Clarendon Chronicle_MT21

Clarendon

©Sue Harmer

In This Issue

Editorial

President’s Remarks

Our Team

Freshers and Re-Fresh Week 2021/Introduction: Dylan Sherman

Coffee & Stroll: Morgan Wade

Oxford Insider Walking Tour: Leo Klarner

British Pub Night: Kate Friesen

High Tea Corpus Christi: Morgan Wade

Night at the Museum: Ajantha Abey

Morning Yoga: Tobias Kawalec

Breakfast at Trinity: Kate Friesen

Scavenger Hunt: Souvik Giri

Out of This World Mini Golf: Tobias Kawalec

The Amazing Race: Chané Kulenkampff

In This Issue

Term Events

Wytham Woods Trip: Taro Kobayashi

Van Gogh Museum Visit: Ajantha Abey

2021 Banquet at Trinity College: Morgan Wade

Potluck Dinner: Ajantha Abey

A Trip to Bristol: Mariona Miyata Sturm

Book Club Reports: Vasile Rotaru

Bleinheim Palace Tour: Shivani Chauhan

Among the Stars Ball: Kate Friesen

Editorial

Shivani Chauhan

Dear Readers,

In this chronicle, a range of spirited voices from the Clarendon community captures the essence of the collective experience that brought the scholars together in Michaelmas 2021. Event organisers from the council 2021 recall fascinating tales of ‘a bunch of perfect strangers becoming true friends’ (Chané), ‘good food, good drinks and good company’ (Morgan) and ‘huge grins and feelings of satisfaction’ (Tobias). As they tell us of adventures shared by a vibrant collective, we hear the sounds of a supportive community enfolding scholars across various disciplines and cohorts. We come across images of a joyous camaraderie that provides a solid anchor amidst ‘the convoluted ancient passages and corridors that divide Oxford’ (Dylan) Furthermore, evoking the spectacular ambiance of various exquisite venues carefully selected by the Council team, our contributors recollect amusing details of gastronomic, visual and sonic delights that Clarendons explored together.

©Sue Harmer

During this term, the community also embarked on several exhilarating journeys of critical and creative thinking. The miscellaneous reports from book club sessions, museum visits and city strolls attest to these inspirational symbioses of ideas cutting across several artistic forms, genres and settings. Moreover, whether it is autumn colors in Whytham woods or the quaint beauty of veteran tree specimens around the Blenheim palace, the Clarendon get togethers also allowed nature lovers in the community to rejoice in the marvels of nature in Oxford and beyond Finally, our highly anticipated event of the year, the large-scale ‘among the Stars ball’ took place on February 11th, 2022 in Oxford Town hall Meticulously organised by our indefatigable ball committee, the event featured a celestial extravaganza of multifaceted creativity, transporting the attendees into 'another galaxy' We hope visiting this memory lane will bring a smile to your face and inspire you to engage more in this ever growing community of international scholars.

President's Remarks

Dylan Sherman

I sit writing these reflections nearly one year post the Freshers’ Week of 2021. On the streets of Oxford, Clarendon jackets and beanies are abound. I see many scholars still meeting in their groups from 2021 Freshers’ Week, catching up over coffee or wandering the meadows A day is certainly rare if I don’t run into at least one fellow Clarendon

Ahead, is a new week of Freshers’ events, fine-tuned and embellished by the 2022 Clarendon Council with their own stylisations and sparkles A group now comprising of nearly all 2021 scholars, the 2022 council reflects the immense dedication and connection the 2021 cohort has made to Clarendon There could be no better custodians of the programs forged in 2021 by our council and it’s clear the legacy of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association is in very sturdy hands

The 2021 council set out to, above all, reinvigorate our community. Such an organically forming process, however, takes time and requires, like gardening, patient tending to, and a healthy amount of fresh fertiliser. The tree won’t grow boundlessly without strong roots and adaptable branches Through endless planning and countless events, there were certainly opportunities abound for connections to be made and seeds planted for networks to grow. These pages look fondly back on many of these, sharing comedic quotes, memorable snapshots and personal insights into the moments that made Michaelmas Term 2021 for our association.

Did we achieve our aim? Well, I started by sharing some glimpses into 2022 to answer just that. To see such a fruitful future is surely evidence enough that the community is now blossoming and growing into a global garden of alumni.

With that, I can reassure you I won’t employ a horticultural analogy ever again and conclude by simply saying thank you to the 2021 Council for their tireless efforts and boundless energy, and the entire Clarendon community for being the inspiring thinkers, change makers, creators and leaders that you are across so many diverse fields.

