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Mental health services at the UoE – are they doing enough?

Mental health services at the UoE – are they doing enough?

Anna Romanovska takes us through the good, the bad and the ugly of the University Mental Health resources

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It’s no secret that there is an ongoing mental health crisis happening across all major university campuses. In a bid to help universities spot those who need help, senior coroner Maria Voisin called on UCAS to encourage “more disclosure on UCAS application forms.” Exeter University has had this feature for a while now. When registering on the Student Record System at the beginning of the academic year, there is an option to declare your mental health issue. But is that enough?

Many well-being services within UK universities lack the funds to support the ever-increasing demand for mental health support.

Many well-being services within UK universities lack the funds to support the ever-increasing demand for mental health support. During the academic year of 2016/2017, 113,644 students across the UK contacted the counselling services within their universities. Mental health issues are already sensitive as it is, and most universities are struggling to provide the support students need.

At the beginning of my second year I myself had experienced some mental health issues and was very close to dropping out of university. I contacted the services, got my Individual Learning Plan (ILP) sorted and applied for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Unfortunately, my name got lost in the system and it was not until a couple of weeks later that, after chasing my application up, I received my first appointment. The Health, Wellbeing and Support for Study Procedure (also known as HWSS) and the ILP work great, and I have been incredibly grateful for all the support I have received so far. However, getting support outside of these programmes is tricky. My first-year application for mitigation fell through because I was abroad at the time and the services cannot accept non-UK phone calls.

My first-year application for mitigation fell through because I was abroad at the time and the services cannot accept non-UK phone calls.

There is lots of support available for your studies, yet information about them is not circulated enough. ILPs, online CBT, counselling, group therapy, mitigation and college-specific welfare advisors are just some of the types of support systems that are available. Yet, many students do not know about the support available, and it is not exactly easy to find your way around the swamps of information that are thrown at you by the university. I constantly get asked what an ILP or HWSS is. If you want people to reach out, surely you should sign-post them in the right direction first? In order to truly battle stigmatisation, the university and its colleges need to step up and be more transparent about any support that is available at the university and in Exeter.

In order to truly battle stigmatisation, the university and its colleges need to step up and be more transparent about any support that is available at the university and in Exeter.

Help outside of the university is available as well, however these services are usually private or spread thinly. Despite the local NHS service aiming to book an appointment within six weeks’ time, it took me two months from my initial appointment to secure a Telephone Referral call.

The shocking numbers of lives lost to mental health issues at university should have been a wake-up call years ago

Perhaps instead of laying the foundations for new buildings and accepting more students every year, universities should look at solutions to tackle this crisis. The shocking numbers of lives lost to mental health issues at university should have been a wake-up call years ago. Funding and accessibility are essential in the provision of mental health support.

Term 3: not a waste of money

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Neha Shaji criticises the idea that term three is a waste of money and argues that we shouldn’t treat our lecturers like machines.

If I had a pound for every time someone told me what a ‘waste of money’ Term 3 is, I’d be earning just as much as the average student considers themselves to be losing out during the summer term.

To start, let me just state that I have some serious concerns about the usage of a term like ‘waste of money’. Universities, regardless of how some of them may see it, are not a business. You aren’t a ‘consumer’. You don’t end up as a ‘product’. You are here to learn; not have your windows polished, your top screwed on, and your degree certificate the plastic seal on your box. This isn’t a free market; had it been one, you’d pick your institution based on how many days of Term 3 there were in comparison to the price, and we’d all be dramatically sliding into the clutches of consumerist culture.

I cannot believe I am saying this in the year of our lord 2019: academics are not machines. It really does say something for late-stage capitalism that you can look at a person, sometimes only a few years older than you, and whisper in a monotone – “but why don’t you work more sir, work more, for the same pay.” It also is worth mentioning that the majority of students aren’t aware what Term 3 costs; it is up to the university to split your £9,250 up, it’s not like Year 6 fractions where a third goes into each term. So, if you were still concerned about a ‘waste of money’, you should probably take it up at Northcott House.

Now, once you get over the terribly consumerist language of your question, your sudden longing for learning and the desire to attend lectures magically springs forth.

And about that £9,250. The academics, as seems the common assumptions amongst those who often use the phrase rhyming with ‘paste of honey’, are not the University. Your academics are employed by the university for the work they currently take on. To ask them to take on more work would only inevitably mean you pay more fees, and to ask them to take on more work for the same pay is abhorrent. If the £9,250 of tens of thousands of students were all going directly to the academics, well, my future would be fine and dandy then. Other universities have teaching in Term 3? Other universities pay academics for teaching in Term 3.

