Nyika

Nyika

@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

PhD student studying neurodivergent culture and the neoliberal standard of ‘normal’ within universities. Neurodivergent, pan, sea enjoyer, lady-in-waiting to Astrid and Fin the cats. Belle and Sebastian fan, 6music Dad. Tangata Tiriti in-progress.

1K followers817 following8.5K posts

Pinned

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Replying to @puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Hello, I’m Nyika. I’m a neurodivergent 30-something newly living in Auckland, Aotearoa NZ. I am in the first year of studying studying for a PhD in neurodiversity, the transition to adulthood, the neoliberal idea of ‘normal’, and critical pedagogy.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Reported these mammalian footprints in the caves where we saw the little blue penguins on Saturday to the council. Had a lovely phone call today to say they think they’re cat prints, and thanks for reporting.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Watched The Beach for the first time since reading the novel, and Christ, they really just missed absolutely every nuance it was possible to miss, didn’t they?

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

I have tidied my corner of the living room pretty thoroughly. Next job is shampooing the carpets where the cats eat their food, and then some general tidying.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

The difference between elections here in Aotearoa and in the UK is interesting. In the UK, you get one single day to vote (unless you do a postal vote in advance), and the polls open from 7am to 10pm on that day. I think having 13 days where you can vote here is pretty good.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Being able to vote on a weekend day is good too. Does anybody know how they staff polling stations, though? Are they temp workers? In the UK, they use temp workers; my mum has been a presiding officer every year for decades now.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Have had to put a slightly grumpy out of office on essentially saying "It's literally a public holiday, I am not looking at your extension requests until tomorrow"

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Got a lot of cardboard to burn. Obviously will be resting as well, we got back at 1:30am last night. But my mum comes later this week and I do not want her Judgement on our slightly messy house.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Sometimes I think it feels like everybody else can keep a neat house and you are weird if your house is a bit messy, but I actually think there are dozens of us. We just don’t talk about it cos there’s some sort of weird morality to neatness.

Nyika reposted

Patrick Wyman
@patrickwyman.bsky.social

Lula winning is great for the planet, great for Brazil, and great for people who aren't revanchist assholes everywhere in the world, but let's not forget that it's also going to make some of the worst people on Earth extremely sad and mad. We should enjoy that, as a little treat.

Nyika reposted

merman hellville
@seafoamghost.bsky.social

VERY interesting as we head into poppy month

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

The vast majority of parents don’t hit their kids any more. I think that’s an incredible win.

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Aotearoa when the weather warms up is unmatched. Found another tucked away beach, saw little blue penguins(!!!), paddled in the sea, and went in a supermarket with no shoes on and nobody thought that was weird.

Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Finished teaching for the semester (well, until I start teaching the late year semester in a few weeks). Feeling exceptionally tired but going to make myself swim anyway as it might wake me up.

Nyika reposted

Gaia Vince
@wanderinggaia.bsky.social

So boring that we’re still seeing this shit. Ugh

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'A Cambridge study found that of the 86 scientists named by UK exam boards, the English chemist [Rosalind Franklin], whose work in the 1950s helped reveal the structure of DNA, was the only woman.'

bbc.co.ukOnly one female scientist named in GCSEs, research findsA new study finds Rosalind Franklin is the only woman named in Key Stage 4 science specifications.
Nyika
@puzzledbyadream.bsky.social

Oh man. After several years of asserting that matcha tastes like grass, I tried it again (a vanilla matcha latte) and it’s actually really nice?