Money For Nothing, and Your Chips For Free

Stepping into the fast-paced, high-stakes world of online poker, Scott Johnson speaks to student poker ace, Harry Lodge, who tells all about playing your hand, keeping your cool and pocketing £27k.

On 5 November Ryan Reiss emerged victorious from a field of 6,352 men and women of hugely varying ages (21 to 92) from 83 different nations over nine days of competition. His prize? A cool $8.5 million dollars and the title of World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event (ME) Champion. The American became the 6th straight ME champion aged under 25, showing how much of a young man’s game poker has become. But isn’t poker only for the super-rich and the internet nerds?

Okay, let’s tackle the internet nerds point first. Whilst your impression of most poker players may be 30-somethings who still live in their parents’ house, afraid to come out of the basement, there are many examples of this being untrue. Poker professionals are constantly trying to become healthier individuals, as it’s impossible to concentrate for large periods of time with diets of fast food, red-bull and coffee. There are also a number of world-class athletes enjoying themselves by indulging in poker. Current Tennis World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is a recent addition to the team at PokerStars, the leading online poker site. It’s definitely worth watching the YouTube video of him learning to bluff by trying to convince people he’s not Rafa. 18-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps also plays a lot of poker, entering tournaments around the world. There are many people from other walks of life that like to indulge in poker, such as Vicky Coren, Ben Affleck and Toby Maguire. The point stands: it isn’t always the usual suspects at the poker tables.

Image Credits: Pokerstars

The point about the game being dominated by the super-rich is a fair assumption. With the WSOP ME requiring a $10k entry fee, it obviously prices out a lot of people. However, we only have to go back ten years, when Chris Moneymaker (yes that is genuinely his legal name) qualified for that year’s ME for just $10. He turned that $10 into a very nice $2.5m, a very good return by any measure. PokerStars’ online MicroMillions tournament series paid $126,000 to the winner of their main event which had a buy-in of only $22. So whilst buying in directly to the big tournaments may be for the extremely affluent, it is possible to get to poker’s richest prizes in other ways. Exeter have their own example of this, with current student Harry Lodge qualifying for the UK Poker Tour event on the Isle of Man for FREE. Yes, you read that correctly, free. The event usually requires a £1,000 buy in, but Harry earnt his place free of charge and ended up in a brilliant 5th place, taking home £27k. Harry is currently General Secretary of Exeter’s very own Poker Society, and Exeposé caught up with him to talk about his poker career.

I met Harry at one of the weekly Poker Society tournaments, and it is immediately obvious this is a comfortable setting for him. But there’s nothing about the second year Economics student that would suggest he’d just paid off his student loan after three days work. When questioned about the fact he pretty much shrugs it off, claiming that all the money is still just sitting in his PokerStars account. “I took my girlfriend out for dinner!” he laughs when I ask about his plans for the money. That’s still going to leave a lot of change from £27,000.

Harry talked with a smile when he was asked about playing in the event. “Playing live tournaments is a different challenge to online, but there are some things you can use live that you don’t have online. When you’re sitting across from the other player, they can give off tells and their body language can change in different hands. One player would use his hands to cover his face when he had a big hand which was a big help.” Meeting some great players along the way was another highlight for Harry. 2013 WSOP Player of the Year Daniel Negranu was there playing in the event, as was British professional Jake Cody. Meeting these two was a personal highlight for Harry: “Sitting at the table with players I have a tremendous respect for was amazing, seeing them finally play for real rather than just on TV was something very special”.

So experiences aside, was the tournament always destined to be this successful for Harry? Looking back now it’s easy to say it was always going well, especially as he started Day Two of the tournament in a nice position, 20 out of 380, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. “The first two hours of Day Two weren’t good. I got in some difficult situations against some very good players and it left me with one of the shortest stacks in the room after this point”. Harry still looks a bit frustrated about that moment in the tournament. Watching everyone else increase their stacks whilst you’re going the other way is tough mentally, but Harry said he remained patient, despite the looming possibility he would have played a lot of poker for little or no return. But Day Two got better for Harry, moving up the rankings with some clever play to reach the final table and Day Three.

Obviously the final table of a big event is where every poker player wants to be, and Harry was extremely proud of his achievement, “Playing poker on TV is the pinnacle for all players, for one of my first big live tournaments to reach this stage was amazing”. However, it’s not all good things on the final table, Harry recalls. “You feel a lot more pressure when playing on TV, as more pressure when playing on TV, as a bad play is immediately highlighted for the entire audience to see, as they reveal your cards after the hand finishes. I knew, however, it was the first TV appearance for other people, which might make them scared of the whole experience, another thing I would be able to exploit.” Harry’s losing hand was one to be gutted about, as before the hand, he was ahead. “I was upset to go out on that hand, as I had Ace Jack whereas my opponent held Queen Ten, but when the Ten came on the flop it put him ahead”. I can also imagine it’s hard to be too upset if you’ve just paid off your entire student loan!

Is £27K and a UKIPT final table enough prize money for Harry this year? Not at all, Harry has already qualified for the UKIPT tour event in Nottingham, as he looks to build his career in the game. Looking forward, Harry is thinking positive, “In the next five years I hope to finish my degree and start playing poker professionally, both live and online, whilst remaining successful”.

