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Exeter Student Launches “Januhairy” to Promote Body Positivity

‘Januhairy’, a body positivity campaign that aims “for women to come together, encourage one another, and grow out their body hair for the month of January” has been launched by Exeter student Laura Jackson.

The project aims to raise money for Body Gossip, a charity that campaigns through its film and theatre program, and “combines Arts and Education to empower everybody to be the best version of themselves and rock their own brand of gorgeous.”

Jackson’s campaign is growing and has gained participants from around the world including Spain, Germany, Russia, the USA and Canada.

“This project is about showing that we have a choice… we should not feel judged for whatever choice we choose to make.”

– Laura Jackson

The project has gained much attention in the media, including from the BBC, the Guardian, and Good Morning Britain. However, it has also received many negative responses, particularly on the ‘Januhairy’ Facebook page.

Speaking to Exeposé, Laura Jackson offered her response to this criticism: “I think that there is a lot of love and support for the project, but there is also a lot of hate and disgust with it… Of course a campaign this big is going to get this reaction; however, it’s important that we see these comments because it reminds us why we are doing this campaign and what opinions we are trying to change. These people don’t understand this yet, and that’s okay… that’s what the campaign is for. At least we are all talking about it!”

Jackson continued to discuss the aims of the campaign, which, she explained, “is about showing that we have a choice… we should not feel judged for whatever choice we choose to make… to shave or not to shave… that is the question!”

Refreshers Week 2019: What’s On?

Exeter Students’ Guild Refreshers Week is to be held from 13 to 18 January, and will include an official launch party at the Lemon Grove on Sunday 13 January.

Refreshers Week is a fixture of the university calendar and is intended to welcome returning students while providing students an opportunity to sign up to a campus societies.

To celebrate the occasion, the Guild and several campus societies have planned several events. Exeposé will hold a Meet and Greet in the X-Media Office on Wednesday, while Campus Cinema shall host a special interactive screening The Room on Friday.

Other societies will also be taking part. The Harry Potter and Quidditch Society are hosting a dinner at popular pub the Old Firehouse, while the Amnesty International Society are planning a casual evening at The Ram. XpressionFM will also be in the forum across parts of the week.

There are also opportunities to become involved in sport. The Exeter University Trampoline Club and the Volleyball Club are offering free taster sessions at St. Lukes Campus that are open to students of all different skill levels.

Several campus society stalls shall be open in the Forum during Refresher’s Week. Interested students shall be able to talk to society representatives and join campus groups.

Local Police Start Recording Gender-Based Hate Crime

Devon & Cornwall police have become the latest UK force to begin to record gender-based hate crimes.

Gender-based hate crimes are those motivated by hatred for a person based on their sex or gender. It is hoped that by gathering this data, the scale of the issue can be better understood, and that more effective solutions may be developed to tackle it.

There has been a consistent rise in hate crime across England and Wales since 2011, with the total number of offences increasing by 17% between 2016/17 and 2017/18 according to Home Office Statistics. During this time, there was also a 32% increase in transgender-based hate crime.

Police will not only record hate crimes, but hate incidents- those which aren’t legally considered criminal, but still motivated by hate.

“We are committed to investigating all forms of hate crime and sex and gender hate crimes”

– Shaun Sawyer, Devon and Cornwall Police

Shaun Sawyer, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, commented: “We are committed to investigating all forms of hate crime and sex and gender hate crimes are no more or less important for DCP than other hate crimes related to race, disability or sexual orientation. […]

“Gender and sexist hate crime (misogyny and misandry) cause great distress to victims and we recognise that the trauma for victims can be life changing.”

Drink Your Marrows Away: Exeter Study Reveals Impact of Pollination on Courgettes

A PhD study by Dr Jessica Knapp at the University of Exeter has discovered the impact of pollination to courgettes. Dr Knapp found that courgette crop yields were 39% higher when honeybees, buff-tailed bumblebees and other pollinators were present. This boost in yield would have added an estimated £3.6 million to the 2017 courgette crop.

Not only did it find the value of pollination, but that this increase is specific to natural pollinators. Human pollination made no real difference and added unnecessary labour cost.

This boost in yield would have added an estimated £3.6 million to the 2017 courgette crop.

These findings are predicted to also translate to other crops within the cucurbit family, including watermelons and cucumbers.

Dr Knapp’s study also discovered that more bumblebees were found in fields containing many wildflowers. Thus, wildflower field margins enhanced pollination services and contributes to the conservation of the bees. While courgette nectar improved population, this only aided the bees in cohesion with other pollen services to fulfil the bees’ nutritional needs. The bees did not take courgette pollen back to their colonies.

This study hopes to be valuable in helping growers plant accordingly to boost both crop yield and bee population levels.

