THE
OXFORDSTUDENT One step ahead since 1991
Volume 73 Issue 7
age
Union in crisis: full coverage and analysis of week’s events »
Pages 4-5
Thursday 4th June 6th Week
oxfordstudent.com
Letter sheds light on Larkin’s Oxford past »
Cannes 2015: What you need to know
Page 6
»
OXII Page 12
Revealed: Balliol’s shameful treatment of disabled student • Emails seen by The Oxford Student
reveal alleged discrimination at college
LUKE MINTZ EDITOR
David Mitchell
Interview with author David Mitchell on Page 13 Photo: David Mitchell
Balliol College has been accused of creating a “toxic environment” for students with mental health disabilities, after one student has claimed she was “effectively forced out” of the college by unsympathetic tutors. A series of private emails sent by college staff and seen by The Oxford Student show what has been described as an “uncaring and unsympathetic attitude” toward Katie (not her real name), a disabled student who left the college on medical leave in 2013. In one email sent in February 2013 by a member of Balliol staff to an Oxford medical professional, they listed in detail Katie’s medical difficulties before asking “Yes, why did we admit her?” (Full text can be found on page 6). In the same email, they described Katie’s behaviour and her discussion
of mental health difficulties as “histrionics”, a word defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “excessively theatrical or dramatic”, or, in a specifically medical context, referring to a personality disorder marked by “attention-seeking behaviour”. This email was written under a year before two students at Balliol College took their own lives within a few months of each other, and has been described by Katie as shedding light on a “toxic” culture at the college, in which students with mental health difficulties were not taken seriously. Katie suffers from multiple mental illnesses, including OCD and Attention Deficit Disorder, and has been diagnosed with depression. In one November 2013 meeting with a college tutor, Katie claims, she was repeatedly told she had an “exceptionalist attitude” toward her disabilities, Continued on page 6 »
Almost one in five Oxford students use study drugs, survey reveals
• 18 per cent of responents admit to using study drugs without prescription to help with their work
LOUIS MERCIER AND CASON REILY
A survey conducted by The Oxford Student has revealed 18 percent of respondents have used study drugs without prescription in order to complete work or prepare for exams. 62 percent of students who admitted to having previously taken study drugs claimed to do so “regularly”, at least twice a term, with 27 percent of study drug users reporting that “they could not succeed academically without them”. In addition, 26 percent of students surveyed reported using recreational drugs. The survey was based on 207 student responses, and was conducted last weekend. Among the most popular study drugs for student use are Modafinil, Adderall and Ritalin, all of which increase con-
centration and wakefulness. Although not considered addictive, some students admitted to growing dependent on the drugs in order to complete work. Studies have shown that Modafinil, which is used to treat narcolepsy, appears to increase dopamine levels in the brain’s reward centre, a response which is sometimes correlated to addiction. One student surveyed described how “I stopped using them because I felt like it would be bad to be dependent on them - I could imagine finding it hard to do a day’s work without them.” Students were just last week warned of the potential dangers of using study drugs, with Phil Cowen, a Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University’s Medical Sciences Division, stating that they are “not as safe as people think”, particularly in the case of Modafinil, which can be
harmful to those with underlying heart conditions. However, the lack of research
“ students at Oxford are more
likely to use study drugs than at most other universities the long-term into effects of study drugs
”
has prevented any major government or
university policy from taking fruition. The survey also suggests the students at Oxford are more likely to use study drugs than many at other universities, with more than 5 percent of students in our survey reported having tried Ritalin, in comparison to 1.8 percent of the national population according to drugabuse. gov. Last year, Oxford University came out top in a survey by The Tab on the use of study drugs across the UK. Students also reported “frightening” experiences while using study drugs. A first-year English student wrote: “Took slow release Adderall and worked overnight for about 16 hours... I found the experience rather frightening as my heart was beating very irregularly and I was convinced I was having a heart attack after my heart started to hurt.” 70 percent of respondents described
the use of study drugs as either a “bad” or “very bad” thing, while 60 percent said that the University should take measures to decrease their use, although exactly what sort of measures are available for the University is unclear. One student, referencing their Modafinil prescription, commented: “When [the drugs are] prescribed by a doctor they are intended to ensure that students with illnesses that limit their ability to study, do not fall behind their peers - It’s meant to level the playingfield. When perfectly well, but slightly lazy students have access to these drugs, then the effect for those who need them due to illness is negated.” Another student, stated that the problem lay in Oxford’s academic environment, saying: “I think that the prevalence Continued on page 7 »
2 Editorial
4th June 2015
THE OXFORDSTUDENT
This week in Oxford.
Student comment of the week
Tom Carter (Cherwell chief) “Eton is really good for access, I promise”
Tutor comment of the week
‘Don’t be surprised, the Union has always been institutionally racist.’
Alumnus of the week
Welcome Welcome to the penultimate issue of the term! One more issue to go before Exam Schools shuts its doors and the sub-fusced can take to the streets in glee. We’re excited for the summer it’s now definitely the point in term where it feels that a lot of us are just scraping by and crawling on, rather than actually making strides towards any sort of achievement. A break is definitely necessary, although we will be sad to miss the Oxford Bubble. Be that as it may, it’s certainly been a hard week to be in Oxford for a number of us. Since Thursday evening’s ‘Colonial Comeback’ debacle at the Oxford Union, allegations of racism at the centuries-old institution have dominated the student agenda, and you can read full coverage of this story and its aftermath on pages 4 to 5. Naming a cocktail ‘The Colonial Comeback’ is unambiguously racist, and deeply offensive to students whose family may have suffered from colonialism. You can read an opinion piece by one of Oxford’s Rhodes Must Fall leaders on page 9, and we commend these efforts to challenge the very real existence of structural racism in Oxford. Last week has seen encouraging signals, with the Union recognising in a vote that it is ‘institutionally racist’, and taking practical steps to address its seeming culture of racial ignorance.
OXII
Jay Gatsby
Trinity College 1919
Monsieur Jean-Pierre, Translator
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union apologises for this evening’s debate cocktail. This was an error of judgement and will not be repeated. Jean Pierre:
Sepp Blatter to announce his candidacy for the Union Presidential election. Study drugs mandatorily prescribed to all Pembroke students in order to improve Norrinton ranking
Every single person involved in Summer VIIIs to have a photo of them rowing on facebook.
15/1 5/1 1/10
against Union officials this week have been regrettable, and have not been reproduced in this newspaper. We would like to express our disappointment with the Oxford Tab for publishing a claim against President Olivia Merrett on Tuesday evening without any apparent evidence to back itself up. Not only is this a bad example of student journalism, but this shameless style of reporting everything that is said merely encourages the bitter tit-for-tat politics that has unfortunately penetrated Union culture during the last few years.
News
Our front page story this week reveals alleged discrimination against a disabled student at Balliol College. Our intention here is not to vilify individual members of staff, but to draw attention to a wider issue at Oxford: the apparent failure to take issues of mental health seriously. In a university environment with relatively high levels of mental illness, and an incredible level of pressure to succeed, we believe it is incredibly important to hold college and university authorities to account on this issue, and we hope this story goes a small way to achieving this.
And the rest
Enjoy your weekly escapism with our back sections. We have interviews with grime duo Krept and Konan (OXII page 3), Oxford legends Out of the Blue (OXII page 6), Greg Baxter (OXII page 15) as well as David Mitchell (the writer) over on page 13. As always, we have an array of music, screen and stage reviews, alongside a preview of Cannes (OXII 12) and a look at the literary history of Oxford (OXII 14). If you fancy setting your sights elsewhere, Features head to Romania on page 19, whilst Sport brings it back to the microcosmic with a diary of Summer VIIIs (page 22) and the highly anticipated yearly tortoise race on the back page.
SCREEN ARTS & LIT
OUT OF THE BLUE INTERVIEW CANNES 2015: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW p.12 p.6
INTERVIEW WITH GREG BAXTER p.15
‘You guys are the best,’ Cherwell Ed Letters Wowzer, chaps! What a crewdate, eh? You’ve totally restored my faith in Oxford student you’d be surprised how much a term of editing our toilet rag of a paper can shake it. to the Editors. journalismWhen we arrived at our shared den of iniquity, I was fleetingly worried: so many of our motley
gang had turned up that I was sure the evening would be a banter-vacuum, a chat-chasm, a joke-
Send in your letters of free-zone. But with you guys sprinkled liberally through our square-ish dweebs, we needn’t have unwavering support to worried. Banter. And I even got a kiss at the end... our esteemed editors at: ‘Exam term’, Finalist-uberhacks, Exam Schools:
Editors Deputy Editors
Three years. Oh how fleeting they were, how swiftly they’ve passed. A few terms climbing the Union greasy pole, a couple hacking the journalism scene, a mere one pissed away in party politics- and where are we now? Sitting bloody finals with no notes, that’s where. And not even pissing Theology can save me now...
Nasim Asl & Luke Mintz David Barker, Kate Bickerton, Laura Hartley, Hugh McHale-Maughan, Srishti Nirula and Laura Whetherly News Editors Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe, Jennier Lee and Cason Reilly Comment Editors Polly Mason & Kathryn Welsh Music Editors Naomi Southwell & Jacob Wiseman Screen Editors Thomas Bannatyne & Megan Erwin Fashion Editors Elizabeth Evans & Charlotte Lanning Arts & Lit Editors Marcus Li & William Shaw Stage Editors William Aslet & Lucy Oliver Features Editors Ariane Laurent-Smith & Elle Tait Sports Editors Alice Richardson & Ben Sanders
STAFF
odds-ford bets.
The Oxford Union’s cocktail, and the error of judgement made there by a member of staff, has shown that racism still needs to be tackled - the I, Too, Am Oxford movement of last year did a great job of starting the conversation, but it’s a shame that only in light of scandals such as these did the student body remember the importance of talking about and tackling the racism that is still deep-rooted within society. We would like to urge all students, however, to remember that Machiavellian Union hacks are, despite everything, human beings, and some of the largely unevidenced claims made
STAGE
editor@ oxfordstudent.com
We’re fucked.
Editorial Editors: Nasim Asl & Luke Mintz
One step ahead since 1991
Deputy News Editors Deputy Comment Editors Deputy Music Editor Deputy Screen Editor Deputy Arts & Lit Editors Deputy Stage Editor Deputy Features Editors Deputy Sports Editor Photographers
Scott Harker, Louis Mercier, and Latifah Sat Carolina Bax, Daniel Coleman and Elizabeth Webb Sean McIntyre Hector Manly Daniel Haynes, Sam Sykes and Georgia Watson Philippa Stacey Lynton Lees, Kate Plummer and Jamie Russell Taylor Yu Saskia Mondon-Ballantyne and Bethan Jones
Illustrator Chief Sub-Editor Sub-Editors
Associate Editors
Laura Mackenzie Sam Harman Jennifer Allan, Olivia Brown, Veronica Corsi, Henrietta Mosforth, James Sewry, Elizabeth La Trobe and Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan Alys Key, Sachin Croker and Jess Sinyor
Editors can be contacted at editor@oxfordstudent.com and Section Editors can be contacted through this address. We follow the code of practices and conduct outlined by the Press Complaints Commission. Address complaints to The Editors, 2 Worcester Street, Oxford, OX1 2BX, email: oxstucomplaints@ousu.org.
4th June 2015
News 3
Students complain about Catch the Fire Christian event • Noisy and “disruptive” event in Bonn Square angers St Peter’s students studying in college LAURA WHETHERLY DEPUTY EDITOR
Students from St Peter’s College have made complaints following an event held by Christian group Catch the Fire on Bonn Square. The event, held on Saturday 28th May, lasted around eight hours. Student complaints have particularly referenced the “extremely loud and disruptive” music and preaching which went on throughout the day. One anonymous St Peter’s student commented: “I was trying to study on the quad, but I could hear the music being blasted out even with headphones in. There are almost always buskers, preachers or other groups on Bonn Square at weekends, but this week was by far the most disruptive I can remember. St Peter’s is pretty close to the square, but this was just ridiculous. “The least the council could have done is warned people that such a large event was taking place. They didn’t tell people about Love Oxford a couple of weeks ago, and now this has happened. I don’t mind people preaching or singing on the street, but they could have the courtesy to be aware that there are other people who live in the area too. I’ve made a complaint to the council, but I’m not convinced that anything will happen.”
According to students, music and preaching on Bonn Square was broadcast using speakers. A van with the movement’s name painted on the side and a large cross sculpture were also present on the square. First-year Fiona Donnan added: “I was surprised to see a radical group from the Bible Belt preaching on the Bonn square. I get that they are keen on bringing the word of God to all but it is Trinity term and they should be more considerate to stressed finalists and freshers. Despite their loud and repetitive singing of Amazing Grace, they did not attract any positive attention”. Another first year, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It was an egotistical farce. If they’d read their bibles properly, rather spending their time making a racket, they’d know that Jesus in Matthew 6:5 said “when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” “I’d be curious to know what they actually accomplished aside from making my afternoon G&T with a book far less peaceful. Clearly the virtue of loving your neighbour doesn’t extend to sparing them from having to listen to your evangelical nonsense.”
According to their website, Catch the Fire is “is a family of churches and ministries worldwide that was birthed as a result of the incredible revival that began in Toronto in 1994”. While there is no Catch the Fire church in Oxford itself, the movement has UK branches in London and Bournemouth. These complaints come following similar student concerns over the noise level caused by Love Oxford, another Christian event which was held on Broad Street on Sunday 3rd May, which was labelled “earsplitting” and “dystopian” by students living in Broad Street colleges. We were unable to reach Catch the Fire for comment.
Catch the Fire January 1994
Believers of the Catch the Fire movement believe they were visited by God
September 1995
Becomes known as the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship
Photo: Catch the Fire London
Oxford Students for Life criticises OUSU’s pro-choice stance
• OUSU Council reaffirms its commitment to abortion rights in Monday’s meeting LUKE MINTZ EDITOR
Anti-abortion student group Oxford Students for Life has criticised OUSU’s official pro-choice stance, after OUSU Council reaffirmed its commitment to abortion rights on Monday evening. The Council overwhelmingly passed a motion by 52 votes to 1 in an extraordinary meeting to “support the right of all pregnant people to choose,” and to campaign to extend the practical rights to abortion. The Council also approved a motion to support the pro-choice charity and advocacy group Abortion Rights, at the cost of £50 per annum. OUSU’s pro-choice position was due to expire this year. The Council’s decision means that OUSU will now remain committed to pro-choice policy for the next three years. An Oxford Students for Life spokesperson said: “While we’re pleased to see OUSU’s renewed emphasis on supporting student parents, it’s not clear that Oxford students want this to be wrapped up in a pro-choice motion.” The group spokesperson went on to note: “In a recent ComRes study, 48% of 18 to 25 year-old Britons said they thought the abortion limit should be halved to 12 weeks.”
In a speech supporting the motion, proposer Anna Bradshaw, OUSU’s VP for Women, argued that “abortion is a student issue”, and that “OUSU, fundamentally, is an organisation dedicated to representing the interests of Oxford students.” “We should be pro-choice, not pro-abortion or anti-abortion,” Bradshaw said, “and we should offer as much support to students who are parents as we do to students who have an abortion.” She told OUSU Council: “We are people whose bodies are othered and policed by the society that we live in … Council, if you fail to pass this policy then you will be making a loud statement to all of the people at Oxford who can get pregnant that: We are not capable of making our own decisions, we should not have bodily autonomy, we are not as worthy, and we are not as much a person as a cis man.” The motion was received positively in the meeting. Not all students were complimentary of OUSU’s stance, however. One second-year undergraduate who describes herself as a “pro-life feminist”, and did not wish to be named for fear of being “vilified by Oxford’s pro-choice mafia” labelled OUSU’s stance “silly”. “I don’t see why they need to formally declare an opinion,” she said, “it just seems like Anna Bradshaw
and other student politicians want to look busy. I am a female student at this University, and I am pro-life, and I don’t feel represented at all by our student union. They treat people like me as evil, immoral people, just because I happen to think that life begins at conception. I didn’t even go to the OUSU meeting about
it because I knew I would just be shouted down and not listened to.” In Michaelmas 2014, a debate organised by Oxford Students for Life was cancelled by Christ Church after a large student protest was planned, prompting concerns over freedom of speech on campus.
Recent history of abortion debate in Oxford May 2014
OUSU bans pro-life group LIFE from advertising on campus
December 2014
Students shut down an OSFL debate over ‘abortion culture’ in which Spectator journalist Brendan O’Neill was scheduled to speak
Anna Bradshaw
OUSU VP for Women urged the Council to support pro-choice charity Abortion Rights Photo: OUSU News Youtube
February 2015
Student activists protest OSFL event in Exeter College
4th June 2015
4 News
The Oxford Union in crisis: reactions to "Colonial Comeback" scandal
• Students condemn Union after"Colonial Comeback" cocktail posters are published online
LAURA WHETHERLY DEPUTY EDITOR
The Oxford Union declared themselves "instiutionally racist" during a Standing Committee meeting held on Tuesday. This move came following widespread condemnation of a poster found in the Union bar, advertising a themed cocktail for a debate over reparations to Britain's formed colonies. The cocktail, publicised under the name "The Colonial Comeback", was illustrated on one poster with an image of black hands bound by chains, and the second with an image of Africa. During Tuesday's meeting, the Union condemned the cocktail and all materials associated with it as racist. Both of these motions passed unanimously, with the vote conducted through an open ballott. Alongside the Standing Committee and ordinary members of the Oxford Union, several representives from Oxford liberation groups were present, including Rhodes Must Fall and OUSU's Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE). Due to legal concerns over employment law, the Union President was unable to give any details about the indvidual who had been indentified as being responsible
for the cocktail name and poster. This was challenged by several individuals during the course of the four hour meeting. Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, a representitive of Oxford University International Society and Rhodes Must Fall stated : "if we can't talk about it, then we can only talk about the president. So she has to talk to person A [who was responsible] and tell them to resign... we need the President to be in solidarity with us". Mpofu-Walsh also stated that unless action was taken, then Rhodes Must Fall would "take action to insist for the resignation of the Union President". Olivia Merrett, Union President, responded: "I am not going to resign". During the course of the meeting, members of the Standing Committee each gave testimony of their experiences of the 28th May. Both Merrett and Stuart Webber, Union Librarian, stated that they had no knowledge of the second poster which was later removed from the bar, believing that the "matter had been dealt with" before they entered the chamber. Zuleyka Shahin, Union Treasurer, described being "visibly shaken up" after seeing the poster, and said that she felt "intimidated" during discussions following the debate as the extent of the
Timeline of events Thursday 28th May Poster of "Colonial Comeback" cocktail appears in Union bar. Union Librarian and President hear reports of offensive poster, give instructions that it is to be removed Photo: Isaac Kang
issue became known. Officers were challenged for 'serious dereliction of duty" in failing to combat the issue, as well as being encouraged to produce a fuller apology. The Union were also accused of attempting to cover their mistakes rather than making a genuine apology for the content of the poster. Standing Committee members were challenged over how they would have reacted if the cocktail name had been "the Facist Comeback", illustrated with an image of a concentration camp. During a further meeting, held on
Wednesday, an apology was drafted which also committed the Union to taking proactive steps to combat racism in the society and Oxford as a whole. There was also some discusion over whether the Union should personally apologise to individuals of colour on the committee, as well as some allegations made that individual members felt "threatened"during the course of the events. All details correct at time of print. See online product for latest details as they emerge.
Some of the key figures present at Monday's debate The next steps? Olivia Merrett,
As Union President, Merrett bears public responsibility for the scandal. Claiming that her duties on the debate night left her extremely busy, Merrett only saw the posters once they had appeared on social media.
Sizwe MpofuWalsh
During the meeting, Mpofu-Walsh outlined the demands of Rhodes Must Fall and other concerned student societies. Acting as a spokesman, he also gave a definition of "institutional racism" which was unanimously accepted.
Oxford Union President
Rhodes Must Fall
Stuart Webber
Webber, similar to Merrett, claimed to believed that the offending posters were removed from the bar after initial condemnation. Over the course of the meeting, he proposed that the Union offer a questionnaire to its members about their personal experiences of racism in the society.
Kiran Bilal
Representing CRAE (OUSU's campaign for Racial and Acceptance and Equality), Bilal offered to run racial equality awareness workshops for Standing Committee members as a way forward following the scandal.
Oxford Union Librarian
CRAE representitive
Zuleyka Shahin
Union Treasurer Shahin gave a personal apology to the debate chamber immedietely after seeing the posters in the bar and attempting to remove them. In her testimony, she stated that she felt her treatment in the union was symptomatic of "insitutional racism".
Simukai Chigudu
Chigudu, a representitive of both Oxford University Africa Society and Rhodes Must Fall, stated that the Africa Society planned to withdraw from any association with the Oxford Union unless changes were made, despite a history of collaboration on events such as the Oxford Africa Conference.
Oxford Union Treasurer
Oxford University Africa Society
Person A
During initial introdutions to Monday's meeting, President Merrett stated that the primary aim was to "move forward" and work out ways in which to improve the Union. By the end of the meeting, several changes had been implemented: - A formal apology, including explicit reference to the racism of the poster, will be made by the Union. - Merrett made a formal apology to Odejimi (the ex-BME representitive) - Liberation offers are to be given automatic speaking rights in Standing Committee - The names and details of all debate cocktails will have to be passed by the Standing Committee - A questionaire trying to ascertain the extent to which PoC in the Union and the appropraite steps to take to tackle this was suggested - Members of Standing Committee are to have racial awareness training, delivered by OUSU/CRAE representitives.
Second version of offensive poster (with same title) found in the bar Union Treasurer makes speech in debate chamber apologising for poster
Friday 29th May Initial apology from Oxford Union is posted online, calling it "an error of judgement" Second apology posted, stating that " The individual responsible has apologised and deeply regrets their actions" Oxford Union BME Officer Esther Odejimi resigns from position
Monday 1st June Meeting of Standing Committee condemns the Oxford Union as "insitutionally racist" Testimony heard from Union Officers Union members and liberation groups call for serious consequences for Person A, claiming that if such moves were not undertaken, they would press for the resignation of the President
Tuesday 2nd June Union President takes phonecall from lawyers to advise
Wednesday 3rd June Emergency meeting of Standing Committee called Draft of new apology created to explicity acknowledge the racism of the cocktail
The identity of Person A, responsible for creating the cocktail name and poster, remains unknown due to the rules of employment law. Their resignation was called for by Union members present at the Standing Committee meeting.
Apology published online Photo: OUSU
4th June 2015
News 5
Liberation groups and the Oxford Union Among the critics of the Oxford Union in recent days have been student societies and liberation groups, respresentitives of which attended Tuesday’s meeting. Groups and societies which have challenged the Oxford Union in recent days include: Rhodes Must Fall Oxford University Africa Society, Oxford University African and Carribean Society Oxford Pan-Afrikan Forum Black Students’ Union Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality During Tuesday’s Standing Committee meeting, a representitive of the Oxford University Africa Society stated that the society planned to “suspend collaboration indefinitely” with the Union if changes were not made. The Africa Society has in the past invited speakers to the Union, and worked in partnership with them to host the Oxford Africa Conference on 22nd - 23rd May, but stated that they will cease to do so unless their demands were “taken seriously”. Representitives also said that they planned to inform insiutions and individuals they are affiliated with, encouraging them to also condemn the Union. These partners include the Said Business Schoola and the President of Ghana. A press statement released by Rhodes Must Fall outlined the successes achieved in Tuesday’s meeting before going on to state their future goals: “Yesterday was a historic moment. Rhodes Must Fall Oxford (RMF Oxford), a movement determined to
College JCR and MCRs condemn the Oxford Union
decolonise education and combat everyday racism at the University of Oxford, played a key role in getting the Oxford Union, one of Britain’s oldest debating societies, to acknowledge its own institutional racism. This follows from last week’s racist serving of a cocktail called ‘The Colonial Comeback’ at a debate about whether or not Britain should pay reparations for the damage it has done to its former colonies... “While the University hides behind the fact that it has no jurisdiction over the Union, it must be pointed out that Union members are students of the University – whose opinions are significantly influenced by the University, its curriculum, and overall institutional architecture. Yesterday, the Oxford Union acknowledged that it is institutionally racist. When will the University of Oxford have the courage to follow suit? If the University of Oxford is committed to addressing BME student experiences (as it says it is), then why has the University of Oxford not applied for the Race Equality Charter mark? “We call on the University of Oxford to acknowledge its own institutional racism and the fact that it is a beneficiary of a mutually productive culture of imperialism and colonialism. It is only when this problem is acknowledged that a conversation can start about how this can be addressed. “We are positive about what lies ahead, and believe that the Union’s admission of its own institutional racism marks a significant victory for oppressed minorities within what is a largely denialist Oxford space. The process of decolonisation is well and truly underway!”