What this interview highlights is that poker is no longer restricted to Las Vegas casinos and smoky basements, but is accessible throughout the world. The European Poker Tour operates all across the continent with tour locations including Monte Carlo, London and Barcelona with a huge number of nationalities represented at every event. The buy-ins at these events range from €220 for side events to a massive $100,000 for the super-high roller event reserved for only the seasoned pros and the extremely affluent.

The world’s largest tours also span across the globe into the Pacific regions, with both WSOP APAC and the Aussie Millions available to those players located in that area of the world. China is also catching onto the Poker boom, with Macau hosting some of the largest cash and tournament pay-outs in the world.

So we’ve mentioned the smallest tournaments in the world, but what about the biggest? You might be forgiven for thinking the biggest would be the $100,000 buy in at the PCA, but one tournament at the WSOP dwarfed them all. The 2012 Big One for One Drop had an eye watering $1,000,000 buy in, and 48 people stumped up the money to be part of history. $111,111 per player of this entry fee went to charity, all going towards One Drop’s mission of providing clean water for everyone in the world.

Image Credits: Robertsullivan/AFP/Getty

But before poker gets all high and mighty, the winner Antonio Estfandiari took home over $18m and British pro Sam Trickett took home $10,112,001 for coming in second place. On the bright-side, there were other players that were not professionals taking part and a lot of businessmen, promising to donate everything of their winnings to charity as well. Is Poker starting to concern itself with how it’s perceived?

Online poker is still banned in the States, after Full Tilt Poker was convicted of defrauding its members through a secret ‘God Mode’, which allowed people at the top of the company to see their opponents’ cards during a game. The funding structure of the company was also set up as a global ‘Ponzi Scheme’ with each new investor’s money being used to pay the returns to the original investors. Obviously this scheme cannot continue as the new investors dry up. However, Full Tilt has been re-launched successfully in recent years, and online poker is closer than ever to being reaccepted in the US.

Poker has had a long battle to convince people that it is not a game played purely in the shadows. Exeter Poker Society has also experienced its own troubles regarding this image when trying to find a room for their regular games. Over the Summer they were granted permission by a University official to use the space at the top of the Forum, but his decision was overruled by someone higher up who deemed poker to be ‘inappropriate’ for such a prominent space. This came despite the fact that joining the society and playing regular poker is a lot cheaper than joining the average AU club, but the image played its part.

However, the Poker Society is steadily growing and at the end of the year will once again take a large group of players to the UKSPC which was mentioned earlier. Events like this have helped open the student world up to the higher levels of poker, with the winner of the event qualifying for the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Grand Final at the end of the year. With events available to students becoming more and more common, poker will become more and more a young man’s game.

With other Poker Society members, Will Fasano and Andy Wade, having also played at UKIPT Events and with many members planning to play when their schedule allows it’s safe to say that the global influence of poker has well and truly hit the University of Exeter,  and it’s definitely not the only university in the UK experiencing the uprising of the game.

Scott Johnson

Meet Tracy Costello, Your New Guild Chief Executive

Online Features Editor Meg Lawrence chats to Tracy Costello about her role in the Guild and her plans for the future.

What does officially having this new role mean to you?

It means a great deal. I feel very privileged to have been appointed Chief Executive. I have worked for the now since 2005 and I have worked my way through the organisation, so to be finally in a position where I can support the Sabbaticals fully and oversee the strategic direction of the Guild and make even greater differences to the lives of our students is a very big privilege and one that I will take very seriously.

What made you want to progress from the role of Deputy Chief Executive to Chief Executive?

I felt as if it was a natural progression; I was Deputy Chief Executive for about two years, and I had the great privilege of being able to learn from James Hutchinson who was our Chief Executive and a very good coach. It felt like a natural time for me to apply for the position but I was very conscious that it would be a very much desired job so the competition would be quite stiff, but I just felt like it was a natural development for me.

Tracy Costello
Image Credits: Exeter Guild

What is the best thing about working at Exeter University?

Our students. And I’m going to say it twice, our students. I am very passionate about supporting students whilst they are in higher education. I think that the wider experience that we can provide for students above and beyond the academic experience is vital for employability reasons, and for the future, but there’s something very special that I believe about Exeter University and that’s not least the fact that the students it attracts are very predisposed to engage and participate. We have a very caring student population who will go to great lengths to make a difference to their peers and their community. To be able to work in an organisation that has students at the heart of it is a very big privilege indeed.

Why is the Guild so important?

For all sorts of reasons. We deliver hundreds of different services and provide that absolutely vital academic representation role that no other agency on campus can deliver. We make sure that students are represented and connected in their academic colleges and courses, that they have the ability to make change within their own learning and teaching experiences but also within the wider community, which is vital. The second very important role that the Guild performs is that we are then the exponent of the student voice back to the University, and where the University are making decisions or facing particular challenges, by having the Guild at the heart of their decision making processes we can make sure that the absolute best outcome is achieved for the students in all circumstances.

What, if anything, would you change about the Guild in your new role?

There will be lots of things that we need to continue to improve upon. Any Student Union needs to constantly change and adapt to remain entirely relevant to the student population. What that means for each student is very different, so the thing that we will need to get even better at is understanding the absolute needs of our students, wherever they might be studying, on either campus, or whatever mode of study they might be in, either undergraduate or postgraduate. We will be constantly changing and improving our services to make sure we are in the absolute best possible position.

You first joined the Students’ Guild in 2005, how has it changed since then?

