InTuition

Niamh Dann- Guest Writer My Grandad, Saviour Borg, was a Maltese Merchant Sailor working in the British Navy between 1955 and 1965. My memories of him are filled with stories from countries all around the world. He would talk about them to anyone who would listen. My younger self, however, was mainly disinterested by these stories.  After his death in 2016, he gave to my brother a travel journal; one that he’d written in the last years of his life. Having read it completely only during quarantine, I was amazed and bewildered by the fascinating experiences my Grandad had travelling the world. His journal gets straight to the point on time, places and people. He talks little about his feelings and never goes into great detail. It is instead a short revival of what he called ‘the good old days’ of his life.  What I doubt Saviour would have realised is the historical importance of his travel journal and what it means for the history of politically categorised ‘non-white foreign’ p...

Jonny Griffiths and Morgan Wellington It wouldn’t be an outrageous claim to say that over the past several years mainstream political debate has been tilting steadily towards the right, and aspects of far-right ideology and far-right talking points have become more commonplace and have at times been the driving force of ‘the discourse’. In some ways this is understandable, the Conservative Party has been in power for around a decade, while in The States Trump has generated endless controversy, so it makes sense that left wing politics has taken a primarily oppositional role particularly within the scope of parliamentary politics. However, it appears that this trend has become somewhat pervasive in ways which are arguably concerning for the general public and the terms of their political engagement.  With the political agenda in the UK having been set by the right for this extended period, general political discussion has shifted to accommodate this, and we are at a point now where ...

KF- Writer and Editor What's black and white and really wants to go extinct?  Pandas have been conserved fairly successfully, with the population seeing a 17% increase over the last decade. However, this is only due to an incredible amount of work done by the poor humans dedicated to pulling these fluffy imbeciles back from the precipice of extinction they are so determined to flop over. In this instance, it can be easy to question whether or not it’s actually worth conserving a species which seems so hellbent on deleting itself from the fossil record. So why do we conservationists choose to keep things alive when it seems to cause nothing but debt and trouble? Broadly speaking, rationales for conservation can be split into two main schools: 1. Utilitarian  For some people it’s the cold hard cash. The utilitarian style of thinking tries to quantify the value of biodiversity to humans. This is one reason rich people choose to fund conservation on game reserves, because there ...

Connie Chandler- Guest Writer For most students, moving to university means the first time living independently. This is a really exciting opportunity to meet loads of new people and find out lots of new things about yourself. On the other hand, this also means having to budget for food, rent, nights out, clothes and anything else you might need along the way. When you get that text from Student Finance and you take a look at your bank balance, you might only be wondering how many drinks that’ll get you in the student bar or that you can finally get those new trainers you’ve been wanting as part of your new-and-improved style. But let me tell you (from experience) - if you don’t budget properly, that money will be gone long before your next loan drop. So here are some of the best tried and tested ways that you can stretch your money at uni AND help out our planet at the same time.  Meal Planning and Wise Shopping When starting uni, if the only thing you think you can cook is pasta...

Daniel Priestley- Writer Before “the first election debate” in 2010, party leader debates attached to a general election were unheard of in the UK. What now feels like a staple of general election season was then something new and exciting. In this debate we saw Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg take on a series of questions from an audience, attempting to pitch to the public why they are the right person to lead the country. This debate was also overshadowed by two big issues: the MPs expenses scandal and the 2008/9 economic recession.  The opening statements set the scene for the entire evening. Clegg comes out with a strong speech on moving away from the old ways of doing things, arguing that this time the country can do something different. Brown focuses on stressing fears of a double dip recession, fears of important services being cut and explains that Labour is in the strongest position to prevent both of th...

Niamh Brook- Writer  Dear Freshers,  Well done, you’ve made it! You’ve got into Uni, time to pop the corks and fill the shot glasses. Oh wait, we’re currently living through a global pandemic, so that part of uni might have to be put on hold or at least enjoyed only up until 10pm. Your time at uni this year may differ from those in the past, the infamous social aspect of uni now comes with a full risk assessment and a QR track and trace code just to go to the pub, but the overall essence (I hope) will stay the same.  You’ve come to uni to learn more about a subject you love or at least, to move you that one step closer to your dream job. Though you may be stuck in your halls, please find below my advice for tackling your first year of uni to make it the best, and least stressful as possible.  Do what feels right for you It’s common at uni (but in particular during Freshers Week) for peer pressure to become the new normal. Desperate to make new friends, many freshers ...