Several JCRs have made the decision to condemn the Oxford Union Society for the “Colonial Comeback” cocktail, including Worcester, Corpus Christi, Pembroke, Oriel and St Hilda’s. The majority of JCRs condemning the Union have written letters explaining their decision, signed by JCR members. St Hilda’s College also mandated their JCR Executive to contact the OUSU president, requesting that the Oxford Union be banned from using OSSL, or, failing that, requesting that any OSSL emails including material from the Union should include a list of ‘Union scandals’. An example of the condemnations sent to the Union by college JCRs (in this cae Pembroke) s reproduced below. To the President of the Oxford Union, On behalf of Pembroke College JCR, I would like to publicly condemn the Union’s attitudes towards race as suggested by the issues surrounding the cocktail offered during the colonialism and reparations debate last week. Given that Oxford is home to over 20,000 students from a variety of backgrounds, we are appalled and disappointed that a subject as serious as colonialism has been treated with triviality and disrespect. This letter is the result of a motion that was presented at our sixth week JCR Meeting. The motion was passed virtually unanimously, and reflects our belief that the University and its associated institutions have a collective responsibility to promote equality and combat institutionalised prejudices.
Colonialism does not end with the departure of troops and the abolition of slavery. It created and continues to perpetuate a cultural, economic, and administrative hierarchy in which the agency of people of colour is superseded by their race; where respectability, opportunity, and criminal justice systems are weighted towards whiteness. With this in mind, the ‘Colonial Comeback’ cocktail and the accompanying posters that featured images of shackled black hands presented the topic at hand with insensitivity and a naive lack of awareness of the potential for offence. The subsequent apologies betray an ignorance of the deep-rooted issues at the heart of this institution and many others. That the BME Officer was not consulted at any point—in arranging this debate or otherwise— further reflects a lack of sincerity in considering the perspectives of the BME community. As a JCR, and together in solidarity with New College JCR and St.Hilda’s College JCR, we formally condemn the problematic behavior of the Oxford Union. We hope that the measures taken by the Union in response to these events will prevent anything similar from happening in the future. Yours sincerely, Chesney Ovsiowitz, Pembroke College JCR Vice-President Benjamin Nabarro, Pembroke College JCR President Deon Fang, Pembroke College JCR Member Yu Sin Anastasia Mok, Pembroke College JCR Member
Photo: Barker Evans
A recent history of Union scandal
BME Officer resigns from position Esther Odejimi, BME Officer for the Oxford Union, resigned on Friday 29th May after reports of the “Colonial Comeback” cocktail emerged on social media. In later testimony to Standing Committee, it emerged that Odejimi had never spoken with President Olivia Merrett. During the same meeting, President-elect Charles Vaughan had to ask Odejim’s name before addressing her. During the meeting, Merrett apologised for making Odejimi feel “marginalised” during her time in the position, which Odejimi accepted. Speaking to the Cherwell, Odejimi said: ““I’m disgusted at the way they have behaved, both towards me and the wider black community. I have made efforts to reach out to the President for an induction and to make sure that my role is not left redundant. All have been in vain.” “It’s clear that my role was just an act of political correctness and they had no intention to actually engage with the BME Rep position. I want nothing to do with them at all. I’m disgusted. Racism is definitely not
dead.” Odejimi was appointed to the role of BME Officer in 2nd week, after the position was created. Merrett did make some reference to the initial difficulties in getting the position running smoothly “as there would be in any organisation”. As part of the meeting’s discussion, the issue of BME Officer and other similar roles (including LGTBQ Officer) not having automatic speaking rights in Standing Committee was raised. While it was ceded that nobody attending “was ever realistically refused the right to speak”, several Union members present felt that this was unacceptable. Following discussion, there was a change in Committee Policy, giving BME Officer automatic rights to speak. President-Elect Vaughan stated that he will be a meeting with BME and other representative officers in the future, and said that “he wants them to become a standard fixture of the Union Committee” as he prepares for his term of office to begin in Michaelmas Term of 2015 - 2016.
November 2007
Invitation of BNP Chairman Nick Griffin and holocaustdenying historian David Irving prompts furious protest
June 2013
“Hackgate”: Cai Wilshaw resigns as Secretary following the emergence of allegations that he hacked rivals’ computers
May 2014
President Ben Sullivan arrested on suspicion of rape, and later released without charge
April 2015
Invitiation and appearence of Marine Le Pen, leader of the French National Front Party, sparks major protest at Union
Protesters at the reparations debate Students with the Rhodes Must Fall movement have also criticised the Union for their “intimidation” of protestors attending the debate over whether Britain should pay reparations to her former colonies. During the course of the Committee Meeting, it was noted that debate brochures with the cocktail poster inside of them were allowed to be distributed around the debate chamber, while pamphlets distributed by the Rhodes Must Fall movement were removed. One Union member asked: “Why did you not put the same effort into removing the offensive poster?”. Standing Committee members responded by stating that the brochures had been printed a significant time before, and Merrett said that she had “forgotten” the cocktail name appeared in the literature. In response, one Union member accused Merrett of “gross negligence” of her duties towards the Union. Members of Rhodes Must Fall also participated in “non-auditory and nonviolent protest” during the debate, which they said did not contravene Union rules.
There was some discussion during the meeting over whether the poster was brought to light “only because Rhodes was there to do so”, with reference drawn to previous themed debate cocktails - such as one, called ‘Dark Love’ for a debate concerning the anonymity of victims of sexual violence - which could have been similarly accused of inapproprieteness “had anybody noticed”. Protesters during the debate also unfurled banners reading “who will speak for me?” and anounced the protest on social media under the hashtag “RhodesMustFall”.
Photo: RhodesMustFall
6 News
4th June 2015
Discovery of letter sheds new light on Larkin's Oxford past • The poet declined the opportunity to serve as the university's professor of poetry on two occasions • The letter to the St. Hugh's principal, dated 8th October 1968, was found in a safe in the College JASMINE CAMERON-CHILESHE NEWS EDITOR
The true reason behind Philip Larkin’s decision to decline the position of Oxford Professor of Poetry in 1968 has been revealed, following the discovery of a letter found in a safe at St Hugh’s College. Larkin received a letter on 8th October 1968 from Rachel Trickett, the then principal of St Hugh’s College, and responded several days later, having spent "the luxury of a few minutes day-dreaming on the subject". Although he confirmed that he was ‘deeply honoured’ by the proposal, he firmly excluded himself from the role stating: "I have never considered literature in the abstract since that blessed day in 1943 when I laid down my pen in the Sheldonian Theatre and sauntered out into the sunshine, a free man; anything I have written since then has either been hack journalism or cries wrung from me by what I believe Gide calls the frightful contact with hideous reality." He also described himself as ‘unfitted’ for the role and unable to put up with the resulting public speaking and literary parties that the role would require. He affirmed that on the first and last occasion he lectured he ‘hated it, and a number of people walked out in the first few minutes’. Meanwhile, he commented: "My idea of hell on earth (physical pain excepted, and I am not sure that it is excepted even in this case) is a literary party, and I have an uneasy feeling that the post carries with it a lot of sherry-drill with important people." One Professor of English at St Hugh’s College commented: ‘His description of life in Oxford is wonderful …. His description of his career as hack journalism, his dismissal of the rest of his writing – it’s extremely pithy and funny." He added: "It’s not a dashed-off letter. He’s writing to someone he knows quite well, and
who he has a lot of common ground with. He’s not just rebuffing it – it’s interesting because it is heartfelt." Larkin repeatedly declined formal awards and titles for his contributions to British poetry. Notably, in 1972 he declined WH Auden’s nomination, again, for the position of Oxford Professor of Poetry, whilst
“ I laid down my pen in the Sheldo-
nian Theatre and sauntered out into the sunshine
”
in 1984, he declined the position of Oxford Poet Laureate. The discovery of these letters,
comes amidst current controversy surrounding the appointment of the next Oxford Professor of Poetry to replace Sir William Geoffrey Hill. The candidates are Soyinka, AE Stallings, Seán Haldane, Ian Gregson and Simon Armitage. Recently, Melvyn Bragg spoke out in The Sunday Times in opposition to poet Soyinka, labelling him as too ‘old’ and too ‘grand’ for the position. The successful appointee will be announced on the 19th June. The position of Oxford Professor of Poetry was created in 1708 and is held in high esteem in literary circles. The position is held for five years and candidates are elected by Oxford graduates. Former professors include Christopher Hicks, Cecil Day Lewis and Seamus Heaney. This is the latest in a fine pedigree of effusively amusing Larkin letters, which have become almost as popular as his poetry and novels in recent years. Previous collections have revealed the poet's sexual turmoil and fierce political opinions ("The lower-
“ My idea of hell on earth is a literary party with important people
”
class bastards can no more stop going on strike now than a laboratory rat with an electrode in its brain can stop jumping on a switch to give itself an orgasm."). But there has previously been little insight into the career considerations of a man who spent thirty years as a librarian at the University of Hull. Larkin was himself an undergraduate at St. John's College, Oxford, where he read English, matriculating in 1940. His student experiences were chronicled in his semi-autobiographical novel Jill.
Ultra Records
Photo: summonedbyfells
Photo: Quite Adept
"Why did we admit her?" asks Balliol staff member about disabled student »Continued from front page
formed by a "culture of Facebook and other social media”. In another email, a Balliol staff member described a meeting with Katie, and expressed surprise that she had ever been admitted to the College. They said: “There was an uncanny moment when [Katie] actually said ‘Do you think [the admissions tutor] was acting weird when he admitted me’ – made me wonder if she had picked this idea up from the conversation of others or she is struck by the uniqueness of her admission as some of us might be.” Katie has also accused the college of discriminatory behaviour after tutors moved her Trinity Term collections in 2013 forward to Hilary Term, despite not doing this for any other student of the same subject in her year. In a Sunday Times article from April of this year, Balliol College was labelled “toxic” after two students -
second year Physics and Philosophy student Andrew Kirkman, and firstyear PPE student Jennifer Xu – took their own lives within a few months of each other. Balliol College confirmed to The Oxford Student that a formal complaint is under investigation, and stated that it consequently could not comment on this case, although the college insisted that it has a "thorough and caring approach which is not fairly represented by selectively quoting from email correspondence." Chris Pike, OUSU VP for Welfare, commented: “All tutors and academic staff should be considering mental health and disability in a supportive rather than critical manner. In order to combat stigma and oppression we must all, as far as possible, trust what students say instead of treating disabled students with mistrust or assuming they are just trying to shirk or avoid work.”
A section from one of the emails seen by The Oxford Student: certain phrases have been removed to protect the student's anonymity
News 7
4th June 2015
Out with the Hamilton, News in brief: the in with the Richardson: best of this week’s Oxford’s new Vice Chancellor short news stories CASON REILLY NEWS EDITOR
Louise Richardson, chosen as the 272nd Vice-Chancellor of the University, comes to Oxford next year after a long life in academia and administration, having been at university in some form or another since 1977. Through her career she has shown an acumen for institutional leadership, accompanied by a willingness to publicly defend controversial opinions and policies, as well as a tendency to push for academic freedom. One of seven children in an Irish Catholic family, her teenage years began with a period of unrest following the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre. In her book What Terrorists Want, she wrote that she would have quickly joined the IRA had her mother not prevented her. She completed her undergraduate degree in History at Trinity College, Dublin, during which time she took a year to travel on scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles. She later described her travels in America that year as a “totally liberating experience”. Richardson returned to the United States after receiving her degree from Trinity College, Dublin, to pursue a M.A. and then Ph.D. in Government at Harvard University. She gained administrative experience from 2001 onwards, serving as Executive Dean at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. After 2001 and the the 9/11 attacks by Al Qaeda on the United States, Richardson’s academic profile as a scholar of counterterrorism and international security was elevated. Her 2006 What Terrorists Want argued that international terrorist movements, from the IRA to Al Qaeda, have more in common than is often perceived. The book contains pronounced criticism of the American response to the 2001
attacks and the idea of a “War on Terror”. In 2009, 18 years after beginning her time at Harvard, Richardson was picked to head St Andrews, and became their first female Principal. Her time there’s been seen as successful overall. A current St. Andrews undergraduate told The Oxford Student: “I think most people are sad to see Louise Richardson go … She had big goals for putting St Andrews on the map academically and has succeeded with the university being ranked 3rd in the UK behind Cambridge and Oxford.”
“ Her leadership has not been without tension.
”
Her leadership has not been without tension or controversy. She attracted attention after St Andrews raised tuition fees for non-Scottish UK students to £9,000 in 2012, the same year Oxford saw £9,000 fees introduced. In 2013 she provoked controversy by describing £9,000 per year as “very little to pay” for a St Andrews education, because it is “worth a great deal more” . Richardson has also had a testy relationship with Scottish politics. During last year’s Scottish independence referendum, Richardson received an angry phonecall from then-SNP leader Alex Salmond, after her refusal to release a statement drafted by the SNP stating that research funding and other post-independence issues pertaining to Universities had been resolved. Also during the independence campaign, she responded to worries of an SNP minister “bullying” a St. Andrews
academic over his statements on independence, urging all University staff to feel free to publicise their views on the issue. Recently, she has expressed further distaste for the Scottish Government’s increasing control over education, as well as the coming Scottish Higher Education Governance Bill, she said: “I think there is an increasing level of regulation and … that it is detrimental to Universities.” At St. Andrews, Richardson defended the University against a 2011 scandal involving funding received from governments and organisations in undemocratic Arab countries. “Universities should not be intimidated from looking for those sources overseas,” she said. She also remarked: “We need to be doing more, not less, research on and engagement with the Arab world.” She was vocal in attacking norms in Scotland when she was not granted honorary membership at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, an honor that had been bestowed on all recent Principals of the University. Until 2014, the club did not admit women. Richardson said that members had waved their club ties in her face to draw attention to her lack of membership. She is widely seen as part of the impetus for the eventual opening of the Club. Which precisely of her numerous accomplishments led to her nomination for Vice-Chancellor of Oxford is unclear. Oxford’s Chancellor, Lord Pattern of Barnes, said: “Her distinguished record both as an educational leader and as an outstanding scholar provides an excellent basis for her to lead Oxford in the coming years.” Richardson’s statement upon her nomination expressed a desire to “advance Oxford’s pre-eminent global position in research, scholarship, and teaching.” Subject to approval by Congregation, she will take up the job on the first of January.
Environmentalists protest at Didcot Power Station
Castle Mill opponents celebrate City Planner’s retirement
More than 250 environmental activists camped near Didcot Power Station as a part of a three-day event to protest fossil fuels. The No Dash For Gas group planned a demonstration called Reclaim the Power. The protesters said: “More fossil fuels will line the pockets of corporate-government elites, push people further into fuel poverty, threaten more local communities with tracking and other dangerous extreme energy extraction, and trash our climate targets.” Acting Supt Jim O’Ryan said: “We respect everyone’s right to protest in a way which is nonviolent protest against people or property. However, should activity go beyond peaceful, those breaking the law will be death with proportionately.
Anti Castle Mill campaigners have welcomed the retirement of the city official involved in planning. Head of City Development Michael CroftonBriggs oversaw major planning decisions in Oxford over the past 13 years, and was a target for strong criticism over his role in the Castle Mill controversy, after a retrospective Environmental Impact Assessment report conducted voluntarily by a University commission found that the buildings had a high “adverse impact” on Port Meadow, the Oxford skyline, the Thames and St Barnabas Church. Toby Porter of the Save Port Meadow campaign commented: “Whatever [Crofton-Briggs] has achieved for the city, the enduring legacy of his time in this position will be the despised Castle Mill buildings, brought to life by one of the worst planning decisions for decades, not just in Oxford but the UK.”
Photo: Daniel Cunniffe Photo: Oxford University
University should take action against study drugs, say 60% of students Continued from front page » of study drug usage says something about the unrealistic workload set by the university and about the nature of exams here. I don’t necessarily think the drugs are the actual problem but just a symptom of a larger problem in the university.” Many students have reported that these drugs are becoming more prevalent, and increasingly easy to obtain, with 35 percent saying that they could get hold of some in less than a week. Most students
who responded ordered from anonymous online black markets, although there are also cases of students selling Modafinil for less than £2 a pill. In an earlier comment regarding the use of study drugs, an Oxford University spokesperson said: “If ‘cognitive enhancement’ drugs are a particular problem at Oxford we have yet to see any substantive evidence for it. We would strongly advise students against taking any drugs that have not been prescribed to them as this could involve putting their health at risk.”
The University went on to urge students are struggling academically or personally to contact a college, OUSU, or University a welfare officer. The survey indicates both the popularity of mind-enhancing drugs at Oxford and widely divergent attitudes over their dangers and merits. Some students see the drugs as a form of cheating, while others reported positive attitudes towards their academic benefits. In the meantime, little about their effects, and the possibilities for changing future regulations is known.
Hashtag named Children’s Word of the Year
John Radcliffe Hospital announces plans to open a Pret
Oxford University Press (OUP) said hashtag (#) was increasingly used by children to add emphasis to stories. The publisher analyzed 120,421 entries for the BBC Radio Two 500 Words short story competition to find out how children aged 13 and under use the English language. They found that children increasingly use hashtags to express emotions or to sum up how they feel about a situation they have described. For example, one entrant wrote: “They only think I knew for sure was that I was going to get eaten (#frightened!!!).”
The shop will be set up by private contractors Carillion in the West Wing atrium of the hospital. John Radcliffe Hospital is the main teaching hospital for the University’s medicine program. Hospitals across the UK have come under fire recently for cutting back on their kitchens and allowing private subcontractors to take over more of the food provision. Good Food Oxford wrote in March: “Hospital food is about more than calories – it’s an integral part of patient care. Let’s campaign for it to be given the value it deserves and recognise that cutting costs on this now could cost us all more in the long term.”
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4th June 2015
Comment 9
The time has come for Rhodes to fall
Comment
• Kiran Benipal explains Oxford's new Rhodes Must
Fall movement, and why Oxford needs to change
KIRAN BENIPAL
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE
A
t the University of Cape Town, South Africa, the statue of Cecil Rhodes that sparked the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ (RMF) movement has been removed. Work is underway to decolonize the curriculum and discredit the uncritical celebration of colonial history in Africa, and Rhodes Must Fall Oxford stands in full solidarity with our comrades in South Africa. Oxford is in no way removed from the celebration of colonial violence. Oxford is central to the world’s decolonizing fight, this being the heart of Empire. This institution, considered to be the height of culture, intelligence and civilization, is deeply entrenched in the murky history of colonialism, slavery and white supremacy. From the Codington Library of All Souls, built and funded by slave labour, to the celebratory statue of Cecil Rhodes, which overlooks High Street, the tentacles of imperialism are completely inescapable. And so, Rhodes must fall. But Rhodes is only emblematic of the damagingly uncritical culture of superiority in Oxford. As the RMF Oxford statement says, “for Rhodes to truly fall Rhodes must first stand. Rhodes must be made to stand, revealed for what he really represents: the mutually productive culture of violence, racism, patriarchy and colonialism that to this day remains alive, aided and abetted by the University of Oxford, which continues to stand as an uncritical beneficiary of empire.” At an institution which is built on the blood and forced labour of colonized peoples, we can no longer bear to be suffocated by the celebration of oppression. Rhodes, and what he stands for, must fall. It is not only our buildings, statues and libraries, which celebrate white supremacy and colonial domination. Our minds too, have fallen victim, and continue to be colonised by skewed, warped institutional cultures and Eurocentric curricula. Though we would like to believe in the objectivity of knowledge, that what we study is somehow removed from the systems of power in which we live. colonisation of the mind is the most enduring legacy of imperialism. Reading lists for undergraduate courses in subjects like philosophy, literature, politics, history, classics are dominated by white male sources.
Lecturers on colonialism and postcolonialism are rarely from excolonised nations. We must liberate our minds and ourselves from this deep superiority complex, where we lack the humility to learn from non-white, non-western sources. Modules that deviate from this white hegemony are few and far between- with the undergraduate history prelims course offering one module out of 19 that is not European centered. (On slavery in Haiti, of course, because the only black history worth studying is that of slaves…) Oxford systematically celebrates white knowledge; it feels that it denies the existence of non-white knowledge. Thus our students have heard of Augustus but not of Mansa Musa (an African king, and one of the richest men to have ever walked this earth). Even when non-white knowledge enters this academic space, it is marginalised
“ We ask the students of Oxford to stand with us, and decolonize our university
”
and inferiorised. Thus Hindi, which has more speakers than French or Spanish, is not considered a ‘modern language’ or taught by the Modern Languages faculty, but instead taught in the Oriental institute. Hugh Trevor-Roper, a famous Oxford historian, once said, “Perhaps in the future there will be some African history to teach. But at present there is none. There is only the history of Europeans in Africa. The rest is darkness." Why, given this blatant racism and epistemicide, is there Trevor Roper room in the History faculty? Why was the library for African studies until recently housed in the Cecil Rhodes House? A library for Jewish studies would not be housed in a ‘Hitler House’. This institutional racism cannot, and must not, be tolerated. It is an act of epistemic violence. The Oxford Union is symptomatic of the plague of imperial nostalgia and self-congratulatory colonial celebration. And so, it was fitting as the location for our first action.
We intended to draw attention to the irony of debating whether or not Britain’s former colonies were owed reparations, given that we were in a city that is propped up by the profits of British Colonialism. Our silent protest did not destabilise the debate, but did make the atmosphere of evasion and denialism deeply uncomfortable. Before the debate, whilst planning the action, fellow protestors and I found the racist poster, advertising a ‘Colonial Comeback’ poster, which has subsequently gone viral and ended up in many national newspapers. There I was, a daughter of a colonised land, looking at black hands in chains. I am told that racism is over. I saw that it is not. The cocktail was named ‘Colonial Comeback’- as if colonialism had ever gone anywhere, that it might need a ‘comeback’. The poster was indicative of just how comfortable the Oxford environment is for someone with such troubling views, and how uncomfortable it can be for BME students. Students from colonised lands are expected to sit quietly, sipping ‘colonial comebacks’, listening to a ‘debate’ about whether a debt is owed to their people, at a Union where the name of a slave owner called ‘Gladstone’ is the WiFi password. The ways in which racism and imperial glorification are intertwined were fittingly encapsulated in the events of that evening. It is time for Rhodes to Fall. We ask the students of Oxford to stand with us, and decolonize our university.
Racism needs discussing now 25.7 percent
of white applicants received offers from Oxford in 2010/11, compared to
17.2 percent
of students from ethnic minorities
Students speak out:
59.3 percent
of BME students report having felt uncomfortable or unwelcome at Oxford because of their race or ethnicity
The Rhodes Must Fall movement condemns institutional racism. Photo: Rhodes Must Fall
4th June 2015
10 Comment
A new group to channel the power of self-acceptance CAROLINA BAX
ST HILDA’S COLLEGE
O
ver the Easter vacation, I found myself immensely struggling with the amount of work I needed to do on top of organising my year abroad and remembering that I had a life outside of these two things. My reaction to this kind of circumstance swings between day-long procrastination and very focused work, and it was on one of the days belonging to the former that I found myself sneaking into a Facebook group named “CUSU WomCam self-care tips”. The community was very different from anything I had seen before – hugely supportive, with an emphasis on the shared understanding of the Cambridge workload and lifestyle, and posts which would count up to a hundred helpful comments. It suddenly struck me as extremely strange that no one here should have thought of something along these lines, given how similar the environment of Oxford is to that of Cambridge. After a lot of thought about whether this could be something useful and how I could go about it, thinking of somewhere that I could address a large group of women, I posted on Cuntry Living (CL). A lot of the topics brought up on the group are often very interesting, but CL is known for an atmosphere which has sadly become intimidating for a lot of people. I wanted a group that could divert itself from this kind of atmosphere, something of a loving space where no one would be scared to post and everyone would be happy to contribute – a group that above all would not be leaning towards a certain end of the political spectrum, nor would it be excluding those who are not quite sure what they think of feminism. The first person to contact me about
the group and whether we could form it along the lines of Cambridge’s group was Rowan, a second-year at Wadham . Within five minutes, she had created a group and made us both admins of it, and women were joining by the minute. We soon introduced an anonymous system, so that those wanting to talk about mental health and seeking for advice could do so without unecessary exposure, providing a list of women who were willing to take in anonymous posts. My initial aim was to have somewhere that mental health could be spoken about openly, and each of us could have worries spoken about openly, but I soon saw the space turn into one which didn’t just allow the latter, but became a space of support towards others. People were not only
being open about their own struggles, but they were using them to give others advice. As someone who is mainly a witness on most Facebook groups rather than an active voice, I never thought I would be the one to start a group which would rack up close to 1000 members in the space of a month, nor that I would receive such a positive reaction from those benefitting from it. The consequences of the group’s birth were extraordinary – and now, I want to get to the bottom of why it had such a big impact on Oxford’s female student population.