It has changed tremendously. We are much bigger, we have gone through five or six different branding exercises, and thankfully now we have a brand that we are very happy with, that has been very warmly received by the student population, so physically we look very different. The services that we provide are very different, the needs of students now are a lot different to how they were in 2005, when fees were some dim and distant dread on the horizon, so we have changed a great deal, mostly because the needs of our students have changed.

What are you most proud of in your time working for the Guild so far?

Image credits: Life@Microsoft Australia

Apart from getting Chief Executive, I would say my most proud moments- there are two- one was back in 2007, when I secured a VAT rebate for the Guild, and we got £280,000, which was an amazing amount of money that we have recycled entirely back into our services, so for us to get that was really transformational. The more recent thing that I am really proud of is the development of Ignite, our new entrepreneur service. About eighteen months ago the innovations centre and myself recognised that there was a gap in provisional campus for entrepreneurs, and we decided we needed to do something about that. We have had a really good first year for ignite, and being privileged enough to accompany Colinked to St Petersburg in the summer, for them to then go on to win the global finals of the Imagine Cup in Russia was just phenomenal, and the way it makes you feel when you have been able to have that sort of impact on people’s lives, transforming their chances, is just wonderful.

What are your plans for the future?

I think we need to understand exactly what the needs of the current students are going to be with the current University priorities, so with the building programme that’s currently underway, with the challenges that they face, we are going to need to make sure that the Guild is very well positioned to be that exponent to the student voice. The other priority that is within our strategic plan for 2013 until 2016 is to really invest in our academic representation. We need to become even more sophisticated and even more effective at channeling the student voice, specifically in the areas of their teaching and learning experiences.

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor

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Why We Remember

Today is 11th November and the 95th anniversary of Armistice Day. Online Features Editor Meg Lawrence chats to former soldier Peter Williams from the British Legion about why Remembrance Day is still as relevant and important as it ever was.

War is a devastating thing and people should wear their poppy with pride to remember those who have died and those who have survived warfare, a former soldier has said.

Peter Williams is the press officer for the Devon branch of the British Legion and he believes that anyone who claims Remembrance Day in any way glorifies war, is wrong.

“I’m an ex-soldier,” explains Williams , “and I’ve seen what the effects of war are.

Peter Williams
Image Credits: Meg Lawrence

“‘War is the most disgusting, horrible, devastating thing that you can possibly think of, and no soldier, sailor or airman glorifies it, and certainly not those who’ve been through it.”

Instead, Peter believes people should wear their poppy with pride and take the time to remember those who gave their lives fighting for the freedom we all too often take for granted.

“People need to sit back and think to themselves very, very seriously about the fact that they are living in a world today which is relatively peaceful. They are not going to be called up to defend the country. And they must say to themselves if it wasn’t for what my grandfather and my father and great grandfather did… whether it be digging coal in the mines during the war or fighting on the seas or fighting on land, if it hadn’t been for what they did, we wouldn’t be where we are now. We wouldn’t have the relatively easy life that we have today.”

And that relatively easy life should not embrace the wearing of a white poppy – worn by those who feel it is more symbolic of peace, Williams argues.

“The white poppy is nonsense,” he explains.  “If the white poppy is supposed to symbolise peace, then by definition the red poppy is supposed to define warfare, violence. The red poppy does not do that. It is not a war-faring, glorifying emblem.

“It is peace, because after the battles in the Western front in the First World War, what grew from the devastation were poppies. Those who wear the white poppies, they don’t understand properly, they haven’t thought properly, and they’re just in a lot of instances being anti the system, the establishment and society.”

The red poppy appeal is a crucial part of the Royal British Legion’s work and Peter Williams believes the charity would not survive without it.

“The Royal British Legion can’t survive if people don’t, once a year, wear the poppy and remind themselves that these people have done a lot for us, and we need to look after them.”

And wearing a poppy and respecting Remembrance Day is the least people can do to remember the million or so soldiers who died fighting for freedom, Williams adds.

When asked just how we can preserve the memory of those who gave their lives, Williams wells up. His reply is simple, but heartfelt: “By remembering.”

“Virtually a million soldiers, sailors and airmen from the United Kingdom were killed during the First World War, it was a devastating loss of men, and people thought that that was the war to end all wars. It was the Great War as they called it, and unfortunately it didn’t end all wars, it went on through the Second World War and then in other conflicts since. It’s my way of believing that we are perpetuating the memory of those who gave their lives in the pursuit of peace.”

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor

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The Proof Behind the Paranormal

Is Exeter haunted? Where does Hallowe’en originate? Online Features Editor Meg Lawrence investigates.

As you go out trick or treating tonight, beware. Amongst those dressed in capes and masks, covered in fake blood and face paint there may be something you didn’t expect to see – a ghost. No, not your average lazy friend who chucked a sheet over their head and cut out eye holes because they couldn’t be bothered to get a costume, an actual ghost.

According to paranormal reports, many areas of Exeter are haunted. Ever seen a ghost as you’re casually strolling down Forum Hill? One website suggests that Exeter University has its own resident ghost, a Workman who has been spotted since 1967, and has been described as ‘a phantom man dressed in painter’s overalls… seen walking down the corridors.’ But it doesn’t end there – a whole host of other phantoms are described in different areas of Exeter.

According to a report entitled Supernatural Britain, Exeter is the fourth most haunted city in the UK, with nine in every 10,000 residents reporting a ghost sighting since records began.

Has a three-headed figure ever caught your eye when strolling around the Cathedral grounds? That would be the infamous ‘Three Headed Entity’, which has been spotted since 1998 ‘moving silently across the green.’ Moreover, it has been reported that the ghost of a Nun haunts the Cathedral grounds, disappearing as soon as she is spotted.