Now, once you get over the terribly consumerist language of your question, your sudden longing for learning and the desire to attend lectures magically springs forth. In Term 3, academics have to mark exam papers, moderate them, mark Easter essay deadlines, mark dissertations, and secondarily mark dissertations. This happens with strict deadlines, as the term is only about six weeks long – if you have four exams, the likelihood is that you would not attend classes the days preceding your exams, especially if it was not assessed.

If one wanted teaching in Term 3, it would not be an assessed course and would not have an effect on your degree mark as lecturers are already overloaded with marking. Hence, another Term 3 assessment whilst you’re sitting existing exams will not benefit neither students nor teachers. Modules are usually twelve weeks long; there are only six weeks in Term 3 without allowances for assessment time or marking turnover time. There is a tendency to clamour for the abstract concept of ‘teaching’ without considering the logistics of setting up and running entire modules in such a short time period. Pipe down, for the love of God, just do your revision.

The university mortality crisis: “the problem is still deeply prevalent…”

Image: Pexels

The university mortality crisis: “the problem is still deeply prevalent…”

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CN: discussion of suicide and mental illness

UNIVERSITIES are in a mortality crisis. Only last year, the Office of National Statistics recorded 95 university suicides: the first time university suicide rates have been revealed publicly. In an age where mental health is being discussed more on social media, and where the government has pledged to provide more mental health support for young people, it appears that the problem is still deeply prevalent. The stigma around mental illness may be diminishing, but there needs to be more support for those suffering at universities who feel that they cannot talk about their struggles.

University offers a vast amount of opportunities, allowing you to gain independence, new friendships, and knowledge. However, the process can be daunting for some. It can be an extremely isolating experience, in which some find that they struggle to create an equilibrium between studying, making friends and looking after themselves. Abby Young Powell stated in The Guardian that “pressure for first year students to meet new people can exacerbate the feelings of isolation”. These issues can soon manifest themselves into one huge dark cloud, and it’s not always clear where students can go to get immediate help.

This pervading sense of being lost and alone is one of the reasons why many are taking their own lives during their university degree. In fact, writing for The Telegraph, Olivia Rudgard notes that “the suicide rate among UK students had risen by 56 per cent in the 10 years between 2007 and 2016, from 6.6 to 10.3 per 100,000 people”. Rudgard further states that ONS figures show that “female students experienced a particularly striking rise in suicide […] suicide among women in their early twenties is at its highest level in two decades”.

With these worrying statistics in mind, now is the time to implement preventative policies at universities to stop more people from losing their lives.

We live in a highly visual society, so there need to be more posters in university buildings promoting organisations where you can find help. Universities like Exeter and Leeds run Nightline, where students can ring professionally trained listeners. However, not many know about Nightline, Samaritans, Young Minds or Mind: these fantastic organisations are not promoted enough. Universities need to adopt the approach that the ‘We Listen’ campaign has, that seeks to raise awareness of Samaritans, so that those suffering know how to ring them. These posters are now up in rail stations across England, Scotland and Wales and they aim to encourage people to contact Samaritans – posters like these could help someone struggling during their degree.

Most students have never lived away from home before they arrive at university; they are now left without the physical presence of a parental figure. Pastoral care should thus be a priority in universities: tutors should reach out to their tutees and check on how they are coping as a student, both in their studies and emotionally, rather than relying on their tutee to reach out first. For someone that is struggling emotionally, the act of reaching out and talking about it is one of the hardest things to do – staff need to do what they can to make this process easier. The changing of a student’s mood and participation in seminars could be a key indicator of mental health problems, and students should not have to suffer in silence.

Image: Flickr

Fortunately, universities are now beginning to take on a more pastoral role, albeit slowly. The BBC have discussed Bristol University’s new “opt-in scheme”, in which Freshers are “being asked to give consent for university staff to share major concerns with their guardians”. This scheme comes after 11 students at Bristol took their own lives since 2016. Through this scheme, more lives could be saved, as tutors will have the authority to make their guardians aware of the student’s struggles. If all universities adopted this strategy, the painful losses of loved ones could decrease. Those that are in authority, such as student union leaders, need to speak openly about the importance of mental health; if they talk about it openly, then the stigma surrounding mental health will dissolve.

