O XFORD S TUDENT
conversation with Nick Rusher, Olympic rower.
Oxford India Society Leadership accused of escalatory rhetoric
than the reasoned debate our University cherishes.”
The leadership of the Oxford India Society has faced allegations of undemocratic governance, inflammatory communications, and partisan behaviour during the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict.
The President told The Oxford Student he welcomed the letter as “a testament to the kind of democratic discourse we strive to foster,” and said he had already begun drafting a call for new committee applications to be circulated imminently.
Is BPD the modern-day female hysteria diagnosis?
Continued on page 10... The politics of style at the
In the wake of a ceasefire announced after recent escalations in Pahalgam, Kashmir, a letter signed by members and former officeholders of the Society has accused the current leadership of sidestepping democratic procedures and using the platform to advance hyper-nationalist narratives. The letter, addressed to the society’s President and signed by members of the society past and present, calls recent statements “reflective of right-wing diaspora propaganda rather
The controversy began after the Society’s social media accounts posted a Hindi poem that, while poetic in form, appeared to many as a thinly veiled call for violent retribution. A line translated as “Then, united in every element, we must completely burn Lanka”, referencing the Ramayana epic, sparked concern over its metaphorical tone and timing.
According to Arjun Joshi, a Postgraduate Officer at the India Society, signatories also condemned a sudden resched-
uling of the India Society committee meeting on 10th May – from 6:00 pm to 10:00 am –allegedly making it difficult for ordinary committee members to attend. At this meeting, the planned India-Pakistan cricket match, long seen as a symbolic gesture of cross-border camaraderie, was unilaterally cancelled.
Joshi told The Oxford Student: “The India Soc is only creating a divide between students here… India Soc has no reason to bring the war from the subcontinent here… ” Joshi also mentioned that the decision to reschedule the meeting and post the cancellation announcement in the morning was “immature”. He also stated that people from South Asia who live in harmony at Oxford should be…
Continued on page 4…
The newly appointed Pope Leo XIV
On 8th May, the world waited with bated breath as a new pope emerged at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV.
After the death of Pope Francis on 21 April, the College of Cardinals deliberated on a pope to succeed him. Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, a fellow at Blackfriaris Hall in Oxford, was one of the 133 cardinals who participated in the conclave.
Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and holds dual citizenship
Comment
of the United States and Peru. Cardinal Robert Prevost took his vows in Rome in 1981 and served as a missionary in Peru, where he became bishop of Chiclayo in 2014. Pope Leo XIV also joined the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977, which was founded in 1244 and is “dedicated to poverty, service and spreading the word of God”. As a citizen of the United States, Pope XIV is the first American appointed to the position. According to The Guardian, “There had long been reticence about the notion of a…
Continued on page 4…
Higher education: from tuition to tents
What do the years 1968 and 2024 have in common? How are these events - seemingly separated by cause and geography - similar? And why are they important?
On March 31st, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked the world by announcing that he would not seek re-election - a decision made at a time when both
the United States and the world were gripped by radical political energy. The announcement followed a wave of protests across the country, especially on university campuses, against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and helped pave the way for Nixon’s eventual de-escalation of the conflict. This period, spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s, also marked a pivotal shift in higher education policy.
Student encampment outside Pitt Rivers. Credit: Cameron S.K.
Left and right - the India and Pakistan society cricket teams (Credit: Israr Khan). Center - Conflict in Kashmir (Credit: Kashmir Global)
Met Gala
Yashas Ramakrishnan and Aamna Shezhad
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Ellie Apostolidi
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Interview on LGBTQ+ flag secret ballot
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Taking pictures with the stars: imaging the Pyra- mids with cosmic rays
26
I’m happy to announce that I’m finally settling into the swing of things… though I’m not going to lie, balancing Editor-in-Chief alongside everything else going on at Oxford is not easy in the slightest. But I can feel myself getting through this, slowly but surely – although I think my sleep schedule would beg to differ. I hate to be the person who comments on the weather, but my god it has been so warm and sunny I almost feel like I’m back in tropical Singapore sometimes. I’m learning to enjoy the sunshine, iced teas, summer clothes, and the occasional lap or two around Christ Church Meadows. The range of stories this
Happy week 3, everyone! First of all, I cannot imagine a more exciting and fulfilling role during my Trini-free term this year. From the first issue you have had the chance to
Editorial Team
Editorial Board
Yashas Ramakrishnan and Yunzhang Liang (Editors-in-Chief)
Ivett Berenyi and Ekam Hothi (Associate Editors)
Ananya Parakh and Tod Manners (Directors of Strategy)
News
Aamna Shehzad and Canqi Li (Heads of News)
Anisha Mohammed, Caitlin Clarke, Chaewon Kang, Christine Savino, Dalia Berkani, Devika Manish Kumar, Fenja Tramsen, Iona Mandal, Maya Prakash, Will Lawrence (Section Editors)
week, as always, has been immaculate. From reflections on pressing global issues, like the escalating conflict in Kashmir, the election of the new Pope, and the crisis of democracy in Turkey, to light-hearted quips on the Met Gala, pottery making, and the Pyramids of Giza, we’ve truly got it all. I stand by my belief that everyone – and I mean everyone – has something to say, and therefore everyone can be a writer. If you’re ever thinking of getting involved with student journalism at all, I would highly encourage you to start – I don’t think I’ve been involved in something more rewarding than this.
Here’s to another successful print! My body is screaming at me to sleep, my tutors are mildly annoyed at my late (or non-existent) essays, but at least we’ve pulled through for the week...right???
Yunzhang Liang Christ Church
catch up on domestic and international affairs, as well as local news. In case you are in dire need of revisiting May Morning memories refer back to the Features section; and if you are still thinking about Katy Perry’s brief history in space, check out The OxYou. Since the first print of this term, our News section has covered the appointment of Pope Leo XIV, Felicity Jones’s visit at Wadham College and upcoming OxfordSpeaks guests. Our Culture section reviewed
Investigations
Manon Graham (Head of Investigations)
Comment
Harry Aldridge (Deputy Editor)
Ellie Apostolidi, Arun Lewis, Iona Davies, Chaehyeon Moon, Devika Manish Kumar, Isheta Ahmed, Yassin Hachi (Section Editors)
Profile Mariyah Saddique (Deputy Editor)
Cora Partridge, Iona Davies, Isobel Wanstall, Maya Prakash, Meira Lee, Sofia Mollona (Section Editors)
Features
There’s been something in the air this week.
Maybe it’s the heat, but I get the feeling that everything is starting to boil over. This issue came together like that too: not smoothly, but honestly; with grit, with guts. In this edition, I don’t see writers, but people pushing for space, for truth, and above all, for something that feels like its theirs. The Union finds itself at the centre of attention, again. And of course it is: for better or worse, it’s still the place where all of Oxford’s contradictions meet. And politics seeps in everywhere else, too: the India–Pakistan story is no longer just about cricket or metaphor. It’s about who
the ‘Carmen’ production and ‘Severance’ and editors of Profiles interviewed Princess Rostislav and Jennifer Walshe. Columns and Comment continue offer a safe space for escapism, whether you fancy reading about the reflections of a local insomniac or struggles with tutorials.
As my fellow second-year Humanities students can relate, Trini-free is the perfect time to get involved with student journalism. Without the pressure of exams, we can take
Isobel Wanstall (Deputy Editor) Chaewon Kang, Esme Thomson, Isheta Ahmed, Lola Forbes, Maya Prakash, Meira Lee, Nicole Wong, Sofia Mollona (Section Editors)
Culture
Christina Scote (Deputy Editor)
Esme Thomson, Hannah Stewart, Iona Mandal, Jack Wharton, Meira Lee, Nicole Wong, Sam FieldGibson, Sophie Harrison (Section Editors)
OxYou
Will Lawrence (Deputy Editor) Agnes Kay, Arun Lewis, Louise Guy (Section Editors)
Identity
gets heard, who makes decisions, and who gets left out. It’s messy. And that’s exactly why it matters.
But this issue isn’t just about headlines. It’s also about the quieter forms of resistance. There’s a piece in here, about student protest, that captures that something in the air I, and a lot more of you, I’m sure, have been feeling. You’ll know it when you read it.
The team’s getting braver. People are writing less like they’re filling space and more like they’re claiming it. Our socials are sharper, our layouts tighter, and the strange alchemy of edits, arguments, and absurd last-minute saves is finally starting to feel like its own kind of magic. This week, I think we got closer to what this paper should be. Not polished, not perfect — but alive. And very much ours.
Yashas Ramakrishnan Balliol College
a deep dive into topics outside the of our degrees and the general bubble of Oxford. The OxStu team in general is a delight to work with. From lay-ins to socials, our Editors-in-Chief and Strategy teams sustain an energetic and productive environment––or at least I am always happy to get away from essays and work on the newspaper.
Ivett Berenyi St. Hilda’s College
Iona Mandal (Deputy Editor)
Agnes Kay, Hannah Stewart, Iona Davies, Isheta Ahmed (Section Editors)
Sport
Tod Manners (Deputy Editor)
Ava Doherty (Section Editor)
Science
Yuhan Wang (Deputy Editor)
Nicholas Gan, Nicola Kalita, Omer
Mihovic, Will Lawrence (Section Editors)
Creative Youran Luo (Creative Director)
Bethan Wallace, Kate Bansmer, Tess Cottin (Photographers)
Luke Gillespie (Puzzles)
Interview on LGBTQ+ flag secret ballot
An Oxford Union committee member has expressed their disappointment in the Union’s recent decision against flying the LGBTQ+ flag during Pride Month in an exclusive interview with The Oxford Student.
The Union’s Standing Committee voted 7-4 against a proposal to fly the flag by secret ballot on 5th May, granting the voters anonymity. Reasons opponents of the proposal have cited include the idea that allowing the flying of the Pride flag would open up a “Pandora’s Box” of requests for other flags — including more controversial ones — to be displayed.
“It is a disappointment to see this decision taken,” the Union committee member, who also participated in the voting process, told The Oxford Student. “It is also disappointing that the Access Committee and the LGBTQ officer were not consulted in the conversation that the Standing Committee had,” they added.
The committee member — who chose to remain anonymous for the interview — believes that this voting outcome represents a missed opportunity to recognise representation and solidarity within the Union, something they
believe has always been at the core of the society’s principles. They were also disheartened to observe that this decision was made amidst “changes we are seeing in institutions across the UK”, where traditionally oppressed minorities “have been sidelined”.
“ The committee member was also disheartened to observe that this decision was made amidst “changes we are seeing in institutions across the UK”, where traditionally oppressed minorities “have been sidelined”
Although they are “perplexed and surprised” by the “Pandora’s Box” remark cited by the proposal’s opponents, the committee member hopes that this voting outcome will lead to further conversation
PhD student jailed for slavery
AUN Criminal Tribunal Judge, a Ugandan High Court Judge, and PhD law student at Oxford University, was found guilty of modern day slavery.
Lydia Mugambe, 50, has been sentenced to six years and four months’ imprisonment at Oxford Crown Court, according to the Thames Valley Police. The judge also granted the victim, who is a young Ugandan woman, a restraining order and £12,160 as compensation.
on the topic. “I am optimistic that we will be able to bring this before the house and have a democratic vote on the matter,” they said, adding: “I hope that within that vote, we will reflect the diversity of our members and their opinions on this.”
In their pre-debate speech on 8th May, the committee member stated that they “struggle to understand what harm is perceived in a gesture that simply affirms the dignity of members who have historically been marginalised”, underscoring that the gesture “simply recognises the diverse community that makes up this university and this society that we all share”.
In an Instagram statement, Union President Anita Okunde wrote that she has proposed a Private Business Motion in her name to allow Union members, instead of the Standing Committee, to have the final say on the matter. She has also urged Union members to sign a requisition for the proposal to be debated and voted on in the House. Union members can sign the requisition either in person in the Union’s building or by emailing the Returning Officer while also CC-ing Okunde using format: Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
first, but Mugambe “did not do as she had promised” and the victim became “fearful and worried”.
The victim also mentioned: “Even after the police had visited her house on the first occasion, Lydia told me she had the authority and that she would burn my passport and bank card. She also said she would call the police because I was in the UK illegally.”
“
The Oxford Crown Court charged Mugambe on four counts, including “requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour” and “arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation”. The victim worked at Mugambe’s residence as a nanny without pay and had her passport, biometric visa card, and phone taken away.
Mugambe obtained a work visa for the victim under the stipulation that she would work for former Deputy High Commissioner, John Mugerwa, at the Ugandan Embassy, in London. The Thames Valley Police looked into immigration offences on Mugerwa’s part, but diplomatic immunity shields him from charges.
In a written statement, read in court by prosecutor Caroline Haughey KC, the victim said that she believed what Mugambe promised her at
Lydia Mugambe, 50, has been sentenced to six years and four months’ imprisonment
Thames Valley Police began an investigation following a report in February 2023 that Mugambe was holding a woman as a slave at her home. The Guardian found that Mugambe’s appointment to the UN’s judicial roster happened in May 2023, three months after the police were called to her home.
Regarding the incident, Chief Superintendent Ben Clark — the Commander for Oxfordshire — said: “Lydia Mugambe is an extremely qualified lawyer, a Ugandan High Court Judge and a UN Criminal Tribunal Judge. As such, there is no doubt that she knew she was committing offences.”
Read the full article online
Oxford Crown Court. Credit: Kaihsu Tai
Iona Mandal, Maya Prakash, Will Lawrence, Caitlin Clarke, Dalia Berkani, Fenja Tremsen, Devika Manish Kumar, Christine Savino
Oxford Union Building. Credit: Padraic
Canqi Li and Iona Mandal
Aamna Shehzad
Award-winning actress Felicity Jones attends formal dinner at alma mater: Wadham College
On 8th May, English actress Felicity Jones made a visit to her alma mater, Wadham College.
She was hosted by a drinks reception in Lee Shau Kee Building, followed by a formal dinner in the Wadham dining hall.
Felicity Jones is an alumna of Wadham College, Oxford, where she studied English. During her time in Oxford, she appeared in numerous student plays, including Attis, in which she played the titular role.
She has starred in multiple movies and TV shows, including The Brutalist, Star Wars”: Rogue One, The Theory of Everything, and On the Basis of Sex.
Oxford India Society Leadership Accused of Escalatory Rhetoric
Continued from page 1
…protected no matter what. Joshi highlighted the potential right-wing associations of some members as well, saying that when India attacked Pakistan on 6th May, one member, who is affiliated with fringe right-wing people in India, immediately posted “Jai Hind” without any voting. “Jai Hind” is commonly translated as “Victory to India” or “Glory to India”. “I’m saying as an Indian”, Joshi added, “Jai Hind is not wrong. But to use Jai Hind in the context of militarization and attack is undermining Jai Hind and is being used to create hate and division.”
The signatories of the letter, however, stop short of demanding resignations, instead urging procedural reform, depoliticisation, and inclusivity. The letter calls for transparent decision-making, reinstatement of the cricket match,
fresh elections to vacant roles, and a public reaffirmation of Oxford’s values of dialogue and pluralism.
Maha Akbar, a Masters in Diplomatic Studies candidate and a Pakistani student, told The Oxford Student: “People around the world pay attention to what happens at Oxford. This could have been a powerful moment for the India and Pakistan societies to come together, send a united message of peace, and call for de-escalation. Instead, it’s disheartening to see the language of hate and division replicated here.”
Akbar continued: “It’s especially troubling that at a place like Oxford where students are meant to engage in discourse are echoing nationalist rhetoric that vilifies an entire population. Reducing students who are ordinary citizens to extensions of their governments
and treating them as repre- sentatives of state policy is not only unfair, it’s dangerous.”
“ “I’m saying as an Indian”, Joshi added “Jai Hind is not wrong. But to use Jai Hind in the context of militarization and attack is undermining Jai Hind and is being used to create hate and division.”
The President of the society, when contacted for comment, gave The Oxford Student the following statement: “I have always aimed to create space for differing viewpoints and open dialogue. I was happy to receive the letter and have since been engaged in constructive conversations with its authors. The letter itself is a testament to the kind of democratic discourse we strive to foster. We all share a commitment to ensuring that the Oxford India Society remains a democratic, inclusive, and participatory space. I look forward to working collaboratively with the authors on the next steps.” He also noted that he has started taking actions to fill out vacant positions on the committee, drafting a call for applications and intending to circulate it shortly.
Pope Leo XIV – the first American to become pope
Continued from page 1
…US pontiff” because of concerns over what having a leader from a “political, cultural, and secular superpower” would represent. Pope Leo XIV’s Peruvian citizenship and his time there, however, allow him to be considered as a cardinal from Latin America.
The Oxford Student reached out to students for their thoughts and comments on the passing of Pope Francis, the conclave, and the appointment of Pope Leo XIV. Regarding Pope XIV being the first American appointed to the position, an anonymous student replied: “When I heard on TV that they’ve elected an American I almost had a heart attack. An American in this time in our church is unprecedented, and was not what I was expecting. I think any serious catholic was expecting a middle of the road Italian/
European.”
Joshua, an MPhil candidate at St. Antony’s, offered his opinion on the conclave itself: “I did not follow this election closely as I find that the media has difficulty in comprehending or appreciating the ways in which Catholic social teaching, and the composition of the College of Cardinals (and therefore their deliberations) transcends traditional political left-right, liberal-conservative distinctions. The Catholic Church is older than the modern political spectrum and its operating concepts. As such, much is lost in translation through the mass media.”
Pope XIV’s peers speak of him as a calm and intelligent person who is not a “showboat”. Rev. Art Purcaro, a friend who served with Cardinal Prevost in Peru, described the new pope as a “deeply spiritual and very solidly based
in his faith, not an ambitious person. He’s reserved”.
Vatican insiders, however, described Cardinal Robert Prevost as a “dark horse” who rose to prominence after being made bishop just this year. Compared to his more progressive predecessor Pope Francis, Pope XIV is considered a centrist with progressive takes on certain issues.
Cardinal Prevost expressed a nuanced take on the issue of
St. Peter’s
clericalizing women, arguing that it would not “solve the issues of the church”, arguing instead that there need to be new understandings of leadership, power, authority, and service so that men and women can bring new perspectives on those issues to the Church. Cardinal Prevost expressed support for blessing LGBTQ+ couples while adding… Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Basilica. Credit: Christopher Chan
Credit: Gordon Correll
From Blackfriars to the Vatican: the Oxford Cardinal who helped choose the new Pope
The white smoke billowing above the Sistine Chapel today signaled that members of the conclave—a gathering of the College of Cardinals under the age of 80 tasked with electing the new pope—have chosen a successor to Pope Francis: Robert Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Among these red-robed cardinals, or “princes of the Church”, responsible for choosing the new leader of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic faith, is an Oxford native: Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, former Master of the Order of Preachers and an official fellow at Blackfriars Hall. Radcliffe was eligible to be Pope: though his election was deemed unlikely, bookies had estimated his chances of becoming the next pontiff at around 30-1.
Radcliffe, an alumnus and current honorary fellow of St. John’s College, is one of the
133 cardinals young enough to vote for the new pope, and one of three Britons in the conclave. In an exclusive comment to the Student, Radcliffe said: “My time as a student at Oxford taught me how to listen to and engage with people who had different views than mine. That is so valuable as we discuss the future of the Church and choose who should lead it.”
He was made cardinal by Pope Francis in December 2024, one of the final appointments before the pope’s death in April. At Oxford, Radcliffe served as director of the Las Casas Institute from 2014 to 2016, a Catholic institute promoting social justice and human rights, and is the only English friar of the Dominican Order to hold the title of Master-General. He joined the Dominican Order in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1971. Born into the English aristocracy to Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Radcliffe, he is in remainder to the Radcliffe
baronetcy, and was educated at Worth Preparatory and Downside schools before matriculating at Oxford.
Father John O’Connor, the Regent of Blackfriars and a Blackfriar brother to Radcliffe, said to the Student of Radcliffe: “Central to his theological vision is reciprocity and the culture of encounter. Reciprocity is about discovering who we are through and with the other…it is important to have mutual encounter and dialogue – especially in a world that is so fractured.”
At a time when the conclave is the most diverse it has ever been, with over 72 countries represented among the cardinals, Radcliffe faced the task of selecting a candidate from an ideologically and geographically varied lineup. In a BBC Radio 4 interview, Radcliffe said that he hoped the next pope is “like Francis,” the previous pope who prioritized inclusivity and tolerance. He also remarked that he believes the next pontiff should be a
“man of encounter.” Radcliffe dismissed any personal aspirations to the papacy, stating: “The Holy Spirit is far too wise to even think of me for the shortest moment.”
Father O’Connor highlighted Radcliffe’s influence on the Blackfriars community:
“As someone with immense experience of not only the global Catholic Church, but also of social situations across
,the world, Cardinal Timothy contributes a great deal to the intellectual life and engagement of Blackfriars Hall…he is a friend to many.”
He added that Radcliffe has impacted him personally, saying: “The influence he has had on people like me is that he makes the content of the Christian faith exciting… Read the full article online at www.oxforstudent.com
Reflections from a Landmark Visit
Amelia Blunden, on behalf of the Oxford Diplomatic Society’s delegation to Nepal
The Oxford Diplomatic Society was privileged to send an inaugural delegation to Nepal—a visit that brought together students and alumni from Oxford and Cambridge representing the UK, China, India, Japan, the US, and Nepal. With academic and professional backgrounds spanning diplomacy, economics, sustainability, public health, and governance, the group reflected the Society’s ethos of cross-cultural dialogue and fostering the next generation of global leaders.
Over ten days, we engaged with an extraordinary range of stakeholders—from senior government officials and diplomats to grassroots actors working on the front lines of development. What struck me most was not only the openness of those we met,
but the energy and generosity with which they shared their insights.
In Kathmandu, we met with Members of Parliament and senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where conversations explored Nepal’s political transformation, public service priorities, and regional diplomacy.
One of the most powerful moments of the trip came during our visit to Panchakanya Rural Municipality in Nuwakot. Here we met with local leaders, and listening to their stories, the sense of purpose and pride was palpable. Together, we forged an agreement centred on promoting sustainable tourism initiatives in the region which was an important reminder that diplomacy is often most impactful when it begins from the ground up.
The response from local partners and the Oxford Diplomatic Society community has been overwhelmingly positive. Asmod Khakurel, Nepal Area Contact for the Oxford Alumni Network and our outstanding local lead, described the trip as “a gateway to new forms of grassroots-diplomatic collaboration,” noting growing interest from other institutions in replicating this idea, and positioning Nepal as a model for future academic and diplomatic exchanges. What I will take away most from Nepal is not just the formal meetings or strategic discussions, but the spirit of resilience and hospitality we encountered at every turn. From policymakers to students to local officials and civil society leaders, there was a shared sense of purpose that left the entire delegation with
a renewed faith in diplomacy as a tool for progress.
A spokesperson for the Oxford Diplomatic Society reflected: “This has been an unforgettable experience for those who participated, and a wonderful opportunity for the Society to connect with its alumni members across the world.” The Society President described the trip by saying:
“I hope that this opportunity is far from the last we have to offer, and look forward to exploring future possibilities thanks to our ever-growing network of alumni members, and institutional support.” I would echo that sentiment. As we look ahead, it is clear that the Nepal delegation has set anew standard for our work, linking students with real-world challenges and forging relationships that extend beyond borders.
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. Credit: Mariusz Kubik
Maya Prakash
Fire alarm at Brasenose
Reform UK’s results in
On 1st May, thousands of Britons took to the polls to vote for Reform UK in the local elections.
Reform UK won majorities — and hence control of the county council — in Derbyshire, Doncaster, County Durham, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire.
Additionally, Reform UK won both inaugural mayoral elections in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire. Predicted national vote share for Reform was 30%, according to the BBC, a swing of +28%, in comparison to incumbent Labour’s swing of -14% and -10% for the Conservative Party. Even the Green Party lost ground to Reform with a swing of -2%.
While Reform do not hold a majority of councillor seats, nor did they even win a majority of the seats up for contention (677 won for Reform UK
vs. 960 won for all other parties), Reform’s achievement of winning the most seats, and relegating the government to fourth place in winning seats, has led Nigel Farage to claim that Reform UK is now the primary opposition to the government.
The Liberal Democrats remained the only party unscathed by the “turquoise tsu-
“ Additionally, Reform UK won both inaugural mayoral elections in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire.
nami”, maintaining their vote share from 2021 and taking control of Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire city councils.
While Reform scored some wins, there is a notable exception. In Oxfordshire in particular, Reform lost seats.
Additionally, Reform only won 17.8% of the vote in Oxfordshire, 12% less than the national average, and less than Cambridgeshire (23%) and Kent (37%).
Reform UK’s performance in Oxfordshire is, however, not as dismal as their seat share would suggest, especially when considering how they performed against incumbent Labour and the Greens. Specifically, Reform managed to win more votes in Oxfordshire than both Labour (12.8%) and the Greens (12%).
The results in Oxfordshire represent part of a wider shift; Reform did proportionally well in the North and the Midlands, whereas they did worse in the South. In Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, Hertfordshire, and Wiltshire, Reform UK won less than the national average for the popular vote, albeit by only around 5 percentage
Credit: Ananya Parakh
Students at Brasenose college had to shut off the New Quad Buildings due to an alarm going off this afternoon. The cause of the fire alarm was, reportedly, a chemical leak.
The alarm in the roof space of Staircase 10 began ringing a few minutes before 1:30 pm and continued for around three hours. Students at the New Quad Buildings were asked to evacuate to the Old Quad area, while those in Stamford House were not allowed to leave said building. Those outside the college were not allowed to enter at all.
Onlookers outside Brasenose saw two fire trucks, a small fire brigade car, and a small ambulance at Brasenose’s main door on High Street.
Brasenose’s Domestic Bursar made an… Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Oxfordshire
points. Only in neighbouring Buckinghamshire did Reform’s share dip below 20% in the South, besides Oxfordshire.
Oxford students expressed mixed reactions to Reform UK’s electoral performance.
A St. Catherine’s College student told The Oxford Student that Reform UK’s win was “disappointing obviously”
“ Reform UK held two seats in Oxfordshire’s county council before the election, both defections from the Conservatives, but was only able to win one seat on 1st May.
but “not particularly surprising given the dissatisfaction of a large number of voters with the current government’s choices”.
However, a student who wished to remain anonymous expressed hope that “this is a sign Reform will win the next general election”.
Will Lawrence
Aerial view of Oxfordshire. Credit: Will Lawrence
The NHS is not beyond repair
On Thursday 1st May, the Oxford Union debated on the topic
“This House Believes that the NHS is Beyond Repair”, eventually voting 84-26 against the motion.
Proposition speakers involved prominent cancer specialist and medical director of Rutherford Health Karol Sikora, Master’s student in Global Health Science and Epidemiology at St Anne’s College and health journalist Simar Bajaj, first-year undergraduate student of PPE at Lincoln College Milo Donovan, and second-year undergraduate student in German and Italian at Brasenose College Saskia Maini.
Opposition speakers included former President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and current chairperson of the RCGP council Dame Clare Gerada, Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College London and
former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Sir Simon Wessely, CEO of grassroots advocacy group EveryDoctor Dr Julia Patterson, and Master’s student in Surgical Sciences at Linacre College Wafa Audei.
The debate covered long-standing NHS issues such as long waiting times, insufficient funding, bureaucratic procedures, and overburdened doctors and nurses.
Opening the case for the motion, Donovan argued that the NHS is “no longer fit for purpose.” He brought up the human cost of inefficient waiting times—patients waiting in fear for surgeries—and argued that the NHS’s lack of funding was not the issue, as “NHS spending has tripled in real terms since 2000,” yet health outcomes remain worse than the rest of Europe. He also cited aging population demographics as a structural burden on the NHS, with fewer taxpayers and more users over time.
Audei, the first speaker for the opposition, argued: “The NHS is in crisis but not condemned.” She began by asking who benefitted from declaring the NHS beyond repair, calling such a stance “dangerous.” Drawing on her own experience working as a medical student during the COVID-19 pandemic, she lauded the NHS’s “extraordinary resilience.” She argued that “a decade of austerity” where NHS funding grew “only 1.5% per year, far below the historical average of three to 4%” has led to some of the challenges to-
day, but that it is “certainly not beyond repair.” She closed by concluding that the NHS is a “moral contract” and warning of the dangers of a privatized healthcare system.
Bajaj, recently named to Forbes Europe 30 Under 30, spoke for the proposition. He opened with a story of a friend who received a false HIV positive from the NHS and was left without communication for a month. “Everyone has a horror story,” he said. He noted the number of NHS…
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Oxford Union votes to hold arms industry responsible for war crimes
manufacturers.
On Thursday 8th May, the Oxford Union debated the motion “This House Would Hold The Arms Industry Responsible For War Crimes”, voting in 88-48 in favour of the motion.
This debate is especially pertinent in light of recent events, such as pro-Palestine protesters occupying the Radcliffe Camera and calling for universities to divest from arms
Treasurer of the Union Rosalie Chapman opened the case for the proposition, asserting that the arms industry is an active enabler in war crimes, and that meaningful accountability is essential to prevent future atrocities.
She highlighted how “arms are purposely built for destruction…to destroy buildings to dust and reduce bodies to statistics.” Rather than being neutral vendors, she
argued how this allows for a causal chain which facilitates war crimes.
Opening for the opposition, Director of Sponsorship for the Union Paul Bui called the motion a “complex issue”, which involved moral, legal and economic dimensions. He presented concerns around the motion being a “slippery slope”, arguing that if arms companies are held responsible, this may well lead to the prosecution of fuel suppliers or software engineers. Moreover, he stated that democratic governments need an industrial capacity to defend themselves, and that even if one state stopped exporting arms, another one would automatically replace it.
On the proposition, Colonel Ann Wright, retired US State Department Official, argued for a legal basis for accountability. She stated how, under
Cricket Match Cancelled!
The scheduled yearly cricket match between the Oxford India Society and the Oxford University Pakistan Society has been cancelled “in light of the ongoing hostilities” between the two countries.
The Oxford India Society released a statement on their Instagram account stating that they have decided to cancel the scheduled cricket match with the Pakistan Society.”
“While we believe in sportsmanship and unity, we cannot, in good conscience, engage in a ‘friendly’ match when lives are being lost on both sides due to the Pakistani military’s continued support for terrorism as state-policy and disregard for international law. We stand firmly with India, our families, and our armed forces back home.”
Article 25 of the ICC’s Rome Statute, individuals can be held criminally liable for abetting war crimes, asserting that corporate complicity, too, is a legal precedent.
Wright also presented statistics showing that global military spending exceeded $2.4 trillion in 2023, and that profit-centred companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are fueled by campaign donations – a form of political corruption leading to weapons being manufactured in nearly every state in the US.
Returning to the opposition, Dr Sean McFate, professor of strategy at Georgetown and National Defense University, emphasised the “fictional” nature of international public law. He compared it to “having a highway with speed limits but no police officers”, since it is “60% diplomatic…
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The statement ends with the Hindi phrase “Jai Hind”, a salutation and slogan which roughly translates to “Victory to India” or “Glory to India”. India and Pakistan have been engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir. Tensions have escalated over the past few weeks, following an attack on 22nd April that saw at least 26 people – most of whom were Indian tourists – shot dead by gunmen near the resort town of Pahalgam in the India-administered part of Kashmir. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has referred to the attack as an act of “terrorism”.
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Arms factory (World War 1). Credit: Imperial War Museums
Oxford Union debate hall. Credit: NATO
Canqi Li and Maya Prakash
Canqi Li and Iona Mandal
Yunzhang Liang
OBALCLIM ATESUM
Leaders of tomorrow: Where do students fit into the climate discussion?
Mon 2nd June 2025, 18:30-20:00
Oxford Museum of Natural History
comment@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Harry Aldridge
Section Editors: Anisha Mohammed, Arun Lewis, Chaehyeon Moon, Devika Manish Kumar, Ellie Apostolidi, Iona Davies, Isheta
Melodi Doğru is a first year student reading History and Politics at Merton College
Recently, a lot of catchy headlines have filled the news about the fate of Turkish democracy.
BBC News and The Guardian are among the news sources that have begun questioning whether the end of democracy in Türkiye is near. As a Turkish immigrant in the UK, following the international and local portrayal of events in the last few months, I am surprised that it is only now that the rest of the world is starting to doubt Turkish democracy. For years now, there has been a slow yet steady descent into authoritarianism. Democratic backsliding has been clear to many who live in Türkiye as they witness the banning of Workers’ Day celebrations, the jailing of journalists and the daily price increases. Yet, the urgency of the situation does not seem to be fully comprehended.
The key event that brought Türkiye into the headlines was the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamolu, on March 19. However, a day earlier, Istanbul University suspiciously and abruptly revoked Imamolu’s diploma, disqualifying him from standing as a presidential candidate in the future. For months, he had been seen as the future presidential candidate for the main opposition party CHP.
Within the span of two days, he not only lost his chance to stand for election but was also accused of serious crimes including but not limited to corruption, bribery, extortion and leading a criminal organisation. The report requested from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board by the court appears to only reach tentative conclusions, none of which are beyond doubt, and have been deemed by legal experts as requiring further investigation before any arrest can be justified.
students. They spoke out about the violence and torture inflicted upon them during their arrest.
Many of them remain in prison, still awaiting justice. One of those who has not been arrested despite being apprehended in protests claimed that he was released from custody after showing a picture of his father with Erdogan. Unfortunately, Erdogan has been working since rising to power as President in 2014 to consolidate his monopoly over the justice system. Today, neither the police nor the judges serve Turkish democracy anymore. The purpose of public institutions has become the preservation of the current government.
Is This the End of Turkish Democracy?
Türkiye’s democratic record.
Many people today see the current protests as a reflection of the Gezi spirit. People in rallies are not only uniting to demand the release of Imamolu; they are expressing the need for wider political change.
The international coverage of events has gradually diminished. Today, the flashy headlines have mostly disappeared. Without an imminent threat of war, Türkiye has fallen off the global media agenda. Erdogan acted swiftly, appointing replacements for councillors who have been arrested for similar charges to those that Imamolu face.
“ The rest of the world is starting to doubt Turkish democracy “ The international coverage of events has gradually diminished
Since then, the main opposition has led mobilisation on the streets, urging people to join their rallies. Turkish people have been pleasantly surprised by the courageous protesting of young people. Students, in particular, have been active in boycotting their lessons, standing up against violence from the police, and joining the calls for a national boycott of popular brands. Arrests continued. More than 1,500 arrests have been made since the end of March of people who were caught peacefully protesting or walking to the rallies. Most of these were university or high school
Things did not change overnight for Türkiye. One of the critical milestones was the 2017 constitutional referendum, whereby the role of prime minister was abolished. This marked Türkyi’e’s transition from a parliamentary to a presidential system. Earlier in 2013, during his time as prime minister, Erdogan faced the Gezi Park protests. Starting as a movement against gentrification, it brought together a plethora of voices against censorship, and in favour of freedom of expression. It soon became one of the largest and most symbolic protests in Turkish democratic history. Its violent suppression with tear gas and other chemical agents left a shameful stain on
Back in August 2024, Erdogan tried to invoke parliamentary regulations con-
lives. It is embedded in our language, our hostilities, our fights. Türkiye is more divided than ever. Our common ancestry or our common admiration of Ataturk is no longer sufficient to unite us as a nation. People are blinded by their religious, ethnic and social differences precisely because the government actively encourages it. It feeds on sectarianism and emphasises the differences of Turkish people. What can be done- can anything be done at all? This is an extremely challenging question. Many political scientists have commented that Erdoğan cannot be deposed peacefully. With the re-appearance of military coups every 10-15 years in Turkish history, any political change seems unlikely to come without a hefty price.
cerning the number of street animals to remove elected mayors who refused to collectively euthanise street dogs that were deemed dangerous to the public. That attempt failed. The public outrage was successful in deterring such a measure against his political opponents.
Going back to my homeland has become difficult. Politics has permeated our daily
Moreover, a majority of Turkish people are still supportive of Erdogan’s growingly fundamentalist and dictatorial governance. Many continue to identify with Erdogan’s party, AKP, for its religious piety, ignoring the economic and cultural breakdown of Turkish society.
The future of Turkish democracy is dire, if it can still be called a democracy at all. The change has been unfolding for decades. Atatürk’s republic has been replaced by neo-Ottoman principles, creating a country that is now unrecognisable to its own people.
Ahmed, Yassin Hachi
People wave Turkish flags in Izmir, Turkey. Credit: Evren Atalay/Anadolu Agency
Higher Education: From Tuition to Tents
What do the years 1968 and 2024 have in common? How are these events - seemingly separated by cause and geography - similar? And why are they important?
On March 31st, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked the world by announcing that he would not seek re-election - a decision made at a time when both the United States and the world were gripped by radical political energy. The announcement followed a wave of protests across the country, especially on university campuses, against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and helped pave the way for Nixon’s eventual de-escalation of the conflict. This period, spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s, also marked a pivotal shift in higher education policy: as student activism intensified, so too did calls to increase tuition fees as a means to depoliticise and control student populations.
Yet this was only one strategy among many used to suppress dissent: if last year’s crackdowns on student protests and encampments, including at our very own university, are to tell us anything, it is that
student voices do hold power, and therefore, danger to many institutions.
The OA4P encampment and subsequent protests embody a long tradition of student activism, echoing historic movements such as those against the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. In the UK, and particularly at Oxford, students clearly articulated their demands - chiefly, the university’s divestment from companies linked to Israel - and were met with swift disciplinary action. An Investigation by Sky News and Liberty Investigates shared with The Oxford Student found troubling implications for students’ right to protest. In the report it states that 28 universities had launched disciplinary investigations against students and staff over their pro-Palestinian activism since October 2023, with as many as 113 people affected. Of particular concern is the use of private intelligence companies, such as Horus Ltd (a company whose address is listed as that of the Oxford University Security Services) to monitor student activism.
For instance, the report notes an alert sent to the University of a march to the Pitt Rivers Museum on campus by the Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign last June, with forecasts of up to 200 people attending and warnings that
the recent arrest of 17 individuals for the occupation of a university building could “inflame temperaments”. The intense surveillance of student activity is not only concerning for the state of student privacy, but combined with the repercussions faced by students protesting peacefully, it is a threat to our right to freedom of expression.
they merely a neutral institution for scholarship or do they play an active role in maintaining the status quo? Here, I want to look at a particular case study - Reagan’s handling of UC Berkeley during his time as Governor of California. Before his reforms, students from California paid virtually no tuition fees, thanks to a policy that prioritised access to higher education for all, with only minimal incidental fees for services like health care and student unions. Reagan’s increase of “educational fees” meant students were now paying several times more than before, opening the door for the eventual institutionalisation of formal tuition fees. His explicit motivation, as stated in his 1966 campaign for governor, was to “clean up the mess at Berkeley” - a reference to the growing political unrest and radical activism on campus. Reagan viewed higher education as a luxury, whose influence he saw as dangerous in the hands of unruly and radical students. It is no surprise that he enacted these changes after a decade of intense student protests - from civil rights demonstrations to opposition to the Vietnam War - making UC Berkeley a hotbed for radical social movements.
“ Student voices do hold power, and therefore danger to many institutions “ Police have used disproportionate force against students and faculty
Similar protests across U.S. campuses have faced even harsher responses: police have used disproportionate force against students and faculty; some were suspended from their studies, and international students risked losing their visas. Though these actions were framed as efforts to curb antisemitism, maintain order, and ensure safety, one must ask whether the institutional response caused more disruption and harm than the protests themselves. The intensity of the responses raise deeper questions about the role of universities in the wider political regime - are
funding and onto universities and students themselves. As a result, institutions often rely on external investments, including those in morally dubious industries such as fossil fuels, arms manufacturing, or companies associated with pariah states. These financial ties make universities reluctant to divest, even in the face of widespread student opposition. When students protest these investments, they are not only challenging institutional ethics - they are threatening a core financial mechanism of higher education.
To me, the trajectory of higher education over the past several decades reveals a clear pattern: any attempt to
“ Institutions often rely on external investments, including those in morally dubious industries
The implications of Reagan’s actions extended far beyond pricing some students out of higher education - they helped transform how we understand and experience university today. For students, higher education has become a costly personal investment, marketed as essential for future success. For institutions, it increasingly operates under market logic, requiring a steady stream of revenue to survive. The financial burden has shifted away from public
shift university funding away from regimes implicated in systemic oppression - such as apartheid South Africa or present-day Israel - is met with forceful resistance. This resistance is driven by the powerful interests of commercial and military institutions, which view student-led activism as a threat to their influence and revenue. And if the fall of apartheid South Africa or the ending of US involvement in the Vietnam War has taught us anything, it is that the ethically grounded, radically protested causes of student activists do have the power to influence governmental and institutional policy. Student protests fare best when there is sustained, systematic and well-organised grassroot action - like the activism of last year. The case for OA4P and pro-Palestinian activism is difficult, but it does not have to be over.
Gaza Protest at the Univeristy of Edinburgh. Credit: Jade Eckhaus
Ellie Apostolidi is a Section Editor for Comment at The Oxford Student
The Universe Re-
newed: The Ascension of Pope Leo XIV
Arun Lewis is a Section Editor at The Oxford Student. He reflects on Pope Francis’ legacy and considers what the approach Pope Leo XIV adopts will be.
The words ‘Habemus Papam’ echoed out from the Vatican on May 9th, 2025. After the death of Pope Francis on the 21st of April, after over 12 years on the throne of St Peter. His papacy was not neither the longest nor the shortest: that distinction goes to either St Peter himself or Pope Pius IX, and Urban VII the shortest. But his papacy was marked by significant changes to the tone of the Church, as well as to the substance of its message. The new Pope’s own brother has spoken of his intent to ‘massage’ the progressivism of Francis: from a greater emphasis on social justice, the rights of immigrants,climate change, and a (relatively) more pro-
gressive approach towards the LGBTQ community and women in the Church. The Roman Catholic Church remains a conservative institution, but following Francis’ papacy, it is not an arch-reactionary one. Tolerance, if not as far as
“ His papacy was marked by significant changes to the tone of the Church, as well as to the substance of its message
with a greater openness to liberation theology and social campaigning, Benedict was an academic. He was more at home in the Vatican Secret Archives and in theological writing than being a dynamic leader of the largest denomination of Christianity. The current Pope was not one of those candidates, like Luis Tagle of the Philippines, promoted as future candidates before the election, and had not obtained the same level of attention as his predecessor or his competitors.
“
The pace of social change has outpaced the capacity for some conservative Catholics to cope
“ All indications suggest he won’t reverse Francis’ reforms, nor is he expected to undo Francis’ efforts to diversify the body of Cardinals beyond Europe
some might hope the Catholic Church to move, is a world away from the vocal calls for repression that once echoed out of the Sistine Chapel.
The Church remains in a state of flux. It continues to labour under the shadow of sexual abuse scandals that embroiled it during the 2000s and 2010s whilst the pace of social change has outpaced the capacity for some conservative Catholics to cope. Pope Francis drew greater attention to the papacy than his more reserved predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, with his higher profile inviting more scrutiny of the Church’s stances. Where Francis had been a Jesuit who climbed the Church hierarchy through that route,
Nevertheless, Pope Leo XIV emerged onto the balcony of the Vatican on May the 9th to the waiting masses who had gathered in St Peter’s Square, pleasantly surprised that, after only four rounds of voting, the 133 cardinals sealed from the outside world had elected a new pope. He took the same name as Pope Leo XIII, who emphasised the Church’s role in workers’ rights and social equality. Before his election, he had worked in Peru for so long that he gained citizenship, and condemned J.D. Vance. So he ought to watch out the next time the US’ Vice President struts into the Vatican. Despite the danger posed by America’s deputy ThankerIn-Chief, he arrived at the Papacy well-prepared for the job, and the first ever American Pope. Where will he go from here?
All indications suggest he won’t reverse Francis’ reforms, nor is he expected to undo Francis’ efforts to diversify the body of Cardinals beyond Europe as the Catholic faith’s growth continues to be fastest outside Europe. How will he wield the Papacy’s moral authority on international affairs,and in addressing global failures on issues like climate change? It is too early to know. But for the
Church to have avoided either extreme, as it did in 2013 with Francis’ selection, prevents either a schism of conservatives away from the Church or the slow dejection of progressives. The world today is more complicated and dangerous than ever. For the Church to be the Beacon of Light Pope Leo XIV aspires it to be, it must have courage in its convictions, and readiness to adapt to the world around it. Otherwise, the progress made under Pope Francis will be undone, the Church’s sins over child abuse forgotten, and its parishioners left behind.
If you would like to pitch your own article or write a 150-200 word letter responding to an article in this week’s Comment section, please send us an email at oxstu.comment@gmail.com
St Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Credit: Pexels, Mayumi Maciel
Profiles
In Conversation with Nick Rusher
WCora Partridge talks to Nick Rusher about childhood and rowing! “ There were always Olympics posters and old memorabilia. “ I had to decide ‘Okay, is this really something I want to do’. of the week “ “
hen I asked Nick Rusher about his first foray into rowing, he replied “I wasn’t great to start out with.” The 2024 Olympic medalist inherited a rich legacy on the water. His parents met on the U.S. national team, over four decades ago—his father winning bronze in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and his mother winning silver four years later in Barcelona. Nick is the youngest of three, with both older sisters rowing at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire before going on to Stanford, and his sister Allie rowing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Reflecting back on his childhood, Nick said that “growing up there were always Olympic posters and old memorabilia… to me it was normal.” Though he may not have
been walking on water from the get-go, Nick’s perseverance paid off. Getting recruited to row at Yale on a team that had just won its third national title—what Nick called “the real step”—launched a professional rowing career which led him all the way to
lab for children’s neurodegenerative diseases. Though he showed up “not really knowing what to expect” and “was horrified when [he] got here and it poured rain for a month straight” the sunny days of spring have been more reflective of what he calls a “winwin” experience—pursuing his academic passions at the highest level, while simultaneously rowing on a historic team.
ing from 5V to 3V that autumn gave “that same rush… I felt when I made the Olympics.”
Though he made the national team in his second to last year to race in the Prague world championships, Nick failed to do so in his graduation year, something he described as
is it something I really don’t want to do?’ And I decided then that I was all in on it. I think that has to be the mentality when you’re on this elite level at sport.”
Paris. After realizing a lifelong dream by joining his parents as a U.S. Olympic medalist, Nick is enjoying a return to life as a student-athlete at Oxford by following up an undergraduate degree in molecular biology with a masters degree in a
Getting to this level in sport is always an uphill battle. Sitting outside a Broad Street café, I had the chance to ask Nick some questions about his story. Arriving at Yale, Nick started in 5V, the lowest ranked boat. “It’s so easy for younger rowers to look at me in my career and think that I’ve always been really good at it, and that’s just not the case.” Climb-
“one of the most transformative experiences of my life.” In 2023, Nick found himself at a crossroads of whether to quit rowing, or dedicate his life to making the Olympic team: “I had to decide ‘Okay, is this really something I want to do, or
His family was a key lifeline. As Nick recalled, “both my parents lived it, went through it, [and] understood the demand… but again never pushed me in one way or the other,” which played a large part in his success on the Olympic journey. His boat, all but one of whom had no prior Olympic experience, has been described as both ‘young’ and ‘gritty’. “Something that defined our boat was that we all kind of had a chip on our shoulder.” The relative lack of experience proved both a setback and an opportunity; it made them “open to try anything... When the flag wen-
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Nick Rusher Credit: Sarah Phipps, USA Today Sports Nick Rusher competes in the 2022 rowing championships in Racice, Czech Republic. Credit: Team USA Photos
When the starting flag went down, everyone just pulled as hard as they could every single stroke,” Nick said. While there were some tense moments, their mutual respect and shared ambition honed their abilities, both as individual athletes and as a team. When asked for his thoughts on the recent Oxford-Cambridge boat race—which Oxford lost for the third year in a row—Nick reflected: “I’ve had a really successful rowing career. I’m usually used to winning races; so maybe it was just my time to lose one.” On a broader level, he emphasized his respect for Mark Fangen-Hall—the head coach
instated last year—and the trust he has in the program. While he was disappointed that the team’s hard work did not pay off, he argued that building a winning team takes time which one-year rowers like him don’t have. “Structurally, Cambridge has just been crushing it for years,” Nick said; “They’ve got funding, they’ve got guys there on multiple-year degrees, not just one-offs like me. And that’s really hard to turn around in a year. Guys like me are great to have for a year or two to top off an already really fast crew, but the one year degrees don’t build a program from the bottom up.”
To the rowers who may be returning next year, Nick said “I hope they choose to return, and they choose to return with the right attitude; because having an entitled
“ I didn’t have to prove myself in this sport anymore.
opinion about yourself and what result you deserve is just not how you succeed in rowing in my experience—and it’s really not how you succeed in life. If you don’t like the result
that you got, I think you have to really buckle down and ask yourself ‘Is this something I want to do, or is it not?’. And if it is something you want to do, go for it. There’s no shame in that, but there is a shame in kind of hemming and hawing and not really doing all that you could and then being disappointed with the result.”
On a personal level, Nick observed “I think I’m entering a time where I’m somewhat rediscovering myself… When I crossed the finish line in Paris, I just got this massive wave of relief. I just felt like I didn’t have to prove myself in this sport anymore.” While his Olympic future is yet to be
Inside Oxford’s film societies
determined, in the meantime, Nick looks forward to his graduation in several months time, visiting his Wisconsin hometown for his sister’s wedding, and spending more time with his girlfriend of eight years. Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Isobel Wanstall talks to film societies across Oxford’s colleges!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned talking to film-lovers, it’s the fact that they all have a story. I spoke to two Presidents of college film societies – Richard, a French and Italian student from Keble, and Freya, an English student from Merton – and Peter Kessler, creator of the iconic Magdalen Movie Mondays (and fellow alumnus of Merton in English), to hear their stories about the film societies they’ve curated and the films they love to share.
Oxford’s film societies were born out of a need for community after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a wastenot-want-not attitude towards college facilities. Though Freya did not create Merton’s film society, she explains she “got tired of just trying to ram five people in my tiny bedroom to watch a film, and if your college has a cinema screen, why not use it?” As Richard says: “Keble had no student societies whatsoever… I felt very frustrated because there weren’t many student film societies accessible to us.” Peter echoes this sentiment, though the Movie Mondays were originally part of a wider series of Zoom-based entertainments for students called ‘The President’s Husband’s Lockdown Lifeline’ which also boasted
Kahoot quizzes, a magic club and online pictionary. “So when we came out of lockdown — and I hadn’t even been into the auditorium at that stage — I said we should celebrate the fact we can all return to being together by showing a film in that auditorium, and we should make it
“ I though, well, why don’t we just show some more films?
a Magdalen related film. Let’s show Lawrence of Arabia. (Magdalen College hosted T.E. Lawrence as a postgraduate and thus has various related memorabilia) So we put on a display of Lawrence stuff. And it was incredibly popular. It was packed out. So I thought, well, why don’t we just show some more?” Peter’s enthusiasm also helped to revive Magdalen College’s student film society. ‘Big things have small beginnings’, indeed. Curation of film term-cards differs from society to society, though the common thread is the President must like what they show. Richard’s process is casual yet thoughtful: “I try to engage the student com-
munity… to choose a variety from different genres because I want the society to be accessible to all.” He’s screened classics both cult and canon, mostly from the past 40 years, though the range has spanned from 1942’s Casablanca to 2022’s The Northman in a single term. At Magdalen, themes are the name of the game, with every term featuring a variety of films that are united in some way. Peter notes that a sense of trust has built throughout the years: “The commitment that I always make is I will only show films which, if they were ships going down, I personally would go down with them… I used to be a TV producer, so I’m kind of baked in with the idea that I desperately need to entertain people.” Freya’s approach is similarly personal: “I have a lot of siblings, and one of my favourite things is showing them films that I’ve already watched… and that experience of almost watching their reactions instead of entirely watching the film.”
The importance of screening films as they were intended to be seen – on a big screen, with an audience, for free! – is the crux behind these societies. Peter fondly remembers being “enveloped” by the screen in a cinema, the unifying expe-
rience of watching together: “there is definitely this sense of sharing as a community, which we have lost in so many other ways. Quite a lot of the things that we can go and watch all together have been made so expensive that they’re not really even community experiences. They’re elite experiences.” Richard stresses the importance of the immersion that the cinema allows: “You really get drawn in. If you watch a film on a laptop, a smartphone, you have a lot more distractions around you. I think there’s something magical about the big screen experience: the smell of popcorn, the excitement that builds up sitting through the advertisements and the trailers.”
When asked about Oxford
“ The smell of popcorn, the excitement that builds up.
University’s lack of an undergraduate film degree, the curators were once again united. Peter introduced the topic by talking about the upcoming Schwartzman Centre for Humanities, which will have a cinema. “They want to
do things with film, but it’s a challenge because there isn’t actually a faculty for them to work with that is devoted to film.” He mentions the potential brilliant minds that Oxford has lost due to the lack of opportunity to study film in an organised way, “So that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s really wonderful that there’s so much activity. I’ve started a film studies programme, and it’s with that in mind: I want to see the idea of the academic study of film being more accepted in this university.” Richard emphasises the need for “institutional support” for “bigger events, more screenings, more visibility.” Freya adds, “I think anything that the majority of people in the world are consuming and is seriously impacting their political views, their social views, their culture, is obviously something worth academic investment.”
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Tenerife Trials
Diaries of an Oxford Geographer
Perhaps the biggest perk of being an Oxford Geographer – aside from the ability to bring ‘temporal and spatial scales’ into every conversation ever – is the weeklong all-expenses paid fieldwork trip in Trinity term of 2nd year. Instead of sitting collections and writing essays, we were packing our bags to go to Tenerife, all in the name of ‘academic enrichment’.
At 9am on Friday morning, thirty geographers and our seven tutors arrived at Gatwick airport excited by the prospect of escaping the final weeks of cold, gloomy UK weather before the arrival of the Trinity sun (and no, Week One’s ‘mini heatwave’ doesn’t count). As a group of geographers, sense of direction is instinctive to us, so naturally, it only took a few wrong turns for us to arrive at the check-
in desk. The first major hurdle of the trip came when we reached security. As this was a fieldwork trip, we had brought along lots of equipment, which had been distributed amongst the staff and students, and some of which looked surprisingly bomb-like (shout out to the Schmidt hammer). Whilst queuing we suddenly realised how suspicious some of these items looked and started to dread the seemingly inevitable security questioning – “has anyone given you anything to put in your luggage?” (“yep” …the department), “do you know what it is?” (“not really” …probably should by now though). Despite this, we escaped security unscathed, bomb-like items in tow.
After a mercifully uneventful flight, we landed in Tenerife South airport, loaded onto a coach and set off towards Puerto de la Cruz. Approximately an hour and a half later we arrived at the Fergus Hotel, which was almost as Spanish as it sounds… Exhausted from the journey, after taking our fill of the highly questionable ‘Indian’ themed buffet dinner, and a few
casual’). This was largely successfully achieved, perhaps in spite of the large amount of Oxford society and college stash being sported by the group.
rounds of Uno (muy Spanish), we headed to bed in preparation for the following day’s ‘geographical themed tour of Tenerife’.
“ sense of direction is instinctive to us, so naturally, it only took a few wrong turns for us to arrive at the check-in desk.
Day one started with the hotel buffet breakfast (significantly better than the dinner offering), before loading onto a coach at 9am to start our tour of the island. The next seven hours saw us kicked off the coach every half hour to discuss endemic species, the depth of the cloud deck (spoiler – it wasn’t quite 6km thick), production of volcanic rock and the work of von Humbolt (apparently, one of the last true polymaths… who knew?!). Given the anti-tourism protests ongoing on the southside of the island, we were instructed to be respectful and discrete (aka… ‘keep it
The rest of the week saw us splitting off into our fieldwork groups based on our chosen study areas: rocks, winds, coasts and ecology. As a member of the coasts group, I can exclusively bring you the non-biased news that the coasts group was categorically the place to be. Our research agenda saw us measuring beach gradient, rock hardness with a Schmidt hammer (or ‘shit hammer’ as it became affectionately known), wave height and frequency, sediment size and average wind speed. The week saw huge improvements for the coasts team – our first transect took us nearly two hours to complete, but by the end of the week we had it down to a twenty-minute process. Each day, after the tide came in, we would return to the hotel for data inputting and processing (and let’s be honest, sangria). Initially, ArcGIS (a mapping system used for processing geographical data) caused some significant challenges, but with a little help from Google (helpfully informing me to simply double click the desktop icon in order to open the app), by the end of the week our relationship was far more positive and I had successfully modelled future loss of land in Tenerife under IPCC UN climate change-based projections of sea level rise.
Another benefit of doing coastal fieldwork was that each day finished with a walk through the seafront and harbour area, allowing us to familiarise ourselves with the local offerings. One afternoon saw the discovery of a bar selling 2-for-€8 takeaway mojitos – which soon became a regular haunt of the coasts group. We found that getting to know the area around our study sites really supported our academic goals and will certainly lead to success in our fieldwork report writing.
I can’t say I know that much
about what the other fieldwork groups got up to, but I know the headlines. The winds group got up at 5:30am every day to release balloons into the air once an hour. The ecologists drove off a cliff and spent all day searching for bugs in the earth. The geomorphologists stared at rocks. It’s pretty clear to me, and hopefully to you, that the coasts group truly was the best of the bunch, although I may be slightly biased. Everyone seemed to have a good time though!
Our final night in Tenerife saw everyone – students and tutors together – reunited for a night of tapas and sangria at Templo del Vino. Eventually, the seemingly endless rounds of tapas slowed, and the jugs of sangria dried up, making way for our trip awards ceremony. I can now inform you that this article is being brought to you by one of the two ‘the most sunburn prone’ and one half of the trip’s ‘iconic duo’. After dinner, everyone headed to Blanco Bar for one last night of dancing and drinking before leaving the next morning.
Maybe it was the thought of a return to the realities of an Oxford workload, although more likely it was the hangovers, but the coach journey to the airport the next morning was very quiet. One flight and coach journey later, we arrived back to Oxford at 8:30pm, distant memories of sangria and fieldwork mishaps running through our minds as we hugged goodbye… before awkwardly all walking in the same direction anyway.
features@oxfordstudent.com
Deputy Editor: Isobel Wanstall
Section Editors: Esme Thomson, Isheta Ahmed, Maya Prakash, Sofia Mollona, Lola Forbes, Chaewon Kang, Meira Lee, Nicole Wong | Columnist: Chaewon Kang
Geography equipment on a Tenerife beach. Credit: Charlotte O’Neill
Charlotte O’Neill
A group. Credit: Charlotte O’Neill
The coast. Credit: Charlotte O’Neill
Oxford Jargon: the indecipherable dialect?
Lola Forbes examines Oxford’s strange and unique vocabulary as both an exclusionary and unifying force.
You know that humiliating moment when the word ‘scout’ or ‘collections’ slips out in front of friends and family back home– an awkward wakeup call to the strangeness of Oxford jargon, which seems to silently become a part of student’s everyday language use.
Oxford University, at times, feels impossible without a glossary at hand with which to navigate the confluence of acronyms and Latin which make up its jargon. The University’s website lists 153 terms and their definitions, such as Encaenia, matriculation, and sub fusc, which to anyone separate from the university, seem unintelligible.
But these words do not create new lexical definitions as most jargon does, instead, these words can be translated. And so, I explain that scout means a housekeeper, and that collections are just mock exams, to which I am met with the question: “So why don’t you just call it that instead?’
The embarrassing response is, “I don’t know.”
Jargon is embedded deep within our language use, whether we are conscious of it or not. While this is not inherently a negative thing, there are certain controversial factors that seem to call for critique: namely, the extensive Latin influence within Oxford’s jargon. This dead language has acquired an elitist reputation, partly perpetuated due to the variation in its teaching between state and indepen-
This is my ode – a little too wordy, perhaps just slightly bitter, probably overdramatic, but wholeheartedly sincere – to my rice cooker.
As a born-and-bred Korean, I carry the stereotypical but sincere love for rice deep in my bones. Yes, I’m aware of how that sounds. Racially expected? Perhaps. But I stand by it. Rice is the superior carbohydrate: versatile, comforting, and always just right. This devotion became more than a dietary preference when I started life as an international student. Suddenly, food wasn’t just fuel; it was
dent schools. According to a British Council survey, Latin is taught at Key Stage 3 in 2.7%
“
The use of Latin throughout Oxford can feel somewhat prescribed, intentionally interwoven by reason for its social linguistic superiority.
of state schools compared to 49% of independent schools. The use of jargon often seeks to create a sense of inclusivity within a certain profession or social group. However, over half of Oxford University’s student population comes from state-educated backgrounds. Therefore, does the heavy integration of Latin potentially pose a threat for creating an exclusive atmosphere within the university itself?
memory, identity, home. A bowl of doenjang-jjigae after a long day? Therapy. The sharp tang of good kimchi? A taste of my mother’s hands. Meanwhile, the dining hall – undoubtedly trying its best to cater to a wide range of tastes – served me... roasted potatoes. Again. I’m sure it’s perfectly fine for many, even comforting to some. But for me, the meals often felt like polite small talk when what I really craved was a deep conversation. Food that nodded at me, maybe, but didn’t speak the language of my gut – or my soul.
And so, naturally, I commit-
The use of Latin throughout Oxford can feel somewhat prescribed, intentionally interwoven by reason for its social linguistic superiority. Yet jargon most often arises out of necessity, as a way to strengthen an inner circle, and purposefully mask meaning to outsiders. However, the use of jargon in Oxford feels removed from this purpose, it feels as if it is rather used to create a sense of secrecy and ambiguity for those who do not know it from the inside.
Despite this, Oxford University is an establishment of tradition, an institution that holds on to and honours the past as much as making way for the future. In a way, this language connects us to its history, and of those that have come before us, and so it feels complicated to criticize one aspect of Oxford tradition while embracing others. And this criticism can become even further complicated when we consider our societal acceptance of jargon in fields such as Law, where ‘legalese’ is, by nature, designed to be confusing and exclusive.
ted a small act of culinary rebellion: I snuck a rice cooker into my dorm room.
Now, before judgment is passed, allow me a few words in my defense. The alternative of instant rice? A tragedy. The real thing, freshly steamed, is a different species altogether. And cheaper, too. Could I have just used the communal kitchen? Theoretically, yes… if it weren’t half the size of my room and required a cross-campus hike just to check if a single hob was free. It serves 150 people. I am one of them, and also not one of them.
Of course, I knew the rules.
And yet, it is not all Latin and confusing acronyms that are an integral part of Oxford University’s unique language. There is also something simpler and humbler that quietly perpetuates its jargon. The suffix ‘-er’ has become affiliated specifically with Oxford university over the years, according to oxfordhistory.org. uk, and is why we still today use the terms ‘freshers’ and ‘cuppers’ for example.
The continuation of this small suffix throughout the University serves as a reminder that despite the grandiosity and superiority that the University can be susceptible to enforce, there still remains something humorous and playful within Oxford jargon, in which ‘sub fusc’ and ‘leccer’ (lecture) exist side by side.
And yes, I got caught. I uncomplainingly accepted my punishment: a cleaning duty sentence and a handwritten essay on fire safety (in my best repentant cursive). The rice cooker was temporarily confiscated – banished to the land of seized appliances – until I could negotiate its parole to the shared kitchen. Let me be clear: this is not a complaint. I broke the rule. I got the consequence. No hard feelings. I don’t mean to justify my infraction.
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Chaewon Kang is a first year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student at Exeter College.
Students in sub fusc. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Credit: M. H. via Pixabay
Impressions from my Ancestral Homeland
Meira Lee recalls her vacation spent in southern China, bridging the gap of experience and memory as a third-generation immigrant from Singapore.
At the end of March, I found myself in the rural countryside of southern China, looking out at lush, green mountains and long, flowing rivers. It was like something out of a shan shui ink painting. During the spring vacation, I had decided to join my family on a trip to China. It was primarily an opportunity for my grandmother to visit her relatives, many of whom she hadn’t seen in years. For me, though, it became something of a search for my roots: a foray into a family history I knew little about.
Like many Singaporeans, my grandparents were migrants who left their hometowns in the mid-1900s, setting sail
from China in search of the brighter future that awaited them in Southeast Asia. In 1958, my 13 year old grandmother departed from Fujian province, arriving on the shores of Malaya with her mother and sister. Slightly later, my grandfather made a similar journey from Guangdong province. They eventually settled in Singapore, raising a family and creating a new home for themselves.
As a third-generation immigrant, I grew up with only a vague sense of what my grandparents left behind. My life unfolded in a tropical, urban, primarily English-speaking metropolis. I had a pitiful grasp of Hokkien (my grand-
when I was two. Everything I knew about my grandparents’ hometowns came from the
“ Everything I knew about my grandparents’ hometowns came from the occasional anecdote shared during family gatherings – a rare, fascinating glimpse into their past lives.
occasional anecdote shared during family gatherings – a rare, fascinating glimpse into their past lives. So when I heard that a trip to China was being planned, I jumped at the opportunity. I’d finally get to visit my ancestral homeland.
an icy dessert soup filled with fruit and jelly. The warmth they showed us was surprising, given that most of us were meeting for the first time.
The next day, we visited the modern-looking residential estate where our relatives lived. What had once been my grandmother’s childhood home was now a cluster of high-rise flats, complete with posters around the compound bearing slogans reminding residents to be gracious and civic-minded. Yet, dotted around the neighbourhood were echoes of the past: a temple with upturned eaves, 500 year old courtyard houses, and a stone bridge with ornate carvings.
mother’s native tongue), and my command of Hakka (my grandfather’s) was nonexistent. I had never set foot in either Fujian or Guangdong, my only experience in China being a holiday to Shanghai
Our first stop was Zhangzhou, a port city in the Fujian province where my grandmother spent her childhood. We arrived at 10pm, but the city was still wide awake. Bright lights illuminated highrise buildings, and e-bikes whizzed past on newly-paved roads. It was hardly the rustic village I had envisioned in my head. Despite the late hour, our relatives were waiting cheerfully at our hotel, welcoming us with hugs and laughter. “Welcome home,” they said in Mandarin, “we’re so happy you’re here”. Very quickly, we were fed with local Zhangzhou snacks: san jiao guo, a deep-fried, triangular taro cake; mian jian guo, crisp and golden with a brown sugar filling; and si guo tang,
That evening, we wandered through Zhangzhou’s Ancient City – a network of streets lined with charming shophouses and glowing lanterns. Holding my grandmother’s hand, I asked if the place was as she remembered it from her youth. She nodded. Along the way, we ducked into bookstores and tea shops, our expedition fueled by skewers of tanghulu and a tray of soup dumplings. As the night drew to a close, I shared a conversation with my aunts: they mentioned the rapid pace of development in recent years that had transformed Zhangzhou into a modern city. Not a single star was visible in the sky, drowned out by the dazzling, incandescent lights.
Early next morning, it was onto Dapu County, my grandfather’s hometown in the Guangdong province. Despite being adjacent to Fujian, Guangdong felt distinctly different. Most notably, the local vernacular had shifted.
As we drove through winding country roads, my aunt and my grandmother exchanged stories in animated Hakka, a language I did not speak. Throughout the ride, I channeled all my energy into deciphering the lilting, foreign tones. In the end, I probably understood a healthy two percent of the conversation.
We arrived in a village that, when seen on Google Maps, looked like an uninhabited piece of land.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com.
Meira and her grandmother. Credit: Meira Lee
Zhangzhou at night. Credit: Meira Lee
Culture
The Politics of Style at the Met Gala
The Sunrise on the Reaping adaptation might still be a long way off, but while we wait, there’s a celebrity Capitol of our own to divert us, with just as much bold fashion, extravagance and exclusivity. A year on from “The Garden of Time”, the Met Gala returns with its latest theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. Held annually since 1948 to fundraise for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the Gala’s 2025 incarnation has an accompanying dress code of “Tailored For You”. Open to celebs by invite only – and with each ticket reportedly costing £56,000 – a night at the Met is worth more than I am.
The theme in context
For the first time in twenty years, the Met Gala is centring ‘menswear’, specifically the notion of Dandyism. The Cambridge Dictionary defines a dandy as “a man, especially in the past, who dressed in expensive, fashionable clothes and was very interested in his own appearance.” Well, who could be more interested in expensive fashion and self-image today than the celebrity invitees of the Met?
If the Cambridge Dictionary lists the expression “an upper-class dandy” as an example, it’s no accident. The term carries class connotations, with the dandy historically being seen as someone of middle-class origins “putting on airs” by imitating aristocratic dress. It is perhaps unsurprising that this figure was often satirised as a sort of social-climbing, foppish Narcissus. Sometimes associated with Oscar Wilde, both in his personal style and literature, Dorian Gray is indeed the picture (ha) of the dandy who indulges in a decadent lifestyle, all while fixating on his youth, beauty and wit.
But this history of Dandyism, revolving around white men in velvet smoking jackets, overlooks the existence and political significance of Black Dandyism, which was not only a fashion style but a means of self- and social expression. The 2025 Met Gala theme aims to put this history at the forefront. The exhibition at the Costume Institute draws from Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity”, which traces the progression of Black Dandyism from its roots in Enlightenment England to its contemporary expressions in London and New
York. Initially imposed on 18th-century slaves as a symbol of their masters’ wealth, Miller writes that Dandyism evolved into a marker of autonomy and self-fashioning. In particular, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, associated with figures like Josephine Baker, was a time for living and dressing boldly.
“ Perhaps this [theme] comes a bit closer to an acknowledgement of the performative, precocious side of the Met Gala.
Thinking fashion
What you’d expect from the theme is suave, immaculate business attire, perfectly tailored and unique to each individual (hence the Tailored For You part). Picture high-waisted trousers, shoulder lapels, fedora hats, and so on. Yet, if the theme calls for sharp lines and crisp angles, there’s room for experimentation: billowing silhouettes and soft tailoring also fit into the dandy aesthetic. Deconstructed suits, juxtaposing colours and textures, could make an appearance, as well as accessories like pocket watches, walking canes, gloves and ornate brooches.
Though some commentators seem to find the theme lacking, I prefer it to previous years. It combines polished suaveness, an androgynous elegance and steampunk potential (admittedly, I know nothing about fashion, so let that say what it will). It’s dandy, yes – and whether intentional or not, some of the old satire sneaks back in: the dandy as a figure of excess, dress-
ing in a surface display of richness. But perhaps this comes a bit closer to an acknowledgement of the performative, precocious side of the Met Gala, which has always been about spectacle.
Best dressed People usually like to compile lists of the best and worstdressed at the Met Gala. I’m not going to attempt that, but there’s room to discuss some memorable looks. All eyes were, of course, on Zendaya, who wore a tailored all-white suit and fedora hat from Louis Vuitton. If nothing else, it was perfectly tailored. Rihanna was similarly on theme in Marc Jacobs, with an oversized hat, polka dot burgundy cravat, bustier bodysuit and pinstripe skirt. Meanwhile, co-chair Sir Lewis Hamilton sported an ivory cropped jacket and bow tie ensemble by Grace Wales Bonner, paired with symbolic accessories: a sash with cowrie shells, baobab tree-inspired brooches and cufflinks shaped like the Whirligig African Daisy – all the result of months of research with stylist Eric McNeal.
Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan seemed to nail the “Tailored For You” dress code. Sabrina’s brown-burgundy –espresso-coloured, if you will – Louis Vuitton bodysuit mirrors her Short n’ Sweet tour apparel, but with a dandy tailcoat train and crystal buttons. Chappell Roan’s pink suit was unapologetically bold, while
managing to be more sustainable (a rare occurrence for the Met Gala). Working with Wicked costume director Paul Tazewell, the glittery ensemble was sourced from eBay. As for Jenna Ortega and designer Olivier Rousteing, they took the tailoring theme literally with a dress made of metal rulers. While I’m sure it hurt to move in, it did draw attention to the craftsmanship behind couture.
Laura Harrier (Gap Studio by Mark Posen) chose a more ballooning silhouette. If she already looked ethereal, the elegant posing made it even better. Ugbad Abdi went for the deconstructed suit (Michael Kors), bringing together different fabrics and textures: fur, sparkly pinstripes and silver paisley. Jodie Turner-Smith (Burberry) leaned into the Victorian silhouette, with a Willy Wonka-esque, plum-coloured dress-suit and wonky tophat. Teyana Taylor went even more steampunk in custom Ruth E. Carter, with a cape and plumed hat that had all the flamboyance of a Gothic villain. As for Damson Idris, he had the theatrics covered with an F1-inspired glittering helmet and race car entrance, followed by a red plaid suit reveal. As for my favourites? Based on nothing more than personal taste, it was Keith Powers in Boss (I loved everything about it, from the fit and cut and the layering of different patterns) and Imaan Hammam in Magda Butrym.
Priyanka Chopra. Credit: Steven Ferdman/Everett Collection
Sophie Harrison is a Culture section editor at The Oxford Student.
Lady Gaga arrives for the 2019 Met Gala. Credit: SharpShooter
From Clay to Kiln: Why pottery Is Oxford’s antidote to modern stress
Ava Doherty celebrates what the craft can do for us.
In the heart of Oxford, where deadlines loom and minds race, a quieter rhythm pulses in hidden pottery studios – a rhythm of hands in clay, minds at ease, and stress slowly melting away. From the citizens of old who once shaped their stories in fire to the ancient thrum of restless young hearts, pottery speaks across generations. More than a hobby, it is a grounding, therapeutic process – a silent companion to the emotional journey of modern students. In the tactile dance between earth and flame, pottery offers presence, peace, and a whisper of something older than stress: the adventure of creation.
Pottery traces a global lineage transcending time and language from Prague to China, Japan to Russia. Across cultures, the rhythmic thrum of hands working clay speaks a universal language – the body’s own quiet expression. From the sunlit earth of India to cool forest floors, pottery
Jack Wharton is a Theology and Religion at Lady Margaret Hall.
Oxford Wine Company sent him some bottles for review.
has always been a dance between mud, fire, and form. Yet today’s students often live disconnected from nature and self, rarely seeing the sun. Pottery grounds us. It roots us. In an eco-conscious world longing for slowness and meaning, pottery is the womb of Mother Earth – a return to creation in defiance of destruction. As Freud suggested, we project the self onto objects; in shaping clay, we begin to reclaim what has been lost.
Post-pandemic, students have returned to the physical world, touching water, walking winding paths, and seeking calm in nature. Why not reshape the cerebral space in our minds, too? Pottery invites this. It allows for a release of tension, a way to break and remould not just material but also the emotional burdens we carry.
The benefits are tangible. Working with clay can lower cortisol levels, release anxiety, and create a sense of flow. In a
Native Vieilles Vignes Carignan 2023 - £11.75
Carignan is a grape with a rather peculiar history. While its name may carry far less weight today than those modern titans of Merlot, Pinot Grigio or Shiraz, there was a time, not so long ago, when Carignan was France’s most widely planted grape, producing vast amounts of wine for France and Mediterranean Europe. Its character as remarkably drought-resistant, alongside its ability to resist the balmy temperatures of France’s southern coast, made it particularly well-suited to this task. That being said, even the most fanatical amongst Carignan’s fan club would find it tough to defend the wines made from the grape in the mid- to late 20th century: oftentimes rough, uninteresting
world of information overload, it offers silence. In the studio, words aren’t needed – expression lives in shape, texture, and form. There’s vulnerability in making something imperfect and power in continuing anyway.
Students often laugh at the accidental shapes their first creations take, but the pride remains. Pottery encourages us not to take ourselves too seriously, to engage with the mess of making, and to delight in process over product. And there’s something deeply healing in the small victories: a well-formed bowl, a mug that holds water, a cracked sculpture that still stands tall.
As one student put it during a recent Oxford pottery workshop that raised funds for Gaza, “It felt good to do something with my hands that wasn’t just typing.” That day, clay, colour, and cause intertwined – a reminder that creative survival can also be political. Art doesn’t just soothe – it con-
blends that were the lifeblood of cheap bistros throughout Southern France.
However, the sins of the previous generation shouldn’t tarnish our image of the present one, and the high-quality Carignan produced today is a far cry from the dull plonk of years past. This particular offering comes from the area of Hérault, in the Languedoc region of Southern France. The “vieilles vignes” mentioned on the label refers to Carignan vines over 30 years old. These mature vines yield some of the highest quality wines from this varietal, with producers wanting to extol its virtues without the addition of the other grapes so commonly grown in the surrounding regions. The colour of the wine is an immediate clue that what is held therein differs significantly from the stuff knocked
nects and galvanises. Pottery allows the hands to do something significant in a world that often feels out of control.
The Oxford University Pottery Society has seen growing interest. There’s something intimate and communal in a room full of quiet concentration, shared glazes, and the joy of some-
nerability and creativity.
My mother used to speak about pottery in India—how it felt like coming home, how her friends would gather to mould clay and memories. I saw it again in Morocco: women selling earthenware in Agadir’s market, clay lip stain pots warmed by the sun. These
one else admiring what you’ve made. Pottery fosters presence but also friendship. Whether returning to it after childhood or trying it for the first time, the space holds you in your vul-
back by the gallon in small Occitan villages, with a lighter, more delicate hue that brings to mind New World Pinot Noir. On the nose, this wine is intensely fruity, with gorgeous notes of red cherry, blackberry, plum and raspberry leaping out from the glass, backed up by a subtle vanilla note from a brief time spent in oak. The acidity here steals the show, making this a wonderful bottle to pair with food. Tannins, the compounds in red wine which cause a cloying feeling around your teeth and gums, are relatively light here, meaning that this wine is just as drinkable on its own as it is alongside a meal. During what passes for a summer in Britain, this red is an accessible option with broad appeal; something which can be bought for barbecues, picnics, or afternoons
practices stretch back centuries, unchanged in spirit.
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relaxing in the sun, all without too much thought. Serve it at room temperature, or even put it in the fridge an hour before drinking, and enjoy the fruity profile which showcases some of the best qualities of Southern French wine.
Pottery bowls. Credit: Roman Odinstov.
What’s On?
Cupid and Psyche, Turtle Theatre Productions. Written by Louise Guy. 20th-21st May, Christ Church.
The Tempest, Magdalen Players. Magdalen takes on this classic Shakespeare tragedy. 20th-24th May, President’s garden, Magdalen College.
All my Sons. This Arthur Miller play is being put on by Exter College Drama Society. 21st-24th May, Exeter Fellows’ Garden.
Closer, Labyrinth Producitons. A rendition of Patrick Marber’s dramatic play. 21st-24th May Pilch Studio.
Fry your poem with Stephen Fry. Oxford Poetry Society offers this event with Stephen Fry. Thursday 22nd May, Magdalen.
Between aria and ambition: Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ reimagined
Dalia
Berkani reviews Carmen, put on by the Oxford Opera Society.
In the baroque embrace of the Sheldonian Theatre, the Oxford Opera Society undertook a daunting feat: staging Georges Bizet’s Carmen, arguably the most iconic opera in the European canon. What resulted was a sophisticated, if necessarily economical, student production. It was one that paid intelligent tribute to Bizet’s Franco-Spanish vision while embracing the modern academic reality of more limited resources with striking creativity and vocal polish.
Premiering in 1875, Carmen scandalised Paris with its fatalistic themes and bold heroine, an embodiment of desire, danger and defiance. Over time, it came to define the very notion of operatic realism, laying the groundwork for Italy’s verismo movement and altering
the course of Western musical drama. Staged by students, this production could never hope to compete with the lavish precision of Salzburg or Covent Garden, but what it delivered was arguably more thrilling: a glimpse of great European art through youthful eyes: raw, ambitious and vividly alive. At the centre of it all was Milette Gillow’s Carmen, a performance steeped in vocal richness and control. Her interpretation of the Habanera was both technically assured and tonally nuanced, setting the tone for a portrayal that emphasised Carmen’s enigmatic autonomy more than overt sensuality. At times one wished for more fire, more abandon, but then again, few performers can step fully into Carmen’s shoes without trembling. Gillow did not tremble. She carved out her own, intelligent reading of a role whose weight threatens to collapse lesser sopranos.
Robin Whitehouse’s Don José was her foil, a tenor performance of consistency and vocal strength. His transformation from obedient soldier to obsessive lover was deftly handled, especially in the final act, where his desperation turned brittle and chilling. The chemistry between the leads smouldered quietly rather than erupted, but that low heat served the production’s restrained aesthetic well.
Among the supporting cast, Lucy Elston as Micaëla delivered one of the evening’s most
emotionally resonant moments. Her Act III aria was a crystalline expression of virtue, rendered with impressive vocal maturity. Meanwhile, David Bicarregui’s Escamillo brought charisma and gravitas to the stage, particularly in Act IV, where he swaggered into Seville’s amphitheatre with Carmen on his arm. The scene, bustling with traders and anticipation, was a rare moment of pageantry that briefly lifted the opera’s otherwise austere mise en scène.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Hang on: that’s not my Oxford
Ngoc
In Coversation: Laurence Connor. Oxford Uni Drama Society hosts an event with film direction Laurence Connor. Thursday 22nd May 6:00pm, New College.
The Great Gatsby, Trinity Players. The Trinity Players are putting on a Kate Kerrigan adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. 27th31st May, President’s Garden, Trinity College.
Acting course with Oxford People’s Theatre. Part II in the series offered by OUDS. Saturday 31st May, 10:30am, Long room, New College.
Diep reviews The Last Enchantments book. Spoilers ahead.
“I wrote this, so...totally unbiased,” commented Charles Finch, the American author of The Last Enchantments, rating himself five stars. Meanwhile, the rest of the review section was complete chaos. Some readers screamed “This is not my Oxford!”, others disagreed, and the two groups began to argue.
I read The Last Enchantments on my flight to London, just before arriving at Oxford to begin my studies as a visiting student, eager and curious. Midway through the book, I stopped trying to sleep and stared blankly at the last page on my Kindle. A strange burst of shock, dread, and disbelief
stirred in my stomach. Was Oxford really going to be like this? So disillusioned, so elitist, so pointless?
“ Was Oxford really going to be like this? So disillusioned, so elitist, so pointless?
Finch’s protagonist, William Baker, is a Yale graduate and young American politician who left behind his career in Washington and a loving long-term girlfriend to come to Oxford for a master’s degree in English. As a visiting student from an American university myself, I
expected a rich, romantic, academic tale about navigating Oxford from an outsider’s perspective. I had researched the author and Finch, after all, had studied at Oxford himself; surely, he’d written a semi-autobiographical account of his unfiltered student life at Oxford.
When I decided to buy it on the Kindle market, I thought: “maybe I will learn a lot from this.”
However, I was greatly disappointed. Instead, I found a narcissistic protagonist, entangled in a blur of infidelity, angst, and posh existential dread. It doesn’t matter where the story took place. The city of Oxford and its academics have been silenced, leaving the stage for his own drama. William Baker is wealthy, well-connected, and perpetually dissatisfied.
He barely questions the privileges that carry him from Yale to politics, then to Oxford, then into banking in London, before eventually drifting back to the US, none the wiser.
A year later, he graduates from Oxford, breaks up with his university girlfriend, ends his situation at Oxford, loses his job in the United States, and subsequently loses his banking position in London. Yet, he remains just as lost, unable to determine what he truly wants to do with his life. Initially, he plans to pursue academia but later reconsiders, opting for banking due to its “undeserved” salary and the idea of living in London.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Clean cuts and messy feelings: Why Severance hurts so much, so good
Yashas Ramakrishnan examines what makes this show such a hit.
There’s something quietly devastating about Severance – a feeling that creeps in sometime after you’ve laughed out loud at a weirdly timed joke or felt your stomach turn at yet another morally grey hallway. It’s not just a thriller, or corporate satire, or even a philosophical thought experiment. It’s a show about love, grief, memory, and how against all odds, the soul keeps trying nonetheless.
The show follows Mark Scout, a man whose work-life balance is taken to a literal extreme. Played with remarkable restraint and humanity – and just a dash of assholery – Mark perfectly embodies the range of actor Adam Scott, of Step Brothers and Parks and Recreation fame. At the heart of the show is Lumon Industries, a company as sterile and cult-like as it is bafflingly bureaucratic. Employees like Mark undergo a “severance” procedure, surgically dividing their memories and consciousness between their work and personal lives. What follows is one of the most beautifully unsettling pieces of television I’ve ever sat through (binged over two nights and a couple tubs of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia).
Season 1, in particular, had this eerie, enigmatic sense that was simply addictive. It gave you just enough – drip-fed clues, strange rituals, coded glances – while maintaining the shroud of mystery to keep
the smallest details, second-guessing everything. And the payoff? The grand revelation in the first season finale? Satisfying, but still deliciously incomplete.
Season 2, though… now that is where things start to burn slow and bright, because the show doesn’t just continue the story; it opens it up. The themes of lying, betrayal, love, and the ethical cost of the severance procedure really begin to breathe and you start to feel the weight of what this tech does, not just to memory, but to identity. It’s not just theory anymore—it’s personal. These characters evolve, their motivations and traumas, alike, get sharper, making them more human, messier even, but in the best of ways.
And that cast? I’ll say it again: Adam Scott is phenomenal, especially when you realize how much of his performance hinges on stillness and restraint, a stark contrast to the quick-witted, smug, disdainful, Good Place demon-esque character I’m so used to seeing him play (which does come out at times, truth be told). John Turturro somehow manages to be both deeply tender and impossibly repressed, and I’ll never stop gushing about Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick. The man transforms the menace of corporate middle management into performance art. Turning his excessive verbosity into a plot device is somehow both hilarious and terrifying, and
most, almost, understand where he’s coming from. It’s not that you love to hate him…you just kind of love him and hate him at the same time.
“ Every frame is deliberate, every hallway a trap. You don’t watch this show, you enter it.
accidental, and every visual choice whispers: “Brace yourselves, you’re in for a ride of hurt.”
The humour in this show? Like a scalpel to the brain. You’ll laugh out loud before being blindsided by an emotional gut-punch out of nowhere. It’s got that Good Place irony and Black Mirror dread, but polished, leaner. Better, even. Yeah, I said it. Fight me. Speaking of The Good Place and Black Mirror, now’s a good time to mention the cinematography, which I thought quite evocative of the two. I can’t stress this enough: Severance doesn’t just look good; it feels designed to conjure in you the same dread felt by the characters. Every frame is deliberate, every hallway a trap. You don’t watch this show, you enter it – and once you’re in, the symmetry, the sterile lighting, and the off-kilter overhead shots are maddening. First, they start to mess with your sense of direction and then, quicker than you can think, your sense of reality turns topsy-turvy. You see the camera linger where it shouldn’t. The endless doors blend the dull horror of office life with the clinical unease of a psych ward (or, as I like to say, Regent’s Park College). The spaces stretch and constrict like they’re breathing. It’s less “pretty”, and more “precise” in a beautifully claustrophobic way – the aesthetic equivalent of being trapped in a snow globe made entirely of bleached walls and polite dread. No shot is
And damn, hurt it does. Beneath the deadpan jokes, the Orwell-meets-IKEA worldbuilding, the corporate rituals and jargon, Severance strikes a chord that is achingly human. This is a show about loss—not just any loss, but the very tangible, hard-hitting kind that rewires you. The kind you carry. I’ve had my fair share of fallouts, breakups, and convoluted situationship triangles, and they’ve all shaped how I move through the world. This show captures that exact feeling. What’s impressive is how it balances the big existential questions – what makes you you? Where does identity end and grief begin? Masterfully executing the slow burn of loving and losing someone, getting them back, and losing them again, the show knows how to portray a very raw heartfelt ache, and not in some overly saccharine DreamWorks way (looking at YOU, How To Train Your Dragon 2). The actors’ depictions of their characters’ pain – right down to the quiet, desperate grief floating in their eyes in each scene – are far more grounded, and far more devastating. For death is final; and personally speaking, that finality is the most unbearable feeling I can think of. Severance knows this. It knows the weight of a permanent goodbye, the kind that sticks in your throat for years… but the show also offers something else. Even in the
bleakest moments, amidst the dead ends and locked doors, there’s the faintest pulse of hope. Maybe that’s the point: in the face of ending, there’s always a chance to begin again, even if it hurts, even if this revival isn’t in the precise way you envisioned it.
And that’s why it lands! At its heart, Severance is not about evil corporations or crazy technology, it’s about what we choose to forget, and what we’d give to remember. Severance doesn’t just make you think; it makes you feel the consequences. Now of course, we wait. Again. It was three whole years between season 1 and season 2, and the mere thought of twiddling my thumbs that long again till season 3 drops has me genuinely considering Lumon’s offer. Go ahead, sever me, and wake me up when it’s finally released. Honestly, the real villains of Severance might not be the creepy execs at Lumon, but the showrunners who made us wait this long, knowing exactly how obsessed we’d all become, and ending the next season the way they did. I can still see that final shot of Mark and Helly –it’s burned into my brain, and I just know it’s gonna haunt me till 2027, or whenever the first teaser for season 3 comes out. Until then, we hold on. To our memories, our feelings, our heartbreaks, and the hope that Severance season 3 will hurt us, heal us, and haunt us all over again.
Severance. Credit: Creative Commons
Identity
Credit: Pixabay
Is BPD the modern-day female hysteria diagnosis?
Hannah Stewart examines the emerging narrative surrounding the misdiagnosis of neurodivergence as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in young women
Over my past two years in Oxford, I’ve had quite a few conversations with other women that followed along the lines of “I was diagnosed with BPD at a young age, turns out I have ADHD instead” or “I thought I had borderline personality disorder, until my autism diagnosis allowed me to understand my feelings”. Considering that studies have recently emerged examining the misdiagnosis of neurodivergency as BPD, it’s clear we’re not the only ones talking about it. Combined with the stigma that usually comes part and parcel with any mental health diagnosis, Big Bad BPD has a gnarly reputation to boot. Seemingly
characterised and fetishised in TikTok annals as the ‘young woman’s disorder’ for the post-modern era, the BPD Girl is presented as crazy, dangerous and yet somewhat sexually appealing. The overapplication of the term seems to extend to any woman who acts a bit off-kilter, drawing eye-roll inducing comparisons to 19th and early 20th century female hysteria diagnoses levelled at any woman “who had a tendency to cause trouble for others”.
In light of this, it’s easy to conjure up mental parallels between some burk discussing his “Crazy BPD ex” to his mates at the pub and some old-timey breadwin -
identity@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Iona Mandal
Section Editors: Isheta Admed, Agnes Kay, Hannah Stewart, Iona Davies | Columnist: Georgie Allan
slightly out of order. Who would’ve thought?
“ The
BPD Girl is presented as crazy, dangerous and yet somewhat sexually appealing
ner sending his chronically under-shagged and bored housewife off to get a lobotomy because “she’s hysterical”.
The aforementioned over-application of BPD in general social scenarios is reflected even more troublingly in terms of mental health professionals. Being lamented over on the internet or by ex-friends and lovers is one thing, but getting a big fat “A-Not-OK” from a professional can feel like more of a sentence than a diagnosis. Mental health services seemingly get it wrong when slapping the diagnosis of BPD or the term “Troubled Teen” on any youth who breathes
This endemic misdiagnosis of young women’s neurodivergence as BPD seems to serve many young women with the harsh news presented by a quick Google search and check of r/BPDlovedones. The die is cast, and you might as well resign yourself to a fate of spinsterism and an early grave owing to your “addictive personality”. This stigma surrounding such a misdiagnosis not only contributes to personal self-persecution, but a barrier to getting the underlying root cause diagnosed. Characteristic symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, black and white thinking, and impulsive behaviour seem to signify a neurodivergence that hasn’t been properly accommodated. Combined with a pressure on women to “mask”, labelling and chastising young girls as emotionally unstable further contributes to the shame of feeling misplaced and judged for something predetermined.
This laissez-faire attitude to diagnosing young women with BPD leads ultimately to a genuine misguidedness surrounding how to approach the narrative around women’s relationships.
Any behaviour deemed too over-emotional or uncouth seemingly warrants tarring women with the BPD brush, painting them as burdensome, jealous, and most importantly, bonkers. Oh, and upon further consultation, the TikTok zeitgeist also seems to be an indica -
tor of an almost idolatrous relationship with Hello Kitty. (Look, man, I’m not too sure why this happens, but it does). Overall, the atlength dismissal of women’s issues as something wrong with them emotionally speaks to a wider issue of medical sexism and infantilisation. Boiling down women’s interpersonal struggles to a perceived mental defect shows that we’re somewhere in the conceptual ballpark of a new-age female hysteria diagnosis.
“ The dismissal of women’s issues as something wrong with them emotionally speaks to a wider issue of medical sexism
The BPD diagnosis is seemingly nothing but an inability to accommodate female responses to interpersonal adversity. If you’re anything like me, the suggestion alone will send you to the counsellor’s office, lamenting over your broken nature. Self-flagellatingly rehashing every slight misstep into the emotional realm, making sure never-ever to make a screeching drunk banshee of myself again. The policing of women’s behaviour through holding the term “BPD” over our heads leads to a hypervigilance that plagues anyone with a modicum of mindfulness on how they hold themselves. Whether it’s a result of existing within a bad environment or a genuine misdiagnosis of a pre-existing condition, it’s clear that BPD is a shorthand way of labelling women “bonkers”. Read the full article at www.oxfordstudent.com
Insomnia
Georgie Allen wrote this on
another night when she couldn’t sleep
Every insomniac has faced the question: “Have you tried…?” Yes, I have tried everything. So if you suffer from a serious sleep disorder, give this article a miss, it’s not for you. If you occasionally wish you could sleep a little more or a little heavier, I do have a tried and tested suggestion: Valerian root
A plant based remedy in use since antiquity, valerian root’s properties are well known if not so well studied. It acts as a nervous system depressant and so naturally produces a calming effect which has been traditionally used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
Today valerian can be found in a variety of products; I have primarily taken it as a component of Pukka’s night time tea (available on the ground floor of Magdalen St Tesco), but it can also be purchased as a supplement or a component of over the counter insomnia remedies. Like many traditional treatments it is currently unregulated so you should check for any interactions with medications before trying it.
The soul of Brick Lane
Isheta Admed reflects on what it means to be a Bengali Brit “
No amount of tea can fight a serious bought of insomnia, and there’s nothing more frustrating than setting aside the time for an early night only to watch the clock tick later and later. Trust me, it’s happened far too many times.
aside the time for an early night only to watch the clock tick later and later. Trust me, it’s happened far too many times.
Valerian is also known to cause incredibly vivid dreams, with many recommending it as a way to in-
As for its efficacy…it varies. I’ve found it has no impact on how easily I get to sleep, but I do stay asleep longer. There’s a good chance this is a placebo. I usually drink this tea when I’m winding down for a long sleep and planning a lie in in the morning. However no amount of tea can fight a serious bout of insomnia, and there’s nothing more frustrating than setting
duce lucid dreams. I can tell you now, this is definitely true if you take it in large enough quantities If all else fails, valerian is also an alternative to catnip. In a city occupied by its fair share of college cats that seems relevant information. Maybe having a furry friend to curl up with will help you sleep?
My Bengali roots are undeniably entwined with the earth of London’s ‘East End’. The historical melting pot of this little industrial part of London paved my way to Oxford. How? A generation of people migrated to London for work, established food places for convenience, and brought their families over too. I am often reminded that if it wasn’t for the sacrifices my family members made, the struggles they endured as ‘first gen’ Bengalis in Britain, I would not be living the fortunate life I have today. The leisurely reading time in the Radcliffe Camera, or so they think, is a blessing that people work all their lives for. There are many reasons why that reminder is true.
To some, the scattered remnants of a culturally diverse past can still be found in its entertainment, thrift shops, deserted curry houses and graffiti. In one car drive with my father, as we wound down one of Brick Lane’s streets, he peered over a curry house with nostalgia and mulled over ‘the times’ he had. Back in the 90s, Brick Lane thrived in the colours of its heritage, unlike today. French Huguenots in the 17th century, Irish settlers and Ashkenazi Jews in the first part of the 20th century, and Bengali Muslims (predominantly from Sylhet) in the latter, had coursed through Brick Lane’s fibres. Each community added a different fold to the history of the East End and each left with a semi-permanence. The tidal wave of Bengali immigrants that found a new home in Brick Lane and Spitalfields typically came from the North-Eastern region of Sylhet. This region became part of a country called Bangladesh, born in 1971, and ceased to be referred to as
East Pakistan. Of the few communities that came from Sylhet and installed humble beginnings in Brick Lane was my own, Biswanath.
The frequent stopovers of workers in the East End from the British empire in India (founded in Bengal) increased a demand for food places. Here, in the heart of commercial East London, a curry house empire of its own. The development of Anglo-Indian cuisine in England was intensified by these Bangladeshi families; tales from my relatives who visited these restaurants attest to its greatness.
The names of places in East London, besides Brick Lane, such as East India Docks, are a monumental witness of East London’s immigration. Brick Lane, and the rest of the East End, reflects the cultural aftershock London faced after an industrial boom that was made possible due to colonialism.
By the end of the 90s, Brick Lane had entered the media in a different light. A bestselling novel by the name of ‘Brick Lane’ was written in 2003 by Monica Ali, a former Oxford student who attended Wadham College. Set in the borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, the fictional novel illuminates the sensitive and melancholic experiences of a young Bengali woman in a complicated marriage. Brick Lane was marked as the central location, however upon adapting the book into a movie, activists protested filming in the area. The activism implied that the novel was not an accurate reflection of the community’s (specifically from the Sylhet division) true nature, but instead polluted it through derogatory stereotypes. Though controversial, the story remains emblematic of Brick Lane’s demography
and can be found displayed in almost any bookshop to come across in East London, including my aunt’s prominent bookshelf that I would often gaze at as a child in awe.
The transition to gentrification appeared as an unexpected and unwelcome change. A once bustling area for the immigrant populace, bearing the commemorative arch ‘Banglatown’, has devolved into a multitude of vintage stores, exhibition spaces and pleasant cafes. The curry sector that flowed effortlessly from these East End streets had pulled to a grinding halt. The origins of the Chicken tikka masala becoming Britain’s national dish, declared by then-foreign secretary Robin Cook, had lost its musings. I look back at this period of interest in British Asian culture, not limited by curry, with reverence. The 2000s were over, yet a distinctual Bengali diaspora was made relevant. Curryhouses have not gone extinct in Banglatown ward, as some might put it, they lurk like trophies of the past.
But the existence of these creative spaces is not mutually exclusive to the rich cultural history of Brick Lane. One may exist because of, and if not for, the other. In spite of the slow ticking of time, Brick Lane continues to be a commercial hub, a refuge for those considered different from the rest of society and a dreamy (though expensive) stopover after a long day’s work. It is the epicenter of food outlets, dissatisfied Brits and change. Communities switch in and out, fighting for a staying chance, but the soul of Brick Lane remains the same.
A far cry from Westminster (literally)
Yashas Ramakrishnan reflects on the realities of being an international student
If I had a pound for every time someone looked at me and decided I was the illegitimate child of an Etonian hedge fund manager and a Marina Bay expat trophy wife, I could probably pay off my battels for an entire term. People seem to have this preloaded caricature of what an international student at Oxford is: a painfully posh, passport-collecting prude, with all the pomp of a peacock and perpetually immune to suffering unless it’s about their precious Prada pantsuits. And if you went to a school outside the UK with the word “international” in its name? Boom. You’re lumped into the same pile as a Westminster prefect with a trust fund and a godfather in the Lords.
“ What’s frustrating is how often “international” becomes synonymous with “well-connected” and thus shorthand for “entitled”, or worse, “undeserving”
So when I, an Indian citizen who grew up in Singapore because I legally had to (thanks, immigration policy), speak up in online forums or discussions about what it’s like to study here, I’m not met with curiosity. I’m met with a wall of assumptions. My background gets weaponised into a punchline: “Oh, he’s complaining? Didn’t he pay £14k a year to learn how to write Oxbridge essays in Year 6?”
Spoiler alert: I didn’t. But even if I had, this version of the “privilege industrial complex” that people love to drag out ignores the actual complexities of identity, circumstance, and, I don’t know, effort?
What matters to people, it seems, is that you sound like them but aren’t one of them. That you probably ate real fruit with lunch as a kid. That you didn’t have to Google “what’s a bursary?” when you applied to Oxford. That you grew up “NOT here”.
I get it. Britain isn’t kind to people who slip through its carefully drawn lines of class and culture. What’s frustrating is how often “international” becomes synonymous with “well-connected” and thus shorthand for “entitled”, or worse, “undeserving”.
Let’s talk about grades for a second. I’m a 2:1 student. Not a genius, not a disaster — just working hard, trying to juggle life, essays, and the damp trauma of British weather.
When I saw the infamous Oxfess post last summer (#31656, in case you missed it) deriding private schoolers who got Firsts in Prelims because “the system set them up for this”, I winced. Not because I got a First (I didn’t), but because the sentiment echoed something I’ve heard all too often: that achievement, if it comes from someone with any advantage, has inherently been handed to them on a silver spoon.
Of course the system’s unfair. Of course some students are trained from age eleven to game the entire system. But what many don’t get is that not everyone with access has had an easy ride, and not everyone with a First got there on cruise control. To flatten every story into a binary, seeing it as ‘state school good, private school bad’ or ‘international rich, home student real’, is not just reductive. It’s intellectually lazy.
And that’s what stings the most. Oxford students pride
themselves on nuance, on argument, on understanding complexity. Yet the moment background comes into the picture, people reach for the same tired assumptions.
“ Being an international student doesn’t make you bulletproof. It makes you hypervisible. You become a walking contradiction: expected to perform, but not complain. Allowed to succeed, but never compain. Allowed to succeed,
but never to
struggle.
I’m not here to pull a reverse sob story about how my life hasn’t been as easy as you think. I am privileged. I know that. But I’m also here on my own. My family didn’t go to Oxford. They didn’t pay consultants. I didn’t sit at a dinner table being taught the traditions of Christ Church Boat Club or Union politics at age ten. I got here the way most of us did: by writing too many personal statement drafts, drinking too much coffee at ungodly hours of the night, and desperately Googling “which Oxford college is the best for studying politics?” (something I still haven’t got a straight answer to in the two years I’ve been here).
What people don’t understand is that being an international student doesn’t make you bulletproof. It makes you
hypervisible. You become a walking contradiction: expected to perform, but not complain. Allowed to succeed, but never to struggle. Your effort is always pre-discounted. And yet, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Oxford is ridiculous and brilliant, often in the same breath. Yes, outside of Trinity term, the food is boiled sadness and the weather has the charisma of a wet sponge. But there’s something electrifying about being here. About getting to debate politics in rooms older than most nations. About slipping into the Rad Cam on a rainy afternoon and realising you’ve spent three hours reading just because you could.
“ There’s something electrifying about being here. About getting to debate politics in rooms older than most nations. About slipping into the Rad Cam on a rainy afternoon and realising you’ve spent three hours reading just because you could.
I’ve spent most of my life reading, writing, and trying to make sense of the world — not because I wanted to beat someone else to a prize, but because language was always the thing that felt most like home. And here, at Oxford, I’ve found other people who feel the same way.
That’s why I care about how we talk to each other. About how we judge each other. Because this place isn’t just a university; it’s a magnifying glass. It exaggerates everything — our talents and tensions, our passions and prejudices.
And so my plea is simple: stop pretending you know who someone is because of what passport they hold, or what school they went to, or how much their parents paid. Ask better questions. Listen longer. And maybe — just maybe — assume a little less. Because the thing about privilege is that it doesn’t make you immune. It just means your wounds look different. And if Oxford’s meant to teach us anything, it’s that these differences are something worth understanding, not dismissing.
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Section
Glass in Everyday Life
Nicholas Gan discusses the properties of glass
From the touchscreens of your smartphone to the wine glasses found in almost every restaurant — and even the stained-glass windows of chapels — glass is ubiquitous in our daily lives.
But what exactly is glass, and why is it so versatile?
Broadly speaking, glass is an amorphous solid. Take quartz, for example — a crystalline form of silicon dioxide (SiO₂). In quartz, the silicon and oxygen atoms are arranged in a highly regular, repeating tetrahedral pattern. However, when quartz is melted and then cooled rapidly, this orderly structure doesn’t have time to form. Instead, the atoms freeze into a disordered arrangement. The resulting material — glass — contains the same basic building blocks as quartz but lacks its long-range order.
This disordered atomic structure gives rise to many of glass’s unique properties. For example, the lack of internal grain boundaries or crystallites allows visible light to pass through with minimal scattering, giving glass its transparency. Its uniformity in all directions (isotropy) is another consequence of its amorphous nature. On the flip side, this structural disorder makes glass brittle — without a regular crystal lattice, it lacks the flexibility to absorb stress efficiently, causing it to fracture rather than deform.
Glass also has lower thermal conductivity than crystalline quartz because the disordered structure hinders the propagation of vibrational energy (phonons). Another key feature is the way silicon dioxide mixes readily with other oxides when molten. This allows
for a wide range of chemical additives to be incorporated, tailoring the properties of glass — from colour to thermal expansion — to suit many different applications.
The most common type of glass in use today is soda-lime glass. Found in everything from windows to glass bottles, this material dominates due to its low cost and ease of manufacture. During production, alkaline earth oxides such as calcium oxide (CaO) or magnesium oxide (MgO) are added to quartz sand (silicon dioxide, SiO₂). These additives lower the melting point and improve workability, making soda-lime glass one of the most economical forms of glass available. To produce coloured glass, small amounts of transition metal oxides (such as iron, cobalt, or chromium compounds) are
introduced. These selectively absorb and transmit different wavelengths of light, resulting in the rich array of colours seen in chapel windows and decorative glasswork.
For antique wine glasses and fine glassware, lead crystal was once the material of choice. In this type of glass, lead oxide (PbO) replaces calcium or magnesium oxides.
Taking pictures with the stars
The result is a glass with exceptional clarity and a high refractive index, giving it a dazzling sparkle reminiscent of gemstones like diamond. Another notable feature is its distinctive ringing sound when tapped — a result of how lead ions alter the glass matrix and its vibrational properties. Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Yuhan Wang discusses imaging the pyamids using cosmic rays
How do we find out the internal structure of buildings which are millennia old? How do we do it without harming these buildings? If we switch the word “buildings” with “humans”, this is an easy question. Throughout the 20th century, we have various imaging techniques like X-Ray radiography, Computed Tomography (CT), Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These imaging tech-
niques are non-invasive and although they have their risks, it is much safer than cutting open a person and peering inside. Why are we not able to do this to the ancient pyramids too?
At first, this may seem like a ridiculous question. Many of the techniques used on a human rely on exposing the entire part of the body imaged to radiation. For instance, in order to perform an MRI scan, the human body needs
to be constantly exposed to a strong magnetic field and radio waves. The whole machine effectively needs to be large enough to surround the human body to perform the scan. To do the same imaging on buildings, it would be expected that we would probably need a machine which is at least equally as large as the building. This is simply impractical and much less cost effective than going in and taking a look. However, a group from Nagoya University has managed to do the impossible. They managed to image the Pyramid of Giza. They did not use a pyramid-sized emitter. However, they used an even larger emitter of radiation - space itself.
To understand the science behind all of this, we need to understand two things, how
radiography or imaging works and how space emits radiation. So what is radiography?
When light shines on an object, some parts of the object which are opaque and translucent would cast a shadow while the parts of the object which are transparent would not. Different objects have different opacity towards different radiation. For instance, gamma radiation can pene-
trate aluminium while beta radiation can penetrate paper. Therefore, these objects are effectively transparent to these forms of radiation. Similarly, when doing an X-Ray radiography, your bones are opaque while the other parts of the body are transparent to X-Rays. As such, by exposing a certain part of the body to X-Rays, the “shadow” generated would only be from the
Deputy Editor: Yuhan Wang
Editors: Nicola Kalita, Nicholas Gan, Omer Mihović, William Lawrence
Lead wine glass. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Pyramids of Giza at night. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
bones, allowing doctors to produce those all too familiar X-Ray images.
Space produces all sorts of radiation. Other than stars and the sun, readers might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) which is radiation emitted from the first light source in the universe, the Big Bang. Space radiation which possesses high energy, collectively called cosmic rays, produces muon radiation (radiation from the muon particle) upon collision with the atmosphere. These muons are largely harmless to humans and it is the reason why the atmosphere is so important in shielding us from the worst radiation coming from space. However, these muons serve as a distinct source of radiation and are precisely the radiation used to image the Great Pyramid of Giza.
In 2016, the group did a measurement of muon density within the descending corridor of the pyramid and found a region with unexpected muon excess. This indicates that there is a void previously undiscovered. In the next few years, more sensors were placed at different locations and at different angles within the pyramid. This revealed the location, inclination and vertical layout of the void, now named the ScanPyamids North-Face Corridor (SPNFC) which is determined to be a rectangular cuboid with a width and height of about 2 m and a length of 9 m.
The same technology is used to image other archaeological sites like the Pyramid of the Sun in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. The US National Science Foundation has also awarded a grant to use the muography to image El Castillo, the largest pyramid in Chichen Itza. Other than archaeology, muography was also used to image magma chambers to predict volcanic eruptions, investigate conditions of nuclear reactors in the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in 2011 and potentially determine the density of Martian structures which might intake the presence of ice or water. Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
iGEM - Oxford as its Gem
Omer Mihović discusses iGEM and its impacts
The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition is a synthetic biology challenge founded at MIT in 2003 that now encompasses over 10,000 participants annually from more than 65 countries. It fosters innovation through facilitating multidisciplinary teamwork and providing a registry of standardised genetic parts (BioBricks). The event culminates in the Grand Jamboree where projects are judged for medals and special prizes.
Beyond technical achievements, iGEM promotes open-science values, biosafety, and real-world impact. It is also an incubator for spinoffs and influences policy in science today. At Oxford, the first undergraduate team was formed in 2014 and has since maintained a remarkable medal streak—garnering multiple gold medals and Track awards for projects ranging from envi ronmental biosen sors to diagnostic pro biotics. So, how did it all begin?
iGEM began as an MIT design class in 2003, founded by Tom Knight and Randy Rettberg. By mak ing genetic engi neering modular
ans of this competition have launched biotech startups such as Ginkgo Bioworks, contributed to policy debates on synthetic biology governance, and enriched opensource scientific repositories. The competition’s ethos (“Get & Give”) embodies the collaborative research culture.
Oxford’s first iGEM team, “OxiGEM”, was founded in 2014 by University College undergraduates Philipp Lorenz and Glen-Oliver Gowers under the mentorship of Dr. George Wadhams and Dr. Ciarán Kelly in the Department of Biochemistry. They built a single-plasmid biosensor-disposal unit to degrade
via standardised genetic parts (“BioBricks”), students were taught how to engineer biological systems as if they were building electrical circuits. In 2004, there were only five teams competing, but by 2005 it became international, and in 2012 the iGEM Foundation spun out as a whole non-profit organisation supporting education, research, and community initiatives worldwide.
Each year, teams of undergraduate students, postgrads, or even highschoolers compete in “villages” which represent certain areas, such as Infectious Diseases or Bioremediation. They register projects on the open Registry of Standard Biological Parts. The projects are judged in categories such as measurement, software, or policy & practice. Finalists attend the Grand Jamboree (recently held in Paris), where judges award medals and special prizes for areas like Human Practices and Entrepreneurship.
iGEM teams and the atmosphere around iGEM cultivates interdisciplinary collaboration and provides students with realistic experience in wet-lab, dry-lab, and human practices (ethical, legal and social aspects). Some alumni and veter-
continued its streak by subsequently winning gold medals from 2015 until 2019, becoming one of the UK’s most successful iGEM institutions.
In 2024, the University’s iGEM team was awarded a gold medal in the infection diseases village. They presented on the “OneRing” project where a novel plasmid was used to eliminate bacteria. The plasmid, when conjugated into a pathogenic bacteria, would express the CRISPR protein which would cut up the bacterium genome and trigger cell death.
“ Oxford continued its streak by subsequently winning gold medals from 2015 until 2019, becoming one of the UK’s most successful iGEM institutions.
chlorinated solvents safely, earning them a Gold medal at the World Jamboree held in Boston. After its debut, Oxford
This year, the team intends to work on a modification by repurpose bacterial conjugation for developing alternative antimicrobials. However, since the competition is still ongoing, the specific details of the project are currently kept under wraps.
The Oxford iGEM team also has a dedicated fundraising group which is trying to tackle the costs of this project, which represents the University to the world. A lot of work is put into securing finances for the project, as the University of Oxford is in the minority of institutions that provides minimal financial support for its own team.
We wish luck to the iGEM team representing the University in 2025 and look forward to seeing great news and medals from Paris.
2024 iGEM team proudly presenting their gold medal. Credit: iGEM Foundation, obtained from Eunice Ho
Mechanism of OneRing, the 2024 iGEM project Oxford. Credit: OneRing Oxford, obtained from Eunice Ho
The OxYou
The Shadow of a Hack: A true confession
What do you do when your shadow becomes you, and the Union is the only place where you exist?
Before I came to Oxford, I was informed by a friend that the Union was a very strange place: that mysterious plots are always simmering within its walls, impenetrable to the uninitiated, that once one has crossed the threshold, one becomes marked by the controversy that pervades the place like a contagious fog, in short, that once one has fallen under its spell, there is no going back (or rescuing one’s degree). Having heard the misfortune that befell a hack from my college, I can only pass on a more dismal warning than I received: look beyond the glittering lights of the Chamber, see what happens in the shadows, and escape if you still can.
As we sauntered home from a Thursday debate, I innocently remarked that I had not seen him around college much since his successful election last term, and was it because he could no longer get away from St Michael’s Street? A look of mute anguish flashed into his eyes. His voice quavered as he gave a politician’s answer: yes and no.
Under the baleful glow of the streetlamp, his face resembled a corpse, with sunken hollows under his eyes from whole nights which spiralled away in politics, leaving no time for sleep.
‘You look worn to a shadow; you ought to stay away for a few nights,’ I advised.
He clutched my arm in desperation, yet his touch felt strangely insubstantial, ‘I can’t, it’s only there that I am free from my shadow.’
It seemed to me that he was speaking in riddles, or was drunk, or both, and I said so. He shook his head gravely, ‘It’s only when you run for election, and thus descend into the ninth circle of the Union, that you realise your soul is no longer your own. It was in the 7th week of last term that it started…’
We paused outside the college gate. The velvety cloak of darkness muffled us, as his confession spilled out, like wine on a table in the Union bar.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Election Day
Before I begin, disclaimer: I’ve run, and lost, in the Union before. ‘Landslide Lewis’ won 21 votes, and came 17th. I caught pneumonia and proceeded to spend the next two weeks in my bed at home, dying like a sick Victorian child.
I make a point of enjoying the Union’s libraries and cafes, rather than committing to the hack life, and generally only go to debates when there’s someone genuinely interesting to listen to. I’m not sacrificing an early night in, or a Spoonspedition, to watch two hacks clumsily levy wordplay which would make Boris Johnson weep.
On the 7th of March, 2025, I decided that rather than contributing towards anything useful, like my degree, I would fill my post-rowing day with a spectacle. I was going to watch the Union election. Freed of the odorous obligation of actually hacking for votes, I, posted up on a bench, was free to observe as secretary’s committee candidates were ordered around like batmen, as their commanders-in-chief, the standing and officers candidates, lumbered around with handshakes and hugs, hack texts and hurried smiles. Starting from 9am, the
finest of Oxford political society behave like cats in a bag, scratching furiously to bleed votes from wherever they can. The hack texts fly like a wellthrown brick, colliding with my phone at all times of day for two days before polling day.
Despite its love of its own history, the Union has made some changes this time around. As St Michael’s strip currently resembles a crash-test site, the Union have conceded that candidates can campaign for votes in the courtyard outside the main quad. Spare a thought for the Society Cafe, no longer flooded with adrenaline-driven, sleep-deprived hacks treating their chairs like it’s WWE Royal Rumble. Now, Oxonians can walk the streets relatively safely, comforted by the knowledge that the centre of Oxford hackery has been sealed within the Union’s walls.
v
This election was a particularly busy one. With 52 candidates for Secretary’s Committee, a significant number for Standing Committee, and senior Union figures going head-to-head for officer roles at the polls, this election promised to be a good one.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Arun Lewis
Editors: Louise Guy, Arun Lewis
The Oxford Union. Credit: Gaspard Rouffin
A monochrome image of the Oxford Union. Credit: Rhea Brar.
Louise Guy
sport@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Tod Manners Section Editors: Ava Doherty
Bowled over by pressure: When 14 year olds face 40 year olds
You may have honed your forward defence until your pads gleam like billiard balls, and spent more hours in the nets than most of us have spent in lectures — but have you prepared your mind for the razor sharp glare of modern cricket? In an age of Twenty20 fireworks and franchise fever, boards have driven the age bar so low that 14-year-olds now find themselves standing at the crease opposite bowlers old enough to hold pensions. Yet ask yourself: are these raw talents mentally fortified for the gladiatorial arena they’re thrown into?
Consider Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who at 12 years and 284 days strode onto the Ranji Trophy stage in January 2024 — making him the youngest player in India’s premier domestic competition in over 80 years. 12! Fresh from his final primary-school exams, he faced pacemen with grizzled beards and double digits of Test caps, knocked out a debut century, then found himself unceremoniously dropped before the season’s end. One week he was the na-
tion’s wunderkind; the next, an afterthought, replaced by whoever shone next in the nets.
This isn’t a phenomenon confined to the subcontinent.
England’s elite academies have eagerly embraced youth, drafting 15-year-olds into county Second XI fixtures and into dressing rooms emblazoned with sponsors’ logos.
One such opener smashed an unbeaten 75 on debut, only
“ One such opener smashed an unbeaten 75 on debut, only to spend the following weeks in the sports psychologist’s office, battling panic attacks and insomnia.
to spend the following weeks in the sports psychologist’s office, battling panic attacks
and insomnia. The same hands that gripped the bat now trembled at the prospect of the next match.
This manufactured acceleration bears more than a passing resemblance to Oxford’s own fishbowl. Picture a fresh-faced first-year in a mitre-emblazoned jumper, navigating candlelit tutorials, Boat Race strategies, and Sunday’s Cuppers debate on the perils of populism. Every seminar question becomes a mini Test match: one misjudged response — in cricketing terms, one misplayed cover drive — and you risk being written off. Both settings demand precocious poise, balancing tradition with relentless competition, all while under the watchful eyes of pundits, dons, coaches, and — let’s not forget — the omnipresent smartphone camera.
Neuroscience, alas, deals a sobering verdict. The prefrontal cortex — the brain’s command centre for planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation — does not fully mature until the early twenties. In effect, we’re asking 14-year-olds to demonstrate adult-grade composure with a developing brain still mas-
tering multiplication tables, let alone match strategies. It’s akin to sending a junior fellow to broker peace treaties armed only with enthusiasm and a sheaf of notes from Freshers’ Week.
Alice Miller’s “The Drama of the Gifted Child” aptly warned of the hidden cost of precocity. Young prodigies learn early on to mute their own needs in deference to external expectations — whether that’s perfect cover drives or perfect term papers. They become experts at pleasing coaches, donning the “junior genius” label as a suit of armour, only to discover that the applause rings hollow when the spotlight shifts.
The emotional scaffolding — self-awareness, coping strategies, peer support — is too often an afterthought.
To their credit, cricket boards and franchises are belatedly attempting to retrofit mental-health scaffolding. Dressing rooms now routinely host sports psychologists; rest weeks interrupt the frantic match rotation; mindfulness workshops share marquee space with batting drills. Yet, crucially, these interventions often arrive after the teenager has already weathered months of performance pressure — and sometimes broken under it.
“ Until your mental kitbag is equally stocked — with stress-management tools, emotional literacy, and a supportive network — you remain exposed.
Imagine instead a system where mental fortitude is cultivated from the first nets session. 14-year-olds would learn journaling and reflection alongside footwork drills, breathing exercises alongside boundary-fielding routines. Academy newsletters would trumpet not just the fastest century but the player who practised gratitude or supported a teammate in crisis. Peer-mentoring circles would treat the debutant not as an exhibit but as an equal, reminding him that even the greats once trembled at the toss.
Because cricket, like a good Oxford education, is not a sprint but a marathon of form slumps, touring schedules, captaincy doubts, and personal setbacks. The legends we revere — Tendulkar, Lara, Botham — endured decades of peaks and troughs. They were not merely born with talent; they evolved resilience through setbacks, matured under scrutiny, and emerged not just skilled but wise. So yes, you may be physically primed — your reflexes sharp, your kit state-of-the-art, your contract inked. But until your mental kitbag is equally stocked — with stress-management tools, emotional literacy, and a supportive network — you remain exposed. In the end, the cruellest dismissal isn’t being dropped from the side. It’s realising you never truly learned to bat beyond the headlines.
And as any Oxford don in a mitre jumper might remind you, the mark of a scholar — or a cricketer — is not how brightly you burn, but how long you endure. Because the real test isn’t under the stadium lights: it’s in the silent moments before the toss, when nerves sharpen like seam on leather, and you ask yourself if you’re ready to face whatever comes next.
Schoolboy cricket in England
Ava Doherty
Rally and Response
Ava Doherty comments on love, loss, and the tennis of intimacy
Tennis begins with love. Zero points, sure — but still, the language sticks. We say love when nothing has been won yet. Before the serve, before the volley, before even a glance across the net, we call it love. It’s a curious start to a sport that, much like a relationship, is defined by back-and-forth, silence, tension, ego, stamina, and sometimes, the brutal finality of a straight-set loss. With its choreography of distance and direction, tennis often feels like a metaphor for human connection. You cannot touch your opponent, but you must respond to them. The two of you are bound together by invisible geometry — angles, spins, strategies — all while the crowd watches. It is intimacy by way of opposition. Some rallies last seconds, others an hour. Some end in triumph, some in exhaustion. Most are forgotten. Others become legends. That burden of legend can be heavy, especially when you’re handed it young.
Emma Raducanu knows something of that legend, or rather, its weight. Her decision to swap coaches like worn-out rackets was dissected more than her forehand. A player seemingly in search of a steady partnership found only noise. The scrutiny wasn’t just about tennis — it was about the optics of mentorship, femininity, and success that felt “too soon”. That’s another relationship: the one between the player and the public, especially when the player is young, female, and talented. One misstep and the applause turns to silence. One injury and the headlines turn sharp.
This isn’t new. Women’s tennis has long been a battlefield for the body, both celebrated and surveilled.
Serena Williams, perhaps the greatest to ever swing a racket, played under the twin weights of race and gender. Her pow-
er was called masculine; her endurance was called unnatural. Venus, ever more serene, faced the same scrutiny in softer tones. And still, they rallied. They did not ask for approval — they demanded it, each serving a resistance, each match a manifesto.
Even the roots of tennis carry this tension between spectacle and silence.
The court has always been political. In 1536, Henry VIII was reportedly mid-tennis when Anne Boleyn was executed. Nothing says elite disconnection like a sovereign knocking balls about while his wife’s head meets a French sword. At that moment, tennis was leisurely divorced from empathy — the monarch playing while the kingdom mourned. But isn’t that sometimes what love feels like, too?
One person swinging wildly, the other waiting for the end. And, of course, tennis is French in origin. Jeu de paume was its earlier form — no rackets, just palm to the ball, sweat to the wall. The aristocracy shaped it, Wimbledon pushed it up, and now village greens stage their annual battles under English drizzle. Is tennis a “middling” sport? Perhaps. You’ll find it in country clubs and state schools, in SW19 and Somerset cul-desac. But it’s not just about the game, but what it represents: control, discipline, endurance. Or perhaps, repression and decorum dressed up in white.
That repression is part of what distinguishes it from other sports, what makes it feel psychological, even erotic. Unlike rugby, tennis doesn’t encourage a pile-on. There’s no mud, bruised collarbones, or shirts pulled over heads. Rugby is a scrum of id. Tennis is all superego — contained fury and restrained eroticism. You sweat, but you do not bleed. You grunt, but you do not shout. And still, it’s sexy — in the way distance always
is. The ball goes to them; it comes back changed. There’s eye contact but no embrace. You win, but at their loss. And if tennis is intimate, it’s also deeply psychological. There’s a psychoanalytic frame to all this, too. Tennis, like many relationships, relies on projection. You see yourself in the other — their weakness, strength, rhythm, and break. What Freud called transference is just a baseline rally in metaphor: the looping exchange of unmet needs. And maybe that’s why losing in tennis feels so personal. You weren’t just outplayed. You were unseen, unreturned, outloved.
This is perhaps why so many narratives collapse under the pressure of the court, fiction, and real life. Tashi Donaldson in “Challengers” knows tennis as a relationship all too well. Her triangulated love — a backhand of longing, power, and misjudged intimacy — plays out like a prolonged deuce. The lines blur, the partners shift, and the match becomes a metaphor for a connection fraying with every stroke. The ill-advised threesome wasn’t just scandalous — it was structural, a kind of doomed rally between bodies who never quite knew where the net stood.
That feeling of being unseen persists in who the sport chooses to elevate — and who it sidelines.
Ethnic representation in tennis is still patchy. The sport opens its gates but often forgets to offer keys. Naomi Osaka, speaking with the soft defi-
ance of someone who knows their worth, reminds us that mental health — and its neglect — is another racket we string too tightly. The body moves, but the mind bears the match. And when it’s over, who is there to debrief? The coach? The press? The self? Because ultimately, tennis is a relationship with the self. The crowd fades. The opponent disappears. And there you are, facing a serve, listening to the breath in your chest. Love, advantage, fault — they’re all just states of being. Every match ends, but something remains: the memory of reaching for what might never return.
So, what is tennis? A flirtation, a feud, a dance, a duel? It is all of them. It is one love, two love, deuce. It is breaking and being broken. It is the game that ends before it’s done, and sometimes the point that saves your soul.
We play it not because we must but because we want to be met well. Not everyone is your match. But sometimes, across the net, in the middle of the third set, with the world watching, someone hits back
Tennis is all superego — contained fury and restrained eroticism. You sweat, but you do not bleed.
Does College Rugby have a future?
Tod Manners takes a look at the impact of multi-college teams on College rugby as conglomerates make all three cuppers’ finals
Lasst Sunday I took to the field at Iffley Park alongside fourteen fellow members of my college for the Cuppers bowl final, suffering a brave but definite defeat. But as much as I would like to regale you all with stories of the match, I want to focus on another aspect of that sentence - the fact that our team comprised only Christ Church members. We, Christ Church, played against a side comprising Pembroke, Wadham, LMH, and Hugh’s. The plate saw an even greater imbalance, as Keble went down to Corpus, Catz, Somerville, Merton, and Mansfield, ‘CCSMM’. Even in the final, New were forced to overcome a composite of Magdalen and
Puzzles
Hilda’s to claim their second consecutive cuppers win. So what does these composites mean for college rugby? And, considering the fact that the overall winners were a single-college team, is this actually helping anyone?
Let me preface this by saying that multi-college teams aren’t completely new. Merton and Mansfield have played together for years, and the smallest colleges will obviosulty never be able to field their own team. But we are well past that point. Combined, CCSMM have more than 1600 undergraduates at their disposal (albeit half are women and thus not available to the men’s sides), to Keble’s 450, even before accounting for postgrads.
Cryptic Crossword by Luke Gillespie
So I think that it’s not unfair to say that the big conglomerate teams are hurting those who refuse to conglomerate. Roughly 10% of Christ Church’s male undergraduate population was on our teamsheet on Saturday. While that is something of which our captain can be rightfully proud, it demonstrates the fact that we are never going to be able to consistently compete with teams packed full of university players. But multi-college teams may well be hurting the clubs that do conglomerate too. As conglomerate clubs become ever more combinations of talented players than representations of colleges, it becomes
harder and harder for the less brilliant among us to get a game. Clubs lose their social side, and arguably lose some of their fight. As Christ Church attempted to fend off defeat last weekend we had players bleed, throw up, wave away medics - and play on. While I would love to pretend that this commitment is unique to Christ Church, it isn’t. But it is, particularly in the earlier rounds, lacking in the conglomerates. Colleges simply inspire more pride than multi-college teams. Meanwhile, once colleges conglomerate it becomes very hard to undo, as colleges are left with only a few core players regularly getting a game. This does not mean that the
conglomerate model cannot work. The women’s final this year was contested by two conglomerates, known as Parks and Castle, that are long-standing entities. But at the moment, rather than an organised process, conglomeration on the men’s side is entirely up to the whims of the colleges involved - often making self-serving or short-term decisions. As the gap between the colleges that can field a team and those that can’t yawns, as the conglomerations grow ever bigger, clubs lose track of their colleges and colleges lose their clubs For college rugby to survive, something has to change.
Across:
1. Evil’s agent at sixes and sevens with preacher (10)
4. Get out clause to see French p.o.s. get messed up (7)
6. Lay off Jeff Goldblum’s luminscent insectoid persona (7)
8. Put on your old-timey shirt and get to work! (5)
9. Girl of Green Gables has a retirement pension (7)
12. Blind young cow split in two (4)
13. Wailing vehicles zig-zag through road sharp like a jousting tool (9)
16. Heard you eating Italian food in a tower (4)
17. Elephants may be forced to suspend university; chomp chomp (9)
18. Dirt in Yam udders (3)
Down:
2. Long fish starts eating everyone’s lunch (3)
3. Sounds like naughty phonetics (4)
4. Give alcohol, apply without standard flour (3)
5. The offended EP re-writer gets very cross (3, 4, 3, 3)
6. No one’s secret orange soft drink, seems unlikely (3, 5)
7. Death party was oddly really fun (7)
10. Sounds like standard English e-GO (4)
11. WWII celebrations good in a city (6)
14. Found crazy Spanish teen without enough nachos (6)
15. Church service at the DxV? (4)
Answers: