£100 worth of prizes up for grabs with polygon new writers competition!

Want to win a £25 Amazon gift voucher, or tickets to Birmingham Comic-con? With our writing competition we've got 6 prizes up for grabs for the best articles, belonging to 6 different categories (Best overall, Funniest Article, Most Informative and Best Use of Media)

How to enter: Write an article on a subject of your choice (between 200 - 800 words long, the choice is yours) and send your article along with any media or photography items as an attachment to: Polly.Jones@mail.bcu.ac.uk with the subject heading being POLYGON COMPETITION ENTRY.

Need any help or advice, feel free to contact me or isaac.turner@mail.bcu.ac.uk, or come in and find us in the scratch office! Alternatively, come find us on the Scratch Media Table at Welcome fair on the 18th of September.

~T&Cs : Polygon has permission to print & publish your work on the Polygon Magazine/ website once winners have been announced.

You are allowed to use a pseudonym upon publishing, but must ask directly for this to be the case.

Entries must include your Name and student number.

Entries will be checked for plagiarism and if it is found will be withdrawn from the competition.

Competition Prizes are as follows:

Best Overall Prize: £25 Amazon Voucher

Funniest Article: 2 tickets to comedian of their choice at a Birmingham Venue* (worth up too £35) or a £15 amazon voucher

Best Informative: 2 X day tickets to MCM Birmingham* worth £25 in total or a £15 amazon Voucher

Best use of media : £15 Amazon Voucher

Deadlines for Entry: is the 20th October at 4pm any later entries will be disqualified from the competition

*Subject to Availability

Gig Guide: September

So you've moved in, you've gone to every club, tuition is about to start, what do you do now with your evenings? Attend gigs of course!

So, for all you music fanatics out there, or those just interested in discovering some new artists and seeing them live, here is a gig guide and artist overview for the next month.

Wednesday the 18th of September: Zuzu at the sunflower lounge

If you like The Zutons or Haley Kiyoko, then this gig is a one for you. Zuzu is a relatively small artist, originally from Liverpool and her punk-rock song tone and scouse accent makes for a nice combination. You can pick up a ticket to this concert for £8.25, from See Tickets (link below)

(https://birminghampromoters.seetickets.com/event/zuzu/the-sunflower-lounge-birmingham/1410211)

Thursday the 19th of September: No Hot Ashes (With Roma Cove & Honey I Shot The President) at the Sunflower Lounge

Having toured with The Amazons and performed at the Isle of White Festival, this 2018 band inspired by the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen present a fresh alternative indie sound that considering there recent history with gigs (selling out the 950 capacity Manchester Academy) is bound to be a hit. Tickets cost 8.80 (including transaction fees) from see tickets (link below)

https://birminghampromoters.seetickets.com/event/no-hot-ashes/the-sunflower-lounge-birmingham/1392457

Friday the 20th of September: Catapult Club presents Charm Offensive / [SKETCH] / The Filthy Casuals / Man Called Skip / Block C at the O2 Accademy3

Why see one band when you could see 5 new bands? This pretty awesome lineup by Catapult club brings together the self described 'high energy punk band' [SKETCH], a University of Birmingham band man called skip and a young Gloucestershire Indie band The Filthy Casuals amongst others. Tickets cost £7.90 and can be bought by ticket master!

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1F00570992560EE8?_ga=2.263763849.427004474.1568589667-1216440929.1568589667&brand=o2academybirmingham&camefrom=CFC_AMG_BIRMINGHA_catcM

Tuesday the 24th of September: Pale Waves at the O2 Academy

Having got signed in 2017, Indie Pop sounding band pale waves have been touring various festivals, from Chicago's Lollapaloza festival through to Leeds. Tickets will set you back around £22 - but it's certain to be a good show!

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/pale-waves-birmingham-09-24-2019/event/1F005655B276470C?irgwc=1&utm_term=431519&utm_source=219208&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=1136448&utm_content=7559&clickId=1XvXcTVsmxyJRT1wUx0Mo3EzUkn0jB2VmwAUzY0

Thursday the 26th of September : Koyo at the Hare and Hounds

Having been selected to perform at the BBC introducing Stages in Leeds and Reading in 2017, Koyo have been making critically acclaimed music and performances that span into the prog rock genre. The Hare and hounds is a bit of a venture out into Kings Heath, but a £4-6 uber or a hop on the 35 bus will get you there in no time. For a £8.80 ticket to see such a well featured band in a nice small pub venue - its 100% worth the price!

(http://hareandhoundskingsheath.skiddletickets.com/event.php?id=13587998)

Saturday the 28th of September: The Penguin Cafe at The Town Hall

For a bit of a change of pace, this genre defying - mixed world orchestral band is performing there opening night of tour here in Birmingham. Tickets are a pricey £27.00 - but for a psychedelic trip without the substance abuse, this will make for a certainly memorable night out! https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/penguin-cafe-birmingham-09-28-2019/event/1F00567993342126?irgwc=1&utm_term=431519&utm_source=1298752&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=1136448&utm_content=7559&clickId=1XvXcTVsmxyJRT1wUx0Mo3EzUkn0jAVdmwAUzY0

That's my 5 gigs worth attending selection for this month, be sure to check back here for Octobers, and follow us on twitter for all updates!

Election News

If you’ll cast your mind back to our latest election, Sahib Singh was campaigning for his re-election to the BCUSU committee. Seemed like a nice enough man and his policies made sense, however he made one fatal flaw:

he wasn’t being re-elected.

His previous post was the Vice President, however this time he was making a bid for the top seat. You could possibly argue that he meant re-election to the committee, however I’m sure it wasn’t interpreted as this. This means that he has, by technicality, committed electoral fraud. This is minor compared to some of his more aggressive campaigning tactics, which have ruffled feathers around campus. Not only this, but I have also received information that Singh was working with another candidate that was struck off - Parvez Pathan. This is collusion, and incredibly amoral, not to mention illegal.

Now, he’s not the only person who’s guilty of this. We’ve noticed that this year candidates used more aggressive tactics than normal, engaging in debate with anyone who would listen and sometimes strong-arming voters. This comes after more than a few reports that some students have been pressured into voting by associates of candidates. These suspicions are confirmed by an article released by the election authorities on the union page, stating that four candidates were struck off. Sahib Singh was one of them, but to be fair to him it shows that poor candidate behaviour was a much broader issue.

In an interview, Mr Singh stated that “because there were only 5 sabbatical positions, and there were 35 candidates running for these positions...and everyone wants to win the election.” citing competition between candidates as the reason for this, going on to mention “ ...so many candidates blaming each other.” When asked about the allegations, he stated the nobody in his campaign team did anything wrong, at one point saying that “...They [the authorities] don’t have any proof.” He also stated that he did not have any contact with Parvez Pathan. This comes after a facebook post was released, containing a letter/petition that accuses BCUSU of discrimination, in blind disregard of the other BAME candidates that ran, not to mention the two that were successful.