Universities therefore need to pull together to help protect students who are in need, before it is too late. Pastoral care needs to become a more prevalent feature in higher education, so that students can feel safe and secure in this often daunting place. As students, we can help by looking out for our friends and watching their changes of mood and behaviour, but fundamentally, we need to look after ourselves.

The perks of being an intern

Image: Pixnio

The perks of being an intern

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I write this after sending, most likely, one of my last emails to my employer. A one-month paid internship, secured through the University, meant a new phone and a new LinkedIn connection. Vanity aside, an internship provided me with a plethora of opportunities that, in my view, supersedes the anxieties of sorting out any internship, whether that be paid or not. In the end, it’s an investment in your future.

Internships offer invaluable work experience. Having an internship, whether it be a summer long or a month long, provides you with a glimpse of working in a professional environment. Tailoring your own internship and making the most out of it determines the nature of its success. The more you invest in your internship and commit to it, the more skills and opportunities arrive. For me, working in an office made me realise how different working and higher education are. In my experience, professionals care more about your experience than your education. In addition, the skills I gained, such as responsibility and discipline, have proved beneficial for me and my CV.

Internships create better time-management skills. The phrase “time is money” is crucial here. Having an internship, especially during term-time, shows future employers that you can juggle your degree and employment and you may find that you treat your degree as more of a 9-5 job. For example, when you have tasks to complete in a limited time frame, it pushes you.

This pressure is different to the pressure of academia as you know you only have four hours to complete the task, whereas, technically, you could have the whole day, to read or write an essay.

Therefore, internships are beneficial to not only your CV but also your university career. Internships also further your network. Have you heard of the theory of ‘six degrees of separation’? This is the idea that everyone is six or fewer social connections away from each other. Networking is vital as it increases your exposure to information, opportunity and professional advice. Therefore, having an internship broadens your network. In fact, my internship not only provided me with professional writing advice but also video editing and graphic designing, which I think will be helpful later in my career.

Internships help you stand out in the cut-throat graduate competition. Not many employers recruit graduates without any experience in the field and an internship can be your way in. The hours of your internship can go towards the Exeter Award, which is an employability achievement award for students. The Exeter Award – and subsequent internships – could differentiate you from the competition because it shows you are being proactive and making the most out of your resources. The whole internship experience may also lead to you discovering that the particular career choice is not for you.

To be paid or not to be paid? That is a difficult question, and one that doesn’t always end up being answered the way you wish it was. No one wants to (and not everyone can afford to) work for free, but if you remember that internships provide you with contacts, experience and skills for the future then this is equally as valuable as a salary in the long term.

Guild or Union?

NO matter your opinions on the Students’ Guild, it’s an organisation you have to really go out of your way to avoid on campus. That is unless you forego societies, DH1, or (God forbid) the Lemmy and the Ram. It acts as the hub for many essential campus services, and as we have seen in the last academic year, it is also a means through which student activism can happen. It also has a democratic system of representation which any affiliated student can engage with; in short, it’s our student union. So why on earth is it called the Exeter Students’ Guild? Why can’t we be like everyone else?

There are many rumoured reasons why it’s called the Guild, not the Exeter Students’ Union. Some state that it’s because of the political leanings of the University when the organisation was founded, where others (such as one user on popular student website The Student Room) assume it’s just Exeter being ‘extra’.

Image: Wikimedia

A popular rumour for the name ‘Guild’ usually goes along the lines of “something something Queen visit, something something royal charter.” The University of Exeter was officially chartered in 1955, or in the words of the royal charter itself: on the “21st day of December in the fourth year of Our Reign”. There is no mention of a Guild of students within this document, or even a reference veiled behind its old-timey language. The much more boring reason for the name is in the founding statutes claiming there will be a “Students’ Guild of the University and there shall be a Guild Executive which shall have a President and other such officers.”

Now we know why it is called the Guild, and that it is not tied to Queen Lizzie’s personal wishes upon her visit to Streatham. We can go through why Exeter Guild should join with most of the rest of the country’s Unis, rebranding as Exeter Students’ Union. While this is hardly the most crucial debate of our time, changing the name may finally put an end to the confusion.

The label of ‘union’ conjures up images of solidarity, causes such as fair pay for workers, and people banding together for a common goal.

