This week, we interviewed another of our contributors – Amy Price. She’s a Second-Year student who will be studying abroad in Australia next year. Read on to find out more about her course, what she hopes to achieve next year, some people and projects she thinks need more recognition and some great things she’s learnt this year!
1) What course are you doing? Why did you decide to take that course, and why Cornwall?
I’m taking English and History with a year study abroad, partly due to strategy – universities ask for lower A-Levels if you combine subjects – but mostly because I loved doing both and didn’t want to give either of them up.
When I first looked through the course, I hadn’t realised that it was in Cornwall until much later, when I was trying to work out what the big ‘C’ on the information page meant; when I finally looked it up, however, it made me want to come down here even more. I’ve always loved the sea, so the idea of studying right next to it made the course sound even more appealing.
2) What’s the thing you find most exciting about going on study abroad next year? Any goals for whilst you’re away?
Pretty much all of it! I’m heading out to Canberra, Australia, and I’m really looking forward to experiencing a new sort of culture to our own, as well as meeting loads of new people. It feels weird talking about different cultures when Australia seems very similar to England, but it’ll be cool to see how far that’s true!
To be honest, I’m not really sure what my goals are for while I’m over there. Obviously I’m looking forward to learning new, different modules, but I suppose I’d quite like to improve on my writing and just make the most out of the whole experience.
I want to be able to come home and look back over the year and think: ‘Yeah, I made the most out of my time, I did everything I wanted to do and more, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to do this.’
3) Tell us about 2 people you think need more appreciation (fictional, famous, just someone you know – anybody!)
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I sometimes feel that Mark Ruffalo doesn’t get the same level of recognition as the other actors within the ‘Marvel’ universe. Not only is he a great actor, he’s wonderfully outspoken on political issues which pose major problems for today’s society, probably more so than his co-stars. He’s an all-round awesome human being, and he deserves so much more credit than people give him.
On that political note, I guess Jeremy Corbyn also should get a mention: not because he’s not in the public eye, but because I feel the media gives such a biased, negative account of him that he needs all the appreciation he can get. He stands by his personal values – I mean, he rebelled against his own party for 25% of all votes whilst he was MP – and, contrary to what the Conservatives may think, is a strong leader.
Whilst all the other Labour leadership candidates complained about the extent of welfare cuts, and then feebly abstained from the vote, Corbyn stood by his word and voted against it. With his stand on ethics and emphasis on politics, not smear campaigns or performativity, I think he deserves more of a chance than he’s getting because of the systematic, indoctrinating campaign against him.
4) Any projects you’re working on at the moment or causes / projects you think need more attention?
*TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse, rape*
I’m basically a middle-aged woman in a twenty-year-old’s body, so I listen to ‘The Archers’ persistently, to the despair of my long-suffering housemates! For anyone who isn’t a fan (heathens, the lot of you!), recently a long-running story-line has started coming to its – rather traumatic – climax; or, at least, appears to be. The domestic abuse inflicted on Helen Archer by her manipulative, controlling husband has ramped up over the past year: first it was the subtle comments about her appearance; then it was slowly convincing her that she couldn’t cope with work; then it was the marital rape; then it was distancing her from her friends and family, and driving a wedge between her and her son Henry; then it was the gaslighting; and now, just a few days ago, it was hitting her and making her think that it was all her fault, before raping her yet again.
It’s been a well-handled, chilling story-line which has divided the opinion of listeners, and raised awareness on what domestic abuse entails beyond hurting a partner physically. ‘The Helen Titchener Rescue Fund’ on JustGiving has so far raised over £70,000 for ‘Refuge’ as a result of this, and even if you don’t listen to the show, this campaign is such a positive response to a harrowing storyline, and it deserves more coverage than it has at present.
Also, I think that even though the Refugee Crisis is so much in the news, charities that are trying to alleviate the situation aren’t getting enough air-time – or support – in order to achieve their aims. This is more than outrageous, given that we have elected not to open our borders to people desperately trying to escape such terrible violence, and yet we still refuse to give them the support they need. More needs to be done here, so the more attention paid to this issue, the better.
5) As exam season approaches we’re going to need to revise everything we’ve studied over the past year (the horror!). What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learnt this year?
Educationally, I think exploring the making of the Middle East has been the most interesting subject this year. Understanding the events which has formed the region today has made current issues, and the problems around them, clearer in my mind, which I think is important if we are to ever find a way to calm the tensions both within the Middle East and between the region and the West.
Socially, I’ve been taking Pole Fit classes and learnt some really cool new tricks, which has improved my self-confidence and ability to tackle new challenges, and worked at McDonald’s, which has enabled me to stand up more for myself and take charge of situations more often.