Dylan Sherman

Our Team

Dylan Sherman

Souvik Giri

Abey

Tobias

Chauhan

Our Team

Our Team

Editor in Chief I MSc Integrated Immunology, Linacre College

Sarah Bowers Outreach Secretary I MSc Surgical Science, Kellogg College

Chané Kulenkampff

External Secretary I DPhil Medieval History, St Hugh's College

Nicola Carotenuto

Freshers and Re-Fresh Week 2021: Glimpses

Dylan Sherman

Over 5 days (28th September to 2nd October 2021), the Council presented a 15-event program of Freshers events. We also branded the week as a ‘Re Fresh’ week providing an experience equivalent to a ‘Freshers’ Week’ for those past scholars that had previous experiences limited by COVID. The week was a resounding success. The program was carefully curated to include active sessions, walks, large scale events, dining and tours to physically orient scholars to Oxford (from current Scholars). Long lasting friendships were forged and connections vertically between our cohorts activated mentorship and peer learning. The 2021 Clarendon Scholars’ cohort without doubt finished the week stronger and more connected than ever, ready to take the Clarendon Scholars’ Association forward into 2022 and beyond.

Coffee & Stroll

'Caffeinated Walks and Talks'

Morgan Wade

Tuesday 28th September 2021, 9 11 am at the Tree Artisan Café. This morning coffee event was planned to give our new arriving Clarendon Scholars a chance to get to know Oxford while meeting other scholars and enjoying a delicious beverage. The event was a huge success with over 50 attendees! The coffee + a Portuguese Nata tart were provided by Tree Artisan Café, an amazing local coffee shop located on Little Clarendon Street. The morning started chilly but with clear blue skies, and our scholars wasted no time in grabbing their drinks and getting chatting Some groups stayed around the Café to chat, others went on walks around the city! It was a fabulous morning, a laid back event with good food, good drinks, and good company

Oxford Insider Walking Tour

'Explore your New Home'

Leo Klarner

Despite very uncomfortable weather conditions, a sizeable number of freshers and guides turned up for the guided city tours The majority of guides were able to quickly build rapport with their group of freshers and share their impressions of Oxford, including any tips they would have loved to know when they were freshers themselves. Even more importantly, exploring the city in small groups of 5 6 scholars helped the freshers connect with each other.

A Glimpse From Freshers Guide 2021: Oxford Insider Walking Tour Poster

Images from Freshers' Week: Punt with Ice Cream, October 30th, 2021

British Pub Night

'A Festive Evening in British Style'

Kate Friesen

One of the biggest successes of Freshers’ Week was British Pub Night on Tuesday 28th September. Around 70 Clarendon Scholars met at Head of the River Pub for drinks and lots of BBQ food The food was so delicious everyone’s plates were stacked to the top. There were chicken skewers, burgers, chips, salads, pasta, and so much more There was also a live band which played all the big hits including ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and a song from Shrek. One of the best moments of the night was when the Head of the River staff brought out a brownie for everyone to have as dessert The brownie was excellent and everyone left full and content! We should also mention that it was pouring rain that night which really completed the entire British Pub Night experience

High Tea

'There's Always Time for Tea'

Morgan Wade

Wednesday 29th September 2021, 2 4 pm at Corpus Christi College, Oxford

This High Tea event was arranged to give our new scholars, many of who are new to the UK, a taste of a truly English tradition: Afternoon Tea. The venue was gorgeous, the formal dining hall at Corpus Christi It was a bright, sunny afternoon and the walk to the dining hall gave us a gorgeous view of the late Medieval style architecture of Corpus Christi.

The food was delicious, with an array of sandwiches, mini tarts and quiches, tarts, cakes, and, of course, jam and clotted cream scones. The scholars spent a happy two hours enjoying the food, tea, and coffee with the sunshine streaming through the massive arched windows of the hall. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options were available and were equally delicious

Night at the Museum

'Drinks Under the Dinosaurs'

As a mid week climax for Freshers Week, we worked with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to book out the entirety of their spectacular Gothic space as an after hours exclusive for Clarendon Scholars The museum is one of the most spectacular spaces in Oxford, not just for its stunning architecture (beautifully lit up by the museum staff), but of course for its incredible collections, which scholars were able to g ("We'll put your stall in front of the T-Rex"). It was a great opportunity to have so many of the Clarendon community come together to connect with each other after the holidays and reconnect with Oxford in a truly iconic setting. Everyone had a chance to make friends over drinks and catch up around the dinosaurs (or enjoy the meta experience of watching Night at the Museum at night at the museum) and it was also a great night overall.

