Issue 28: 21 March 2024

SOAS SPIRIT

18 MARCH 2024

FREE

YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

THE CASE OF BISHOP CHRISTOPHER SANDERS - AN UNSETTLING NORMALITY WITHN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

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THE RESTRUCTURING OF MY COURSE WAS A DISGRACE

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ISSUE 28

SHADES OF IDENTITY: COLOURISM FOR LIGHTSKINNED WOMEN

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Student Power Coalition Wins Elections Despite Poor Turnout

Photo from Trade Union protest (Credit: PA MEDIA)

Barty Roberts, BA Politics and International Relations Safia Shaikh (Activities and Events), Abel Harvie-Clark (Democracy and Education), Alex Cachinero-Gorman (Welfare and Campaigns) and Hamayal Zaib (Equality and Liberation) have all been elected to become SOAS SU Co-Presidents despite turnout failing to surpass 30% (full results can be found on the Students’ Union website).

Polling took place between Monday 26th and Thursday 29th of February. The conduct of many candidates faced criticism; In announcing the results, Deputy Returning Officer Emily Chapman reported, without referring to any specific

candidates, “behaviours that were undesirable and unacceptable in any form within SOAS”. One of the Equality and Liberation candidates, Hannan Asghar, was disqualified for an expense-related rules breach.

The enforcement of the rules has been called into question. In the Conduct and Campaign sections of the Election rulebook Rule 4.4 stipulates that “Candidates may express a preference for other candidates, but they must not share joint digital or physical campaign material, manifesto promises or branding”. The four victors all campaigned together, distributing leaflets with a similar style of branding (see photo). They

have even described themselves as a “slate” of candidates.

The four Co-Presidents elect responded with this statement: “We do not agree that those of us elected sharing similar values has [sic] any bearing on how each of us ran individually, or the fairness of the elections. Each one of us spoke with rival candidates about working together beyond the elections, and many societies endorsed a mixture of candidates. Furthermore, promotional material designed with widely available and free design platforms with common templates like Canva is a positive thing for all candidates, which was highlighted by Continued on page 3

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Letter from the Editor

Contents News

Students Snubbed by Security

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What On Earth is Going On in the House of Commons? SNP Ceasefire Bill Chaos Explained Julian Assange Extradition Case: The

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Criminalisation of Journalism

In Anisah Mahamoud’s Features section, we have an exciting array of articles, from Gen Z and tech to Cuba’s solidarity with Palestine as well as an interesting article on Colourism by Nathan Hay. I must also give a shout-out to Lilac Carr who wrote four pieces for this issue, three of which are in print, so be sure to check those out. You’ll also be happy to hear that the renowned SOAS Radio is back up and running and you can find out all about it in our Sports and Societies section as reported by Jacob Delos Santos.

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It’s been a real joy to be Editor-in-Chief for the Spirit this year and I’m so glad so many of you have enjoyed our beloved newspaper. It takes a village to put it all together and endless back and forths on WhatsApp - we all have incredibly robust thumbs. The team this year has really come together, especially after a night of bowling and one particularly brief round of Articulate! We’ve become a happy family of which I’m really pleased, and feel very fortunate.

Queers for Palestine Boycott Success at National p6 Student Pride

Opinion

Dear Spirit readers,

The Lucrative Fetishisation of Palestine p10

Maybe SOAS ain’t so bad Critique: The Choice of Feminism

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Features Are Gen Z anti-Tech?

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Wael Odeh on Identity

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Viva Cuba! Viva Palestina!

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Culture The Boy and The Heron: Is This to be Hayao Miyazaki’s Legacy?

How time has flown! It seemed we were starting this academic year just moments ago and now exam season is just around the corner. I hope the term is running smoothly for everyone and that the prospect of closed-book, in-person exams doesn’t feel too daunting.

This issue of course is the best. They say a parent can’t have favourites. Well, I do, sorry. We have a brilliant collection of articles from some of our finest writers. In News, you’ll be glad to know that we have lots of election coverage, and even a play-by-play diary-esque account of the week online by our very own Barty Roberts. Jacob Winter spills the tea on the SU staffing shebang, as well as taking a mysterious deep dive into the world of Scientology for his Roaming Reporter column. For Opinion, Archie Thomas gets sentimental (appropriately so), as does Amran Abdiqadir-Mohamed, for her own Culture section, discussing Yoko Ono’s tear-jerking exhibition at the Tate Modern.

Clayton Barrington-Russell Managing Editor

Amy Kan Creative Director

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye Senior Foreign Affairs

Eman Baasti Senior Sub-Editor

Yoko Ono: Music Of The Mind p20

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Round-up: What’s the Law Society been up to this term?

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Turn Up The Volume: SOAS Radio Society Is Finally Back

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Thank you for reading my letter, I know it was long, but some of the jokes were quite clever, the paper looks great now, for next year, however, you may like Barty, but remember I was much better.

Lulu Goad, Editor-in-Chief

Your SOAS Spirit Team

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Sport & Societies

So here’s a toast, to the team of 2023/24. We’ve had a great year!

Thank you for all of your hard work. I’m really lucky to have had the opportunity to learn and grow alongside you. Thank you for your patience in times when I had none, your support when I needed a shoulder to lean on, and your wisdom from which I gained invaluable insight. I hope we might reunite at a SOAS Spirit panel event down the line. But for now..

Lulu Goad • Editor-in-Chief Clayton Barrington-Russell • Managing Editor Amelia Casey-Rerhaye • Senior Foreign Affairs Jacob Winter • Editor-at-Large Amy Kan • Creative Director Eman Baasti • Senior Sub-Editor Sanna Hamid • Executive Digital Editor Anisah Mahamoud • Social Events Coordinator Barty Roberts • SOAS News Editor Archie Thomas • National News Editor Leticia Chen • International News Editor Aiesha Akenzua • Opinions Editor Anisah Mahamoud • Features Editor Amran Abdiqadir-Mohamed • Culture Editor Ayra Khan • Sport & Societies Editor Sarah Cotte • Contributing Designer Anna Draperi • Contributing Designer Amber Hamed • Contributing Designer Tamara El-Halawani • Sub-Editor Sam Landis • Sub-Editor Laura Steurer • Sub-Editor Amelia Casey-Rerhaye • Sub-Editor

Jacob Winter Editor-at-Large

Sanna Hamid Executive Digital Editor

Mahin Patel • Digital Reporter Hiba Ul-Hasan • Digital Reporter Aditya Mishra • Digital Reporter Ayra Khan • Digital Reporter

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18 MARCH 2024 https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/news/ News Editors: Barty Roberts, Archie Thomas, Leticia Chen

SOAS News the SU itself in our election briefing. The results show overwhelming support for transformative change at SOAS and at the SU. We remain committed to transparency and accountability with the student body, which was a common factor around our separate campaigns.”

News

Continued from page 1

All four winners have pledged to be more present, more accessible and make the Union more democratic. They have all also criticised the Students’ Union’s status as a charity, rather than a Trade Union - the Students’ Union was registered as

a charity in 2013. They have also criticised the existence of an unelected SU CEO. The oncoming Co-Presidents feel the position and title attribute too much power to one “executive” individual. The CEO title replaces ‘General Manager’, a decision made in June 2022.

Students Snubbed by Security Gabriel Mullins, BA History SOAS students were ignored in the implementation of new rules banning protests against Director Adam Habib. Under the new guidelines, forms of expression including protests on the SOAS steps and those aimed at individuals, such as the Director Adam Habib and other management figures, are effectively outlawed. Protests must be formally approved, ultimately at the discretion of Habib, and Head of Security, Cornelius Potgieter. Plans to install digital security gates in the foyer of the Main Building have also been revealed, prompting outrage at a lack of consultation, and raising questions over accessibility, union access, and student data protection.

Speaking about the imposition of the protest rules, Maryam Choudhary, the outgoing SU Co-President for Activities and Events, said, ‘’No Students’ Union representative was consulted during the decision-making process behind this policy document.” Commenting on the gates, Choudhary said that she was again “disappointed with the lack of engagement with the Students’ Union,” with the proposal document released to the committee on which she sat only a day prior to its meeting.

Students were officially notified of the protest guidelines by the University Communications Team’s ‘Student Bulletin’.

Strong objections have been voiced on social media and on campus. The ‘guidelines’ published on MySOAS state that protesters “must not block access to SOAS buildings or conduct any activities on the SOAS steps,” and that “individuals in our community must not be personally targeted ... whether on social media or physically on campus.” The document refers to existing policies, such as the Dignity and Respect Policy, and the Policy on Freedom of Speech and the Conduct of Events, but does not quote from them or point out from where these rules can be drawn.

Choudhary continued, “It is difficult for the SU to support or engage with this when they were not involved in or engaged with during its development.” She explained that the school promised to develop the rules with the SU, with part of the action log for the previous meeting of the relevant committee reading, “The Student Union Representative, the Head of Security and Safety and the Director of Estates will have further discussions outside of the meeting to ensure the policy and procedures for undertaking rallies and protests are workable and understood by staff and students.” She alleges that she was not approached by anyone from the School and that her first email to a senior bureaucrat was ignored. The School has broken its own commitment by failing to properly consult the Union.

The SOAS Spirit has seen an internal report concerning the

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guidelines, presented on behalf of the Communications Team

by Khadir Meer, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations, to the Health, Safety, and Risk Committee. This claims that the rules were approved by the Executive Board in light of a survey conducted by ClearView research, on behalf of the trustees, designed to explore “community attitudes to protest and occupation at SOAS.” Students taking part in the survey were told that ClearView’s report would be shared with the community, and many voiced their support for protest action. For example, more respondents agreed than disagreed that “direct action is necessary at SOAS.”

of our community can freely express their opinions and challenge views and perspectives through discourse, spoken word, different art forms, and peaceful protests. To promote a safe environment for all our staff, students, and visitors, we have put together guidelines for our community to facilitate peaceful protests on campus. The guidelines are a living document aimed at serving every student at SOAS. They will be updated based on the feedback we receive from community members. SOAS Provost Joanna Newman is meeting with Sabbatical Officers this month to gather feedback from the Student Union.”

The Spirit has also seen an internal document outlining the Estates Department’s plans to install security gates in the lobby of the Main Building. These were detailed in a presentation entitled ‘Improving Student Experience’, also based on the survey conducted by ClearView research.

Commenting on access control arrangements, a SOAS spokesperson said:

The presentation acknowledges that security currently operates a system of “personal pass checks which frequently lead to confrontation and accusations of discrimination and intimidation.” It then attempts to justify the installation of the gates on the grounds of reducing this “friction,” and the number of security guards present in the area. However, the proposal is made in the context of the “realigning” of roles within the estates department, a corollary of which is to cut spending wherever possible. It also calls for the continuation of security outsourcing for protest events.

SOAS Disabled Students Society has criticised the proposal on the basis of a number of accessibility failures. Stella Dixon, President of DisSoc, told us, “This infrastructure does not resolve securitisation, it just outsources it to a gate. It might reduce immediate microaggressions on entry but it does not remove the presence of security and the oppressive institutional environment we face as disabled students. Security has not received any disability training (as discovered in an FOI we submitted), and as president of DisSoc, I have heard multiple cases of harm towards disabled students from security, running the full spectrum from being made uncomfortable because of visible autistic traits to security blocking ramps in the event of a protest. It also does nothing to combat the silencing of student voices through disciplinary procedures, and does nothing to rebuild trust in an environment where students fear being placed on a management watchlist for speaking out.”

“SOAS is committed to maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our university community. At peak times, the main entrance to SOAS can be very busy and it is challenging for front-line staff to support visitors and check the ID cards of those entering the building. To ensure the safety of the SOAS community, we are proposing the installation of automated entry systems in our buildings, bringing SOAS into line with the access control arrangements of the other universities in the area. This change will allow our front-line staff to focus on assisting visitors, students, and staff, and make it easier for students and staff to collect replacement ID cards.”

Plan of the proposed gates in the foyer of the Main Building.

(Credit: @soasdisabledstudents on Instagram)

Commenting on the protest event guidelines, a SOAS spokesperson said: “SOAS is committed to being a place where all members

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News

18 MARCH 2024

National News

What On Earth is Going On in the House of Commons?

“Humza Yousaf, leader of the SNP Ceasefire Bill Chaos Explained Lilac Carr, BA Politics and International Relations On Wednesday 21 February, Parliament descended into chaos in response to the Gaza ceasefire bill submitted by the SNP (Scottish National Party). The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, has been met with an immense backlash after breaking parliamentary convention: allowing both Labour and Conservative amendments to the bill to be presented. This caused both SNP and Conservative Party MPs to walk out of the Commons and call for Hoyle’s resignation. The Labour amendment, calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” was passed by Parliament following the walkouts.

The Conservative Party also put forth an amendment. This was likely aimed at preventing the Labour amendment from being heard, in turn preventing the passage of the SNP bill, as well as exposing internal divisions in the Labour Party. The Conservative amendment called for an “immediate humanitarian truce,” eventually leading to a “sustainable ceasefire” as opposed to an immediate ceasefire.

The SNP put forward their bill on one of their opposition days, of which the SNP gets three per year and Labour gets 17. The bill called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, accused Israel of the crime of collective punishment, urged the suspension of arms sales to Israel, and called for tangible action to attain a ceasefire, likely including UN Security Council votes in favour of an immediate ceasefire. The UK so far has abstained from these votes.

Over 80 MPs from the SNP and Conservative parties have signed letters of no confidence in Hoyle, and both the SNP and Tories have been extremely critical of the conduct of both Hoyle and Starmer. Humza Yousaf, leader of the SNP, stated that while he was “proud of the SNP” for bringing the bill to Parliament and “forcing Labour to change their position” toward supporting an immediate ceasefire, “Westminster is broken and many are right to be angry” about the chaos in parliament. Leader of the House of Commons, Tory MP Penny Mordaunt, stated that the “Speaker has…undermined the confidence of this house” by breaking away from standard procedure.

The Labour Party put forth an amendment to the bill, aimed at quashing internal party division and rebellion over the vote. Their amendment called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” However, it removed accusations of collective punishment and tangible actions including the ending of arms sales. It also added criticism of Hamas, stating that their violence must end if Israel is to be expected to abide by a ceasefire.

Some MPs have accused Starmer of threatening Hoyle’s position as Speaker under a future Labour government.

Starmer has categorically denied this accusation, stating that he did not threaten but “simply urged” the Speaker to put forth his amendment. This has been seen by some as an attempt to prevent internal rebellion. During the failed SNP ceasefire bill vote in November, dozens of Labour MPs rebelled against

SNP, stated that “Westminster is broken and people have a right to be angry””

the Labour whip, including several shadow ministers, forcing them to resign from their positions if they wish to vote for a ceasefire.