Unionism, as an ideology, is inextricably tied to the role of student organisations like the Exeter Students’ Guild. Earlier this year, the Guild acted as a student union when it backed the University College Union strikers in their fight against changes to pension schemes. A union is an overtly and inherently activist organisation. Regardless of a student’s left/right-wing political alignment the ideas of unionism, protest, and campaigns are a significant portion of student life when it comes to the organisations of a student union.

Contrastingly, the label of ‘guild’ has its roots in craft groups who would join together for the purposes of protection from government regulation. This label also connotes profit and industry, which is a far cry from the purpose of the organisation as a support structure for students and their campaigns — be it standing in solidarity with the UCU, standing against anti-Semitism and racism on campus, or any other cause. Arguably, the name of ‘guild’ is not quite accurate for the purpose of the modern student union, given that these organisations are more about campaigning than escape from legislation.

Exeter already has a reputation for being posh; changing the name to ‘union’ may be a step towards alleviating this. Aside from being a pointlessly pretentious distinguishing factor against other university student organisations, here is the way the Students’ Guild introduces itself on Facebook and even its own website: “The Students’ Guild is the students’ union for students at the University of Exeter’s Streatham and St. Luke’s campuses.” The mere fact the Guild feels the need to begin by clarifying that it is, in fact, a students’ union suggests they are no different to any other organisation, but just have a special name… because it’s Exeter.

The student perfectionist

I HAVE a tendency, when anyone asks, “Don’t you think you’ve taken on a bit much this year?”, to wave a hand and laugh, trying to hide the fact that the laugh is forced and slightly tinged with hysteria. “I’m fine!” I say and rush off to change my stash for the third time that day.

Trying to juggle being in your final year, three committees and other department responsibilities, and the siren call of Cheesy Tuesdays can make for something of a sticky situation. Sometimes I think I’ve really screwed myself over this year by taking on as much as I have but at other times, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, I’m very busy and it often feels like I’m snowed under the weight of my responsibilities… But as I said, “I’m fine!”

If you have a natural tendency towards perfectionism, like me, keeping up with this balancing act can seem like a doomed endeavour before you even start. The desire to do the best you possibly can, whilst making everybody happy and seeming like you’re on top of things all the time, can put so much pressure on us that we put off even starting the things we need to do in the first place – because we’re terrified we won’t be doing them well enough.

Now, a flash forward to me heading into the library to pull yet another all-nighter for an essay I’ve known about for months, because the idea of just cracking on with it fills me with existential dread. Imagine your to-do list as a tangible pile of ‘stuff’ – you can get to a certain point where you have so much to do that just doing one task doesn’t even seem to make a dent. And that’s as intimidating as all hell. Where to even start?

We’re always told that university will be the best time of our lives – and we hear it so often, that we’re under enormous pressure to force ourselves into that frame of mind even if we’re not always feeling like we’re living our best lives at all?

We’ll quash our own mental health concerns whilst telling our friends to get help, and keep running on empty for the whole year, without even acknowledging that something is wrong.

It’s all too easy to forget that we’re here, primarily, to get our degrees. Sometimes we have other priorities, sure. And I’m the last person who would tell you that getting a first in your final exams is the be-all and end-all of your university experience. I, for one, am never going to be grafting into the night in the library to get the highest grades – sometimes I wonder how much more I could achieve if I put the time in but I’m far more likely to put that time into organising my society commitments, spending time with friends or scrolling through Instagram. Sorry, but at least I’m self-aware?

Being caught up in the uni bubble skews our priorities a little. At the start of the year, after coming back from my year abroad, I was often struck by the fact that I hardly seemed to know anybody in Exeter anymore. But friends who spent the past year working instead of studying, having now returned to Exeter, appear to have gained a great deal of perspective on just how little the intricacies of university drama and politics, seemingly life-threatening whilst you’re in the midst of it, matter once you’re out in the real world.

I, for one, go between “being so ready for leaving university and getting on with real life” and “fully prepared to fester in academia forever.” We all take on too much at times. And it’s painfully easy to forget that we’re never really switched off from other people and what they think of us. My advice would be to take a moment to think. How much of what you do and what you let stress you out is for your own benefit? If it isn’t making you happy, drop it and find something new because life is SHORT.

Or you know what – just don’t find something new at all. Use that free time to have a cup of tea and just breathe.

The price of moving away

BEING away from home and being at university is at first a strange feeling, one that definitely takes getting used to. I felt this especially in the first year, as all of us probably did. You’re in a new place, you don’t really know what’s going on or where anything is. Now being in my second-year stint of university, I’ve realised a whole new feeling when it comes to being far away from home.