University of Exeter makes Global Top 100 for Arts and Humanities

The 2019 Times Higher Education rankings have named Exeter as one of the 100 best institutions for Humanities teaching and research in the world. 13 indicators are used to develop the table in which Exeter was ranked 98.

There are almost 100 under- and post-graduate degree programmes across the Streatham and Penryn campuses, both of which are home to fascinating and ground-breaking research in the Arts and Humanities. Academics in the English department have discovered a set of lost poems about the effects of the American Civil War on cotton workers in Lancashire, while Modern Languages staff are working to assure more recognition for the female creatives of Franco-era Spain.

Historically important artefacts also make Exeter worthy of its inclusion on the list. The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum has one of the largest collections of film memorabilia and material in the United Kingdom, while the University’s Special Collections include manuscripts by Daphne Du Maurier.

Professor Andrew Thorpe, Executive Dean for the College of Humanities, says, “This is recognition of the outstanding teaching and world-leading research within all of the College’s disciplines, and the excellence and commitment of staff and students alike. This is a terrific result that we all share.”

Taken for Granted: Year Abroad Students Experience Delay in Erasmus Grant Payments

Erasmus grants have not been paid to a number of students on year abroad programmes, Exeposé understands. According to Erasmus+, these can be worth €470 per month.

The university has acknowledged delays in the payments.

The grant, a fund allocated to study and work abroad students by the British Council and participating institutions, is usually given out in late summer or in the early stages of the autumn term. However, students have raised concerns with Exeposé that, despite completing the appropriate paperwork in a timely manner, there has been a delay in the payment. Some students working or studying abroad, whose Erasmus+ grants were initially delayed, have now received their grants. But at the time of writing others are still experiencing delays.

The grant is usually given out in late summer or in the early stages of the autumn term.

An email was circulated to students, informing them of the delay, on 6 November 2018. The email was an ‘update on the payment of the Erasmus grant’ in response to a number of enquiries from students. ‘The university has recently moved over to a new finance system and there have been some teething issues’, the email reads:

“As soon as the Finance Team have identified and resolved the issue with the new system, these payments will be processed and you will be paid. […] We are not able to estimate when these payments will be processed as the issue is with our Finance and IT Teams. […] We are not in a position to respond to emails regarding estimated payment dates as we are focusing our efforts on getting the issue resolved.”

One student from the French department, on an Erasmus programme, told Exeposé that they thought the University had not done enough to support them. They said:

“The university study abroad team has not done enough to ensure that each student is comfortable on their year abroad. Simply providing us a rough guideline and then not even delivering this to all students is inadequate and does not provide the resources the university claims it gives. Many of us had to research and apply for jobs independently, as well as search for accommodation. The least the university could do was give the financial support it was supposed to. I and many others have been incredibly let down and angered by a university that we hold dear to us.”

“I and many others have been incredibly let down and angered by a university that we hold dear to us.”

(Anonymous student)

To receive their grants for work abroad, students are required to fill out paperwork including an Erasmus+ traineeship agreement, which must be completed by the students’ employer, the student themselves, and the university.

Another student who was also disappointed that they had not received their grant told Exeposé that while they currently have a job, they know ‘many students don’t have that luxury and are definitely starting to struggle’. They said that the University had done little to differentiate between students who had begun working as early as June, and those who had begun working later. They also raised concerns about the manner in which the university had dealt with their enquiries, and how they feel like ‘a burden’ when emailing the University’s Year Abroad Team about such issues.

A University of Exeter spokesperson said:

“The University implemented a new finance system in August of this year. In the early stages of the migration to the new system, there were some delays in processing some of the Erasmus grant payments. These delays have been resolved, and the Student Funding team have been working together with the Study Abroad office to process confirmed awards as soon as possible. However we apologise unreservedly for any concerns or issues students may have faced by these delays.

“These delays have been resolved, and the Student Funding team have been working together with the Study Abroad office to process confirmed awards as soon as possible.”

“While the first allocation of grants are usually paid at the end of October, the University does advise students that this is an estimated time, and not guaranteed.”

“The Study Abroad team wrote to all students to advise them as soon as they were made aware of the delays, and also offered guidance regarding who to contact if they had any queries or concerns. We are confident that students who have provided the full and correct bank details to receive the fund transfer, have been paid. However, any student with concerns about the payment of an Erasmus grant should contact the University, [via SID] with their student number and details of the concern so we can investigate individual cases. All enquiries should be marked for the attention of the Student Funding team. For any student who has applied for student finance, but continues to find themselves in financial Hardship, can apply to the Hardship and Retention fund.”

