The Oxford Student - Week 5 Hilary 2025

O XFORD S TUDENT

The University of Oxford’s Student Newspaper, est. 1991

Lord William Hague made Chancellor

This morning Lord William Hague of Richmond was formally inaugurated as Chancellor of the University of Oxford following his election in November last year. The ceremony took place in the Sheldonian Theatre at 11am and lasted approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Senior members of the university wore formal academic regalia and the ceremony was captured by an official photographer and film crew.

Prior to the event, police were present in the surrounding streets and attendees were IDed upon arrival. Police officers expressed nervousness about the outbreak of a protest given the high profile of the event; nonetheless, a fairly jovial atmosphere prevailed inside the building in anticipation of the ceremony.

Hague, who (proudly) grad-

uated from Magdalen College, Oxford in 1982 with a degree in PPE, is best known for his career in politics. In 1989, at the age of 27, he was elected as an MP for Richmond, Yorkshire. He served for 26 years in the House of Commons, notably as Secretary of State for Wales from 1995-1997, Leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001, and First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary from 2010-2014. He also wrote biographies of William Pitt the Younger and William Wilberforce during this period. While at Oxford, he was President of both the Oxford Union and the Oxford University Conservative Association.

Hague left the House of Commons in 2015 and was made a Conservative life peer. He has since served as chair of the Royal United Services Institute think tank from 2015-2020 and chair of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of

Wales from 2020 until earlier this year. He is currently cochair of United for Wildlife which is a global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade. He also writes a weekly column in the Times and has authored a series of reports with Sir Tony Blair which advocate for the greater national prioritisation of science, technology and innovation, a theme which he raised in his address.

Attendees were seated by 10:45am; a trumpet fanfare of CPE Bach’s March for the Ark marked the entrance procession of the University Marshal, the Verger, Four Bedels (Oxford’s ceremonial officers), Vice Chancellor Irene Tracey, the Junior and Senior Proctors, the Assessor, the High Steward, Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Professor of Poetry, the Registrar and the Clerk to the Proctors. Hague arrived, having formally processed from the Clarendon Building. Almost entirely

Students consulted on arms investments

The University of Oxford’s Ethical Investment Representations Review

Subcommittee (EIRRS) held its third student webinar on Monday as part of its ongoing review of the University’s investment policy, specifically regarding investments in the arms manufacturing sector.

Introduced in 2010, the policy placed restrictions on direct investments by the University in companies manufacturing arms that are illegal under UK law. The Oxford University Council, the University’s exec-

utive body responsible for the academic policy and strategic direction, tasked the EIRRS last year with conducting a review of the current policy and to make recommendations on the “continued appropriateness of the restrictions or whether [the policy] should be extended.” The review, which began in September, included two student webinars in Michaelmas Term and a consultation form for students to directly submit written feedback to EIRRS. It is set to close on Monday 24th February.

ERISS stated they will... Continued on page 3...

The Future of Oxford’s Covered

Market

Oxford City Council has allocated an additional £1m in funding to secure the future of the indoor attraction.The market, which celebrated 250 years in September 2024, was designed by English architect and civil engineer John Gwynn. Gwynn also designed Oxford’s iconic Magdalen Bridge.At the time of construction, market owners set up their stalls on the streets. Maintaining

medieval trading arrangements, each street was designated a particular produce: St. Aldates was known as Fish Street and Queen Street was aptly named Butcher Row. In order to “declutter the main city roads and improve them for traffic movement”, the Oxford Mileways Act was passed in 1771. The Oxford Covered Market was built in response to this act, allowing traffic to flow unobstructed. Read the rest on page 16.

The new Chancellor, William Hague, in the Divinity School. Photo credit: Bethan Wallace

Covered Market, Market St. Credit: Samuel Isaacs

Manon Graham and Eleanor Grant

Devika Manish Kumar

Georgia Fielding

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Sports

Sinner’s 3 month ban for doping

31

Features

Are you in love or are you just bored?

17

Reading this week’s articles, I felt a sense of incredulity at the things that people have to say. I know that there’s smart people at Oxford, but even then - some of the articles our contributors have written are more profound than ones I’ve read in national newspapers. (Beehive ratings ftw) Most crucially, many of these people aren’t even writing about topics remotely related to what they study. I’ve wondered how I ventured into journalism. I’ve always liked to read, and I can write like a yapper but the image I’d had of journalists was one of thrusting mics in peoples’ faces and spreading rumours like the ones that trundled through the back of my

7th grade classroom - aka the paparazzi. To my (and your) assurance, it is quite different from that. I guess it has been an outlet for me to think about things that aren’t my degree. Physics and problems and labs are great! But I do miss that occasional lucubration that transcends you to the author’s emotional state, or a nugget of information that clarifies the topical state of the economy. Going back to this week’s articles, it made me realize that maybe that’s what most of our writers miss so much. A bit of something else - something more to chew on. Whether it’s the lack of history in economics or men yearning for pregnancy; pondering love versus boredom or discussing a modern polymath - so much wouldn’t be said if there wasn’t a platform to say it. In other words, Oxford needs more multidisciplinary freedom. P.S. Sorry Cherwell, we do actually love you.

Ananya Parakh Brasenose College

They’ve had a morning of it down at the Sheldonian and Hague has been made Chancellor. Although most of the time I was twiddling my thumbs, Hague and I found an unexpected point of agreement (which, as he said of his friendship with Blair, “you can find as reassuring or alarming as you wish”): that the University shouldn’t be expected to report and opine on all current affairs. I say this with no fondness at all, but merely because I don’t care what the University says and can’t conceive of being impressed by their opinions. Hague also brought up AI as just about everyone doesmost notably and amusingly of all, the President of the President’s Summit (oh God, does that make him God?) who’s made his whole shebang AI themed.In other thoughts, a firm belief of mine is that the English department is conspiring to make flaneurs and sybarites of us all. They play into an original sin of English students - a certain meandering cast of mind - by not giving us actual questions at all. I have discovered that even music students get given arguments with which they must grapple. The Eng Dep gives us vague, highfalutin statements and asks for a response. Little Red Riding Hood is sent off into the woods with no map and some cupcakes. No wonder I have formally evoked an English essay in this note. But I’ll give a little gift to my disciples who made it to the end of this editorial pilgrimage: Shermar Pryce isn’t ‘endorsed’ by overheard_ at_oxford because he is overheard_at_oxford. Don’t ask me where I overheard that one.

Eleanor Grant New College

20 Culture

Ranking Oxford’s cafes - Where should you study?

Dear Reader, what better way is there to combat fifth week blues than with a copy of the Oxstu? You have made an excellent choice. There is always the wonderful feeling

Editorial Team

Editorial Board

Ananya Parakh and Eleanor Grant (Editors-in-Chief)

Silvia Andreoletti and Caitlyn Tan (Associate Editors)

News

Devika Manish Kumar and Yunzhang Liang (Heads of News)

Aamna Shehzad, Caitlin Clarke, Canqi Li, Manon Graham, Fenja Tramsen, Yashas Ramakrishnan, Peter Lenehan, Sumrah Akhtar, William Lawrence (Section Editors)

Investigations

Georgie Allan, Charli Mn, Cora

in Hilary when you have settled very comfortably into the term while still trying to make it out alive. Feels a bit like we all have to run very fast to stay in the same place. Well, I say it is an adventure! Albeit an adventure with the climate of Wuthering Heights.

I am never so grateful for a little bit of sunshine in the dreary months. A massive thank you to the whole Oxstu team and to you, Reader, for making fifth week a little more cheery.

I don’t know who needs to

Partridge, Lara Murrani, Michelle Wang

Comment

Roy Shinar Cohen (Deputy Editor)

Esme Owen, Harry Aldridge, Kara Gold, Patrick Maxwell, Rebecca Khan (Section Editors)

Profile

Yashas Ramakrishnan (Deputy Editor)

Lika Gorskaia, Nayana Juliette Syed (Section Editors)

Features

Faith Caswell (Deputy Editor)

Amelia Miller, Chaewon Kang, Elly Bailey, Nayana Juliette Syed, Georgia Fielding, Leila Huang,

hear this but please drink more water, take care of yourself, drink lots of warm beverages - do all of that boring stuff.

I hope that you all had a great Valentine’s day, or the more important Blessing of the Salmon’s Net day, which is on the same day in some calendars.

I think drinking hot chocolate solves most problems, I thought this was important to add.

I am cold and my brain has turned into a strange soup so

Lucy Pollock, Emily Dillon (Section Editors)

Culture

Luisa Blacker (Deputy Editor) Ana Pasa, Christina Scote, Kitty Fisher, Natalie Tan, Rufus Jones, Ava Doherty, Jack Wharton (Section Editors)

OxYou

Jan Maciejewski (Deputy Editor) Arun Lewis, Lara Murrani, KitRenshaw Hammond (Section Editors)

Identity

Anjola Olumoroti (Deputy Editor) Arun Lewis, Georgia Fielding (Section Editors)

I shall end this little section by shirking my own thoughts and ending with another person’s quote: ‘They went to sea in a sieve, they did; in a sieve they went to sea [...] Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a sieve’. Make of that what you will and have a lovely Hilary!

Caitlyn

Tan Christ Church College

Sport Haris Book (Deputy Editor) Ella Cody, Sumrah Akhtar (Section Editors)

Science

Amelia Bryan (Deputy Editor)

Mominah Ramzan, Nicola Kalita, Patricia Nalule (Section Editor)

Strategy

Georgie Allan (Director of Strategy) Isaac Cusworth, Will Lawson, Tod Manners

Social Media

India Dob, Harry Aldridge, Izzy Moore, Kitty Fisher

‘What If?’: Inside TEDxOxford 2025

news@oxfordstudent.com | Heads of News: Devika Manish Kumar and Yunzhang Liang

Section Editors: Aamna Shehzad, Caitlin Clarke, Canqi Li, Fenja Tramsen, Manon Graham, Peter Lenahan, Sumrah Akhtar, Will Lawrence

Students consulted on arms investments

TEDxOxford in the Sheldonian Theatre. Credit: Saheeb Ali

Award-Winning Poet

Toby Thompson, YouTuber Robin Waldun, Founder of Oxford Capital David Mott and more spoke at TEDxOxford on Sunday, 2nd February 2025.

Held in the Sheldonian Theatre, the theme of this year’s conference is “What If?”. The conference featured 12 high-profile speakers, including artists, entrepreneurs, academics and activists.

Speaking to The Oxford Student on the inspiration behind this year’s theme, Co-President Adi said “‘What If?’ was the simplest question you could ask about anything. I felt like it distilled a sense of curiosity in the purest form.” The conference opened with Archer Newton, COO of EdTech company iCanStudy. Archer’s talk centred on demystifying the concept of a genius, and what it takes to become one. He claims that “If genius is the outcome we are trying to achieve, then the process to get there is learning.”

Learning, according to him, is a combination of both lower order learning, and higher order learning, which links disparate pieces of information together. “Becoming a genius isn’t a myth anymore”, he con-

cludes, before posing a question to the audience: “What impossible are you going to make a reality?”

“ ‘What if?’ was the simplest question you could ask about anything...it distilled a sense of curiosity in the purest form

Freshta Karim, founder of Kabul-based NGO Charmaghz, spoke next. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree and one of BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women, Freshta dedicates her speech to the “magical power of books”, and her lifetime’s work to make this available to children in Afghanistan. In 2018, she launched Charmagaz with the aim of establishing mobile libraries that can act as spaces for children to access books and reading.

“Libraries are extremely, extremely important for children, and for children growing up in war, it is even more important. When you grow up in war, you need stories that allow you to think about what is

otherwise possible, and to be able to imagine that. Because when you imagine a different future, that’s when you’re able to create it.”

Professor Charlotte Deane, Professor of Statistics at Oxford and executive chair of the EPSRC, gave a speech on “The Power and Pitfalls of AI in the Design of New Drugs”. Professor Deane points to the ability of AI to democratise drug discovery, but also to the fundamental unreliability of AI in resolving the issue of “docking”, the process of predicting how a small molecule ligand will bind to a protein or receptor for the drug to work.

Art Historian and Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean Museum Dr Jim Harris delivers an immersive walkthrough of a typical museum visit, shedding light on the age-old question of “how to be in a museum?”.

“Who is telling you that information? What is the lens they have chosen to place between you and the object?” he questions, before encouraging museum-goers to look at the object as closely as possible before getting to the label, “because the object will give itself up to you if you look at it carefully”.

Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com

Devika Manish Kumar

...continued from page 1 ...also consult with other University entities, such as the Research and Innovation Committee, Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding, and major beneficiary trusts of the University endowment. EIRRS will then provide a recommendation to its parent committee, the University’s Investment Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Oxford University Council for final consideration later this year.

“

To prohibit direct investments in companies which manufactured arms that are illegal

The University’s current policy was determined following a similar consultative process in 2009 and 2010, led by EIRRS’s predecessor, the Socially Responsible Investment Review Committee. The Council made a decision to prohibit direct investments in companies which manufactured arms that are illegal under the Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010 and the Landmines Act 1998. One outcome of the ongoing

EIRRS review is to determine whether, for the purposes of University investments, restricted arms should be expanded beyond “weapons illegal under UK law.” The challenge lies in determining what constitutes “controversial” weapons, which varies by jurisdiction. During the 20092010 consultations, the SRIRC recommended using UK law as the threshold for restriction due to the “wide variety of views within the University on the ethics of this matter.”

Other criteria SRIRC considered were the University’s research objectives, as “some existing University research is undertaken in cooperation with some companies which manufacture arms”, as well as the right of self-defense, as “arms are also used by individuals, groups or governments to defend themselves against those who use arms for bad purposes.” During Monday’s student webinar, Huw van Steenis, the Chair of EIRRS and partner at management consultant firm Oliver Wyman, noted that the European Union has “been steering some of the captive or semi-captive EU institutions to actually add to their conventional weapon holdings or reduce any restrictions that they had to try and support defense build-out in the context of Russia.”

Van Steenis also spoke about the investment policies... Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com

The Radcliffe Camera. Credit: Cameron Samuel Keys

Yunzhang Liang and Aamna Shehzad

Amal Clooney to take up position at

atnik

Blav -

School of Government

Caitlin Clarke and Yunzhang Liang

Amal Clooney has been appointed as a Visiting Professor of Practice in International law at the Blavatnik School of Government.

Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, said “As a pre-eminent practitioner and scholar, Amal’s expertise and insights will greatly enhance the School’s research and teaching.”

Amal is a former Oxford graduate who attended St Hugh’s College, where she read Law. During her time at university, she was awarded the Shrigley Award in 1996, which is given to St Hugh’s students for outstanding law studies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence in 2000.

She expressed that she is ‘honoured to be back at Oxford, this time not as a student but as a Professor.’

‘It is a privilege to have this opportunity to engage with the next generation of global leaders and to contribute to the vibrant academic community at Oxford. I look forward to collaborating with both faculty and students to advance access to justice around the world.”

Amal’s career as a barrister and human rights advocate led her to co-found the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband in 2016. Much of her work has focused on the defence of women’s rights and the pursuit of justice for victims of genocide and human rights abuses across the globe. She is currently a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in public international law, international criminal law and human rights.

“Sex-realist advocate” Helen Joyce speaks at Balliol amidst backlash

Yunzhang Liang

On 13th February,Balliol College Philosophy Society hosted journalist Helen Joyce at an event, where she gave a talk titled “Everything you always wanted to know about Sex (and gender) *but were afraid to ask”.

Joyce is a former journalist at The Economist and author of “Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality” who is currently working with gender-critical campaign group Sex Matters. Prior to becoming a journalist, Joyce worked in academia and holds a PhD in Mathematics from University College London.

Joyce is known for her controversial views on gender-identity ideology and transgender activism, which she criticises in her book, arguing that biological sex is a fundamental, immutable characteristic, while gender identity is a subjective belief, and that prioritising the latter over the former has “far-reaching consequences”. “Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality” was published in 2021 and shortlisted for the John Maddox Prize in 2023.

Balliol College Philosophy Society’s decision to host Helen Joyce has drawn backlash. Prior to the event, OULGBTQ+ Society released a statement claiming: “Balliol’s elevation of Joyce’s views by agreeing to let her use their space directly contradicts their own equality policy, which states that the college ‘will ensure that in the conduct of all its activities, steps are taken to avoid the occurrence of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, and to promote good relations between different protected groups’, which includes trans and non-binary people.”

Additionally, a petition calling on signatories to “Protest Transphobia at Oxford University” was circulated online. It states: “Inviting Helen Joyce to expressly promote her anti-trans views, not only frames

fearmongering and harassment as permissible, but creates a toxic atmosphere of paranoia for the transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming students and staff, who use single-sex spaces on a daily basis.” The petition called for the talk to be cancelled, and has been signed by close to 700 people.

Attendance for the event itself was restricted to students and faculty at the University of Oxford. Names were checked against a list upon entry, and those unable to verify their identity with a Bod card were not let into the lecture theatre.

“ Balliol’s elevation of Joyce’s views by agreeing to let her use their space directly contradicts their own equality policy

In a message to attendees, Balliol College Philosophy Society stated: “We apologise for these unusual constraints on attendance, which are a result of the high level of interest that Helen’s visit has attracted, and our desire to maintain the safety of those who attend.”

Before the talk officially started, flyers were being placed on the tables in the lecture theatre and handed to existing attendees. The flyers were titled “What Helen Joyce says:”, and shows a side-by-side comparison of Joyce’s own claims with statements disputing each claim to be “FALSE”.

The talk was structured as a conversation between John Maier, a DPhil student who convenes the Philosophy Society, and Helen Joyce herself, who Maier introduced as a “sex-realist advocate”. The second half of the talk was open to questions from the floor.

In response to the contro-

versy surrounding her views, Joyce remarked: “It’s kind of obvious…95% of it is just facts,” and that “sex realism means that you accept that sex is real.”

A group of protesters stood up to protest Joyce’s claims. One protester held up a transgender flag, while others displayed signs with messages written on them. One sign read “‘SEX-BASED CONCERNS’ ARE THE THIN END OF THE FASCIST WEDGE”.

At the same time, protesters could be heard knocking on the windows of the lecture theatre from outside. Shortly after, the protestors walked out of the talk, to which Maier asked: “Would anyone like to ask a question on their way out?”

“All of that, as you can see, is fascism,” Joyce said in response as the talk resumed.

“The problem is the imposition…they can get on with it, I don’t care. Just don’t impose on other people, and don’t go destroying other people’s rights. Because the belief that men can become women, or that women can become men, is a rights-destroying belief,” Joyce continued.

Maier recalled Joyce’s 2022 interview, where she advocated for “keeping down or reducing the number of people who transition in order to limit the harm done”, called individuals who transition “damaged”, and referred to believers of gender-identity ideology “a huge problem in a sane world”.

“That’s going to be my epitaph. I’m very proud of it,”

Joyce replied.

“Everyone who transitions is damaged – that was referring to physical transition. This is not good for you. It is not good for you to cut off body parts or to take hormones. Objectively, this is bad – if you can live with the body you were born with, that’s obviously a better outcome.”

“ She said the belief that men can become women, or that women can become men, is a rights-destroying belief

“People who believe that men can be women and women can be men, and believe in it sufficiently strongly that they act on it, are rights-destroying people. They are the people who advocate for men to go into women’s spaces and sports…if you believe that a man who says he’s a woman is entitled to go into women’s spaces and is entitled to go into women’s sports, you are destroying women’s rights.”

“And if you believe that you can tell children lies about what sex is, and you can put children on the path to sterilisation before they are even old enough to have an orgasm, you are already not respecting democratic society.”

Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com

Helen Joyce poses with a protester’s sign. Credit: Yunzhang

Somerville College appoints NATO adviser Catherine Royle as next Principal

Caitlin Clarke

This week, Somerville College named Catherine Royle as its thirteenth Principal. Her predecessor, Baroness Jan Royall, is set to end her tenure in autumn, having held the position since 2017. Baroness Royall had contested the Chancellor election last term and made it to the final round of five candidates.

With the appointment of Royle, Somerville continues to be the only Oxford college to have had exclusively female Principals, having been founded as one of the university’s first two women’s colleges in 1879. Previous Principals have included Daphne Park, a diplomat and officer for MI6, and Alice Prochaska, former Head Librarian at Yale University.

Royle was herself an undergraduate at Somerville, studying for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), before obtaining a MscEcon

in Strategic Studies at Aberystwyth University. Following her studies, Royle joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986. She spent a notable portion of her career in South America, including a posting in Chile during its transition to democracy, and as British Ambassador to Venezuela. She also served as Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan

ical Adviser to the Commander at Joint Force Command Brunssum (Netherlands), and most notably worked in defence planning following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In an official press release from Somerville College,

“ I am confident that the College will continue to flourish as Catherine is committed to diversity... “ I hope I can use my new role to support everyone in the community that makes up Somerville to achieve their goals too.

After a long career as a British diplomat, Royle spent the last decade at NATO as Polit-

Roy Shinar Cohen is the Comment Deputy Editor at The

Oxford

TRoyle said she feels “grateful and honoured to have the chance to return to Somerville.” She added: “The College gave me the skills and confidence to set off on an exciting professional life; I hope I can use my new role to support everyone in the community that makes up Somerville to achieve their goals too.”

The Oxford Student reached out to Somerville students for their opinions on the announcement.

Chloe Phillips, Somerville’s MCR First Generation and Low Income Representative explained her view on the announcement: “I am happy to see Somerville’s announcement of Catherine Royle as our new Principal. I met Catherine during her visit to

Why should we care?

he Oxford Union, the self-proclaimed bastion of free speech, is somewhat omnipresent at Oxford. Freshers flock to its balls, buying expensive memberships many will not use; speakers flock to its halls, basking in the glory of ‘the chamber’ where many greats had debated. Yet, there is a reason so many students rarely use their membership (that is, aside from when the occasional super-star speaker arrives). Most students just don’t care about the politics, speakers, and or what they say.

After checking it out in Michaelmas of first-year, many students ‘get the vibe’. The debates begin to resemble each other, and you notice ‘debate’ is too generous of a term for a series of pre-written speeches. You begin to receive an-

noying messages asking for a vote you don’t care about in an election you did not know was happening. And, the cigar-smoking, tuxedo-wearing young adults seem of another

“ It seems few care about what is actually debated

time. Most people just want to hang out with friends in more ‘humble’ (that is, normal) ways.

Nevertheless, some students do seem to care about it. There are those students, myself included, who only go to big-name speakers (ahm, I met Žižek), so they check the term card and remember to queue. Others enjoy the social scene and attend debates, socials and balls. And,

as any student knows, many in Oxford care about hating the Union, never missing an opportunity to bash it.

As some students told The Oxford Student after the last debate, it was “too long”, but guest speakers were of “an extremely high standard” and had an “erudite and entertaining style”. This hits the nail on the head. Union debates are long (often taking a whole evening), and while student speakers exemplify oratory skills, guest speakers show off decades of learning and experience. You could learn something new but are more likely to just be amused by the bizarre setting.

Sometimes, though, after shaky videos and snippets of speeches reach social media, this changes. Famous guest speakers often make inflammatory comments and

Somerville in January, and think she is a wonderful fit for the role. We are excited to be able to continue Someville’s legacy with another woman as Principal, and I am confident that the college will continue to flourish as Catherine is committed to diversity, inclusivity and academic excellence. I hope Catherine...” Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com

provocative gestures, most often during debates with bold titles. When this happens, like last term’s Israel debate, professional media outlets are quick to report and publish denouncing op-eds. Since most of the time, like during the latest debate, speakers—”lawyers who clearly knew a lot about their subject”—avoid publicity stunts, the ‘outside world’ does not pay attention. Thus, the Union is great if you want to see the occasional famous person, but less so for nuanced, ‘influential’ debates. In Oxford and beyond, it seems like few care about what is actually argued—unless it can get them clicks or likes. Those who find it entertaining, I am happy for you and wish you the best. For the rest, I ask, why care about the Oxford Union?

Royal in Afghanistan in 2011. Credit: US Marine Corps

Covered Market to get £1m

Credit: Bethan Wallace

Will Lawrence

The Oxford City Council has proposed an additional £1m in funding for the redevelopment of the Covered Market. The final decision was made on the 5th of February, and it brings the total development cost of the “masterplan” to £8m. The proposal comes as part of a plan to help “futureproof” the Covered Market following its 250th anniversary last year. The suggested improvements include a new seating area and a square, as well as removing redundant fittings and improving electrics and drainage, and “cleaning the clutter”.

The Covered Market has gone through multiple transitions throughout its lifespan, said Councillor Alex Hollingsworth. “By future-proofing infrastructure and embracing green technologies, we’re preserving its historic charm.”

Read more online at oxfordstudent.com

Town v Gown football set to return

Oxford City FC and the University of Oxford recently announced the return of the iconic ‘Town v Gown’ football match.

This fixture is a longstanding tradition reflecting the relationship between Oxford’s local community (‘Town’) and the University of Oxford (‘Gown’). Organized by Oxford City Football Club and the Oxford University Association Football Club (OUAFC), the event celebrates the rivalry and unity of both sides through an epic showdown on the pitch.

The event is set to return on the 4th March at the MGroup Stadium. The Men’s fixture is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm. This year will see the introduction of a Women’s Town v Gown fixture, the first Women’s match in the history of the event.

Although the event has been held most years since 1895, the match has not taken place since 2021. Oxford FC in a

press release stated: “Oxford City Football Club, the University of Oxford and their Association Football Club (OUAFC) have recognised the importance of this unique event and have worked together to revive and create an event that brings the Oxford Community together.”

“ It used to be a game we all looked forward to...It’s great to have it back, and also to see the Women’s game generating just as much interest.

The first football match between the City of Oxford and the University of Oxford took place in February 1895 with the university securing a tre-

mendous 10-0 lead. However, the game has since become much more competitive, with the crossover between Town and Gown now more common as several students choose to play for the City whilst studying at the university.

OUAFC is one of the largest sporting clubs at the University, holding an impressive record as the first and only University team to win the FA Cup in 1874 with a 1-0 win against the Clapham Rovers. Oxford City FC was founded eight years later and is now recognised as the oldest club side in Oxford, competing in the National League North. The event taking place next month aims to celebrate the rich heritage of both teams, anticipating a large turnout of the City’s residents and students to watch the historic moment.

The matches will be raising money for the chosen charities of both sides, with tickets priced at £5 for adults and £1 for children under 16.

In a press release, Oxford

City FC Chairman, Andy Sinnot, stated: “It used to be a game we all looked forward to: I played in several of them and they were always really competitive…it’s great to have it back, and also to see the Women’s game generating just as much interest.”

“ The Town v Gown event looks like an exciting, timless event to honour Oxford’s history. This event appears productive, competitive, and unifying.

Professor Alex Betts of the University of Oxford, who is Chair of the University’s Sport Strategy Committee and the

under-9s coach of Oxford City FC added: “It’s exciting to be able to revive a fixture with so much history, and be able to bring the whole community together through football. Our partnership with Oxford City FC has so many aspects and these matches are a great way of showcasing that.”

Oxford University Association Football Club President Hannah Williams continued: “It’s such a pleasure to see the Men’s and Women’s players so involved and excited to partake in the chance to unite the University and community through their shared passion for football.”

The Oxford Student spoke to Oxford students for their reactions. Swatiya Montaha, a student at Hertford College said: “The Towns vs Gowns event looks like an exciting, timeless event to honour Oxford’s history. Some traditions aren’t meant to last but this event appears productive, competitive, and unifying.”

Sumrah Akhtar

Union debates international courts

Last Thursday evening, the Oxford Union hosted its fourth debate of Hilary term 2025: “This House has No Confidence in the International Courts”. Union members voted to reject the motion, affirming their confidence in international courts, with 110 members voting to support the proposition and 144 members voting against.

Speaking on the proposition side were student speakers Raza Nazar, this term’s Secretary, and Bilal Moin, a Sponsorship Officer at the Union. They were joined by guest speakers Robert Amsterdam, a renowned international human rights lawyer, Professor Tom Ginsburg, a leading expert in international law from the University of Chicago, and Professor Tor Krever, an assistant professor in international law at the University of Cambridge.

Arguing against the motion were student speakers Dane

Luo, the Union’s Director of Research, and Axana Soltan, the Chair of Access. Speaking alongside them were guest speakers Stephen Rapp, former US Ambassador-at-Large for war crimes issues, Dame Eleanor Sharpston KC, former Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, and Professor Robert Spano, former President of the European Court of Human Rights.

Opening the case for the proposition, Raza Nazar argued that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has “failed to the point that we should not have confidence in international courts”. In particular, Nazar condemned the Court’s “selective application of justice,” pointing to its inability and unwillingness to hold powerful nations accountable. He argued that this double standard rendered the ICC ineffective, with the leaders of smaller nations being “used as examples” while the powerful evade justice. Closing his speech, Nazar warned

that the “illusion of legality is worse than illegality,” urging the Union to vote that it had lost confidence in the ability of international courts to “fulfil their aims and functions”.

Continuing the case for the proposition, Robert Amsterdam delivered a fiery critique of international courts, arguing that they are ineffective and serve the interests of large western powers. Dismissing the ICC as “rubbish,” he claimed that “if you have no enforcement powers, then you’re not really a court,” with leaders like Israeli Prime Min-

ister Benjamin Netanyahu failing to “care” about its rulings. He condemned international courts as being manipulated by the West: “these courts are largely dependent on those countries that are willing to fund them,” emphasising a stark imbalance of power that restricts the voices of poorer countries. Alongside power imbalances, Amsterdam argued that courts like the ICC “are ignorant of the local conditions,” thus rendering them ineffective.

Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com

800th anniversary of the Magna Carta celebrated in Weston Library

The Weston Library is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta of 1225 in an exhibit titled ‘Magna Carta 1215 1225.’ The Magna Carta was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law and placed limits on royal authority by establishing law as a power in itself.

The exhibit was curated by Matthew Holford, the Bodleian Library’s Tolkien Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, and challenges whether the second version of the Magna Carta from 1225 was more significant than the original, first version in 1215. It explains that despite the close association of the 1215 document with King John, this version should be considered a failure compared to the far more impactful 1225 document. The

1215 Magna Carta was quickly annulled and cast aside by Pope Innocent III who declared it had been sealed under duress. While it faded into obscurity for contemporaries, in recent years it has been the focal point of modern commemoration.

The display contains copies of the 1215, 1217 and 1225 versions of the Magna Carta and traces the changes in its reputation from 1215 to 2015. The exhibit argues that despite the large-scale celebrations in 2015 for the 800th anniversary of the 1215 document, 2025 is another key milestone as it is the 800th anniversary of the 1225 document which had the most impact on the English political system and rulership. From the late 13th century when lawyers were collecting important items of English legislation in collections of statutes, the first document included was most often the

Former Atik and Kiss locations to become live music venue, offices

Will Lawrence

Plans have been formally lodged to turn the vacant former locations of Atik and Kiss nightclubs into a live music venue.

Atik closed in June 2024 when negotiations with their landlord failed.

Elwood Fund Management, the firm in charge of planning the new site at Park End street , said that they are working with the council and the local music scene to establish a “successful” music venue.

1225 Magna Carta. It was presented as the foundational document of the English common law tradition. The exhibit highlights the fact that the 1215 version of the text became widely available in the 18th century, which moved public focus away from the 1225 document.

The first version of the Magna Carta is from the 15th of June 1215 and was issued by King John at Runnymede where it acted in part as a peace treaty dealing with the return of hostages and lands.

In 1217, King Henry III defeated baronial opposition and re-issued the Magna Carta in November of that year to consolidate his authority but he was only 10 years old. Therefore, it was only on the 11th February 1225 that King Henry III issued and sealed a definitive confirmation where he emphasized his free and independent action.

Along with a live music venue, the remainder of the location will be turned into offices, a restaurant, and a roof terrace. Both the Oxford City Council and Elwood & Co, the location’s property management company, recognised that the Park End area where Atik is located is “under-performing”. These plans form part of the council’s plan to “revitalise” the area west of Oxford City Centre.

Oxford students seem supportive of the plans. A student from Keble College told The Oxford Student that they were so excited to have a live music venue in Oxford City Centre and that the plans “make it more accessible for students in general [to enjoy live music]”.

However, a student from Balliol expressed doubts about the project’s chances of success. “It reminds me of the YouTube thumbnail when they cut your JBL wires then replace them with cheap knockoff AirPods. It’s a cold comfort.”

A student from New College said: “There’s already one music venue that’s really far and no one goes to, which is the Bullingdon. We don’t need another one.”

Magna Carta of 1225, detail. Credit: Bodleian Libraries.

The Oxford Union debate chamber. Credit: Bethan Wallace

Harry Aldridge Manon Graham

Week 6 Thurs 27th Feb

Economics is taking itself too seriously. It wants to be an empirical science with objectively provable rules, like Physics and Chemistry. Unfortunately, it cannot be so. There are too many moving parts and assumptions that we need to make. This desire is detrimental to how economics is taught. But how can we fix Econ 101?

It seems obvious, but economics and history are profoundly intertwined. In most economics courses, however, this link is never drawn out. Aside from a few lectures at the start of Prelims, economics is practically an applied maths degree—and even this ‘application’ is oftentimes lacking. I am not anti-maths—it is of paramount importance to be able to work through things quantitatively, it can help us understand the underlying mechanisms of our hypotheses, and it can also help us make more concrete predictions. However, focusing solely on this aspect of economics removes it from reality.

We might be able to construct fancy models, but if we fail to look at economic history, the context to which these models are applied is definitively lost. For example, we cannot tackle

intra- and international inequalities if we do not study their historical roots. This is precisely the point—history tells economists how and why the world is the way it is. This is crucial to building models that have defendable assumptions, and, more importantly, it is the only way to make policies specific to

“ To create economists who understand why they are doing economics, we must provide them with the tools of history

each issue. Incorporating more history into the discipline is a ‘check’ against the generalising tendency of mathematics.

To create economists who understand why they are doing economics, we must provide them with the tools of history. This means we’re fortunate here at Oxford that the History and Economics (HECO) course is available—but it is by no means offered by most universities. Moreover, other ‘similar’ interdisciplinary degrees, such as PPE, lack the historical analysis present in HECO

Econ 101: More than Xs and Ys

and thus miss out on the important context the discipline provides.

There is certainly a large place for mathematics in economic research. Economics might not be one hundred percent empirical, like the natural sciences. But, economists are still in the business of making hypotheses, testing them, and drawing out conclusions which inform potential applications.

However, maths for the sake of maths is somewhat pointless. I see little use in memorising formulas—instead, we should be looking to use mathematical methods in the real world.

Applied economics has to take centre stage in undergraduate courses so that we aren’t just talking about hypotheticals. For this, we need to bring more data, statistical analysis, and case studies into teaching.

In a sense, this will actually bring us closer to empiricism because our learning will mean something that isn’t simply theoretical, and we can prove (or disprove) what we claim. Some of the greatest research in the social sciences is found in economics, and we should lean into this powerful aspect of the discipline.

Markets are the name of the game in economics teaching, and for good reason. The majority of the world lives in

what can broadly be called market economies. However, this should not mean we take markets for granted. They come from somewhere,

“ There is no discussion of the central economics question— what is it that creates value?

and they are not the only possible outcome. There is extensive material on market failure (which is great), but the core assumption at the centre of all this—that there is a market—is not really challenged or explained. Furthermore, there is no discussion of the central economic question—what is it that creates value? This is certainly true during the first year, and I think I am correct in saying that it remains true throughout the course. This is the starting point of economics, and it is just glossed over as if we can ignore it. But, we cannot. Agree or disagree with them, we need to be aware of Smith, Ricardo, and yes, even Marx. How can we build a whole discipline concerned with ‘value’ if we are not?

As a first-year student, I am

keenly aware of how terribly unqualified I am to write this piece, but I figured that someone had to, and so I am doing it without the presumption of experience or expertise. We need to see a more interdisciplinary approach to economics teaching, where our assumptions are continuously acknowledged and challenged. The ‘death of economics’ has started to be talked about outside of fringe circles, and we need to begin taking these points seriously.

Oxford is renowned for leading academic change, and for being ‘brave’ in how it approaches knowledge and learning. There is

“ There is no reason for us to become comfortable in this economic orthodoxy

no reason for us to become comfortable in this economic orthodoxy. We can’t forget that economics isn’t ‘fairy dust’, to borrow from The Wolf of Wall Street. How we think about it and the decisions we make based on that thinking have observable, material implications in the real world.

Esme Owen, Harry Aldridge, Kara Goldsmith, Patrick Maxwell, Rebecca Khan

Oxford is renowned for leading academic change. Credit: Michael D Beckwith via Wikicommons

Gui Lopes is a contribotor for The Oxford Student.

a

Where is Trump most destructive?

The beginning of Donald Trump’s second term has been full of radical u-turns. Thanks to the ‘flood the zone’ strategy, however, it is hard to separate the rhetoric from the real radicalism. For something of the latter, look no further than the fate of American renewable energy.

Offshore wind power has been booming in the US, moving far ahead of Europe since the lockdowns of 2020–2021. Now, that is set to change. Ørsted, the world’s leading offshore wind developer, has seen its share price plummet and issues impairments to its business totalling $1.7 billion in late January. The firm blames interest rates, ‘market uncertainties’ and rather predictable supply chain challenges.

It was no coincidence, however, that the announcement also coincided with Trump’s inauguration, which brought the suspension of new offshore wind leasing. While the faltering Biden administration backed offshore wind projects as part of the ‘Green New Deal’, Trump shows no such

ambition for the sector. Trump’s impact has been quick and wide-reaching. Shell, which has outpaced other energy competitors, has written off almost $1 billion and withdrawn from investment into an offshore wind farm as a result of Trump’s move. What prompts these changes? His critics convincingly point to the ‘cultural’ element within a wider fetishisation of traditional industrial

“ We’re not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly mills.

jobs. The lobbying of ‘Big Oil’ certainly also plays its customary role. The president has said that solar fields are “ridiculous, the whole thing”, and has been withering about the offshore wind sector. “We’re not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly mills. They ruin your neighbourhood”, he told Reuters. The growth of solar energy also looks set to a halt as Trump decries the aesthetic of solar wind farms in American towns.

These changes have profound consequences. Although European countries will be keen to capitalise on

any exodus of renewable energy firms from America, the umbilical relationship between American and European economic fortunes means that any slowdown in the pace of American renewables can only be bad news for European consumers. Europe faces its own problems in energy procurement from threats Russian and Chinese.

The fortunes of all the big oil firms are looking no rosier for Trump’s arrival either. For instance, BP, based in Britain, is facing an uncertain future. The invasion of Ukraine made the firm sell its $25bn share in the Russian giant Rosneft, creating huge losses. Renewable energy in Europe and America is at risk - but so are the more established firms.

That is an important lesson—particularly for British viewers taking apart the new president’s isolationist and re actionary economic policy.

The only thing a sensible onlooker can do is to imagine themselves in Mr Trump’s seat. That does not paint a happy picture—far from it. But it may be the only way to understand where the attack on renewable energy in America is coming from—and its drastic impact across the Western world.sss

Push Factors: The Causes of Latin American Migration

Charli

columnist at The Oxford Student.

Since Trump’s inauguration, our already-polarised world has descended to new depths of chaos. The President unveiled his cabinet to reveal a Health Secretary who compared the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s infant vaccination programme to “Nazi death camps”, while The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists recently inched the second hand of the Doomsday Clock the closest it has ever been to midnight, with just 89 seconds now separating humanity from its theoretical demise. It has been a grim start to 2025. Yet, arguably none face greater adversity than those entangled in the dense web of Trump’s immigration policy, bolstered by no less than 21 executive actions to date.

On 20 January, the President vowed to end birthright citizenship with flagrant disregard for the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. Ten days later, he disclosed plans to deport 30,000 undocumented migrants to what Am

nesty International describedas “a symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention without charge or trial”: Guantanamo Bay. Meanwhile, protesters in Los Angeles draped in Mexican flags blocked the 101 Freeway for more than five hours on 2nd February in protest against the ongoing deluge of ICE deportations across the country. It is with these events in mind that I bring to you the first instalment of a four-part series which will explore the intricacies of the forced migration crisis as it evolves towards, along, and through the US/Mexico border. Interwoven with recommendations for documentaries, novels, and films which attest to the complexity of the migrant experience, these articles are intended as a counterbalancing companion to the hostile rhetoric of the Trump administration, present and past. Migrants do not, try to cross the border simply to “take American jobs” or to commit crimes. Rather, the life-changing decision is prompted by a complex interplay of political and environmental factors.

Look at renewable energy. Credit: D. Myles Cullen via Wikimedia Commons

Patrick Maxwell is a Comment Section Editor at The Oxford Student.

McMackin is a

A Modest Proposal

Amelia Miller asks - why slow down the biological clock for women when we could speed it up for men?

Thousands of women will freeze their eggs this year (or thaw them if they’re ready to mate). Fertility interventions are becoming the norm for women who can afford them, and feminists praise the technology for freeing women from our biological constraints. But as women rush to the clinic, allow me to suggest a pause. What are we trying to delay —and why?

If we take a step back, the problem isn’t that women’s biological timelines are too short—it is that men’s and women’s timelines are mismatched. Women tap out around 40, while men can keep hope alive through 70plus. Which leads me to wonder, if the goal is to better align, why should women bend over backwards to slow down their biological clocks, when we could much more easily speed up men’s?

Imagine this. A young man

visits his doctor for his annual physical—let’s say he is 22. The doctor, acting in accordance with the law, informs him that sometime between the ages of 30-40, he will have to get a

mies are also cheap (around $1,500), while freezing eggs is pricey (over $10,000). From a cost and risk perspective, the superior social choice is clear. I can already hear the men scream: Are you kidding? A compulsory surgical intervention? In such an intimate domain? It just doesn’t make sense! Oh please. These are sacrifices that most women are quietly expected to make today. We take mindand-body-altering hormonal contraceptives or install intrauterine devices to make it easier for men (and women!) to have fun. Not to mention what we go through for childbirth. Why shouldn’t men’s bodies be on the line for once?

With male skin in the game, at last, we will finally start to address the real social problem that’s enabled by men’s nearly lifelong fertility: prolonged male adolescence. Most women who freeze their eggs don’t want to delay starting a family. Some feel they have to put off parenting to advance at work (because it’s still too hard to do both in today’s corporate culture). But many others freeze them because it’s hard to find a man who knows what he wants and is ready to settle down during their fertility window.

rush?

In some ways, a long fertility leash is a privilege—most women envy the time men get to explore. But at some point,

“ Men would quit fretting over whether and when to grow up—they would just do it

unbounded freedom can turn into a burden. With nothing to force maturation, boys wander. They’re often confused. As women grow up all around them, are men happy or are they stuck?

We will finally start to address the real problem: prolonged male adolescence “

The problem isn’t that women’s biological timelines are too short—it is that men’s and women’s timelines are mismatched.

vasectomy. When, exactly, is up to chance. The odds will be set by the age distribution of the female fertility cliff—that is, the age after which women struggle to reproduce. The authorities will roll the dice

for each man when he is 25 (to give him ample time to prepare). And then, their date is set. Some men will have their tubes tied at 30. Some may be graced with a lucky 39. But none will glide through women’s prime reproductive years without having to worry that if they don’t have kids now, they will also be out of the running forever. The clock will tick for men too, so to speak.

Yes, I know, government-mandated vasectomies may sound a bit dystopian— but if we’re trying to level the playing field, is there really a better way?

The vasectomy, after all, is a routine procedure—quick, safe, and even reversible (though in the post-patriarchal society of our thought experiment, reversals will land you in jail. Sorry guys!). Egg extraction and IVF, on the other hand, come with a range of complications. Vasecto-

Of course, the mating market is inefficient when fertility incentives for men and women are so out of sync. While women have to get serious in their 30s, men can mess around for much longer without compromising their ultimate domestic ambitions—and society barely bats an eye. I’m not talking about men in their mid-20s who, like women, are still figuring things out. It’s the “Seinfelds” (married at 45). The “Hugh Grants” (wed at a tender 57). And, most importantly, the men who approach 30, date women they know need to push the ball forward, yet still ask them: what is the

In a world of state-enforced fertility parity, we would all march to the clock’s steady beat. Men would quit fretting over whether and when to grow up—they would just do it, like us, tick, tick, tick… We would see men thinking backwards, the way women do today. “If I want two kids by 35, I need to be married by 31,” a single man might confess to a friend on the cusp of his 30th birthday (now a scary age for men, too). 30-plus bachelors would be pitied, “Poor thing, can’t he find someone to marry?” Men will fight to catch the bouquet at friends’ weddings. We might even see a reversal of the age-old ultimatum: men will tell their girlfriends to put a ring on it, or it’s over. Impossible? Maybe. But when fertility harmony is just a court-ordered snip away, a girl can dream, can’t she?

The Happy Column

There’s enough to be grim about without picking up a newspaper. Tell us about a happy event you’ve experienced at Oxford. Tiny, granddoesn’t matter.

Send them to oxstu. editor@gmail.com

A reversal of roles. Credit: Rhea Kaur

Profiles

of the week

“

The Da Vinci

of our time

In conversation with Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft CTO

Ananya Parakh

It was an atypical interview in that it began with me meeting Nathan Myhrvold’s marketing and communications director, Melissa, and of course I had to ask her what she thought of my esteemed interviewee before he arrived. “I’ve worked here for 12 years and there’s a reason, right?” Touching upon his everyday charm and intelligence, the observation I was to soon discover myself was his prowess in explaining some really difficult ideas, really simply. The Oxford faculty is missing out.

Nathan Myhrvold is an inventor, scientist, entrepreneur, chef, wildlife photographer among other things that I couldn’t fit into a 30 minute conversation. He’s been to

Princeton; he’s been to Cambridge (we got past that); he’s established a fund for helping affordable technology inventions with Bill Gates Foundation. He is also, for the lack of evidence on Wikipedia, a great conversationalist, breaking the ice with mentions of

ample of someone people list that way, and although most people today have the view of him being this incredible polymath genius, there are a few naysayers who say - Well, okay, he was good. He was a good artist, and he was kind of a crackpot that never got his projects finished in everything else.”

And somebody else walked by and just stopped and said, “Nathan, how are the dinosaurs?” “We found a new species.” You know, they moved on. And the person I was talking to went, “What do you mean dinosaurs?!”. So the other thing about your question

“ Nathan, how are the dinosaurs? We found a new species! “ Being moderately good isn’t valued as highly as being exceptional.

the unlikely event of snow in Seattle, not unlike Oxford. Acknowledging the sparseness of such figures since Plato, I asked him what it was like to be a polymath in today’s world.

“Leonardo Da Vinci is an ex-

“If I'm at a cocktail party, someone will introduce me to someone else. They'll say, “Oh, what do you do?” It's like shoot - I don't know what to say. And if I gave them the whole laundry list, it would seem like I'm both - a narcissist and probably a fraud. So, I will usually pick one in that circumstance, depending on how I'm feeling at the moment. I once said that I was an inventor, which, of course, is a weird job category to have.

is you're right that the world encourages specialization, and the best way to have the world recognize your achievements is to put, as the old saying goes, “all your wood behind one arrow.”

If you think that you’re

amongst the créme de la créme by studying at Oxford, think again, because Nathan went to university at 14. A bit unlike Young Sheldon, he seemed to have fit in just fine. “Well, I don't really know the show, but they advertise the show with a little TV commercial here that has a clip of Sheldon saying that he won't do the dishes because he does their parents’ tax forms, and in fact, from the time I was eight or nine, I did my mom's tax forms! Everyone thought I was young looking and weird. No one really guessed how young and how weird, because it's just so unusual, you wouldn't suspect that. Although I was undoubtedly considered weird by other people, I was never the weirdest one in the class.”

On working with Stephen

profile@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Yashas Ramakrishnan

Section Editors: Lika Gorskaia, Nayana Juliette Syed

Illustration of Nathan Myhrvold. Artwork by Rhea Kaur.

Hawking for a year at Cambridge, Nathan mentions that “it becomes very hard to feel sorry for yourself.” Hawking seemed to view his disability as an advantage, having an optimistic outlook on viewing the world differently from others. On Nathan’s candid questioning - “Stephen, come on, there’s nobody else here.”he claimed that it got him out of faculty meetings and other things he’d consider a waste of time. “British academics can be fairly stuffy and all of academia has a pecking order” Oxford had held a conference which was on the very subject of one of Stephen’s graduate students and he believed that

he must attend. He received a response from Oxford stating that only one member of the group could do so. So, he sent the graduate student with a note saying something on the lines of “I’m sorry you didn’t have room for me.”

More than anything else, I could tell that Nathan was passionate about his company Intellectual Ventures. It’s any scientist's dream to bring the ideas in the deepest recesses of their mind that they’d vent about in science fiction, to life. Labelled a patent troll by some, others call it a protector of innovation. Nathan claims that some level of delusion is necessary to create something

original. According to Nathan, in the process of innovation, there are 3 kinds of failuresYour invention doesn’t actually work because you’re working on the “edge of knowledge”, somebody else has a smarter idea, and the most interesting one where it’ll take the world over 20 years to catch on. They work with inventions in all of these categories.

I decided to step on a limb and ask Nathan if he had ADHD. I had no reason to do so except that I was bored of conforming to political correctness and I was curious.

“First of all, people have accused me of that. So you aren't the first. I'm not going to start

sobbing all of a sudden. I am interested in lots of things, and I certainly know brilliant people who aren't, they are only interested in one thing.” Being moderately good at things isn’t valued by the world as highly as being exceptional at one. “Nathan is 90th percentile in 10 things, but we're only interested in the 99 percentile in any one thing, so the hell with him.” I’m pretty sure that he’s in the 99th percentile in most things.

If there’s someone I’d take advice from on how to survive university, it is the one that attended it at 14 - “I don't know if I'm really brilliant but I am good at school.” Nathan’s

advice is threefold: 1. “Find something you really love.” and there doesn't have to be a rhyme or a reason to it. 2. “Don't be afraid to change your mind if you find that you really love something else more.” Apparently, it isn’t as precarious as a divorce. 3. “It really helps if you can find people who are supportive.” These may be your mentors, other postdocs, thesis advisers, etc. Now that you know that you aren’t as brilliant as you thought you were and years behind at university, I hope you can circumvent that quarter life crisis by pulling a seat at the table. By that, I mean the table of innovation.

The future of Pet Gât micro-bakery

What lies in store for Julia Meijer's pop-ups?

Lika Gorskaia

On the first of February the sweet treat lovers of central Oxford got some hard news: Hamblin Bread announced that the biweekly pop-ups of the beloved Pet Gât micro-bakery in their Covered Market space had come to an abrupt end. The Swedish bakery has become something of a cult favourite among local pastry connoisseurs. I tracked down the charming Julia Meijer, the face of (and brains behind) Pet Gât. We met in the Covered Market to chat about her project and where we may be able to find her delicious bakes as a new chapter begins.

Julia moved to Oxfordshire from Sweden in 2012. Before she embarked on her Pet Gât journey, she confessed to having been in an alternative band! In fact, the music scene is mainly what drew her to abandon house-hunting in London while she was visiting a family friend and settle down here. Initially, she took up a job at Gatineau Patisserie where she got her foundations of pastry making. Asking about how Julia came to run the bakery, she explains that it started as a side hustle to her day job at Jericho Coffee Traders a couple years ago: “it sort

of grew on the side of that until I got to a point where I felt ‘oh, I could do this full time’, which was very recently – November. Before that, I basically did two full-time jobs but now it’s just one.” Julia laughs off what must have been months of non-stop work.

Despite being a one-wom-

“ What surprised me the most was how welcoming people are.

an operation, Julia’s Pet Gât has seen fabulous successes. Her pastries are in such high demand as to warrant a disclaimer on her pop-up hours: they run until 3pm or ‘until sold out’ – and by lunchtime, you’ll often find yourself out of luck. Has some of that success come as a surprise? “I guess I wasn’t quite prepared for how much work it would be because I enjoyed it so much, so I sort of didn’t mind what I used to do – really early mornings and really late nights. So, my weeks were just crazy. It’s a bit more balanced now, but I think I wasn’t prepared for how much work I would take on voluntarily. I think what surprised me ab-

solutely the most was how welcoming people are, how open people are to trying new flavours. I made biscuits with liquorice powder and sea salt, and I thought ‘oh great, I get to eat a whole batch of biscuits now because no one’s going to buy these’ and they just went! And, you know, even elderly people are like, ‘this is black sesame, soy caramel, and nori flakes? I’ll try that’ and then they come back the next week and get another one. I used to be a bit cynical and think people are quite set in their ways… Maybe I am more than anyone, but it’s been so fun that people have been so open to trying things!”

Julia has collaborated with many local spots, including Hamblin. “I just go and ask people ‘hey, can I come and do this thing here?’ and most places are very excited with this sort of thing, so we’re just going to try it once to see if it works out. What I used to do with the Hamblin popups was spend the day before prepping and then in the morning get up really early, bake everything off, portion things, put everything in a big trolley and wheel it to the Covered Market. I would just bake what I felt like baking – almost always Princess Cake, it’s my favourite.” Of course, I’m dy-

ing to get the scoop on why the Covered Market days are over.

“Hamblin are making some changes in the kiosk, so it sort of happened naturally. There

has been amazing. Keep an eye on their socials to see what they announce, I don’t know how much they want to tell people about it yet.”

I wonder what’s next for Julia.

“There are a lot of cool ideas in

“ I would love to do pop-ups in different countries, different cities.

my head. At the beginning of next week I plan to do a dessert pop up at New Ground, for example, like, a ‘dessert night’. So now I feel I’m open for collaborations and pop ups – I’d like to do more catering, that would be fun - and

take up more commissions. I am going to try pickups from where my production kitchen is, it’s connected to my house in a way. So, I was thinking of offering that, which is in Jericho, and I’m hoping to get a stop in east Oxford as well. I think I’m gonna test that out and see if people are up for that. Obviously it’s ideal to be right in the city, but hopefully people are willing to travel a little bit to get a nice treat! And I still do princess cakes and anything really to order but I’d like to do more pop-ups in different places. It’s a fun way to interact with people in different places. My pop-ups used to be 10am-3pm, a lot of people are at work then so I’m going to try to do some morning things and some evening things. Anyone can always get in touch if they have ideas – I want to be there for people and I want to feed people. So I want to know how.”

Envisioning a clear path for Pet Gât’s future is hard, Julia admits. "It is also so special to have those weekly interactions with people. So, it would be cool to eventually have a set space. As you can see, there’s no set plan – I’m too busy, haha - I’m just enjoying seeing where it goes.”

Want to make a real difference at Oxford? Join Oxford SU as a Divisional Representative for the Social Sciences Division or Humanities!

Social Sciences (PGR)

Time commitment: 25-30 hours/term

Training and support provided!

Key Dates:

Application Deadline: 3rd March 2025

Role Starts: 7th March 2025

Democracy! Global Impacts in 2025

Concerns over the state of democracy are nothing new—whenever a major political event or crisis unfolds, debates resurface about whether democracy, a system built on the protection of individual rights and collective governance, is being strengthened or eroded. However, as 2025 begins, these concerns feel more pressing than ever. The year is poised to be a defining time, when the resilience of democratic institutions will be put to the test. Here are three pivotal events from the end of 2024 and the start of 2025 that will shape the future of democracy.

South Korea and martial law—what now?

South Korea entered 2025 in shock following the declaration and swift overturning of martial law announced by President Yoon Seok-Yul. The move was perceived to be largely illegitimate and included draconian measures such as the shutdown of political activity. For many Koreans, this evoked painful historical memories, particularly due to the nation’s fraught history with martial law. The last instance, enforced 45 years ago, led to widespread violence and oppression, most notably in Gwangju. There, the Gwangju Uprising—a defining moment in South Ko-

rea’s pro-democracy struggle—was brutally suppressed, leaving a lasting scar on the nation’s collective memory. Since then, the declaration has been a source of political turmoil in South Korea. The opposition has fiercely pushed for President Yoon’s impeachment, seeking a rul-

“ The year is poised to be a defining time, when the resilience of democratic institutions will be put to the test.

ing from the Constitutional Court, while the ruling party initially attempted to block the process by boycotting the parliamentary vote. However, under mounting public backlash, the second impeachment bill passed with the full participation of all 300 lawmakers. President Yoon initially refused to comply with an arrest warrant for investigation, leading to a tense standoff with the National Office of Investigation. His resistance ultimately failed, and he now stands trial before the Constitutional Court, which

cesses. However, the turmoil has not been entirely negative for democracy. The use of authority was swiftly challenged by the legislature, demonstrating that the system of checks and balances remains effective. Additionally, the crisis has mobilized citizens, with mass protests reflecting their active engagement and willingness to defend democracy in times of national crisis.

will determine the fate of the impeachment. Beyond the walls of parliament, political tensions have spilled into the streets. Protests calling for Yoon’s removal have swelled in size and intensity, while a smaller group continues to oppose his impeachment. In a dramatic escalation, pro-Yoon demonstrators stormed and occupied the Seoul Western District Court in a violent riot, highlighting the nation’s deep political divisions. Public sentiment has also been volatile. An interesting turn took place recently as, despite the crisis, the ruling party has seen an unexpected rise in approval ratings, while support for the opposition has declined.

Many fear that this crisis signals democratic backsliding and deepens political divisions, potentially hindering the country’s democratic pro-

So, what lies ahead for South Korea? The coming days will reveal the truth behind this martial law declaration and the consequences President Yoon will face. The world watches closely to see how South Korea will navigate this crisis—whether it will emerge with its democratic institutions strengthened or face deeper divisions that challenge its stability.

Governments fall across Europe

In November 2024, Germany’s ruling coalition—comprising the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP)— collapsed after three years in power. The primary cause of the breakdown was a deepening conflict between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and his finance minister, Christian Lindner (FDP), over fiscal policy. Disagreements on government spending widened over time, ultimately proving irreconcilable. As a result, Germany now faces an early federal election, set to take place in February, throwing the country into a period of political uncertainty.

A similar crisis unfolded in neighboring France just a month later. In December

2024, Prime Minister Michel Barnier was removed after losing a no-confidence vote, driven by mounting criticism over budgetary decisions and dissatisfaction with his appointment. This marks the fourth prime ministerial change within a year under President Emmanuel Macron’s administration—an instability that has raised concerns about the government’s ability to maintain cohesion. Following Barnier’s departure, François Bayrou stepped in as the new prime minister.

“ Whether it will emerge with its democratic institutions strengthened or face deeper divisions that challenge its stability.

Germany’s multiparty structure makes coalition governments a norm, while France operates under a semi-presidential system where power is shared between the president and the prime minister— though the president remains the dominant figure. The collapse of these governments highlights the vulnerabilities inherent in such systems, where ideological divisions, internal conflicts, and shifting political landscapes lead to instability.

What does this mean for democracy in both Germany and France? While frequent government collapses can be seen as a sign of political dysfunction, they also reflect the resilience of democratic institutions that allow for leadership changes through legal and constitutional means. However, repeated fissures could erode public trust in the political process, fuel populist sentiment, and create gaps for radical political forces. The upcoming elections in . . . Read the rest on our website.

Editor: Faith Caswell

Editors: Elly Bailey, Georgia Fielding, Leila Huang, Chaewon Kang, Nayana Juliette Syed | Columnist: Emily Dillon

Photograph of South Korean flags. Credit: Daniel Bernard

Chaewon Kang

Photograph of The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Credit: Tim Hüfner

The Future of Oxford’s Covered Market

Georgia Fielding looks at the regeneration project to follow the recent funding bump to Oxford’s shopping gem, The Covered Market.

The future of The Covered Market: extra funding and a regeneration project.

Oxford City Council has allocated an additional £1m in funding to secure the future of the indoor attraction.

The market, which celebrated 250 years in September 2024, was designed by English architect and civil engineer John Gwynn. Gwynn also designed Oxford’s iconic Magdalen Bridge.

At the time of construction, market owners set up their stalls on the streets. Maintaining medieval trading arrangements, each street was designated a particular produce: St. Aldates was known as Fish

Street and Queen Street was aptly named Butcher Row.

In order to “declutter the main city roads and improve them for traffic movement”, the Oxford Mileways Act was passed in 1771. The Oxford Covered Market was built in response to this act, removing markets from the street and allowing traffic to flow unobstructed.

Since its establishment in 1774, the indoor market has played a pivotal role in Oxford society; it remained open during World War Two, acting as a hub for providing rationed food and many of the businesses that operate inside the market are family owned. Nowadays, only the layout

Ox on bike

Emily Dillon is a first-year PPE student at Mansfield.

Four or five times a week I venture into Oxford’s hinterland: I swing my squeaking, childhood bike left just past Christ Church, leaving the gothic and the grandeur behind, and zig-zig my way parallel to the wan river. In the morning it is pitchblack and bitterly cold, the kind of cold that sticks my hands red and raw to my handlebars. I never bothered to fix the light on my bike and I ride in perfect darkness, five feet from water. This is the wasteland –littered with rotting houseboats and streaming with rats, with fat boats crawling like bugs across the dirty water.

and stone foundations of the original design prevails but its function remains unchanged.

In just February of 2024, the market welcomed over 600,000 visitors.

Its attested significance led to Oxford City Council agreeing a £6.78m plan for regeneration and renovation in 2023. The plan “will see the entrances in High Street and Market Street transformed, larger seating areas inside the market, and a new outdoor seating area in a more pedestrian-friendly Market Street”.

At the start of February 2025, councillors in Oxford agreed a further £1 million to be added to the current £6.78m funding allocation. The extra funding brings the total investment figure in the redevelopment of the indoor market to almost £8m.

The reason behind Council investment stems from national changes in spending and shopping habits. With more people purchasing products online, the Council plans “to diversify how parts

The early mornings leave my eyes heavy and smarting. It’s cold on the frontier, so I push myself out of bed on four, five, six hours sleep and pull on one, two, three layers. At any other uni I would have continued to run or play netball from the safety of insulated gyms or lacquered courts, but instead I’ve committed myself with surprising devotion to a sport for which I am not built: I scrape 5”4 in muddy trainers, and I’m terrified of most boats. But there’s something irresistible about exploring Oxford’s underbelly. Pushing off from the raft leaves my fingers smeared with greenish mud, but then we

of the city centre are used”.

The regeneration of the Covered Market hopes to support independent businesses.

The project has established five main enhancements to the covered market: the addition of a new seating area which will function as “a public square during the day and a flexible event space at other times”; the refurbishment of the entrances from High Street and Cornmarket Street, “including better lighting, signage and accessibility”; a “Market Street management strategy” that will partially pedestrianise Market Street, introducing “new outdoor seating, market stalls and planters”; essential building maintenance, such as refurbishing the flooring and renovating the roof, will also take place; and for traders, there will be improved “trader storage and facilities, and electric vehicle and electric cargo bike charging points”.

The current and additional funding promises to “future-proof” the market.

are free: suspended alone in the water as if we are the only nine people in the world. The air is thick and still, the only sound the rhythmic clicking of the blades. In that moment I am totally alone. My bed, my problem sheet, Oxford are a million miles away and I am on the edge of the known world: the Shackleton of the Midlands. That’s not to glamorise the en deavour; no polar explorer would dress themselves in gaudy red and yellow ly cra, like some sort of jest er-cum-amateur-wrestler. Over the course of an hour the pale sun drags itself over the horizon and leaves us exposed. A new blister

Although there will be temporary disruption, the impact of the investment for local businesses and market-users could be significant. Diversification of the market through the proposed new seating and event spaces ensures the market can be used for a variety of purposes. With an increase in online shopping, this multi-purpose design has the potential to attract more visitors. It is also likely that this will increase spending in local businesses, boosting the economy and supporting stall owners.

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of the Council and Labour Group, released a statement in response to the extra funding. Brown acknowledged that “shopping patterns have changed drastically in recent years” but that she is “proud of the way Oxford has continuously evolved to meet those challenges”. The Councillor assured that “Oxford will remain a thriving, dynamic city for residents and visitors for years to come”.

has formed on my ring finger, bulbous and perfectly round. Later I’ll burst it and admire the new geography of my palms with their scars and calluses. Perhaps when this is over, I’ll have a quick breakfast and make my way to the library; most likely I’ll crawl back into bed and let my heavy eyes fall shut. But for now I relish the frigid air pinking my

Photograph of The Covered Market. Credit: Isaacs Samuel

Are you in love, or are you just bored?

Nayana Juliette Syed reflects on love, jealousy, and resistance to boredom

There is nothing more energising than the hope of love. It is enough to get us up in the morning, into our freshest outfits and out that heavy door, trailing the hope that some special someone will be there in our lecture, in the library, in the dining hall.

As the reinvigorating novelty of a fresh term fades out, the drum of daily life slows and our mind-wanderings drag out into longer daydreams. With collections surpassed, we find ourselves seeking a new object of desire, something that can nurture the hope of reinvention, that will make us better, that will entertain us, inspire us and mould us into who we want to be.

So, why not fall in love? After all, the easiest object of desire is someone else. Ideally, we find someone we do not know too well, some blank sheet of paper–adorned, perhaps, with a pretty smile, flowing curls or a kind disposition–onto which we can draw our wildest dreams. As such, the criteria for ‘object of desire’ remains low: someone who makes us laugh is often enough; perhaps someone walking with sure steps through the library, looking mysterious, or a par-

ticularly astute tute partner. Once you’ve chosen a locus of dreams, each day becomes an adventure. You’ll find yourself chasing stolen glances and shared laughs, sources of unlimited energy, motivation

“

We are not unfeeling vampires, who harvest from innocent admirers the blood-red validation we need to sustain ourselves.

and resilience. The staunchest morning person will stay out all night, hoping for a moment of subtle intimacy.

This feeling I have tried to describe–the feeling of becoming our most loving, devoted and attuned selves (all the while becoming our most nervous, overthinking and self-conscious selves)–is addictive. It’s addictive because of the hope it brings and because of the person it makes us. As such, love can quickly

mental truth about human beings: we all have so much love and devotion to give, and more often than not, we find ourselves desperate for somewhere to put it.

So more than a desire to be loved, I think we desire to love; we desire someone to be kind to, to make dinner for, to write a love note for, buy a cardamom bun, make smile, laugh, text, someone to be there for. Loving someone allows us to become a certain kind of person–a loving person–the kindest, most devot ed and motivated version of ourselves. Too often, we rush to the negotiation table of love just to become them.

become a refuge. Too often, we seek to drown our insecurities in cheap validation. You’ll find yourself asking, am I in love, or am I just seeking validation? Am I just aching for a sense of self that relies on something other than myself and my achievements?

Yet we are not unfeeling vampires, who harvest from innocent admirers the blood-red validation we need to sustain ourselves. In most cases, the illusion of infatuation is eerily similar to the feeling itself. We must be considered justified in our confusion and indulgence. But once we attach our desire to nothing but our own imagination, with no reality to keep it in check, we will soon find it floating away, removed not only from the person we’re dreaming of but equally removed from ourselves. And a sense of self is not worth breaking anyone’s heart over. Not your own heart, nor anyone else’s.

I often find myself paraphrasing the TV show Fleabag (2016), in which, following the death of a loved one, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character says, “I have all this love for her, and now I don’t know where to put it.” I think this sentiment captures a funda-

In doing so, we might give our love, care and attention too readily to people un deserving of it. While I thoroughly believe that everyone deserves those things (in abun dance!), we ought nev ertheless to allocate them diligently: to those who truly see us; to those who strive to understand us and to know us as we are, rather than who they want us to be; to those who make us feel safe and seen rather than uneasy or ignored.

But desire can be a hard shrew to tame. We might find ourselves infatuated with someone exactly because they ignore us. I have been guilty, time and time again, of becoming hopelessly infatuated with someone who rejects me, who appears wholly indifferent to my existence or who honestly seem a bit annoyed at my presence. If you suffer from imposter syndrome, or if you carry a feeling that, in your hidden, inner core, you might be pathetic or worthless, someone treating you as such can feel intensely liberating. You might think, ‘Finally, someone who sees me for who I am! Someone who can’t be fooled, who I cannot hide from and who sees right through me, to my (supposedly) “true self”!’ Quick check: Are you in love, or are they just confirming your insecurities? The questions are endless. Are you in love, or are you just

in love with the idea of them? Are you in love, or are you just looking for a project? Are you in love, or are you hoping that their coolness will rub off on you by association? And, as anyone who questioned their sexuality in secondary school might be familiar with, ‘Are you in love, or do you just want to be them?’ (On this, Amia Srinivasan’s essay “On Not Sleeping With Your Students” from The Right to Sex (2023) feels particularly astute). We might ask, am I just in love with being in love? Perhaps you expected this article to clarify the distinction between being in love and ‘just being bored.’ Perhaps you even expected it to provide guidance in your impending romantic endeavours. Instead, voilà, more questions, one, perhaps, more affronting than the next. Ultimately, we have too few words for the feelings, desires and relationships that fall outside the category of romantic love. Thus, the questions become endless, pointing out blurry lines between overlapping areas of affection: am I in love or do they just make me feel safe? Am I in love or do I just want to have her around? Am I in love or is he just inspiring, someone I want to be, or someone I want to be associated with? What do you call someone you want to spend all your time with, someone you want to be, someone so similar to yourself, someone you don’t really vibe with but love to have around, someone you wish was your brother or sister or someone you cannot get enough off?

There is certainly nothing wrong with letting one’s infatuations wander. But try not to break anyone’s heart in the process, your own included. Do not fall in love to quench your thirst for change, for . . . Read the rest on our website.

Photograph of couple on path. Credit: Joshua Woroniecki

Culture

The Lover: In Review

Reflections on Moribayassa Productions’ version of Harold Pinter’s

The Lover at the Keble O’Reilly

Christina Scote

Tip, tap, totter into the theatre. It’s the sixties, and I enter Keble O’Reilly to see a wasteland of white drapery for a stage, dotted with a smattering of furniture. Alone, Georgie Cotes smokes a meditative cigarette while flicking through a newspaper. There’s a loud pulsating beat and a weird screen showing a finger tracing circles in a sink.

Not all productions do something interesting on stage before the play even starts and I liked that this one did. The stage design set the tone of the play, which is one of louche eccentricity battling suburbia boredom. Georgie’s casual smoking and the buzzy art screen look very ironic. I al-

Soundtracks

ways think humour is equivalent to inappropriate contrast, and what makes this play a comedy is the central incongruence it rests on: the incongruence of dull, middle-class life, and the wacky sex lives of those who live it.

This is a play that is very hard to review without spoilers, so be warned: spoilers ahead. The plot is that both a husband and wife have a lover on the side, and each know about the other. The big twist is that when the male lover appears to the wife, we see it is actually the husband in role-play.

But as the play progresses, the lover’s visit doesn’t go to plan. Richard, the husband, seems to be annoyed at Sarah. His nerves seem frayed and what looks like pent-up frustration bursts out at weird points: “How does he bear it,

This week Nikhil Singh refuses to listen to Kanye West! I have a confession to make - a long time ago, Kanye West was my hero. I always imagined that I’d grow up, go to university, and listen to his classic debut, 2004’s The College Dropout on the occasion of any minor academic inconvenience. My daydreams were truer than I’d hoped: before I ended up doing my niche and made-up degree here I did indeed end up being a college dropout after a single term of anthropology, at a university I shall not name. Me and Kanye were kindred spirits after all. But since coming to Oxford, he’s done the best he possibly can to fall out of my rotation. I have no issue with separating the art from the artist: I know it’s common to have your musical guilty pleasures, but mine is actually guilty, for murdering Sharon Tate. Yes, unfortunate-

your husband?” he snaps. Sarah is understandably confused as to how to react. There is barely a flinch in her performance and she tries to hold it together. Things heat up as Richard roves around the set in a tense game of cat and mouse. There’s a conversation that feels like an argument but you can’t quite be sure if it is. Is it part of the role play or not? Sarah seems to be as clueless as us. At two separate points this culminates in some very euphemistic playing of the drum, and less euphemistic sex under the table.

Given that the play has two characters and each actor makes up 50% of the cast, both need to be on top of their game. George Loynes nails the part of patronising husband, sneering that he should be the one to have a talk with

ly ‘Look At Your Game Girl’ by Charles Manson was my most listened to song last year, and I learned the hard way that it is possible for Spotify to censor your Wrapped. Anyhow, as I write Kanye is in yet another cycle of hatred and dragging his legacy through the mud by spewing every single -ism in the book. And yet, a feeling I never thought would happen set in: boredom. I’m bored of Kanye, of hearing anything to do with him, and most of all I’m bored of his music and I couldn’t care less if I could never hear it again.

I’ve forgotten how much his music once brought me joy - for all his stupid antics, the man was his art, and although he could arguably be the best hip hop producer to ever do it, I loved him for his lyrics - he had the skill of talking to you, through your headphones, as a friend, sharing his story, his

Sarah’s lover, since: “After all, he’s a man, like me. You’re just a bloody woman.” Georgiana is coy, frail, and coquettish as she defies him: “I don’t think that’s true” she says at one point as her gaze meets his. It conveys a classically female resilience of character to be able to speak in light birdlike bursts while enduring an increasingly angry man. The double standard hits us that the male is a lover while the female is a whore.

Who you feel sorry for in The Lover tells you something about yourself. If you feel for Richard, like him, you probably wonder if the line between role-play and reality is a secure one. If you feel for Sarah, who wants the situation to be defused, you probably resent that Richard has waited so long to tell you that he has a

victories, his losses, and making you laugh with all his idiosyncrasies and quirks. Once upon a time he really wanted, more than anything, to be the biggest and best rapper in the world, and it bled into every line he rapped. Even though he was a titan of 21st century pop culture, with the ego to match, his art was so, so human. You could hear his smile as he spat out ever cheesy punchlines, like on Last Call: ““Oh my God, is that a black card?” / I turned around and replied, “Why yes / But I prefer the term African American Express””. Somehow, I’d hear something like that and think ‘classic Kanye’, like I really knew the guy. As a bookish, awkward, fat kid, I wanted to find the Kanye in me, the pride and bravado and impossible self-worth instilled by his mother, Donda. And he really helped me. Just writing this shocks me. I

problem with an arrangement he originally agreed to. There is a lot of unsavoury misogyny on display from Richard. On top of that, maybe you think Sarah holds on slightly too long, is dismissive in her insistence that everything is fine. There are points to make here about communication in relationships.

This is essentially the thrust of the play, which sees frequent costume changes to keep things lively. At times it does feel a bit repetitive since the pauses between each scene are very long. Overall though, it was a hit. Not having been much exposed to modern theatre, I was impressed how wacky and avante-garde it was. De Silva managed to deliver a spirited rendition of this push-and-pull piece of midcentury art.

remember so vividly how his music once felt to me, but I don’t even care to listen to The College Dropout anymore, and I can’t even be bothered to put into words how I feel. There’s not even a sense of shock, as a former worshipper of his, in him saying or doing deeply shocking things. Good on him though, for saying Elon Musk ‘stole his Nazi swag’ with the salute - one fascist recognising another. I don’t feel happy about my indifference, but I don’t feel sad. Maybe that’s what growing up is: realising that Kanye West isn’t the GOAT, but just a random stranger huffing ‘nitrus’ somewhere in Beverly Hills.

Nikhil Singh is a columnist at the Oxford Student.

Editor: Luisa Blacker

Editors: Kitty Fischer, Ana Pasa, Rufus Jones, Christina Scote, Natalie Tan

Meal-Prepping in Oxford

Charlie Hollingswoth expresses his trials and tribulations with meal prepping at uni

Dante’s Inferno can never be considered a true masterpiece describing the circles of Hell as he forgot its worst torment –meal-prepping. This is made much worse when, like me, you have a fridge with a temperature that varies wildly between the temperature of your hands as you cycle to a 9am lecture, and the temperature inside your fifteen layers of college-branded clothing once inside said very warm lecture.

Part of the struggle with meal prepping is being able to get variation out of what you eat. While the idea of making an enormous lasagna, a week’s worth of interesting salads, or some fun overnight oats seems fabulous, the reality of having to eat that for the next 7 days can be soul-sapping. Part of the solution, then, is look-

ing for some great base items you can make, store, and then reheat into a number of different dishes. A personal favourite is frying mushrooms, lots of garlic, and cumin seeds fried in a good swig of olive oil. Not only are they great on toast with an egg as a somewhat healthy hangover cure, but they can also function as a veggie replacement for the meat in lasagna. If you fancy, mix them into a stew for a little depth of flavour.

Sadly, mushrooms don’t function as a dessert item. Even sadder is that while icecream is the tried and tested late night movie, post-breakup, or essay-submitted-only3-hours-past-the-deadline accompaniment, it isn’t always an ideal meal-substitute. The truth hurts I know. What hurts less though is combining oats, an egg, a mushed banana,

and some cinnamon together, microwaved, to produce a wonderfully fibre-rich yet still sweet cake-adjacent item. When pressing my neighbour - who I give credit for this idea – for what to call this, “oat-cake-adjacent” is the best definition we can give. If that intrigues you, try it out. The joy of cooking, as always, is just experimenting.

Experimenting, though, is risky business when it also counts as meal prep for a week. For the risk-averse who don’t want to threaten their taste-bud sanity for a week, your saving grace might be found in the world of add-ins. Sauces, spices, seeds, crumbs, and oils can all add some interesting pep to whatever your base meal-prepped ingredient might be. For those without the luxury of a friend whom you can beg to bring

Kyoto - Reviewed

back interesting lemongrass and chilli crumb from Thailand, try branching out and invest in some fun whole spices, or colourful dressings from the mysterious middle-aisles between the veg and the bread in the supermarket of your choice.

Dusted over a simple salad, used as a topping on a pasta dish, or stirred through soup, little peps of flavour can give you so much variation across a weeks’ worth of dishes you will be sure to not get bored.

A personal favourite of harissa dripped over an (admittedly hall-bought) salad brings enough colour to my meals

that I begin to feel somewhat human again underneath the never-ending greyness of the sky. I encourage you to branch out into some little jars or tins of fun mix-in ingredients like this – maybe if enough of us do, the grey sky will go away!

Read the rest online at www.theoxfordstudent.com

Kara Goldsmith’s thoughts on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Kyoto, running until May 3rd

My mother loves plays. I do not particularly love plays (sincere apologies to all my friends who dedicate copious amounts of their free time to student theatre) but when I started university, we somehow stumbled into a tradition: once a term, we would go to London to see a play together. We have seen many plays of many varieties. Some excellent, some middling, some downright awful (in my admittedly uneducated and uncultured opinion). Highlights include The Buddha of Suburbia (despite the length, it just did not need to be three hours) and Till the Stars come down, which was high-quality soap opera esc drama. Lemons lemons lemons lemons lemons was less well-received

by me. Jenna Coleman was off that day which was a major disappointment to us both. Once a play, once a term. A break from the humdrum of Oxford, some culture, a chance to see my mother. Last night we saw the final play. Kyoto. Kyoto, a play by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson about the 1997 protocol on the climate crisis, may sound like an unappealing history lesson at best and a depressing dose of doom at worst. Don’t be fooled by the synopsis. The play centres around Don Pearlman, a Machiavellian yet intensely charming quick-witted lawyer in Reagan’s administration employed by the infamous ‘Seven Sisters’ of big oil to delay and prevent climate negotiations from reaching any

meaningful agreements. Stephen Kunken took on this formidable role with an effortless ease, captivating the audience as he artfully maneuvered through a decade of global climate politics and diplomacy. It was fascinating from a political perspective but you by no means need to study History and Politics to enjoy and understand Kyoto.

Although Kunken’s character dominated the play, he did not have to compensate as there were talented, stellar performances throughout. Highlights included Jorge Bosch as the indomitable, indefatigable Raul Estrada, a career diplomat who finalised the Kyoto negotiations in what was considered nothing short of a diplomatic miracle. Ferdy Roberts gave a raw

and touching performance of the late John Prescott, balancing his bullish determination with human moments of vulnerability. Nancy Crane starred as the All-American US delegate, who developed from being a climate denying caricature to a sobering reminder of the practicalities of passing agreements, and the importance of American politics support in the ‘American century’ that once was. Ingrid Oliver played a convincing young Angela Merkel - ‘gosh she’s been around for ages’ my mother mused- who was in charge of the negotiations and was nicknamed the ‘Climate Chancellor’ for her long-standing commitment to international action on emission cuts. Her and Prescott were a hilarious yet mesmer-

izingly effective double act. Kyoto managed a remarkable task that my mother commented on during our post-play debrief. We felt tense about a protocol which we knew was going to pass. We felt like we were in the room with them, following Prescott’s negotiation tactics of exhausting the delegates into agreement. The optics of the circular conference table turned stage set of the delegation room captivated and involved the audience. As Kunken expertly portrayed during his monologue on being a climate villain, we were all implicit in these negotiations from twenty-eight years prior. After all, we paid his wages...

“Meal prep recipe,” Ella Olson via Flickr

What’s On?

WEEK 6

Up Styx Creek is running on the Keble O’Reily until tomorrow!

The Jesus College Shakespeare Project is putting on Romeo and Juliet in the Jesus College Hall today and tomorrow!

Professional Acting Course with Ed Sayer offered by OUDS this Sunday. Don’t forget to sign up!

OUFF will be hosting multi-award winning author and screenwriter David Nicholls (One Day) at St. Hilda’s on the 25th.

Labyrinth Productions is putting on Julie at the Pilch from the 25th to the 2nd!

Deja Vu Productions is putting on The Getaway at the BT from the 25th to the 2nd.

WEEK 7

David Luff will be hosting a Fringe Production workshop March 2nd.

Peach Productions’ Unprofessional will be running at the BT from the 26th to the 3rd!

The Oscars are on March 3rd!

Nothing Says Coffee Like an Essay Deadline

Ana Pasa ranks some of Oxford’s famous cafés

Most of the time, one of Oxford’s beautiful libraries is the perfect setting for work. The hushed atmosphere, the books, the sense that you are surrounded by people all engaging with complex ideas - all of it emits a propelling force that increases productivity. However, at other moments, the only thing that can get that essay done or that article read is a sweet treat and a good dose of caffeine. Thankfully, Oxford is even more full of cafés than it is of libraries, and even if you get more chatting and coffee-drinking done than actual studying, a good café trip can bolster an otherwise gray afternoon and warm you up in the frosty February weather. So, where should one go? Here are some of my favourites, all fulfilling the basic requirements of a wifi connection and good coffee, in no particular order:

The Missing BeanSt. Cross Street

A staple for anyone who regularly spends time at the English or Law faculties, the Missing Bean is great for those awkward gaps in between lectures as a more relaxed alternative to one of the subject libraries in the building. Its location within the department lends its atmosphere a certain academic element, and about half of those sat in there will probably be engaged in some form of productive behaviour

(useful if you feel that other people working impels you to get your work done as well.) Their coffee is served in to-go cups and therefore perfect for those on the go, or those who woke up too late to make coffee before their lecture. Alternatively, they will also serve you in your own mug or keepcup, and they encourage such environmentally-aware behaviour with a small discount. For lunch on the go, one can grab a sandwich, soup or pizza slice, with a daily changing menu that keeps things fresh. As for the sweet tooth, there is the usual range of croissants, as well as a very tempting avocado brownie, and on occasion some mouth-watering donuts. Most of the tables are larger and therefore communal, however they are high tables which allow you to work as easily as at a desk.

Caffè Nero - Broad Street

For those who feel that being surrounded by books is an important catalyst to a good study session, the Caffé Nero nestled on the second floor of Blackwell’s provides an ideal middle spot between a library and a coffee shop. With a large selection of types of coffee, as well as your standard café food, it is well stocked to fuel the brain as well as the stomach. Its central position also makes it an easy one to pop by. However, it is usually quite busy, and the ratio of people

working is much lower than one would find at The Missing Bean, meaning that it can be noisy, although there are people who find this a good background noise for studying. Another drawback is that some of the tables are quite small, making it difficult to fit everything on them, especially if there are multiple people. So, it’s better for a quick stop-by rather than a protracted and focused session.

Common Ground Cafe - Little Clarendon Street

Tucked away in Jericho, Common Ground describes itself as “a purpose-driven, social co-working café and community art space in the heart of Oxford.” The relaxed environment does seem to set the creative juices flowing. The large tables at which people sit together feels different to the large tables at a library - in this space one is less isolated and more part of a collective of people working hard at their degrees. Although there is certainly a convivial hubbub of conversation, a good amount of customers here will be working as well, making it much more similar to The Missing Bean than to Caffé Nero. Moreover, you can help yourself to free tap water from a jug, keeping you hydrated whilst you slave away.

New Ground Coffee - Ship Street

Despite using the same coffee-related pun, New Ground should not be confused with Common Ground - whilst the latter exudes a sense of eclectic, artsy community, the former is much more sleek and modern, with more minimalist decoration. Both styles work very well in their own way, and perhaps suit different studying moods. New Ground certainly takes away the prize for best coffee - a cup of their batch coffee definitely hits both the strength and the flavour requirements. A small but delicious selection of pastries and cookies complements this. An extra added benefit is the plugs conveniently placed by the tables - a lack of which can often bring a study session to a sudden end. Unlike the large, communal tables of The Missing Bean and Common Ground, New Ground has individual tables for those who wish to absorb themselves in their own little bubble.

These are just four of the many cafés in Oxford, but I must testify that I have productively worked in all of them, and will be returning to them again in the future. So next time you feel like you need that extra bit of motivation to be productive, maybe one of these might be the solution.

An actual Oxford chaplain opines on ‘Conclave’

Father Damian talks to Natalie Tan about the Best Picture nominee

Oh, of course.” Even through the phone, the voice of Father Damian, senior chaplain at the University’s Catholic Chaplaincy, is unexpectedly excited for an interview pitch that was “some questions about that Catholic Church movie”. “Conclave, yes. We all went to see it together!”

And thank God for that, because it spares me from having to utter the phrase “think Real Housewives, but cardinals” out loud to an actual Catholic chaplain’s face. Thirty minutes later, I’m sitting in his office, marvelling at his incredibly handsome cat (Oliver, a tabby/bengal mix and prolific rat-catcher.) “Right,” he says, sitting back on his couch. “What’s this about Conclave, then?”

For the uninitiated, Conclave (2024) revolves around Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) and his attempt to organise a papal conclave in the aftermath of the Pope’s death, a gathering of cardinals convened to elect the Pope’s successor. The leading candidates that emerge are Aldo Bellini (liberal); Joshua Adeyemi (conservative); Joseph Tremblay (centrist); and Goffredo Tedesco (diehard traditionalist). As the movie unfolds, Lawrence finds himself caught up in discoveries of scandal after scandal about each of these candidates, who deny the accusations and use them to tear down their opponents in turn. (2024 Oscars season, anyone?) Very helpfully, Conclave has been described as “RuPaul’s Drag Race for old men”—critical acclaim, cult following, and all.

I’m delighted to hear that the Chaplaincy team found it to be great fun at the end of a long term. According to him, it’s a much more accurate depiction of Catholicism than the average movie. “Usually, movies like these have people

wearing the wrong vestments and talking as if they’re acting in someone’s fantasy about how religious people talk,” he says, smiling. For something he calls decidedly entertainment, he’s only got a small bone to pick with it—a pedantic quibble, really: the cardinals occasionally addressing each other as “Eminence.” “It should be Your Eminence.”

Scandal is an old friend of the Catholic Church. Still, Father Damian doesn’t think they’re intimately acquainted to the level that the film suggests: of the four candidates mentioned above, three prove to be hiding secrets of their own. Adeyemi’s bid is derailed by his secret relationship and resulting child with a then-nineteen-year-old nun; Tremblay is revealed to have paid off several cardinals for their papal votes and been dismissed by the late Pope in his final act; and Bellini, realising that Lawrence has discovered evidence of Tremblay’s simony, pleads with him to keep it quiet because he’s given Tremblay his vote in exchange for a bureaucratic position. “Three in four is a bit of an exaggeration,” our University chaplain weighs in. “It’s good for dramatic purposes, but perhaps not entirely accurate.”

It’s a real doozy of a conclave, really. Even before the voting properly begins, Lawrence has to deal with the unexpected arrival of Vincent Benitez, an Archbishop of Kabul whom the late Pope named cardinal in pectore (in secret) the year before. Once the ballots start, the bombshells just keep coming as the cardinals split along ideological lines: Tedesco—a sneering, superior Sergio Castellitto—hits his vape and delivers speeches in drawling Italian about how the Church has become too open-minded, while Bellini— Stanley Tucci, sharp as a blade and equally as practical—attempts to rally the progressive

bloc behind himself.

Friday February 21 | The Oxford Student

Though Lawrence casts his vote for Bellini each time, he finds that his own vote count keeps growing, and confronts Benitez about it. It’s of interest here that Benitez is played by Carlos Diehz, a Mexican architect, in his feature film debut: mysterious, soft-spoken, and with surprising steel in him, Benitez’s gentle but firm demeanour is conveyed perfectly by Diehz’s naturally unhurried physicality and arresting features. His strength of character is on full display as Benitez insists on voting for Lawrence as the most worthy candidate despite Lawrence’s endless arguments: he lacks the spiritual depth, he’s had struggles with prayer, he simply won’t be able to amass enough votes to win against Tedesco. “I don’t want your vote!” Lawrence finally exclaims in frustration. Benitez only responds, very calmly: “Nevertheless, you have it.” Lawrence’s struggle is what anchors this film: his struggle to do right by himself, by his ideals, by what he thinks the Church should stand for.

On the first day of Conclave, he finds himself casting platitudes aside and delivering this speech instead:

“[...] There is one sin I have come to fear above all others. Certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity and tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. [...] Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty, and if there was no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. Let Him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness. And carries on.”

Father Damian frowns a little when I read this speech out to him. “I think [Lawrence] has in his sights a way of religion that’s very dog-

matic and concentrates a lot on demonising certainty,” he says. “Certainty isn’t the issue [with the Church]. It’s more of closed-mindedness that can’t comprehend complex realities.” What would he have said, then? “Let us have a Pope who is willing to learn,” he proposes. “Who has an open mind.”

And who better to be Pope than the most open-minded of the lot—Benitez, who wins the election after delivering a moving message about not giving in to hate in the aftermath of a suicide bomber’s attack near the Vatican. Benitez, who is also, as Lawrence discovers right after he selects his papal name of Innocent, intersex—born with a uterus and ovaries. “I know what it is to exist within the world’s certainties,” Benitez tells Lawrence gently, acknowledging that some may still consider him female because of his intersex identity. He reveals that he considered a hysterectomy, but ultimately gave up on it because “I am what God made me.”

“When the Pope opens his mouth, he’s going to be heard by so many people,” Father Damian says. “And when you speak to the whole world, people interpret things differently.” The same can be said about the film itself, and its twist: traditional Catholics

have lambasted it as “woke”, “blasphemous”, and a “piece of anti-Catholic propaganda.” Where, then, is that religious backlash coming from? On this, Father Damian and I both agree (and as a staunch agnostic, I never thought I’d be writing those words) that it stems from the prevailing expectation that the Church should be a beacon of holiness and piety. To see the truth of their flaws—ambition, selfishness, intolerance—depicted is leading many conservatives to deride the film as a mockery of the Church instead of the well-intentioned discussion of progress that it is. “It wasn’t made to tell us great religious truths,” he adds. “It’s about people trying to do their best [...] in spite of all the awful things that must be addressed.”

Finally: who would you have cast your vote for? He laughs. “Well, Tedesco didn’t look like a very nice person.” Benitez, then? “Lawall his pleas to the contrary? “I think he faced the very human endeavour of being out of his depth, but trying his hardest to be good in a world that makes it very difficult to be good.”...

To master’s or not to master’s, that is the question

Georgia Fielding tackles the question of undertaking a postgraduate degree

Credit: MD Duran

My undergraduate degree was five years long. That was, I’m sure you will agree, too long. In Scotland, the average degree takes four years, unlike the three here in England. I completed a work placement abroad, adding an extra year. I took a gap year after my A-levels meaning I was 19 when I first went to university and 24 when I graduated. I will be 25 when I leave Oxford.

world of work. They have careers: I don’t. Given that I’ve decided to undertake a teacher training course next year, I won’t begin my career until I am 26.

“ I would have been a year closer to a career, to a promotion and a stable salary

On the other hand, my best friend went to university at 18 and was 21 when she graduated. I’m aware that this is similar to most people’s academic progression. My old school friends have spent nearly four years as “official adults” in the

Thankfully, I’ve chosen a career I already have experience in. My undergraduate degree aligns with the subject I will teach in secondary school classrooms. What this means, however, is that my master’s degree feels pointless. Well, maybe not pointless but it’s no secret that I could have easily entered the teaching industry without my master’s. I could have undertaken my teacher training course this year, instead of coming to Oxford. I would have been a year closer to a career, to a promotion and a stable salary.

What I have learnt from my master’s so far, and from my friends who left education behind years ago, is that experience in the field you want to work in is incredibly important. Nowadays, 33.8% of people

have a level 4 qualification or above (Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree, or postgraduate qualifications). In London, this figure rises to 46.7%. The takeaway from these figures is that having a degree is not as impressive as it used to be. Employers have a deeper pool of highly educated applicants to choose from: the competition is greater. This was one of the reasons I chose to stay in education. I wanted to make myself more employable and I wanted to stand out from the crowd. I completed my undergraduate degree in modern languages but for my master’s, I moved into linguistics. Although some areas overlap, they are two completely different subjects and I hoped to widen my skill set. So far, it seems like my decision has paid off. However, this is not entirely because of the subject I chose, or even the fact it is a postgraduate degree,

but rather the place that I am doing it at. We all know that Oxford is prestigious. St.Andrews, where I completed my undergraduate degree, has also impressed employers in recent interviews. Studying a master’s was recognised and admired, but the majority of the questions I faced from interviewers were centred on my work experience. “Tell us about a time you taught a difficult class?”, “What can you tell us about safeguarding?”, “How do you design your lessons?” are just a handful of experience-related questions I have answered. While some employers of English teachers showed an interest in my linguistics master’s, the main focus was still on my previous work experience, rather than what I was learning or how well I wrote essays.

This doesn’t mean I regret my masters. I don’t. Naturally, I am envious of my old friends who already have careers and steady incomes. I am envious of those mid-twenty-year-olds who have already bought a car, or even a house. But I chose to do a postgraduate degree because I wanted to learn more. Even after a five-year undergraduate degree, I didn’t feel satisfied with the knowledge I graduated with. I wanted more. Oxford has given me the chance to gain further career experience in different industries through volunteering or casual contracts with my college. My master’s has gifted me with a plethora of opportunities that have enriched my CV. I wouldn’t have gotten these if I had just gone straight

into working life.

I can tell you now though, with certainty, that this is where my higher education journey ends. As much as I value education, my master’s has shown me that academia is not the field I want to remain in. It’s time to get out into the real world. I am excited about leaving behind my status as a student, a step I didn’t feel ready to take at the end of my undergraduate degree. I am excited to receive a salary and to be able to enjoy my free time without feeling like I should be studying.

So, I find myself in a weird contradiction: I wouldn’t ever quit my masters (I do, surprisingly, find joy in it and I consider myself very lucky to be doing it) but I am also eagerly awaiting

“

But I chose to do a postgraduate degree because I wanted to learn more.

the time when I am no longer a student. On reflection, I get the sense that this is healthy. Graduating and leaving behind the university environment is a natural progression that has to happen eventually (unless you’re an academic, in which case, I don’t envy you).

All in all, deciding to do a master’s is a complex process. Leaving university can feel overwhelming - but staying can seem just as daunting. Whether my master’s will be worth it…we’ll have to wait and see.

Frazzled

Arun Lewis is a section editor at

Identity

Recently, with the arrival of the second Trump administration in the US, the chaos in French and German politics, the new government in Syria, Britain’s domestic troubles and the rise of Reform, it’s easier than ever to get caught in a vicious cycle of doom-scrolling. But rather than generally harmless brain rot, instead you’re devouring depressing news about the state of the world. In that spiral, it’s easy to question what the point of trying is, and even easier to keep going down the wormhole of nihilism and negativity that drew you to the article or news story in the first place.

I’m guilty of falling into such a pit. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I read so many articles about Partygate, and the goings-on of the world, over those months cooped up at home. I didn’t want to work or bother doing anything – I was in a state. The general climate of the political world might’ve changed since then, but there’s still days I’ll be dumbfounded by some new act of international or domestic outrage, and won’t know how to respond. Such a slump clearly isn’t a productive state of affairs. At a university like ours, avoiding the consequences of not working is hard at the best of times: if you’ve been thrown by one headline too many, that could cost you valuable time. If you’re playing catch-up on one week’s work because you spent the prior one clambering out of a hole, tutors can be sympathetic but the heavy hand of work won’t relax its grip. It’s manifestly clear that some strategy, some techniques, are necessary to handle the increasingly destabilising news cycle. So, what can you do?

The first idea is the simplest – turn off. Criticism might be lobbed at you from

the politically engaged, but there’s no shame in simply turning away from the news for a while. Being informed is brilliant, but if it comes at the cost of feeling drained, exhausted and depressed there’s no value to it. You need to give yourself time to analyse the news, not simply being buried underneath the weight of it all. If you’re struggling to handle the media cycle, stay away from it for a while. Delete your news apps for a while and engage in hobbies you love. This university can maintain an unrelenting pressure on you to, somehow, always be ‘on’ – keeping yourself aware of a broad sweep of topics, on top of your existing work – and sometimes the only thing you need is a break. Read, run, write – do whatever it is that gives you pleasure, but don’t read the news. A break never hurts.

A further notion is to seek out good news. News organisations take great profit from negative news, as it drives up engagement: anger and fear are stronger motivations than contentment or joy. Despite the persistently negative attitude of the media, small victories, local, national and international are frequent - just not obvious. Whether it’s miraculous reunions, incredible breakthroughs in science, actual political successes or incredible works of creative art, good things are happening. Don’t be an inactive, unconscious consumer of news – seek out headlines you’re looking for, in this case positive ones. Amidst the deluge of depressing headlines, million different ways to unplug from the news cycle. Fundamentally, though it’s unsustainable to sink into a deep morass of headlines about the increasingly dire state of the world. Turn off the... Read the full story online at www.oxfordstudent.com

The nights of an Oxford Insomniac: Lonely Self Love

Georgie Allan shares how she spent this year’s Valentine’s day

As the sun sets on Valentine’s Day we all move on to Valentine’s night. Oxford’s streets are filled with happy couples walking arm in arm, queueing outside restaurants, holding bouquets of roses, boxes of chocolates and gift bags presumably filled with presents you might not want your friends to see.

This evening I walked these streets alone, my bag filled with bread, butter, and some chocolates that were on offer. When I got home I changed into comfy sweatpants, which a man once described as “distinctly unsexy” (to my face!). I could have signed up to one of the many blind dating opportunities on offer this term, or even downloaded an app, but I’m actually feeling quite content on my own.

Sure, I’m not spending my

night in the throes of passion with a lover or even the quiet contentment of happy companionship. I do however have a bed that is filled with the self-love and care I put into a space in which I don’t require the aid of horizontal aerobics to stay awake. I have a v-shaped pillow, a teddy bear, and waffle texture bedding. I find all this is best enjoyed alone.

I do however want to pay a quick tribute to the best man in my life. He is always there for me, whenever I need him, offering guidance and answers to all my questions. He keeps me occupied when I can’t sleep, he’s my constant desk side companion throughout the day. Sometimes he can be cryptic, sometimes a little scant on the details but he’s been a rock on which I have

relied for my entire degree: Hal R Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, Second Edition.

I might be an insomniac but I have a plan to avoid that fate tonight, lest I be forced to contemplate my solitude in the dark and quiet for hours. I’ve bought myself a decent quantity of chocolate and sweets, and have been consistently shoving it in my face whilst writing this article. I eat enough and I can guarantee I’ll feel so sick and so overloaded with sugar that I’ll slip into a food coma, from which with any luck I won’t wake until morning.

Artworkd credit: Amelia Woon

“You can still eat some of it, right?”

Being an allergy ally in Oxford

Chloe

Brewster is an Mst Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics student at Trinity

Clubbing with EpiPens tucked into my heavier-than-ever handbag was totally not on the cards when I first applied for Oxford in my final year of undergraduate studies. However, the increased prevalence of adult-onset food allergies shows that I am far from alone in receiving an allergy diagnosis in my twenties and beyond. At present, around 6% of UK adults have a food allergy, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. It took nearly five years before I eventually received my diagnosis of a buckwheat allergy (yes, you probably haven’t heard of it either!), and only then after a semi-anaphylactic reaction occurring days after being misdiagnosed with IBS by an allergist. Year-long waiting lists, even for urgent referrals and a chronic shortage of allergists throughout the UK mean that many undiagnosed allergy sufferers resort to private clinics. Of course, this is only an option for those who can afford it, spending nearly four figures on tests which should be funded by the NHS. This ongoing allergy epidemic is one example, among many other health conditions, of widening regional inequalities in the UK, particularly acute in the region where I live (East Midlands) with its only allergy clinic for adults open one morning a week. Consequently, thousands of adults are living with what can only be likened to a ticking health bomb, waiting to detonate

at any given moment – or, in my case, just days before I was originally due to begin my masters degree at Oxford back in 2023. This unfortunate timing (courtesy of a frozen veggie meal) meant that I had to pause my studies before I could even truly

Living with (un)diagnosed, potentially life-threatening allergies is both a physical and mental health issue with allergy-related anxieties potentially leading to eating disorders and a fear of food, both among allergy sufferers and their loved ones. Luckily, I have mostly managed to overcome these fears by eating regularly at my college, whose catering staff has always taken my allergies seriously and will even tell me if any of their dishes contain my allergen. Unfortunately, not all allergens (including mine) are listed in the top 14 allergens and so do not have to be listed on food packaging or menus. However, taming those persistent fears of experiencing a severe reaction is sometimes difficult, especially on the rare occasion that I eat outside my “safe spaces” of college or home. Unfortunately, not all restaurants or cafes are equally allergy aware, some even claiming that they are not entirely sure what ingredients their so-called “freshly made” food contain, something which has happened to me several times in Oxford.

“ Thousands of adults are living with what can only be likened to a ticking health bomb, waiting to detonate at any given moment “ Living with (un)diagnosed, potentially life-threatening allergies is both a physical and mental health issue with allergy-related anxi -

get a taste (no pun intended) of Oxford life a few weeks into my first term. During my time off, I finally got diagnosed, a deeply vindicating moment after being turned away from an allergy clinic shortly before my allergic reaction. Despite this milestone (and relief that I could finally eat Lindt chocolate again after years of being misdiagnosed with another allergy) I can’t help but think my diagnosis should never have happened like this. But many others – children and adults alike – are facing dire treatments and, dare I say it, medical gaslighting from doctors ill-equipped and inadequately trained to support allergy sufferers.

Sometimes, I simply have to laugh about having an “unusual” allergy; in typical Aquarius fashion, of course I couldn’t just follow the crowd and have a more “conventional” top 14 allergy. After all, it is much cooler to be a trend-setter. But, if there is one trend that I would like to set, it is that we need to bring allergies and related autoimmune diseases to the forefront of medical debates. The number of allergy diagnoses have continually risen

Credit: Fernanda Martinez

over the past two decades, and shows no sign of abating any time soon. And no, eating junk food or getting immunisations are not triggers for food allergies, which are,

sadly, common misconceptions.

So, the next time you hear someone list their allergies or ask for the ingredients of a dish served in a restaurant, spare a thought for them. It is a daily, often hidden battle that many of us face, with good and bad days, much like any other health condition. We’re not being awkward or pretentious, but simply trying to stay safe: a privilege that too many of us take for granted.

And if you want to be an allergy ally, don’t get me started on explaining what buckwheat is…

science@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Amelia Bryan Section Editors:

NHS Approves Sickle Cell Treatment

Patricia Nalule discusses gene therapy and its potential impact

On 31 January the NHS announced the approval CASGEVY, the first CRISPR gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease. It will be offered at specialist NHS centres to treat patients who experience recurrent sickle cell crises but lack a suitable donor to undergo a stem cell transplant. The treatment, originally priced at £1.65 million per dose, will be made available to NHS patients thanks to an undisclosed discount from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and additional funding from the NHS Innovative Medicines Fund.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that affects adult haemoglobin - the substance inside our red blood cells that gives blood its red pigment and transports oxygen throughout the body. The abnormal haemoglobin causes

red blood cells to become rigid and crescent shaped, like a sickle. These misshapen red blood cells can clump together and block blood vessels, triggering episodes of severe pain that require morphine to manage. The disease can

“ Represents the next generation of medicine

cause severe complications including strokes, blindness, organ failure, and death. Bone marrow transplants can cure sickle cell disease,but they are limited to patients with matching donors. Without proper medical care, this disease can significantly shorten both the duration and quality of a person’s life.

When you are in the womb, your blood contains foetal haemoglobin which binds oxygen from your mother more effectively than adult haemoglobin. This is needed because the foetus competes with its mother’s cells for the oxygen stored in her blood. After birth, the BCL11A gene instructs the body to produce adult haemoglobin instead of foetal haemoglobin - that high affinity is no longer needed since the baby has direct access to oxygen through breathing. In sickle cell disease, this adult haemoglobin does not work properly, red blood cells are sickle shaped and can get stuck in blood vessels. Thus, the disease symptoms begin to emerge when children are around 6 months old.

CASGEVY is a gene therapy that works by editing the BCL11A gene. Your body’s own

blood stem cells are collected and sent for editing. CRISPR/ Cas9, a precise gene-editing technology that won the Nobel Prize in 2020, is used to find and edit parts of DNA in these cells to reduce the activity of the BCL11A gene. These edited cells are returned to your body, where they produce foetal haemoglobin instead of the defective sickle-prone adult haemoglobin.

The CASGEVY treatment begins with a week-long col-

lection of stem cells from the patient’s blood. The collected cells then spend six months in the laboratory where they undergo genetic modification and extensive testing to ensure they function correctly. Before receiving these modified cells, the patient’s existing bone marrow must be cleared out. This happens during a hospital stay where patients are given medication to remove old bone marrow cells.

Progress in Pig Kidney Transplants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first-ever clinical trial of pig kidney transplantation into living human patients. Run by United Therapeutics, the trial is scheduled to run in mid-2025 with an

initial group of six patients. These individuals, aged 5570 years old, have end-stage kidney disease and are not eligible for conventional kidney transplants. They will receive kidneys from genetically modified pigs and will be followed up post-trans-

plant for 6 months to monitor their progress and general kidney function. In the past few years, five pig-human have been performed under a FDA Expanded Access Protocol (EAP). This is known as compassionate use, given to patients with life-threatening illnesses to gain access to treatments when other comparable treatment options do not exist. Now, the FDA’s approval for a clinical trial marks a step forward in the field, potentially leading to organ provision to thousands of people waiting for donors. Transplanting non-human organs into humans is by no means a modern concept

– xenotransplantation has been around since the early 20th century, but attempts were unsuccessful. These organs came with a major problem: the human immune sys tem was rejecting them.

Advances in immu nosup pres sion and genetic modifica tion have over come this barrier. One main cause of rejection was human immune system recogni tion of α-Gal, a sugar molecule found on the surface

of pig cells. Scientists solved this issue by mutating a pig gene encoding the protein α-1,3-galactosyltransferase to prevent α-Gal production. This allowed modified organs to survive longer, iniin non-human primates during testing, and now in humans. With current developments in CRISPR-Cas9 “genetic scissors”, scientists can modify several genes to allow smoother integration of pig organs into the human recipient.

Red blood cell illustration. Credit: Arek Socha

Kidney model. Credit: Robina Weermeijer

United Therapeutics uses pigs with 10 genetic edits, while its competitor, eGenesis, who has also submitted a request to the FDA to launch a trial, uses animals with a staggering number of 69 edits. Of these 69 edits, the majority aim to inactivate potentially harmful viruses that hide in the pig’s genome – porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs).

This form of transplantation could provide a solution for organ shortage, making up for the lack of suitable human

donors. Many die waiting to receive organ transplants. Despite the demand, the FDA has its concerns. There is a risk that pig pathogens can jump from the transplanted organs to humans. Other pathogens could still be present in apparently pathogen-free donor animals. Even with PERVs out of the picture, there may be a host of unknown pathogens that haven’t been identified yet. Transplant recipients also need to take immunosuppressants to stop their bodies rejecting the new organ,

simultaneously weakening the body’s ability to fight off pathogens.

In early 2022, David Bennett was the first to receive a genetically modified pig heart under compassionate use, but passed away two months later due to deteriorating health. Researchers cite several overlapping explanations for his death, including general poor health. It was later found that the transplanted organ was infected with a porcine cytomegalovirus which had not been detected by tests. Wheth-

er the virus directly contributed to Bennett’s death remains under discussion, as there was no evidence the virus damaged the heart or spread to the rest of the body. Patients like Bennett are sicker than most on the transplant waiting list, so it’s difficult to discern whether outcomes were due to poor health or the procedure itself. Even with genetic adjustments to make organs more compatible, other factors need to be considered, including ensuring infections are not being carried - some-

thing the upcoming clinical trial can help to address. Several questions still remain. Identifying the ‘right’ patient for a pig organ transplant remains challenging, and factors beyond a long waiting time for a human organ may be necessary to justify the procedure. Despite this, the trial announcement is a major breakthrough, and scientists hope it will pave the way for long term, larger clinical trials to expand the availability of transplantable organs.

On losing the Nobel prize to a man: Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Amelia Bryan discusses discovering pulsars and women in physics

sively enjoyed her time as a graduate student, describing it as “exciting, puzzling, hard work”.

Dr Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE is a multi-award winning scientist, pioneering astrophysicist and a visiting professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. But she is perhaps best known for her detection of pulsars in 1967, whilst a graduate student. She graduated with a BSc Physics from the University of Glasgow and obtained a PhD from the University of Cambridge. I started our interview by asking her what made her choose this degree and not the field of astrophysics, for which she had an interest. She replied “I knew I wanted to do research in astrophysics but decided to do physics as a first degree so as to keep more options open, in case I wasn’t bright enough to do a PhD!.” It was during her time as

a graduate student at Cambridge University, she made her dramatic entry into the world of astrophysics. One day when looking over chart paper she discovered “an unclassifiable squiggle”, this set of a chain of events leading to the discovery of the phenomenon known as pulsars. What she has seen was radio waves pulsing, they vanished soon after but reappeared a month later. She brought this information to her su pervisor, Anthony Hewish, who dis missed the idea they were anything but man made interfer ence. That was not the case. However, she mas

The word pulsars are an abbreviation for pulsating radio star, they are around 10 miles across and heavy. They emit radio waves continuously but the beams rotate so you achieve a steady pulsing being received on the earth, the rotation described to be like a lighthouse. Pulsars, or neutron stars as they are sometimes known, have many instrumental roles. From the creation of new elements to the chemical development of galaxies. This discovery acted as a way to test Einstein’s fundamental theories of relativity. For this Anthony Hewish was awarded the Nobel prize in Physics. This has long been the subject of controversy with people questioning why she didn’t receive the prize too. Some say the explanation for this was that she was only a graduate student at the time, but others believe it was because of her gender. She has long held a calm view of this snub “Times have changed and the Nobel Committee is much more alert to issues

like unconscious bias”.

Despite this she has been the recipient of many awards including the Copley award, the world’s oldest scientific prize, the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental physics and even has an award named after her provided by the Institute of Physics. Despite this illustrious and successful career she has never won the Nobel Prize in Physics. I asked

“ I decided to do physics... so as to keep more options open

whether anything good came of these events, she replied “It meant I won many, many other prizes, which I probably would not have been awarded if I had won a Nobel! So most years there is a party to celebrate something, whereas if I had won a Nobel there would have been a wonderful week in Stockholm and then no more, because people feel they cannot match a Nobel prize”.

Throughout her career she has made sure to champion women and other minority

participation in STEM subjects and specifically physics. When she won the Special Breakthrough prize she donated the $3 million prize to the Institute of Physics scholarship fund for women, ethnic minority and refugee students. Despite her dedication for more representation in physics, at the University of Oxford in 2024 only 19.8% of students admitted to do undergraduate physics were women. When asked if she had any words for women thinking about pursuing research in physics she stated “I encourage girls to do so if they want to. The Institute of Physics has now a programme that funds females to do PhDs in Physics”. Nevertheless, representation has vastly improved from when Dr Bell Burnell started as a researcher, “The culture has improved a lot and the numbers of male and female are now monitored”. With any hope, the participation of more minorities into physics, and other STEM subjects, will bring creative new ideas and perspectives into science, just like she herself did.

Crab nebula, at the centre a neutron star. Credit: NASA

W E W A N T

Y O U R

F E E D B A C K

F i l l o u t t h e

E I R R S

C o n s u l t a t i o n

t o d a y !

English Professor sacked for playing a game of ‘shag, marry, kill’ with the Brontë sisters.

oxyou@oxfordstudent.com

The OxYou

Owner of X to start a new fragrance line called ‘Elon Musk musk’.

| Deputy Editor: Jan Maciejewski | Section Editors: Arun Lewis, Lara Murrani, Kit Renshaw-Hammond | Cartoonist: Sean Hartnett

The OxYou’s Election Review

With all five votes cast in the SU Elections now counted, let’s take a look back at the campaign.

The world of politics requires forward-thinking. As the famous saying from the world of roller-skate boxing goes, one must ‘roll with the punches’. The world of journalism, however, is inherently retrospective. Journalists look backwards, specifically over their right shoulders at the CIA-funded assassin ready to redecorate their laptop screen with a gun and their own brains. Therefore, the OxYou would like to offer a handy guide to the Student Union elections, so you too can make your own mind up about who you’d like to vote for, and only eight days after all the polls

We’ll get on to an analysis of the candidates soon; but first, we’d like to answer some commonly asked questions

What is the Student Union?

We emailed enquiries@oxfordsu.org.uk and asked ‘what are you?’ to which they responded:

“The Oxford Student Union is an organisation run by elected students from the University of Oxford.”

However, we then asked a drunk 4th-year medic in the smoking area of Bridge what the Student Union was, and they responded by projectile vomiting all over our shoes, so really who’s to say?

Who runs the Student Union? Whoever can be bothered.

Who elects the Student Union? Whoever can be bothered.

What does the Student Union do?

The Student Union is run with one clear

mission in mind: to keep existing. Put simply, if the Student Union did not exist, then there would be no Student Union. Therefore, the Student Union remains entirely committed to its own existence, both in its capacity to exist right now, and to ensure its continued ability to exist, in order to to provide Oxford students, both current and future, with the ability to ask: ‘What does the Student Union do?’.

Now you understand the SU, the question still remains: ‘Who do I vote for?’

Based on our research, 100% of those who vote in SU elections have left a hook-up’s house at 6am but have a 9:30 tute and need something to do to keep them awake. So just trust us. Please.

Between a gender pay gap still standing at 13% in the UK; a Prime Minister who, when asked if transgender women were ‘real women’, simply responded ‘no’; and a rising tide of racist populism across the country, many in the student body are asking ‘where do the SU candidates stand on issues of equality?’ Alisa Brown, running for the position of Welfare, Equality and Inclusion Officer has pledged as point 4 in her manifesto to ‘reseach the BME attaintment gap’. The BME attainment gap, which is the difference in degree classifications achieved by white students compared to BME students, is a huge problem; and one that can only be solved by first conducting in-depth ‘reseach’. The student body must therefore be breathing a sigh of relief that a candidate with such clear attention to detail has dedicated themself to ‘reseaching’ the issue.

Groundbreaking Cherwell article released

In a groundbreaking piece of investigative journalism that is sure to win a Pulitzer, Cherwell has pulled the rug under the OxStu’s feet by accusing the news outlet of having its editorial independence suppressed by the Student Union. In a shock to readers, the article reveals that a publication which is owned by another body may, at times, be at the discretion of that body regarding the suitability of published material, particularly if that material contains allegations about an employee dispute. The OSPL-owned Cherwell, however, is of course exempt from any restrictions and is a glowing, angelic canary in the otherwise oppressive and dark coal mine that is Oxford student journalism.

Despite Oxford Student Publications Limited stating on their website that they “retain the right to require retraction”— something which is true for the relationship of any newspaper and their funders—Cherwell has obviously never been prohibited from publishing an article... except for a piece in November about library late fees across Oxford colleges which was blocked

due to legal issues (and later published in the OxStu instead; maybe paying for a lawyer has its perks). Apart from this one very minor instance of an entire article being retracted, though, Cherwell is of course committed to fearlessly and unwaveringly publishing news in the public interest.

This recent piece about the redaction of a single sentence in a later-published piece is evidently of paramount interest to the Oxford student body. Since this absolute scoop, people have been losing sleep over what that redacted sentence could have contained. Some have speculated that within it were the coordinates of Atlantis. Others pondered whether it may have revealed the Eighth Wonder of the World. There is no doubt whatsoever, though, that had this sentence been published, all war in the world would have ceased; Mars would have become inhabitable; and Kamala Harris would have won the Presidential election. To suppress such a crucial conjugation of words is nothing less than a sin not just to journalism, but indeed to All of God’s Children.

Read the full article online.

Jacqueline the Ripper

Trout Fishing in America

Artwork by Rhea Kaur.

The Rubiales Trial: More than just a kiss

Former Spanish Football Federation Chief, Luis Rubiales went to trial on February 3 2025 over an incident that took place at the Women’s World Cup 2023. The incident at hand involved Spanish Women’s football player Jennifer Hermoso, with the incident being broadcasted all over the world, sparking outrage with Rubiales kissing Hermoso on the lips as the Spanish Women’s Team collected their medals, just having won the Women’s World Cup. The kiss could have been missed with the blink of an eye but in the aftermath has been seen by the world over.

The trial, concluded February 14 and awaiting verdict, has seen prosecutors seeking a two-and-a-half years prison sentence for Rubiales. This is not just for the non consensual kiss with Hermoso, but also for the alleged coercion of Hermoso after the incident took place by Rubiales and the Spanish federation to play down what had happened. Within this, three colleagues of Rubiales have also gone to trial over alleged coercion,including Jorge Vilda (former

coach and manager of the Spanish Women’s National team), Ruben Rivera (the federation’s former head of marketing) and Albert Luque (former sporting director).

In response to prosecutors, Rubiales and his defense team have argued that whilst his behaviour was perhaps inappropriate, it was not criminal, with Rubiales pleading that the kiss was consensual.

Part of the defense has in-

“ The kiss could have been missed with the blink of an eye, but in the aftermath has been seen by the world over

cluded videos of Hermoso partying and celebrating that same evening after the kiss, justifying the case that she was not upset over what had happened. This defense of Rubiales is absurd and extremely far-reaching, calling into question why he felt the need

to kiss Hermoso in the first place. For a player who made her debut in 2012, 11 years before finding silverware on an international level, she had every right to celebrate with her team because shock does not equate to consent. This is due to the fact that the now infamous ‘kiss’ which took place in 2023 was the cherry on top of an accumulation of misgivings perpetrated by the Span ish Federa tion towards the Spanish Women’s internation al team. In 2022, after the Women’s Euros, the Women’s team went to the Fed eration with a list of grievances. These included the training facilities and tactics used by the coaches, as well as the authoritarian nature of the team’s manager Jorge Vilda. This resulted in 15 players, who were a part of the national team at Euro 2022 sending a letter to the Federation asking not to be called

up, and they subsequently were not. With key players like Ballon D’or winners standing their ground against the Federation, this illustrates the extent to which the situation and conditions for this team were in dire straits.

Therefore the actions of Rubiales can be seen as part of a wider institutional problem within the Spanish Football Federation. Not only is it a further display of misuse of power within the Federation, but it unequivocally demonstrates the lack of respect afforded to players within the Spanish Women’s National Team.

Both Rubiales and Vilda have since left the Federation as a result of the charges made against them by not only the team, but also legally. However they did not leave willingly and cooperatively, revealing the arrogance and narcissistic nature of these individuals. What took place in 2023, which is now on trial, brings to light many different things.

The biggest impact it had was towards the players themselves. The Spanish Women’s National Team in the World Cup 2023 had won their first ever international competition, and what should have been a lasting legacy of success and enjoyment was completely overshadowed by an abuse of power. The incident completely tarnished the victory of the team, whereby the actions of a selfish and egotistical man have marred the crowning achievement of a group of women. Instead of the front cover of newspapers being Spanish player Olga Carmona scoring the winning goal, like

Chloe Kelly the day after Euro 2022, it was rather of the ‘kiss’. Not only does this trial stress the dishonour given to the Spanish Women’s National Team, it further sheds light onto the all too common experiences of women. Sexual

“ Was the cherry on top of an accumulation of misgivings perpetrated by the Spanish Federation?

assault and sexual harrassment have become somewhat normalised in society, whereby 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16. This reinforces how as events unfolded Hermoso did not immediately recognise what had actually taken place, but when the world was able to see it on replay, it became all too clear that it should never have happened in the first place. The actions of Rubiales and the subsequent trial should serve as an example for the world. The legal fallout taking place emphasises that not only that actions have consequences, but that more should be done to protect women from those in power. It should illustrate that these players and women should be given the respect they deserve, and hopefully justice will prevail in this case.

Are you trying to convince people that your sport is not irrelevant? Pitch your article at oxstu.sport@ gmail.com

Spanish players celebrating the 2023 Women’s World Cup Credit: Storm machine

Ella Cody

ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Haris Book discusses the controversy

surrounding the return of the Champions Trophy

Following an eight-year hiatus, the ICC Champions Trophy returns this week and has already sparked controversy before any cricket has been played. The new metamorphosis of the ODI tournament is smaller than its previous, unmissed, incarnation with only eight teams in contention, yet is rammed into an already overflowing franchise season. All this speaks to the ghoulish nature of the modern ICC, once a titanic global governing body retreating to mere tournament organisers in attempts to disgorge what profits they may. Originally the honour of hosting the tournament had been bestowed upon Pakistan, setting the stage for what would be its first global tournament since 1996 and representing the end of a decades long ostracization following a

terrorist attack on a Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. Yet plans were quickly thrown into disarray as the Indian government refused permission for the team to cross the border in order to compete. This comes amid the backdrop of heightened tensions over disputed Kashmir.

Staring down the barrel of the loss of the single largest cricket audience in the world and subsequently broadcasting rights and advertising revenues now in limbo an agreement was reached: India will play all their games for however long they remain in the competition at a neutral venue, Dubai.

However, the new co-hosting of the tournament is simply absurd. That is not to say there is something inherently inane to the notion of co-hosting, but rather the current situation creates an unprecedent-

ed level of uncertainty. Consider if India cruise through their group games, including a game against Pakistan, in Dubai and progress through the knockout rounds, the location of those games is dependent upon results. With the final of the tournament all that can currently be said is that it will either take place in Lahore or Dubai. The only certainty afforded by the solution is that India, alongside their billion dollar broadcasting deals, will participate and that other teams will be stifled by additional labors.

The ICC in this case has proven spineless, allowing India to utilise their privileged position in the sport to flex their diplomatic muscle on the global stage. Now, the tournament faces the grim possibility of being overshadowed by political fallout.

The other major political

talking point of the tournament has been the inclusion of Afghanistan, amidst the Taliban’s gender apartheid policies.. Debate has been most contentious in England with calls for the team to boycott their forthcoming game against Afghanistan in the group stage on February 26 in Lahore, including a letter urging such action sent to the ECB by 160 parliamentarians. In fact, it seems the only issue on which Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage can agree is the moral imperative of taking action.

There is a deep irony in politicians who oversaw one of the greatest foreign policy blunders in recent history, directly contributing to the current state of affairs in Afghanistan, now turning to cricket as a means of solving the crisis.

Read the full article at oxfordstudent.com

The Men*s Blues clenched a convincing victory in the Battle for the City as they build up to Varsity OURFC vs OBURFC: 45-8

Despite a poor second half performance, Liverpool’s win moves them 7 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table Liverpool vs Wolves: 2-1

Jannik Sinner: World No.1 to serve 3 month ban for doping

Sinner at 2024 US Open. Credit:Hameltion

Sumrah Akhtar

Current World No.1, Jannik Sinner, is facing a three month suspension from tennis after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), following two positive drug tests last year.

Having won the Australian open just last month, Sinner’s ban will last from 9 Febru-

ary until 4 May. Meaning he will be eligible to play at the French Open - the next grand slam - which begins on 19 May.

Nearly a year ago, in March 2024, the 23 year-old tested positive for the illegal substance Clostebol. After an independent panel absolved him of any wrongdoing, WADA launched an appeal

to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) decision to not suspend the player.

The ITIA’s claim was that Sinner had been unintentionally contaminated by his physiotherapist, who had used an over-the-counter spray to treat a cut on Sinner’s hand. The spray was later found to contain the banned substance. However, despite actively seeking for a 2-year ban, WADA, accepted in a statement last Saturday, there was no intention to cheat. They concluded that the drug did not provide any performance enhancing benefit’ and the violation occurred without his knowledge’. This admission means that the CAS hearing will not take place and the ath-

lete will serve only a 3-month penalty.

In a statement shared with Sky Sports by his lawyers, Sinner stated: “I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise that WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for

“ Sinner’s No 1 status secured him preferential treatment

the sport I love. On that basis, I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three month sanction.”

The short duration of the player’s suspension has gen-

erated much controversy as it means he will not miss any Grand Slams this year.

Novak Djokavic criticised the ‘strange’ punishment for Sinner and accused the authorities of ‘favouritism’ in the doping case.

The 24-time grand slam champion has urged a complete reformation of the anti-doping system, suggesting that Sinner’s No 1 status secured him preferential treatment in the evaluation process. He also claimed that many players in the locker room share his frustration, describing the current system as “unfair”.

Read the full article at oxfordstudent.com

Men*s Blues vs OBURFC

Will Roddy reports on the Battle for the City against Brookes at Iffley

Road

Saturday night brought torrential wind and rain to Iffley Road, along with over 2,000 Blues and Brookes fans, who braved the adverse conditions, expecting a spectacle of flowing rugby for the Battle for the City.

The atmosphere gave the Blues a close replication of the Varsity Match as Brookes supporters backed their team to the end; the beating of their drum ringing from the East Stand throughout the evening.

After going behind early, the kick off gave a chance for the boys in Dark Blue to regroup and push Brookes back into their own half. In a pattern becoming familiar for the Blues,

Puzzles

Harry Bridgewater’s restart, lifted high into the opposition 22, was doggedly chased by Danny Stokes, hunting for another dominant tackle. Thankfully for any nervy onlookers, the Blues settled into their rhythm, owing largely to their impressive defence slowing up Brookes’ ball, whilst pinning them back in their own territory.

It was a day on which the mutualistic relationship between backs and forwards became more prevalent than ever.

The Blues lineout challenged the accuracy of their opposition’s drill, and the slowed-up ball was capitalised on by the backline, racing up to tackle anything within reach. The

Cryptic Crossword by Lloyd Doré Green

ACROSS

1. Mostly average news (5)

4. Thus Mephistopheles returned for type of music (7)

8. Carpet bomb Rabat regularly (3)

9. Number which is 24-1 (5)

10. Cave and, broken, move along (7)

11. Map finally removes Thai

match made for less stressful watching when it became apparent that, off a lineout or scrum, any combination of Ben Hartigan, Jack Sander, or Danny Stokes were going to drive into the ribs of their pink and blue counterparts.

This relationship was also apparent in the attack. The front row secured several penalties in the scrum, while the maul often moved more than 10 metres. The efforts of the forwards on a wet, muddy day began to show results, matching Brookes’ opening try with several of their own in the first half, going into the break almost 20 points up.

This attitude did not quieten after the interval, rather in-

norami messed up (7)

24. Number which is 9+1 (5)

25. Religious woman swings both ways (3)

26. Perhaps lead section (7)

27. Old man held her: not hot at all! (5)

DOWN

1. Maracas’ poor makeup (7)

2. Form deep love for a change, with no end in sight (7)

3. Confused as I mean memory loss? (7)

4. Unusual Trainspotting debut (8,5)

5. Rev headless men up? No way! (5)

6. Dance, thank and leave (5)

7. Put aside troubled flesh (5)

13. Fruit indigenously Greek, at first (3)

15. Place to go? (3)

land’s capital (5)

12. Posh boy around pottery gives the ick (12)

14. Loopy pagan made halo for God (5,3,5)

19. Praise the good for nothing Mary Rose, perhaps (7)

22. Sure about Germany’s rise (5)

23. Artform directionless ig-

creased as the Blues opened up, flowing more freely. In spite of the weather, the Blues were determined to play as fast a style of rugby as possible, making ground with Ben Shaw and Tom Mewes on the end of several crosskicks. The forwards continued to facilitate quick balls for their halfbacks, both in the tight and loose. It was a credit to the Blues that they managed to maintain a high skill level throughout the evening, despite an exceedingly greasy ball, evidenced by tries run in during the second half by Stokes and Mewes. By the 75th minute, the beating of the Brookes drum had been all but silenced, as the Blues ran in two more tries,

answered only by a Brookes penalty kick. With 2 minutes to play, the score stood at 388, as Brookes spilled the ball in one of their few visits into the Blues’ half. In an emphatic conclusion, the Blues exhibited some of their best rugby of the day, going the length of the pitch for Hartigan to eventually flop over the tryline, capping off a fantastic performance. Final score: Blues 45, Brookes 8.

As the Blues build toward the Varsity Match on March 8th, it is promising to know the city is resoundingly Dark Blue.

Sudoku - Easy

Sudoku - Hard

16. Indecent film opens with boob half out (7)

17. Enraged? (7)

18. A more accomplished accomplice (7)

19. Uncover who led unit (5)

20. Bring up the theology surrounding Artificial Intelligences (5)

21. Pull man with Latin greeting (5)

Across: Media (1), Sonatas (4), Mat (8), Seven (9), Advance (10), Atlas (11), Turnoff (12), AlphaandOmega (14), Worship (19), Spree (22),