At first, I was missing my family a lot and the comfort of being at home, and now I’ve realised how that can work both ways. My family have unfortunate luck when it comes to illness; we’ve dealt with all the classics: asthma, a number of broken bones (clearly we have a clumsy gene), acne, mental health issues, accidents, the lot. As a result of that and being in a single-parent household, we all are a bit of a collective and look after each other when it gets hard. So when someone gets particularly ill, and you are a four-hour train journey away, instead of upstairs in your room, it’s a whole new territory to face. You can’t make that classic panic cup of tea that will make things feel better for that person for five minutes or so; instead, you become confined to phone calls and WhatsApp messages.

It was certainly a very surreal experience being in a lecture, checking your phone every now and then to see if there’s any news about a life-threatening surgery your family member is in. Of course, I want to learn about the wonders of William Blake’s Romantic poetry, but I also really want to be in that waiting room, to be the first to know any updates, not the fourth or fifth. And of course, the weekends are convenient for these matters, and being an English student, I am blessed with very few contact hours so quick trips home are always possible. But I think what people forget about illness is it’s often not the big gestures or the planned visits. It’s the things you don’t consider or plan, it’s the needed help you never think of, like helping reach for the soup at the top of the cupboard, or a hug, a rushed trip to the hospital or even just going out to get more milk.

It’s a sudden, strange reality of growing up where you realise you are actually needed as a reliable member of the family.

As you grow, your responsibility grows, and as your parents grow older, their reliance on you grows too. It is a weird complex of you yourself eating Coco Pops for dinner whilst checking in on the health and wellbeing of your own parent, not quite old enough to look after yourself but having no choice but to become responsible for those you love. It’s never easy to have that order of care reversed, but it is an inevitable part of life that can, in a bittersweet way, be quite rewarding. I have always felt the weight of all my family has done for me and giving back in any way I can is something I am always itching to do. But as I’ve mentioned, I am now a bit of a journey and a hefty price of a train ticket away.

University is often about learning to cope by living in two spaces all at once. People often mention that both your ‘homes’ never truly feel like one because it ends up that something is always missing, whether that’s physical or within yourself. And it’s a similar conflict when it comes to an illness in the family; you feel guilty for staying at uni but it’s something you know you have to do, and your family would want the same.

All in all, there is no real conclusion as to how to confront this conflict,other than to face things as they come. It’s far from an ideal situation and in life, acceptance of things being difficult is sometimes the best option you have. Perseverance helps. Looking out for yourself so that you can look after others will help. Sometimes feeling hopeless, scared, or ‘over it’ is what will happen. We have to juggle so much at uni as it is, so having hardship in your personal life, especially when it’s far away from you is never easy, but you find your way because you have to – for them.

The end is nigh – about to gradu-ache

I MUST admit, I have been guilty of watching the weeks left of term decrease this side of Christmas. It’s a strange one as term two always feels longer than its predecessor due to the absence of reading week, yet simultaneously seems to fly by as quickly as the others. Most importantly, like for many other undergraduates, this term is my last of lectures and seminars at Exeter before graduating. I have mixed feelings about graduating. As someone who has an MA lined up for the autumn and four years at Exeter under my belt, I’m often torn between feeling as though I’ve gotten the most out of my time as an undergraduate and a little sad at the prospect of leaving Exeter in a few months.

On paper, three years studying two subjects, two years on a committee, a year abroad and a dabble in the world of juggling three subjects with Flexible Combined Honours would hint that I’m ready to move on, but that’s easier said than done. Knowing that you won’t be around the corner from some of your closest friends, favourite Devon spots or even in the comfortable familiarity of the daily routine as an Exeter student can be daunting after several years of enjoying it as much as I (luckily) have done.

Of course, there are times when being a student is tough, but I think we can all sometimes be guilty of looking back with rose-tinted glasses.

Similarly, it’s easy to get swept up in deadlines and reading and forget the parts you’re enjoying and are grateful for, which is something I’ve been trying to combat in my last year here.

The day of graduation also promises to be a good one, where your success and hard work is celebrated with friends, family and others who have supported you along the way. Whilst it may be bittersweet, it is likely to be a good note to end things on, and of course, the beauty of social media means it’s easy to stay in contact with those you’ve met and there’s nothing to say that popping back to Exeter for a day or two is out of the question in the future.