The Students’ Guild said:

“We are aware of a number of isolated cases where students haven’t receive the funding they expected. Our Student Advice Team will work with any student that approaches them to support them in resolving the problems delaying payment and addressing any hardship that results from the delay. We monitor cases and other enquires to look for information and patterns that suggests larger problems and where these are identified we will address them directly with the University.”

Students vote to get rid of iExeter Digital Check-in

A Student Idea calling for the end to the recently-implemented iExeter Digital Check-in system passed with 89.6% of the 487 voters selecting a ‘yes’ option. This idea, ‘Stop iExeter Digital Checkin’, was ratified on Tuesday 30 October by Democracy and Governance Council and has been passed up to the Guild executive for action.

The Student Idea description listed several grievances people had with the system including tier 4 visa-holding students having their residency status at risk, and the concerns over some students not having the required smartphones for the app.

“I have better things to do and to worry about than losing my visa, because this app doesn’t work properly.”

“As a Tier4 visa student, not attending lectures can lead to losing a visa”, one student commented. “I attend all my lectures, but the online check-in has not worked no matter what (I tried fixing it in all possible ways). I am tired of having to go to the closest information point, which is not in the same building where all my lectures are run to check-in manually, I have better things to do and to worry about than losing my visa, because this app doesn’t work properly.”

Some students expressed their dislike for the system based on the required technology: “I don’t have a cell phone and would also defo be down for not living in an episode of ‘Black Mirror’.”

Another comment simply asked, “Ever read 1984?”

Other students, however, disagreed. “It should be kept”, said another student. They continued:

“If you actually ask a tutor, or academic who’s put it into place, it’s to do with mental well being of students. This is not in place to make ‘black marks’ against students. If you miss lectures, but catch up on ELE, the system tells them that you have logged in and what you’ve looked at. It’s also in place to prevent students “going off the map”, for lack of a better phrase.”

“If you actually ask a tutor, or academic who’s put it into place, it’s to do with mental well being of students.”

In response to the vote results, Vice-President Education Warren Bingham-Roberts announced that he is planning a ‘public forum’ for Exeter Students’ Guild’s stance on the iExeter Digital Check-in system. Bingham-Roberts suggested that the forum, which is in its very early planning stage, is to allow discussion and debate about the issues students have with the system which was introduced at the start of this academic year.

Shadow Council, the chief scrutiny board for sabbatical officers, was informed of the plan for the event by the VP on Wednesday 31 October. Councillors raised concerns over the proposal, asking the VP why he wanted to hold a “debate” considering students had already voted against the check-in system. “It’s the single most voted-for idea on the system”* , said one councillor in response to Bingham-Roberts’ statement that ‘only around 500 students voted’ for the idea.

With regard to his future plans, Bingham-Roberts told Exeposé:

“I am currently considering how best to take the Student Idea forward in a constructive way that addresses students’ concerns about the digital check-in system. I want to ensure that students have the opportunity to feed into this process, and so I’m looking at how best to achieve this, with an open forum type event being one of the options considered to allow for direct student input. Improving the ease by which students engage with University processes digitally is one my manifesto priorities for this year, and therefore the experience of students with the system will be at the forefront of our approach.”

*For clarification, “Stop iExeter Digital CheckIn” was the most voted-on student idea of this academic year so far. However historical ideas have had more votes.

Homophobia in sport – ongoing yet neglected

An ongoing issue which appears relatively stagnant and to a large degree unreflective of wider society, homophobia in sport is having a major impact on LGBTQ+ athletes. Coming out to friends or family is challenging for any individual, as it reveals a personal journey and fundamental part of their identity. In sport however, it seems that many players are forced to choose whether to come out or play sport. Such an issue can be derived from issues in schools and youth sports, where the deficit of LGBTQ+ youth participation, often due to gender stereotypes being amplified and deterring individuals, is affecting the mental and physical health of LGBTQ+ youths. Although there have been a number of cases of homophobia in various sports such as boxing with Tyson Fury’s homophobic remarks or rugby, with Nigel Owens being the victim of abuse on the pitch, homophobia is an issue most prominent in men’s football.

One of the most notable issues arising from homophobia in sport, either at professional level or during youth, is that it has led to a deficit in participation from openly gay athletes. In the top tiers of British football, there are no openly gay professional male players, a staggering figure which exemplifies the problem. The Chair of the FA, Greg Clarke, has suggested that football is still unsafe for those wishing to come out, worsened by the suicide of Justin Fashanu in 1998, the only player ever to come out as gay. Fashanu became the subject of ongoing homophobic abuse, which contributed greatly towards the collapse of his career. A more recent example is the West Ham vs Brighton match on 5^thOctober 2018, where angered West Ham fans were guilty of singing “Does your boyfriend know you’re here?”. No arrests or actions were taken during the game, but the West Ham Police Liaison officer later tweeted condemning these remarks.

