Vaccinations – Do anti-vaxers have a point?
21st February 2020
Tegan
A growing trend in recent years has been an increased doubt of vaccines. This doubt has given rise to a group of people calling themselves “Anti-Vaxers”. They claim that vaccinations are bad for us, however, they use incredibly flimsy and easily debuncable arguments. So today, I am going to debunk some of them. “Vaccines cause […]
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Why the Name Matters
13th February 2020
Tegan
When naming anything, whether it’s a book, an invention, or a nickname for a friend, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Recognition If a name is widely used, whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay. For example, if you decided to start calling toast “grilled bread”, people would […]
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The Oscars 2020
9th February 2020
Kieran
Here we are again. It’s year three of me putting myself through the ordeal of watching every best picture nominee for the Academy Awards. And this year, boy did they outdo themselves. After the whole race row of a few years ago, you would think they would have learned. But, it turns out, they thought […]
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Sleep Tight
22nd January 2020
NEBeep
A light went out on Monday night here in the North East, a light that shone so brightly and warmed so many people in so many ways. Jack Mitchell was one of the most inspiring human beings I have had the joy of knowing. His lust for making the world a better place was infectious […]
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And we’re back
9th January 2020
NEBeep
After a well-deserved break, b**p is back up and running and keen to bring you topics for discussion and your info in 2020. There will be some changes coming, which we will keep you up to date on as and when they happen, but for now, our writers are getting warmed up once again to […]
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What have we done?
17th December 2019
Sophie
If the general election has brought light on anything it is the true colours of our beloved Britain; selfish, racist, homophobic, prejudice and foolish Britain. We have voted against everything that we should be proud of: the NHS, council housing, free education, benefits, the list can go on. And why? Because we are scared of […]
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The benefits of bilingualism
17th December 2019
James L
It’s common knowledge that learning a second language can do wonders for your career, but bilingualism is worth much more than a bullet point on a CV. Learning a foreign language often helps you to understand your own. By studying the complexities of a foreign language you learn to identify key features in your own […]
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Gig Review: Sam Fender
10th December 2019
Lauren E. White
North Shields and north east sweetheart Sam Fender took Newcastle’s O2 Academy by storm for two nights last weekend – and what an impression he made. The north already adores Fender, who grew up on a North Shields council estate with his mam, but this weekend only increased that admiration for the up-and-coming star. He […]
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Social housing: where did it go?
10th December 2019
NEBeep
Social housing is housing provided by the government to people with low income or particular needs. These houses, also known as council houses, have much lower rent than regular houses, and usually provide long-term tenancy to help tenants focus on improving their lives. However, in recent years, there has been nowhere near enough social housing […]
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Review: Flat White, Durham
28th November 2019
Lauren E. White
3.5/5 As I’ve said many times before in my restaurant reviews, the small city of Durham provides a hub of places to eat for foodies and those who just want a belly full. Flat White is one of the most popular brunch restaurants in Durham for both types of people – so popular, in fact, […]
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Dealing with Wanting to Drop Out
28th November 2019
Lauren E. White
University can be one of the most challenging times in an individual’s life. Suddenly, you’re all away from home and the friends and family you love with a bunch of people who are so utterly different from you. You might not like your course, your ‘friends’ or the city you’re in. And suddenly you find […]
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Review: Great British Cupcakery, Newcastle
27th November 2019
Lauren E. White
4/5 If you’re on the hunt for the most-grammable food you can find, The Great British Cupcakery should be at the very top of your list. With the most dreamy aesthetic in the shop itself, and the most gorgeous-looking cupcakes and shakes you’ve ever seen, it is unbeatable. I have had my fair share of […]
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Never Take a True Friend for Granted
27th November 2019
Lauren E. White
True friends are probably the most valuable thing you can have in life. They know your deepest secrets, your past traumas, all your jokes, all your memories. They’re in all your photos, all your thoughts and all of your future plans. And most importantly, they’re there for you in any time of need. That’s why […]
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Review: Slug and Lettuce, Durham
26th November 2019
Lauren E. White
4/5 Although Durham is home to many independent restaurants, cafes and bars, sometimes it’s nice to step inside of a big chain like Slug and Lettuce. Slug and Lettuce is one of the brand new restaurants in the historical city of Durham, situated next to the Champagne Bar and the Gala Theatre. From the moment […]
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Why a No-Deal Brexit Should be Ruled Out
26th November 2019
Lauren E. White
Brexit has quickly become the bane of pretty much every British person’s life. The news, every TV programme, articles, comedy – you name it, they’re all talking about Brexit. And even though nobody can agree on anything, I propose there’s one thing we should agree on. It’s that no-deal should be ruled out entirely as […]
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Top 5 Music Artists of the 2010s
25th November 2019
Jack McArdle
After reviewing the top five DJs of the 2010s, I’ve decided to tackle the past 10 years of music as a whole. Therefore I’m going to explain, in-depth, why I believe that the following five artists have had the most influence across the globe since 2010. 5. Bruno Mars A close call for the fifth […]
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Facebook Should Ban All Political Ads
25th November 2019
Lauren E. White
When it comes to election time, tensions run high. They run high within households, cities, workplaces – and even the highest of companies. A couple of weeks ago, demands were made to have Facebook ban all political ads. And just this week, Google has announced they will ban them. This news comes after the EU […]
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Good Riddance to Prince Andrew
24th November 2019
Lauren E. White
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past couple of weeks, you’ll know that there’s been uproar surrounding Prince Andrew – the Queen’s favourite son. The whole Prince Andrew scandal is centred around the fact that he had a long and close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex trafficker. And when this […]
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How is technology altering the way we see the world?
24th November 2019
James L
Augmented reality is a rapidly growing technology capable of changing the world around us. While it’s sister tech, VR, transports the user to entirely different worlds, AR focuses on modifying your world. It is defined as “a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite […]
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Beware of the Tories – they are lying to you
23rd November 2019
Lauren E. White
The headline of this piece may come as absolutely no surprise to you. Yes, the Tories are lying. Again. To you. Except, the problem is that, this time, they are lying to you during an election campaign where things like lies really do matter. The first strike was during the ITV debate between Prime Minister […]
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Mastering Politics: Labour Manifesto 2019
23rd November 2019
Lauren E. White
Politics is never easy – and neither is cutting through all of the noise around it. But that’s why we’re here, and we’re explaining the key points of the Labour Party‘s manifesto for the 2019 general election. First of all, what’s a manifesto? Basically, a manifesto is a document produced by the political party with […]
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British orphans in Syria returned to UK
22nd November 2019
Lauren E. White
A group of orphaned British children in Syria have been returned to the UK, it has been announced. The children are the first to be repatriated to Britain from north-eastern Syria where Daesh formerly held control. It was announced that the Foreign Office had been asked to bring the children to Britain after they became […]
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Must Watch: This Country
22nd November 2019
Jack McArdle
I’ve always watched the British version of The Office and have absolutely loved it. Stephen Merchant was able to bring a completely different medium of comedy to our screens and it’s never really been matched. However, the new BBC mockumentary sitcom This Country came highly recommended to me by my mother and Rotten Tomatoes, and […]
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Unpopular Opinions: Voting Age Shouldn’t be Lowered
12th November 2019
Daniel Craven
In recent years, young people across the country have become seemingly more politically active than ever before. This is, for the most part, down to the two ‘doomsday’ events that had a seismic impact on the political landscape across the globe: the election of Donald Trump as President and the UK’s decision to leave the […]
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What the Hell Are: Fake Online Influencers
11th November 2019
Jack McArdle
Online influencers are a great way for advertisers to reach a young audience. Through a quick Instagram story, or a five minute YouTube video, a product can get more attention than a New York City billboard. However, a recent phenomenon in this influencer ordeal is that some don’t actually exist. Fake online influencers are a […]
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How One Man’s Blunder Prompted Fall of Berlin Wall
10th November 2019
Bronwen
The 9th of November this year marked 30 years since the night West Germans and East Germans celebrated atop the Berlin Wall after a Socialist Unity Party official mistakenly confirmed that the border would be open for crossing. On the 9th of November 1989, Günter Schabowski was to lead a press conference which was supposed […]
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Why you should just wear a red poppy
10th November 2019
Lauren E. White
November means one thing, mainly: it means it’s poppy season. Remembrance Day falls in this month, and it is always a time of great reflection for the nation. Yet this November, there is quite a stir on social media about the red poppy, with a few individuals equating it with supporting racism and homophobia. This […]
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What Annoyed the Internet This Week
8th November 2019
Bronwen
‘No good turn goes unpunished’ is an expression that might be quite close to home for US rapper Kanye West at the moment after he was falsely accused of providing sub-par catering at an event he performed at on the 1st of November. Kanye and his Sunday Service team performed at a fundraising event called […]
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Friendships of Convenience
6th November 2019
Lauren E. White
It is estimated that we meet around 80,000-100,000 people in our lifetime. Of these people, some become our closest friends, some become enemies and some fall into a strange category: friendships of convenience. Most people experience friendships of convenience at work, where it is, generally speaking, convenient to be on good terms with everyone. It […]
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Tory candidate: Benefits Street stars should be ‘put down’
6th November 2019
Lauren E. White
It’s not every day you catch a prospective MP candidate who said that the people starring in Channel 4 TV show Benefits Street should be “put down”. Yet Conservative candidate Francesca O’Brien said this in 2014 on Facebook, it was revealed. O’Brien, who is running to be MP for Gower in South Wales, was selected […]
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Unpopular Opinions: Climate Activists are Doing it Wrong
5th November 2019
Daniel Craven
Besides the murder, corruption and countless other happy goings-on in the world, two words seem to stand out. By now, they are words capable of striking fear into the hearts of even the youngest children. Words describing something that, according to some, is going to wipe us from the face of the earth in just […]
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UK Terror Threat Downgraded
5th November 2019
Lauren E. White
The terror threat in the United Kingdom has been downgraded to “substantial”, according to the Home Office yesterday. Although this means the UK is still at a “high level of threat” according to Home Secretary Priti Patel, it is the lowest threat level since 2014. During the course of the past five years, the threat […]
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Unpaid Internships are Supporting Inequality
4th November 2019
Lauren E. White
It’s the time of year when students up and down the country are applying for internships at firms all over the place. The bankers, accountants and computer whizzes all have one thing in common: there are plenty of opportunities out there, up and down the country, and all of it is paid. The media, journalism, […]
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Private Jets: A Necessity for All Apart from Everyone
31st October 2019
Jack McArdle
It’s unlikely that you or I will ever experience the feeling of being the only person on a plane as it crosses borders 30,000 feet up. Contrastingly, for some, the only way to enter a new country is by privately jetting off in a swanky Bombardier jet. Private jet sustainability has been threatened in the […]
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Response to: The Wage Gap Isn’t Down to the Patriarchy
30th October 2019
Robert
‘The wage gap’ is phrase which has floated around for years in society, encompassing the fact that women are paid less than men. It cannot be denied that the wage gap exists: it’s a fact. Yet more often than not the phrase is perceived as simple, when indeed it is not and the wage gap […]
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Dealing With Feelings of Dread
30th October 2019
Lauren E. White
Feelings of dread are acutely different from feelings of anxiety. The root of dread is probably the same as anxiety, though it’s not quite the same. Dread is more of an overwhelmingly dulling feeling, while anxiety is much more hyper-active, making you alert to everything that is happening and that could possibly happen. Dread is […]
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MP to stand down due to abuse
29th October 2019
Lauren E. White
We often hear about how toxic things have become in politics. Be it Brexit, immigration, the NHS – all of these issues are highly emotive and have, without a doubt, caused tensions to run high with those holding public office. However, MP Heidi Allen has announced she is to stand down due to abuse she […]
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Unpopular Opinions: Child Transitions are Harmful
29th October 2019
Daniel Craven
You may have seen the recent news story making waves across the US this past week: a Texas jury ruled against a father trying to win sole custody of his twin seven-year-old sons, one of whom is due to begin hormone replacement therapy in order to begin the transition from male to female. This transition […]
