Category: Features

Features

The North-South Divide

    Gravy guzzling Northerner? Or stick-your-pinky-out Southerner?┬áAlex Chapman┬ádiscusses the ongoing feud┬ábetween students either side of Watford Gap in ‘The North-South Divide’ University life is never guaranteed to come without its fair amount of trials and tribulations, from the often crippling amount of coursework and revision to the realisation that, after living like kings for the best part of a fortnight after your loan going … Continue reading The North-South Divide

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Features

Picture This!

  Kieran Davey┬áinvestigates┬áthe popularity of the photo craze┬áthat is dominating social media in ‘Picture This!’ It was the photo that ÔÇÿbroke TwitterÔÇÖ. The Oscars, the most star-studded of events, had provided the most star-studded of photos which within minutes became a viral internet sensation. Inspired by show host Ellen DeGeneres, TwitterÔÇÖs most retweeted image- or ÔÇÿselfieÔÇÖ- was born as Hollywood greats such as Brad Pitt, … Continue reading Picture This!

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Features

Survival of the #Fittest

  As fitness booms throughout social media, Emma Giles questions the development of a new competitive lifestyle, its benefits and possible repercussions in ‘Survival of the #Fittest’ The season of New YearÔÇÖs resolutions and the surge of self-motivational Facebook statuses has (thankfully) well and truly gone. Whilst this is a welcome change to those who realise that they have already broken their resolutions, one thing … Continue reading Survival of the #Fittest

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Features

Communication Problems

With the image of heads buried in their hand-held screens surrounding us, Andy Love examines the way smart phones have changed our social interactions in ‘Communication Problems’.┬á ÔÇ£This one has a better battery life, better definition screen, better camera…it’s also flatter,ÔÇØ says a girl wearing glasses to two of her peers who listen closely as if sheÔÇÖs a wizard telling a story. Smart-phones progress so … Continue reading Communication Problems

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Features

Fear and Self Loathing

If the grass is perpetually greener on the other side, maybe itÔÇÖs time to build a fence and shield gloating neighbours from view, argues Aimee-Lee Abraham┬áin ‘Fear and Self Loathing’.┬á We used to lurk nervously in the self-help section, wary of the stigma housed in its pages, fearful of contagion. We would lie through our teeth to cashiers, improvising tales of the poor uncle who … Continue reading Fear and Self Loathing

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Features

The Internet Confessional

Can blogging improve your mental health? Sophie Lodge┬áinvestigates in ‘The Internet Confessional’.┬á In October 2012 15 year old Tallulah Wilson was hit by a train after years of suffering from clinical depression. In January this year her mother condemned the poor censorship of harmful blogging websites like Tumblr that she believed had fuelled her daughterÔÇÖs death. However, the inquest revealed TallulahÔÇÖs Tumblr account was deleted … Continue reading The Internet Confessional

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Features

#OCDPROBLEMS

Toby Mott┬ádiscusses Channel 4’s ‘Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners’ and the perception of OCD as a cute quirk.┬á ÔÇ£Obsessive Compulsive DisorderÔÇØ isnÔÇÖt any easier to write than it is to say. As so often seems to be the case with the clinical titles assigned to mental illness, just the terms themselves are enough to evoke an uncomfortable and involuntary wince. Despite the tireless efforts of charities such … Continue reading #OCDPROBLEMS

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Features

The Battle of Banter

The term ÔÇÿbanterÔÇÖ is pretty friendly. ┬áOr at least, it used to be. Once upon a time, it meant an amicable ÔÇÿrib-diggingÔÇÖ between two leisurely gentlemen about who had caught the biggest fish; it was the only way Jane AustenÔÇÖs girls could ever get kicks in their patriarchy-enforced plight to get hitched; it was a dance between words, not an offensive battle.┬á Banter was the … Continue reading The Battle of Banter

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Features

Blurred Lines

  Blurred Lines: ┬áthe best-selling single of 2013, number one in fourteen countries and the fastest selling song in digital history. Why then has a record with such huge popularity been banned from playing in over 20 University Student Unions, including UCL, Edinburgh and Leeds, and should Cardiff University be the next to follow in their footsteps? The reasons behind this censorship have received endless … Continue reading Blurred Lines

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Features

Cardiff at Christmas

The Christmas holidays. Most students start counting down the days to this frenzy of seasonal television, Baileys and pyjamas as legitimate daywear in mid-October. However, not everyone at university is fortunate enough to be able to go home and re-bond with their family and pets for four weeks over winter. Whether itÔÇÖs because they have to stay to maintain a job, or because they are … Continue reading Cardiff at Christmas

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Features

Girl Meets Porn

Aimee-Lee Abraham examines the myths of pornography and the impact the industry is having on society and the student psyche.┬á This season, a housemate remarked, Channel 4 ÔÇÿhas gone a bit mental with all the sexÔÇÖ. This is not coincidental; the broadcasterÔÇÖs ÔÇÿcampaign for real sexÔÇÖ is well underway, with shows like Date My Pornstar and Diary of a Teenage Virgin dominating post-watershed airtime. Channel … Continue reading Girl Meets Porn

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Features

Flying Without Wings?

ItÔÇÖs hard to resist a caffeine buzz to pull you through the daylong consequence of the night before; who wouldnÔÇÖt want ÔÇÿwings when you need themÔÇÖ? A promise of extra energy, concentration and heightened performance make energy drinks the perfect quick fix. But what are the risks of pumping yourself with drinks made from BritainÔÇÖs most socially acceptable drug? It appears the energy drink market … Continue reading Flying Without Wings?

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Features

Cardiff Surf Club Makes A Splash

ÔÇÿHavenÔÇÖt seen this time in a whileÔÇÖ, I thought, clambering out of the surf lodgeÔÇÖs triple bunk bed at 6.30am on Friday morning. It was the opening day of the BUCS Surf championships, one of the biggest surf contests in Europe. The best thing about the contest is that it is a real eye-opener to competitive surfing, which has been previously overlooked in the sporting … Continue reading Cardiff Surf Club Makes A Splash

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Features

The Apologetic Generation

ADVICE TO WATCH YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT IS HEGEMONY IN ACTION – from Quench Issue 138 IÔÇÖd like to begin with two stories. The first is that of Josef K., protagonist of KafkaÔÇÖs magnum opus, The Trial. The other is that of Paris Brown, the ill-fated youth crime commissioner for the Kent Police. In The Trial, Josef K. is arrested on his thirtieth birthday. Neither the … Continue reading The Apologetic Generation

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Features

Ali Article Marathon

  Our features writer and half-marathon participant, Ali Corless gives Quench his account of his impressive physical and mental journey. It is now 10 days before the Cardiff half Marathon and I have mixed emotions. Whilst still recovering from another very draining yet enjoyable fresherÔÇÖs week, the thought of running through Cardiff is, unsurprisingly, weighing heavily on my conscience. With the added distraction of lectures … Continue reading Ali Article Marathon

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Features

Can Bare Breasts Be Laid To Rest

As more than 40,000 people sign a petition calling for the editor of The Sun newspaper to stop printing pictures of topless women, features writer Vivian Yeung asks whether we should say goodbye to Page Three. Page Three girls just got slightly more controversial. Since the advent of the topless glamour model in the tabloids, there have been many unsuccessful attempts to ban the much-debated … Continue reading Can Bare Breasts Be Laid To Rest

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