At the moment I’m reading a book called ‘Steeple Chasing’. It follows the journey of Peter Ross as he takes the reader across Britain by church, stopping to give heed to some of the most forgotten nooks and crannies of our landscape. It’s beautifully written, quietly thoughtful and endlessly nostalgic. You’d think that it might be difficult then to make a connection between this and our 2025 Sex Survey…but I’ll give it a go.

One building that Ross decides to pay homage to is St Peter’s Seminary, hidden in a woodland 20 miles west of Glasgow. It was once a brutalist paradise, now fallen to disrepair and resembling something a little more apocalyptic– I know I’d just adore it! Yet this is a building that divides opinion, with Ross commenting on a local stonemason who declared the place to be ‘a masterwork of hideousness and of delusional hubris’– harsh to say the least.  I suppose it was this passage that got me thinking about opinions and how, unlike the current more scientific tendency to see things in black and white, some quite polar opinions can exist at the same time and be equally correct.

Never have I felt this more than when I began reading the results of the survey this month. It’s fascinating to see how vastly answers can differ and it allowed me to challenge my own opinions. So thank you for taking the time to fill in the survey, for allowing me to reflect and also just for making me laugh! And yes, we could tell when you were just joking (no offence intended to those who do actually enjoy getting it on to ‘Happy Birthday’ or KSI’s ‘Thick Of It’).

But opinions can sometimes be difficult things to deal with, especially ones that curl themselves around matters that mean most to you. In the build-up starting the Sex Survey, I felt many emotions; excitement, curiosity, but also anxiety. I knew it would be inevitable that there would be just a little bit of discourse online about it and this discourse would be negative. We’re not unfamiliar with that at Concrete, with constructive criticism being great to get and so incredibly useful. However, it has to be said that some of the comments made on a certain Facebook confession page and on Instagram have been some of the most challenging obstacles to my mental health this academic year. 

One of the reasons why I would like to bring this up now, is that I’m very aware that the SU elections will be starting soon. I love the UEA and I want it to be a community that celebrates people when they put their head above the parapet and try their best to do something different. Yet most of all, I want it to be a place that can recognise failings and mistakes calmly, fairly and with understanding and empathy. So if you do feel the need to leave or like a comment about a campaign, I urge you to think about who it might affect, what sort of effect it might have on them and whether there is something more constructive you can do instead. It’s an exciting time, let’s be supportive.

But before I go, I do have something quite special to mention. Back in January, Concrete was awarded ‘Best Publication in the South East’ by the Student Publication Association. I can’t honestly express how much this means to me and I’m absolutely thrilled for the team. Jamie and I were also touched to both win the individual award for Outstanding Commitment. It does feel pretty good for the hard work to be noticed!

On that note, I hope that you all have a very lovely February and I trust that you’ll have (from the sounds of it) a very enjoyable Valentine’s!

Fiona Hill (she/her)

Co-Editor-In-Chief