In the top tiers of British football, there are no openly gay professional male players

Such lack of action is highlighted in the House of Commons’ report on homophobia in sport, printed 7^thFebruary 2017. From the data collected, it was football mentioned most frequently as the sport suffering from the biggest homophobia problem. It is further noted that LGBTQ+ supporters provide the only real LGBTQ+ visibility during matches, largely due to the lack of progress officially and socially in football. The fact that David Eatock’s sexual abuse experiences in the 1990s led to him being accused of being gay and to blame explain the culture of silence which has developed among sportsmen. ‘Out on the Fields’, an international study on homophobia in sport, released in May 2015, found that 73% of people did not see youth sports as a ‘supportive and safe place’ for such individuals, while 70% of the UK consensus agreed. A more recent study carried out by ComRes delved deeper into such statistics, finding that while 82% of fans would be comfortable with an openly gay player in their team, 7% said that they would stop watching their team. 47% also said that homophobic abuse had been witnessed at sports matches.

in a recent survey, 7% of people said that they would stop watching their team if a player was openly gay

With these statistics in mind, coming out in sport, and football in particular, is a considerably unnerving task. While trying to encourage and support progress on this issue, fans must appreciate the implications for the career or life of the individual. Certainly a ‘searchlight culture’ should be discouraged and labelling those who display traits which may be seen to reflect their sexuality is counterproductive.

Homophobia in sport also has wider implications, with the ‘Out on the Fields’ survey showing that 30% of gay men involved in the survey stopped pursuing sport further due to abuse, while in 2012 it was found in the Culture, Media and Sport Committee report that it was a “bigger problem in football than racism and other forms of discrimination”. Fans watching matches who may be unsure or not public about their sexuality may be also harmed by the abuse shown by other fans and therefore the issues during matches can also have a chain effect in other areas of life.

Nevertheless, there are examples of LGBTQ+ individuals in other sports who, although facing some abuse, have largely been accepted and welcomed. Tom Daley, coming out via YouTube in 2013 is an inspiring example, while other openly gay sportspeople such as Gareth Thomas and Casey Stoney have helped pioneer such change. Groups have been trying to raise awareness and counter the issues, such as Crystal Palace Football Club’s LGBTQ+ fan group section in the programme, the Amateur Swimming Association, major sponsors and brands as well as “Straight allies” and National Governing Bodies.

examples such as tom daley and casey stoney show that change is possible

While progress towards preventing homophobia is sport is slower than other social areas, it is moving in the right direction and will be only strengthened by pioneering individuals.

Uni switches to annual contracts for postgrad teachers

The University of Exeter will no longer employ postgraduate teaching assistants on casual contracts, as announced in a recent email to staff from vice-chancellor Steve Smith.

The email, sent on 18^th September, announced that postgraduate students who work regular or pre-scheduled hours will be employed on annual contracts, so that they are able to access the benefits of permanent or fixed-term contracts, such as the Universities Superannuation Scheme pension programme, parental leave, and sick leave.

The change is due to be implemented from 24^th September, and will run through the academic year on a trial scheme.

Jacqui Marshall, director of people services and global partnerships at the university, said: “The idea of these annualised contracts are that people might often only teach for 10 months…but we can annualise that so they are actually getting a salary so it’s much easier for them to manage their budget.”

The annualisation follows on from similar changes made by other universities in recent years: in 2013, the University of Edinburgh abolished zero hours contracts, and in July 2018, the University of Sheffield agreed to stop employing staff on casual worker contracts.

The University and College Union supports the contractual changes that have been made so far, but continues to promote equal access to employee benefits for all workers.

Further information can be found on the university’s PTA website.

University of Exeter surpasses Fundraising Record

The University of Exeter has had its best fundraising year in its 63-year history, having received over £15 million in philanthropic donations.

The university’s ‘Making the Exceptional Happen’ campaign has seen former students, businesses, trusts and foundations giving more than ever before to support projects and students across all disciplines on the Exeter and Cornwall campuses. ‘Making the Exceptional Happen’ launched in February 2017 with the aim of raising £60 million and 60,000 volunteering hours by 2020. The As of August 2018, the campaign stands to surpass this goal with £44.5 million and 62,000 volunteering hours raised thus far.

Donations have been able to secure a new imaging centre for dementia research, support for Classics and Ancient History research, funding for the University’s ‘Exeter Forever’ endowment fund and support for student scholarships.

Dr Shaun Curtis, Director of Global Advancement at the University of Exeter, said: “It is wonderful and also incredibly humbling to see such levels of philanthropic support. Thank you to all our donors for their outstanding generosity.”