There is no doubt that self-confidence issues ultimately stem from societal expectations. In an environment such as Oxford, university doesn’t just bring a departure that is opposite to a sheltered home life, but along with it also comes a different pace of life, where breaks become almost shameful. It’s not just about work, though not being able to be as socially successful as we would want to be derives from that sense of competition that we’re encouraged to feel amongst ourselves as human beings overall – we need to be more successful, fitter, more good looking. Oxford has swarms of all-rounders, and it can be difficult to try and adhere to this kind of model. It becomes hard not to be guilty because of waking up too late, starting work too late, taking too long to prepare a meal instead of working or being out, and self-hatred and punishment are inextricably linked to these unattainable expectations that we set ourselves. Posts have varied from discussing deeply-rooted issues such as the trauma that can come from having gone through child abuse or abortion, to asking how to make bedrooms look prettier, as well as how to deal with homesickness on a year abroad and the stress of forgetting a carnation on the day of a final exam. Posts come from women who are thankful that our support has helped them take a shower having spent a week indoors unable to leave their room, or in thanking everyone for having replied to their post about academic probation, or who cannot leave the house to pick up a medical prescription – something that will be promptly taken on by a member of the group. The group deals with that universal sense of guilt that comes from being told implicitly that taking care of ourselves is vain, superficial, frivolous – the emphasis is, above all, on being women and on the struggles that this can bring. Political debates
and discussions don’t take place – the distinction between political ideals isn’t something which the group was originally made for. It’s about understanding what it means to take care of ourselves in both a world and a university that doesn’t place much emphasis on it, rather than being wary of each others’ different ideals. The atmosphere is one of solidarity – and it seems that the need to create this space and the benefits so many have reaped from it. One member posted, thanking the members for having helped her through the first stages of anorexia recovery with the words “Oxford Women Self Care seems to define us by our belonging to Oxford.” I really think Oxford should be defined by the amazing, inspiring, and infinitely kind women that it belongs to. There have been mentions from one of the members” of the idea of a
statues that the miscreants used to pray for”, thus continuing its unprecedented annihilation of Syria’s cultural heritage. And ISIS has form. Fueled by a desire to stamp out idolatry, ISIS commits its crimes in the name of religion, hoping to destroy the past in order to control the future. The highly likely fate of Palmyra is that it will go the same way as the others. The ancient Assyrian imperial capital of Dur Sharrukin: sacked. Hatra and Nimrud: both brutally bulldozed. And we all saw that video of the statues in the Mosul museum being toppled, defaced, and systematically shattered. Indeed, as Psalm 74 puts it, “they break down all the carved work thereof with axes and hammers”, only, in this case, ISIS is also using bulldozers, high explosives, and pneumatic drills. As a theologian who spends his time scrutinizing the literature of the ancient Near East, to see these irreplaceable artifacts shamelessly smashed to bits is particularly distressing. But to dread the organised destruction of millennia’s worth of cultural heritage is not simply to indulge those of us who still bitterly mourn the loss of the ancient Library of Alex-
andria. It goes much deeper than that. There are many consequences for Syria itself if ISIS is victorious in destroying the treasures of this ‘city of palms’. Palmyra is part of Syrian identity, a present symbol of the past that brings the Syrian people together, and could play a significant unifying role when the currently deeply divided country tries to rebuild itself after the war. We can but hope that, in apparently promising not to obliterate the city completely, ISIS realises this. Furthermore, the historical remains at Palmyra are of international importance. As a key city in the eastern stretch of the Roman Empire, it was a unique crossover between different cultures and traditions. This gives a fascinating insight not only into the history of the region but also into how ancient societies were able to function generally: notably, through tolerance, as different beliefs and practices were accepted into one common identity. Yet, for all this lamentation, it is very difficult to justify intervening on behalf of ancient ruins. Can we really legitimate preventing ISIS from finally blowing up the Temple of Bel when our efforts to prevent the butchering of the Syrian
people have been apparently negligible? Perhaps the answer is best found in UNESCO calling Palmyra a place of “outstanding universal value”. That’s the point: it is that same universality that may give us some sense of solidarity with the 10.8 million people, so the UN estimates, who have already been affected by the war, and implores us not simply to switch channels or move onto the next article, but to wake up and do something. The threat to Palmyra is about much more than the ruined city. It is about human lives. Palmyra is of immeasurable value not only for Syria but also for the entire world because it reminds us of our common humanity and our insignificance in history, like tiny specks of dust in the Palmyrene desert. It seems a great shame that it should be on our watch that the international community loses any collective sense of moral responsibility and allows brutal barbarism to triumph over any of the ideals of civilization. What should we do? I don’t know, but I wonder if we should be doing more than just crying out “oimoi” and weeping over a heap of stones.
“ A loving space where no one would be scared to post
”
Photo: Carolina Bax
men’s self care group that had been mentioned to her by a friend, something I think would be wonderful – men are so often neglected in specific mental health areas (eating disorders spring to mind) and deal with very strict societal expectations in a way of their own. It saddens me that we have had to create this kind of environment ourselves because we feel that we aren’t allowed or deserving of taking care of ourselves, and that we need to make this into an ingrained routine, training ourselves to love who we are. It remains undeniable that the kind of attitude we need to have towards ourselves, one of self-respect and selflove, is something that we aren’t taught. We’re taught to deal with problems, to grow thick skin, to bottle most things up and with OWSC, even if in a small way, I want to change that.
ISIS’s attacks on heritage are personal to all of us RORY TURNBULL ORIEL COLLEGE
L
ast week, some 215 kilometers northeast of Damascus, an ancient Roman theatre became the stage for a public execution. ISIS has reached Palmyra. Sometimes called the ‘Venice of the sands’, the significance of Palmyra goes without saying. Its splendours rising out of the desert are exceptionally beautiful examples of classical architecture and are of enormous historical and cultural value. Yet, under ISIS control, Palmyra is vulnerable. While some objects have been moved away, its preserved temples and streets remain within striking distance: the sandstone façade of the ancient Temple of Bel already being broken by a mortar shell, the golden-coloured colonnades damaged by shrapnel. Moreover, it looks as though we can predict what is going to happen next. Although ISIS promised that it would “preserve” the “historic city”, and “not touch it with [their] bulldozers”; it explicitly affirmed its intention “to pulverize
Photo: Wojtek Ogrodowczyk
Comment 11
4th June 2015
A rebrand must be next for Labour LOUIS TRUPIA
BRASENOSE COLLEGE
T
he Labour party has had its worst result since 1987, leaving them with nearly 100 fewer seats than the Conservative Party; it seems that the people of Great Britain rejected Ed’s pledge stone (now likely to be his tombstone), and women weren’t willing to climb aboard Harriet’s pink (sorry, cerise) bus. People were probably fed up with the gimmicks Labour waved in their faces because they were boring and bland. Commentators across the country claim that the party is fighting for survival, and it is true that they must do some serious soul searching to decide where to go next. Labour is in crisis and I think their troubles could be solved with a rebrand.
“ They only catered for a vote they already had in the bag
”
It is a well known fact that the party that takes the centre ground (excluding the Lib Dems) normally wins because it tends to alienate the fewest people and few of the policies are extreme enough to put people off the party altogether. For the past two elections, that party has been the Conservatives, but Labour is more than capable of occupying this space. Under Tony Blair, the party realised the importance of this section of the political spectrum more than any modern party ever has. Blair’s centrist policies gave him a landslide in 1997, gaining 145 seats. He realised that the post-materialist middle class could buy into a Labour Party if it took the centre ground, and so he campaigned on a basis of wealth creation, and a mixture of left and right wing policies. This is where the Labour Party fell down at this election - they only catered for a vote that they already had in the bag and were in no danger of losing. Meanwhile, they did little to entice middleclass floating voters, often painting them as pantomime villains and, in Scotland, they witnessed a bloodbath. They can no longer make jokes about there being more pandas in Scotland than Tory MPs without being hypocrites. Their mistake was to avoid addressing the concerns of those voters who were transferring their votes to the SNP. They had always taken their Scottish core vote for granted and never actually done that much to earn new votes from the Scottish people, assuming that they would always be seen as a better alterna-
tive then the Tories. So what can the Labour party do in its rebranding? First of all it needs to take the centre ground. Len McCluskey, the GenSec of Unite, claims that the party lost this election because it wasn’t left-wing enough, but do we really expect him to say anything else? We no longer live in the days where the entire workforce is unionised; most people get very annoyed when strikes bring the country to a halt. Most of us see it as undemocratic that the unions have so much influence and essentially bankroll one of the two main parties. In the face of the Falkirk scandal and McCluskey essentially claiming he will pick the next leader of the party, Labour would do best to distance itself from the unions. Furthermore, they need to realise that the candidate that the unions want is probably not going to be the best candidate to stand an election. If the unions had not interfered in the leader selection process before, David Miliband would have won and we might now have a Labour government. But alas, the front runner in the leadership race is Andy Burnham, the favourite of Unite. And this reveals another problem Labour will face in any rebrand: most of their candidates are tainted by their last stint in government. Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham are both from the old guard and both fail to admit that Labour spent too much when the times were good. Their front runner was Chuka Umunna who was labelled as the next Barack Obama, but even he could only stomach the contest for a few days. The party really is beginning to run out of options, and may have to elect someone who is tainted by the Blairite-Brown period. I’m no expert on the Labour party, but I’d say their best bet is with outsider Liz Kendall. She isn’t tainted by the Blair era, but she is a Blairite politician. She backs free schools, pledges to fight defence cuts and has actively spoken out against Ed’s energy price freeze. She is also one of the rare few within the party who is willing to admit Labour spent too much when it was in government, and she realises the importance of the centre ground. But, like I say, Andy Burnham is favoured by the unions and is the bookie’s favourite. And that’s what could set the party back at the next election. The Labour party wants the country to shift to the left of the spectrum and are adjusting their policies to this illusion. They’ve failed to realise that the party in the centre is the one that wins this is why New Labour under Blair did so well in elections. If the party elects Cooper or Burnham, they are doomed to lose again. But if they elect someone fresh and more centrist, like Kendall, they could see the success that they once took for granted. But when I say a rebrand, keep Russell out of it.
“
When International Students are not encouraged and celebrated, neither the students nor the country wins
”
International Students should not be neglected by the Tories HELENA LOUTASPARASKEVA
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE
A
t the end of 2014, Home Secretary Theresa May made a public statement in support of the Conservative Party’s intention to return international students to their home countries very shortly after the completion of their studies. Since this statement, the debate surrounding international students has been spurred on, attracting widespread criticism and outrage from students and politicians alike. May’s controversial statement was made in support of the Conservative government’s promise in 2010 to aim to reduce net migration to below 100, 000. In the past year, the UK’s net migration figures have reached their highest level for a decade, rising by 50 per cent to 318 ,000 in 2014. It is May’s hope that targeting international students would help to reduce this figure. Currently, any non-EU student may remain in the UK for four months after graduation. If these students do not find a job with a minimum salary of £20,500 before the end of this deadline, they must return to their country of origin. The current system, while not as extreme as the proposal put forward by May, has not gone uncriticised. The April 2014 report of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee highlighted the limitations of the current system, stating that, “the closure of the previous post-study work route has had a deleterious effect on international students. Four months is too short a post study work period and it is at least questionable whether 20, 300 is an appropriate figure”. With such strong criticism of the current system, it comes as no surprise that May’s extreme proposal was
Harriet Bourhill
met with outrage. The proposal would require anyone whose student visa expires to leave the country immediately and reapply through the avenue of a work visa should they wish to continue their studies or take up graduate jobs. It is important to note that this proposal did not appear explicitly on the Conservative Party’s manifesto before the General Election; however, it speaks volumes of the current climate in the government regarding international students. With this in mind, it is no surprise that international students are feeling less inclined than ever to undertake higher education in the UK.
“ May’s extreme proposal was met with outrage
”
Already, the number of international students enrolling in UK universities has taken a hit for the first time in 16 years. In particular, there has been an alarming 23 per cent drop in undergraduate students from India, and an even more alarming 28 per cent drop in postgraduates. The number of Pakistani students has followed the trend, with a 13.4 per cent drop in undergraduates and a 19 per cent drop in postgraduates. The current crackdown on immigration is deterring valuable international students from applying to UK universities, cultivating an intimidating and unwelcoming façade to young and ambitious students who have the potential to contribute to Britain’s future. International students bring valuable qualities to British towns and cities and are a significant stimulant
to the economy. It is estimated that they bring £3.4 billion to the UK each year. Moreover, the high fees that international students are required to pay fund high-class facilities and quality teaching. Liberal Democrat Vince Cable has stated “It makes no economic or social sense to limit the flow of international students to the UK”, with which I must agree. Sir James Dyson, one of the UK’s most prominent and respected businessmen, has said, “May’s immigration plans simply force the nimble minds we nurture to return home and fuel competition from overseas.” Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has also commented on May’s immigration policy, saying that while “more needs to be done to stop people overstaying illegally when their visas run out, the answer to that isn’t to prevent highly skilled overseas graduates getting legal work visas to fill shortages in fields like science or medicine here”. Looking beyond the clear economic benefits of encouraging international students to study in the UK, the social benefits must not be underestimated. We live in an ever-growing global community, and it is more important now than ever that our universities reflect globalisation and facilitate collaboration with individuals from a wonderfully diverse range of backgrounds. To put at risk the flow of international students to the UK would endanger the UK’s reputation for being a forward-thinking global leader. When international students are not encouraged and celebrated, neither the students nor the country wins. It is essential for Britain’s continued performance on the global stage that it can attract, and provide incentive to retain, the world’s brightest and best, whatever their country of origin may be.
Moving out?
get rid of your stuff and do some good
help us collect:
1
LINEN
For the first time, OUSU is collecting single bed linen for the Oxford Women’s Refuge, to help make women in a really tough situation more comfortable.
We’re looking to collect 150 sets of good quality single-bed linen, so if you’re moving on to bigger and better beds, show your linen some love and donate it! Collection boxes will be in participating colleges in 8th week.
2
FOOD
If you’ve hoarded tins and tins of food you’re never going to use, donate them to the Oxford Community Emergency Foodbank!
Alongside Just Love, Islamic Soc and Food Justice, we’ll be collecting unopened, imperishable food to donate to Oxford’s Community Emergency Foodbank. Collection boxes will be in your college lodge or common room throughout 8th week!
3
EVERYTHING ELSE Whatever you have left over after donating your linen and food you can give to the British Heart Foundation!
Each bag filled with clothes, home accessories, DVDs, whatever else, is worth £14 to the BHF and saves 10kg of CO2. Look out for the big red collection bins in your college during 8th week, and give generously.
OXII Ione Caseby
IV.V I. M M XV
Independent,
FREE, &
Weare HERE when YOU need
us
We are here for you when you need us!! Visit Us at: 2 Worcester Street Oxford, OX1 2BX Drop-In Sessions (term-time) Mondays 10−12 Wednesdays 12−2 Fridays 2–4 Email: advice@ousu.ox.ac.uk Call Us: 01865 288 466
Confidential
The Student Advice Service is the only advice, information and advocacy service exclusively available to Oxford University students. Part of OUSU, the Student Advice Service is independent of the Colleges or Departments and the Central University, so the services we offer are impartial and objective. Our services are free and confidential. We are here with a team of friendly and experienced Advisors to help you find answers to the questions and solutions to the problems you may face including: Academic Disputes, Appeals, Accommodation, Health, Disability, Relationships, Visas, and Mental Health.
STUDENT
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4th June 2015
Music 3
MUSIC Grime and punishment: rising UK rap
JACOB WISEMAN LINCOLN COLLEGE
• Krept, part of grime duo Krept and Konan, talks about the UK scene, US exports and perfoming with Kanye
G
rime is on the rise. Grime artists are producing hit after hit, selling out shows and collaborating with some of the biggest names in music. The rap often centres on a repeated word or phrase (as in Skepta’s ‘That’s Not Me’) and metaphor. The music is laden with frenetic beats and heavy bass lines. What’s more, it is acquiring something of a cult following on UK campuses. Two of the scene’s hottest rising stars, Krept and Konan are set to release their debut album in July, having already released a top 20 mixtape, Young Kingz, in 2013. For Cayso “Krept” Johnson, part of Grime’s appeal is its ability to intrigue those with differing backgrounds. “I feel it’s a bit like saying, 'why do we enjoy action movies so much?' We’re not used to something. So people telling you something that you can’t quite fathom or can’t quite relate to, it’s quite interesting. It’s like the situation that happened with Konan. To some people that’s just like, ‘Oh my god. That’s crazy.’ It’s like a film. I feel that people, even if that don’t relate to it they can understand it. It intrigues them and makes people want to buy into it more.” In 2011, a gang pursuing Konan killed his stepfather in his mother’s house. The experience of this tragedy made its way into their autobiographical song ‘My Story’.
“It draws people into the artist to understand their story, their struggle and their hardship. It’s a pain thing as well. It might be someone else’s story but it’s painful to hear about people’s situations like that.” Having been at such a low in 2011, the South London duo have since entered the charts, their single ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ has scored six million YouTube hits and they are now touted as one of the hottest UK grime acts. For Krept, the reality has not quite sunk in. “It’s surreal,” he says emphatically. “Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves, like were we just on stage with Kanye West at the Brits? Am I really in the studio with Ed Sheeran and Rick Ross? Am I really here chilling with Wiz [Khalifa] backstage? It just goes to show that no matter where you’re from, if you work hard enough it’s possible. Nothing is impossible. “But I also want to branch out to Europe and perform worldwide. There’s so much more to do, so much more to accomplish and a lot of ground to cover in the UK.” Although there is still much ground to cover, the softly spoken rapper believes grime is spreading. “A few years ago, you wouldn’t see a song like ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ on the Radio One playlist. But because we did it, and we made it so big, they had to succumb to it. I feel like it’s all a part of making UK grime and hip-
hop really well respected. Americans are taking to it now: Kanye brought everyone out at the Brits, Drake starts following everyone from the grime scene on Instagram. It might take time, but I feel that it’s eventually going to make it to the States.
“We did it and
made it so big, they had to succumb to it
”
What will be the thing to cross over there, I don’t know. But I feel its getting closer as it gets more accepted here.” At the Brit awards earlier this year, Kanye West performed with a group of at least forty UK grime artists to premier his single ‘All Day’. Krept and Konan were part of Kanye’s company. “I feel like it was a sign of appreciation from Kanye. For him to say, ‘Let’s get some of the youth and people from the scene to come on stage with me at the Brits,’ meaning that he’s appreciating our scene.” Although Krept is grateful for Kanye’s appreciation, his performance signifies a broader problem for grime in the UK music scene. “I feel like it’s a shame it took Kanye West to get our grime scene
to the Brits. Our scene still isn’t accepted there. You wouldn’t see someone from our scene performing at the Brits. If it wasn’t for Kanye West, you wouldn’t even see us at the Brits. None of us got invited. It took him even to wake up our own country and say that there are people from our scene doing their thing and bring them on stage. They’re appreciating what we’re doing over here. It’s not going unheard. He’s come over to our country and reached out to people from our country saying, ‘I want you people to represent with me on my first single at the Brits.’” As much as British artists are crossing the pond and influencing their American counterparts, Krept and Konan’s upcoming single ‘Freak of the Week’ has been labelled American hip-hop for its glossy sound with Jeremih’s vocals and distance from the grit of grime music. Krept does not think that is the case. “What’s weird is that people say it’s American hip-hop, but the sample’s actually a Jamaican song, ‘Playground Riddim’. The only thing American is Jeremih on the hook. I feel like it’s a fusion of Jeremih bringing his US appeal, us bringing our rap and vocals with a sample in there.” Krept believes that the music video, streaming on YouTube before the single release, is behind the song's labelling. This attitude further demonstrates grime’s
marginalisation in the UK music scene. “It’s the quality of the video – the glossiness. It’s a bit sad for people to say that the quality of it means it looks American. It means that people aren’t used to seeing videos from England of that quality, that glossiness. But we wanted to show that we can do the quality stuff over here as well.” Krept and Konan have worked hard to prove their quality. Their top 20 mixtape Young Kingz received no promotion beyond the social media pages that they ran themselves. “There was no radio, no TV, nothing. Just us contacting our fans on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – just using social media. To get into the top 20 like that was amazing. That’s the power of the Internet.” Their debut album, Long Way Home, is due for release in July. It features collaborations with the Ed Sheeran, Rick Ross, Emeli Sandé and Wiz Khalifa. “Home is success, and how long it’s taken to get there. It’s never been easy, never been straightforward. It’s been a long way for us through so many trials and tribulations just to get to where are today. Home is success and the long way it takes to get there. It also stems from when you’re in the car, listening to music and you’re nearly home but you want to listen to the rest of a song. You’ll take the long way home just to listen to the rest of it.”
Krept (right) and Konan The hard climb to the top Photo: Virgin media
4 Music
Empathy for the devil: Jakobsen’s tender album
4th June 2015
DANIEL KEANE
SOMERVILLE COLLEGE
• Folk singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen offers a flawed but sensitive debut
T
he cover of Siv Jakobsen’s debut album The Lingering shows a cold, wintry landscape and three solitary figures walking aimlessly across it. It is presumably the expansive landscape of the Norweigan folk
like a set of accusations levelled at a past lover: “You’re always so angry, “you’re always so sad” and “you’ve got too many scars to hide”. For a song called ‘How We Used To Love’ there is no mention of these days; no bittersweet sense of happiness lost, but just a set of phrases filling this absence with melancholia. ‘Fix You’ is slightly better, carrying a sense of palpable romantic tragedy. “I can’t fix you / But I want to try”, she sings on the chorus, her voice surrounded by ghostly harmonies and strings. The narrative based ‘Buried In Treasure’ describes an eccentric recluse that “sleeps in a corner with thirteen cats” living in a “cave full
“It is as if she is
in the room, looking you in the eye
”
singer-songwriter’s homeland. The music on this LP carries this same sense of powerful isolation, but also an intimacy. It is as if she is in the room, looking you in the eye, singing her gentle songs about regret and the difficult nuances of relationships. Scandinavia has produced its fair share of acoustic-based singersongwriters or bands in the last decade, and all their influences are present here. Musically, Jakobsen channels the tranquil minimalism of Kings of Convenience, the baroque pop instrumentation of Belle & Sebastian and the hushed chords of Iron & Wine. Jakobsen’s vocal phrasing and delicate delivery will immediately recall Laura Marling,
“ Affinity
photo: Siv Jakobson
though Jakobsen crucially lacks the heavy poetic irony and rigorous self-examination that pervades Marling’s lyrics. Jakobsen’s unfortunate poetic weakness is her tendency to lapse into lyrical cliché or sentimentality. This becomes apparent from the outset. In ‘Dark’ she sings of
being “the dark one in my bloodline” and a “lingering mellow”; but finds herself towards the end rhyming “days”, “pray” and “way” in a manner Noel Gallagher would be proud of. ‘How We Used To Love’, the album’s lead single, sets itself up as a lamentation but the lyrics feel
for the neglected and wayward
”
of useless things”. Despite his isolation, he “will stay there till the end of his days”. This consuming despondency appears to be caused by the loss of a lover; he searches through mountains of sweaters and
English Graffiti fails to leave a permanent mark
shirts” for small traces of her lost beauty. It is a moving image that draws perhaps the most significant emotions from the listener on the entire LP. It is a sign that Jakobsen does have potential as a songwriter; and that introspective song-writing can focus itself externally and be even more effective. Unfortunately, the inluded cover of Britney Spears’ pop classic ‘Toxic’ really does not work; it is a song that simply does not translate to a stripped back folk setting. That is not to say covers like this can never work - just see Ben Howard’s cover of ‘Call Me Maybe’ - but the instrumentation does not serve to illuminate any hidden lyricism, but rather to highlight it’s clunky awkwardness. It is the one moment of this album that feels like it was made for a car advert. ‘Caroline’, like ‘Buried In Treasure’, is narrative based. There is a tender poeticism here, as the song details another isolated man, is “dressed in someone else’s dream” and asking towards the end, “will he always be alone”? Jakobsen’s empathy and affinity for the neglected and wayward is where her strength lies. Touring and subsequent albums, I hope, can build on this strength; though this album feels predominantly like that of a musician yet to reach their full artistic maturity.
SEAN MCINTYRE
SOMERVILLE COLLEGE
• The Vaccines’ third album fails to win in the big battle of the indie bands
T
he year is 2011. I am an eager fifteen year old with a jacket that’s far too big and jeans that are far, far too small. I’m wandering through Brixton Academy waiting to see the next ‘next big thing’: The Vaccines who have only released three tracks - three sensational tracks. When will their debut album be out? Shall I buy the vinyl? Do I buy a t-shirt? Fast forward four years. Two commercially successful albums and established as a staple at Reading & Leeds; it’s fair to say The Vaccines have done well. However, one can’t escape the feeling that they’ve been doing the same thing: fast paced indie singalongs that all contain about three chords. Justin Young recently told NME that he “wanted to make a record that was important in 2015 and sounded like 2015.” This indicated a complete departure from their earlier material which is somewhat misleading: though English Graffiti signifies some change, it sounds more like a cheap imitation of 2014
than 2015. The album begins in traditional Vaccines style with ‘Handsome’, which combines a frantic, guitar heavy beat with angsty lyrics such as “Lonely, bored and bad, thank God I’m handsome.” A little simplistic, but brilliant nonetheless.
“Fast paced indie
songs that all contain about three chords.
”
Unfortunately this does not set the tone for the rest of the album. The next track ‘Dream Lover’ embodies the problematic nature of the album: the failed attempt at experimentation. The surprisingly popular single tries to achieve an effortless blend of rock n’ roll and funk but in truth falls short (and the less said about the video, the better).
The album continues in this direction with ‘Minimal Affection’, which combines generic electronic twangs with generic indie lyrics such as “You forget how to make a connection/And you’ve wanted one for so long.” There is some success in ‘(All Afternoon) In Love’ which achieves a floating elegance that the other songs lack while closing track ‘Miracle’ is the closest that the band come to achieving the hybrid sound they have strived for throughout. It adds a groovy feel to a vintage indie sound and wouldn’t sound out of place in a cool 80s disco club (if such an establishment has or will ever exist). The record is at its best when The Vaccines stay true to their original sound as seen in ‘20/20’ which is a natural progression from their previous albums. This demonstrates that there is no need to add superfluous noises that add little to the music for the mere hope that it will be considered ‘innovative’ or ‘progressive.’ Overall, you can’t help but feel
English Graffiti The Vaccines’ latest offering lacks indie intensity photo: The Vaccines
that Justin and Co had a cheeky gander at Arctic Monkeys’ masterpiece AM and tried to achieve something similar. As well as being a year late, this is not an advancement of the sound but rather a cheap imitation of the work of superior counterparts. The Vaccines have desperately tried to be innova-
tive but in doing so have betrayed their lack of creativity. Regardless, it seems likely that their fans will love it which is ultimately all that matters. It just seems a shame that a band who are at their best creating frantic, indie bangers have tried to be a bit too clever. I’m glad I didn’t buy a t-shirt.
Music 5
4th June 2015
Seventh Heaven OxStu’s 7th week Playlist
The Reflection of You Bear In Heaven
Heaven Eurythmics
Just Like Heaven The Cure
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
The Smiths
Wear You Donovan
Boney James: background music or the future of soul? BENJAMIN HUSTON ST JOHN’S COLLEGE
B
oney James’ fifteenth album, Futuresoul, is uncontroversial yet sophisticated; both crucial tenets of a successful smooth jazz album. It will be well received by avid listeners of this genre (although I have still yet to meet any) and those searching for instantly relaxing music as Trinity term progresses. As the title suggests, much of James’ saxophone playing is influenced by soul rhythms and colours, rarely breaking into the quick bop phrases that less experienced performers in this genre might use. Despite this, the bandleader’s playing is not simple or uninteresting, showing both clear feeling and thought. The compositions display, as ever, a number of complementary ideas with tracks such as ‘Fortuneteller’ showcasing his particular gift at extended, unravelling exposed melodies. Unquestionably, it is the experience and individual performance of the artist which makes this album. Yet, I feel there always will be an irreconcilable tension in this type of music, which is particularly disap-
pointing as a result of just quite how good the saxophone playing is. The core production values for this sub genre hasn’t changed for decades, repeatedly using the classic formula of instrumentalist melody accompanied by incidental backing, the more of which is computer-generated or produced through a synthesizer the better. The result is music that is ideal for phone centres when they you put you on hold during a phone call: it can be put on repeat with no one noticing and is likely to keep otherwise increasingly irate callers calm. I would have appreciated a nudge towards similar but more current musical trends in computer-based music, especially when six of the personnel for this album are credited with instrumental programming. The first track of the album, ‘Drumline’ is the most musically interesting with clear instrumental riffs upon which the tune comfortably sits. It is certainly the most recognisable and memorable of all the pieces, with many of the others approaching being indistinguishable from each other. While I wouldn’t charge any of the compositions with actually being bland or
generic, it doesn’t help that both can be said of the track names: where on earth did ‘Whatchu Gon’ Do About It?’ and ‘The Moment’ come from? Despite this, there are one or two tracks which do stand out in some respect. ‘Either Way’ is a successful duet with Stokley Williams, although James primarily hands over the reigns to the singer, contributing mainly though unobtrusive instrumental fills. The muted trumpet playing on ‘Far From Home’ by Marquis Hill gives what might otherwise have been an overly repetitive melody energy. Boney James, four time Grammy Award nominee, has access to some of the greatest jazz artists out there and should not be afraid to collaborate with them at a more fundamental level throughout an album; in these two cases, they support rather than detract from his playing. So, while this album is excellent on its own terms, it is unlikely to ever be used for more than background music. But then, who are we to say what music should be and what it needs to achieve? Futuresoul achieves what it sets out to do with style, and that is good enough for me.
photo: Boney James
SUMMMER ANTHEMS ‘CAUSE IM A MAN
LOVE LIKE THIS
THE BAY
BABA O’RILEY
Naomi Southwell
Lucy Clarke
Sean McIntyre
Jacob Wiseman
The initial listen of, ‘Cause I’m a Man’, the second single released from Tame Impala’s highly anticipated new album Currents, is an invitation into Kevin Parker’s new soundscape. One with a distinctly more electronic edge than the psychedelic visions created on Lonerism. Musically, the track seems perfectly suited to that particular hedonism that comes with a music festival. Hearing this track played loud over a sundrenched crowd with Parker’s vocals and heady synths washing over the seas of people, the lyrics may at first escape you. Yet, the lyrics are what make this a somewhat unconventional and difficult summer anthem. The opening lines set the quiet desperate tones of the track, “Like the brutal autumn sun/ It dawns on me, what have I done?” Parker laments losing control and the desperation in the aftermath, which is perhaps a fitting accompaniment for the obligatory revelry of the summer. Becoming lost in the moment, with those later moments filled with regret is Parker’s message, one that is going to be applicable to many this summer but with what better song to accompany it.
There’s one song that reminds me viscerally of summer, more so even than the scent of Hawaiian Tropic. I can’t hear ‘Love Like This’ by Kodaline without being dragged back to the holiday I went on with my three best friends after finishing the IB. The glorious jangling of guitars and mandolins sounds like sun rising over the sea, before being joined by skittering drums and a solitary, soaring whistle. The lyrics speak of heat and pounding hearts over folksy instrumentation that makes you want to kick up your heels and stamp, the melody line wonderfully evocative. It’s Kodaline at their best, big choruses and heartfelt words that rise and fall with your emotions: a perfect recipe for an upbeat summer song where everything feels brand new and beautiful. It’s not saccharine, though: the chorus repeats ‘I know that a love like this won’t last forever’ before remarking, almost as an aside ‘but I don’t really mind at all’. It admits that joy isn’t necessarily eternal, but that its existence is enough to make that unimportant. I can’t think of a better metaphor for summer.
I spent this morning trying to explain why Lana Del Rey’s ‘Summertime Sadness’ couldn’t be a summer anthem. A good song no doubt but, despite the seasonal reference in the title, it just does not fit the bill. After a while scrolling through my summer playlist I tried to come up with a definition of what ‘the bill’ was. A summer anthem needs to be fun, jangly, airy and have the potential to become a mass singalong. Sadly, Del Ray’s hit just did not cut it. There were always going to be a number of contenders but in the end I had to go with ‘The Bay’ by Metronomy. It builds anticipation from the start with its jittery beat and reaches a fun, dance-friendly chorus. The electronic sound of this Devon-based quartet is ideal for any music festival or summer party with a funk infused bass line that you cannot help but dance to. The lyrics reinforce the summer vibe as Joe Mount reminds the listener “those endless beaches/That go on and on/It’s magical!” Do they? Wherever he is, it isn’t London (or Berlin or Hong Kong) but we can still enjoy the summer sound of ‘The Bay’ regardless.
This is a summer anthem for me for the strangest of reasons. It was my first ever music festival: Hop Farm. We were camped near enough to the central area that we could hear music blaring from one of the stands selling hot dogs. Their song choices generally were not too bad, but on a hung-over Sunday morning following a night of Morrisey and Manu Choa, the last thing we wanted to hear was ACDC. However, in our sordid states we heard the opening synth part of ‘Baba O’Reilly’. Roused from our languishing states, we rushed over to dance by the speakers with an accumulating crowd who had the same thoughts as us. I have since associated the power of the simple opening piano and bass chords over the intricate synth part with the free feeling of summer. “Out here in the fields”, we screamed it at the top of our voices, as people continued to swarm to the impromptu The Who flashmob. “TEENAGE WASTELAND,” we all sing as the song reaches its crescendo. Soon enough the song was over and we returned to our tents, infused with the free feeling of summer.
6 Stage
4th June 2015
STAGE
They’re Back! After having toured the US to the acclaim of Shakira, the boys in Oxford blue are back at home to perform amongst Oxford’s spires. Photo: Out of the Blue
Work Hard, Play Hard: Out of the Blue Interviewed
H
aving dabbled in Oxford’s a cappella scene myself, the “OOTB” boys were always an intriguing, somewhat distant competitor amidst the myriad of groups here, in an atmosphere I kind of wished was more like Pitch Perfect than the reality of friendly banter and lukewarm rivalries here (in comparison to the cinematic counterpart at least). Rising to YouTube fame last year with their infamous Shakira medley and frequent touring abroad (this year alone visiting Switzerland, Norway and both coasts of the US, to name but a few destinations), Out of the Blue seem to be busier than ever, now currently preparing for their end of year concert. Performing their full repertoire from the past 12 months and more, their annual gig at the New Theatre promises “added pizzazz”, “pyrotechnics”, and no doubt lots of their signature sass. Then it’s on to Canada. Squeezed in before a month-long stint at the Edinburgh Fringe, they’ve been invited to Montreal to perform in a comedy festival that is now branching out to incorporate music and other art forms – “at least that’s what they’ve told us”, one member jokes, “whether that’s
actually true we’ll find out”. Although who knows, their performances do have quite an ironic, cheeky edge to them, especially in the choreography: “we don’t take ourselves too seriously”. Second-year member, Will, defines the experience of being in the group as a “work hard, play hard kind of thing”. “We do a lot of work when we’re on tour, but it’s not relentless”. Their recent America trip worked in visits to Yale, Princeton and Stanford universities, where they met many other a cappella enthusiasts who hosted and rehearsed with them. Pitch Perfect bells begin to go off in my head again... Their favourite stop however? Vegas, apparently. Though despite my probing for why, they give the inevitable polite yet elusive answer “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Perhaps the a cappella scene is less innocent than I thought… With the somewhat incessant touring and performance opportunities throughout the year – a particularly surreal moment for them being the chance to perform for Tommy Hilfiger and his wife in London – it’s a wonder they manage to balance work with their group commitments, and when asked how, there’s a brief, tense
pause before their answer: “with difficulty…Will our tutors read this interview?” “We’ve done a lot of travelling this year which has been mad and knackering, and also a lot of fun, but some of the best things we do are
“lotWe’ve done a of travelling
this year which has been mad
”
the smaller gigs. We recently went down to Dorchester-on-Thames: in comparison to the stuff we’ve done in America and Switzerland, it was quite low-key, but it was one of the most fun gigs I’ve done. People are less tired from travelling so we had more energy and tend to enjoy ourselves a lot more”. “The people get really into it – the
kids and the adults”, Law-student Deon adds, “it’s something I find quite hard to grapple with, meaning so much to people…its very humbling”. Although this perhaps sounds a little trite when put into text, whilst talking to these guys it’s clearly coming from a very genuine place, not forgetting the core foundation of the group in their charity work amidst all the travel and media support. Roshan, this year’s Music Director for the group, emphasises how “some of the nicest moments for us in the year are when we go down to the charity we support, Helen and Douglas House, just down the road. It’s one of the best things we do, singing for the kids, making them smile. They write to us as well…it’s really special”. Thankfully, despite their active online fan base (complete with fan fiction) relative student fame doesn’t seem to have completely gone to their heads. “[Our fan base] reminds us of how important what we do in this little rehearsal room for 6 hours a week is…it means something to people” Deon explains, with Will adding satirically “I can still walk down the street without getting mobbed”.
LUCY OLIVER
WORCESTER COLLEGE So what’s next for this globetrotting bunch? First of all they’re hoping for another viral hit with their new video released in the next few days, filmed in Paris and supposedly even more flamboyant than the last. But after Out of the Blue? Apparently many of their alumni (about to celebrate the group’s 15 year anniversary) can’t shake off the aca-addiction (aca-diction?) and have continued singing with a Londonbased a cappella group, Afterparty. Yet with the majority of the group leaving at the end of this aca-demic year, with only Will and Deon staying on, the change-over this year could mean a very different Out of the Blue to come in the future. However this certainly doesn’t seem to faze them, especially with the self-assurance that comes from fifteen years of alumni backing them up. And nor does my final question, asking what their favourite a cappella noise is. For Will, “nothing beats a good ‘dm’”; for Deon, an alternative love of “silences and rests”; for Roshan, “I love baps”. Excellent. Out of the Blue are at the New Theatre on Wednesday 17th June at 7.30pm.
Stage 7
4th June 2015
Review Wellington Boot Club, BT Studio
P
hilosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s googly-eyed portrait stationed within The Wellington Boot Club’s set reminds the audience that individuals craft themselves through their own actions. If existence precedes essence, then every person is wholly responsible for the paths he or she pursues. Using the philosophical tenets of Sartre, Robert Holtom’s play The Wellington Boot Club, explores the commonplace experiences and practices that impinge upon university life. By addressing and challenging issues such as peer-pressure and sexism, which permeate the collegiate climate, the play manages to capture the seemingly harmless nature of these affairs while simultaneously intensifying their adverse consequences. In the end, the play compells its audience to realise that individuals must assume responsibility for their actions since every person has the power to perpetuate or prevent the events that transpire. The play’s plot concerns a strictly male drinking society, The Wellington Boot Club, in the midst of scandal: a club member is found beaten to death after fulfilling an initiation task. Psychology student Esther Jones has a penchant for mystery solving, and amateur detective skills that compel her to resolve the murder. Her personal disdain for the club’s privileged and pretentious conduct further prompts her to reveal its malevolent tendencies and possible involvement in the murder. The play therefore shifts between characterizing those entitled
enough to gain entry into the Wellington Boot Club and those on the outskirts of this exclusive fellowship. Framed in the intimate setting of the Burton Taylor Studio, the script playfully parodies both murder mysteries and student life at Oxford. At the same time, however, it also reminds the audience that underlying these “innocuous” practices are more serious issues that need to be called into question. The play’s “Magnus College”
“ The actors lack the energy required to captivate an audience
”
certainly captures university life. Dialogue concerning “bops,” “battles,” and “scouts” – to name a few Oxfordian terms mentioned – contributes to a vernacular familiar to university students. Yet despite these achievements, the play appears too desperate to provide a recognizable rendition of Oxford and consequently lacks the imagination needed to deliver an additional dimension to the plot. This in turn raises a similar issue:
Preview Punk Rock, Simpkins Lee Theatre
F
requently compared to Skins, The History Boys and Lord of the Flies, Simon Stephens’ Punk Rock is an iconic offering of powerful, realistic adolescent drama.
“ ‘Punk Rock’ is an iconic offering
”
The concept is a simple one; the play follows six Sixth Formers of Stockport Grammar school as they adopt new girl Lily Cahill into their social circle and prepare for their A Levels. Yet the threats of violence, humiliation, and the unknown, transform it into something more complex and, ultimately, catastrophic. Revived by Sunscreen Productions, the cast have done away with the Manchester accents of the original, and seem to be striving to bring the
material closer to home. Yet the unfamiliar is equally emphasised. Before I enter the theatre, I pass the cast in character who look up from Rubik’s cubes, shoot unwelcoming glances and offer sluggish handshakes. This immersive experience continues into the production itself. The protagonist William, ambitious, unsatisfied, and light on his feet, delivers his lines from all around me, whilst the sadistic Bennett saunters in from the same door through which the audience enter.
Photo: Sunscreen Productions
PAIGE TORTORELLI MANSFIELD COLLEGE although parodying the murdermystery genre, the overly simplistic plot prevents the audience from fully engaging in the protagonist’s deductive process. In the end, when the mystery is unraveled, the effect is underwhelming. The play’s primary shortcoming, however, is that at times its actors lacked the energy required to captivate an audience and fill the blank stage. Comedic episodes were delivered with inadequate forcefulness and moments intended to display a heightened sense of emotion failed to satisfy the poignancy that the audience craves. Overall, the play’s fluidity is arrested by a lack of sustained commitment among its actors, the dialogue repeatedly assumed a staccato-like cadence as awkward pauses and transitions emerge, depriving the audience of a more cohesive performance. Part of this issue, however, was the script itself - its humour was slightly too rigid and calculated for the actors to execute in a complimentary style. Despite its rough edges, there was obvious richness of talent and many admirable performances given by those who made their Oxford stage debut. The Wellington Boot Club certainly provides audiences with an entertaining portrayal of Oxford social life and is well worth attending for the importance of its underlying message. The Wellington Boot Club was at the BT Studio from Tuesday 26th to Saturday 30th May.
CHLOE ST GEORGE THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE LMH’s relatively unknown Simpkins Lee theatre will prove to be a perfect venue for this. Its anonymity runs parallel to Lily’s entrance into the ‘upper school library’ for the first time. This is clearly a production that has been given a lot of thought. Refusing to let the angst and glamour of teenage drama become something of a cliché, these characters, in the hands of a capable and effortless cast, promise to be well developed as well as recognisable. At times, they are amusing for the same reasons they are unnerving. At others, in explorations of fear, insecurities and mania constructed by director Archie Thomson, they become depersonalised entirely. Above all, I look forward to the sustained and growing tension of the play evident in the rehearsals - an aspect of the play that Thomson seeks to heighten. This promises to be witty, gritty and thoughtful drama.
Punk Rock is at the Simpkins Lee Theatre from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th June at 7.30pm.
Feature
Directing His Dark Materials Pt. II LAURA CULL ST ANNE’S COLLEGE here’s a wonderful note in the back of our scripts which talks T about the high budget National
Theatre production of His Dark Materials, mentioning, among other things, their use of the Oliver’s drum revolve. It then goes on to say – very cheerfully – that “The demands and abilities of this mighty piece of ‘70s technology are now inseparable from the script. But I like to think that the adaptation – though it was written for a theatre with vast resources – could have a different kind of life in productions that have no resources at all”. The irony isn’t lost on us. There are some splendid stage directions saying things like “We cross-fade to Lord Asriel’s fortress”, or “Serafina appears”, which always cause a bit of amusement in the rehearsal room. Taking His Dark Materials: Part II from page to stage is more than a challenge. It’s a battle. Design has been key to planning the production. Our set must work for about six different worlds which we flit wildly between. The solution Abby Clarke (our set designer) and Kat Padel (lighting designer) came to was to create a highly stylised set, using Feigner’s artwork as inspiration. The anonymity of the sharp angular backdrop, which also flows into the furniture means that it works for all of the worlds, whilst also capturing the fractured nature of the world as the windows continue to slice through it, and
dust is whisked away. Another rather daunting task for anyone tackling fantasy drama is capturing the uniqueness of each magical creature. The play has everything from angels to witches, with the odd armoured bear in between. We’ve worked heavily on physicality, developing a different style of movement for each creature. The harpies have been particularly interesting, as we’ve worked with the idea that they torment their victims to fill a void within themselves, which is exposed physically in their stooped stature. But what I believe is most important in approaching the fantasy genre is finding a hook which is inherently very human. Fantasy is one of the most freeing genres, it’s a place where almost anything is possible and ideas that could not be explored in any other way are divulged so wonderfully. None of this matters, however, unless the audience can connect to the characters. We began the rehearsal process by looking at the themes linking all of the characters: difficult choices, loyalty, challenging authority, and family relationships were all ideas we found at the play’s core. We then explored how these manifested in our own lives, and in doing so found a way into the play. Fantasy can help a story to soar, but only if it has its roots firmly in the ground. Laura Cull directs His Dark Materials, Pt. II at the O’Reilly from Wednesday 3rd to Saturday 6th June at 7.30pm (Saturday matinée at 2.30pm).
What’s On
The Oxford Revue & Friends Sat 6th June, 7.30pm @The Playhouse
Play & That Time
Tue 9th - Sat 13th June, 7.30pm @The BT Studio
Dear Elizabeth
Tue 9th - Sat 13th June, 7.30pm @The BT Studio
Yesterday - A New Musical Tue 16th - Sat 20th June, 7.30pm @The BT Studio
8 Fashion
4th June 2015
4th June2015
Fashion 9
Model: Beth Kume-Holland Photographer and Editing: Tom Reynolds
Wear what the fusc you want
10 Fashion
4th June 2015
FASHION Too poor for a manicure
CHARLOTTE LANNING PEMBROKE COLLEGE
• Charlotte Lanning discusses how to keep up appearances - the eternal struggle of an Oxford student
A
s Jenny states at the end of An Education there is a perception that Oxford leads to a “a speccy, spotty fate”. Sadly, I think this isn’t that far from the truth. Oxford is a recipe for looking and feeling rough and there are multiple reasons why it causes a look that is even more grungy than your average student. The impact can be far worse than looking a bit tired, potentially causing significant physical and mental health problems. Money It’s no secret that university is an expensive experience wherever you go and with Oxford being dubbed the most unaffordable city in the country by The Telegraph it’s no wonder that we haven’t got a spare £15 for a manicure. The expected cost of living for 9 months at the upper end of the
scale is £12,641 and is £8,556 at the lower end of the scale. The absolute maximum student loan/grant anyone can get is £7,952 so even this doesn’t match up to the most basic needs. While there are bursaries available (and much more widely so than at other universities) not everyone who needs them can access them. To top it off the fact that we’re not allowed
“ University in general
is notorious for ruining people’s sleeping patterns
”
to get jobs means that there are extremely limited means of topping up the coffers and I’m sad to say that I’m currently £600 into my overdraft (sorry mum). Photo: Amanda G
Time Everyone in Oxford rushes around like blue arsed flies. People simply
don’t have time to make themselves look nice for every class, meeting or practice that they have to attend. Personally, I’d much rather another precious 15 minutes of sleep. While gym memberships can be relatively affordable you need to ensure you have a spare hour a few times a week to fully maximise it and sometimes this just isn’t predictable enough and people can decide against memberships for this reason. Obviously, there are so many sports that you can get involved with in Oxford but many require a lot of commitment that people either aren’t willing to or simply can’t give. If you don’t particularly enjoy sport then spending 10 hours a week rowing to get some exercise isn’t going to be your priority over other activities that you find more enjoyable. Sleep University in general is notorious for ruining people’s sleeping patterns. Wanting to cram in going out, extra curricular activities, oh and probably two essays (or the equivalent) each week means that sleep often gets put on the back burner and not many students go to bed at 11 and get up at 7. I frequently hear people saying how they’ve only got 4 hours of shut eye. Worse still, it’s not uncommon to
pull an all nighter at least once a week. The recommended amount of sleep for an adult is between 7.5 and 9 hours and while you may catch up once your essay has been submitted this doesn’t top up your ‘sleep debt’. No wonder so many of us walk around looking like zombies as our lack of sleep has a cumulative impact on our health and attention span. Food Whether it’s because of bad hall provisions or your own catering skills it’s highly likely that what you’re
eating isn’t going to be all that nutritional. Whilst it’s a nice home comfort to have carvery, lasagna and fish & chips every week the overload of carbs and stodge leaves many people feeling bloated and sluggish. It’s not a definite fate but if you don’t make a conscious effort to maintain your health it can very easily slip away with the temptation of Hassan’s, alcohol, living in college stash and Netflix binges instead of gym sessions. The stresses of Oxford university life are definitely the ideal setting for not feeling or looking your best.
