinquished its 2017 title. Edinburgh follows in third place, its highest ever finish, while the capital, London ranks an unexpectedly-low 4th place.

It was an all-around strong performance for the North, however, with 8 of the top 10 cities in the rankings, and only prevented from a clean sweep of the top 5 by London.

The art of protest is not lost

Written by sophiemarriott on . Posted in Opinion.

It is a trap many would-be influencers fall into; thinking that the protest march is a relic of the 1960s, alongside free-love and tie-dye. In a time when politics seems increasingly privatised out of democratic decision making, it is easy to dismiss the persuasive element of a group of fresh-faced youthful activities advancing en masse to the stern face of the establishment. However, direct action can only be ignored if its organisers allow it to be.

It frequently feels as if protest movements now start with their own ends in sight. Assumptions of politicians’ apathy and a divided public form the basis of a disenchanted youth’s rejection of engaging in civil disruption. This is a cynicism it is understandable to have developed in the face of so many failings – think of the Independence protests in Catalonia or the anti-Trump sentiments – but these frustrated although ultimately overridden campaigns are just what is most frequently reported on. There is a far greater level of political engagement than the public is made aware of, but it doesn’t make the headlines. From leafleting for their local MPs to simply signing petitions they find on social media; young people are not nearly as lethargic as they are often depicted to be.

For instance, the rise of Momentum in the Labour Party is described in the mainstream media as a kind of hostile take-over, and even within the hard left who should be supporting the demographic change in the party there is a suspicion of the newly active sub-sect. Arguably, this is far more a result of the view that any kind of activism is bound to fail in the political climate of the 21st Century rather than a rejection of the spirit of change or the radical policies that Momentum stand for.

Parallels could even be drawn between the suspicion of Momentum and the antipathy towards the Brexit campaign. Although in terms of the aims and supporters of the two groups they are at polar opposites, they both represent the potential for genuine mobilisation of the politically disenfranchised. Following the shock result of the EU Referendum there was a prevailing feeling of surprise at the possibility of a radical movement being able to achieve such major change in a system which has been stifled by a neo-liberal conservatism across the political spectrum.

The trope that is most often used to put down protest movements is that they cannot survive the ‘trolling’ and ‘flame wars’ of social media. As the internet becomes the primary medium for engagement with political and social issues, those who have not been raised as natives to the cyberspace see it as a hindrance to passion in campaigning. Whilst there is definitely space to see a general desensitisation as a result of over-exposure to distressing footage of a number of global issues. There is also a mass of evidence that the power of social media has been harnessed by social activists to inspire otherwise uninformed or uninterested parties. Whether the campaign behind the Leave vote in the Brexit referendum was based on an accurate or ethical rhetoric, it most certainly succeeded in tapping into a reserve of energy for action both virtual and tangible.

Take another example from the U.K. of the fossil free and divestment campaign across university campuses. Despite an assertion that environmental issues are the reserve of scientists and experts, students have demonstrated that so-called ‘Blockadia’, a term coined by Naomi Klein to describe the front-lines of resistance to the extractive fossil fuel industry, has both a physical and virtual existence. Thus, like the Leave campaign, it transcends the gap between the tangible world of protest and the art of online dissent, creating a new era of direct action. So far, the movement has persuaded 68 Universities across Great Britain some form of divestment from the fossil fuel industry, with tactics ranging of subtle ‘subverting’ to more extreme measures at the King’s University in London where students took on a 2 week long hunger strike until the University committed to full divestment.

What these examples show is that although protest looks different for thee avocado toast munching and Instagram sharing generation it is not a dead art. Whilst still employing the power of physical occupation or marching, activists have learnt not to reject technology and social media because of its potentially diluting effects but to harness it as another facet of direct action.

Exam anxiety + social elitism = the 11+

Written by Cachella Smith on . Posted in Opinion.

Pupils across the country will be sitting the 11+ exam this month to determine the path of their secondary education. There are a total of 164 grammar schools in England with Greater Manchester being one of the few regions of the country that still implements a selective process for secondary education.

In today’s society where social equality is forever being promoted, there is a lot of controversy surrounding such a system whereby children as young as 10 are categorised according to their academic performance in exam conditions. Different regions use different examinations, however they all tend to cover the areas of maths, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning.

A lot of people find issue with such a system; the main reason being the pressure placed on the children to succeed and the subsequent pressure present within a grammar school itself. According to the NSPCC, Childline provided a total of 3135 counselling sessions related to exam stress in the academic year 2016 to 2017. With statistics like this, it seems nonsensical that we should begin the exam process with children as young as ten years old. This pressure can come from parents, primary schools, or even from the pupil themselves.

Photo: PxHere

A secondary education is important, it is the stepping stone for A-Levels and potentially even future University places. Re-iterating to the pupil, however, that this exam will be a determining factor for the rest of their lives can only incite stress and potentially create a negative attitude towards future examinations. Placing children in a competitive atmosphere at this age will also undoubtedly produce negative feelings amongst peers, be it through a drive to succeed and ‘beat’ other candidates, or a sense of unworthiness created by failure. At an age where the process of examination cannot fully be understood, we need to question whether this is the most effective method of segregating pupils, or indeed whether they need to be segregated at all.

We can also consider grammar schools as being intrinsically linked with social elitism. This concept stems from the fact that grammar schools have traditionally existed as Independent schools before state support was extended to them in the 1900s. It is also arguable that this idea is today supported by the finances involved with tuition, which would of course give the candidate an advantage. In the BBC’s Grammar School Debate televised in June this year, it was argued that tuition is not necessary for a child to succeed. The debate went so far as to suggest that in fact tuition could even pose a disadvantage, pushing children to succeed when they may struggle without the additional help once they reach the grammar school.

I personally would argue the opposite, and I think that anyone who glances at the first page of a non-verbal reasoning paper would agree with me. The structure of these exams makes it such that without having had any preparation, any pupil would struggle to answer the questions, no matter how academically gifted they were. This is particularly the case for pupils coming from schools which do not support the system, and do not introduce the pupils at all to these specific types of questions. I believe tuition to be a necessary step even just if it simply introduces the pupil to the format of the paper as well as an explanation of exam-style conditions, which they presumably would not have experienced before. That is before you consider that if every other child is receiving tuition, the one who doesn’t will of course automatically be at a disadvantage.

It is easy to see the negatives of the entrance test system, this is without even delving into the pros and cons of the grammar schools themselves. The issues discussed in this article are, however, arguably key structures that exist within today’s education system in general. The reason we have a problem with the entrance test, presumably, is that it is a system implemented for young children. If, however, we are going to question the ideals associated with the 11+ system, we must then surely begin to question these formations as they are present elsewhere in the education system.

If it is wrong to put such pressure as competitive exams onto children at the age of ten, is it right to do so once they reach sixteen, eighteen, or twenty-one? If so, at which age exactly can we say the rule changes? Similarly, with sorts of social elitism stemming from tuition fees, if this is unfair for a child of ten or eleven, surely it does not become fair once that child reaches their GCSEs and needs a little help alongside the school process? Far from discouraging people from questioning these problems, however, what I suggest is that the questioning does not just stop once the child turns twelve. Instead, we need to recognise that this structure highlights issues that need to be tackled within our education system as a whole.