How far can a society go.

Student societies are in many ways wonderful. They are a brilliant way to make friends, meet people with similar interests, broaden your horizons, try something new or improve a current skill. You can find societies you probably wouldn’t even believe existed, Harry Potter society, love that, a chocolate society, yes please and even a Dog society!!!!!! My question is amongst all these wonderful societies, where’s the line on what you can’t form a society for.

Just this past week it has been rumoured that a Pro Life society had made it’s way onto the Bristol scene ( yes I still keep up with what goes on in Bristol, there’s always a drama). So this is not a post to start dragging the Pro Life movement, no I do not agree with their views but lets leave that to another blog.

Many students were quick to express their distain for this society and further concern that a rather offensive statement made by assumedly a society member was allowed to be posted on a popular anonymous Facebook page known as “Bristruths”.
Reading through this made me wonder what kind of monitoring these societies do have and whether or not there are any restrictions or prohibited subjects a society can form itself on. The student Union are essentially the body these societies fall under and as long as your a second year student ( I think) you can put forward any idea you like for a society but what are the guidelines for what the SU can say no to….

Of course they are obligated to uphold the rights of students to exercise free speech however this is a qualified right under Article 11 of the Human Rights act 1998, so in short if you abuse it in a way that is prohibited the courts are going to take it away pretty damn fast. ( hahahaha imagine if I’ve got this bit wrong, law students assemble)

A Pro life society doesn’t appear to be listed on the SU website so I can’t 100% say where this society came from or why it was seen at the SU fair, but could this be something that could be strongly argued against? As much as many strongly oppose it’s beliefs, many also oppose the Pro Choice movement, so if you have one and not the other is that wrong? or is it a case where having both is wrong? or should it just be that any society of this nature should be allowed to function and grow as long as they do not pose any threat to other students or its own members by inciting hate and violence.

If we removed all societies that different students held issue with, I don’t think there would be many left…. I’d throw a fit if someone tried to get rid of the Dog Society.

As an unaccountable body it would be a lot more concerning if the SU started shutting down free speech….

Why I hate Dark Dynasty K9

Hate is a strong word, but it applies here sooooo lets roll with it.

If you don’t know what Dark Dynasty is pop it into google and have a little nosey around YouTube. In simple terms they’re a breeder of American Pit bull terriers, or so they say.

They don’t just breed the dogs to sell as puppies, they breed and train the dogs to be “security dogs” that will attack and switch temperament on command, but can also apparently change temperament themselves without any cue… hmm. Dogs are extremely intelligent but they also have their own minds and their own instincts.

These Pit bulls are bred to be over 3 times their standard size…. WHY?! WHAT IS THE POINT. Oh yeah, money. and I’m talking thousands. Considering Marlon Grennan likes to constantly project his love and passion for his dogs like word vomit, he clearly does not care much for the health issues including physical ability… kind of ruins the whole “we produce the best of all the finest bloodlines” spiel.

Dark Dynasty K9 in fact breed mixed breed dogs, this includes the infamous “pit bull” that shot them to fame, Hulk. If you’ve never heard of him just, again go to google, the name fits aside from the fact he’s not green. They constantly like to show off their dogs on camera and their abilities, including the dogs doing command bite training WITH THEIR CHILD, just because they like to reinforce their family friendly values and the safety of their dogs around children… *sure Jan*

Just last year one of the companies Pit bulls Ace was mauled by two of their other younger dogs, due to an error where all three males were let out with a lone female (most likely to breed) and of course male dogs become very territorial over those females when in heat and that’s the same for any dog. Of course Grennan gave his heart breaking interviews over the loss of Ace and simply placed it down to “human error”, would this be the case if those dogs went on to attack another dog and a potential intervening owner….. human error cannot be used as an excuse when lives are at risk and in my opinion that includes other dogs.

The idea that Dark Dynasty are dispelling the stigma and fear around this breed… by turning them into attack dogs….. sure ok. The people actually making a difference to this breed are organisations like New York Bully Crew, and countless individuals and rescue shelters that work tirelessly in rescuing, rehabilitating and educating the world on why these dogs deserve a second chance, and even a first chance to be loving pets just like multiple other breeds. Campaigners that fight to end BSL and excessive breeding work hard to undo the damage companies like Dark Dynasty and other copy cat breeders have done, they deserve the TV shows and the interviews.

I could go on and on for hours about these types of “backyard” breeders and my issues with them but well save ideas for other blogs. All together all dogs deserve to have the BEST lives, they don’t deserve to be something you just want to profit from at the risk of other humans and animals.

Induction Week // Bristol Comparison

I’m tired. That’s all I ever say lately but it’s true.

I made it through my induction week at Worcester University and it was surprisingly quite lovely.