Photo: Angie Forbes
Profile: YouTuber Zoe Sugg aka Zoella
ZOE GOETZMANN EXETER COLLEGE
• Zoe Goetzmann discusses this famous YouTube star and the future of fashion blogging
F
ashion. Beauty. Style Icon. These are the words that have come to describe recent YouTube “beauty-guru” video blogger, Zoe “Zoella” Sugg. In this new digital age of viral videos and micro-celebrity, Zoe represents the social media epitome of this new millennial goal. With a band of eight million loyal subscribers on her Zoella Beauty channel, as well as three million on her daily videosblogging site, MoreZoella, Zoe has become one of the most influential YouTube video bloggers within the UK, who has now changed the concept of fashion and beauty blogging on a global scale. Since YouTube’s start-up in 2006, video-sharing has become one of the most popular social media platforms. For people who are unfamiliar with the Youtube digital sphere, the term “beauty gurus” has become associated with Youtube users, who sit in front of their cameras and talk to their audiences about fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips. In 2009, Zoe Sugg started posting daily blog posts via her website Zoella, or, zoella.com. In 2012, Zoe started her own YouTube channel under the same user name. Over the past year, she has published her first young adult novel, Girl Online. Established her own beauty line at Superdrug. Interviewed other international celebrities, like One Direction.
As well as posed for numerous fashion and lifestyle publications, such as Company Magazine and Vogue UK. Moreover along with her other YouTube friends, she has become a member of ‘the British YouTube elite’: Louise Pentland, Alfie Deyes, Marcus Butler, Jim Chapman, Tanya
“ There is nothing in Zoe’s
life that she does not seem comfortable sharing
”
Burr, Casper Lee, and her brother, Joe Sugg, who have also entered into this mainstream, celebrity world via social media. Currently, Zoe has broken internet history, by becoming one of the first YouTubers (besides her boyfriend, Alfie Deyes: PointlessBlogTV) to have her ‘internet celebrity status’ preserved at Madam Tussaud’s. In a study done in 2014, beauty and fashion-related video content has amassed over 300 million views
per month since 2010. As Professor Alice E. Marwick from Fordham University cited in her study on Conceptions of Authenticity in Fashion Blogging, “Because fashion bloggers are working from within an extremely commodified sphere- that of fashion, clothing, and beauty, which is fickle and ever-changing, by its very nature […] the appeal behind watching one of these videos stems from the viewer, or rather, fashion consumer’s trust in [the interest] in seeing “average women” put together fashionable outfits on limited budgets […] Magazine editorials are beautiful to look at, but so much of the styling is completely impractical for everyday wear.” As a personal subscriber to both of her channels, Zoe or rather, Zoella, feels like the big sister that I always wanted (not just because we share the same name). With her warm smile, perfectly winged eyeliner, immaculate fashion sense and bubbly personality, I always feels like I’m video-chatting with my best mate when I watch her videos. As she stated in her recent interview with Vogue UK, “Integrity […] is vital […] For me, it’s not about the money […] it’s not worth ruining the trust of my viewers because they’re the people who got me here today.” Whether she is shopping at Boots, visiting with her friends, pulling pranks with her brother, or playing with her two guinea pigs, Pippin and
Percy, there is nothing in Zoe’s life that she does not seem comfortable sharing with the cameras. Although her monetary budget has expanded due to her recent internet success, this vital notion of authenticity represents the key component to Zoe’s social media brand. In a recent ghostwriting scandal where Zoe was accused of not writing her own material, her authentic image was called into question. However, through a tear-induced video, Zoe blogged her thoughts on the subject: no makeup— just a girl and her video camera, “I’m a real person and I’m not perfect and my life isn’t perfect and sometimes these things just get a bit too much.” As an outspoken survivor of panic attacks and anxiety disorders, as well as “skinnyshaming,” Zoe has become a digital role-model for many young girls who are subscribers to her channel.Despite this negative media attention, Zoe’s main focus as a YouTube celebrity revolves around her fans, as she promotes a consistent, positive and creative message throughout the majority of her videos. “I’m so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did things that I found extremely difficult at the time that led me to be doing all of these things and meeting these amazing new friends.” With her continuous, rising success, Zoe intends to keep making videos and expanding her global empire. However, through all of this new-found
recognition, Zoe is a real person living her life trying not to become a complete by-product of this broader, YouTube, PR machine.
Photo: Gage Skidmore
4th June 2015
Au revoir Abercrombie?
Fashion 11
FLORA HOLMES
LINCOLN COLLEGE
• Flora Holmes charts the decline of pre-teen favourites like Hollister and Jack Wills
Photo: @asos_isabella
@asos_isabella
If her instagram was a piece of clothing you’d be terrified of spilling coffee or ketchup down it. The ultimate in minimalism and clean lines, Isabella Thorsden is a stylist for ASOS and two-time award winning blogger. She gives us an insight into her white world with snaps from Paris, her daily looks and snack choices (somehow she manages to make donuts look like clean eating…). Her blonde locks are the perfect hue without looking brassy and is enough to stir up hair envy in anyone.
S
ay the brands ‘Hollister’, ‘Abercrombie’ and ‘Jack Wills’ and it might trigger within you memories of your teenage self, lusting after the latest releases, scrolling down the websites in an attempt to find something that you could scrape your measly pocket money together to afford. Gone are these days. The reasons for why this has happened are many. Perhaps the brands now remind us too much of our cringey younger selves, trying to fit in by wearing what everyone else was wearing. Perhaps, instead, as we grow older we develop more fashion autonomy and realize that it is not all that great to look exactly like
Photo: Sloanefosset
everyone else does, and actually having your own style is a lot more fun. Paying upwards of £20 for a plain T-shirt with a logo running across it may have seemed like a worthy investment when you were younger, but now, especially as students, money means something more to us than that. I personally could not bring myself to spend that much money on a simple T-shirt now, heavy in the knowledge that I could fund two nights out with that £20. This trend has been accompanied by a move from these kinds of brands across the general population. The last financial year was Abercrombie’s toughest and its stock was down
by nearly half over the previous 12 months. This suggests that, even amongst self-conscious fourteen year olds, interest in Abercrombie and the like is waning. This could be a mark of teens gaining more confidence and developing their own styles thus shifting away from the usual outfits composed entirely to show to the world exactly what brands you are wearing. However, it could also signify a shift in trends. When I walk around my hometown on a weekend, what used to be a sea of Jack Wills hoodies and jeans with splashes of Hollister has now been replaced by a tirade of Topshop Joni jeans and crop tops. High waisted and tight seems now to be the fashion code of the young as anything Hollister or Abercrombie once was. Admittedly, people may still purchase the odd item from these brands to go into an outfit that finds its sources from many different shops, but the need is not what it once was. In young adults, when preppy was the prevailing style at the time, the odd item from Abercrombie and Hollister would have fitted in very nicely with an outfit to give that kind of air. Now, however, it seems that the era of the hipster is upon us and Abercrombie is about as far away from that kind of style as you can get. The surge in hipster attire might explain
COUNTDOWN Best dressed super-villians
3
Photo: @asos_isabella
the popularity of high waisted jeans and crop tops amongst the young, as older teens turn to ‘mom’ jeans and the edgier sports brands of the moment such as Nike and Puma. Abercrombie and the like cannot even keep hold of their monopoly over cool leisure wear anymore as other, real, sports brands take over on that front. An Addidas hoodie now takes the place in a young adult’s life that a Jack Wills one once held, and Abercrombie attire has well and truly been pushed to the back of the wardrobe. Maybe in a few years these kind of brands will become old enough as to be considered cool in the new hipster era which celebrates all things vintage and edgy. It might not be time to take your Hollister stash to a charity shop just yet, in that case. And if you don’t want to, then don’t! If you never grew out of the Abercrombie age then why move out of it? There may have been a general shift away from these big name brands towards something else, but it is always cool to stay true to yourself and your style. For me, Jack Wills sweatpants have taken me through many a revision season and although my street style has evolved slightly from the days I thought a Jack Wills hoodie and jeans made the perfect outfit, I am not ready to throw it all out- at least, not just yet.
LIZZIE EVENS NEW COLLEGE
Poison Ivy
Uma Therman - Batman and Robin (1997)
OxStu Fashion on Instagram @oxstufashion
Photo: Darioparisi
H
er sensuous styling of shrubberies leaves you in no doubt of her fashion credentials. The textures she plays with leave you in no doubt of her sophisticated and dangerous character. One to watch if you’re into the experimental fashion or dig the bohemian, earthy look.
2
Bane
Tom Hardy -The Dark Knight (2012)
T SUBMIT TO US If you have any ideas for articles, features, interviews or shoots please send them over to fashion@ oxfordstudent.com!
Photo: Warner Bros
his villain provides a perfect example of how to base your wardrobe around one key item. His style draws on the lacquered masks from Alexander McQueen’s SS15 runway style in his choice of headwear. His fashion blends the practical with a monochrome colour palette that has longevity whatever the season.
1 T
Photo: batman.wikia
The Riddler
Jim Carrey - Batman Forever (1995)
he original geek-chique; look to this villain for an example of how to style the jumpsuit. Clearly not one to shy away from the most gregarious and cutting edge prints, Jim Carrey takes this wardrobe staple and makes it his own. His look appears to be straight off the runway with his vibrant hair colour and matching eyebrows, one to wear on a night out or if you’re looking to catch eyes at a black tie event.
4th June 2015
12 Screen
SCREEN
Photo: Valery Hache
Cannes 2015: what you need to know S
panning an intense, sundrenched ten days, Cannes is always a whirlwind of critics’ ecstasy, exasperation and, of course, the mandatory scandal. While we are inundated with ‘best and worst’ and red-carpet faux pas for two weeks, all of a sudden it’s all over, the celebrities retreat back to the hills of Hollywood and sometimes we are left none the wiser in the long wait for films to come into the cinemas. So, what is there to take away from this year’s most prestigious film festival? Critics’ responses have been mixed. Debate over ‘the health of Cannes’ always accompanies the myriad film reviews, with some critics assuring us that the flame is still very much alive, while others bemoan its decline into mediocrity. Certainly, this year’s festival does not seem to have bequeathed us any masterpieces, though as one critic has said “if no one is making masterpieces, then you won’t find any here”. However, this seems a rather po-faced response to a line-up that has definitely produced some stars, if not epoch-defining super novas. Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard of A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, was a surprise winner of the Palme D’or with most predicting that Todd Haynes’ Carol or Hou Hsiao-hsien would scoop up the big prize. While Jacques Audiard has no doubt proved his credentials over the years as a
brilliant director, the general consensus seems to be that while good, this exploration of immigrant experience through Tamil asylum seekers in a tough estate in France was less than his best work, sinking into unsatisfying melodrama with the film’s conclusion. Laszlo Nemes scooped up the Grand Prix with his Son of Saul, which takes an unflinching look into the day-today reality of life in Auschwitz for a Hungarian Jewish prisoner, Saul, charged with carrying the bodies from the gas chambers to pyres to be burned. Beginning, rather than climaxing, with a gas chamber scene, it doesn’t get much more gruelling than this, and some critiques have said that it is too ruthless an achievement for its own good, eschewing emotion and reflection in it’s unsparing depiction of the horror of genocide. However, regardless, this is a film that none will forget any time soon and its inexorable honesty makes it a striking addition to cinema’s documentation of the Holocaust. Natalie Portman also took on the history of the Holocaust in her adaption of Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness. As her first time directing, Natalie Portman certainly jumped in the deep end with one of the most contentious subjects possible: the founding of the state of Israel in the late 1940s, as refracted through the experience of Oz and his family. A hair-raising undertaking for anyone,
reviews suggest that Portman has erred on the side of caution, though this is hard to tell because critics seem to be expressing a similar reserve. Safe to say, this was not a game changer at the festival, described as Portman’s ‘love letter to Israel’, though one of the more successful transitions from actor to director, thrown into sharp relief by poor Ryan Gosling’s massacring for Lost River at the festival last year.
“ This year’s line up has definitely
produced some stars, if not epochdefining super novas
”
With the Coen brothers heading the jury, this was always going to be an unpredictable year for awards, demonstrated no more so than by the split of the best actress award between Rooney Mara, for Carol, and Emmanuelle Bercot, for Mon Roi. This is perplexing considering Carol is hinged on Mara’s and Cate Blanchett’s performances in Todd Haynes’ adaption of Patricia High-
smith’s The Price of Salt, with Cate Blanchett garnering the slightly more voluble acclaim. If the award was going to be split between anyone, surely it should have been between Mara and Blanchett, for what has been hailed as one of cinema’s most affecting on-screen romances for a long time. A frank ode to A Brief Encounter, Carol (Blanchett), a well-heeled socialite, embarks on an agonisingly taught affair with virginal shopgirl, Therese (Mara). As Mara has said in an interview, “everyone is interested in sex”, and two of Hollywood’s biggest (straight) female stars doing the dirty on screen was always going to garner attention, but Carol seems to have overcome the base titillation that last year’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour never really escaped, and has emerged as one this years triumphs. Of course, it wouldn’t be Cannes if there weren’t some real dives. This year’s sacrificial lamb was no doubt Gasper Noe’s Love. The midnight screening of this 3D sex film had been hotly anticipated as this year’s source of scandal, but despite it’s X-rated, saliva-heavy promotion poster, Noe merely served to prove that sex could be boring. Not even a predictably in-your-face 3D ejaculation could save this film from its stilted English dialogue and mind-numbingly irritating sex-addicted protagonist. Off the big screen, there was suitable up-roar over #heelgate, where women were apparently turned away
MEGAN ERWIN CORPUS CHRISTI
from the red carpet for wearing flats. Not only was this at a screening of Carol, featuring the festival’s most captivating female performances, but the scandal reached almost comic proportions when it was revealed that one of the women was an amputee. This policing of women’s bodies was thrown into sharp relief by another of the festival’s most marked trends: the rise of the Dad Bod. Paunches abounded on the big screen with Colin Farrell sporting a sizable belly as a depressed divorcé in The Lobster, while Joaquin Phoenix was less than svelte in Woody Allen’s The Irrational Man. Nothing, however, could top Gerard Depardieu’s baring-all in Valley of Love, compounded by much unpleasant attempted-smooching of his co-star, Isabelle Huppert, on the red carpet. Was this a more realistic acceptance of the celebrity body? Looking at their bone-thin female co-stars (ahem, Emma Stone), one thinks not. And last but not least, what Cannes would be complete without the prestigious award of the Palme Dog? Unofficially awarded by a group of British journalists, the prize is testimony to the British (slightly unhealthy) obsession with our canine friends. This year there was ruff competition (I’m sorry), but Colin Farrell’s trusty sheepdog/brother in The Lobster just lost out to Lucky the Matipoo in the six hour epic Arabian Nights. Lassie eat your heart out.
4th June 2015
Screen 13
Review: Dawg Fight I
t’s a sunny afternoon in a suburb of Miami. Here the unemployment rate is so high that it is hard to tell when it is a weekday and when it is the weekend. Crime is rife and there is a culture of violence amongst the largely African-American community. Behind a tarpaulin fence, the community gathers to watch a more organised form of violence. Under the auspices of the imposing Dada 5000, backyard fighting has become a popular and profitable movement, a respite from the troubles of daily life and an outlet for the rivalries which might otherwise end in gun crime. These backyard fights, the fighters and the community that watches are the subjects of Billy Corben’s documentary Dawg Fight. Throughout, the camera, which delves right into the heart of the community, seeks to examine both the fights themselves and the people who champion this illegal practice. We are told from the off that the fighters and organisers are risking a lot – if someone dies at least two people are going to jail – yet we are sympathetic to the enterprise. It is not so much the fights that hook us, but the gripping backstories and characters who inhabit this world, and the more we watch, the more we understand that backyard fighting is a necessity, for the fighters and the community. Dada 5000 is the focal point of the documentary. Six foot three, with a striking (and terrible) Spartan haircut, he dominates the ring, refereeing fights as well as seeing to the advertising and management of
the fighters. We learn about his violent youth, his fighting aspirations and his family. But most important is his job as the bodyguard of Kimbo Slice, an MMA fighter. The MMA is the holy grail for many of these fighters. Most are unemployable because of their criminal past, but the MMA is a path to success. Dada 5000’s backyard ring is not only a place for fighters to take out their frustrations and resolve conflict, but also a route to a better life. Unfortunately, Corben doesn’t show us enough about anything else to truly invest us in the fights. For all the slow motion, dramatic music and gruesome close-ups we are shown, it remains hard for us to care about these men. They clearly mean a lot to each other, but they are presented as fighters first and real people second. None but Dada has that larger than life character, and as a result, the opening hour of the film drags. We see fight after fight, but we don’t know enough about the individuals. The fixation in the first half is the brutality and the adrenaline of the fights, and, with the exception of Dada, the personal edge only emerges in the final half hour. When the real world problems hit, they hit hard. Death, incarceration and disability never feel far away, and the beatings sustained in the ring are nothing compared to the hammerings the fighters take outside. The film is peppered by the comments of a chorus of older women, who share in the bloodlust of the young men, but also have a greater concern for
THOMAS BANNATYNE
ST HILDA’S COLLEGE
the community; their warnings, about keeping the violence in the ring, about keeping people off the streets, take on a far greater relevance when we see their fears realised. The documentary is at its best when it takes a step back from the bloodletting to look at how and why the fighters are where they are. The fights themselves should be of secondary importance to the brutalities and injustices of life. But when the film revolves around a character as imposing as Dada, is it hard to focus on what he is most interested in, and that is the fighting. Dawg Fight doesn’t judge its subjects. Though the illegality is clear, the morality is up in the air. These men aren’t treated like criminals, but they aren’t knights at a romantic tournament either. Indeed, the police stand by and watch, to keep the peace among the baying crowd, not to stamp out the show itself. It is more important that the streets are empty and the people have something to do. The camera prys and intrudes, but never shows the concerns or judgement of the filmmakers themselves. But the whole film could be boiled down to a half hour slot on TV. It isn’t as special as it thinks it is, just as Dada isn’t the bigshot he believes himself to be. Like any good documentary, Dawg Fight throws up moral questions and sheds a light on an unexposed world. But it can’t help indulge itself in pseudo-action scenes at the expense of its intelligence and, surprisingly, our patience.
Photo: Rakontur
ST HILDA’S COLLEGE
3
The Kids Are Alright (2010) Maybe this is a bit unfair, as The Kids Are Alright met with much critical acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of a lesbian family. However, there’s definitely something problematic about how when one of the ‘moms’ in the family starts an affair with the sperm donor, the word ‘bisexual’ never even enters the picture. Jules (Julianne Moore) is simply seen as a hypocrite, renegating on her supposed homosexuality in a moment of madness.
Photo:Ronald Grant Archive
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Gigli (2003) Mostly known for its sheer awfulness (6% on Rotten Tomatoes, ouch) and possibly the cringiest invitation to cunnilingus in film history (“gobble gobble”), Gigli is offensive on so many levels. Lesbian gangster Ricki (Jennifer Lopez) sees the error of her homosexual ways while being holed up in a hotel with a tattooed Ben Affleck, and the attraction is consummated on the night her long term girlfriend commits suicide. Tasteful.
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Chasing Amy (1997) Seriously Ben Affleck, sort your sh*t out. Chasing Amy once again sees Affleck, a.k.a God’s Gift To Women, bringing another perfectly content lesbian back into the heterosexual fold. Holden (Affleck) meets the attractive Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) and falls in love with her, despite her being a lesbian. But of course, Alyssa can’t resist the temptation of penis for long. Thankfully, she finally draws the line when Holden suggests a threesome to assuage her sexual insecurity, but the damage is done.
Photo: Dioboss
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THOMAS BANNATYNE
COUNTDOWN
TOP THREE WORST LESBIAN-TURNEDSTRAIGHT FILMS
hen the news broke that Harry Shearer would no longer be lending his voice to characters in The Simpsons, the response fell into two categories. Some lamented the loss of their favourite Springfield inhabitants – the likes of Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns and Smithers – while elsewhere, the same question rang around; are they still making The Simpsons? There is no denying that The Simpsons used to be a phenomenal TV show. Once it had found its feet, established its characters and honed its animation style, it won a place in audiences’ hearts with its blend of slapstick and witty visual gags, as well its ridiculous, sympathetic characters. It is no accident that Homer Simpson remains a cultural icon, or that ticks and catchphrases from the show have filtered into the cultural consciousness. But every TV show has to have an end. Though many fans will defend it to the hilt, the widespread appeal of The
Simpsons is no longer there. The plots are becoming more and more brainless, and the need to innovate in terms of story compromises the ability to maintain the development of characters. When a show has been going for twenty seven seasons, you would expect it to have its characterisation nailed, but again and again we see
teenth season, aired in 2002, the couch gag saw the Simpson family literally ‘jumping the shark’. The sad irony is that even back then it was true – the show had overstretched itself and stooped to outlandish twists and ludicrous plots by season ten. Most commentators agree that the episode revealing Principal Skinner to be an
the characters we thought we knew doing things that we never expected them to do. The fall from grace of The Simpsons hasn’t been the messy disaster that other shows suffer, but when you do tune in, the whole thing feels a little undignified. The producers expect the show to survive Shearer’s departure, and there is no indication that an end is in sight, but it just isn’t the behemoth it once was. In the second episode of the four-
impostor was the first sign of the decline. That means that the slow fall from grace had started long before the turn of the century and, although there is the occasional gem tucked away in the modern era of the show, the bulk of 21st century Simpsons has been sub-par. The lacklustre movie didn’t help bring a new energy to the series either. Like all the modern episodes it still had the characteristic detail
THE SIMPSONS
which rewards study and re-watching, but it also has a plot to make the most steadfast audience groan. Had the show not already been tumbling in quality, that film would have been the decisive moment. Instead it was a symptom of a beast edging slowly towards destruction. You can still have fun watching The Simpsons. It may have forsaken a narrative integrity, but its humour is still there in places. It just isn’t the TV titan it used to be. Modern cartoons, particularly those that aim for mature audience, owe a lot to The Simpsons, but I just don’t know who the audience is anymore. Is it people who were there in the nineties, in its heyday, or is it a new demographic, who can watch the new episodes and then go and enjoy the back catalogue. The former certainly won’t have taken the Harry Shearer news well, but that probably doesn’t matter. I doubt they’ve been watching for the last ten years.
14 Arts & Lit
4th June 2015
ARTS & LIT
Oxford: a city of writers
• Felicity Blackburn takes a closer look at Oxford’s rich literary heritage • How has Oxford inspired the greats, from C.S. Lewis to Philip Pullman?
