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Month: November 2020

I stayed up all night to watch the US election, here’s what you missed

Joe McFadden is a History and Politics student with a keen interest in Film, TV, and politics. This is his blog of election night.

You can read his guide to the US election here

10 PM: Coverage starts. Anxiety increases. I’m writing an essay while obsessing over the first exit polls. Whiskey is not out yet.

11.55 PM: Whiskey is out. 

12 AM: Indiana projected for Trump, no surprises there. Kentucky showing for Trump too but nothing confirmed yet. 

12.10 AM: Georgia exit polls looking positive – I’m a Biden supporter – but it’s still too early to tell.

1 AM: Biden leading in the North East. Looking good, but not gonna curse it yet!

1.30 AM: Florida and Georgia keep on flip-flopping, but that’s expected. Nerves and whiskey consumption increase. It looks like Trump might retain Ohio. That is a surprise.

1.58 AM: More polls about to close. Feeling tired but I’ll survive. New polls will either send me into a fit of rage or celebration. Currently Biden 51 and Trump 48 – it’s close but we can’t call it yet.

2 AM: Biden shoots to 80 whilst Trump remains at 48. I am suddenly awake. I pour another whisky. 

2.40 AM: Trump is leading in Texas which is disappointing. It doesn’t look like expectations of a Biden Landslide will materialise. Biden 89, Trump 72. Arizona might flip Democrat which would be good, but I’m not calling anything yet. Whiskey is still being consumed. I will likely finish the bottle.

2.50 AM: Race is still too close to call. My flatmates are trying to book a final night out before Boris locks us down. I’ve still got an essay due that the election is delaying. Dear readers, don’t be like me. Do your work early and don’t stay up for elections. It’s not worth it.

2.55 AM: Waiting for California projections so Biden can get 55 point boost and I can feel good about myself for 5 minutes. This, of course, before returning to the depressive, dystopia we live in. Trump is closing the gap in North Carolina and Ohio which is really not good. Texas and Florida are appearing to be a Trump win which is expected but still disheartening. 

3 AM: This is depressing. It’s becoming too close for my liking and becoming too much like 2016. Why did I trust the national polls? I’m now preparing for 4 more years of Donald Trump. 

3.11 AM: All my flatmates have gone to bed. I’m about to do the washing up. I’ve got nothing better to do at quarter past 3 on a Wednesday morning.

3.14 AM: Yes! Biden shoots up to 94 with Trump still on 72. I have faith for 5 minutes. This is still going to be a long night.

3.20 AM: Trump is up in Pennsylvania and I’m not feeling good about it. This state is going to be critical, even if Biden bags Arizona. 

3.40 AM: Biden is leading by 98-92. There’s a constitutional lawyer on discussing the possibility of legal challenges. Seems to be very confrontational predictions in terms of court challenges.

3.45 AM: Trump is up in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It’s not looking good. Florida and Texas clearly for Trump. My optimism has disappeared. Missouri just called for Trump, he’s in the lead with 102 now to Biden’s 98. 

3.42 AM: Biden just back up to 118 to Trump’s 102. Rust Belt seems to be leaning Biden then begins to back Trump.

3.45 AM: Trump still leading in North Carolina but only by a point or so. Biden is winning in Arizona which could be a big win for the Democrats. 15 mins left till the rest of the West Coast closes.

3.57 AM: Republican and ardent Trump fan Lindsey Graham retains his Senate seat in what is another disappointing outcome. 

4 AM: Polls across the West Coast close taking Biden to 192 electoral college votes to Trump’s 114. This is expected due to California’s 55 votes but the Midwest is still up for grabs.

4.30 AM: Arizona has been called for Biden but it isn’t 100% confirmed yet. Whiskey bottle still has another glass left in it, waiting for later.

5 AM: Hawaii and Alaska have closed their polls. Ohio has been called for Trump, giving him a crucial swing state. The last time a President won without Ohio was 1960. It’s not looking good for Democrats. Biden is still winning with 205 to Trump’s 136. But the major states of Texas and Florida are still likely to go to Trump.

5.10 AM: Some commentators are predicting a tie at 269 each. This would be truly unprecedented in modern politics.

5.20 AM: Had my first sip of whiskey for about an hour. Bottle still has some left in it. It’s looking like we might not know the result for a while so saving some for the rest of the week. Some journalists and pundits are mentioning that many counties and districts saw heavy postal votes. There’s still some hope left although my optimism fades as the night goes on. 

5.25 AM: Biden expected to make a statement soon. This should be interesting.

5.40 AM: Florida called for Trump with a larger margin than in 2016. Expected but still a disappointing night for the Dems.

5.45 AM: Biden makes a speech in his home state of Delaware attempting to galvanise his Democratic base. He affirms his intention to stay in the race, claiming “we are on track to win the election”.

5.48 AM: A long night just got a hell of a lot longer. Trump has tweeted that the Democrats are trying to “steal the election”. He’s coming out fighting and trying to control the narrative. 

5.53 AM: Debating going to bed. Do I carry on watching or do some work? 

5.56 AM: Twitter has hidden Trump’s tweet. Big blow if he’s perceived to be making false claims, although it won’t have much effect overall.

6 AM: Polls shut in Alaska. All 50 states have now finished voting. Could go either way but I’ve got a tutorial in 6 hours. Shall I go to bed?

6.10 AM: Texas called for Trump bringing his total to 209. I want to go to bed but I can’t take my eyes off of it. 

6.12 AM: Montana called for Trump giving him 212 to Biden’s 165. The race tightens.

6.25 AM: Electoral map currently at 210 Biden, 213 Trump. Feeling a bit delirious. Might have a quick nap on the sofa. It’s not the night I wanted but it’s not over yet.

6.30 AM: Biden wins the second of Nebraska’s 2 votes! This 1 vote could make the difference between win or lose. There cannot possibly be a tie now. 

6.45 AM: Trump expected to speak soon. Waiting for that before I go to bed. Got a tutorial at 12 PM. Why do I do this to myself?

6.50 AM: I wish we were living in Aaron Sorkin’s fantasy land. It would be nice if at the next election I could go to bed without getting FOMO around America’s own imminent self-destruction. Seriously, I’m all for Bartlet for America. Let Martin Sheen be President. It would be fun. He’s the only old, white man I’d get behind. If you want a distraction from the modern dystopia we live in (take a shot every time I mention this over the next few days) then binge the West Wing on All 4. It’s nice to imagine a world where politics can be run by good people. 

6.56 AM: The race is tightening in the swing states and Trump is still expected to speak soon. I’ve been up for over 18 hours now, wonderful. Is anyone still reading?

7.00 AM: Trump is about to speak. A few states left to call. This will probably come down to the courts. American democracy in action.

7.10 AM: Trump still not out. I’m going to try and get a couple of hours sleep. Here are a few final thoughts:

In my opinion, it has never been clearer that the American political system has been so intrinsically broken. Trump or Biden, what is important is that we remain our humanity. We must have compassion for others in this world, otherwise, we are destined to lose our way.

We must not be blinded, but we must not allow hate to succeed. Humanity is always moving forward and changing. Regardless of who wins the White House, it is clear that America has changed. It is a nation that has been repeating this same battle for decades. This year it has got the closest it ever has. Who knows what will happen next.

7.15 AM: Trump still hasn’t shown, but I can predict what he’s going to say. And by the time this article is out, you will know as well. This has been an interesting night, one I will never forget. I go to bed hoping that Biden will win but knowing that Trump is very much still in the game.

Only time, votes and the courts will tell. With this, I log off, climb down off of my self-righteous live blogging soapbox that most people probably won’t read and hope for the best for America and the world at large.

Until next time.

Horoscopes: Week commencing November 2nd

Ever wondered which of your favourite childhood cartoon characters perfectly matches up with your star sign? Wonder no more…

 

Scorpio Oct 23 – Nov 22Scorpio Icon

Road Runner – you are always in a rush – beep beep! When you are busy going from one place to the next, try to be aware of the mess you leave behind.

 

Sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21 Sagittarius Icon

Tasmanian Devil – your energy is boundless and your hunger is insatiable! Try to be a bit more patient with your friends this week, they will appreciate it.

 

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20 Capricorn Icon

Sylvester – you are the most resilient cat of them all. You always make sure your pride never gets in the way of what you need to do (and try to leave that little yellow bird alone).

 

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19 Aquarius Icon

Porky Pig – your optimistic nature is enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face. During these colder months, make sure to use your sunny disposition to lift the mood this week!

 

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20 Pisces Icon

Speedy Gonzales – you are the artistic one of the Looney Tunes bunch. Your skills allow you to see a different side of things, and this week that will come in useful!

 

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 20 Aries Icon

Tweety – you are the adorable baby of the group! But the cuteness comes at a price and sometimes your temper can get the better of you, try to keep cool this week.

 

Taurus Apr 21 – May 20Taurus Icon

Daffy Duck – you might come across as jealous sometimes, but you only want what is best for people. This week, don’t let your priorities get out of order.

 

Gemini May 21 – June 21 Gemini Icon

Hector the Bulldog – you always fight for the little guy and love to help a friend in need. You are strong, but this week take a moment to think before you act.

 

Cancer June 22 – July 22Cancer Icon

Lola Bunny – you are confident within yourself and don’t take any rubbish from anyone! Don’t be afraid of being yourself this week, even if it seems to rub others the wrong way.