When I do leave after graduating, however, I definitely think I’ll be reflecting on the last four years and how differently I feel after life as a student. I’m extremely fortunate and grateful for everything I’ve experienced and everyone I’ve met – all of which got me through to today, and I’ll always have a soft spot for Exeter as a result. Bleed green forever, right?

Deadline nightmares

REWIND to my first year – I’m in the Ram. I have 2,000 words to produce in the next few hours, but here I am, pretending otherwise. “First year doesn’t count,” I chant to myself, repeating the mantra in a pathetic attempt to validate my poor judgement. “Start your essay,” my only friend with half a brain recommends. So I do. Pint in one hand and laptop in the other, I start. Fast forward. With five minutes left, I start to resort to bullet points.

14:59:49. SUBMITTED. 11 milliseconds to go, but submitted nonetheless. It was BAD. Luckily, here’s what my professor thought:

“This is a very strange essay. It begins out rather strongly, the first two pages proceeding from point to point with good logical and coherent arguments. However, due to the prevalence of frequent spelling and syntactical errors, the weird system of annotation (the like of which I have never seen), the complete lack of italics on book titles and technical terms, and a few mistakes in historical dates (e.g. for 1361, “1961” on p. 1 is written), the essay tends to limp rather than stroll along. Page three consists of a series of notes mishmashed together often with a very odd sentence structure, sometimes with no verb or direct object, along with sloppy syntax and mis-spellings (e.g. paragraph 2), so the essay actually on this page stops limping and bites the dust. Although the essay picks itself up on page 4 in the first paragraph, its tumbles to the earth again in paragraph 2—with notes instead of full sentences given, and little rhyme or reason in their order. The conclusion on p. 5 is more focused, yet the same syntactical and grammatically problems of sentence structure still exist. The saving grace of the essay is the 12 sources used, which show an ample breadth of research. All in all, this essay, which exhibited so much promise at the start, ends up in its final delivery as very flawed. Grade: 54.”

 – Isha Gurung

MY worst deadline story is Exeposé’s fault entirely, and has nothing to do with my inability to manage time, actually do any reading, and crippling fear of missing out. So there we were, at boozy bowling, me mixing espressos and shots as if I were the Russian mafia on an all-night watch. I knew I had a paper due the next day, I knew I was writing about the illiterate male ‘adored native’ character in postcolonial novels – I just hadn’t done any of my critical reading, primary sources, or actually started the essay. I just wanted to win at bowling.

On the pub crawl moved, and at the second pub I took my leave and dragged my heels back to campus. I had ten hours, enormous amounts of caffeine, and a true love of the subject. I took a short break at one point as I decided I was undeniably hungry.

Despite the three shots of vodka and four espressos inside me, churning like the world’s worst rollercoaster, I was starving.

it was 3am and not a single shop was open. Right: Monster Munch and Dairy Milk from the vending machine, and a crushed up Belvita I found in my handbag had to do.

I did get it done in the end. It was 7am and my essay had reached over two thousand words, the dappled sunlight flickering over all the references arranged alphabetically. I stumbled home, triumphant in my experience as a cautionary tale for students – you may be running late, but you don’t have it quite as bad as… that girl. I did get a 73 on it, however, so who’s laughing now?

– Neha Shaji

IN first year, the Monday of the week after reading week was when my first ever assessed essay was due. Having not done Psychology at A Level, I felt very unprepared for my Clinical Psychology essay. As a huge procrastinator, I’d barely done any work done by the end of Reading Week. Before I knew it, it was already Sunday, the night I promised to go out with my flatmates to celebrate Halloween.

By the time pre-drinks started, my essay was at around 1000 words, and nowhere near making sense. And so I decided to make a brave decision: to pre-drink while finishing up my essay. As I finished a bottle of cheap wine, the essay managed to reach a natural conclusion at 1592 words – more than I had ever expected. And as alcohol impairs decision making, my tipsy brain decided that my essay, which was meant to be 2000 words long, was ready for submission. So I submitted it and went on to have a fantastic night out at Unit 1, only to regret it the morning after, when I woke up with plenty of time to look at the essay before the deadline at 12pm.

Much to my surprise, I received a 2:1 for the essay! To quote the marker, the essay was ‘a good start and an encouraging sign for future work’.

FYI, this was my essay title: ‘What role can a clinical psychologist have in enabling a person with an alcohol problem to change behaviour?’

– Penny Dinh

 

Exeter Chiefs vs Bath – Premiership Match Report

Exeter Chiefs kept their Premiership Rugby Cup hopes alive with an enthralling 25-18 victory over south west rivals Bath in testing conditions at Sandy Park.

 

Both teams made a raft of changes from their full-strength line ups with Joe Simmonds, moved to fullback for this game, and Ollie Devoto arguably the only starters who would be considered regular fixtures in the Chiefs line up this season. Bath meanwhile looked to bring some experience into their starting line up with Welsh legend Jamie Roberts starting at inside centre.

 

Both teams made a raft of changes with many key men on international duty 

 

Bath started the game brightly putting the hosts under early pressure. With the wind against them it was difficult for the Chiefs to kick out from defence. After some nice offloads and an offensive move straight off the training ground, Bath were able to win a penalty right under the posts after four minutes, fly half Alex Davies having no issues slotting the ball between the posts.

 

That seemed to kick the hosts into life as they then put in a sustained spell of pressure on the Bath defence. Driving mauls led to Bath conceding a number of penalties and with-it territory as the Chiefs began to smell blood. After ten minutes of exceptionally resilient defence from the forwards, Exeter managed to break through and score their first try of the game. Changing tactics, the Chiefs decided to play through the backs, with quick hands, now a mainstay of their play, proving too much for the Bath defence to handle as a looping pass from Ollie Devoto found James Short on the left wing to brilliantly power home. The wind made the conversion from Joe Simmonds difficult as he missed short-left giving the Chiefs a 5-3 lead after 17 minutes.

 

THE SPEED WITH WHICH EXETER MOVED THE BALL ACROSS THE BACK LINE PROVED TOO MUCH FOR BATH

 

A ragged and at times sloppy passage of play ensued, as Bath failed to find touch with a number of kicks, notably Tom O’Flaherty doing well in one instance to leap like a salmon whilst over the touch line to keep the ball alive. A number of handling errors from Bath and the Chiefs saw possession bounce between either side in the middle of the park as the teams battled to try and gain some control of the play. After 31 minutes came a crucial moment in the match with Bath’s Lucas Noguera given a yellow card after a scrum incident. This moment came as no surprise after ample warning from the referee over Bath’s ill-discipline in a first half that saw them concede an astonishing 10 penalties.

 

The Chiefs were able to use their man advantage to create an overlap and break through the Bath defence with Ollie Devoto crossing over and Simmonds converting, this time from a much friendlier angle. Bath knew they needed a quick response to keep them in the game, and that they managed when Ross Batty crossed over after a number of phases from the Bath forwards ultimately proved too much for a tiring Exeter defence. Alex Davies missed the resulting conversion leaving the half time score 12-8 to the Chiefs.

 

Both teams came out firing early in the second half with the Chiefs gaining an early three points from a Joe Simmonds penalty. This was quickly followed by Tom O’Flaherty crossing over in the corner after another clever move from the Chiefs backs from the base of an attacking scrum, giving Exeter a 22-8 lead. Bath, however, were not to be disheartened and again began to build up some momentum which ultimately led to Jack Wilson scoring his first try of the game after Fotuali’i and Darren Atkins had done well to draw in the Chiefs defence.

 

DESPITE EXETER’S COMFORTABLE LEAD, BATH NEVER FALTERED IN THEIR EFFORTS

A large number of substitutions from both sides broke up play for a short time before Bath again began to establish their dominance on the ball against a tiring Exeter defence. Max Clark, on for Jamie Roberts, looked particularly dangerous as he found a quick step and burst of pace on 70 minutes to breach the Chiefs defence as Wilhem Van Der Sluys picked up a yellow in his efforts to stop what looked a certain try. With the Chiefs having to play the rest of the game a man down, Bath seemed to find a second wind as they used their man advantage to again find Jack Wilson free on the right wing to power over for his second of the game. This led to a comical moment in the game, in his rush to move proceedings on swiftly, Alex Davies decided to drop kick his conversion attempt from wide right, only for the ball to get no more than 2m off the floor and swerve far left, perhaps too eager as this left Bath 22-18 down, and needing another try with five minutes left on the clock.

 

With two minutes left Fotuali’i’s box-kick was superbly charged down by Chiefs man Onehunga Kaufusi, keeping Bath penned into their own 10 as they desperately searched for a late try. This ultimately led to a Chiefs penalty which Harvey Skinner had no trouble slotting between the posts to give the Chiefs a well-deserved, hard fought 25-18 victory.