O
xford’s meandering, cobbled paths, its cloistered rose gardens and crowded, tucked-away pubs, are filled with literary ghosts. No city in England is marked by the presence of so many famous novelists and poets, the fictions they created merging into one another, battling for space in the public imagination. If you’re lucky enough to live in Oscar Wilde’s old bedroom, your running route goes through Christ Church meadow, or you frequent The Eagle and Child, then you’re constantly being confronted with Oxford’s literary past. It’s awe-inspiring, and a little scary, to contemplate the fact that writers from Thomas More and John Donne, to Dorothy Sayers, Philip Larkin and Graham Greene were once just Oxford Undergrads too, partying, preparing for tutorials and stressing about collections. So what enabled these writers to make so much of their time in Oxford? Here’s a look at some of the places and people that acted as their Oxford muses. If you’d read English at Oxford at any point between 1929 and 1954, your tutor could have been C.S. Lewis. The author of my favourite children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia, which evocatively fuses Greek and Roman mythology with British and Irish fairytales. Lewis was a fellow of Magdalen College and close friends with The Lord of the Rings author, J.R.R Tolkien. Both leading figures in Oxford’s English faculty, they were also members of the Inklings, an all-male, informal literary discussion group that met on Tuesdays at The Eagle and Child pub from the early 1930s through to 1949. Look out for the handwritten
The Oscar Wilde
Magdalen College is home to many celebrated authors such as Oscar Wilde and C. S. Lewis Photo: Romanempire
note to the landlord, currently above the fireplace, that reads, ‘the undersigned, having just partaken of your ham, have drunk to your health’, and is signed by the group. Originally founded as a University College society, Inklings members gathered to read and discuss their unfinished works, bouncing ideas off one another and offering criticism. Inklings returned to Oxford’s literary scene in 2006, basing their meetings at St Cross College, and Inklings Magazine
has borrowed the name of the famous literary society. “The two great turning points in my life,” Oscar Wilde wrote in De Profundis, “were when my father sent me to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison.” Another famous writer from Magdalen, Oscar Wilde was the flamboyantly brilliant author, poet and playwright who featured heavily in Stephen Fry’s talk at the Oxford Union earlier this year. Wilde’s study was decorated
with peacock feathers, lilies and sunflowers, and many of his aesthetic ideas were inspired by a lecture series given by John Ruskin while at Oxford. A walk through the Botanic Gardens will take you past the tree Tolkien used to sit and write beneath, as well as into the world of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights: a bench at the back of the gardens with ‘Lyra + Will’ etched into it pays tribute to the final chapter of the trilogy in which the two characters
Are the Nobels connecting with readers?
J
ean-Paul Sartre was offered the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964. Famously, he declined, as he declined all official literary honours, stating that writers should not allow themselves to be turned into an institution. Looking at the history of Nobel Prizes, however, one may wonder if the conferment of a Nobel Prize in Literature in itself would be capable at all of institutionalising a writer. Among the winners, the number of writers who are still read around the world decades after having won the prize (Thomas Mann, George Bernard Shaw, Selma Lagerlöf, and, ironically, Sartre himself ) is overshadowed by the sheer number of winners who are no longer read, or worse, who were not even read at the time of winning their Prize. The most famous Literature nominee of the twenty-first century is certainly well read. Year after year, Haruki Murakami’s name comes up as the most likely next laureate, although his nomination cannot be confirmed: the Nobel committee keeps the list of nominees under a fifty-year embargo. Murakami was the favourite for the 2014 prize, for instance, with Ngugi wa Thiong’o coming up second.
However, the winner turned out to be Patrick Modiano. At the time of the press release announcing Modiano as the winner, in October 2014, he was barely known outside France, and none of his works were avail-
“ The prize does not seem to
influence reading
behaviour
”
able in English translation. Winning the Nobel Prize led to a reprint of 15,000 copies of the three works that had previously been published in the US. Yale University Press was due to publish a collection of three of Modiano’s novellas this February: the Nobel Prize led to an earlier publication date in November 2014 and an increase from 2,000 to 20,000 copies for worldwide distribution. The obscurity of many of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Litera-
ture stands in stark contrast to the prestige and monetary power of the Nobel institute as a whole. The Literature Prize comes with a monetary prize of 8 million kronor (£630.000), making it the world’s largest literary prize. One could almost call it fitting, then, that most of the winners will have made a fortune from selling their literary works already. The prize does not seem to influence reading behaviour. One reason may be that the Nobel Prize awards a writer’s lifetime achievements. No Nobel Prize for Literature has ever been awarded to the s a m e person twice, and it is extremely unlikely that this will ever happen. The official statement announcing the reasons
for awarding the prize to the winner hardly ever contains references to a specific title. An exception is Ernest Hemingway, who received the Prize “for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea.” A famous author will already have sold well before becoming a laureate, while an unknown author who wins the prize is hard to sell if there is no one specific title that the publishers can use as a flagship. This may be why the Man Booker Prize and other literary prizes are so much more influential in expanding the author’s readership. The Man Booker Prize, for instance, is awarded to a specific book published that year. According to the Guardian, who surveyed the influence of the Man Booker Prize up to 2012,
Photo: Anubis3
FELICITY BLACKBURN SOMERVILLE COLLEGE
promise to sit on the bench each Midsummer’s Eve so that, in their parallel universes, they can feel each other’s presence. Literary inspiration never originates from one source: while Oxford provided a stimulating backdrop, it was friendships made, lectures heard, arguments over philosophy in college dining halls and life experiences that moulded the Oxford’s literate into the writers they became. If just ‘living life to the full’ isn’t enough advice for the budding writer in Oxford today, there are lots of places around the university where you can seek out fellow writers. For poets, there’s the Oxford Poetry Society that holds bi-weekly meetings at Exeter College and arranges poetry readings and writing workshops (OUDS arranges similar workshops directed at playwrights). There’s also Failed Novelists, the largest creative writing group in Oxford, a ‘writers support’ network at Teddy Hall, and an Oxide radio show (The Writer’s Block) that reads out submissions from across the University. Also look out for college writing groups and literary magazines like Spleen and ISIS, and writing courses and competitions advertised through the English fac. Most importantly, if you’re waiting for the right idea to come to you, are looking to immerse yourself in Oxford’s literary scene or contemplating writing a novel, remember that the one thing Oxford’s famous writers had in common is that they all just got on and did it. As T.S. Eliot, another Oxford alumni, wrote, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
KANTA DIHAL
ST ANNE’S COLLEGE its sales increased anywhere from 450 percent to 1900 percent in the week after a book had won the Booker. No Booker winner has sold less than 180,000 copies. The comparison to the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in particular leads to an interesting observation: when the winner of this prize is an individual, they are almost certainly sure to have written a bestseller, whereas this is not guaranteed for their Literature peers. (The Peace Prize is the one category in which institutions, such as the EU, the Red Cross and the UNHCR, have been awarded prizes.) Individual winners, such as the fourteenth Dalai Lama, Malala Yousafzai, and, almost incomprehensibly, Al Gore, have all topped bestseller lists. Similarly, winning Nobel Prizes in other fields have often led to very expensive book deals, although these books are often unlikely to win any book prizes that are based on literary merit. The major exception to this comparison is Winston Churchill, who is often thought to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but actually won the Prize for Literature in 1953. If nothing else, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature is always a surprise.
Arts & Lit 15
4th June 2015
Greg Baxter: the pattern of life WILLIAM SHAW CORPUS CHRISTI
W
ith his first novel, The Apartment, published in 2012, Greg Baxter established himself as a unique and important voice in contemporary fiction. This reputation has only solidified after the publication of his new novel Munich Airport earlier this year. The book is narrated by a young marketing executive, stranded in the titular airport with his retired and disaffected father. They remain there for days on end, waiting for the release of the body of the narrator’s sister, Miriam, who appears to have died of anorexia. The novel flashes back to various episodes in their lives, and Baxter balances the angst and pain of the novel with a dark sense of humour and moments of genuine pathos. This is not a light book, but it is an incredibly rich and rewarding one, and has been met with much praise in the literary press. Baxter was kind enough to meet with me to discuss the novel, as well as the intense experience of writing and the necessity of road trips to good fiction. Our conversation opened with the novel itself, as Baxter told me what had inspired him to write it. “That’s kind of a long story. But the short version of that is that I ended up breaking my ankle in Romania, and ended up twice in Munich airport for eight hours, and thought that I would have to do some good with that experience so that the experience wouldn’t be forever just a miserable one. I just thought that was an interesting place to be, and at the time I had this idea about a guy stuck in an airport and I wasn’t quite sure how to turn that into anything longer than a one or two page story. And then I got quite ill with some strange infection, and didn’t eat for weeks. There was a sense of intrigue, a strange empowerment when I got better and started to study the idea of what it was like not to eat, to withhold appetite. So these things kind of came together, these ideas sort of coalesced into the possibility of a narrative. And finally
Baxter basics: career in brief 2010
Publishes his first book, A Preparation for Death
2012
Publishes his first novel, The Apartment
2015
Publishes his second novel, Munich Airport
I settled on the one that came out.” The novel deals heavily with psychological issues around anorexia and self-harming. What made Baxter want to tackle such sensitive subject matter? “The issue of starvation came about, physically, from within. I felt like there would be an interesting combustible relationship between this sense of starvation and having a marketing executive narrate – this idea of consumption vs. denying appetite. So I thought that these two things might have worked well together. But I don’t entirely set out with a certain intent. Really, it seems like a possibility, it seems like something that’s there, and then you kind of see what happens. I’m the kind of writer who will get going on a book for a little while, see if it works, give up on it after thirty, forty, fifty pages, and start something new. The idea is to see if it really holds together as a narrative.” How did he find the experience of writing such an intense book? “I wrote it over a period of about a year. I think the first draft I wrote in about seven months or so, gave it to my editor, and he wanted it bulked up a little bit, because it had been more spare than it originally was. So I took some time and off, and then spent the summer revising it, and that was it. It’s funny, I don’t consider myself a really imaginative type of writer. I don’t conjure these big stories and plots and find a way to invent things that I myself have not experienced. I’m a sort of method writer – I have to become the person who is the narrator. I think like him and act like him. I get quite involved in it. So writing it almost feels like second nature when it’s going on, and then afterwards there’s a period of time in which you hope to come back to reality a little bit. That’s always a very difficult process, stopping writing. The next book isn’t going to come because I’ve dreamed something up. In the same way that Munich Airport arose out of a set of circumstances, out of a sort of way of being, a sort of inner transformation. So you kind of have to wait for that again. For me, something has to change. The pattern of life has to alter in a significant way that sort of transforms me from within and allows me to become the next narrator.” Why did Baxter choose an airport for his setting? What is it about an airport which makes it such a perfect venue for existential angst? “I’d written my first novel, The Apartment, and I was quite annoyed. Unbeknownst to me, I was accused of doing something called ‘Psychogeographic Writing’. So one of the appeals to me about an airport is that they wouldn’t be moving anywhere. There was nowhere to go, there’s no journey they could take, and they were stuck. The novel is about, almost every page, is about confined spaces and that comparison of confined spaces and the nightmarish feeling of inescapability. The airport is just one space that sort of echoes everything else. The hotel rooms, the basement he goes down to in the museum, the art gallery that he sees. It felt like a natural place to explore this sense of confinement. There’s two things airports do. One of them
Treasures from afar
Photo: Mario Nunes Vais
FRANCESCA CRISANTE
LINCOLN COLLEGE
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Photo: Anja Pietsch
is to move you along to wherever you have to go, and the other is sell you things. I don’t know, it seemed like a really appropriate place to put all these people, I guess.” The novel deals with a global fam-
“
I’m sort of a method writer - I have to become the person who is the narrator. I think like him and act like him.
”
ily; a father living in America, a son in London, a daughter in Germany. Did Baxter feel that the scattered nature of this family was important to the story? “On a practical level, yes. There had to be a distance, otherwise, you know, the father could have just driven to see the daughter at any time. So the distance was important, just to make it slightly impractical. I think the father and the brother do want to see Miriam. Over and over again, they live confused lives partly because of her absence. In one way there’s a respect
for that absence and an attempt to understand it, but when it finally leads to her death there’s this sense of profound shame and confusion over the fact of not having done what it would have taken to go see her. But also a sense of helplessness, that even if they had, there was nothing they could really do to change it. The book is really about their reaction to it, and the process they go through.” Was there anything that surprised Baxter when he was writing the book? “Writing is a learning process for me. I had two obsessions during the time when this idea was forming in my head – Charlemagne and the Middle Ages, and Schoenberg and twelve-temp music. I don’t know that I would write books if I didn’t have these sort of peripheral obsessions. Without the challenge of having to put them into the story, it wouldn’t be worth it for me. And then [there were] things like halfway through, the story had started to bog down, and I realised that the father and son really needed to go on a road trip. So I just got in my car and drove around. Essentially, everything that happens to them happened to me. What draws me to writing is that every page involves a certain sense of learning something surprising, and dealing with the challenge of trying to fuse that with whatever else is going on.”
na donna. A woman. And yet, the seemingly unspecific choice of title is rather misleading, for the almost exclusively autobiographical story of Rina Faccio is anything but vague. We find ourselves in Italy, at the turn of the nineteenth century. Aleramo’s Italy differs significantly from that which we know today; her pages immerse the reader in a stiflingly religious and patriarchal environment in which women possess neither legal nor personal autonomy. It is with painstaking detail that Aleramo, in tracing her own development from a “free and happy” child to a woman chained to an abusive husband, depicts the degradation of not only her life, but that of other women at this time. The novel is written by one woman, for every woman. Whilst the novel could be described as a Bildungsroman in some sense, the journey to emancipation is by no means presented as easy. What makes Aleramo’s novel so captivating is that the sombre testimony of the protagonist is not simply resigned; the emotions and passion that her words evoke show inspiring determination and courage in the face of adversity. One cannot fail to be moved by the poignant and genuine depiction of the frustrated, lonely and marginalised protagonist. In a modern society that has made so much progress in terms of women’s emancipation, it is still important to reflect on the relevance that texts such as this may have. The issues that Aleramo raises including rape, domestic violence, and the sacrifice of motherhood are by no means absent from society today. However, whilst there is a clear gender-based aspect indicated by the novel’s title, there is another form of emancipation in the novel, which is relevant to all areas of the gender spectrum: that of establishing and maintaining one’s own subjective identity. Aside from legal and political status, Aleramo also depicts the struggle of establishing one’s own sense of self-identity independent from societal norms. In short, Una Donna is relevant to marginalised identities in all ages as she encourages those who may not always have used their voice to speak.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOR YOUR CULTURE FIX
4th June 2015
HUGH McHALEMAUGHAN BRASENOSE COLLEGE
W
ith his books having sold four million copies worldwide, David Mitchell is that rarest of creatures: a successful author of literary fiction. His novels are as well respected in critical circles (last year, The New York Times described him as ‘certainly a genius’) as they are cultishly popular, with some, such as Cloud Atlas, arguably taking their place among the cultural touchstones of our age. Strolling onto the Hay-onWye stage, his natural pleasantness lights up a marquee packed with adoring fans (who, notably for Hay, are not merely composed of the wealthy elderly). There is not so much the electricity of charisma as the genuine warmth of a quiet decency. ‘Pleasant’ is certainly the word to describe a talk replete with a continual bashful selfdeprecation and gentle humour. There is not a self-confidence- Mitchell’s delicate embarrassment about attention is very apparent- but rather a comfortableness with himself, his own work and his own skin. An extraordinarily self-referential reading (subject: a middle-aged author at the Hay-on-Wye festival) from The Bone Clocks, his latest novel, is carried out with mischievous aplomb, punctuated with light and unassuming ironic asides to the audience. This continual sense that the whole event is a kind of collective joke that everyone- audience and Mitchell alike- apart from the slightly aggressive stage interviewer are in on is maintained endearingly throughout. Chatting to him afterwards, the impression of openness and wit is only reinforced. I open by speaking about the bestselling Bone Clocks, a book which he has described as ‘his mid-life crisis novel’, joking “I couldn’t afford a Lamborghini, I couldn’t handle the paperwork of running for office and I don’t have the stamina for an inappropriate mistress.” He is much keener to speak about the content and characters of the book than it flying off the shelves, which he dismisses as superfluous: “This looks like fake modesty, but I don’t really think about it. Essentially, to be able to not worry about money I kind of need the books to hit six figure
Mitchell's novels Ghostwritten (1999)
number9dream (2001) Cloud Atlas (2004) Black Swan Green (2006) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010) The Bone Clocks (2014) Slade House (2015)
Profile
sales in the UK and the US; as long as it does that I’m happy, my accountant’s happy, I can feed and clothe the children.” He prefers, instead, to point out a rhyming passage set in an end of term Cambridge pub- and scarily reminiscent of the KA at the end of 8th week (“foetal think-tankers, judges and bankers in statu pupillari") - giggling and asking if I got the “fairly digusting pun” (the name of the pub in question is “The Buried Bishop”, an Australian euphemism for sex). There is obviously something special about the novel to him, however, for he has taken the unusual step of setting his next book, Slade House (published at the end of October), in the same universe. His answer to ‘why?’ brings to mind Larkin’s poem Posterity: “It was there sort of in the beginning of the Bone Clocks … what I thought was quite a juicy idea, and either I turn it into a book or it’s orphaned and in my notebooks and some poor soul at the University of Texas in 65
Profile 13
David Mitchell
“ It's character,
the the human being that keeps you reading
”
years researching some obscure unknown forgotten author called David Mitchell then will get the story, and no-one else.” His second reason is slightly more precise, and also captures the overwhelming focus Mitchell places on character rather than plot (he has earlier remarked that “It’s the character, it’s the human being that keeps you reading and keeps you interested”). Speaking of one of the main characters of The Bone Clocks, the immortal and genderflexible Dr. Marinus whose appearance was also foreshadowed in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, it is evident that he sees his stories merely as vehicles for his characters: “I want to bring Marinus back in the future and he or she needs a decent enemy, so I plant an enemy in this book who will kind of outlive the book. What’s Holmes without his Moriarty? What’s batman without the joker? I need something for Marinus to be a protagonist on her own terms in the future.” I’m fascinated, and when I push him on why he keeps returning to this particular figure out of the wealth of eccentric and intensely humane characters whom he has created, his answer is intriguing, and carries a profound insight into the interconnectedness that characterises all of his novels: “He’s an archive of us, he’s an archive of human history, what a toy!... He is the train and the train set; you could spend your lifetime writing books about a character like that. The psychology of immortality is really interesting: is it possible to love someone when you know that you’re going to outlive them? If that doesn’t make you a commitment-phobe, what would?” Mitchell’s best known world remains the kaleidoscopic Cloud Atlas. I’m curious about what it was like to see his words turned into a Hollywood blockbuster. He is reflective: “It’s odd that it wasn’t odd. At first it was: wow, I wrote these
The human touch:
David Mitchell is one of the most acclaimed and best-selling British authors of his generation Photo: David Mitchell
lines! The surreal part was when we all assembled and the actors were doing the read through. It was like when you were at school and doing The Crucible or something, and this classmate’s reading that line, and ooh it’s my turn- but instead of it being school kids it would be Hugh Grant would read a line, and then Jim Broadbent would read a line, and then I’d read because a few actors weren’t able to be there, and then Tom Hanks would read a line.” I push on whether it was how he imagined the universe when he was writing it. He thinks for a few moments: “The answer’s kind of interesting. It replaced how I imagined it. Have you ever been to Auckland in New Zealand? When you think of Auckland, however, I would posit, you don’t think of a blank, you have some sketchy ideas of photos, of stories you’ve heard. It’s not accurate but it’s not a vacuum. But then you go to Auckland, and before you’ve got into the town from the airport it’s all gone and your imaginary Auckland has been replaced by the real Auckland.” We turn to Mitchell’s own youth. He describes attending a comprehensive school in an earthy, agrarian and predominantly working class village as a
bookish, middle-class child as an "early lesson in class system dynamics." Despite this, there is an evident affection for his childhood, and a regret that his own children's adolescence cannot be spent as frequently in the outdoors; that they will lack a "deep connection with nature" when "a kind of sense of wonder grips you in the chambers of your hearts". He speaks of his undergraduate days at Kent with a form of wary affection, skipping quickly through with a conscious sense of his own good fortune: “It was the late 80s and the world was different and there was still a little of the hangover from the sixties about students –“Oh, we’re going to change the world’- courses were paid for, generally. Now people are stumping up the thousands themselves there are far fewer strikes and that kind of thing. There was no afterwards, that’s what we thought about it.” I focus in on a more difficult issue: Mitchell’s well-disguised stammer. He is effusive- and, perhaps, peculiarly grateful on this subject. “As a teenager, you autocue ahead, you look at the sentence ahead, you scan it very quickly for tricky words, and if there is a troublesome one, you work out a way to get around it, you
have to reboot the sentence: all without the other person catching on. This makes your vocabulary very muscular, it enables you to switch an active sentence into a passive sentence very quickly… What a great crash course in applied linguistics for a future writer. Language was never something I could take for granted, and that consciousness about language is something that has stood me in good stead.” He wrote about the condition in the semi-autobiographical (and, in my opinion, finest of his novels) Black Swan Green, which he describes as “a gift to my thirteen year old self”. There is a quiet frustration more generally on the issue of mental health (Mitchell’s son is autistic), particularly with what he calls the ‘double whammy’: “there’s the condition itself and then there’s public ignorance.” The overwhelming impression is of an author at the height of his powers precisely because of a deep and intuitive understanding and curiosity of what it is about to live a life as a human being. There is a real, honest and open sense of an unabashed depth of care for others. Mitchell, sparkling with wit and intelligence, is just as good company in person as he is in prose.
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1974-2014
Oxstuff 15
4th June 2015
OxStuff
Rate your crewdate: VERSA vs Cherwell LOCATION 7/10 Wok 'N' Roll is one of the nicest crewdate venues around. Nestling the squad into a small room upstairs gave us a much needed air of privacy and intimacy. They've rearranged since we were last there however - two long tables led to a hierarchical power table not as egalitarian as our paper's ideologies. FOOD AND DRINK 8/10 Impressively high standard. We chose the menu, and the buffet meant we were all sufficiently stuffed. Chips weren't great though, but otherwise, delicious. CREW 8/10 Say what you will about their content, the VERSA gang are a good bunch of funny and caring individuals. The few that were there were anyway; we did outnumber considerably, and it would have been
Elephants 2nd - 6th June, 9:30pm Buton Taylor studio
BBQ social Sunday 7th June, 2pm University Parks
Ruskin School of Art exhibition 6th June May, 6pm 72 High Street
nicer to get a bit more mingling going on, but the staff we brought were on top form.
LOCATION 5/10 Arzoo is the bane of Oxford life. It's somewhere that we've all ventured to voluntarily, and left somewhat hooned, yet somwhere a lot of us are embarrassed to be associated with in light of the ridiculousness of some of our peers. We offered the restaurant perhaps the tamest crewdate they've ever seen, although the awkward reject table made group chat difficult.
SCONCES 6/10 A nice array of sconces of various intensity graced the room. However, these took a while to get flowing - it seemed like more of a nice meal with friends rather than a continuation of debaucherous tradition. Pleasant, but not what I signed up for. AFTERMATH 8/10 The post-crewdate gang hit up the nearest college bar before venturing to Wahoo. Everyone was exceptionally bevved, and one editor had her work cut out making sure all her minions got home safely. The cross publication contamination was high, and those of us that made it out had a cracking time together. Total Score for VERSA:
FOOD AND DRINK 5/10 Standard for the venue really. The veggies got a nice, large selection, whilst the rest of us meat fiends were left to relive our cavemen days and fend for ourselves amid the drunken rabble. Great bread, great rice, questionable everything else. CREW 6/10 You would think that just because two groups work on similar things, they would
37/50
Warwick Davis at the Oxford Union 8th June, 8pm The Oxford Union
"Will China pass the US by 2030"? 3rd June, 7:30pm Oxford Martin School
Oxford Pride 6th June Paradise Street and Oxford Castle Quarter
PICK OF THE WEEK
Zennor 3rd - 5th June, 8pm North Wall Arts Centre
Girl Zine Fair 10th June, 5pm Freuds
Twelth Night 10th - 13th June, 7:30pm Wadham College Gardens
have a lot in common. You'd be wrong. Not only were we outnumbered, but there was a definite segregation between teams. An OxStu defector was also in attendance, which made things all a bit more tense... SCONCES 4/10 Sconce game was the weakest I've ever seen it. Reading a list of sconces out isn't great chat - you lose the effortlessly cool look of improv and never sconce the person right next to you. You want to involve the room. AFTERMATH 4/10 We hit OxStu Towers, because rumour has it that the Cherwell offices are a bit shit. In an attempt to even the scoreboard, our rivals took to trashing our office, tremoving posters and and raiding cupboards. Bit rude. But the real blow came on Monday, when we returned to the office to find all our whiteboard pens dry... Total Score for Cherwell: 24/50
Bow Down BOP 5th June, 9pm Green Templeton College
Alexander Darby, New College Let's Get Shipwrecked 9th June, 7pm The Lighthouse
His Dark Materials 3rd - June,7:30pm Keble O'Reilly Theatre
4th June 2015
16 OxStuff
Cliterary Theory MONA LOTT
Going up this week is our friendly rival rag Cherwell, who surprised everybody in this office last week by showing themselves, despite initial appearances, to have a sense of humour. Zealously committed to meticulously pointing out every typo this newspaper may produce, the Cherwell team has long existed in our collective imagination as a rather dull institution, producing beautiful, typo-free content, but forgetting to have fun in the process, in a rather Hermione Grangeresque manner. Alas, how wrong we were. Storming into our offices last week and stealing various items belonging to our dear student union, Cherwell even had the banterous nerve to wear their newly acquired garments to their general meeting last week. If rumours are to be believed, the Cherwell team make a habit of collectively reading our paper every week, in order to point out mistakes. Hey guys, we’re probably getting high and fucking b*tchz right now.