Image Credits- BBC
Exeter Cathedral, Not So Spooky in Daylight

Going to Exmouth on a sunny day will never feel the same again. According to reports, in November 1737 ‘Fishermen on the shore caught a four foot tall humanoid, with duck-like feet and a tail protruding from its back. It tried to escape, but was killed when the fishermen beat it with sticks. Another fish-man was caught a few months later in the same area, though this one was described with more seal-like qualities.’

So, when you’re strolling down Magdalen Road trick or treating tonight, keep your wits about you. A giant bat is reported to haunt the road. It is probably more likely that this bat was a result of heavy drinking rather than a paranormal phenomena, but indeed on 25^th May 2000,’ a witness walking down the road late at night stated he watched a giant bat, with a wingspan of 1.2 metres, swoop around the churchyard along this road.’

With an overwhelming number of accounts of paranormal experience in Exeter, and across the rest of the world, can any truth be taken from them?

Paranormal investigator Joe Nickell, author of  “The Science Of Ghosts” has admitted that ghosts are mostly the creation of people’s imagination, and evidence of them is almost always man-made. In an interview with NBC News, he stated that: “Much of what so-called ghost hunters are detecting is themselves. If they go through a haunted house and stir up a lot of dust, they shouldn’t be surprised if they get a lot of orbs in their photographs.”

He added: “If ghosts exist, then we don’t really die, and that’s huge. … It appeals to our hearts,” he said. “We don’t want our loved ones to die. We have this whole culture that we’re brought up with, that encourages this belief in ghosts.”

“No one is bringing you a ghost trapped in a bottle,” Nickell said. “What they’re offering is, ‘I don’t know’. Over and over, they’re saying something like this: ‘We don’t know what the noise in the old house was, or the white shape in the photo. So it must be a ghost.’ These are examples of what’s called an argument from ignorance. You can’t make an argument from a lack of knowledge. You can’t say, ‘I don’t know, therefore I do know.’… If I could just teach people a little bit about the argument from ignorance, I think we could give the ghosts their long-needed rest.”

Image Credits- The Mail Online
Ghost Of A Civil War Solider

Almost half of people in the UK believe in ghosts and the supernatural – if you encounter one tonight don’t worry, half of us will believe you.

And, if underneath the ghost stories, apple bobbing and costumes, you actually wondered where Hallowe’en originated from, it began as an ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead.

The Celts celebrated New Year’s Day on the 1 November, and believed that during the night before, the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest.

It was believed that on New Year’s Eve, everyone who had died that year would move on to the ‘next world’ and so Celts lit bonfires to send them on their way, and to stop them interacting with the living. This was known as Samhain festival.

However, in the early centuries of the first millennium, Christian missionaries attempted to change the Celtic religious practices, and created All Saints Day on the 1^st November, to worship Saints rather than the dead. People still wanted to celebrate the dead, and All Saints Day was soon replaced by Hallows Day. Over the years, Hallows Day was celebrated the evening before and became Hallows Eve, this became Hallow Evening, and eventually Hallowe’en.

Despite the vast reports of ghost sightings, we have no real evidence that they exist. Parapsychology, the study of consciousness in relation to telepathy, precognition, near-death experiences, reincarnation and apparitional experiences to name a few, has been studied worldwide for almost two hundred years. In this time, it has concurred many experiments into the ideas of the supernatural, but has produced no hard evidence. Although it is now most greatly studied in privately-funded psychology departments in the UK, its credibility as a science has been disputed because of the lack of evidence it provides.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, Hallowe’en is a great excuse to watch rubbish films, dress up, and eat sweets. However, if you are out trick or treating and happen to have a mysterious three headed figure join your group please take a photo, maybe do a quick interview – you could help solve Exeter’s paranormal mystery.

Have you had a supernatural experience? Contact us at features@exepose.com, and we will publish them online.

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor

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Features Exclusive: Interview With Ben Bradshaw MP

Image credits: Niklas Rahmel

During the summer, Exeposé Online Features’ Editors Meg Lawrence and Imogen Watson video-interviewed Exeter’s Labour MP Ben Bradshaw in his office in Parliament (with a little technical help from XTV). Here, he tells Meg Lawrence what he thinks about students, schools, streetlights and much more.

You can watch the video interview at the bottom of the page.

Friendly, down-to-earth, well-humoured and approachable, Ben Bradshaw is not your stereotypical MP. Relatively unmoved by the trappings of power and privilege the politician, who has represented his Devon seat since 1997, is as proud of his political achievements as he is of his city.

Away from the West Country, Bradshaw’s Westminster office is also relaxed. His young team are chatty and enthusiastic, and clearly share their boss’s political vision.

That vision is a healthy mix of political ambition and a desire to improve the life of his constituents but it is tinged by the frustration that is an obvious hangover of opposition politics. Higher Education, he fears, is a typical casualty of a government that has forgotten to look out for young people.

‘In a global economy it’s going to be increasingly important in my view that people are qualified up to degree level. We saw a big expansion in higher education under the Labour government, I worry that this has stalled under this government,’ he admits. ‘It is becoming increasingly more difficult for people not least to be able to afford [higher education].’

Bradshaw still stands by Labour’s aim to get fifty per cent of young people in higher education.  ‘If we’re to compete in the modern world in the future, in a globalised economy, we can either compete on the basis of low wages and low income… or on the basis of our knowledge and our skills,’ he says.