Ajantha Abey

Yoga 'Fitness, Tranquility, Inspiration'

Tobias Kawalec

Yoga As part of the Freshers’ Week, we have invited Hannah Hatha to host a short yoga session on the morning of Wednesday, the 6th of October 2021 (postponed event because of weather). In spite of our expectations, the interest among the scholars in the yoga event has been outstanding more than 20 people attended the virtual session! While this is in itself a great joy to all of us, it also meant that we have had to hold the session online instead of in person in University Parks due to the limited availability of Yoga mats. However, given the surprisingly large interest, the Yoga event may now at least become a staple in Freshers’ Week, and might under some circumstances even become a regular event for Clarendon Scholars’ to attend to.

A Glimpse from Freshers' Guide 2021: Yoga Poster

Breakfast at Trinity's 'Big Brunch in Style'

Kate Friesen

During Clarendon Freshers’ Week on 1st October, Trinity College opened its doors to welcome Clarendon Scholars to a wonderful breakfast The tickets to the event were sold out in the blink of an eye, and Scholars filled up the entire dining hall. The menu included everything from a full English breakfast to scrumptious pain au chocolates Many connections were formed between new and current Clarendon Scholars and the event was a huge success! Perhaps, one of the most memorable parts of the breakfast was the large painting in the dining hall near the high table that depicts a man with white eyes which was donated to the college by the first Indigenous Australian admitted to Oxford, Christian Thompson

Scavenger Hunt

'Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost'

Souvik Giri

On the penultimate day of the freshers' week, we hosted our Annual Freshers’ Scavenger hunt! Full of breakfast, scholars teamed up and used their knowledge gained in the week to unravel cryptic clues that took them through alleyways and to hidden icons throughout Oxford. Along the way, they took beautiful group selfies in front of all the famous and beautiful places in Oxford starting from Radcliff camera to Christ Church meadows Winning two teams solved all 30 clues within 1 hour and 45 mins which is remarkable. As a prize, they won some amazing Clarendon stash

Out Of This World Mini Golf

'A Down-to-earth Night of Drinking and Putting'

Tobias Kawalec

One of the most sought after events of the Freshers’ Week has been our Minigolf Outing on Friday 1st of October 2021. 80 people, soothing drinks, and a fun filled inter galactical space themed minigolf course what more can one wish for? We started out by meeting at 8:00 pm in front of Gravitee Golf at Kassam Leisure Park that evening. After a first re grouping and some welcome drinks, we were allowed to enter the space frenzy that awaited us on the courses. Thanks to the excellent help and hospitality offered by Gravitee Golf, we were able to essentially have both courses offered just for ourselves that night While each of the two courses featured spectacular settings, one of them additionally stood out in terms of the technical difficulty of reaching each hole which made it obviously more popular among the scholars. After almost three hours of golfing, chit-chatting, and enjoying ourselves while meeting new and exciting friends, we slowly dispersed again into the night, each of us finding our own plans for the rest of the night. Overall, the minigolf event can be seen as a huge success All of us thoroughly enjoyed the night and left with huge grins and feelings of satisfaction after finishing the courses we wanted to tackle!

The Amazing Race

'Brain and Brawn Meet in Friendly Team Challenges'

Chané Kulenkampff

The Amazing race on 2nd October was the cherry on top the last Clarendon event in the celebration of an astronomical week of events. It was a wonderful day of fun and charity! Although it rained terribly, spirits were high and the day was a huge success! The aim of the day was to raise funds for help heroes’ charity which was done in an exemplary fashion. All the Clarendon scholars who attended on this day were heroes in their own right, braving the rain for tug of war and building giant Jenga towers in the bitter cold Fun was had indoors as well with Charades that went on long after turns were completed, the blindfolded waiter that really tested how far the scholars would go for that glass of wine and the blanket fold over that brought everyone close together! The intellectuals had some fun with dress up and riddles and creating some pretty impressive spaghetti tower masterpieces and finally the race to toilet paper mummy your teammate was a great bonding experience. In the end, there was some welcome relief offered from pizza and drinks and prizes for the winners! What was truly amazing about this week and amazing race though was how by the end of it a bunch of perfect strangers had become true friends

