1. 19Tuesday,April28,2015 www.thestar.co.uk THESTAR
BYSIANHODKIN
SHEFFIELDHALLAMUNIVERSITYSTUDENT
Lifestyle
PresenterSuePerkinswas‘trolled’overTopGearjob
Sendthetrolls
packingbackunder
theirbridges
I
fyouhavekeptupwiththewholeTopGear
andJeremyClarksonfracasoverthepast
fewmonths,youwillknowthatitdoesnot
looklikeitwillbeendinganytimesoon.
Briefly,Clarksonwasletgofromhisposi-
tionaspresenterontheBBC’shitTopGear
showearlierthismonth,causinganuproar
amongfans.
Now,Idonotwanttogetintoashouldheor
shouldn’thehavebeenfiredfromTopGeardebate.
TheissueIhaveisthatwhenrumourssurfacedthat
SuePerkins,whohasanimpressiveportfolioasa
comedienne,actress,broadcasterandwriter,wasgo-
ingtotakeClarkson’sseatonTopGearshefaced‘The
Troll’.
Aftershewasannouncedasthebookmaker’s
favouritetotakeontherole,Suereceivedabusive
TweetsfromsupposedTopGearfanstellingherthey
wouldliketoseeher‘burntodeath’andwished‘she
wasdead’.
Nowwhowouldmakesuchahorrific,dreadful
statement?Trolls,that’swho.Anonymous,untracea-
blefiguresbehindascreen,typingoutunimaginable
insultsandthreatswhowillfacelittletonorepercus-
sionfortheiractions.
Why?Becauseit’snearimpossibletotraceatroll.
SocialMediaisquick,easyandaccessible.Youcanas
easilysetupanaccountasyoucandeleteone.Trolls
seemtofindsolaceinthisanonymity,itseemstogive
themthestrengthtocontinuetheironlinesiege.
However,whattheydonotseemtorealiseisthe
dangerouspaththeyleavebehindthem.Themark
leftonthevictimofthisonlineterrorcannotbede-
leted.Youcan’tsimplyeraseanytraceoftheinsults
tovictimsofonlineabuse,itcanlivewiththemfor
therestoftheirlifeandbedetrimentaltotheirself-
confidenceandmayevenbefatal.
Sowhatcanwedo?Howcanpeoplefightsome-
thingonline?Wellforone,wehavetoprovidesup-
portforvictimstoknowthatitisthetrollthathasthe
problem,notthem.
Weneedtoknowhowaccessiblesupportisand
howtofindthe‘report’buttononsocialmedia.Trolls
thrivefromanaudience,solet’sstop.Themoreusers
continuetoengageandarguewithtrolls,thelonger
theywillcontinuetoinflictabuse.Ifyoureceivea
horribletweetfromanunknownaccount,report
it.Ifitstartstobecomemoreconsistent,contactan
onlinesupportgroupandfindhelpavailabletodeal
withthem.
Hopefully,thisbreedofonlinetrollswillgiveup
theirkeyboardsandsoonreturntoresidingunder
bridges.
BYSIANHODKIN
WEATHER
Learn how to stay
safe in the sun
Everyonelovesasummer
holiday,butitcanalsothrow
upsomechallengesforour
skinwiththeobviousbeing
sunburn.
TheBritishSkinFoundation
offerssunsafetyadviceon
itswebsite-seewww.ittake-
sseven.org.uk/skin-cancer-
facts.
Sunburncancauselong-
termdamagetotheskinand
preventionshouldbethe
key.
HEALTH
Hikers wanted for
heart charity trek
HeartResearchUKiscalling
onwalkersinSouthYork-
shiretotakepartinitsYork-
shireDalesHikeforYour
Heartfestival.
TheeventonJune20raises
moneytofortheprevention,
treatmentandcureofheart
disease.
Tofindoutmorevisitwww.
heartresearch.org.uk/
events/yorkshire-three-
peaks-valleysorcallthe
charityon01132347474.
CHARITY
Why not take part
in Race for Life?
The5kRaceforLifewhich
raisesfundsforCancerRe-
searchisgettingbiggerand
bettereveryyear.
Don’tmissoutonyour
chancetoshowcancerwho’s
bossandgetinvolved.
Signupfromjust£12.99.
Tofindoutwhereyournear-
estRaceforLifeistaking
place,visithttp://racefor-
life.cancerresearchuk.org/
choose-your-event/index.
SignupforRaceforLife2015
GuestsatthedinnerhadtheopportunitytoaskquestionstoJessicaEnnis-Hill,NickMatthewandDanWalker
Morethan£25,000wasraisedduringtheauction
ist Pete McKee and a pair of
gloves worn by Sheffield
cricketer Joe Root when he
hit a century against India –
wereauctionedoff.
But it was the last action
of the night which Hope-Gill
saystypifiedtheevening.
“We were £1,700 short of
the £25,000 target so Dan
Walker, who was hosting the
auction, asked if 17 people
wouldgive£100each.
“Quick as a flash 17 hands
shot up and we’d hit our tar-
get. It was unbelievable and
cappedabrilliantnight.”
TheFatLads’roomispart
of a series of improvements
tothehospitalwhichinclude
a new wing, complete with
mostly private rooms with
parent beds so families can
staytogether.
The new wing will also
feature a bright, spacious
outpatients department, a
courtyard and a giant play
tower and is set to be com-
pletebynextspring.
BECKYJOY
BECKYJOY