CHERWELL
ZULEYKA SHAHIN Going down this week is the new rising star of the Union, Zuleyka Shahin. Elected on a promise of a change, Zuleyka has recently proved herself to be equally as Machiavellian as all the other Union hacks. The former Big Brother contestant has turned the knives on President Olivia Merrett, accusing her this week of using unflattering language about a Union guest. These claims were then rather shamelessly reproduced by two-time HaqDaq star Shakeel Hashim in the Oxford Tab, seemingly without any concern for that pesky journalistic requirement - ‘evidence’. Descending into bitter tit-for-tat politics once again, one wonders why anybody remains involved in the treacherous institution down the road, and how Union hacks have time to do actual degrees. Well, maybe they don’t … rumour has it that Zuleyka was binned by her Master’s tutor this term for doing no work. Solid hack commitment there Zuleya, you put Weeden-Sanz to shame.
FRATERNISES WITH THE ENEMY
I
have slept with the enemy. Namely, the enemy that is the shoddy online ‘publication’, (read: occasional blog post) VERSA ‘News’. OxStu and VERSA have an incestuous history. Beginning life as the unwanted, rejected orphan of a too busy, too successful parent The Oxford Student, VERSA have somehow staggered into our Facebook timelines, dragging along with them the hipsters of Oxford who are too cool for paper. It was a dark and sweaty Cellar night out. The kind where you need to go out every three songs or else you’ll suffocate in the collective sweat of a sea of hipsters. May Morning was fast approaching and I had not yet backed myself to pull someone. Yet. I’d seen him around before, lurking around VERSA drinks and popping up on my Facebook feed with ‘articles’ about kebab vans. Suitably wrecked, I sauntered over to him in the smoking area (read: the benches outside Next) and struck up a
fatefully doomed conversation. Back and fourth ensued about who’s publication was the best, a few jokes about how disgustingly wavy his shirt was and a drink later and we were on our way back to my college. Boys and girls: I understand. I get why you would want to sleep with someone you shouldn’t. The thrill of sneaking them back into college in the dead of night to the glares and raised eyebrows of your porters. The lame foreplay chat about how this is totally wrong (but so right.) Pillow talk explaining what InDesign and ‘print deadline’ mean to someone who has never worked for a real Oxford publication. You think it will end there, with a change of the sheets and a quick trip to Boots for the morning after pill with your college’s welfare officer (who will later then pidge you a bundle of 15 condoms.) Oh my sweet summer child, how wrong you are. Because this is Oxford and we force ourselves into this ridiculous tradition by the name of crew dating, it did not end with an awkward goodbye at my bedroom door. My ordeal began all again with an awkward
FLOP
BLAST FROM THE PAST: CHCH’S GUILTY PLEASURES
dinner at Wok and Roll a week later, with both our offices clearly knowing what had gone on between us. Knowing looks were passed between editors and deps. Here you have a number of options. One: you can cry into your £5 bottle of red wine and hope that you get so obliviously drunk that you pass out at the table. Whilst this will make the shame go away momentarily, no amount of alcohol can make everyone else forget. Two: hope the ground opens up and swallows you whole. Unlikely, yes, but it happened in the Bible so perhaps a little faith is needed. Three: counter intuitively, you could buddy up with your co partner in crime and wear those scarlet letter As with pride. Sit next to each other at dinner. Toast each other when you are sconsed on your misdemeanours. Sure, you’ll never live it down, but hey - at least you can guarantee someone to get off with at the end of the night! Going behind enemy lines is always going to be fraught with danger. Yes, you have to watch what you say about exclusives coming up in the next edition of the paper. Yes, you will recieve frankly weird Facebook messages saying “I now read Clitarary Theory in your voice and it makes it 100% more banterous.” But I suppose that’s what you get for sleeping with someone whose nickname includes the word ‘banter’. So what did I learn from this experience? Only sleep with the enemy if you can take the chat. And you will get chat. Remember that you will see this person around - Oxford is a small place. You’ll see them on our bike, when you’re wearing gym kit, at drinks, on crew dates. You can’t escape, so just embrace it. Oh - and wear a condom kiddos.
FLOP
BOP!
OxStuff 17
4th June 2015
The Malcontent
S
BN OC BABY W e have known love in these cloistered walls, these ivy clad gates of our precious Union. But no story, no ballad, no passion-dripping sonnet finer than that of Zuleyka Shahin and Stuart Webber: our golden couple, our rumoured pride of presidency. United on the same slate, destined for that greatest of glories (the unopposed ascension to high office) whispers abounded that the two’s heads were together about more than merely who would occupy the Regent’s secretary place. One too many secret meetings, and we have ourselves a beautiful, bouncing, baby-hack,
pictured here in the awkward teenage stage. So well-schooled is this little blighter in returning officer regulations, the well-timed backslap over a late night KA pint, and, crucially, treachery, that they must expect no less than a junior librarian committee role. Alas, our starcrossed lovers are now descended into recrimination and acrimony with the up coming Union election; we at the OxStu desperately hope that the fighting parents keep their eyes on their priority. And, no, guys, that’s the baby, not the presidency…
ex for me these days has become such an arduous process and the bane of my weekly existence. Aside from already being in an almost loveless political partnership with my long term partner, my days of tireless hacking leave me with just a crust of energy at the end of the day to satisfy my ‘loved one’ in the bedroom. The sense of dread when getting home in the small hours from the office to a disillusioned and frustrated future spouse is second to none. Keen to have a glass of milk, eat a few rich tea biscuits, catch up on Newsnight and then be spooned to sleep before repeating the daily 7AM grind, thrusting my member in a passionate fashion is typically the last thing my decrepit yet somehow still adolescent body sees as being necessary for the regeneration of its overworked and overtired limbs and hack brain. Laying in my Egyptian cotton bed staring at the ceiling all cosy in my light-blue John Lewis 100% cotton pyjamas, I hope that sleep befalls my sexual partner before my services are called upon. After miserably debriefing each other’s days, cycling through mindless chatter about the weather, status of the bins and washing and what needs to be recorded on the Sky box for the week, I feel my eyes beginning to drop, beginning to
dream of my weekend catching up on this week’s, The Spectator. However, to my alarm, sultry whispers of ‘I have missed you sweet pea’, followed by a gradual awakening of the old chap downstairs mean that my much await sleepytime must be delayed by more pressing issues. After the usual routine of some mundane kissing, general tomfoolery and painfully slow removal of my pyjamas that just five minutes ago I was so happy to have put on, we graduate to the famous missionary position, much loved by middle-aged power couples across the globe for its effectiveness in swiftly ending said sexual encounter. Two minutes later, things all done and dusted, a tirade of abuse is launched at me from the other side of my great cotton birth urging me to improve my love making skills and energy levels by quitting the very hack institution that I spend every single day working my bottom off for. Why is it so hard to understand that hacking is so important to my heart? Sometimes I think that I would rather be part of the great institution I work for than be in this bed at all - should I become asexual and marry my job? Of course not, that will make me less electable in the future and end my ultimate career goal of being in the Tory cabinet.
FLOP
BOP!
BOP!
From the archives We look back at yet another Union Scandal that hit the OxStu headlines...
UNION PRESIDENT SLATED 21st January1993
U
nion President James Robertson faced a call for his resignation following the publication by Alex Pennel and Dave Mullett of a discussion paper on the future of the society. The paper called for its transformation into a central students union, together with a radical overhaul of its entz facilities. Robertson was quoted in last week’s Cherwell as saying “I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about hacks.” Pennell reacted by saying, “He ought to resign, because he is there to serve members. If he does not care what members think of him then he should step aside.” Union insiders reacted angrily to Pennell’s call.They point out that Robertson issued a detailed reply to the Pennell-Mullett paper, and has gone out of his way to welcome the report. Many feel that Pennell and Mullett are simply out to make trouble for the Union and that their last paper is just the latest attempt to cause disruption. At a Standing Committee meeting the report was seen as a definite opportunity for the Union to promote recognition of the services it provides. Robertson himself said he was “very sad the Alex and Dave, after producing such an impressive and detailed report, have resorted to cheap personal attacks upon.” In a move designed to show a new wave of glasnost sweeping the Union a questionnaire has been enclosed with all term-cards, asking members to air their views.Yet it totally ignores central issues like the proposed creation of central students’union. The Union issued a reply to the PennellMullett report, which concedes that in many areas “there is room for improvement”. It accepts their proposal for membership drive concentrated upon second and third years and more encouragement for them to use the facilities. However, the reply reacts indignantly to criticisms of hacks and all their works. Hacks do not hide under a political banner and are judged by the members in the election on their personality and confidence.”
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Features 19
4th June 2015
Bucharest: A city break with a unique twist
Features
• Eastern Europe offers an alternative to other tourist-heavy
destinations and Bucharest has something for all to enjoy
JAMIE RUSSELL
WADHAM COLLEGE
I
n recent years Eastern Europe has become the destination of choice for holiday-makers looking for good value and a culture more distant from their own than that that they might experience in Italy, France or Spain. Of the multitude of city, coastal and country breaks on offer, those in Romania are often overlooked in favor of neighboring countries. It’s hard to see why, though, with Bucharest and many of the surrounding towns being a tourist’s paradise! Bucharest is cheap and easy to reach from the UK with Ryanair charging just £70 for a return from London Stansted to Otopeni, which is a 45 minute bus journey from the city center. Shopping around online means that great accommodation can be found cheaply too. A good three star hotel in the city's beautiful old town will set you back as little as £11 per person per night! If you don't care for your own bathroom and a double bed then perfectly
“ Wining dining...is
and not without its quirks
”
good hostels can be found for even less. While accommodation is available outside of the old town it is recommended to stay there as it puts many of the city’s major point of interest right on your doorstep. Getting around Bucharest is simple with regular buses and a cheap and reliable metro service (any journey on the latter costs just 25p). Taxis are more of a mixed bag. Larger, licensed ranks present service and value comparable to the buses; private taxis combine terrifying driving with extortionate prices to make for far less pleasant journeys. The only unpleasant surprise regarding the food and drink on offer in Romania is that it hasn’t become popular in the UK. Bakery kiosks serving a rage of sweet and savory pastries are a common sight and make a great breakfast on the go or a welcome treat on the way home. More substantial meals often consist of local cured meats, sausages and cheeses followed by succulent casseroles or roasts and finished off by yet more pastry. Romanian beers possess and incredibly clean and
crisp flavor which one might normally associate with premium Asian beers and the wine is generally dry yet full bodied, ensuring that the local brews go brilliantly with the food. The cuisine has a definite Bavarian feel with obvious eastern influences. To try some delicious local food, a visit to Caru Cu Bere is a must. For the less adventurous, Bucharest has plenty of oriental and Turkish offerings as well as pub grub and high street takeaways. Even in some of the city's most prestigious establishments, 2 courses and half a bottle of wine will cost little more than a dinner served up at Wetherspoons in the UK. Wining and dining in Bucharest is a great experience but is not without its quirks. Everywhere (pubs and fast-food chains included) have waiter service and visitors who are unaware of this can often be seen standing at the bar, wondering why they're not being served. Another quirk, which may even be a deal-breaker for some, is that most establishments still allow smoking. While this might be a nuisance for many it does mean that for those partial to occasional, huge doses of nicotine; hookah smoking can be indulged in in a number of lavish bars and cafes with Pasajul Macca-Villacrosse (a winding, covered street) boasting four, almost next to one another. Romania has a rich and varied history and this is showcased in a plethora of museums and galleries in the heart of Bucharest. Particular emphasis is often placed upon the recent communist era history. With the parliament palace, national, natural history and village museums and national galleries all within easy reach though, any area of art or history which grabs your interest can be readily explored. Most provide information in English as well as Romanian and many offer generous student discounts making the cost of visiting almost negligible. While these attractions make fascinating and affordable days out you can expect to pay small additional fees to take photos or visit temporary exhibits. Bucharest also has an array of beautiful parks which are great for picnicking, hiring a boat to row around one of the many lakes or just whiling away an afternoon. Carol Park, which is particularly picturesque has a year-round rowing lake, the technical museum and a spectacular war memorial from which there is a great view of the rest of the city. Yet another great thing about Bucharest is that you can leave. This is, however, not a reflection on the city but rather on the gems hidden in the surrounding country side. Regular trains can whisk you away to Bran Castle of Dracula-fame; breathtaking Peleș Castle or a day lounging by the black sea and all to be home in time
for dinner and a night out. Bucharest lacks the mega clubs of the continent’s clubbing capitals. This does not, by any means, ruin a night out though. Instead it transforms it into an intimate and unpretentious experience where anyone and everyone can dance the night away, entertained by skilled DJs and often live musicians and dancers. This all makes for a lively atmosphere where people don’t tend to drink to get drunk, and have memorable nights which they're certain to actually remember. If a club is too quiet, too crowded or just playing a song you don't like then you can grab your coat and leave for another club just across the road with entry being free practically everywhere. If clubbing isn't for you then Bucharest is awash with chic cocktail bars offering tasty drinks, good music and a friendly atmosphere. One which is certainly worth visiting is Bicileta where every item of furniture and decoration is artfully crafted from old bicycle parts. In all, Bucharest has everything that you could want from a city break and a week’s stay might even be covered by the remains of this year’s student loan. Alternatively it is well worth working into your route if you’re lucky enough to be interrailing this summer.
ROMANIA AT A GLANCE 21.79 million
Population in 2013
2010
A city full of life
First McDonalds opened
Bucharest offers beautiful culture and sights, but there is also much more to explore
8.86 million
Tourists every year
21°C
Average temperature in August
$607 million
Money spent by tourists per year
3 hours 15 mins
Flight from London Photos from top: Sludge G/Costel/Jamie Russell
4th June 2015
20 Features
A GLOBAL HORROR
Human trafficking: a hidden epidemic • TW: References to sexual assault
20,900,000 • ‘Stand for Freedom’ aims to draw attention to this global problem
ILO global estimate of adults and children in forced labour in 2012
2,000,000
children exploited in the global sex trade every year
79%
of all trafficking is sexual exploitation
22%
rise from 2012 to 2013 of trafficking victims in the UK
18%
of all trafficking is forced labour
C
larisa is a fourteen year old Dominican girl. Disabled, she experiences the world as a six year old does. This has left her vulnerable to abuse. Last year, a man raped her many times and then offered her body to another man. He had a reputation for trafficking young girls in this way. A life of forced prostitution would have been Clarisa’s fate. Fortunately the police and a team from International Justice Mission (IJM), a charity which works to combat trafficking and violence, helped to rescue Clarisa and track down the traffickers. She was deeply scarred by the experience, her mother Alma noted: “After this happened, she was always in the street. She would run away, and I would have to look for her. She would get angry with me. I didn’t know what had happened.” We all know that sexual assault is one of the most emotionally scarring experiences imaginable. The paradox in our twisted world is that Clarisa was lucky to get away with only being raped a few times. Her good fortune is currently the exception, not the rule. Clarisa’s case is not an isolated one: there are millions around the
world held in bondage, forced to sell their bodies in sex work, domestic labour or manual labour. There are
“ Do you remember the
girls kidnapped in Nigeria last year?
”
36 million slaves in the world today. A quarter of these are children. Two million of those children are in sex work. I’m often drawn to ask why this kind of injustice doesn’t have more media attention. Is it because it feels distant? Or is it because it feels too big an issue? Something must be wrong when you are more likely to hear about Nigel Farage going to a Kent pub in the newspaper than you are to hear about a girl working 16 hour days in an Indian factory. Injustice on this level almost goes
A Not Very Sporty Person rows • After a last-minute inclusion in the squad, cooked breakfasts are the only way to go
MARYSIA CZEPIEL BRASENOSE COLLEGE
ue to the sheer luck of examstressed lawyers dropping out of rowing, I had got a place on Brasenose W2 rowing team for Torpids. With a final push in the couple of weeks preceding the tournament, we had actually been looking rather good. And now, finally, Torpids week had come. I was beginning to regret the enormous breakfast I had had only a short while before in an effort to ‘carb up’ (one of my preferred rowing terms). We got in the boat and started rowing to our starting line, but at the five minute gun we were nowhere near. At the one-minute gun, we were still not in place. Panic set in. From then there was a brief period of confusion of thrashing oars and suddenly, we are bumping LMH 2 - and still bumping them – and we carry on bumping them until we have rammed them halfway up a tree on the bank. (If you don’t believe me, there is photographic evidence.) We extricate ourselves and carry on rowing, and it takes us a while to clear our brains and realise that we’ve bumped. As we moor the boat a voice announces over the tanoy: “LMH 2, we will do our best to get your boat back.” We reckon we’re in for a big fine. But it’s worse than that. LMH are very unhappy and appeal our bump. We end up not only having it taken off us, but even being bumped down a place from where we were before. There are five women’s divisions, and we were at the bottom of the fourth. Bumping us down a place meant we became the “sandwich” boat, so we were now at the top of the fifth division and so would have to race once in the fifth division,
our rudder. The metallic voice over the tanoy is unsympathetic. “Christchurch 3 bumped Brasenose 2. Oriel 2 bumped Brasenose 2. Keble 2 bumped Brasenose 2. Trinity 2 bumped Brasenose 2.” Yes, thank you, we get the idea. “Hertford 2 bumped Brasenose 2…” We try not to get discouraged: after all, we were rowing well before the crash. And now, the only way is up. We start off our third race determined to do Brasenose proud and finally get a legitimate bump. We can go into the final day of racing with our heads held high. It’s a beautiful day, and, since it’s a Saturday, all our friends have come along to cheer us on. We know the drill. We storm to victory and bump within twenty strokes. Despite all the setbacks, there had been no petty squabbling, no rift within the team; we had made each disappointment motivation to do better. In the end, what we will remember most was the euphoria of bumping on that last day, on the shimmering water, with a crowd of black-and-gold-clad people cheering us on. The only really bad thing about Torpids was probably the Tutor Put-Downs I suffered as a result. While trying to reorganise a tute with my Latin tutor, he broke down laughing and said “I’m sorry, I just can’t take you seriously with the plaits and the face paint.” And just when I thought one Tutor Burn was enough, when re-organising again due to the dropping-a-division-fiasco I received a cheery email saying “Gosh, you’re even worse than my team was. And we were Corpus 4.”
D
and, if we managed to not get bumped, we would get to race again at the bottom of the fourth and redeem ourselves. Of course, this would mean racing again pretty much straight after we had just rowed an entire length of the river. There was only one thing for it. Another cooked breakfast! The next morning, we got into place in good time and waited nervously. Five minutes. One minute. Go!
“ We seem to be unable to row in a straight line
”
We had a brilliant start and were pulling far away from the boat behind us: two lengths – two and a half – three lengths – and suddenly, we have crashed into the bank. We can’t dislodge ourselves. It’s all over: every single boat in the division rows past us, so we are bumped by them all. We have been bumped down to the very bottom of the river. To make us look even more sorry, we seem to be unable to row in a straight line. It’s only later that we realise that the oars of one of the boats which bumped us have knocked off
beyond our comprehension and it easily slips under the radar. Do you remember the girls kidnapped in Nigeria last year? Their case, long since forgotten, had the sort of coverage which it deserved. Sadly the hordes of other people who have since been kidnapped in the same way by Boko Haram have just been ignored. Perhaps it is the distance which leads to our ambivalence. While we’ll fight hard to campaign against slavery when it happens in Oxford, see responses to Operation Bullfinch as an example, the plight of a child in India or Nigeria is not our problem. Yet in a globalized world we cannot have that attitude. Our consumption patterns make us complicit in the maintenance of the slave trade. When did you last consider what the label “made in India / Vietnam / China” actually means? When did you last think about who the girl that you’re watching on that kinky website is? When did you last ask where your food comes from? People are used as commodities to produce and sustain our lifestyles; we have to wake up and accept that responsibility. On 12th June and 13th June, Just Love Oxford is putting on the annual
JOHN PATTERSON ST HUGH’S COLLEGE ‘Stand for Freedom’ event in order to engage with these issues. Students are going to be standing on Bonn Square for twenty-four hours with the aim of raising awareness about the problem of human trafficking and of challenging people to think about creative ways of making a difference. How can we stand for the marginalized? How can we challenge our lifestyles and engage with these issues? How can we be opening our eyes and deciding to live in a way that does not accidentally exploit the most vulnerable? Come along and find out! I think it is worth adding as an endnote that I am not writing this piece from the perspective of someone who has got all the answers. In fact, I did not know any of the statistics quoted here before I offered to write something on behalf of the Just Love Human Trafficking Action Group about why we are doing the event. Writing and engaging with these issues has been a challenge, one that I hope will force me to take this area of injustice more seriously. The purpose of Stand for Freedom is that people in Oxford will go through a similar process of allowing themselves to be challenged to live more justly. We’d love you to join us.
Happiness or relief?
Crew bonds held fast through crashes and hardship to triumph Photo: Catherine Craig Mc-Feely
4th June 2015
Features 21
A Guide to Trashing
Science, Jagerbombs and changing the world JAMIE RUSSELL WADHAM COLLEGE
M
y most recent culinary endeavour left me feeling strangely at home; weighing out tiny quantities of indistinguishable, white powders and trying in vain to get them to dissolve in unlikely solvents, under the sceptical gaze of onlookers. I feel compelled to mention that nothing untoward was going on in my day to day life or my kitchen. I am a chemist and this week I have been trying my hand at molecular gastronomy, the ‘science-y’ cooking that chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and Hervé This are best known for. The techniques employed in molecular gastronomy are, by no means, a new phenomenon; Brasenose physicist Nikolas Kurti described many of them as early as 1969 in his television programme and a subsequent presentation to the Royal Society, both entitled The Physicist in the Kitchen. As for my own attempt, after spending far more than I had planned on obscure ingredients and a cheap blender, I was able to carry out reverse spherification on
Jägermeister. Here a drink is encapsulated in a gelatinous membrane with a liquid centre. I added my balls of jäger to cocktail glasses of ginger beer to give a classier twist on the notorious jägerbomb. The ginger beer was far more refreshing on a summer afternoon and the sensation of the bubble of jäger bursting in the mouth was oddly pleasant, though the membrane that it left behind was met with mixed reviews. Until recently molecular gastronomy has been the preserve of Michelin starred chefs, but that could be set to change with a number of books and DIY kits now on the market. This raises the question: will we all be cooking with molecular gastronomy one day? Sadly, no. The appeal of molecular gastronomy lies in it being a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth and experiencing an everyday flavour alongside a texture or temperature that you would not normally associate with it. The increased availability of the techniques on offer to the layperson, while great for astounding guests at a dinner party, are far less likely to be employed while making supper mid-week. The amount of money, time and
ELLE TAIT MAGDALEN COLLEGE
Photo: Jamie Russell
effort associated with preparing capsules, foams and mists really doesn’t seem worthwhile unless you are cooking to impress and the novelty of the dishes may wear thin if they are prepared too often. While molecular gastronomy may not have found its place in everyday cooking, the techniques employed within it have found uses elsewhere, such as in the production of the juice-filled pearls that go into bubble tea. Last year London-
based Skipping Rocks Lab developed Ooho!, drinking water trapped in spheres which are both edible and biodegradable to eliminate the waste produced in the form of water bottles! The idea was named as one of five with the potential to change the world at the 2014 Lexus Design Awards - a poignant reminder that science in food will be crucial in feeding a growing population and overcoming environmental issues with food and drink production.
