It seems to be a good general guideline that everyone has at some point said or done something that they really shouldn’t have. But, like everything, there are different degrees of unacceptable. In the last […]
Big Brother on the Internet? Watchdogs and Social Media
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has published a white paper advocating for an independent internet watchdog to keep the giants of social media in check, as well as giving oversight to the […]
Airport Drinking Culture: A Great British Embarrassment?
Picture this: it’s 5am at the airport and you’ve just finished your fourth black coffee. Waiting for the 6am flight to Dubai, you see someone next to you sipping away at a bottle of red […]
Is Change Coming?
“If you don’t do something, who is going to?” asked Toke Dahler, the 2015/16 Union Affairs Officer, in an interview back in December. The context: encouraging international students like himself to run in this year’s Lead LUU. […]
The British Press And The Transmission Of Hate
In a country so deeply split in the midst of Brexit chaos, the ideas of the far-right have been rapidly gaining traction. The divisive nature of a referendum always carried the risk of an increase […]
Capitalised, Glamorised and Romanticised: Social Media’s Disregard For Mental Health
The disregard of social media platforms for the posting and exchanging of triggering content is harmful: it wields a detrimental effect on both the mental and physical health of its users. It is needless to […]
When Healthcare Becomes Neglect
A New York Times piece has revealed that eighty per cent of the two million people struggling with opioid addiction in the US are unable to access the medications they need. Public health predicts that, […]
The Classism Involved In Madeleine McCann’s Disappearance
The Netflix documentary ‘The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann’ debuted on Netflix last Friday and the debate surrounding the case has once again been ignited. Madeleine disappeared in May 2007, almost twelve years ago, and yet her story continues to fill the news. Does the McCann case versus the Shannon Matthews case say expose the prevailing existence of classism in the media? Shannon Matthews was a working-class girl from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, who went missing in 2008. The media coverage she received compared to Madeleine was minimal so why are we still talking about Madeliene? Many, Guardian columnist Owen Jones included have pointed to the fact that the McCanns are decidedly middle-class with contacts in the media invites the question, are the McCanns only walking free uncharged of child negligence or worse because of their status as middle-class doctors?
Ending Gay Conversion Therapy Once and For All
For as long as members of the LGBT+ community have been visible in society, their right to exist has been under attack. The gay community has suffered violence, discriminatory legislation, and oppressive dogmatic ideologies that not only undermine the rights people have to
self-identify and express themselves but also serve to dehumanize and degrade innocent members of society.
School Edugaytion: Have Things Changed for LGBT+ People?
Section 28 of Margaret Thatcher’s Local Government Act in 1988 which stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. The now-repealed act was passed over 30 years ago, and LGBTQ+ rights have advanced miles since then, but this year has raised questions of how much has really changed.
“There Was Nothing For People Who Came From a Working-Class Background”: Catheryne Sturgess-Fairbairn on Setting Up A Society For Lower-Class Students
Despite their visible drives towards inclusivity and diversity, university campuses are no stranger to excluding working-class students. Buildings named after members of elite families, expensive shops and disparate accommodations are just a few of the features of university life which can make students from low-income backgrounds feel like they don’t belong at their chosen institute of learning. But is Leeds any different in this trend? I met with Catheryne Sturgess-Fairbairn, a 2ndyear politics student at the University of Leeds, to find out her thoughts.
Is the New Union Co-Op Too “Bougie”?
The ‘champagne socialist’ archetype has always had a long time association with students. The idea that we’re a bunch of middle class, Starbucks-craving, hummus-sucking, avocado-worshipping slacktivists waiting in the queue for a £5 bowl of quinoa has a long history.