Bradshaw is against the recent increase in tuition fees and believes the Liberal Democrats have betrayed young people in a ‘direct deceit of the electorate’. He adds: ‘The Liberal Democrats made a clear pledge at the last election- you may remember Nick Clegg travelled around the country with his Liberal Democrat MPs holding up placards saying we will abolish tuition fees, and one of the first things the coalition did when they got into office was treble tuition fees.’

Given the chance of being in government, Bradshaw insists he would campaign to reduce tuition fees –  although he doesn’t think it will ever return to being as low as £3,000 a year.

Image credits: Niklas Rahmel.

‘The current Labour policy is to reduce fees to £6,000 as an initial step, but I think we need to look at much more imaginative ways to make the funding of higher education fairer. We also need to address very urgently the trend we’ve seen in the last few years of people from middle and lower income families being put off going into higher education because of fears of getting into debt.’

Bradshaw believes it is a ‘terrible tragedy’  that people are put off going to university for fear of getting into debt and although this hasn’t been apparent in his home constituency, many universities are struggling to fill courses with a 6.6% drop in applicants to university nationwide.

But Bradshaw warns that universities like Exeter cannot afford to be complacent. ‘Exeter University has done a great job under its current Vice Chancellor [Steve Smith] over recent years in terms of expanding access. It has spent a lot of money on bursaries for students, and has also encouraged more people from the local area to go to university, but we absolutely do have to keep an eye on this, because it’s always going to be tempting for universities when they’re cash-strapped, to focus on those students who they feel will bring in the most cash.’

With its high entry levels and expensive rents, Exeter has a reputation for being a middle class student magnet but Bradshaw believes the situation is improving. He says: ‘Certainly in the years that I’ve been a Member of Parliament, I’ve seen a big change in the mix of the student body, and certainly at the Freshers’ Fair every year when I go up. You still get quite a strong contingent of young people from wealthy dependent schools but there’s also a much bigger cross-section, and also a much more international student body given the success that Exeter has had in attracting overseas students which again has helped it perform as a university, raised money and boosted the local economy.’ Those within the University seem to share Bradshaw’s opinion that opportunities are becoming more equally accessible. Hannah Barton, the Students’ Guild President, commented: ‘Is vital that universities continue to work towards equitable access to higher education for state school pupils. We have the Office of Fair Access that helps students from all backgrounds to access higher education, and there are targets set by HESA that help to incentivise this work.’

Attracting international students is no easy task given that they could end up paying as much as £35,000 for a year of study, in comparison with the £9,000 that British students now pay. But that, Bradshaw believes, is why they are so attractive as a source of income.

Bradshaw adds: ‘If you’re in a situation like Exeter University where you’re wanting to ensure that British youngsters who have got the talent and ability can go to university and not worry about the cost, and you want to provide bursaries and support for those people, and at the same time you’re facing government cuts, one of the ways that you can raise income is with foreign students, and don’t forget a lot of those foreign and overseas students will be coming on bursaries themselves from their home governments.’

Whether a home or international student, a common dilemma for any graduate is the growing prospect of unemployment. Bradshaw outlines the steps necessary to reduce unemployment: ‘The most important thing is to get the economy growing and get a proper industrial strategy in place where we’re investing in those areas – the environmental technologies, the creative industries and so forth, which will provide the well-paid graduate jobs for the future. That’s what the government needs to do.’

The issue of unemployment in recent years has stretched far beyond graduates. Between the months of May and July this year, 960,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed, and whilst overall unemployment may be dropping – which the Prime Minister calls ‘encouraging’ –  youth unemployment is on the rise.

‘There’s a particular problem at the moment. The number of young people in long-term unemployment has trebled in the last three years. Many of these people are people who don’t have very good qualifications, they may come from families where there’s a history of unemployment going back generations, and governments need to focus on them and boosting their skills.’

Ironically, it may be these forgotten and often overlooked individuals who will eventually bring about change, Bradshaw believes. ‘Because young people have been bearing the brunt of this government’s austerity policies… there is a renewed interest of young people in politics; wanting to get involved and make a difference.

‘I’ve never bought this idea that young people these days are apathetic or they’re cynical or they’re turned off politics… Certainly whenever I go around schools in Exeter or to the College or the University I find young people not only engaged but actually much better informed and better educated than I think they’ve ever been. Young people don’t always necessarily see a vehicle for their political activism or idealism through political parties; they often feel more comfortable in channeling their energy into charity work or single-issue organizations. I think again that’s a natural progression and a lot of people come to party politics through individual campaigns.’

Online Features Editors Meg Lawrence and Imogen Watson with Ben Bradshaw.
Image credits: Niklas Rahmel.

Exeter’s Students’ Guild President shares Bradshaw’s enthusiasm that young people are involved in politics. She says: ‘I think students are often engaged politically without even knowing it. Although they may not align themselves with a political party or political beliefs, by participating in any of the Guild’s democratic processes they are engaging in some way. I think this should be encouraged and we should continue to raise awareness of this so that students’ voices can be heard as much as possible.’

Certainly, Exeter University students don’t hesitate to be involved in campaigning and political organisation. The SOS (Save Our Streetlights) campaign has empowered students and raised awareness. On the issue, Bradshaw says: ‘I think the Devon County Council… needs to proceed very cautiously on this, and yes the students have run a very effective and I think justified campaign, not the least given some unfortunate incidents on women after dark which have happened on campus and off campus.