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Zimbabwe droughts raise elephant sales
29th October 2019
Jack McArdle
After the recent droughts in Zimbabwe, over 50 elephants starved to death due to severe food shortages in national parks. The biggest drought in years has come at a bad time, with the economy of the Southern African country collapsing right before our very eyes. In the midst of it all, further controversy has surrounded […]
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The Best Ways to Make New Friends at Uni
29th October 2019
Lauren E. White
Now that the immediate buzz surrounding the infamous Freshers’ Week is over, and students are starting to settle in, things can start to get a little bit more overwhelming. Suddenly you’re alone in the world with a bunch of random people you’ve known for just a few short weeks, and yet it feels like the […]
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Brexit extension agreed by EU
28th October 2019
Lauren E. White
It has been announced today by the European Union that the UK has been granted a further Brexit extension – 31st January 2020. EU Council President Donald Tusk said the extension is more of a “flextension”, meaning that the UK government can take us out of the EU before that deadline if they wish to […]
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Eminem Questioned over Ivanka Trump Lyrics
28th October 2019
Bronwen
Eminem has been questioned by the US Secret Service over some “threatening” lyrics towards Ivanka Trump. A “concerned citizen” prompted the Service agents to visit the rapper after listening to his 2017 song Framed. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has spoken out against the Trumps in the past. In 2017, he dropped a […]
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Beetle named after Greta Thunberg
28th October 2019
Lauren E. White
Climate change activist Greta Thunberg has been given the honour of having a newly-discovered beetle named after her. Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London officially named the beetle Nelloptodes gretae due to the 16-year-old’s “outstanding contribution” to leading the fight towards environmental reform. Although it may seem slightly offensive to some to have […]
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IS leader dead in Syria after raid
27th October 2019
Lauren E. White
It was announced today by President Trump that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a US-led raid in Syria. The leader of the Islamic State terrorist group detonated a suicide vest as he fled into a tunnel, chased by US military dogs. Speaking from the White House, Mr Trump said Baghdadi was a […]
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Fathers deserve the same custody rights as mothers
27th October 2019
Lauren E. White
It doesn’t matter whether your parents are together or divorced, or whether you live with your mother or your father, or your two mothers or just your dad – everyone has two parents. And, generally speaking, you love those two parents just the same and they love you just as much as the other. Obviously, […]
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EU discusses Brexit extension
25th October 2019
Lauren E. White
Following predictably dramatic scenes in Parliament this week, EU leaders are discussing the possibility of a Brexit extension as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushes for a general election. EU ambassadors have come together today to consider how long to give Britain before we leave the Union. It comes after Chancellor Sajid Javid admitted that Johnson’s […]
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When Things Don’t Go to Plan…
25th October 2019
Lauren E. White
Life has such a good way of throwing everything you ever planned straight out of the window. For years and years you may have planned to live in a certain place, in a certain way, with certain people. Then, one day, the plans just crumble before you. So, when things don’t go to plan, what […]
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Large firms ignoring climate change risk bankruptcy
24th October 2019
Robert
Bank of England governor Mark Carney suggests he warns that companies which are not aiming towards net zero-carbon emissions are at detrimental risk of going bankrupt due to the efforts of financial investors. Speaking with The Guardian, Carney suggested that the global efforts needed to tackle the current climate crisis could end up in a […]
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High-five for Parkinson’s first home SAFC match
23rd October 2019
Jack McArdle
Sunderland’s new boss Phil Parkinson sampled the home support of his team for the first time last night, in an impressive 5-0 win for Sunderland over Tranmere Rovers. Goals from five of Sunderland’s starting eleven showed how reassured the whole squad was to get three points. From the get-go, Sunderland were offensively minded, with striker […]
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Why I hate student politics
23rd October 2019
Lauren E. White
Student politics is often thought of as a vehicle to make great change at universities up and down the country. It’s viewed as a way for students from all backgrounds to get involved and change things. It’s all about representation. Except it isn’t. Student politics – at least in my experience – is about vanity […]
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