The Pi Perspective: Week 4

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

At Pi Online, we are a massive group of editors who work together to curate content for the website. But who are we really? What do we like, dislike, observe, think?

Each week, we’re pulling back the curtain with a new editorial spotlighting what’s been on our minds.

Editors-in-Chief

Readers, rejoice: January is finally finished. If the month felt endless, joyless, and suspiciously longer than the rest, please know this was not a personal failing. January simply operates on its own timeline.

In the depths of it, I came across the following poem on Instagram from Brian Bilston, one that feels less like satire and more like documentation:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November.
Unless a leap year is its fate,
February hath twenty-eight.
All the rest hath three days more,
excepting January,
which hath six thousand,
one hundred and eight-four.

Take this as both validation and closure. Surviving January is an accomplishment. The rest of the year may yet disappoint, but at least it will do so in fewer days.

News

At this point in the term, my focus has been almost solely on finding the right approach for my upcoming dissertation proposal. In its own way, immersing myself entirely in work has been a reprieve from the heavier news stories of the week – the current state of British politics in particular being something I wanted to avoid. Despite this, when scrolling through the news my attention was caught by an article from earlier in January, about the discovery of Ancient Roman ruins in Port Talbot, in south Wales. Having spent a long time recently reading about Edward I and his conquests in Wales, it was exciting to find out a bit more about Welsh history, from a time far before even the middle ages.

These ruins have been called by the archaeologists as potentially ‘Port Talbot’s Pompeii’, which certainly gives them a lot to live up to. What is striking about this discovery is that the ruins are not military, but a Roman villa, informing us of the significance of Wales to Roman Britain, not just as a periphery but as a hub in its own right. While the ruins may not be as expansive or unique as Pompeii, it’s great to see these historical discoveries in the news, and I hope that the history of Roman Wales gets much more attention going forward.

Features

Starting my first year in university was certainly daunting. Especially when you are 14 hours away from home, and you barely know anyone here. My TikTok algorithm was somehow informed about this and responded accordingly. One video would be about someone having a blast side questing with their tight-knit friend group. A few videos later, there would be another totally contradicting one about how university was the loneliest they had ever been. Naturally, I started to worry about ending up on the more unfortunate side over the next 3 years. The consequential overthinking of every interaction took a toll on me.

However, a few 15-second videos of others are not a good indicator of what 1095 days will look like for anyone. Everyone must have their own highs and lows. Comparing your life to these cherry-picked moments would only mentally obstruct you from living it to the fullest. 

Opinion

The American mainstream left has become astonishingly shallow, at least online. The critical eye of the modern liberal (who is, in reality, far more centrist than liberal) seems more concerned with spotting the ‘correct’ symbols and affiliations than in genuine values and material impact. A celebrity’s conspicuous silence on a given political affair is considered grounds for cancellation, but they are quickly and mysteriously absolved of these charges as soon as they repost a vague declaration that killing innocent civilians – in Gaza, in Iran, in Sudan, in Minneapolis – is wrong. How groundbreaking.

While support for Trump’s administration is disgusting and condemnable, support for the Democrats is somehow equated to moral integrity, all while both parties accept funding from the same weapons manufacturers and associated PACs, and their foreign policy dutifully serves these donors. Under both parties, aristocratic billionaires in the U.S. have continued to accumulate wealth at the expense of the working class, yet we are expected to indulge in a rose-colored nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ of Obama. What passes for political consciousness is therefore less a commitment to true leftist values than a ritual of self-exoneration – a performance, and not a very convincing one at that. 

Lifestyle and Culture

I’m a sucker for a little treat. I can’t make it home from a lecture without stopping for something sweet; my cups of tea feel oddly lonely without a stack of biscuits, and I can only begin to hyperfocus on an essay once I’ve secured a packet of crisps. While I’ll admit my snacking habits aren’t exactly a glowing endorsement for wellness culture, there are definitely worse vices to have. 

My latest obsession is Blank Street’s new blondie-flavoured Matcha: salt, brown sugar, caramel, cookie butter, and miso folded into their signature ceremonial grade matcha. I take mine large - oat milk, over ice. 

Don’t get me wrong - it’s ridiculously overpriced, the ice takes up half the cup, and it’s gone in about three slurps. Still, considering some students spend £20 a week on a packet of Marlboros, I reckon I can justify a spenny matcha every once in a while (yeah, yeah…queue the ‘basic white girl’ allegations).

In a world that constantly demands productivity and restraint, maybe there’s something quietly radical about choosing a small, fleeting pleasure simply because it makes the day feel softer… or maybe it’s just a matcha. 

Sometimes, that’s reason enough. 

Sports

With the World Cup fast approaching, there are many questions over how players and fans from specific countries will be treated with the current escalating political tensions. Over the last month, there has been increasing violence in Minneapolis at the hands of US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE). US citizens have been targeted by ICE Agents because of their skin colour, which is a serious cause for concern for many travelling players and fans coming from regions including the Middle East and Africa.

The World Cup is supposed to act as a unifying force, bringing a variety of individuals together to celebrate their different cultures whilst watching the beautiful game, but the political tensions within the USA threaten to fracture this unity.

For those of us who watch and love football, the World Cup could not be a more exciting event, however political tensions threaten to overshadow the unity the games are supposed to promote.