I’m one of the oldest SHOCKING and the majority of these students were born in 2001…. That hurt to type, but still I’ve met a few people and they are genuinely nice.

With comparing this Law school to Bristol Universities law school, they are worlds apart, Worcester’s law school is barely 3 years old and I feel like Bristol’s law school is 300 years old, maybe older. Worcester strive on student satisfaction where Bristol strive on students keeping their grade averages up so they can keep a high position in the Guardian’s university tables.

Bristol as a city has its own problems that impact on the university…. I mean its now known as the cocaine capital of Europe, of course a large endorser of the drug culture in Bristol is students and sometime it just leads to some hazy memories but great stories and other times you end up in a bit of a sticky situation, whether that’s because you’ve been arrested, you’ve overdosed or you forgot to wipe that excess white powder off your nostril before you came to a seminar (true story bro).

Another major problem in Bristol is homelessness, I don’t even need to add statistics in to tell you it’s bad I saw it first hand DAILY. The level of homelessness visible in Bristol only reinforces the major class divide that is prominent in the city, you’re either too rich to give a fuck or too poor to afford a mortgage, then there’s a slight gap in the middle where I sat eating pasta for 6 months.

Worcester is by no means innocent when it comes to the homeless crisis btw.

I was given a free brand spankin new Samsung tablet yesterday…. BRAND NEW with a detachable keyboard case thing (techy techy) to keep, its mine, no catch, we all got one as new law students…. Now this isn’t a “they gave me something they’re better than Bristol kind of argument” it’s important to point out there’s less than 90 students in my year at Worcester… there were over 400 at Bristol, BUT what I do find quite lovely about this scheme is that it makes sure no one is at a disadvantage compared to another student due to them not being able to afford a laptop, everyone gets the same starting point which is great.

In Bristol the use of laptops was highly encouraged in some of my classes, but that left those students that either didn’t have them or had older models that were a biiiiiiit slow feeling side-lined or at a disadvantage. Tip for the future HAND WRITE SOME NOTES, it won’t kill you and to be perfectly honest most students that would have their MAC Books out during lectures would spend the hour looking at their Facebook pages or online shopping….

This is by no means a bashing Bristol Uni post, it may have its flaws (don’t believe everything you read in the news) but it also has a wonderful faculty of some of the most intelligent and caring individuals I’ve ever met in it’s law school, that will literally go to any means necessary to help you with anything and everything you may need and they are worthy of their credibility in the Guardian but maybe student care needs a little more thought and deserves A LOT more funding.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-exposed-cocaine-capital-europe-2647180

Going Veggie

My god I LOVE avocado.. that’s it, that’s the blog.

 

Ok I’m kidding, but I do love avocado, a lot and I’m really excited about pumpkin spiced latte’s *Insert basic b*tch here*. I have wanted to try becoming vegetarian for a long time, I began it whilst I was at Uni, occasionally I would slip off the bandwagon and mainly it would be for a Big Mac and mostly for the sauce, there’s something magic in that sauce I swear. 

I adore animals in every sense big, small, fluffy, bald etc etc even spiders, when they aren’t crawling over my feet scaring the absolute sh*t out of me, and the thought of any being tortured or abused simply for us to consume them is beyond unfathomable to me.

You cant beat cuddling a loveable creature, especially my dogs they’re the most loveable beans on the planet in my opinion but I don’t  believe that means I should be able to stare at wild animals in a zoo or see them hung on someone’s wall as a trophy, or eat them because they taste good and its a “natural” thing to do. There is nothing natural about cooking, seasoning and covering a piece of meat in sauce to eat, if it was natural you’d be eating it raw and we all know how that would go.

Changing to a vegetarian diet has been strange, in a good way. I’ve tried so many new foods, I’ve felt so much better in myself and if anything it’s made me realise I never really liked meat, I just didn’t want to be awkward and cause the smallest awkward situation if I struggled to find something on a menu in a restaurant or I had to bring something of my own to a meal to make it easier for those cooking. 

I feel so much better about myself now, than how I did when I started this and I’ve already started swapping vegan foods into my diet in order to slowly progress in that direction, I’m yet to try vegan cheese or chocolate yet, baby steps!

To see some friends and family even join me and try these types of food is really refreshing and comforting and shows that not every meat substitute is gross and taste like cardboard as some may assume. I’d never attempt to force anyone to share my views but to see people open to the ideas, open to new experiences is what every bit of this world needs, especially right now. 

Dropping out of UNI….

HAHA got ya, I’m not dropping out, well kind of.

I’m leaving Bristol, and starting my degree over at another university.

This year as a first year is obviously nowhere near as bad as what some people have gone through, but it was f*cking horrific. From the hell on earth that was my accommodation to trains getting cancelled two hours before my exam…. not ok network rail, NOT OK.

I am simply putting it, tired, I’m so tired, I’ve had such little enjoyment out of this experience and that is not ok, and from people I’ve spoken too at other universities that have gone through similar, this just isn’t acceptable for anyone, and it mainly all falls down to UNITE STUDENTS, shocker.

The reasoning behind all of this is a bit too in-depth and a bit too private to put in a blog, but I have recently received other news that has meant it is just better that I remain closer to home. 

I’ll miss the friends I’ve made this year, and my tutors because oh my god they have brains for their brains I swear the intelligence levels are through the roof, but I have to do what is best for me and my health and that is how anyone reading this should view their own lives, you are the most important part of your life regardless of how anyone else see’s it you have to put yourself first.

 

Holiday in Hell…. I mean Exam Season

So… exam season really does suck. Being tired, panicked, hyped up on coffee, hungover and having a constant headache for 3 weeks is not a good mix, but I survived… I think.

Over this exam period I had 4 papers to get through, which isn’t awful but 3 hours per paper felt like a lot, I was cramming in revision, I’m sure I started seeing spots instead of words at least 6 times a day. 

First exam rolls round, I’m feeling nervous yet confident in my tiny shrivelled brain to somehow pull me through. I’m up, dressed, bag ready and off to the train station, but wait, I forgot, Network rail HATE ME. All trains – cancelled, all replacements – non existent, my stress levels – Chernobyl reactor core. WHY ME, WHAT DID I DO (jokes I definitely prayed for this so I could revise more… then regretted those prayers massively).

When I eventually made it to an exam –shockingly– my concern wasn’t remembering anything, finishing all the questions etc my concern was ” Please God do not let me fart, pee or do a Will from the Inbetweeners during this exam”… and I managed not to, and I answered all questions, oh but I forgot to write my name on the front cover… and I wrote the wrong candidate number… I don’t understand what was going through their minds when they offered me a place at this Uni, probably “she’ll be entertaining”. 

There was some serious emotion in these exam halls, people were dropping dictionaries, legs shaking everywhere, one girl actually started crying before the exam started (no it wasn’t me) I hope she did well, I’ve not seen tears like that since I dropped a glass of gin on the floor and stood in the glass, I was more upset about the loss of gin than the loss of blood.  

I don’t remember a thing I wrote in those 3 hours, it’s just a massive blur, all I know is my hand hurt, the boy next to me made some very questionable sounds and those green fabric sheets they put down as makeshift flooring are a whole other level of trip hazard.

That for now is all I have to say on my experience, apart from whoever had to mark my work… I’m sorry, but thanks for giving me such a good grade, we can be friends 5eva. xo

 

 

AWOL

I haven’t blogged in months, I’ve been so preoccupied, so here’s a tiny snippet into recent events and why I’ve just not had the energy to write anything down.
First year of Uni is meant to be filled with drugs, alcohol, drugs, missed lectures, drugs, did I say drugs? Well it was full of these things but holyyyyy f*ck how these kids don’t end up dead I do not know. Ok let’s be fair I am so far from innocent I bent my halo used it as a frisbee and smacked a small baby with it (that joke will come back to bite me one day) but some of the shit in Bristol is next level.
Despite all that fun stuff…. My accommodation (over £10,000 a year) was fucking disgusting. There were more noise complaints than fire alarms and that’s saying something, someone made a noise complaint about me whilst I slept…. I do not snore that loud. The hot water pretty much never worked until the odd occasion where the temperature gage got stuck and suddenly, you’re a lobster splashing about in a boiling pan. I don’t think the oven got hotter than 120, the fridge kept freezing things and the freezer kept defrosting things… not even constantly so I couldn’t just swap the food round, I had a fridge with the temper of a 15-year-old girl. The taps were leaking from day dot and lets just not talk about the smoking toaster, never shared his cigarettes.
Eventually I packed up and left, the commute seemed much more appealing and I managed to “convince” Unite to let me out of my tenancy and refund me a chunk of my rent. Magically just after I left my contact details were used to open multiple bank accounts and max out the overdrafts, coincidental? Who the fuck knows?
Exams roll round and I’m ready and raring to go, network rail on the other hand, so NOT ready. Trains cancelled first thing in the morning leaving me with no other travel options that day, so that’s one exam down to sit in August. Exams are just pure evil, 3 hours of pretending to be a solicitor advising people on potential cases then writing essays, expected to sound as if we already have our degree…. then again, I forgot to write my name on my exam paper… and I wrote the wrong candidate number so doomed from the start really.
Oh well its over now for a few months, my brains stopped feeling like its being rear-ended by the constitution.
PS – avoid unite students like the plague xo