 

Leo July 23 – Aug 22Leo Icon

Bugs Bunny – you are charismatic and charming. You have a way of getting people to talk to you and helping people. Don’t be afraid to ask what’s up Doc?

 

Virgo Aug 23 – Sept 21Virgo Icon

Wile E Coyote – you are an expert planner but this week, but things may not go to plan! Remember to keep trying to achieve your goals (even if they are to catch the Road Runner)

 

Libra Sept 22 – Oct 22Libra Icon

Marvin the Martian – quite easily the politest of all the characters (despite his need to destroy the earth), try to channel your inner Martian this week to settle disputes!

‘I’m receiving no support’: DASS student speaks out about transition to online learning

The Mancunion spoke to third-year English Language student Kathryn McDonald who told us about her experiences dealing with the transition to online learning from a DASS (Disability Advisory and Support Service) perspective.

She posted a message to the Manchester Students Group Facebook page and quickly received hundreds of likes and comments expressing similar concerns towards online learning and technology provision.

How have you been dealing with the transition to online learning semester?

Honestly? Terribly.

Normal university is hard enough. We’re all students in the same boat. We’re getting locked away or having to stay at home, away from our support networks which are our university friends, housemates, societies and volunteering project friends.

As horrible as 9am lecturers used to feel, I miss them. Having my friends is what got me through uni even before Covid. I don’t mind the lectures being online, because for my learning style lectures are pretty redundant.

“As horrible as 9am lecturers used to feel, I miss them

However it’s seminars I’m really struggling with. A lot of my course requires very outdated software which is applied differently on all computers.

Now, Covid comes in and lecturers haven’t changed their teaching styles, it just encourages the silent to stay silent, but now practically entirely anonymous.

“It’s seminars I’m really struggling with. A lot of my course requires very outdated software which is applied differently on all computers

Forcing students into breakout rooms on Zoom seems to be their response to this issue – again, this is completely futile and realistically not beneficial to most learning styles.

Kathryn McDonald
Kathryn McDonald has been struggling with the transition to online learning

What has your experience been so far with the university and can you outline the issues you have been having asking for support concerning tech support?

I am receiving minimal or no support from the majority of my academic tutors, like many of my course mates and uni friends.

If I’m honest it’s only got worse since Covid. The University of Manchester has been exceptionally poor regarding student support even in my first year in 2018.

The long and short of it is uni doesn’t care about us. It’s turned into a business venture, building pretty business buildings and making the rich richer. My department is massively underfunded with the majority of our equipment broken and faulty.

Before COVID there were often not enough computers when we were put into computer labs for tutorials. Coronavirus is being used as an excuse and a cover-up for their major neglect of so many aspects of teaching and student life.

“I am a DASS student, I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 19

I am a DASS student, I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 19 (in my second year of university) when one of my lecturers commented on my written expression and I decided to get it investigated.

I praise our university for offering this service as I wouldn’t have been able to get a diagnosis if it wasn’t offered at a reduced rate. Once you get that diagnosis, DASS ticks boxes saying what support you can get, I get week extensions on assessments, library book loan extensions and priorities and 25% extra time in exams.

I applied for a Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), this assesses what other equipment and support I need. With this I get a study support worker, who I absolutely adore and has been my saving grace when uni have let me down, she is not associated with my university, I got a printer and various reading and educational software on my laptop.

My laptop had a hardware fault during summer so I sent it off and only received it 2 days ago – I’m 4 weeks into my 3rd year where every day is crucial. I’m massively behind on reading, because I’ve not had my software or a working laptop.

I repeatedly emailed asking for advice on borrowing laptops – I got blanketed responses, here’s this link, email this person, they said. I’ve been asking for help weekly, it feels like, still nothing. So I took to MSG and basically just had a cry for help publicised and blow up.

“My DASS advisor is almost rude in replies and most of the time completely ignores the emails I send.

I’ve been most disappointed with DASS as they’re my point of call especially because the biggest issue is being without my reading software. I ironically study English Language so have a very large quantity of reading.

Times are tough that’s for sure. My academic advisor and 2 of my lecturers have really tried to help me, but they send me to DASS and rightly so, my DASS advisor is almost rude in replies and most of the time completely ignores the emails I send.

Do you know of others who have also been struggling and in a similar position to yourself?

I put a post on MSG to find allies in this, I had countless responses from other DASS students, some ex-students from before COVID complaining. One person said she changed her course due to the lack of support from one branch of DASS.

I shouldn’t have to publicly admit I’m struggling to a group chat of 48,000 members and have this many people console me for the neglect and in my opinion blatant disrespect. These networks exist purely to help disabled students, that job is what pays their bills, and I get the impression they do it just for that reason and not because they care about us, or that’s at least how it feels.

“I shouldn’t have to publicly admit I’m struggling to a group chat of 48,000 members

I’ve joined a group chat full of disabled students petitioning for online uni to become more accessible- and that’s only the crux of the problem.

What would you like to see from the university in terms of increased support for DASS students during this difficult period?

Firstly, more staff or some retraining of existing staff. Many people have messaged me saying the same thing about the same member of staff, there’s a huge feeling of lack of compassion and feeling like a nuisance or like I’m asking too much for a service I’m contributing over £9,000 a year to.

Staff who are trained in particular disabilities that you can go to and they can inform lecturers and teaching staff how to be more accessible. Covid hasn’t changed anything, it’s just exacerbated the flaws. I’m so disappointed in my university and it’s supposed disability support service.

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear of this student’s experience with our Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) and will work with them to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

“As a University, we are fully committed to providing support for all our disabled students and DASS ensures they receive tailored assistance for their individual requirements.

“For example, we have purchased assistive software for use by our dyslexic students and this is installed on all computers in University clusters and is also accessible remotely.

“Throughout the pandemic, DASS and our other university support services have continued to provide appointments and services by video, phone and email. The feedback we have received shows a positive experience for many of our disabled students.

“However, we do recognise that different students have different needs, and we know there are always areas we can improve and that is something the University is consistently working towards.”

US election 2020: Millions head to the polls amid ‘biggest turnout in 100 years’

Tomorrow, US citizens head to the polls in an era-defining election which will see Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden seeking to end a tumultuous four year Donald Trump administration.  

It has been dubbed a ‘referendum on Trump’s handling of coronavirus’ and the president has held rallies in major swing states on a final campaign blitz. 

What are the polls saying?

In a state where Biden holds a slender lead, the President will be looking to narrow the gap between him and the former Vice President who is as much as 14 points ahead in some polls.

The Guardian Poll tracker, which tracks polls in eight swing states, currently gives Biden an 8.8 percentage point lead. 

Speaking to Sky News Australia earlier this week, James Brown, Non-resident fellow from the U.S Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, suggested that it was “Joe Biden’s race to lose”, with the “general trend being clear that Biden is leading among voters”.

PHOTO: MICHAEL STOKES @ FLIKR

Early voting figures have reinforced this view amongst political scientists and commentators alike, with approximately 49% of early votes by people who previously voted Democrat, whereas Republican numbers stand at only 28%. The remaining votes cast are by independent or newly registered voters.

Some have suggested that the voter enthusiasm, reflected in the higher turnout, is as a result of Americans wanting to get rid of Donald Trump, rather than a demonstration of their support for Joe Biden.

Biden’s apparent lack of an adequately funded plan for office, along with the belief held by some that many of his proposals are lip service, may undercut his support amongst undecided Americans. 

Despite trends, many polls could be understating Trump’s position, whilst overstating Biden’s lead. Many commentators and voters are understandably wary of the polls, after many falsely predicted the outcome in 2016. Professor Joe Siracusa, an American politics specialist in Melbourne, Australia, shared this concern, saying the polls were “as faulty now as they were in 2016”.

However, the New Statesman’s Ben Walker argues “it is unlikely the same mistakes will be made again with pollsters using more reliable indicators such as education and race instead of income to gauge voting intention”. 

High Turnout expected

Perhaps the most significant aspect of voting so far has been that over 70 million votes have already been cast, accounting for more than half of the turnout in 2016, which stood at 139 million. Speaking to CBC, Political Scientist Cal Jilson, from Southern Methodist University, estimates a 40% increase in turnout. It is also expected to be the biggest for over 100 years. 

Brown suggested that “people are more likely to vote early when they are angry with the incumbent”. In Texas over 5 million ballots (more than half of the 2016 Texan turnout) have already been cast.

This is perhaps significant when we consider that Texas has not returned a Democrat majority in the Electoral college since Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. 

The Biden campaign is also running TV ads in the Lone Star State, with Vice-President nominee Kamala Harris expected to visit in the days running up to November 3rd. The energy towards Texas from the Biden campaign demonstrates confidence that the Democrats believe they have a real chance of breaking Republican dominance there. 

Trump won Texas by the smallest majority since 1996. Republican Senator Ted Cruz also only retained his seat there by 2.6% in the 2018 Mid-terms.

With polls giving Trump as little as a 5% lead and some even indicating a lead for Biden, the Trump campaign cannot be assured of a victory in the former stronghold.

Texas could, as it consistently did many decades ago, prove to be key, with its Presidential Electors potentially deciding whether Donald Trump is returned to the White House for a second term.