Editorial - Raise and Give Week and Its Importance

Welcome one and all to Byline issue nine! This issue goes to print on Raise and Give week, so I hope everyone reading this is having a good week, staying safe, enjoying themselves and most importantly raising much-needed funds for three very worthy charities.It’s always important to give back to the community in any way you can. I personally have been taking part in charity events for almost as long as I can remember. From singing competitions to bake sales, to walks and to just waving a bucket in peoples faces asking for hard earned change, I’ve always enjoyed the process of giving my time up for something more important than just myself. Due to the vast amount of people that step foot into UCC each week, Raise and Give week is a huge opportunity to make a very real difference to people’s lives, people who are less fortunate than ourselves, people that are ill, people that are having a hard time and people that find themselves in a difficult position or a difficult place in their life.For this reason, I’m asking that while you have a great time out with your friends attending events, going to the pub or dancing the night away at Voodoo, that you try not to completely forget that all the people carrying buckets around campus are your peers and are trying their best to raise as much money they can, on behalf of you and UCC, to make the lives of others better. Now that the ‘lesson’ for this editorial has finished, lets take a look at what this issue holds. Film & TV editor Aaron Frahill takes a look at Loot Boxes in gaming, and why they have the potential to divide the gaming community. Our Music editor JJ reviews the heats of UCC’s Battle of The Band and Isabella, our food editor, has a look at where’s best to treat the special person in your life on Valentines Day.Over the past two weeks I have had the incredible opportunity to chat to two amazingly talented musicians in EDEN and Rushes. I have been listening to both artists for a very long time, both interviews have been a long time in the making and it is an absolute pleasure to feature both in the same issue. Thank you for taking the time to read Byline and I hope you enjoy!