Photo: epictures
Kipping Sutra - A Guide to Naps
EMILY HONEY LADY MARGARET HALL
There are few finer arts than that of Evasive Napping. Part gift, part pathological condition, EN involves confronting conflict, stress or emotional upheaval with a shameless return into temporary unconsciousness. Formerly the province of sloths and human children under the age of five, a potent combination of late-night social media and late-onset social maturity has re-energised this ancient ritual for adults in the present day. As an all-time tactical snoozing champion, with a cumulative daily sleep average of 12+ hours and a litany of broken dreams/records behind me, I have come to develop a series of fail-safe positions to somatically avoid any situation - a kind of Kipping Sutra,
ball and chain. Proceed to hold your breath at regular intervals until you are so devoid of oxygen you go into a semi-permanent yawn- this should result in sleep or, at the very least, an absolutely cracking Vine. Deadline Doze Though the double D requires a the most pre-game legwork- a suffocating detritus of stacked books and crushed red bull cans, and the unwavering scent of abject panic at the very minimum- it is perhaps the most versatile. Be it winter or summer, a desk, a chair, or a self-fashioned hovel, this nap can be enjoyed anywhere and is only improved by the presence of an unreliable laptop and open Google search of “existential doom”.
if you will… Classic Kip Best enjoyed in the soft haze of the afternoon sun, this position will see you on your back, legs slightly ajar as you cradle your emergent food baby. Tilt your head slightly leftwards, to allow for the development of a drool patch. This will double as a deterrent against any randy co-nappers, and an alarm clock when you unceremoniously roll on top of it. Coitus Catnap This pose is expressly designed for that moment when your roommate/ neighbouring Don Juanker’s particular brand of sexual healing goes from abashed frolic to decibelbusting bonk. After donning a set
of noise cancelling headphones, you should face the offending room and settle into the Insolent Child’s Pose, with legs tucked under rear and both fingers flipping the bird. Complete the position by fastening small-tomid sized pillows around either ear, so that you may weep into your very own ambient, soundproof sarcophagus. Angsty Apnoea Not for the faint of heart, literally or figuratively, the Angsty Apnoea is an excellent way to come down off a casual brawl, or a familial visit. Place a dead weight atop your chest, like a sack of flour, or your ambitions, and cross your legs tightly, as if they are bound together by an invisible
Photo: Nana B Agyei
As a self-confessed Queen of Trashing I felt it was my place to create the unofficial OxStu guide to trashing. There is something very very powerful about trashing.... The most important thing to remember is that the best trashing will not happen outside Exam Schools. I turned up with (very cheap) champagne and whipped cream only to have Oxford University Security take them off me to give to the homeless shelter. It’s admirable that this is done, of course, but it’s worth remembering not to take eggs/flour/honey to Exam Schools - it will not end up on your friend’s head if you do. As a general rule, as well, it’s always quantity over quality. One excellent can of silly string pales in comparison against party poppers, confetti, glitter, fake snow, coke & Mentos. Poundland and Amazon will be your best friends on this front. The former do great paper crowns and party poppers; the latter are great for bulk buying silly string. Nothing is offlimits. I know in theory it sounds bad to cover your friends in eggs, honey, flour, feathers and milk but in practice, it is both so much better and worse than that. As long as you also provide them with a suitably cheap form of alcohol (or other enjoyable cold beverage) and are sure to remind them that you’re only doing this because they’ve finished their exams and isn’t that such a great amazing thing, they will not care. I mean, when they realise that their gown is somewhat ruined beyond repair they might be a little annoyed but really, their feeling of being loved and finished with exams will outweigh any animosity they have towards you. Buy very nice things for outside Exam Schools; and, yes, silly string is nice. Confetti, glitter, party poppers, garlands, crowns… all are very much advisable. Then, once you’re somewhere away from the lovely, but eagled-eyed, security guards you can get to work on the foodstuffs. Whipped cream can also be great, because it seems like a nice food - it’s a gateway to the worse ones. Trashing is ultimately a very strange Oxford quirk, but it’s also very very fun. I recommend embracing it.
4th June 2015
22 Sport
Summer VIIIs In brief... Summer VIIIs Results: Men’s Division One:
1) Oriel 2) Christ Church 3) Pembroke 4) Magdalen 5) Wolfson 6) Keble (BLADES) 7) Trinity 8) University 9) St Edmund Hall 10) Balliol 11) Wadham 12) New 13) St Catherine’s (SPOONS)
Women’s Division One: 1) Wadham 2) Pembroke 3) Magdalen 4) University 5) St John’s 6) Christ Church 7) St Edmund Hall (SPOONS) 8) Keble 9) Balliol 10) Wolfson 11) New 12) Hertford 13) Somerville
Men’s Division Two: 1) Hertford 2) Worcester (SPOONS) 3) Brasenose 4) Lady Margaret Hall 5) Mansfield 6) Lincoln 7) Jesus 8) St John’s (SPOONS) 9) Oriel II 10) Pembroke II 11) St Anne’s (SPOONS) 12) Queen’s 13) St Peter’s (SPOONS)
Women’s Division Two:
1) Worcester 2) Oriel 3) Jesus 4) Lincoln 5) Merton (SPOONS) 6) Trinity 7) St Anne’s 8) St Hugh’s 9) Osler House 10) Mansfield 11) St Catherine’s 12) Linacre 13) Exeter
Feature: Summer VIIIs from the rowers’ perspective KATHARINE LYNESS SPORTS WRITER
Katharine is a member of Brasenose’s W2 boat and gives a run-down on the four days events during Summer VIIIs from her perspective as a Fresher.
DAY 1 The crew arrive at the boathouse looking nervous in our fetching Lycra onesies and knee high stripy socks.
“Tensions were running high ”
Today we are chasing Worcester, but Somerville are chasing us. We know that Somerville are faster so we adopt a ‘fly or die’ approach – we must bump out on Worcester before Somerville catch us. Tensions are running high. Howard, our coach, has sent us one last motivational email: “remember, Ladies, pain is temporary, but the result lasts forever.” Luckily, with a strong start we annihilate Worcester in less than 500 metres. 1 down 3 to go…
DAY 2 Buoyed by the yesterday’s success we rock up confidently to the boat house. We are now chasing St John’s, and we know we are the faster crew. Hopes are now high that we might get blades in this competition and be able to display them in our homes well into old age, thus indicating to all visitors that we both went to Oxford, and rowed. Another quick bump out on St John’s leaves us giddy with victory.
DAY 3 Today is the hardest race so far. If we catch Jesus, we’ll be able to annihilate LMH the next day, securing ourselves blades and glory. We get off to a strong start but Jesus keep their distance. We close on them to half a length, but they put on a burst. As we approach the half way line, we are still tantalisingly close but getting tired. Jesus start to pull away and our cox,
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Phil, urges us on. Although we give it everything, they cross the finish line before we can catch them. Our stroke passes out in exhaustion, paramedics are called, our dreams of blades are crushed, and everything is terrible.
DAY 4 Since Jesus escaped from us yesterday, we’ll have to chase them again today, and worse still, Somerville, who we know are faster, are chasing us. Hopes are not high as we line up on the start, and sure enough, as soon as the starting cannon fires we can see them inching closer and they bump us two thirds of the way down the course. Still, as we row past our boat house, huge cheers greet us and as we land our glorious captain sprays us with Tesco’s finest Cava. It may only be 1pm but we’ve been banned from alcohol for the week before and so the whole crew gets happily smashed on Pimms and takes the opportunity to pose for as many squad photos as possible, so we can clog up everyone’s newsfeeds for weeks.
“Dreams of blades
are crushed and everything is terrible
”
Useful terms of Bumps Racing: Bump:
When your crew catches the boat in front, you’ve managed to bump. If you’re caught by the boat behind, you’ve been bumped. If you bump everyday in VIIIs, you win Blades. If you’re bumped every day, you get Spoons.
Rowing Over:
If you don’t manage to catch the crew in front of you and you don’t get caught by the boat behind you and you row across the finish line having completed the 2km course, that’s a row-over
Sunshine and smiles: Brasenose W2 celebrating their 2 bumps in two days
sport@oxfordstudent.com Photo: Katharine Lyness
Photo: Folie Jolie Wordpress
ALICE RICHARDSON SPORTS EDITOR
Sat in the 5 seat for Magdalen’s W2, Alice describes Summer VIIIs 2015 as a returning fair-weather rower. This year’s Summer VIIIs saw the climax of our fitness, our technique and out ability to bump. With 2 bumps in two days, we had hopes of blades, but we lost out on the third day to a runaway Pembroke crew. As soppy as it may sound, there really is nothing like the team spirit, I’ve found from my rowing experiences at Magdalen. The four days of Summer VIIIs 2015 have been the pinnacle of that sense of mutual support and common ambition. Having played other team sports before, I thought what I’d get would be much of the same as before, but rowing is somehow different. With all of you literally and visibly pulling together and how reliant you become on each individual person to do their bit and do it well, you quickly gel as a team. The visible improvements for each and every one of the crew, as well as the team as a
“With all of you
literally pulling together, you gel
”
whole, over the term’s training are not easily ignored. With the help of some very experienced and talented rowers, coaches and coxes, we’ve all come on in leaps and bounds to be far better rowers and far better athletes than we were five weeks ago. We’ve each learnt to take responsibility, have become more punctual and have generally learnt the benefits of rowing in the occasional sunshine and warmth of Trinity term. We’ve all come on remarkably and are definitely very proud of that achievement. VIIIs itself was as special as ever. For me, watching was almost as good as rowing. The crunch of £40,000-worth of boat cavorting into the bank in the lower divisions can’t fail to be amusing whilst the bitter competition in the higher div races makes for fierce support for your own first VIIIs. The nerves and adrenaline before and during warm-up for our own race, though, was the biggest kick of them all. I didn’t think I would
get that nervous, but particularly on Saturday with all of the spectators lining the banks of the Isis, the fear of messing up and making the entire boat look inadequate was terrifying. But we pulled through. No crabs were caught and two consecutive days of bumping were had on Wednesday and Thursday. When the wind picked up on Friday, however, Pembroke proved too quick for us to catch and they managed to get away from us on both Friday and Saturday – leading to two very solid (albeit extremely
“ Pembroke proved too quick for us to
catch up with them
”
painful and exhausting) row-overs. Saturday’s celebrations seemed a fitting end to a week of hard work and physical exhaustion. Pimms was flowing in our boat house from 11.30am and many of us were a little worse for wear before our boat-club dinner at 8pm. I’ll miss rowing, but will definitely be watching from the banks of the Isis next year.
Useful terms of Bumps Racing (continued): Klaxon:
If a race is Klaxoned (i.e. one of the marshals somewhere on the course fires their airhorn) then either someone is injured, someone has ended up in the water or the racing line is blocked. The race has to be stopped to avoid collisions or further injury.
Fines:
If a college’s crew does something wrong (e.g. their cox isn’t wearing a life jacket, their bow-ball is loose, their college’s representative didn’t turn up for marshalling duty) then they are fined by Race Desk. Fines must be paid by the end of the day or top boats can’t race
Sport 23
4th June 2015
Why the criticism of Raheem Sterling is unfair • The three main accusations that are made against the young Liverpool player -
greed for money, greed for success, and delusions of grandeur - but none seem warranted BEN SANDERS SPORTS EDITOR
Around two weeks ago, Raheem Sterling’s agent announced that the player would not be signing a new contract with Liverpool. As the dust settles on that shocking claim, Liverpool fans are now preparing for a sapping, tedious summer transfer saga involving the player. However, with the benefit of hindsight, it is becoming increasingly clear that much of the vilification of Sterling – which has been going on for several months now, ever since he first indicated that might not sign a new deal - has been unwarranted. I’ve seen three main accusations
“People seem to be
Victimised: confusing football Sterling has been contracts’ nature roundly reproached Photo: Kamran Hussain
Raheem Sterling’s season in numbers Appearances 47
Goals 8
Assists 9
”
be levelled against Sterling in recent weeks. Let’s take these one by one. Firstly, it’s sometimes claimed that Sterling is greedy for money; he’s either pushing Liverpool for a bigger deal, or waiting to be signed by a club that can give him a larger pay-packet. However, Sterling can plausibly deny that this whole affair is about money. Indeed, his agent, Aidy Ward, recently said that “£900,000-a-week would not keep him at Anfield.” This claim should be taken with heavy scepticism, of course – Ward could well say the same thing even if this was all
about money, in order to protect his client’s integrity. However, those who know Sterling – Jamie Carragher, Roy Hodgson, Steven Gerrard – generally agree that he’s “a good kid”. Money might be on his mind and, if it is, that would be a valid source of criticism (though it’s worth noting that he would be by no means alone in that regard). But we have no evidence for or against that claim. Secondly, it’s sometimes said that he’s greedy for success; he owes it to Liverpool to stay with them for longer, rather than refusing to sign a contract and leave for a different club where has a better chance of winning trophies once his current deal expires. However, the people that claim this seem to be confusing the nature of contracts in football. The whole point of a contract is that, for its duration, the player owes the club his services, and the club owes the player his employment. But that obligation ceases once the contract expires. We almost never claim that a club is breaking an obligation when they don’t give one of their players a new contract after their existing one expires (an exception might be Abou Diaby, whose contract is due to expire now but has had horrific injury problems in recent years and whose careers hangs in the balance). So, if Sterling did leave when his current deal with Liverpool ends, why should we think that he would be doing something wrong? His youth is irrelevant, as is the fact that Liverpool brought him through their academy. Liverpool did that for their own benefit. Moreover, they knew all along that, one day, Sterling could accrue a high value and leave for nothing at
the end of a contract. Some might argue that Sterling ought to sign a new contract with Liverpool now, provided he’s given an assurance that he’ll be sold next summer – that way, Sterling will be able to move and the club will get a big transfer fee (something similar happened with Luis Suarez and Gareth
“If
Sterling has delusions, this can be traced to Rodgers
”
Bale before their big-money moves). But perhaps the club has not offered this arrangement – and, even if they have, one could forgive Sterling for fearing that they might renege. Thirdly, some remark that his behaviour reveals that he is currently “too big for his boots,” as Jamie Carragher put it when asked about the situation whilst doing punditry for Sky Sports. “You have to earn trophies”, he said, visibly restraining his anger - and Sterling, the claim goes, hasn’t done enough whilst at Liverpool to justify a belief that he is entitled to seek success in a place where it is likelier to come. Let’s assume that it’s true. Even then; this is a terrible reason to act as though Sterling has betrayed Liverpool, or to claim that he’s acted immorally, or to subject him to the scale of public criticism that we’ve seen in recent weeks. It seems that he’s acting ignorantly, yes – and perhaps arrogantly. But believing
that someone is thinking badly is very different to thinking that someone is behaving badly. Many people are conflating the former – which Sterling is doing – with the latter, which he isn’t. Moreover, if Sterling really does have delusions of grandeur, then we can trace this back to Brendan Rodgers - and this is where a significant portion of the public’s criticism should be directed. Rodgers tends to blow hot and cold on many subjects, but on none more so than Raheem Sterling. It is obvious that, in the early part of this season, Rodgers believed that Sterling was the side’s key player whilst Daniel Sturridge was injured. Nonetheless, when Liverpool hosted Aston Villa in the Premier League on 13th September, Rodgers feared that Sterling was tired – so he put him on the bench. That is sensible management. However, after 61 minutes, Liverpool had been losing for almost the entire match. So Rodgers brought Sterling on in order to try and save the game. There is no better way to heap selfaggrandisement and pressure onto a player’s shoulders than to treat him as your team’s lifeline in times of dire need. That this came after Rodgers – evidently, from his team selection – attempted to transmit the belief that Sterling was not crucial to Liverpool’s prospects only makes the blow that much harder. Indeed, much of the blame for this whole episode can be put on Sterling’s two managers – Rodgers and Ward. They have both allowed this situation be publicly played out and, by consequence, they have allowed the public to subject Sterling to this unfair and unwarranted criticism.
A storming victory in a season of struggle •
OUKC spent most of their league campaign battling against relegation, but managed to pull off a remarkable victory last week • Team-members hope that this success, and the sensational manner in which it was achieved, will be a platform for greater things next season
Photo: Beth Jones
»Continued from back page show a lack of flair and, when they made shooting opportunities,
“ Glennie and Wickramarachichi
started playing with a telepathic affinity
”
their finishing was very poor. Conversely, many University players were having brilliant games. In particular, Glennie – playing in defence for much of this half – often resembled a quarterback, playing fantastic long passes to his attacking team-
mates. One such pass led to a fifth University goal and, after 18 minutes, OU were leading 5-1 and almost looked out of sight. Now it was time for the party tricks. Glennie and Wickramarachichi – who had been quiet until this point – suddenly started playing with an almost telepathic affinity. With 19 minutes on the clock, the two played five passes between each other in quick, breath-taking succession before Wickramarachichi fired a rapidlytaken shot onto the rim of the goal. That was almost magical and, just a minute later, the pair were at it again. Glennie slammed a long pass into Wickramarachichi’s chest and, with his back to goal, the latter dummied a pass right before throwing the ball to his left, finding Glennie who’d followed the pass in and then successfully finished.
By half-time, the score was 9-1 to Oxford. Isis continued to have chances here and there, but their shooting remained poor – and, after one particularly bad pass by one of their attackers, several of their players began to laugh at themselves. Perhaps their players didn’t feel particularly motivated. However, if they had an attitude
“ Both teams sensed that maybe - just
maybe - Isis could pull off a comeback
”
problem in the first half, then someone had rectified it by the time the second half began. Isis
made a blistering start, scoring two goals in the first four minutes to make the score 9-3. In particular, their number 23 – who had sat the first half on the bench – was offering the speed and substance that the Town side had sorely lacked in the first 30 minutes. This was the start of a frenzied two minutes, as Sinclair, de Maio and Davies all netted, leaving the score at 11-4. The match was becoming feisty, now; at one stage, de Maio knocked the ball out of Glennie’s hands, who then looked in somewhat outraged fashion towards his opponent and then towards the referee. The referee told Glennie to play on, and he reluctantly obliged. Both teams sensed that maybe – just maybe – Isis could pull off a fantastic comeback, but the University side snuffed these hopes out. Most of the second
half proceeded in somewhat sleepy fashion, with goals being scored due to moments of individual brilliance or tired marking rather than consistently good attacking. A flurry of attacks in the final five minutes saw University score three goals and, when the referee blew for full-time, the final score was 17-6. For most of the match, the University side defended very well and offered countless displays of attacking ingenuity - they were simply too good for their opponents. After a difficult season, they now have a resounding success to celebrate (and they gleefully obliged once the match was over). Glennie noted afterwards that he hopes this result will be the platform for greater success next season for Oxford University Korfball Club. Play like this on a regular basis, and that will become an expectation.
SPORT e-mail/ sport@oxfordstudent.com
Rowing:
Football:
» Page 22
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A look into this year's Summer VIIIs
Is Raheem Sterling being treated unfairly?
Fastest entrant fails to win Tortoise Race • Zoom, last year's winner, has chance to seal another victory - but lets focus slip • Contestants produce an entertaining race, but disappointingly short on quality
BEN SANDERS SPORTS EDITOR
On Sunday, a grave strategic error meant that Zoom was denied victory in the Corpus Christi Tortoise Race, handing (Bishop) Foxe the medal. As always, Corpus Christi pulled out all of the stops for their annual Tortoise Fair. There were amusements everywhere - including a bouncy castle, Pimms, facepainting, and games. But we weren’t there for the amusements. Those who had come for the race, and not for the frivolity, headed straight to the Competitors’ Chambers in order to size up the contestants. Moreover, those with a particularly good eye for such matters were able to make wagers with Corpus’ in-house bookmaker. Suggestions that a late flurry of overseas bets was placed on Regent’s Park’s tortoise, Emmanuelle, have not yet been confirmed. At 3:05pm, the tortoises were carried onto the racetrack. There was even a human contestant from Balliol who – in accordance with tradition – had to eat a whole iceberg lettuce before she was allowed to begin running. Without doubt, the most formidable-
looking competitor was Worcester’s Zoom. Even before he was placed on the ground, the nine-year old was wildly kicking his limbs to-and-fro, desperate to show his capabilities to the world. Here’s how the race works; you put a big circle of lettuce around the perimeter of the circle, put the tortoises in the middle, and see which manages to start eating a piece of “delicious” lettuce first. Most people know that Zoom hates training – and loves fast food and latenight partying. However, whilst his flamboyant lifestyle has often courted controversy off the track, his eyes are usually kept firmly on the prize when racing. However, this year - despite easily being the fastest competitor - Zoom embarked upon a lap of honour rather than actually finishing the contest. After the starting-gun was fired, the renegade was the first tortoise to reach a piece of lettuce but, seemingly as part of his ongoing protest against the establishment, declined to eat it. Instead, he strutted around the perimeter of the circle and saluted the crowd. Not all of them were pleased by the gesture. “You come to the Tortoise Race for a bit of class, a bit of sophistication,” one gentleman was heard to mutter bitterly, “Not this.” Ru-
Disgraced tortoise wins over crowd
Photo: PChamaeleoMH
mours that Zoom’s manager later kicked a football boot into the tortoise’s head have not been corroborated.
“ Some say she's still eating the lettuce ”
This unfolding drama meant that the gold medal was now up for grabs. A gleam entered the other competitors’ eyes, working out what had happened from the crowd’s reaction, and they doubled their efforts. Meanwhile, the human competitor from Balliol was still less than halfway
Renowned criminal Foxe of Corpus Christi bounces back from last year's murder conviction and plodded his way to victory through her head of lettuce. One spectator, who wishes to remain anonymous, remarked afterwards; “Her technique was all wrong. You’ve got to tear off huge chunks of lettuce and stuff them all into your mouth as fast as you can. She was just eating little bits at a time.” It’s in situations like these – where the weight of hope and expectation is suddenly placed upon one’s shoulders – that the winners are truly separated from the losers. And, after another minute or so, the Corpus Christi Tortoise Race 2015 had a new winner. (Bishop) Foxe blew away the competition and sealed victory by coolly consuming his lettuce in rapid time. One hopes that he returns next year and wins in less ignominious circumstances.
All told, this was an eventful tortoise race, where the drama of the spectacle almost made up for the disappointing quality of the racing before us. That said, all of the competitors did actually manage to finish. Except, perhaps, for the human competitor from Balliol - some say she’s still eating the lettuce to this day.
The 2015 Tortoise Race Winner
(Bishop) Foxe Corpus Christi
Town team thrashed as Oxford University Korfball Club deservedly win • First Town vs. Gown match since 2003 features a blistering first-half display of attacking from Oxford University BEN SANDERS SPORTS EDITOR
A day to remember OUKC, in blue, celebrate triumph Photo: Beth Jones
On paper, this was set to be a close match. After all, when Oxford University Korfball Club faced Isis – the “Town” team - in a relegation-decider a couple of months ago, the result was a nail-biting 11-11 draw. But, for some reason, things didn’t go to plan in the Town vs Gown match on Saturday evening. Korfball is similar to netball and basketball - you can’t run while carrying the ball, but footwork is less tightly-regulated than in netball. It’s a mixed-gender sport; four women and four men are on each team. You can shoot from anywhere on the court, provided you’re not being closely marked. The University team started this Town vs Gown match – the first
since 2003 - with intent. After dominating the first stages, they opened the scoring after three minutes
“For some reason,
things didn't go to plan on Saturday evening
”
through David Sinclair. The avalanche of goals didn’t come immediately, though. After their slumbering start, that goal seemed to shock Isis into life. After 10 minutes, they grabbed a goal almost from nowhere to make the score 1-1. A changeover followed. In korfball, there are two ‘zones’ on the pitch – the attacking zone, and the defending zone. Each team assigns four
of its eight players to occupy each zone. After two goals are scored, each player must swap and occupy the other zone until the next two goals are scored – defenders become attackers, and vice-versa. And it was with this changeover that the thrashing began. Only two minutes after the teams changed over, University had scored twice. Alex Lindsay-Perez made it 2-1, scoring a great goal after excellent teamwork and, soon afterwards, University were awarded a penalty that Glennie converted. Another changeover followed, but the goals didn’t stop. A shot from very long range by Alice Thomson was converted by Krabbendam on the rebound and, all of sudden, University were exerting complete control. Isis’ attacks continued to
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