‘Good street lighting in areas where students are going to and from late at night is really important, not just for their safety but also for their sense of well-being. To be perfectly honest I cannot see that by switching off streetlights across Exeter that the County Council is going to be saving an awful lot of money, or an awful lot of carbon omissions. I can think of many better ways in which they can do that, so I hope they will listen to the concerns of students in Exeter and also listen to the concerns of Exeter City Council which is very worried about this.’

Ben Bradshaw’s interest in Exeter students is also apparent on a personal level. His internship scheme, open to Exeter students of politics and international relations, gives invaluable experience. He says: ‘I have been very lucky with the people who have come through the office… students have worked with me here in Westminster and also have shadowed me in the office in Exeter, getting an idea about what MPs do and how the political system works. I think they found that a valuable and worthwhile experience, and it’s always nice for me to have young people coming through the office. We tend to have volunteers and interns on a regular basis, and they’ve always got something new to bring.’

To contact Ben Bradshaw, or find out more about your local MP, follow this link.

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor

A Summer Of Sexism

Gemma Joyce discusses her experiences of sexism this summer, and the differences between how sexism is dealt with on the internet and in everyday life.

The university bubble is a great one. It’s vibrant and varied, and everything is up for debate and discussion. After enjoying my first year writing sassy essays on feminism and taking part in the fiery debate over whether The Sun should be banned from sale on campus I returned, feeling far more aware of contemporary issues, to my beloved hometown ready to start my summer working a busy bar in a family pub.

Caroline Criado-Perez. Image Credit: BBC

My uni bubble promptly burst.

Whether or not we are studying ‘Degrees in Misogyny’ as The Daily Mail would like its readership to believe, acceptable social conduct seems to differ quite significantly between my generally polite and considerate peers in the lecture theatre to the ‘polite and considerate’ customers that insist on calling female bar staff ‘gorgeous’, ‘babe’ or ‘lovey’ without affording similarly demeaning names to their male colleagues.

From not taking food recommendations seriously because “she’s a girl, of course she’d recommend the chocolate brownie,” to more hurtful remarks about your looks or unfounded and unnecessary assumptions voiced about your sexual preferences and behaviours, sexism is undoubtedly alive and kicking in the workplace, most blatantly in environments where alcohol is present. Such behaviour from customers not only ruins your day but leaves you feeling quite helpless, when it’s generally accepted as part of the job and refusing to serve such customers just makes matters worse.

Of course, sexism in the workplace is not breaking news. But there is a great divide between dealing with sexism in the ‘real world’ and sexism online that needs to be addressed.

The summer has seen an enormous amount of debate over issues regarding sexism, much of which has taken place online.

Laura Bates’ Everyday Sexism Project has continued to gain popularity and media attention with more and more users of all walks of life adding their stories describing sexist behaviour they are subjected to on a daily basis.  The press went wild when it was made public knowledge that the internet, particularly on sites like Twitter, was becoming a hotbed of sexist hatred channelled through anonymous insults and threats of violence.

This was highlighted in particular by acclaimed classicist Mary Beard and feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who led the campaign to have Jane Austen printed on the £10 note. Both were made victims of hundreds of abusive messages, and were very vocal in showcasing their negative experiences to the international press.  Next came Caitlin Moran’s brief campaign #twittersilence, which aimed to boycott Twitter for a day in order to bring their attention to the issue of unacceptable threats being made with a shoddy process of reporting them. The Twitter silence divided opinion, but the message was clear: Stop the threats!

The internet is a powerful tool in discussing such issues, and the massive interest generated by recent events has led service providers to at least consider tougher security processes for their well meaning users. Trolling will hopefully, one day, become a thing of the past.

What will be interesting is whether sexism will be addressed in the ‘real world’ before or after it is in cyberspace. Current public anger towards the Twitter trolls being named and shamed all over the newspapers is not reflected in the night club where sexual assault goes unreported weekly, at a busy bus stop where a car full of lads drives past beeping and shouting “Get your tits out!” to a bystander, or in the accountancy firm where the female staff are paid less than their male counterparts. Of course not every troll is subject to this naming and shaming process, but their act of idiocy is put on record. Every day sexism is not recorded even fractionally compared to that experienced on the internet.

While anger is growing at sexism on the internet, I can’t boycott my job because I’m unhappy that some customers leave me feeling uncomfortable and angry. Nor can I shout “Why don’t you take your sexist comments and FUCK OFF. Hashtag shouting back!” – I can’t imagine the families in the restaurant jumping to their feet in applause, metaphorically ‘retweeting’ and ‘liking.’ I would simply lose my job.

I long for the day when a sexist comment is considered more rude than not saying “please” after ordering a drink, or leaving food all over the table when leaving a restaurant.

My point is that “shouting back,” the phrase Twitter uses to describe the act of correcting an act of sexism, is much harder in person than it is online, particularly when your job is on the line. My online self would happily condemn a sexist comment made in the real world or on the internet, but sadly my real life self struggling to fund my student lifestyle remains at a loss at dealing with sexism at work.

Gemma Joyce

Has Farage 'Lost the Plot' in Scotland?

Following the protests against Nigel Farage and UKIP in Edinburgh, Online Features Editor Meg Lawrence assesses UKIP’s position in Scotland, and asks Scottish student Kyle Pryke for his opinion on the matter.

Nigel Farage has once again grabbed headlines, this time with his controversial visit to Scotland and the protests he left in his wake.

Following the protest Farage faced upon his visit to Edinburgh, he accused Scottish Nationalism as being “akin to fascism.”

Farage tries to leave protest in a taxi.
Image Credits- BBC

Speaking to the Good Morning Scotland programme shortly after the protest, Farage stated: “The anger, the hatred, the shouting, the snarling, the swearing was all linked in to a desire for the Union Jack to be burnt.” He also told BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme that the protesters were “filled with a total and utter hatred of the English.”

In response, a spokesperson for the SNP (Scottish National Party) said: “Anyone who heard the interview with Nigel Farage on BBC this morning would have thought he has completely lost the plot.”

Amidst the extremes of opinion, what do Scottish people feel about the situation of UKIP in Scotland?

Exeposé asked Exeter student Kyle Pryke, who is from Scotland, whether he believes UKIP stand a chance there. He said: “From a personal point of view their policies and aims are very problematic, and due to our government’s transparency in Scotland, UKIP’s flaws are easily seen. I would argue that their chances in Scotland are slim at best.”

Pryke doesn’t see the protests as a demonstration of English hatred. He told Exeposé: “The protests were justified on the basis of calling out UKIPs policies and ideologies, and making it clear that many people in Edinburgh do not support them.”

“Scotland’s students are far more vocal about their parliamentary representatives than many of the students I have met whilst here in Exeter, so it comes as no surprise that some people here are a little shocked by the strong response to UKIP’s presence in Edinburgh. I would also like to make it clear that no crimes, as of yet, were committed during these protests so I feel it was very justified.”

Indeed, there was no protest at the UKIP conference held in Exeter University’s Great Hall, despite the fact that many students were outraged that such an association was being made with the University. Exeposé asked Pryke whether he thought that students who oppose UKIP in Exeter should have taken the same action at the conference. He said: “If people disagree with UKIP strongly then they should have protested, or done something to make them aware of Exeter’s position on their policies.”

“Some people may agree with UKIP and support them, that’s fine, go out and show support. If you don’t and you feel that strongly about it, protest. Stand up and be counted no matter which side of the fence you sit on. It’s when people actively avoid this decision and do nothing that the real damage is done.”

Protests are often manipulated by the accused in order to make their opponents appear to simply be causing trouble. In the case of Edinburgh, Farage has done just that.

It is about time he took heed from these protests, and accepts the fact that there are many, not only in Scotland, who oppose his policies. UKIP may have had a recent surge in success, but whether it lasts for long is another matter.

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor

Jon Gaunt and the Page 3 Debate

James Roberts, Features Editor, spoke to radio presenter and former Sun journalist Jon Gaunt for his thoughts on banning The Sun on campus as the voting comes to a close.

Jon Gaunt is livid, and predictably so. After a lifetime dabbling in tabloid journalism, Gaunt has built a reputation as the lion-hearted defender of even the most controversial actions of the British red-tops.

With his cutting, ruthlessly effective, Midlands-man-on-the-street approach to political debate, Gaunt has utilised the right to speak freely as often as he has battled in television studios to defend it. And, as he explains, nothing angers him more than “banning a newspaper because feminist militants don’t like it.”

Image Credits- The Guardian

Gaunt is adamant that the desire to ban Page 3 is exclusively driven by hatred and ignorance.

Despite his bull-in-a-china-shop approach to defending a free press, he seems to genuinely soften when defending the girls printed on the page. “I’ve met Page 3 girls”, he remarks, “and these feminists would be surprised to find that they are more intelligent and assertive than these Exeter militants”.

To him, as an industry insider, Page 3 is “quite different to the pornography” with which it is often equated. It represents a good career for women; as he puts it, an aspiration “as healthy as a working class lad wanting to become a footballer”.

An interesting comparison, perhaps, but not one which is relevant in the Gaunt family home. “I wouldn’t want my daughters becoming Page 3 girls”, he authoritatively avows. One cannot help but wonder if he would note his son aspiring to become a footballer with the same prudence.

Regardless, for him, Page 3 is not the exercise in female exploitation that its opponents would have us believe. He is adamant that “it’s more like a saucy seaside postcard” than a reflection of some sort of feminist patriarchy.

As he puts it in his own unrepentant style, “it’s an institution, and nothing to get your knickers in a twist about”. Perhaps it reflects a deeper problem in society? “No one buys The Sun for Page 3”, Gaunt reminds me, “it’s just part of the menu”.

For Jon Gaunt, Page 3 is just part and parcel of a free press; an innocent, slap-and-tickle reflection of British culture fuelled by a wealth of gifted and ambitious young women. For him, to criticise Page 3 is “to do a disservice to intelligent young women by labelling them as thick and helpless”.

Whether many students would agree with that might be questionable, but he certainly believes whole-heartedly in crusading for free speech, no matter where it calls him. And, at the end of the day, it will be for Exeter students to decide whether they join in that crusade, or do not agree that Page 3 is as harmless as Gaunt would have us believe. His unapologetically defiant message to those that don’t? “Calm down, dears”.

Read more of the interview with Jon Gaunt in the next issue of Exeposé.

James Roberts, Features Editor

Aftermath of the Council Elections: the State of the Parties

Following the recent Council Elections, online comment editor Dave Reynolds assesses the position of the key political parties, and their standing for the General Election in 2015.