On 13 December, 153 countries voted in favour of an immediate ceasefire in the UN General Assembly. However, the UN Security Council has yet to call for a ceasefire. The UK voting for an immediate ceasefire is particularly significant given the UK’s role as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, whether the UK votes in favour of a ceasefire in future UN Security Council votes remains to be seen. The US has continued to veto UN Security Council ceasefire votes.

Even if the UK votes for a ceasefire, the impact may be limited: Israel has repeatedly rejected international demands for a ceasefire as well as other humanitarian demands. In addition, the Labour amendment passed does not entail ending arms sales to Israel or diplomatic relations with Israel, and as such the material effects of the amended ceasefire bill may be inadequate.

Truss Lashes Out at “Deep State” and “Trans Activists” at US Conservative Conference Felix Flanagan, BA Politics Shortest ever serving Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has come under fire for a speech she delivered at the most recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, USA. In recent years CPAC has become notorious for “wokebashing” and being a space for spurious conspiracy theories to be discussed freely.

This year’s event was no outlier, hosting everyone from alt-right stalwarts like Steve Bannon to Argentina’s controversial new President Javier Milei. What has proven most attention-worthy for British audiences was Truss’s bizarre speech in which she defended her policies, positioning herself as a victim of the left-wing “establishment” before a reportedly half-empty ballroom.

She suggested that the political climate in the West has become a “hostile environment” for the political right and that the solution to this was that “a bigger bazooka” was needed.

These comments come after Truss’s record-breaking 49-day stint in office during which the British economy lost £30bn.

Her comments are particularly ironic given that the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer had dubbed her flagship policy as the ‘kamikaze budget’.

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One part of the former PM’s speech that angered and upset many was her comments on the civil service, which she suggested had become overrun with “trans activists” and “environmental extremists.”

According to Truss, it was for this reason that she fell so swiftly from grace, rather than the disastrous ‘mini-budget’ delivered at the beginning of her premiership. This is not the first time Truss has insulted the trans community, having recently described supporters as “left-wing extremists.”

publicity stunt. However, analysts have suggested that this could mark an effort by the ex-Prime Minister to reinvent herself, aiming for an American audience.

Whatever the future holds for Truss, there is widespread agreement from political analysts that this move from “freemarket fairy godmother” (New Statesman) to “US right-wing darling” (Independent) is particularly out of character.

Truss appealed to the necessity of returning a Republican to the White House and claimed that “the left did not accept that they’d lost at the ballot box,” referring in a puzzlingly incoherent manner to the now widespread belief in the GOP that the 2020 General Election was rigged. While this rhetoric was popular at CPAC, which over the last few years has adopted Trump’s version of nativist-populism, it is difficult to see how this relates to her political career in the UK, where she is Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk.

Truss’s new book, Ten Years to Save the West, was on prominent display at CPAC leading some, including the leader of the opposition, to question whether the event was merely a

CPAC Logo (Credit: American Conservative Union)

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News

18 MARCH 2024

Julian Assange Extradition Case: An Attack on Journalism Amber Hamed, BA Politics and International Relations Julian Assange, an Australian journalist based in the UK and founder of Wikileaks, has been held in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison in London, since 2019. He is currently facing an extradition case to the US where he could face a prison sentence or the death penalty.

A series of classified documents were published through Wikileaks with information disclosed by US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010. Wikileaks has exposed a number of US war crimes from unlawful detention practised on prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, systematic torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq under US occupation, and countless cases of human rights violations. This included footage that showed indiscriminate targeting of Iraqi journalists and civilians from a US military helicopter.

Most recently, on February 21, protestors gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London demanding Assange’s release and a stop to his extradition in light of his appeal hearing. Assange’s lawyers appealed, first, against the 2021 ruling where he was charged with being a ‘spy’ and ‘hacker’, and second, against the approval of extradition by the former home secretary, Priti Patel. The chant “Free Free Julian Assange” was heard as speakers and protestors gathered outside protesting his imprisonment and potential extradition. Among the speakers were Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, former Labour Party leader, Jeremey Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Clare Daly and several other activists showing their solidarity with Assange.

Daly, a member of the European Parliament stated, “We know that what is at stake here is not only the life of a man, but more than that it is the defence of freedom of speech, freedom

of association and against the criminalization of Journalism.” In her show of solidarity with Assange and “those who believe in the power of journalism,” Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, stated that “revealing war crimes is not a crime, it is journalism…Julian is being targeted for exposing US war crimes, the crimes of Empire and abuses of state power.”

Assange has been facing a possible extradition to the US since 2019 when his asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London was withdrawn following disputes with Ecuadorian authorities. He was then transferred to HM Belmarsh prison in London. In December 2021 the High Courts of Justice ruled that Assange may be extradited to the US. The US has built their case against Assange through indictments of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and charges of 17 counts under the 1917 Espionage Act. If extradited to the US, he could face up to 175 years in prison and would face Special Administrative Measures (SAMs), which consist of harsh conditions including solitary confinement; a method that UN experts have previously stated is a form of psychological torture.

effect on investigative journalism in the US and possibly elsewhere in the world.”

The Espionage Act is an antiquated piece of legislation that was never intended to apply to journalists and publishers.

Assange’s lawyer, Jen Robinson discusses the context of the Espionage Act and how “it was produced during the context of the First World War to criminalise espionage, not journalism.” Robinson has also outlined in their extradition appeal that nothing is preventing the US from bringing new charges against him, including the risk of Assange facing the death penalty.

As Assange faces his appeal in the Royal Courts of Justice, activists continue to protest against this unjust attack against Assange, journalism, and freedom of speech.

Stella Morris speaks on the appeal ruling (Credit: Alisdare Hickson CC BY-SA 4.0)

Many fear that Assange will be prosecuted under US law, without the protection of US law. Being tried under the Espionage Act while not receiving any First Amendment protections. There is fear that if Assange is extradited from the UK to the US for prosecution, it would set a dangerous precedent that journalists around the world could also face prosecution by the US. Many activists have argued that what Assange is being punished for is not hacking or spying, but rather is a political prosecution and punishment for whistleblowing. Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression expressed her concerns over the case stating that “it would set a dangerous precedent that could have a chilling

Queers for Palestine Boycott Success at National Student Pride Lilac Carr, BA Politics and International Relations National Student Pride, the foremost annual event in the UK for queer students, was met with boycotts from groups Queers for Palestine and Fossil Free Pride over sponsors with investments in Israeli arms companies and the fossil fuel industry. Following talks with the groups and the withdrawal of numerous queer performers from the event, National Student Pride cut ties with all sponsors tied to Israeli arms companies. Queers for Palestine called it a ‘huge victory for the BDS movement in queer spaces.’

On February 16, Queers for Palestine announced a boycott of the event, demanding the cutting of ties with sponsors such as HSBC, Disney and Deutsche Bank over their links to Israel, alongside the slogan ‘No pride in genocide.’ Fossil Free Pride, on February 20, demanded the same for several banks sponsoring the event. These sponsors cumulatively financed the fossil fuel industry with over $302 billion from 2016 to 2022.

Both groups also publicly declared support for each other’s campaigns. Queers for Palestine declared that “Colonialism and the climate crisis are inextricable,” and accused the sponsors of using the event to pinkwash their complicity in both genocide and the climate crisis.

Numerous queer performers and stalls dropped out of the event in support of the boycott, including prominent UK drag artist and activist Crystal, who was scheduled to host the event. Several queer organisations, such as Ravers for Palestine and drag shows Lese Majeste and Friends of the Joiners Arms, set up mutual aid and strike funds for vulnerable queer performers set to lose income due to pulling out of the event.

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Ravers for Palestine, in partnership with Queers for Palestine, asserted that “The boycott of this corporate and pinkwashed Pride event is an opportunity to reassert the radical roots of the queer liberation struggle.”

On February 22, National Student Pride responded to the boycott, announcing that they had “come to the decision with Deutsche Bank, HBSC, Amazon and Disney that we will part ways and return their sponsorship in full… at significant cost to our event and organisation.” They also promised they would do more over the course of the coming year and thanked the groups for their activism, stating “We make each other better.”

Queers for Palestine welcomed the decision and announced they were cancelling their boycott of the event. Queers for Palestine further stated that the result was “made possible by the incredible solidarity of our queer community and sets a precedent for other Pride organisations.” Fossil Free Pride also welcomed the decision, but noted that there were still two sponsors, Lloyds Bank and Standard Chartered, who funded the fossil fuel industry and that “Without this funding, companies like BP and Shell couldn’t exploit our planet and communities.” However, they also revealed they are now in discussion with National Student Pride and hope for positive news on the matter soon.

The success of this boycott comes in the context of longstanding controversy over corporate sponsorship and perceived commodification and depoliticisation of Pride in the UK and other Western countries. A resurgence in radical queer politics and organising has been seen in the past few

“Queers for Palestine further stated that the result was “made possible by the incredible solidarity of our queer community and sets a precedent for other Pride organisations.”” years, including by groups such as Queers for Palestine and Fossil Free Pride. These groups continue to push for an end to sponsorships, performers and investments that have ties to Israel and the fossil fuel industry in all Pride events.

In London, London Trans+ Pride is an organisation and yearly protest formed in 2019 in direct response to this perceived depoliticisation of Pride, as well as an increasingly transphobic climate in the UK. London Trans+ Pride positions itself as a “response to the injustice that trans, intersex, gender nonconforming and non-binary people face daily, all over the world.”

Other groups, such as the Reclaim Pride Coalition in NYC, have been campaigning against “corporate sponsorship and police involvement in pride,” referring back to the radical roots and “tradition of early Pride marches”. Pride originated in 1969, in the form of riots at Stonewall Inn in New York against police brutality and violence directed at queer and trans people.

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News

International News

18 MARCH 2024

The Case of Bishop Christopher Sanders - An Unsettling Normality within the Roman Catholic Church Matthew McMahon, BSc Politics, Philosophy and Economics In February 2024, Bishop Christopher Sanders was finally arrested and charged with 19 offences, including rape, indecent assault and indecency in dealing with a child as a person of authority.

This followed a ‘Vos Estis’ investigation which was ordered by the Vatican, a new form of internal clerical inquiry set up

by Pope Francis to combat sexual abuse, the first of its kind in Australia.

The Holy See has become the deciding body in determining the fate of those charged with the sexual abuse of minors within various dioceses, as police investigations had failed prior to such action.

The willingness of the Catholic Church to cover up such atrocities remains disconcerting. The former priest turned whistleblower, Patrick Wall, has described the measures taken by the Catholic Church as being “in the DNA of the Roman Catholic Institution.”

Christopher Saunders was ordained in 1976 as a priest within the remote dioceses of Broome in northwestern Australia in 1995. He was named Bishop, overseeing nine remote parishes.

The position was held by Sanders until he voluntarily stepped down in March 2020, following the first accusation of sexual misconduct by the police as part of Operation White Plane.

Four years later, Saunders, 74, was arrested on two counts of rape, 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault and three counts of indecency in dealing with a child as a person of authority.

These incidents allegedly occurred in remote West Australian towns between 2008 and 2014. To these charges, Mr Sanders has indicated that he will plead not guilty. He is one of the most senior Catholic clerics to ever face charges of this nature.

The judicial condemnation of Bishop Sanders is part of a paralleled investigation ordered by the Police and the Pope and remains an anomaly in the history of the sexual abuse scandal that faces the catholic church.

The scale of such issues points to inherent structural processes allowing for the perpetration of such acts going unpunished and unreprimanded.

Although accusations date back to the 1950s, molestations at the hands of priests were only given media attention in the 1980s when increasing allegations were aired in the United States and Canada. The phenomenon grew to become global with emergencies of similar situations in Argentina, Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom to name a few.

Father John Purnell of Broome described the situation as “just sad that the longer this goes on, the more damage is done to the church’s reputation.”

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Bishop Christopher Saunders (Credit: news.com.au)

Catholic institutions around the globe were aware of such implications and had taken matters into their own hands to ensure that their reputations remained untarnished.

Victims were attacked and accused of lying in their accusations, being subjected to physical or psychological blackmail.

When such tactics prove ineffective, they resort to different means in order to control the rhetoric.

Between 2000 and 2010, 3 billion dollars in payouts were made by US dioceses to settle victims’ claims. The chances for victims have since not improved, with millions of dollars being invested in lobbying each year paired with the hiring of top lawyers, judiciary processes remain inevitably influenced.

What is to happen to the clergymen guilty of such offences?

The Geographical Solution, a term introduced by Patrick Wall, is a method of offender reallocation. If a sexual misconduct complaint is brought forward, the preparation is swiftly moved to a different diocese nationally or internationally where the allegations are not known. It is there that they may resume their daily duties, in contact with vulnerable minors.

The Vatican has notably been linked with such practices, with 4 of the 10 cardinal advisors to the Pope having been investigated by their respective national investigative bodies on such allegations. The Roman Catholic church has deemed the practice of priests more important than the safeguarding of minors.

However, notable strides have been made in the right direction. With increased external investigations being audited, clergymen more likely than not face exclusively internal trials.

Pope Francis has sought to right the wrongs of John Paul II, with calls for ‘decisive action’ early on in his tenure.

Despite his strong public stance, during his time as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the current pope, was accused of partaking in victim silencing. Indeed, the documentary media outlet Première Lignes uncovered evidence of Pope Francis’ request for a forged testimony to be made and presented to an appeal judge following the conviction of clergyman Grassi.

Internal reports describe the Pope’s actions as ‘never letting go of the hand’ of the convicted child molester.

The Catholic church possesses a silencing culture protecting those who have abused their positions of power, innocent victims pay the price. In France, an independent inquiry commissioned by the national church found 216 thousand children, mostly boys, have been sexually abused by members of the clergy since 1950.

In the United States, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York published a report outlining that, one in 25 priests in America has been accused of child molestation. Of that number, one in 20 are convicted and one in 40 will actually serve time. Journalistic efforts have allowed for great advancements to be made, but structural processes still allow those guilty to walk free - and worse, continue their crimes.

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News

18 MARCH 2024

The Prominent anti-Putin Activist Dies a Month Before Elections Ave Bozic, BA Politics and Korean Former Russian opposition leader and Anti-Putin activist, Aleksei Navalny, passed away in prison on February 16th at age 47.

pronounced dead within two hours of resuscitation attempts.

“In the days leading up to his death, Navalny seemed healthy.” Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny’s mother said.

Navalny, the most prominent and successful opponent of current president Vladimir Putin and founder of the AntiCorruption Foundation (FBK), has died a month before Russian elections. In the upcoming elections between March 15th and 17th, Putin is set to be re-elected for a fifth consecutive term in office.

Ten days after Navalny’s passing, his body was passed to his family after “a week-long standoff ” between the Russian government and Lyudmila Navalnaya.

The proceedings of his funeral are still unclear as the Kremlin’s statements over the past week have implied a stance aiming for a funeral out of the public eye. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s wife, accused the Kremlin of involvement in his death and stalling the handover of his body until any traces of a nerve agent had already left his system.

Navalny’s supporters claimed he was murdered rather than having died of natural causes. His death has facilitated many suspicions. Officials at the prison stated he died of “sudden death syndrome.”

In December of last year, Navalny was transferred to a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, one of the toughest in Russia, and a derivative of Soviet Gulags, and remained there until his death.

Navalny was imprisoned in January 2021, after he returned to Russia from Germany. He previously received medical treatment there following a Novichok nerve agent attack in April 2017. He was serving multiple life sentences, which were repeatedly extended by the government while he was detained. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence at the time of his death.

Reports came out claiming Navalny was about to be released in a prisoner exchange.

Navalny in March 2017 (Credit: Evgeny Feldman)

On February 16th, Russian official channels reported Navalny went for a walk within the prison grounds, started to feel unwell, and promptly collapsed. They claimed to have had an ambulance with him within two minutes. He was allegedly

Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman imprisoned on a life sentence in Germany, Navalny’s colleagues claimed, was supposedly going to be exchanged for Aleksei Navalny alongside two US citizens detained in Russia. The Kremlin has since denied these claims.

Dmitry Peskov, the speaker for Putin, rejected any allegations regarding possible government involvement in Navalny’s death and dubbed them “absurd.”

Donald Trump Has Pleaded Not Guilty to his Charges.

“This is just a way of hurting me in the election,” Trump Said Kristi Greenwood, BA Japanese Former US president Donald Trump is facing four separate court cases encompassing 91 charges, denying all. In January, Trump was found responsible for $83 million in damages for defamation of author E. Jean Caroll from last year, when he was found liable in a separate trial for sexually abusing the author. In February, he received a $355 million judgement with a $100 million interest for fraudulent business practices.

Here, will be a rundown of his upcoming court cases as the November 2024 US presidential election is approaching, with Trump being the frontrunner for the Republican candidate.

2020 Election and Capital Riot Special counsel Jack Smith charged Mr Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Prosecutors alleged that Trump and his allies knowingly pushed fraudulent election lies to pressure state officials to overturn Biden’s win. The charges he is facing are obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the US, and conspiracy to prevent others from carrying out their constitutional rights.

The case was scheduled for March 4th. The most serious charges carry up to 20 years of jail time. The decision will ultimately lie with the judge.

On February 12th 2024, Trump filed an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court for immunity. Trump’s lawyers say he has immunity from criminal charges tied to his official duties during his presential term. The Supreme Court will

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ultimately decide on the outcome and determine whether the case will go to trial, potentially until after the election.

Manhattan Hush Money Trump is accused of falsifying his business records by saying that the payment of ‘hush money’ to adult actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election was legal fees.

He is facing 34 counts of fraud and falsifying business records under campaign finance laws. Trump has pleaded not guilty, claiming it is politically motivated. “This is just a way of hurting me in the election.” He said.

The former president’s lawyers responded that Trump “did not commit any crime.” They stated they would “vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.” Each charge carries a maximum of four years of jail time. Legal experts say a fine is more likely to be the outcome. The trial is scheduled for March 25th and will be the first-ever criminal trial against a US president.

Classified documents in Florida Trump faces charges from special counsel Jack Smith for mishandling classified documents. This includes allegations of removing them from the White House and taking them to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after he departed office.

Trump is facing 40 felony counts related to both the possession of the documents and crimes under the Espionage Act.

The charges include willful retention of national defence information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements and representations. All the charges are felonies; Trump could potentially face prison time. The trial is set to begin on May 20th.

Georgia election interference case Trump, along with 18 other co-defendants, was accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential election. All 19 defendants are being charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation Act, known as RICO. This follows on from a leaked phone call where Trump allegedly told the Georgia top election official to “find 11,780 votes.”

Trump is also being charged for 12 other accounts, including false statements, and solicitation of violation of the public oath of a public officer.

This case is Trump’s biggest legal threat, as there is no prospect of a preemptive pardon and a potential 20-year sentence on the RICO charges. Trump’s lawyers responded that he “should have never been indicted,” and is “innocent of all charges brought against him.”

The court date has not been finalised because of its complicated nature, but it will most likely be the last case to go to trial.

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http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/foreignaffairs/ Foreign Affairs Editor: Amelia Casey-Rerhaye

Foreign Affairs

South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality on Track to Disband Ellie Sprinthall, BA International Relations and Korean On February 20th, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignation of the Ministry of Gender Equality’s Minister Kim Hyun-sook and announced that he would leave the position unfulfilled.

This move is viewed by many as a step to disbanding the Ministry of Gender Equality, one of Yoon’s pledges from his 2022 presidential campaign, to garner votes for Yoon’s conservative People Power Party in the upcoming general election, particularly from young male voters who oppose the increasing influence of feminism.

Yoon’s administration has said that instead of naming a replacement, the Vice Minister will become Acting Minister.

At a cabinet meeting in February, Yoon designated the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy as the control tower of the country’s low birth rate issue, an issue that was previously under the Ministry of Gender Equality.

Yoon’s acceptance of ex-Minister Kim Hyun-sook comes

six months after she first offered her resignation amidst controversy over the management of the World Scout Jamboree in August 2023.

Two amendments to government organisation law that would legally disband the Ministry have been proposed in the National Assembly, but neither has been implemented due to opposition led by the Democratic Party.

The Chairman of the People Power Party’s Emergency Committee has stated that if his party wins a majority in the April 10th elections, they will formally disband the Ministry of Gender Equality and form a Population Ministry that will take over its functions.

The Ministry of Gender Equality was created in 2001 to coordinate gender equality policies and support women’s rights organisations. Yoon’s pledge to disband the Ministry was popular amongst male voters in their 20s and 30s, who largely swung to support Yoon in the 2022 presidential election.

According to the Australian Institute of International

Affairs, while half of voters in their 20s and 30s are not affiliated with any party, young men largely supported the conservative People Power Party in the 2022 election, while young women largely supported the liberal Democratic Party, speaking to a growing divide between the country’s young men and women.

As reported by Amnesty International, women in South Korea on average earn almost one-third less than men and increasingly face gender-based violence both online and offline. Women also make up less than one-fifth of the National Assembly.

Feminism and gender are contentious issues in the country, with many young men believing that policies to combat gender inequality give women an unfair advantage. They also believe men are disadvantaged, often citing the mandatory two-year conscription for men.

The April 10th general elections are predicted to be very close. As of January 2024, the People Power Party and the Democratic Party have equal support at 33% of voters. Gender may prove to be a decisive issue in the election.

China’s Stance on the Palestinian Struggle Gunda Pavilonytė, BA Chinese It has been months since tensions escalated in the longstanding Israel-Palestine conflict on October 7th, becoming a prevalent topic in recent media, dominating headlines and attracting global attention to a struggle that has been simmering for decades.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, it is one of the world’s longest-continuing military and political conflicts, and its severity has sparked shock and outrage amongst the public.

The international community has called for a ceasefire, with demonstrations erupting worldwide demanding to prevent further casualties. Western leaders have predominantly expressed strong support for Israel and emphasised its right to self-defence, while countries in the Arab and Muslim world have expressed solidarity for the Palestinian cause, advocating for its people’s rights and statehood.

However, the response from Asian nations has been more diverse. While some support a two-state solution preaching peace and security, others remain neutral, seeking to maintain diplomatic relationships with both parties. However, China has taken a different approach.

China has a long history of supporting the fight for Palestinian independence. Beginning bilateral relations in 1956, it was the first non-Arab country to officially recognise May 15th as Nakba Day. It recognised Palestine as a sovereign and independent state in 1988, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and advocated for the end of the occupation. This persists as the prevailing status quo and focal point of the Chinese government’s agenda.

Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949 to 1976, when endorsing a foreign policy in support of Third World national liberation movements refused to refer to the Palestine Liberation Organisation as

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a terrorist organisation, instead calling them the representatives of the Palestinian people. Moreover, he had always condemned Israeli settlements on the West Bank, describing it as a basis of imperialism in the region.

Although China itself was struggling with poverty from the effects of the Cultural Revolution, it provided the Palestine Liberation Organisation with financial and military aid in the 1960s before the Arab-Israeli War. Recently, videos featuring Zhang Jun, China’s representative to the UN Security Council, have been circulating in the media and gained public attention. It features the Chinese spokesperson interrupting and correcting Israel’s UN representative for his disrespectful remarks. Chinese officials stated that Israel’s actions have “gone beyond self-defence,” and condemned the US veto for a ceasefire, signalling a bold stance in the diplomatic relations between the two nations while advocating for Palestinian interests.

The Palestine-Israel conflict has also caused intense discussions online, with developments in the Middle East closely followed by the Chinese public. Although some are sympathetic towards Israel, most strongly condemn its actions in the Gaza Strip, with some fringe supporters going as far as to create an antisemitic atmosphere. For instance, the Israeli Embassy in China had received so much hateful antisemitic content on the social media platform Weibo, that the website has now closed the comment section.

However, some of the opinions circulating online are suspected to stem from widespread nationalistic anti-US sentiments and China’s persistent backing of the Palestinian cause.

Discrediting the US political and moral standing, experts suggest that China is exploiting the conflict to diminish US influence.

Chinese authorities use surveillance technology to closely

monitor and censor its citizens, yet content containing hate speech has remained on social media, indicating tacit endorsement by the authorities.

But, whilst supporting the Palestinian people, as part of its approach to establishing itself as a prominent diplomatic influence in the Middle East, China has simultaneously continued to forge diplomatic ties with Israel. Since founding diplomatic relations in 1992, it has become Israel’s third largest trading partner, with the number of imports surpassing the US. It remains a major investor within the hi-tech, infrastructure and construction sectors.

Withdrawal of cooperation from major global players like China could have a meaningful role in halting military operations sooner than intended by putting substantive pressure on Israel. Simultaneously, if China took an approach similar to that of South Africa, it would not only damage its relations with Israel but also have significant consequences for the relationship between China and its Western allies. Thus, it remains pertinent to ask whether China will adopt a stronger stance in challenging the Western hegemony and continue its support for Gaza.

A woman outside the Palestine Embassy in Beijing, China holding a sign both in Chinese and English reading ‘Free Palestine’ during a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes in Gaza (Credit: Andy Wong)

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Foreign Affairs

18 MARCH 2024

US election 2024: Joe Biden is why Donald Trump may return as President Spenser Walsh, Exchange Student from Tufts University The list of scandalous things Donald Trump has done is too numerous to list. From bragging about committing sexual assault to denying his 2020 loss, he remains an incredibly divisive figure. Yet, he is also an incredibly consistent figure.

Trump will almost certainly be the 2024 GOP nominee and has led in all polling since late last year. However, as someone who has averaged a 36 to 44% approval rating almost completely since 2015, he is the closest thing to a dependent variable we have in American politics. Most either love or hate him and are unlikely to change their minds. To look at why someone as unpopular as him may be let back in the White House, we must look at the slow disintegration of Joe Biden.

At 77 years old Joe Biden won the election in 2020 promising to defeat Donald Trump and to “restore the soul of the nation” and a sense of calm in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the pandemic. Since then, cases of COVID-19 have soared, inflation has increased and then slowly come down, a substantial safety net including a child tax credit that cut child poverty in half was created and destroyed within two years, and Russia has invaded Ukraine leading to prolonged Ukrainian suffering and eye-watering sums of taxpayers money being sent to the country. In other words, the crises that seemed inherent to Trump’s governance have been just as present under Biden.

What’s more, and this deserves its own paragraph, he’s old.

Biden will be 82 years old at the end of his second term, a hard truth that, in the wake of his repeated insistence he’s recently met with long-dead world leaders, is becoming harder for even Biden diehards to ignore. Sure, Trump says crazy things regularly but everyone who supports him knows he’s not the

brightest bulb. For Biden, who runs on competence, a clearly aged mind is a worrying problem. A stunning 86% of Americans think their current president is too old for a second term.

This dynamic is the competency drain on Biden’s popularity which is most likely to hurt him with the newest additions to the Democratic coalition: white people in suburbs that were Republican until the Trump area. This includes areas outside the cities of Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Las Vegas. All these places swung to Biden due to the rightward shift of Trump’s GOP, but many voted for Trump in 2016. They don’t like him, but would the aforementioned factors cause these voters to hold their noses and vote for Trump?

Polls certainly suggest it.

Biden is facing a 20-point deficit on handling of the economy, one of the most important issues. 75% of voters have concerns about the mental/physical health of the President, while 61% have concerns about Trump’s myriad legal troubles, putting in perspective two of the candidate’s biggest respective handicaps.

Honestly, if Biden only had this to contend with, he very well could pull through. Many Americans really do despise Trump. But October 7th 2023 changed everything. The terror attacks followed by what the ICJ calls a plausible genocide rocked American politics, as it did the world. Biden’s utter refusal to use America’s status as the chief funder of Israel’s enslaught on Gaza to stop it disgusted his base at several key levels, making the odds of his return to the White House go from challenging to downright perilous.

Two-thirds of American voters, including 77% of Democrats and 69% of the vaunted independent voters, support

a ceasefire in Gaza and this number grows every day as the killing of civilians continues. This dissatisfaction is spreading to some of the most important parts of the Democratic base.

Sure, swing voters are important (although they are also souring on Biden for aforementioned reasons) but they are nothing if you don’t have your base, which Biden is watching erode around him in real time.

A remarkable New York Times story about Black church leaders pressuring Biden to call for a ceasefire highlighted the dissatisfaction from one of Biden’s most loyal and important constituents, elderly Black people. Polling has shown Black voters sympathise highly with Gaza, a factor that may be behind Biden’s stark approval drop with Black voters. Democrats can’t win without Black voters. In 2020, Biden received 92% of the Black vote by November it was 63%, with a 16% drop from August in 2023.

Michigan’s recent primary election provides the clearest electoral example of trouble. In Michigan, a critical marginal state with a high Arab Muslim population, Democrats had the option to support their incumbent President or support activists’ call to vote ‘uncommitted’ as a protest vote of Biden’s handling of Gaza. More than 101,000 people voted ‘uncommitted’, nearly five times the number received in normal uncontested primaries, with the highest percentages coming from predominantly younger, Black, and Muslim areas alike. This puts Biden’s status in the state in serious doubt this November.

From fears of weakness and incompetence borne of age concerns and increasing crises to revulsion from the Democratic base to the cruelty in Gaza, an unchanging Biden seems increasingly likely to bring back Trump later this year.

Mandatory Conscription and the Future of Myanmar at Stake Anonymous On February 10th 2024, the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (Tatmadaw) and junta leader Min Aung Hlaing announced the implementation of mandatory military conscription in Myanmar. Since the Tatmadaw took power in 2021, it has suffered massive losses in the control of its territory at the hands of ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and anti-junta People’s Defence Forces (PDFs). The announcement was made live on state-controlled media outlets which has driven the population into a state of panic.

Under the 2010 People’s Service Law, Myanmar citizens aged 18 to 35 for eligible males and 18 to 27 for eligible females will have to undergo at least two years of military service, which is extendable to five years during an ‘emergency’ period. Failure to fulfil their conscription duties or attempts to evade them will result in up to five years of imprisonment. According to the Diplomat, those who are permanently exempted include married women, members of religious orders and people with disabilities. Students at publicly recognised universities will be temporarily deferred until the completion of their studies.

Following the announcement of this law, the National Unity Government (NUG) in exile, released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating that the announcement itself was unlawful and had no legal authority. The statement ended with a plea urging the people of Myanmar to join the ‘revolution’, and EAOs and PDFs to cooperate with them to defeat the junta.

This new law has left the supermajority of Myanmar citizens with two viable options: move abroad or become a

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revolutionary. Consequently, it has been reported by the BBC that several Burmese families are choosing to move to Thailand or Singapore, while those who are wealthier are looking as far as Europe. The Thai embassy in Yangon has had to limit their long-stay visa appointments to 400 per day due to overwhelming demand, triggering long queues outside the embassy and passport offices across the country. In Mandalay, two deaths occurred outside the passport office as a result of a crowd crush. Yet, although Myanmar’s neighbours (except Laos) are popular migration destinations for Burmese nationals, only China is a ratified party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means that most of those fleeing will only receive temporary shelter before being subjected to arrest or deportation.

As for the latter, the Voice of America reported that over 90% of Burmese youth were keenly opposed to the military junta. The Guardian commented that the majority of conscription targets will be those from poor, rural areas who are extremely against military rule but do not have the financial capabilities to ‘escape’ service. If these people are recruited to serve against their will, they are more likely to shoot the generals than be forced to shoot their own people.

Despite these reactions, the junta is adamant about ensuring the smooth enforcement of this conscription law. According to junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun, the first recruitment will commence in April after Thingyan (Burmese New Year), with an expected 5,000 eligible males to enter military training. Eligible females will not be recruited until September. The junta expects to recruit up to 50,000 people annually but this is still uncertain due to fiscal constraints. District-level offices will manage the recruitment process rather than the Ministry of Defence.

“By trying to legally force young people to take up arms, they are fueling the intensity of ethnic conflicts, mass brain drain and denying investments that could improve the quality of life for future generations.”

While the junta is trying to reassure the public that the law is not a “desperate measure,” its opposition has painted a different picture. Khun Bedu, chair of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), said that the Tatmadaw has fewer than 150,000 troops with less than half on the frontline due to multiple desertions and defections since the coup. Under these circumstances, it is becoming harder for the junta to justify whether this law would use these recruits as ‘human shields’.

As the Myanmar military scrambles to govern, the introduction of this conscription law is doing nothing but creating dire consequences for the nation. By trying to legally force young people to take up arms, they are fueling the intensity of ethnic conflicts, mass brain drain and denying investments that could improve the quality of life for future generations.

Similarly, the rise of anti-junta resistance begs the question of whether a sustainable post-junta model of Myanmar could be developed that would not repeat its predecessor’s mistakes.

Regardless, the Myanmar military is gradually weakening and as the world glances, the future of Myanmar hangs in the balance, with its people feeling helpless without the attention this crisis deserves.

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http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/opinion/ Opinion editor: Aiehsa Akenzua

Opinion

The Lucrative Fetishisation of Palestine Anonymous From having the Palestine Society informally led by a white president during the previous academic year to the newly elected SU Co-Presidents capitalising on their so-called activism for Palestine, I have seen the unacceptable at this university. We pride ourselves on our revolutionary campus climate and rich history of student activism, though when it comes to Palestine, there seems to be a deep desire for the white student body to hog the space, and then later proceed to make their £29K salaries off the backs of the 30,000 of us who have already been killed by the Israeli Occupying Forces. This activism presents itself as benevolent and kind, combined with brazen virtue signalling constantly putting itself on display.

One of the elected Co-Presidents went to Instagram and gave an Arabic monologue about voting for them and how it will be the stepping stone in the right direction, and this leaves me wondering: who is this really the right direction for? They are looking for the Arab vote, expecting to get it due to their constant reminding us of the hard work that specific community has put into organising. So, again, I’ll ask a question of a similar nature: who is this activism for? Is it for you or is it for us - the Palestinians?

There are numerous Palestinians on campus, and you’ll almost never find one in these spaces; there are none in the Palestine Society and the Coalition, the group to which the newly elected Co-Presidents adhere. This is also the same group that utilised us for the win. Now I cannot precisely outline why we are not in these spaces, but I can hypothesise about an array of reasons. From conversing with Palestinians and questioning them on their lack of engagement in these spaces, I was often told that they did not feel welcome because of a tendency for the conversations to be out of touch, deluded, and detached from ground zero. Often, in these spaces, you

run into the issue of finding people talk about Palestinians as though they are concepts, abstract forms even, because of that space’s lack of willingness to genuinely engage with Palestinians, but rather simply tokenise them.

Another reason I will comfortably put forth, separate from the white inclination to conceptualise our existence even when it is looking you in the eye, is the recruiting mechanisms exercised by these spaces; they tend to recruit a projection of themselves – people who are also in the business of stirring the conversation on Palestine as they please, placing themselves as the all-knowers of the Palestinian condition. Speaking on a more personal level, the tokenisation is so deliberate, and the conversation is so detached, that I would advise my own younger brother to stay away from these spaces – even if they were to miraculously welcome him.

“This activism presents itself as benevolent and kind, combined with brazen virtue signalling constantly putting itself on display.”

assuming office in the Student Union to be announced, and there it was, an ensuing surprise awaiting us. Amidst the announcements of the winners, the keffiyeh and ‘Free Palestine’ catchphrases were thrown around conjoined with laughter and smiles by the groups backing the winners, and that is precisely the lack of taste and gruelling disrespect that we face, all because we are told this activism is for us. You wave around the keffiyeh in laughter and dispel your humour upon winning, and we are expected to sit there and watch it because again, we’re told it is for us.

To those groups, do not claim this activism is for us and be slightly more unabashed about your vested interest in Palestine, and maybe then I will call it ‘honest activism’.

To us Palestinians, your death is never up for debate nor are we waiting on the white man to save us – we will do it ourselves as we always have, standing firm in front of the Goliath.

P.S. The keffiyeh is not an ‘election week outfit,’ for most of us, it is all our grandparents were left with.

If this said activism is for the Palestinians, then why are we ousted from these spaces? I’ll remind you of the white individual who informally ran the Palestine Society, who called out the only Palestinian in the society at the time, for presenting ‘zionist, imperialist’ arguments as a rebuttal to the Palestinian’s disagreement of the performative direction of the society.

These people claim that the spaces are for us, but then we are shunned upon disagreement – better yet, we do not exist in them at all, but the virtue signalling and patronising whiteness invested in hogging up the space will still get that £29k salary.

We’ve all gathered anxiously awaiting the people to be

Maybe SOAS Ain’t So Bad Archie Thomas, BA Politics and International Relations Amidst the stress of deadlines, the dreams and fears for what comes after uni, and near-daily annoyances at the misguided management of SOAS, the overriding feelings in my third and final year at SOAS have been of sentimentality and fondness.

This confluence of experiences and emotions has got me missing the library and sobbing over past memories. So here’s a soppy reflection on this weird and wonderful university.

The overbearing security is so off-putting and irritating, yet when I leave campus most days I’m filled with optimism.

Seeing the political spirit on campus is invigorating. Hearing chants of “Free, Free Palestine” in the distance while in a tutorial can be distracting but it always makes me smile. I’m proud to be part of a cohort that won’t tolerate injustices, near or far, and will certainly never be quiet about them. For all the management’s attempts to quash effective protest and activism on campus (while also cynically using it to brand the uni and attract students), we are undeterred and this should be a source of hope.

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At the time of writing, I have six assignments yet to be marked. One I submitted all the way back in November. This uncertainty, with just a couple of months left of my degree, is infuriating. I can’t exactly find much of a silver lining for this though. Is it sort of unifying as students that we can all complain about this together? Nah, it’s just annoying. I just needed to rant about that one.

“While we should never give the administration or SU a free pass for its faults, let’s also appreciate SOAS for its strengths, for its culture, for its people, students and faculty, and for its spirit.”

How about the much-maligned SU renovations? Nothing made me feel more like a third year than reminiscing about

the SU of yesteryear, with its Friday late licences and charming graffiti overflowing every surface. I felt like a proper conservative for the first time in my life, resistant to any sort of change; “Have they no respect for our traditions?!”

While memories felt like they were stripped away, new ones have started to fill the space that at first felt cold and sanitised.

I do still yearn for that old SU bar, for those cocktails and Lebanese wines, but I have also grown a guilty affection for the new SU, for we have again filled it with the character and charm of SOAS students, all the friends, strangers, and lovable weirdos.

I’m not sure what the point of this short piece was, it sure was soppy. Perhaps a weird parting letter to the campus that has been evoking such an odd mix of emotions from me lately.

Maybe I ought to just start journaling instead?

I leave you with this thought: While we should never give the administration or SU a free pass for its faults, let’s also appreciate SOAS for its strengths, for its culture, for its people, students and faculty, and for its spirit.

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Opinion

18 MARCH 2024

The Restructuring of My Course Was a Disgrace

Ella Dorn, BA Chinese and Linguistics It’s in vogue to complain about Adam Habib. He sterilised the SU bar and cracked down on campus security. Nobody mentions the elephant in the room - the academic side of his reign.

In the summer of 2020, almost every SOAS course was either cut entirely or restructured. The university got rid of a huge 247 modules in total and made other modules mandatory. On my joint honours degree, the change was noticeable and negative. What survives now is a Kafkaesque maze of a course. Compulsory modules appear to be implemented at random. There is little sense of progression, breadth, or choice.

Take ‘History and Memory in East Asian Cultures’, a finalyear module compulsory for all students enrolled on BA courses in Chinese, Japanese or Korean. Those of us on the Chinese course have no idea why we’re supposed to be taking the class. Most of the module content focuses on Japan’s WW2era human rights abuses in Korea. Only the final two lectures feature discussions of Chinese politics, and despite a wealth of atrocities to choose from, just one lecture covers an event occurring on Chinese soil (the Nanjing Massacre). Much of the lecture content overlaps with that of another compulsory Year 2 module, ‘East Asian Imperialisms’. We are studying one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, but have been relegated to an afterthought on our own course.

“You’re doing a language degree,” says my classmate, “but the language module is optional and this crap is compulsory.”

It isn’t clear why the module couldn’t have been taught thematically, with case studies throughout from all three regions - or why it was made compulsory in the first place. Before the restructuring, there had been no mandatory history class in the final year of SOAS’s undergraduate Chinese degree. Students had far more choice. A benefit of language degrees is that they’re meant to be interdisciplinary, covering the whole

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SOAS Entrance 2016 (Credit: BabelStone)

width of the humanities. Those with unavoidably full timetables are no longer able to make the most of the expertise available at SOAS. Call this modular bloat.

The best module I’ve taken all year, ‘Introduction to Classical Chinese Thought’, is off-limits to my friends doing the single-honours Chinese BA. You’d think the final year of a degree would be the best time to have free modules, but that term they had none. I was the only Chinese-language student taking the class, which runs in the Department of Religions and Philosophies and relies on small-group teaching. A strong basis in influential traditions like Confucianism and Daoism would surely be more useful to a future Sinologist than our compulsory History and Memory module, in which China barely gets a mention.

One also wonders about cases where the restructuring ushered in entirely new modules. In Linguistics, my other subject, first-year students now have to take a module called ‘Language, Learning and Writing’. This seems innocuous enough until you realise its academic and theoretical content is minimal - it’s a skills course. A portion of the module is about “how to learn languages,” covering parts of speech and the International Phonetic Alphabet - both of which are already taught, in detail and to great effect, in dedicated syntax and phonology modules. You’ll also learn how best to write and reference an essay. At the end, there are classes on “applying for jobs and internships” and “writing a CV.” Forget that SOAS already has dedicated staff who are trained to teach these skills, as well as multiple resources available for students to access online.

For many students, those 15 credits could have been spent on something rigorous and world-expanding. I still remember using a spare module in my first year to take an introductory class about Zoroastrianism, something you probably couldn’t do anywhere else.

illusion of prestige. History and Memory may be one example of a ‘vanity module’, with similarly artificial benefits on offer for its creators. East Asian Languages and Cultures get to drive up their departmental engagement statistics. Individual academics get a captive audience for their topics of interest, even if they are not necessarily interesting to anyone else. In a cut-throat academic job market, delivering a highenrolment module surely makes for a compelling CV boost.

There’s no need to state that your attendees were forced to turn up. The university itself saves money - hundreds of people are crammed into one lecture theatre and taught by one narrowly specialised lecturer at a time. In the end, everyone wins, apart from the students.

A 2020 statement on the university’s ‘transformation plan’ emphasises “financial strength” in the wake of COVID-19.

The restructuring would likely never have happened without Cameron’s paid tuition model: we can blame the marketisation of the higher education sector for many of the university’s shortcomings today.

But nobody told SOAS to rewrite its Chinese degree to include inexplicably narrow compulsory modules, delivered within ideological paradigms that will eventually become outmoded. Nobody in government tried to prevent students from choosing ancient Chinese philosophy over Japanese modern history. This was a departmental decision. There may well have been panic about post-grad employment figures that pushed in the CV classes, but their mandatory delivery, and integration with the Linguistics curriculum, were all internal.

(I doubt the Linguistics lecturers, who conduct interesting research of their own, actually want to be doubling as career coaches). The 2020 restructuring was rushed, careless, and self-centred. SOAS proves that it’s just as possible to devalue the humanities from within as from outside.

We talk about ‘vanity publishing’. Writers pay for the

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Opinion

18 MARCH 2024

Sunak’s Transphobia Should Be No Surprise to the British Press - Their Transphobia is Equally Damning Lilac Carr, BA Politics and International Relations The British press has been in unprecedented shock about the cruel transphobic ‘jokes’ made by PM Rishi Sunak in Parliament while the mother of Brianna Ghey, the 15-year-old trans girl recently murdered in a transphobia-motivated attack, was scheduled to be in Parliament. But as a trans person, I did not find the events shocking. Nor did I find shocking the PM’s categorical refusal to apologise for the mockery, in a following interview. I did not either find convincing the opposition leader Keir Starmer’s indignant condemnation of Sunak’s jibe, when he has, as Sunak crudely pointed out amidst his mockery, spent his time as leader flip-flopping on his views on trans rights while the British media and government continue to use trans people as a punching bag, dehumanise them and attack their rights. What I found shocking about these characteristically appalling events is instead that the British press appears to be shocked by them, when they are in large part responsible for transphobia in this country reaching this boiling point.

The BBC reported on the scandal with the title “Rishi Sunak faces calls to apologise over trans jibe to Starmer at PMQs.” In the article, they reported on Tory MP Elliot Colburn as saying, “[Trans people] have never asked to be part of this very toxic conversation,” stating that “trans issues” should not be used as an “electoral issue.” Beyond the question of whether Colburn is aware of which party he is a member of, publishing these words shows an unbelievable lack of self-awareness on the part of the BBC, whose transphobia is both tenured and well-documented.

In 2020, the BBC nominated JK Rowling, children’s author turned obsessive transphobe, for the Russell Prize, awarded for writing a rambling essay composed primarily of transphobic fearmongering and bigotry. In 2021, the BBC published an article baselessly claiming trans women were pressuring lesbians into sex, which included comments from a cis woman who had been accused of sexual assault by several women and who, following the article, publicly called for the mass lynching of trans women. The BBC has consistently refused to apologise for publishing the article, which remains up today, albeit in an edited form.

The BBC is not alone in this contradiction. While seemingly shocked by and critical of Sunak’s recent transphobic outburst, the British press has an extensive history of fuelling the dehumanisation and hatred of trans people that has resulted in the UK’s current intensely transphobic climate and enabled the Government’s attacks on minorities. The Independent, for example, referred to Sunak’s comments as “crass,”

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“It’s no shock that Sunak has refused to apologise as Brianna’s father demanded. Apologising would be a tacit recognition that cruelty against trans people could ever be wrong and that trans people might be worthy of dignity and respect.

If this were recognised, much of the transphobic rhetoric of his government would fall apart.”

most awfully by Brianna’s murder), should not be subject to ‘debate’.

A rejection of this is always cruel and damaging, and if the media, the Tories, and Starmer’s Labour had recognised this, transphobia in Britain would never have reached this point; in all likelihood, Brianna Ghey would still be alive. While this recognition is much needed and would be welcomed, I will not hold my breath.

but has published articles referring to Rowling’s transphobia as a response to a “legitimate issue” and trans people’s existence as a “deeply divisive issue.” The Guardian, often seen as a left-leaning newspaper, published a response to the events condemning Sunak for “[chasing] cheap laughs.” But for years, the Guardian has presented trans people’s existence, rights and access to gender-affirming healthcare as a “debate,” and has wrongly stated that cis women’s and trans people’s rights “collide.”

Much of the shock and criticism from the media and Starmer alike seem to be primarily because Sunak believed Brianna Ghey’s mother to be present, thus, making it a particularly cruel display of transphobia. But any trans person would tell you that cruelty is utterly cliché when it comes to transphobia; and as Brianna Ghey’s father rightly stated, Sunak’s comments would be unacceptable regardless of the presence of Brianna’s mother. It’s no shock that Sunak has refused to apologise as Brianna’s father demanded. Apologising would be a tacit recognition that cruelty against trans people could ever be wrong and that trans people might be worthy of dignity and respect. If this were recognised, much of the transphobic rhetoric of his government would fall apart.

This recent transphobic display by Sunak was unique not in its extreme cruelty but in its visibility to the general public.

If the media and the Labour leadership want to condemn this transphobia, it would be a welcome and stark change in pace. To do so, however, they would have to recognise that transphobia is not simply wrong when it is outwardly cruel and that trans people’s material rights, equality and safety, (which is what is really at stake in all this, as demonstrated

Rishi Sunak at the Tory Party Annual Conference in 2023 (Credit: Daily Mail)

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18 MARCH 2024

Critique: The Choice of Feminism

Opinion

Aiesha Akenzua, LLB Law It should go without saying that feminism should not be defined by the choices made by the individual woman. Nor is an act intrinsically feminist because a woman chose to perform it, and no, ‘empowerment’ doesn’t inherently lie in whether or not a woman chooses to shave her legs, and it lacks introspect to believe so. The circulation of choice feminism on social media has seen a rise in discourse and, in turn, a rise in the disengagement with feminism amongst teenage girls. It is without a doubt that self-proclaimed ‘choice feminists’ have not acknowledged how damaging the doctrine of choice feminism is for women existing in patriarchal societies. As women, our individual choices do not and cannot exist in a vacuum, and the belief that they do is contradictory to the purpose of feminism and as a result, is detrimental to female solidarity.

First and foremost, the core purpose of feminism is achieving total political, economic and social equity for women worldwide, through the liberation from, and decimation of, the patriarchy and the ideals it entrenches in society. Such as the patriarchal belief of male-centredness maintaining the role of a woman as subservient to those of a man. It should go without saying that choice feminism removes the lens of focus from achieving equity, in a deflective and pathetic fashion. When we start using feminism as a tool for supporting the choices of women ‘just because’, any criticism will simply become anti-feminist. This is not to say that we shouldn’t value the privilege many women, especially those residing in the West, have of making their own choices, but that is exactly my point; choice is a privilege; a privilege that many women do not have.

This brings us to my main gripe with choice feminism, which is that it fails to understand that individual choice is a liberty that many women will never possess. It seems counterproductive to put so much importance on the act of individual choices without acknowledging the importance of having said choices. Self-evidently, ‘choice-feminists’ disregard the issue of internalised misogyny, and this is dangerous. Realising you have the autonomy to make choices at 22 does not change the fact that as women we are susceptible to internalised misogyny, nor does it change the fact that many ‘feminist’ choices can reflect this.

Take, for example, a tweet I recently saw that reads: “Being able to play dumb, act soft, & wear a pink bow IF YOU WANT TO, is feminism. Feminism is about letting women be what they want. If some women LIKE the bimbo girly thing (which some men love and expect anyways) that’s her prerogative.”

Conflating feminism with the wants of the individual woman is what leads to this reasoning, but it is also a result of the refusal to look inwards. If feminism is about what women want, why does it matter that some men approve of the ‘bimbo girly’ lifestyle? Does the male approval validate this want that women have?

This tweet stands as a clear example of my point; choice

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(Credit: @‌injectorbunny / Instagram)

feminists will jump through mental hoops to justify their actions rooted in internalised misogyny. What’s more, conforming to patriarchal ideals is very much not feminist, no matter how much you enjoy it.

choices and feminism should be addressed. We will only see progress once we start asking ourselves how our personal actions contribute to the feminist cause, and as a whole, our liberation.

“As women, our individual choices do not and cannot exist in a vacuum, and the belief that they do is contradictory to the purpose of feminism and as a result, is detrimental to female solidarity.”

This is why it is redundant to claim any choice made by a woman is a feminist choice, it takes away from the conversation and shields us from facing the real problem. In the end, and to the dismay of choice feminists, feminism isn’t meant to be this beautiful tool simply used to validate self-gratifying choices. Given that, to properly liberate our minds we need to reflect on the nature of our actions. This means dissecting the motivations behind concepts such as the rise of women promoting the ‘trad-wife’ lifestyle for example. As a worrying amount of young girls on social media have started to commit to choice feminism, the differentiation between individual

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18 MARCH 2024

http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/features/ FEATURES EDITOR: Anisah Mahamoud

Features

Are Gen Z anti-Tech?

Anon Yu Henriksen, BA International Relations and Korean When Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone in 2007, the world was left in awe by a device we would currently consider to be primitive. Nowadays, our phones are unlocked by facial recognition, our apps are filled with artificially intelligent helpers, and Apple’s latest device, the Apple Vision Pro, blurs the lines between reality and the virtual. Such developments have engulfed how we shop, travel, eat, relax, communicate, date, and the list goes on. However, as is with most other rapid societal changes, the technological revolution has sparked debate, and perhaps, more recently, even reactionism. With the rise of cottagecore, analogue cameras, Nokia phones, physical vinyl and CDs, and even Book-tok, is Gen Z turning their backs on advanced technology?

“Convenience and automated addiction, as well as the digitalisation of entire systems of payment, communication, transportation, and education, make it extremely difficult to challenge the digital ecosystem.”

My friend, Thekla Fossestøl, is one of those people who is constantly trying to quit technology. For periods of time, she exchanges her iPhone for an old Nokia. Many might have experienced blissful periods of peace and reflection when they have accidentally lost or broken their phones, but Thekla purposefully seeks this by rejecting the digital world completely.

“I hate technology,” Thekla told me in a voice message and added that the reasons for this hatred are manifold. She thinks that the technology which dominates the contemporary, smartphones and social media, stand in the way of the most foundational human needs: seeing and being in the present with each other. She finds that advanced technology negatively affects relationship building, and our ability to reflect over and handle our feelings. With a smartphone, no one has to “sit with one’s own thoughts anymore,” according to Thekla.

Moreover, she told me that she finds the automatisation and addiction created by social media scary.

Otto Johnson, another friend, loves collecting physical media, like CDs, vinyls, and books. Otto cites the growth of AI as one of the reasons why he embraces such forms of media.

“AI blurs the lines between what is real and what is not,” he says. As fake AI-generated song covers have recently emerged on TikTok, Otto adds that he is “losing trust in who is being honest and not online.” Therefore, physical media provides a sense of authenticity. Still, turning one’s back on technology is easier said than done. As Otto emphasises, smartphones are, after all, extremely convenient. Even though he has many CDs

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(Credit:’Girl With Red Hat’ on Unsplash)

and vinyls, he spends most of his time listening to music on Spotify through his wireless AirPods. It is simply more convenient.

Similarly, Thekla keeps returning to her iPhone, despite many Nokia breaks. Even though she describes the periods where she only uses her Nokia as more “chill[ed]” and good for her focus, she only returns to her smartphone in what she describes as an “all-or-nothing” dilemma. Similarly, she deletes her presence from social media platforms multiple times a month, both by deleting the app and her profile. Yet, she keeps returning by making excuses for herself. Many might have experienced this themselves, for it is hard to quit something when the entire system is rigged. Convenience and automated addiction, as well as the digitalisation of entire systems of payment, communication, transportation, and education, make it

extremely difficult to challenge the digital ecosystem.

But what if Gen Z is the last hope? It is a generation that was not born with smartphones and tablets in their hands, in contrast to the now-adolescent Generation Alpha. We were raised in the final years, between 2000 and 2010, when technology was a tool rather than a drug. As we see the use of physical tools instead of digital ones trending amongst Gen Z, this might provide hope for the future confrontation of continued technological advances. For now, many young people continue to try to challenge a system which dominates their lives so strongly that a biblical reference to David and Goliath feels appropriate. However, as Thekla returns to her iPhone once more, and Otto to Spotify, this battle appears to be both tougher and longer.

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18 MARCH 2024

Wael Odeh on Identity

Features

Lulu Goad, BA Arabic

A Senior Lecturer of Arabic at SOAS, University of London, Wael Odeh has been part of the university cohort for almost ten years having studied his Master’s in Applied Linguistics just next door, at Birkbeck, in 2013.

Mr Odeh spoke to me earlier this year about Syria and identity, recalling some of his earliest memories to relay to me for this article. Within the two hours that we spoke, it seemed Wael hadn’t spared a detail, nor had he missed any opportunity to rehearse a line of poetry. “I don’t take things too seriously,” he said, “because life is not only about chemistry and physics and one plus one equals two... life is much more than that.” Despite his romantic attitude towards life, Wael expresses his somewhat endless struggle with identity and belonging, shaped by both his life in Syria and in the UK. Wael was born in a village in the countryside of Homs in 1978. “If you’re going from Damascus to Aleppo,” he said, “Homs is almost exactly in the middle.” He lived there with his parents and nine siblings where his parents worked the farmland, growing crops to earn a living. Wael was the only child in his community to attend school after the age of 15, and upon his graduation, he promptly moved to Damascus to begin his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

“In Syria, identity was very easy when I was there. You’re made to feel locked into an identity. People were always confused because I don’t look or sound like I belong to a specific group. I hated that but those were the dynamics in Syria.”

Moving to Damascus from his home in Homs was the first opportunity Wael had had to interact with individuals from all over the country. Living with some of his newfound friends in the city, Wael found himself forming a new sense of identity, “a wider identity of being Syrian,” he said; “it corrected a lot of stereotypes,” which by the tone of his voice was for the better.

But he emphasises that he felt stuck, as did many if not all of his peers. “We wanted some more,” he paused, “..freedom.

Freedom to think, to express, to say what you feel, to experience, to have opportunity.”

This was the late 1990s and early 2000s. Syria saw the transfer of power from Hafez al-Assad, infamous for his imposition of mass surveillance, to his son, Bashar al-Assad, who now governs Syria as a totalitarian state. “The political atmosphere at that time was like it is now - very sensitive - so you would only be able to express yourself intimately with your best friends.” Dipping back into his early life, Wael is sure his access to education has granted him some of this “freedom.”

His parents had never gone to school but they were always insistent that as many of their children were educated as possible. “They always wanted us to learn and I remember my dad saying ‘This is your only way to get out of this, by learning, by educating yourself.’ I did very well at school.”

Having graduated from Damascus University, Wael completed his military service before being offered a job at the Syrian Opera House, followed by a role teaching Arabic at The French Institute of the Near East (IFPO). When asked how he began his work at IFPO he simply said, “because of poetry.” It wasn’t clear whether this was his tongue-in-cheek humour but as he went on to explain, he had in fact won over the Head of the French Institute with his astute knowledge of a poem by the mystical poet Ibn al-Farid.

“I don’t like poetry now,” he added, somewhat solemnly, “I

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(Credit: SOAS University of London)

don’t know, I became more realistic maybe.” “I met my wife through poetry as well, I mean poetry did its job for me.”

Wael goes on to talk about his first trip to Europe taken with his friend, the Head of the French Institute. “So I came to France. Until that point, I had always wanted to be a foreigner, because, when I saw how foreigners were treated in my country… Everybody offers them help and there’s this kind of white privilege, you know? Superior, cool, exotic… So I wanted to experience that.” Living in Syria, “locked” into an identity, Wael was sure of his sense of self. “I didn’t have any questions about who I was because until then I knew who I was.” He continued, “..so when I came to the West, I mean I didn’t feel like a ‘foreigner’. Nobody cares. I mean I could walk around naked here, nobody would give a damn in that positive sense.”

Having been offered a job in London, Wael moved to the UK with his wife, but due to complications acquiring his visa, he was unable to take up the position. “I had a family but I had no job and no friends…I didn’t have a fixed plan but I never imagined that I wouldn’t be able to go back to Syria, because Syria was my home.”

“I got a job in a bank - this was in 2009 - and then my life started to become like a “London life”, the nine to five, the thing that I’d never hoped for,” he continued, “but then I read another verse of poetry. That was the last time poetry changed my life.” Pausing momentarily to recall the words, he then recited a line of ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davies: ‘What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.’ “I quit my job immediately.”

Wael then took up his master’s degree at Birkbeck. A few hours before submitting his dissertation after a year of Applied Linguistics, Wael received a job offer to work as an Arabic Lecturer at SOAS. “It was my happiest day ever.”

“But just when my life had become stable, the war started.”

Despite the obvious disruption and upset caused, he expresses that there was a huge underlying positive shift. “The Syrian spirit had returned! I finally don’t need to explain to people where Syria is. Finally, I’m recognised, recognised as a Syrian!

And I was so hopeful that they were going to achieve that dream that I’d had with my friends at university, of freedom, of loving each other without any fear or suspicion.”

“Then all of a sudden everything was upside down. My family was displaced and I lost so many of my family relatives. People were very desperate, yet there was still hope.

Then, what happened happened… It’s like a completely foreign country… I struggle to picture me and my family living there.” He says that his disassociation with Homs feels like his, “roots have been cut.” He compares the sensation to grieving one’s own mother.

“I had a family but I had no job and no friends…I didn’t have a fixed plan but I never imagined that I wouldn’t be able to go back to Syria, because Syria was my home.”

Many of his family members have since fled the country to Libya, Lebanon and Germany, to name a few. One brother in particular ended up in the northwest of Germany. “I started to visit my brother and his family in Germany, which became, eventually, my alternative home, my safe place, full of Syrians.”

As it became more difficult for Wael and his family to travel back to Syria, he found himself subject to questioning by his son and daughter about who they were, where their extended family was and why they never saw them. “In the holidays we go to Germany. I realised for my kids the concept of being Syrian, and from a small village, when they try to picture it, they think of that village in Germany… My son speaks fluent German now.”

He explains how despite the war ending, the issue of identity became the new normal for Syrians. “I cannot be fully Syrian or fully British… and I always have to explain to my kids why we don’t go to Syria.. And then if I don’t go to Syria, what should I do? Go and enjoy my life in the south of Spain with my kids on the beach like British people do?”

“In Arabic, we say ity now.”

- this is the new real-

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Features

Viva Cuba!

Viva Palestina!

Sarah Cotte, BSc Politics, Philosophy, and Economics

in 1959, which saw the defeat of the dictatorial and violent Batista regime, Cuba’s socialist leadership has made a point to support the fight of oppressed peoples against their oppressors everywhere; to uphold the principles of self-determination, freedom and equality for all. This was the case in Angola and Mozambique, where Cuba supported the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO), both of which were victorious in their struggle. Of course, it is also the case in Palestine. Che Guevara’s visit to Gaza in 1959, where he witnessed firsthand the effects of the Nakba and Zionist Occupation, made it clear that Cuba and Palestine had a common goal of seeing an end to imperialist aggression.

“It is not on the primary basis of International Law that Cuba defends Palestine, nor that of liberal values, rather it is on the basis of international solidarity between all oppressed peoples”

“Long Live the Friendship between the Palestinian and Cuban peoples,” poster by the Palestinian-Cuban Friendship Society, 1990 (Credit: Palestinian Museum Digital Archive)

Since the start of this current period of conflict between Palestine and Israel, most states have had no choice but to take a stand on the matter. Some have stood with the Palestinians - Cuba is one such state. The Island’s president, Miguel DiazCanal, has led marches in support of Palestine in November, something no other head of state has done. When South Africa’s claim that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians reached the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Cuba supported it unconditionally. On February 21st 2024, in a presentation to the ICJ, Cuba denounced the pivotal role played by the United States in facilitating and funding the genocide of Palestinians, as well as their occupation. This is a well-documented fact, perfectly summed up in Biden’s famous one-liner from 1986, “If there were not an Israel, we’d have to invent one” referring to the USA’s strategic military and economic interests in the Middle East, which Israel acts in defence of.

Cuba’s support for Palestine is no coincidence, nor is it a recent position taken by the country. It is not on the primary basis of International Law that Cuba defends Palestine, nor that of liberal values, rather it is on the basis of international solidarity between all oppressed peoples. Ever since its revolution

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18 MARCH 2024

Cuba’s solidarity with oppressed peoples is first and foremost informed by its own experience of imperialism, first under the Spanish till 1898 and then under the Americans.

With the elaboration of the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ around the time that most Latin American countries were gaining independence, the USA sought to extend its sphere of influence over the entirety of the Americas and the Caribbean, including Cuba. It was inconceivable for the American capitalist class that a socialist country could exist in its ‘backyard’, leading to the implementation of JFK’s 1962 economic blockade.

The goals of this blockade were made clear in an April 1960 memorandum by Lester D Mallory, US Assistant Secretary of State: “to weaken the economic life of Cuba… to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government,” in order to protect the USA’s national and hemispheric security. This is without taking into account the insecurity the United States has propagated in South America, with countless coups and covert operations having taken the lives of hundreds of thousands and bereaved millions more. Cuba, on the other hand, is not a menace to the people of the United States, but only to capitalism and imperialism.

The blockade has put Cuba through periods of incredible hardship. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the country’s main trading partner, Cuba has been forced to take on special economic measures to get access to vital imports and capital. The blockade, on top of being illegal, is genocidal. It withholds medicine from ill patients, and food from the hungry. It is a policy of economic asphyxiation. The USA seeks to squeeze Cuba dry, twisting the negative effects of the blockade to make it appear as a failing state. The re-placing of Cuba on the list of ‘State-Sponsors of Terrorism’ by former US President Trump

Cuban President Miguel-Diaz Canal at pro-Palestine demonstration, November 2023 (Credit: Yamil Lage AFP)

in 2021, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have worsened already difficult conditions on the island.

Despite this, Cuba has one of the best-ranked healthcare systems in the world, far ahead of the United States, and on par with the UK. Cuba sends its medical professionals to countries all over Latin America and Africa, sharing its expertise with the rest of the developing world, even and especially so during public health crises like COVID-19. Cuba has also offered free schooling for hundreds of Palestinian medical students, all of whom are encouraged to go back to serve their communities after their education, and in 2014 sent a six-tonne shipment of medical equipment to Gaza.

Ever since Che Guevara’s initial visit to Palestine, there has been a shared network of solidarity between the two nations.

Cuba has helped Palestine on all fronts - whether it be militarily through training or politically by helping it obtain observer status in the United Nations. United in their fight against imperialism, the Palestinian and Cuban struggles are one and the same: against the imperialists and the capitalists, against those who drive the destruction of our environment, the occupation of our homelands, and the killing of our peoples.

Che Guevara (4th from the right) in Gaza, 1959 (Credit: Palestine Chronicle)

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18 MARCH 2024

Shades of Identity: Colourism for LightSkinned Women

Features

Nathan Hay, BA Social Anthropology

Colourism and internalised racism. These two notions, referring to the discrimination of those with lighter skin within an ethnic group, have long plagued societies across the globe, often crossing paths with broader discussions on self-worth, identity, and societal influences. One perspective I find interesting is that of light-skinned women, as they are often perceived in Western society as having a favourable skin tone due to their proximity to whiteness. I sought out the opinions and stories of women who live this reality.

An interesting observation was made by one of the women I interviewed, stating, “I don’t think people like to hear that you can have a negative experience as a lighter-skinned person, and I think maybe that’s part of the problem.” She went on to explain, “We’re seen as the pinnacle of Black beauty, what people are aiming for.” While another light-skinned woman said, “We need to stop putting lighter-skinned people in angelic lights, just because they’re lighter.” Ultimately, they were well aware of Western society’s idolatry of whiteness and, therefore, understood that this inevitably gives them an unfair advantage in certain aspects of life. However, from the experiences of the women I interviewed, it was also clear that lighter-skinned women are very susceptible to discrimination too, and this perspective is one that we might not usually hear.

Leading on from this, another woman of Indian heritage described the experience of her younger, darker-skinned sister, who faced exclusion and marginalisation within the family. The comparisons and questions from extended family about their differing complexions made the bias “blindingly obvious.” “If the baby is fair-skinned, she is deemed beautiful,” she went on to say. The recognition of this privilege seems commonplace amongst light-skinned women and is, indeed, an unfair advantage in life that they come to be aware of as they grow up. I find this necessary to address in a world where people who are part of an ethnic minority community are often pitted against each other by Western society’s standards.

“We have to dig down and dismantle what we’ve been told our whole lives” However, this is just one end of the spectrum, as questions of self-worth and identity come into play when observed in close comparison to an entirely different race. While growing up, one woman found herself caught between conflicting perceptions of her skin tone within her own community.

From feeling marginalised and stereotyped by fellow black women due to her lighter skin, to grappling with comments from extended family members about her perceived darkness

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(Credit: NCCJ)

compared to other members of her family, her sense of identity was deeply influenced by external judgments. While not harbouring a desire to be white, she felt pressure to conform to a certain image of mixed-race beauty, one which included lighter skin, green eyes, and looser hair. This internalised pressure led her to straighten her curls and question her own appearance. However, in maturing, she embraced her natural features and confronted the damaging narratives that had shaped her perception of herself. This experience was similarly reflected in another woman I interviewed, who had almost the exact same experience. Together, it was evident that the lasting impact of societal expectations on self-esteem from communities and the importance of intentional self-appreciation in overcoming internalised racism could not be clearer for light-skinned women.

Many light-skinned women come to face these challenges, with them being a product of Western society’s beauty standards. White women have always been perceived as ‘the ideal’, as is commonly reflected in the media and touched on by all whom I interviewed. Therefore, despite the perception that some may have of lighter-skinned women, they still face the issue of looking different. This sense of exclusion can seep its way into ethnic communities, with certain members enforcing

others’ outsider status by embracing this Westernised perception of beauty. One woman described how she felt pressure to conform to beauty standards based on society’s perception of light-skinned women, altering the way she dressed entirely to appear “the way Black girls dress typically in the UK’,” fearing deviation from the norm as she “felt that people would double down on calling me whitewashed.” Another woman made the point that “We have to dig down and dismantle what we’ve been told our whole lives and about how we behave.”

She also stated “It’s a lot harder to tackle in our communities when you hear it so much from the outside,” making clear that society’s racial influence has become ingrained into the fabric of our nation.

Being a coloured woman in today’s society bears a series of mental challenges for them in different ways. The need to overcome these challenges is a struggle that oftentimes goes unheard, and ultimately, the need to steer away from pitting coloured people against each other could not be more evident. From self-worth and self-esteem to struggles with identity, it stands to reason that at the end of the day, lightskinned women have a colourist struggle, and we need to hear them out.

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18 MARCH 2024

Roaming Reporter

All Hail Lord Xenu: How the Church of Scientology Cured My Depression Through Dianetics controversies, including human trafficking, the breaking of confidentiality from ‘auditing’ therapy, the potential motives of Hubbard founding the Church and forced abortions. The last point is especially telling of the coercive and, more than anything, bizarre nature of the organisation. The top echelon of the church is called the Sea Org, currently led by David Miscavige, which used to operate at sea on vessels where children were not allowed, leading to forced abortions. Miscavige himself is definitely not above controversy, with his wife Shelly Miscavige having not been seen in public since 2007, having had a missing persons report filed on her and a years-long investigation by the police. Journalist Lawrence Wright claims former Sea Org members believe she is being held against her will at the compound of the Scientologist’s ‘Church of Spiritual Technology’.The government of France lists the Church as a dangerous cult, in Germany it is an “unconstitutional sect”, and many countries refuse to grant it status as a religion.

Jacob Winter, BA Politics and International Relations 75 million years ago, the alien tyrant Xenu brought billions of aliens to the planet Earth, known then as Teegeeack, and wiped them out by placing them next to volcanoes and detonating hydrogen bombs. The spirits of these dead aliens, Thetans, possess human bodies and cause emotional distress.

This is the secret inner truth behind the religion of Scientology, and something they certainly don’t tell you when you go into one of their Dianetics Life Improvement centres.

Scientology is, depending on who you ask, a cult, a new religious movement, or an incredibly well-organised scam created by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. It all began with the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, in which Hubbard posits that all “psychosomatic illnesses” are caused by “engrams” stored in your “reactive mind”, which logs all negative emotions you experience. According to the book’s synopsis, “The engram and only the engram causes aberration and psychosomatic illness.” Dianetic treatment involves a process of therapy in which these engrams are “audited”. The book was a success, a New York Times Bestseller, but Hubbard eventually lost the rights to the text. However, upon regaining them, Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology, which reveres Hubbard’s therapeutic work and considers Dianetics’ Book One. After your auditing is completed, you become a “Clear” and are then able to begin work on your “Body Thetans”, and you become closer to the centre of the cult.

(Credit: Jacob Winter)

The teachings about Xenu and the obscure teachings of Hubbard, clearly inspired by his own work as a sci-fi author, are something vehemently denied by the Church, but you can find it all on WikiLeaks.

Like any self-respecting cult, the Church has myriad

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So why am I banging on about this bizarre cult in the pages of the esteemed SOAS Spirit? London has its own Scientology temple, and less than five minutes away from SOAS is a ‘Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Centre’. On orders from News Editor Barty Roberts, I decided, at great risk to myself, to go and get my personality tested by the gullible fools and manipulative cranks at the centre. Enter Alex Ratcliffe, who lives at a made-up address in Finsbury Park with a different postcode on every form I had to sign for them. My fake identity was airtight, and I managed to answer successfully to “Alex” for the entire two hours the process took, the most impressive feat of my journalistic career.

At the door, I was met by an Italian gentleman who was unsuccessfully handing out invitations to a movie screening of the film adaptation of Dianetics. I introduced myself and claimed I was interested in Dianetics, and that I had severe anger issues and depression which I needed fixing. Not a million miles away from the truth, and I wanted to keep an open mind about their form of therapy. I was seated in the centre and made to watch an introduction to the film. I was probably the easiest convert they’d ever seen, and I immediately bought a copy of Dianetics (to which I hope the SU will refund me) and sat down for the 45 minutes it takes to fill in their Oxford Capacity Analysis Test. I answered relatively truthfully, but some of the questions were pretty interesting. You had to fill in little boxes on how far you agree with a question. They varied from “Are you willing to compromise in social situations” to “Are you in favour of a colour bar and class distinctions?”

Following the test, I went back to SOAS to debrief with the Editor-in-Chief. An hour and a half later, I went for my evaluation. A Black gentleman, who proclaimed he was a member of the Nation of Islam (more on this later) went through my results. I was apparently very depressed but very active, and through their process of auditing, I would have to raise my scores in all of their different categories to get them all as high as my “active” score. The gentleman brought me upstairs to a cinema with symbols adorning the walls, and I watched a part of a documentary explaining the process of auditing, and then I quickly left having given them a false number.

Some key observations from this experience were that more or less everybody, save the director of the centre and the man who did my evaluation, all seemed, unsurprisingly, extraordinarily gullible. The building itself is surprisingly expansive, with esoteric symbols and quotes from Hubbard adorning the

(Credit: Jacob Winter)

walls. It also seemed like an incredibly easy place to be trapped in, and I didn’t fancy being forcibly assimilated into the cult so I organised a rescue party to knock on the door of the centre if I hadn’t been in contact after an hour.

The Nation of Islam connection was the most fascinating part of the process for me. The Nation of Islam was a massive organisation in the United States during the Civil Rights period, with Malcolm X having been a former minister. Their beliefs are similarly esoteric to the Scientologists, involving alien motherships and white people having been created by a Black scientist named Yakub on the Isle of Patmos, and that white people are also biblical devils. The connection to Dianetics primarily comes through the current leader of the Nation, Louis Farrakhan, who has been openly praising Dianetics since the late 90s, and since 2010 made Dianetics a recommended practice for all members of the Nation. Although Farrakhan insists he isn’t a Scientologist, the groups have evidently become close, close enough for members of the Nation (all the Black people at the centre were, from my questioning, members of the Nation) to do ‘auditing’ on behalf of the Church of Scientology. The Nation’s hostility to white people is not shared with the believers of Scientology, as Farrakhan claimed auditing can cleanse white people of their “devilish qualities.”

“I was probably the easiest convert they’d ever seen” Either way, my few hours with the Scientologists were very enlightening, at least in how people can subscribe to a cult whose esoteric beliefs are so well known. The process of Dianetics is not entirely unsound, it may be pseudoscientific but that form of therapy may be helpful to certain types of people. The more esoteric views of the Church unfold as you go along in the process, and although I didn’t get far enough along in my few hours to ask about the aliens, I can certainly see how the cult sustains itself. But, if there has been any real impact of this investigation, it’s that I can no longer go to Goodge Street Station during the daylight hours.

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18 MARCH 2024 http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/culture/ Culture Editor: Amran Abdiqadir-Mohamed

Culture

Universal Versus Tiktok: Why the Sibling Rivalry?

Melina Tavakoli Moghaddam, BA Politics and International Relations Since one random September day in 2016, TikTok launched itself headfirst into the music industry. As an application designed around the 15-second ‘Get Ready With Me’ and tenminute-long rants about the political climate of the world, it is almost always accompanied by music. The act of solely scrolling through the influential algorithm has transformed the market for artists, generating higher sales for labels from catalogue to newer music. On January 31st 2024, however, the music corporation Universal Music Group (UMG) completely flipped this dynamic on its head. UMG is the company that provides TikTok with its music content and is dependent on TikTok for exposure, so why are they currently in the middle of a catfight?

“Within this corporate chaos, individuals have found comfort in uplifting new talent and embracing the new circumstances” In an open letter to the public, UMG claims to be the victim of intimidation from TikTok due to the latter apparently capitalising on the unfair pay of artists and songwriters: “TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and

songwriters as well as their fans. We will never do that.”

The real question here is, where is the say of the artists and songwriters themselves? UMG holds approximately 38% of the music market, with labels and sub-companies underneath such as Capitol Music Group which represents popular singers such as Katy Perry and Ice Spice. Considering this, one can see that even the smallest of artists are affected by UMG’s decision to end their partnership with TikTok. Unfortunately for the smaller labels who represent said artists, they are overdubbed by a corporate elite presence and cannot gain back control.

a sanctuary for sped-up or slowed-down tracks, which prevents the latter’s erasure on the platform. Alongside this, many trending audios stem from unreleased songs of popular artists such as Lana Del Rey. Thus, aside from harming the promotion of new music from songwriters, TikTok users have not found navigating the licensing dispute difficult. In fact, creativity on the app has flourished as underground artists have begun to remix viral videos into audios one can use. This not only helps in the promotion of less recognised work, but it also adds to the element of unity amongst TikTok. Within this corporate chaos, individuals have found comfort in uplifting new talent and embracing the current circumstances. Evidently, the app is used as a refuge and people will continue to adapt, no matter the number of surprising shifts, in order to enjoy an escape from their world of disarray. It is the gluttony present in businesses such as UMG and TikTok which drives disagreements such as these to the extreme.

On the platform itself, individuals have been welcoming the result of this dispute with humour. Due to all music under UMG being silenced because of ‘copyright restrictions’, editors have been venturing to the use of BBC News background music and the EastEnders theme for ‘thirst traps’ of trending male celebrities. One instance of the latter was by creator @mvlanchqly, captioning their romanticised work of Jacob Elordi with “UMG bringing out the British bangers.”

Indeed, it is cruel that UMG has concealed their desire to maximise its profit as an attempt to “increase protection” for its artists. The rise of AI is inevitable and musicians understand the difficulty of their career path due to a lack of exposure. However, by taking away the platform which allows people that very exposure, UMG is discrediting all of their overlooked creators. On a positive note, TikTok users are trying to find some light amidst the dark of the situation.

UMG presents AI as an additional justification for the end of their licensing agreement, claiming that “TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings.”

Their main concern here is that the app is “sponsoring artist replacement,” artists whom UMG are dedicated advocates.

Despite the censoring of the majority of songs, TikTok is

The Boy and The Heron: Is This to be Hayao Miyazaki’s Legacy?

Valentina Rios, BSc Politics, Philosophy and Economics 2023 has been a brilliant year for cinema, giving us so many great titles to choose from. One film that stood out in particular was Hayao Miyazaki’s long-awaited The Boy and the Heron, a reflective piece of art dealing with themes of grief and legacy.

What is speculated to be Hayo Miyazaki’s last film, The Boy and the Heron appeared with an air of freshness in a climate saturated by Hollywood blockbusters. You won’t be able to stop looking with excitement and wonder at every frame, as each one contains immaculate attention to detail due to Miyakazi ensuring that every aspect of this film is handcrafted. This is amplified with the help of Joe Hisaishi’s mesmerising score that transports us to Mahito’s world.

Although this movie touches upon themes that are consistent throughout Miyakazi’s filmography, his intentions for this film feel quite different to the rest, taking on a playful yet darker approach to the storyline from the very intense opening scene. Showing a new face of Miyazaki that has come with his ageing, as his narratives become more introspective. Mahito and the great uncle become mirrors of Miyakazi’s own view of his past and future, as he’s still in this time of further discovering his artistic capabilities, whilst also coming to terms with his mortality and what he wants his legacy to be.

There was excitement at SOAS too, as the Japanese Research Centre hosted a talk analysing and celebrating Miyazaki’s newest film. The panellists emphasised the film’s literary

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(Credit: The Boy and the Heron - Poster)

influences in the feel and visuals of the story, pointing out parallels to Dante’s Divine Comedy, Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead and more modern visual references like Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, with all these influences enriching the already vibrant world of Miyazaki.

As pointed out in the talk by Filippo Cervelli, The Boy and the Heron can also be interpreted “as a reflection on creativity.

The fantasy world is lethal, a refuge from the fear of grief…, a fear of feeling what you really feel inside,” yet it can help

guide the individual towards clarity and calmness as it does with Mahito.

Miyazaki will keep on teasing us with retirement as he has been doing since 1997, but after watching The Boy and the Heron this feels like a heartwarming farewell from a friend many of us have grown up with, and last film or not, Miyazaki deserves all praise for making us feel nostalgic once again.

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Culture

Yoko Ono: Music Of The Mind

18 MARCH 2024

Amran Abdiqadir-Mohamed, BA Global Development and Social Anthropology The Tate Modern is now presenting the UK’s largest exhibition celebrating the ground-breaking and influential work of artist and activist Yoko Ono (b. 1933, Tokyo). The exhibition contains over 200 pieces spanning seven decades of her multidisciplinary artwork, focusing heavily on her impact on contemporary culture.

Three of the recurring themes in the exhibition were peace, the sky, and gender. As a child fleeing Tokyo during World War II, Ono found solace and refuge in the constant presence of the sky. One of the participatory works titled: Helmets (Pieces of the Sky), invited people to take puzzle pieces contained in German army helmets from the Second World War. Despite being dispersed, the puzzle pieces are still designed to come together and reform the sky. They suggest the possibility of healing through collective action or thought. During a winter post-Barbenheimer, I found this work to be particularly thought-provoking. Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ had the world comprehend the tragedies of World War II through the eyes of one man; Ono’s exhibition encourages us to consider the events and their aftermaths from a new perspective. Her upbringing had a huge influence on all of her future work, making peace a large element of many of her exhibits and dedication to activism.

Alongside her rockstar husband, John Lennon, Ono was a prominent advocate for peace and humanitarian campaigns throughout her career. One of the most well-known collaborations between the couple is their billboard campaign on Shaftesbury Avenue, London during the Vietnam War. Ono and Lennon co-opted the techniques of advertising and political propaganda, using mass media to quickly spread and amplify their message “WAR IS OVER! If you want it.” These billboards were also distributed in 12 cities around the world, eventually turning into posters, postcards, and radio/newspaper advertisements.

“All the themes of peace, aid, gender, and conflict are surpassed when we speak and write about people whom we love. It was a very grounding experience after witnessing and thinking about lots of difficult and almost insurmountable concepts/ problems. I may have shed a tear myself.”

Ono and Lennon also took this campaign somewhere no one would have expected… to their bedrooms, more specifically to their beds. The exhibition showcased the 1969 film BED PEACE which documents the second of the couple’s

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infamous ‘bed-in’ events staged in Amsterdam and Montreal.

During this time, Ono and Lennon invited peacemakers, other activists, artists, and journalists to engage in productive discussions on the Vietnam War. They claimed that they would not leave their beds until the war had ended. Activism is an endeavour Ono still participates in, one of the pieces in the exhibition, Add Colour (Refugee Boat), was an entirely white room with a white boat sitting in the middle. The participatory work invites individuals to reflect on the urgent and ongoing refugee crisis. Ono first created an interactive piece like this in 1966 and showcased the piece at the Indica Gallery in London. Add Colour (Refugee Boat) encapsulates her belief in human agency and her understanding that ‘we are sharing this world’ and sharing our responsibility for it. The walls were covered with slogans showing solidarity for the ongoing genocide in Gaza and demonstrating support for the Palestinian liberation movement. Seeing this on the floors and walls of the Tate Modern gallery was truly motivating. It made me reflect on our collective strength to fight back against historical and global injustices.

This wasn’t the only piece that made me reflect deeply. Perhaps, one of Ono’s most famous works, the 1964 Strip Tease Show featuring Cut Piece is showcased via film. This exhibit invites the audience to cut off pieces of her clothing using fabric scissors. Ono took this show on tour right up until the early 2000s. For her, to strip means ‘not to reveal to others’ but to ‘discover something hidden in humans’ and a ‘stripping of the mind’. The performance is supposed to be anti-sexist, anti-ageist, and anti-racist (I’m still trying to figure out how it’s the latter).

Add Colour (Refugee Boat), 2016, Yoko Ono (Credit: Amran Abdiqadir-Mohamed)

After watching the film twice, I found myself still very surprised at how unsexual it was. In fact, there are many parts where I think Ono looked nervous and apprehensive. Having said this, I also felt a sense of awe at how Ono allowed herself to be completely vulnerable to an audience of strangers. Especially the ones who were so eager to come at her clothes with those massive scissors. I left this part thinking, she was for sure

Photograph conceived as a poster for Works by Yoko Ono, Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, 1961 (Credit: Amran AbdiqadirMohamed)

a bit of a weirdo, but so very cool.

The exhibition culminated with yet another interactive activity. The installation My Mommy Is Beautiful was first realised in 2004. It features a 15-metre-long wall of canvases to which visitors can attach photographs of their mothers and share personal messages. The ceiling in this room was covered with photographs of Ono, she comments: “One has to look up at the vagina and the breasts on the ceiling - rather like looking up at your mum’s body when you are a baby.” I think most of the visitors found this part of the exhibition incredibly emotional. Many shared anecdotes of parents who have passed, others had simply written ‘it’s complicated.’

Watching people attach tear-stained notes to the canvases, I realised just how wonderful this was as an ending to the exhibition. All the themes of peace, aid, gender, and conflict are surpassed when we speak and write about people whom we love. It was a very grounding experience after witnessing and thinking about lots of difficult and almost insurmountable concepts/problems. I may have shed a tear myself.

The Tate’s YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND exhibition was truly wonderful. I’ve tried to include the parts that stood out most to me, but there is so much more for you to see. One thing that I haven’t yet touched upon is how incredibly funny Yoko Ono is. In 1971, Ono decided to make her debut exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York…without the museum’s knowledge. She handed out hundreds of perfumed fliers advertising it. When people arrived, all they found was a cameraman asking them what they thought of it. Many were irritated that they couldn’t find the exhibition, one stated that he found it “amazingly disappointing.” The cameraman would then share that the whole exhibition is a conceptual show, all in your mind, entirely up to you. Some people found this funny, others found it genius, and most were unimpressed. I think it was brilliant and it made me giggle.

MUSIC OF THE MIND is available for you to view until 1 September, free to Tate members. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, there is something for everyone, and lots of prompts for you to reflect on. Although, if I were you, I’d avoid any of the machines playing her music - it left much to be desired.

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18 MARCH 2024

The Death of Comic Book Movies?

Nathan Hay, BA Social Anthropology

Superhero fatigue. With every new Marvel movie, the phrase does the rounds on social media. Since the pandemic began, Marvel Studios notably opted for a quantity over quality approach, churning out project after project… but it looks as if they failed to recognise the standard that they themselves set with the Infinity Saga, spanning from the first Iron Man movie to Avengers: Endgame. The constant output of comic book movies in the past few years has been hard to miss, but seeing as the hype surrounding them diminishes more and more with each year, the question stands - are Comic Book Movies (or ‘CBMs’) finally dying out?

When asked, many people say they’re “just tired of superhero movies” with the most common reason being the “bad writing.” The quantity-over-quality approach hit the writer’s room like a ton of bricks. Given much less time per project than in previous years, they can be cleared of some blame, but at the same time, it’s evident that people are getting bored of the famous ‘Marvel formula’ that applies to nearly every project. The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” really seems to have expired for CBMs, with more unique and adventurous projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther 2 excelling in the public eye, and more formulaic approaches like that of Thor: Love & Thunder and Ant-Man: Quantumania falling short of success. Expectations have remained high since the Infinity Saga’s epic conclusion, and perhaps Marvel

“This is the beginning of the end for comic book movies” has thus become a victim of its own success.

Outside of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve witnessed the repeated box office failure of Sony’s Marvel Universe, as well as the gradual collapse of the DC Extended Universe. Again, the issue of writing comes into play, with predictable plots and poor dialogue running rampant, failing to retain the casual movie-goer’s interest. Sony’s Morbius and Madame Web both fell flat at the box office, and 2023’s The Flash, Blue Beetle and Shazam! Fury of the Gods all underperformed domestically for the DCEU. A common occurrence in CBMs these days is for the filmmakers not to take as much inspiration from the comics as they arguably should, instead pumping out plots they believe will make them money over ones that will keep fans actually interested. Disney has begun releasing new Marvel content, especially in the form of TV shows - essentially throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks, which has lost a lot of casual fans. Many of the devoted fans, however, have a hard time defending these actions.

There are some exceptions to the overall consensus of comic book movies at present, so it’s more than worth seeing what made them tick. For Spider-Man: No Way Home, there

Culture

was a huge nostalgia factor involved, bringing Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men back to the big screen alongside nearly all of their respective onscreen enemies - the seemingly lifelong debate of who was the greatest Spider-Man was momentarily shoved aside to witness peak multiversal fiction. Additionally, if there was ever a movie for Marvel to pour its heart and soul into, it was Black Panther 2. After Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing, the choice to elevate Letitia Wright into the titular Black Panther role, replacing Boseman’s character, was accompanied by a heartfelt, relatable theme that felt as grounded as the MCU has been in a long time. This movie was made to mean something and it was translated well.

Ultimately though, the exceptions are just that: exceptions to an overwhelmingly negative majority. Marvel Studios have been delaying projects as of late to spend more time on them, conducting rewrites and reshoots to get what they want. Some may observe that as being too little too late, with the occurrence of reshoots and rewrites exposing fundamentally weak foundations, and those people would be right to think that.

People are warier and more pessimistic about comic book movies, and although die-hard fans will always try their best to support them, fewer and fewer people are watching the new content; deeming it irrelevant in an oversaturated superhero market. Unless Disney, Sony, or Warner Brothers are able to turn this around, then it stands to reason that this is the beginning of the end for comic book movies.

Why Does Hilary Clinton Care about Barbie Being Snubbed at the Oscars? And Why Should We Even be Outraged? for their outstanding performances. Danielle Brooks for ‘The Colour Purple’ and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for ‘The Holdovers’ have been sweeping up awards this season, whilst Lily Gladstone has become the first Indigenous woman from the U.S. to be nominated for Best Actress. So, for an award that has overwhelmingly only nominated and awarded white actors and directors, we should be commemorating these women on such milestones. Instead, white feminists have taken these moments to showcase rage in an industry and culture that has always favoured them much more.

Hodan Sultan, BA History of Art and History The internet went into a frenzy the day that the Oscar nominations for 2024 were announced, even politicians suddenly became film critics. But where has this outrage come from?

The Academy Award nominations are always something we look forward to and anticipate, but this year there have been some interesting discussions about Barbie and whether the box office knockout was ‘snubbed’. Though this dialogue is not new, every year there seems to be the same Oscar snub discussion, with actors and even politicians releasing statements.

This phenomenon needs to be discussed.

Barbie had earned eight nominations in total, with even Ryan Gosling being nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

This is where the outrage comes in: Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie did not get the recognition everyone hoped they would get, Best Director and Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

“There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally celebrated film,” said Gosling.

Though some observations were reasonable, as Ryan Gosling’s ‘Ken’ had been praised so often across multiple award shows, what about the women of colour who were nominated and whose effects were recognised? They have set records this year. Barbie’s own America Ferrera has historically been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and this should be something we should be celebrating without guilt.

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Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie at the Golden Globes (Credit: Rich Polk)

The Failure of Girl Boss Feminism

Ferrera had been constantly asked about what she thinks about Gerwig and Robbie not being nominated since receiving her own nomination, and why is that? This takes away a clear breakthrough for not only Ferrera but every person who has watched her grow up portraying Latina characters.

Hillary Clinton chimed in on the Oscars ‘snub’ by writing a personal message to Gerwig and Robbie on Instagram. The former first lady assured the two white women that their efforts had not gone unnoticed, and they were indeed “Kenough.”

Clinton, who has not uttered a word about the unimaginable suffering of women in Gaza, is now offering her sympathies to Gerwig and Robbie.

The outcry online by many is that the ‘feminist’ movie of the year only collected eight nominations instead of ten. The argument being that the only reason these two white women were not nominated is due to misogyny blatantly minimising the achievement of women of colour who were nominated.

This discourse makes us wonder: seeing such criticism flow in, but where are the celebrations of America Ferrera? And would there be the same anger if Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were nominated, and America was not? Having watched the movie, many can agree that America’s character had the most captivating monologues in the film. America Ferrera deserves her flowers for being the first-ever Oscar nominee for Honduran descent in any category.

Let us look at the women of colour who were nominated

Why are we asking Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian woman to win Best Actress at the Oscars, about Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie being snubbed when we should be asking about the notable achievements of every woman of colour who was nominated?

Criticisms of the Academy are nothing new; I mean, remember #OscarsSoWhite, which was a response to all twenty acting nominations being given to white actors? Of course, these are conversations to be had. However, why there are heaps of articles and tweets about a movie that has already received eight nominations but nothing about how this year’s nominations are among the most diverse ever in the history of the Oscars is a question worth asking.

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18 MARCH 2024

Sport & Societies

https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/societiesandsport/ Sport & Societies Editor: Ayra Khan

Facelift – The Revamping of a Long-Lost Society SOAS BLA(C)K PANTHERS SOCIETY Ismail Abdi, BA International Relations and Economics How would you like to form part of a new “society”? While I am sure most of you, dear readers, will have already engaged with plenty here at SOAS, I’d like to simply ask: besides the organisational aspect, how many of them really feel like an actual community? How many do you feel have actually invested in the construction of such an environment? How many have actively called upon you in that process? Well, here I present the opportunity for you to take part in something that seeks to provide just that.

SOAS Bla(c)k Panthers Society is a project which hopes to create a new platform for both discussion and real-time action. It draws upon the concepts of defunct society ‘Demilitarise SOAS’. Few might recall, but their primary focus was to disconnect the institution from its links to entities supporting oppression, and cutting back on its extensive security regime.

The Bla(c)k Panthers Soc frames this from the angle of antibla(c)k oppression, that such entities are fueling a system that actively promotes such. The society evolves upon these ideas to include key themes from the Black Panther Party; community engagement and knowledge-driven action. But what’s unique about the Bla(c)k Panthers?

Well, a hint is in the name: “Bla(c)k”. The primary focus is to “fight both anti-black and anti-indigenous systems of

oppression”. Bla(c)kness is interpreted here as a universal measure of oppression, the degree of which being proportional to the oppression faced, thereby explaining oppression within and amongst the oppressed. As such it’s important to learn about the root causes of the supposed impurity of blackness. Think of it this way, across many cultures, the term black is associated with the deviant. “Black sheep”, “black heart”, or my personal favourite “maskax madow” (Somali for “black brain”). Now, you’re more than welcome to challenge the founder on this–by all means I’m just the messenger. In fact, that’s very much the point of this article, finding the sort of folk who are willing to do just that. The core idea, however, is to bring together the struggles of the various bla(c) k–not exclusively African–and indigenous groups from all over the world - Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Polynesia and beyond - to learn together through collective study, and organise in support of all groups oppressed through antiblack measures. The Bla(c)k Panthers Society aims to create a forum for the collective study of and knowledge-based action against anti-bla(c)k oppression; to establish a voice on campus for these groups of varying blackness and to understand the intersection between their struggle, and how their fates, and more broadly that of global society, are intrinsically linked.

“a forum for the collective study of and knowledge-based action against anti-bla(c)k oppression.” shed light on those most peripheral movements, such as Independence for West Papua, and the crisis in Sudan, as well as a special Intl. Women’s Day screening of “Assata: Women in Revolution” in collaboration with SOAS Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!.

The founder is seeking students willing to help get the ground running, not simply in setting up an operational society, but rather to help create an ethos. To create, from this raw idea, a practically applicable concept. To build a new “society” in essence.

For more information, or to register your interest, you can contact the founder via @soasblackpantherssoc on Instagram.

Since its founding, the society has held startup events to

SOAS SPIRIT WORD SEARCH Find the 10 SOAS Spirit related words in this puzzle

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Sport & Societies

18 MARCH 2024

Round-up: What’s the Law Society Been Up To This Term?

Amina Khadidja Sadoun, BA Politics and International Relations

The SOAS Law Society has had an eventful term. There have been myriad opportunities and events hosted by the society’s dedicated committee of future barristers and solicitors from newsletters, career opportunities, and the annual law ball.

BPP University. It was a golden chance for participants to get a taste of what being a law trainee really looks like. The hour consisted of tasks and challenges based on real-life vacation schemes and assessment centres. Participants built their ability to respond to emails professionally, learned the conduct of legal research, and how to ethically and efficiently interview witnesses.

The Law Society kicked off the month of February by announcing an open call for newsletter submissions for their bi-weekly edition of the Legal Lens. The Legal Lens accepts submissions covering all sorts of topics; it aims to engage members of the society with both national and international news. It gives students a forum to cover current affairs that are specific to the world of legal matters. Past articles have included pieces on Russia’s position in the space race and coverage of family law in the print media. In addition to this, the newsletter is read and beloved by many of the SOAS Law Society’s sponsors, opening doors for featured students to impress potential future networks in the field.

Since January, the society’s committee has been teasing what is possibly the most anticipated SOAS Law Society event: The Law Ball. With promises of delicious food and refreshing drinks alongside cotton candy, a chocolate fountain and a surprise live entertainer.

Whilst the Legal Lens is a very broad soft-skill-building opportunity offered by the society, more legal-driven opportunities have been made available for students. The ‘Hour in the Life of a Trainee’ workshop was an online interactive webinar hosted in collaboration with the Law Society’s sponsor,

The society’s Instagram page flaunted clips of the eventful night, with a bustling dance floor filled with excited attendees dancing and singing to music especially catered for them by a professionally hired DJ. The food certainly left the crowd coming back for seconds, with tables packed to the brim with

“It was a golden chance for participant to get a taste of what being a law trainee really looks like.”

mouth-watering rice, pasta, samosas and so much more.

Attendees stole the show with their outfits, dresses of all designs and dazzling suits that perfectly captured this year’s ‘bling’ theme. If next year’s ball is anything like this year’s, then attendees are sure to be in for a treat!

Finally, another one of the SOAS Law Society’s greatest achievements so far this year, apart from the unforgettable Law Ball, has been the ‘Legal Careers Carousel’. This event held in late November gave participants the rare opportunity to network with field experts one-to-one in an opportunity to get advice and an insight into the legal world. The relationships built from this event are sure to come in handy for SOAS Law students in their futures and that is why the ‘Legal Careers Carousel’ can be deemed yet another highlight of the society’s packed event calendar so far!

Overall, the SOAS Law Society has certainly succeeded in curating unique experiences for its members, perfectly balancing the social-professional aspect of their events. Online webinars and networking opportunities provide real-life skillbuilding opportunities, whilst relaxed events such as the Law Ball remind law students to enjoy their time despite their taxing degree.

Turn Up The Volume: SOAS Radio Society Is Finally Back Jacob Delos Santos, MA Global Media and Digital Communications

After one academic year of radio silence, SOAS’ Radio Society is making its long-awaited comeback this March. The broadcasting group is being reinstated into the Student Union after long talks spearheaded by its new President, Noha Mohamed.

The news of SOAS Radio’s return follows the society’s abrupt dissolution on the 9th of November 2022, after its previous manager, Fred Molin, was suspended by SOAS’ HR department. Given less than a day’s worth of official notice, questions were raised by UNISON, SOAS Justice for Workers, and students at SOAS surrounding Molin’s carelessly handled dismissal at the hands of the institution. Molin’s discharge followed a string of 500 redundancies imposed by SOAS during industrial disputes in 2022, disputes now as recent as the Brunei Gallery bookshop’s closure scheduled for August 2024.

In an interview with the new President, Noha, she highlighted the importance of re-establishing SOAS Radio as a student platform, as well as outlining the upcoming steps the society will take in the lead-up to its launch. “I feel like the campus community has a lot to say, but there isn’t a medium for it,” Noha states. “I had seen that the society had been established before, and wanted to ensure that SOAS students had a platform to express themselves.”

When asked about what her vision would be for the society, Noha explained all the different avenues in which future members can get involved at SOAS Radio. “My vision is for it to become something that is accessible to anyone who has anything exceptional, unique, or important to say.” She continues, “it doesn’t matter what experiences you have, we want to hear them. Whether it’s a talk show, sharing your music, publicising an event, inviting professors, inviting topic experts, inviting cultural leaders — we want to hear from you.”

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Songs of the Tigris The latest iteration of SOAS Radio currently comprises nine team members, originating from diverse backgrounds across the SOAS community. “A few of us are media students,” Noha says, “some of us have years of radio and podcasting experience.” A Master’s student in Global Media & Digital Communications herself, Noha had previously worked in radio for seven years before joining SOAS. Where she hosted her own radio show in Arabic for the Canadian Arab diaspora, “I’m interested in connecting people over a shared interest, communities that may be underrepresented, and making room for them to have a voice.”

Located on the fifth floor of the Russell Square building, the society will continue to broadcast from room 545, its own private audio suite, boasting a range of professional studio equipment. “It’s a space to have a little fun,” jests Noha. “[The society] can also provide good experience for resumes, set students up for better job prospects, and reward them with practical and technical knowledge they may need when they graduate.”

Noha laments about her previous experiences starting in the industry. “I didn’t have mentorship when I started my own radio show in 2015, and it was really hard to figure things out on my own,” she states. “And so, I want to create spaces that allow mentorship to automatically and organically happen.”

The society is currently undergoing a visual and media rebrand across all social platforms. An official launch date, during which students can join for free and begin pitching, will be confirmed by late March.

Amaar Baloch, BA History Along flows the Tigris, Carrying with her the weight of the world.

Unrequited love, Unfulfilled dreams, Undeserved pain, From countless centuries come and gone and yet to arrive.

She thinks to herself: “Perhaps this is the last load, and my people can finally be at rest”.

“Perhaps this current is the one to finally put to an end my quest”.

This is a lament almost as old as the river herself, And is one she will continue to tell.

For her people’s pain is a heavy burden, And not one this earthly domain can fathom.

But alas, The river’s love is endless, selfless even.

She does not ask nor does she receive much in return.

And just like her waters, She will continue to toil.

Along will flow the Tigris, Carrying with her the weight of the world

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18 MARCH 2024

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