By Emily SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS After attending around seven different festivals over the past four years, this summer I will be going to my eighth music festival, but for me it will be very different to my other experiences. And no, it isnÔÇÖt because I wonÔÇÖt be attending Reading Festival for the fifth year in a row (unfortunately, IÔÇÖm not so keen on the pop-dominated line … Continue reading Festivals: Dance Your Way To Sustainability
I grew up in a home full of women: my mother, myself and my two sisters. If ever there were an environment where open conversations surrounding sticky topics like sexuality, relationships and puberty were to take place, this should be the ideal situation. And yet, one month before my fourteenth birthday, I went to the bathroom to find, much to my horror, blood in my … Continue reading Female Shame, Periods, and The Magic of Menstrual Cups
Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working to improve the lives of girls and women, spreading across all continents, with clubs in many towns and cities. It was founded in 1921 in California by a group of women to ÔÇ£Save the RedwoodsÔÇØ, the clubÔÇÖs first project, which was successfully lobbied saving the forest, creating a following and new clubs. Interestingly, during the same years, … Continue reading Soroptimist International
By Eleanor Scales & Lindsay Smith Being homeless is never a great time – but the winter months are when people suffer the most, due to a lack of coats, clothes, blankets and shelter. Last year, it was reported that 78 homeless people died due to cold weather. We spoke to ex-homeless people – who are now living in free accommodation provided by homeless charity … Continue reading We spoke to ex-homeless people about what itÔÇÖs like to live on the streets in the yearÔÇÖs coldest months
By Violet Thompson When people find out that IÔÇÖm transgender, the first question IÔÇÖm usually always asked is, ÔÇ£so, are you going to do the surgery?ÔÇØ It doesnÔÇÖt matter if itÔÇÖs someone IÔÇÖve known for a long time, or a complete stranger ÔÇô IÔÇÖm usually always asked about my genitals. It doesnÔÇÖt matter if itÔÇÖs in a public space, which makes the whole affair quite … Continue reading Transgender experiences are incredibly diverse and subjective, so why donÔÇÖt we acknowledge that?
By Amberley Steenhagen When it gets to January, after a month of Christmas overindulgence of food and booze, everyone starts making their New YearÔÇÖs Resolutions. We begin to hear phrases chucked about like ÔÇÿDry JanuaryÔÇÖ (or this years Janu-hairy) where people chose to opt out of something for the first month of the year. This could be not drinking alcohol, not shaving or, something that … Continue reading Veganuary – fad or for life?
As current university news is saturated with talk of the ÔÇÿrugby lad cultureÔÇÖ it is not surprising that there appears to have been much back-and-forth on the topic. Each year the same debate springs up which suggests that whilst it is not getting any worse, it is also not getting any better. So why does this ruby-playing cohort continue to cause controversy? With some people … Continue reading BackLASH Following Speculations Over ÔÇÿRugby Lad CultureÔÇÖ
Bethany Griffiths Tonight (Tuesday 4th December) Periods in Poverty will be hosting their first Winter Gala at the Student’s Union! Tickets are ┬ú5 online or on the door – this is an excellent opportunity to dress fancy and have a boogie with all your flatmates before Christmas – and it’s for a wonderful cause!! Cardiff-based charity ‘Periods in Poverty’ is run and organised entirely by … Continue reading Winter Wonderland is Coming to the SU!
By Bethany Griffiths Last Sunday Quench was invited to the launch of CardiffÔÇÖs newest performance gym: PB Performance. Aside from tucking into all the wonderful food and drink that PB Performance had to offer, we also trialled some of the gymÔÇÖs new, state-of-the-art equipment and attended various workshops about the art of powerlifting and weightlifting. The equipment is not like your everyday gym setup, with … Continue reading PB Performance: Cardiff’s new state-of-the-art performance gym
By Bethany Griffiths A recent study carried out by www.sellmymobile.com has revealed that Cardiff University students have made the top 10 list of students most likely to have spent the first installment of their student loan already, with October 20th being named as the day when most first installments are gone by. The research was carried out on more than 2,700 UK university students, with … Continue reading Top Spenders: Cardiff Uni Students Among Most Likely to Have Spent All of Their Loan Already
By Georgi Georgiev A question that might appear quite frivolous on the surface, but is, in fact, an important one to ask. Essentially, it can be rephrased as: how could I possibly know something so personal about someone without jumping to conclusions? Sometimes it could be comforting to be able to answer such a question. This is especially true for members of the LGBTQ+ community … Continue reading How do I know he’s gay?
By Bethany Griffiths Halloween has certainly changed a lot since I was a kid. It used to be a minor event that merely served to kick off the festive season ÔÇô a small party at your neighbourÔÇÖs decked out in ASDAÔÇÖs finest (and cheapest) Halloween costume. Since then Halloween has become gradually more and more commercialised with adults and kids celebrating alike. The Halloween fun … Continue reading Spooky Fun or Insensitive Branding?
By Bethany Griffiths After facing years of backlash for poor sizing guidelines, some high street shops (notably H&M and Primark) have now progressed from their usual 6-20 sizing to XS-XXL sizing. The shops have claimed that this change in sizing guidelines will ensure that women can guarantee to find clothing to fit their standard size. Despite this, there have been countless complaints about the new … Continue reading New High Street Sizing: A Positive Move?
By Bethany Griffiths The doors open on another exciting term here at Cardiff University. Whether youÔÇÖre a returning or completely new student starting a new semester at Cardiff today, I think itÔÇÖs safe to say that none of us saw this coming quite as quickly as it did. It only feels like yesterday that I was sat writing my end-of-semester essays in June, and yet … Continue reading It’s that time of year again: a new semester at Cardiff University
By Bethany Griffiths I think itÔÇÖs safe to say that this summer could go down in history as being one of the most eventful the UK has ever seen (probably a slight overreaction, but): weÔÇÖve recorded some of the highest temperatures on record for June and July, and weÔÇÖve seen the madness unfold on our streets as England actually made it to the semi finals … Continue reading The Dark Side of Reality TV?
Poppy Jennings In the wake of another incredible Pride Month, society is left with both positive and negative questions about what comes next. Amidst the ÔÇ£stop forcing your sexuality down our throatsÔÇØ and ÔÇ£canÔÇÖt wait ÔÇÿtil Pride next yearÔÇØ, the activism and celebration still lingers on my mind. After attending the many events of Queer and Now, a Pride festival hosted by Tate Britain for … Continue reading Queer and Now
One rationally assumes that the summer is a glorious time of relaxation; no uni, no deadlines, no stress, right? After the multiple obligatory end – of – year nights out and bingeing on Netflix, the initial euphoria of summer wears off. However, what seems so often to be written off as a small case of the ÔÇÿsummer bluesÔÇÖ may be what psychiatrists term as reverse … Continue reading SAD in students: What is it?
Tom Morris relates his Y Plas speed dating experience…is love in the air? Continue reading Speed Dating Uncovered
Are Britain’s Universities providing enough mental health support to students?┬áAs Cardiff Uni signs the Time to Change pledge, Michael OÔÇÖConnell-Davidson investigates.┬áA separate version of this post with annotations from the author, can be found on the Quench Medium page. Of all the problems facing our society, mental illness is perhaps the least understood. It is an inherently human problem, but not one that should be … Continue reading Picking up the Pieces
With the pressure to physically conform now greater than ever, Andy Love takes a look at body image, marketing and our unhealthy obsession with health A quarter of adults in Britain are currently obese. The papers are still trying to find a culprit. Is it sugar? Is it fat? Is it an epidemic? Am I sick? Are you? Supermarkets have started filling their shelves with … Continue reading The Unhealthy Ideal