Van Gogh Trip

Ajantha Abey

Selling out extremely quickly, our day trip (30th October 2021) to London to see the Van Gogh immersive experience was one of the highlights of the term Our intrepid troop of twelve set out via an early train and braved the morning rain to finally soak in the gorgeous colours and vivid impressionism of the immersive experience. The tour itself consisted of an exploration of the history of Van Gogh and his works (with an optional VR experience of Arles) followed by the main show a 20 minute looped 360 degree surround projector presentation of the master's most famous and striking works, all brought beautifully to life with sound and animation. After the museum, we were also able to make the most of London with a lazy café brunch swapping childhood stories before exploring the London Bridge area and properly satiating ourselves of the glorious afternoon on the Thames before returning upriver All in all, the trip was a wonderful opportunity to get out of Oxford for the day, make new friends (and convince them to run for Council), and experience some of the best of the diverse culture that London and Clarendon have to offer.

2021 Banquet at Trinity College

Morgan Wade

This event was a five course extravaganza of fine dining, graciously hosted and deliciously catered by the team at Trinity College Scholars were encouraged to dress in black tie attire and wear their formal gowns The evening was lovely, with great feedback from scholars. The food was incredible and complete with wine pairings. Everyone had an incredible evening and it was a nice way to gather, catch up with old friends, and make some new ones at a typically challenging time of Michaelmas term. Many scholars told us they had been looking forward to it all week and that it exceeded expectations

Thursday 18th of November, 2021, 7:30 10:30 pm, Trinity College, Oxford

Potluck Dinner

Ajantha Abey

After a full on few weeks of Freshers, college and course inductions, and a generally action packed start for the term, it was time for a more casual, laid back, and homey event potluck! Specifically, International Potluck on 23rd October, where around 20 of us brought favourite dishes, national specialties, and things that remind us of home. We were able to use Trinity College's "The Nunnery" an old refurbished church, which proved to be a wonderful space for our feast with plenty of couches to kick back and dig into all varieties of food and conversation.

Image from another Potluck dinner organised by the Council

Clarendon Wytham Woods trip

Taro Kobayashi

A dozen of Clarendon Scholars gathered on a Sunday morning of Oct 17, 2021 at Gloucester Green to take a group walk to the Wytham Woods Starting from the city center, the scholars walked through the Port Meadow (stopping for a break at Godstow Lock) to make way into the Wytham Woods Upon entering the woods and reaching at a viewpoint, the scholars enjoyed light snack (sandwich and juice) provided by the Council. The Anagama exhibition in the woods were unfortunately closed at the time of our visit, but the woods were already starting to change into fall colours and the scholars enjoyed getting to interact with each other and making new friends while enjoying the day of walking in the nature together

These images are from Wytham and Bagley woods' walks organised by the Council in Hilary and Trinity Terms 2021

A Trip to Bristol

Mariona Miyata-Sturm

Despite a forecast of snow and strong wind, almost 20 scholars joined our second day trip of 2021 on the 27th of November This time we went to Bristol, and like last time we had both a guided tour and time to explore the city ourselves both before and after the tour. The forecast was wrong about the snow but unfortunately not about the ice cold wind: we all got our winter coats and comfort levels tested while huddling together to hear the excellent guide tell us about the city’s history Bristol is rumoured to be home to the famous stencil street artist Banksy, and we got to see one of his earliest works (now partially covered up by other street artists) Bristol is something as weird as a historically important harbour city that doesn’t lie on the coast. What it had instead of the coast was a natural tidal river, Avon, which could take the ships to the sea when the tide was high This was changed in the early 1800s, but the importance of shipping on the city is still clearly visible. Bristol has also been the scene of many protests, the latest of which was the toppling of a statue of the slave trader Colston during the Black Lives Matter protests last year, lively described by our tour guide. After the tour we went around the city in smaller groups, some going to the Christmas market, others going to Bristol’s various churches or its old suspension bridge. We had a lovely time, and we’re all waiting for the next Clarendon day trip!

Book Club

The Clarendon Book Club held two meetings during the 2021 Michaelmas Term, to discuss two very different authors and books, chosen from a list of options submitted to the vote of the potential attendees.

During the first meeting, held on the 7 November, we discussed John Green’s Anthropocene Reviewed, by far the most popular choice amongst our scholars. The book is a collection of personal essays in which John Green, a contemporary American author, reviews different, and often unexpected, facets of human existence in the current cultural moment from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar on a five star scale. These short essays, inspired by Green’s podcast of the same name, delve into little known historical facts, salient and unexpected connections, and, above all, John Green’s personal reflections about the little (and less little) things that affected him strongly throughout his life and thus came to hold significant meaning. Most of the scholars who attended the meeting enjoyed reading the book, and some of them have been immersed in John Green’s way of thinking, writing, and speaking long enough to be able to explain the appeal of this modern guru to the most skeptical of the readers

During the second meeting, we discussed a very different kind of book, The Loser by the Austrian author and playwright Thomas Bernhard, known for themes such as madness, obsession, social injustice, and a love hate relationship with modern civilization and Austrian culture, in a prose that is tumultuous, philosophical, musical, and sarcastic The Loser, which has the undeniable advantage of being very short (and still too long, according to some of our scholars) is the monologue of an unnamed narrator about his (fictional) friendship with piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and another fellow student, who feels compelled, as does the narrator, to renounce his musical ambitions in the face of Gould's incomparable genius. It is a meditation on success, failure, genius, fame, and many other topics, in an obsessive, repetitive, and yet beautiful prose. Bernhard’s peculiar writing style, his powerful characters and the narrator’s opinions and meditations proved to be somewhat controversial, giving rise to passionate discussions amongst our scholars on the art of translation (starting with the title: the scholars settled on The one that goes under), the meaning of failure, artistic genius, the Austrian post war politics and culture, and many other topics. No stone was left unturned. After a long and fruitful discussion, part of the scholars decided to head to the nearby pub (a nascent tradition, no doubt).

Blenheim Palace Tour

From the Archives: Shivani Chauhan

On 13th June 2021 (TT) the council organised a Blenheim house tour, a UNESCO world heritage site located in the Woodstock region of Oxfordshire. The visit to this monumental palace of Baroque architecture, embodying ‘the beginnings of the English Romantic movement’ (Quote: World Heritage Site) was a multi faceted cultural and aesthetic experience for the Clarendon community. Some were especially impressed by the chain of spectacular gardens and the great lake surrounding the palace, others admired the quaint beauty of veteran tree specimens and splendidly managed rose gardens. One of our scholars, Christiana, especially enjoyed the adventure of finding one’s way through the Marlborough hedge maze.

The interior of the palace, of course, also offered several artistic fascinations One of our scholars, Florence, for example, recalls the awe-inspiring experience of looking at vibrant colors and nuanced facial expressions coupled with the three dimensional effects of imposing wall paintings Alycia, another Clarendon, found the well-executed features of a puppy craning its neck to an ‘unimpressed’ lady in a marble sculpture quite remarkable In addition, the sumptuous collection of Meissen and Chinese ceramics and the impressive display of Churchill’s more than 15,00 toy soldiers among others caught scholars’ attention On the whole, this masterpiece of architectural beauty enclosed by various marvels of nature had something to offer to the aesthetic sensibilities of Clarendon scholars

Among The Stars Ball

Kate Friesen

Ball Committee 2021: Dylan Sherman, Morgan Wade, Kate Friesen, Ajantha Abey (Left to Right) and Tobias Kawalec (Not in the image)

The Clarendon Scholars Association' Among The Stars Ball took place on the evening of February 11th in the Main Hall at the Oxford Town Hall A range of attendees among Clarendon Scholars, Gates Scholars, and Rhodes scholars joined us to be transported into another galaxy! The evening began with a complimentary galaxy themed drink catered by Sandy’s Piano Bar Then, Scholars who purchased one of the dining tickets enjoyed a top tier three course meal catered by Lamb Catering while listening to live music. After the meal, additional scholars joined in for The Dance Deek, Cosmic Cantina, and more where there were a live DJ, UV face painting, glow in the dark cotton candy, arcade games, and much, much more!

Among The Stars Ball

Clatendon Ball

Notes on Images

Special thanks to Sue Harmer for her kind permission to feature her images in this edition (Including Cover image) Her Instagram library of images (sueharmer1) masterfully captures the majestic splendor of the university’s picturesque architecture against Oxfordshire’s Arcadian landscape in different seasons A big thanks to our brilliant diversity secretary, Ajantha Abey for documenting most of our Clarendon adventures and shenanigans through the eyes of a keen aesthete Some of the featured images were shared by council members and scholars.

Visit our website: https://www.clarendonscholarsassociation.co .uk/ Clarendon Fund Website: https://www.ox.ac.uk/clarendon

©Sue Harmer