Author: Simran Prasad

It’s pretty eye-opening to take a step back and think about what you do during your time at University. Even the smallest of hobbies may not seem significant as you start, but as you begin to include that hobby into your daily routine, you begin to realise the time allotment, dedication and commitment you put in toward that particular hobby. I recently looked back on societies I’ve joined, volunteering activities I’ve done, and hobbies that I continue to participate and realised that I’ve hardly done anything spontaneous or creative! Life at University tends to be monotonous, and it is so…

Mythologically speaking, Hindu’s believe that Diwali is a significant day of good over evil, as it ties into the Hindu Epic “Ramayana”, which marks Diwali as the day that the Hindu God Ram reached his kingdom after a period of exile and his army of good defeated the demon King Ravana’s army of evil. For many Indian Students at Bangor, Diwali or the “Festival of Lights” can be an event that makes them miss home and their families more. The festivities usually involve decorating the house with lamps and candles and making traditional Indian sweets. Taking this into account, the…

So, over the course of my time as a young adult, I’ve observed a strange fact: my behaviour and mentality sometimes drastically alter when I’ve watched a particular TV show or movie! I don’t know it if has to do with the genre of content or the attachment to a character or plotline, but I’ve often noticed just how impactful media content can be to my behaviour! It all started with my daily binge sessions of Criminal Minds. I went through about seven seasons within two weeks of continuously watching the show. As fascinated as I was with the idea…

A new semester has just begun, and for most people, this means a fresh start and new beginnings. Starting anything new is an exciting process but at the same time can also be a little bit nerve-wracking. Whether you are reading this as a second or third-year student, or if you have just settled into first year, I am going to try and give you some helpful advice on how to channel all your positive vibes into constructive energy especially during this new academic year. First things first, get organised. Now I don’t know about you guys, but to me,…

The leaves have started to turn and it’s only a matter of time before they are coated with a lovely iced-frosting. Yes, autumn has arrived, and the sudden chill has driven impulse buys on jumpers, winter coats and woolly hats. The summer wardrobe has had a changeover and we say goodbye to single layers for at least 7 months. Whilst we mourn the hot weather (we had a good summer let’s be honest) we’ve got to force ourselves to welcome the bitter cold with open arms. Some of you may love this season and why not! It’s festive family cheer,…

Diwali, or the ‘Festival of Lights’ signifies a lot to the Hindu community. It is one of the most popular Hindu festivals in the Indian Culture and symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Usually, the streets and homes of India are adorned with diyas, which are lamps and candles. People often pray to Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, in the hopes of a prosperous year! At Bangor, we have seen many festivals that celebrate this unique festival. The Bangor Indian Society have hosted notable festivities celebrating this joyous occasion in the…

Cultural appropriation has been a topic of conversation that has often been referenced and brought up quite often. Many people argue that cultural appropriation often oversteps the boundaries and violates collective intellectual property rights of people that originate from specific cultural groups. Though this is an aspect of our society that needs to be rectified, a clear example of this that I have seen almost every year is Halloween. It seems not to even occur to people as they dress up for a Halloween night out that their ‘costumes’ take an aspect of another culture and regard it as something…

Fresher’s Week is one of the most important events that commence your experiences at University. In a way, it represents the first impression you take away from University and usually this involves meeting new people, attending new events and involving yourself in new activities. My fresher’s week started off pretty stressful to be honest! I had just moved from Dubai and being an International Student came with a lot of doubts. I was constantly worried about whether I would fit in and be liked by my flatmates and if I would find any activities or societies that suited my interests.…

This week scientists revealed that chicken nuggets are linked to causing cancer. Which poses the question: with this knowledge, would we change our diet based on this newly-found scientific research? It comes as no surprise that processed food has a direct link to ill health, however, for those of us who are chicken nugget lovers like myself, would we be willing to cut out a favourite treat to ensure that we are in tune with good health? With this new information, it is intriguing to learn what the true ingredients are of a McDonald’s chicken nugget. Three important ingredients are:…

1) Having to explain to people where Bangor University is: Okay so Bangor may not be the world’s most popular university but having to explain to every person who doesn’t live in Wales where it is can start to get annoying. 2) Learning why Bitch Hill is called Bitch hill When I first started university here, one of the first things that you hear about is the dreaded ‘Bitch Hill’. You think It can’t be that bad until you experience it for the first time. It never gets better, and I’ve walked up it everyday for seven months. 3)…

The Bangor Indian Society recently celebrated the festival of colours and as expected, it was an event that incited a lot of excitement! Holi, the festival of colours, is a traditional hindu festival that marks the celebration of many things. It signifies the triumph of good over evil, the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The day is used to meet up with friends, repair relationships and to laugh and enjoy the thrilling parts of life together. This is celebrated by affectionately playing with coloured powder, dousing each other in water or throwing coloured powder on each other.…

So, it is with International Women’s day that we celebrate women’s empowerment as well as recognising the injustice the female gender still faces today.After a long and chilly winter, we’ve finally reached the month of March. The long-awaited month where we welcome Easter, Spring and Mother’s Day to name a few. The icicles have melted, and we can feel the warmer weather on the horizon. As well as the named well known occasions, there is also another very important occasion we celebrate on March the 8th, International Women’s Day. This is a day I don’t want to sail by without…

People are always usually under the impression that single people have it tough around Valentine’s Day. I can understand that sentiment. With this immense celebration of couples and commitment to another person, it is easy to feel alienated from society and its pressures. However, I tend to see Valentine’s Day as a sure-fire way to invest in yourself! Though the pressures of this holiday are daunting, it is important to remember that your self-love does not depreciate or lose value simply because people assume this holiday is celebrated for couples only! It is time to put that mind-set behind…

After reading an article this week about the popular bakery chain Greggs providing a Valentine’s dinner service , it got me thinking about the inevitable annual Valentine’s Day hype. I, like many others, find this arrangement to be quite comedic. Greggs is the last place I’d think to take my significant other for a romantic candlelit dinner for two, but for some strange reason, I love it! Why shouldn’t we enjoy the cheap offer Greggs has literally laid out for us on a plate. There is so much pressure nowadays for couples to pull out all the stops on Valentine’s…

The Golden Globe Awards 2018 has been the most talked about topic this year. From the dress code, to the speeches, to the controversy, but here’s why we hope that it goes down in history. This year’s Golden Globes was all about movement, making a statement and standing together. A sea of blackness rippled across the red carpet in support of the ‘Times Up’ campaign which stands to stop sexual harassment. Both men and women dressed head to toe in black to show how the unfair, sexist aspect of the industry will no longer be approved of, and how…

As humans, we pride ourselves on being the most successful race to have competed with the entire animal kingdom. Though we believe this to be true, at times our actions are often inconsistent with the level of evolution we would have had to undergo to be as capable as we claim to be. Most people believe that the process of evolution spans thousands of years, and that our ability to evolve is a slow process. However, numerous biologists have confirmed that the entire process of evolution can happen at a surprisingly rapid pace. Upon reflection, it is understandable why…