With more than 2300 county seats up for grabs across England, recent Council Election results leave the main political parties with much to ponder, with the General Election in 2015 fast approaching. The Conservatives lost well over 300 seats across England and see their nationwide support down at about 32% in Yougov polls. This is largely down to some typical Conservative voters turning to the Nigel Farage party (aka UKIP).

Many say that the Conservatives should take UKIP seriously, but I believe that Tories currently voting for UKIP out of protest will come home to the party in time for the general election in 2015 and support for UKIP will dwindle. Farage will still be happier than he was at the 2010 Election; he will have a higher vote share and possibly a seat in parliament, as long as he doesn’t crash his plane again! Despite making small gains across England in the county council elections, Labour need to do far more to appeal to the ‘working man’ if they have any plans of governing in 2015.

Image Credits- BBC

The Conservatives are faced with a very difficult dilemma. Should Cameron seek a more right wing agenda and take a tougher stance on immigration, EU and law an order in an attempt to lure dissatisfied voters back from UKIP? That is what he is doing. But I believe it is the wrong way to go.

We shouldn’t be listening to UKIP. These angry Tories seeking to protest in a mid-term election will come back to the Conservatives at the general election as they will come to their senses and see that a split right will pave the way for Ed Miliband and the Labour Party to walk back into power. David Cameron needs to stick to the ‘modernising’ plan he had when first elected leader of the Conservatives in 2005.  In order to win the 2015 election he needs to be wooing voters on the centre ground, not concentrating on the far right. They will come back to you, Dave!

Looking at the Labour Party, all economic indicators suggest they should be way ahead in the polls. With growth flat-lining, living standards falling and inequality in the UK at an all-time high, Ed Miliband should be preparing his victory speech for 2015. But unfortunately, he has not been brave enough to really say anything. Nobody knows what his economic plan is. While a fiscal stimulus (for example a VAT cut or an increase in government spending on infrastructure) is a credible option, he is too afraid to say it as he fears admitting to more borrowing would be political suicide. It wouldn’t even necessarily increase the budget deficit.

We’re spending so much money on welfare because unemployment is still stubbornly high, a fiscal stimulus that gets more people into work would obviously cut welfare payments as unemployment will fall and tax receipts would rise. But he’s too afraid to admit the deficit would rise in the short run. I can’t imagine that global markets really care if our debt is 1.3 trillion or 1.4 trillion. The numbers are beyond belief anyway! It’s growth that we need and in the short run, we just have to take that risk on the deficit. A fresh economic approach is needed for the Labour Party and this could be made by removing Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor and bringing in the former Chancellor Alistair Darling – the man who arguably saved us from a depression.

With the two main parties both failing to take the initiative, another hung parliament looks the most likely outcome of the 2015 General Election. Therefore, the party who can be most confident of being in the next government is the Liberal Democrats, despite a massive drop in popularity due to the broken promise on abolishing tuition fees and no longer being a protest vote. All in all, these council election results are going to be depressing for all three of the main parties. It’s time for all of them to up their game.

Dave Reynolds, Online Comment Editor

UKIP's New Attraction?

Photo credits to Jari Jackonen

As the UKIP spring conference gets underway in Exeter University’s Great Hall, Meg Lawrence asks whether their surprising election result in the Eastleigh by-election was merely the result of political protest or the start of a new trend of growing popularity for the party.

Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, is undoubtedly confident in his party’s position following the recent Eastleigh by-election. Although the seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Mike Thornton, UKIP gained almost 28% of the vote, ahead of the Conservative candidate Maria Hutchings, who won just 14%. Whilst some claim this victory over the Conservative and Labour parties is merely the result of political protest, Farage has assured his audience at the Exeter conference that this recent surge in votes reflects growing support for the party.

There’s no doubt that he knows how to pour a soothing balm over the voting public’s open sores, and he’s adept at capitalising on key issues that are always so prominent in the midst of a recession. Hence we see the regular reappearance of immigration, Europe, taxation and class in his rhetoric. But, how likely is he to turn this recent support into effective politics?

UKIP, formed in the 1990s, are yet to hold a seat in the House of Commons, and have been criticised by many for their anti-immigration policies. Speaking at the conference, Farage claimed that the Eastleigh results revealed a “wholesale rejection of the political class”. He went on to state: “It’s something far more powerful than a protest vote. Actually the vast majority of the people going out and voting UKIP in these by-elections do so because we are the people that are putting forward positive alternative policies that would make this country a better and prouder place.”

Here, Farage talks sense in so much as the voting public wants a better and prouder country- one where bankers don’t get away with uncheckable greed, politicians don’t fleece the expenses systems, bosses don’t look the other way when they recognise wrong doing and journalists don’t use underhand methods to extract an exclusive story. They’re after a country that is honest, fair and free. But no political party, least of all UKIP, is promising that. UKIP’s policies play to people’s fears and that doesn’t make the country any better or prouder, but rather encourages negative views towards immigrants and Britain’s stance in Europe.

The Eastleigh by-election itself was proof of the fact that you don’t need a popular political manifesto to gain votes. Ray Hall’s Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party gained a total of 235 votes in the by-election, whilst David Bishop’s Elvis Loves Pets party received 72 votes. Perhaps not all voters were quite so light hearted in their voting, but there is no doubt that UKIP gained more votes because the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties consistently fail to deliver their promises.

For as long as we’re in recession, Farage will find favour with the voting public. The real test will be how popular he remains once unemployment and the economy are no longer keeping the voting public awake at night.

Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor