The Oxford Student - Week 5 Trinity 2022

Friday 27 May 2022

SciTech

TT22, Vol. 3

The existential horror of Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s Three Weddings.

News

Entertainment

A week of intense student politics: Union Slate Ban, SU No-Confidence, Exeter JCR condemns Israel.

Will Neill on the demilitarisation of the Marvel-Industrial Complex.

The

OXFORD STUDENT Image credit: Richard Nias via Creative Commons

St Benet’s Hall Announces that

University Will Not Renew Its Official Licence

Dania Kamal ARYF Editor in Chief

A

n official statement from St Benet’s Hall has announced that the University Council will not renew its licence as a Permanent Private Hall (PPH) – addressing the possibility of ceasing operations altogether by the end

of this academic year.

The Hall has made this announcement in an email circulated via its official mailing list, signed by the college Master, Professor Richard Cooper, and the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, Professor Martin

Exclusive: In Conversation with Malaysian Activist Fahmi Reza

Williams.

The email, dated 16 May 2022, informs that discussions which have taken place at the recent University Council meeting on Monday, 9 May, have confirmed the suspension of new student in-

takes for the upcoming 2022-2023 academic year.

The likelihood of students being re-located to different colleges throughout the university has also been addressed, and arrangements are now underway in

Motion of no confidence in SU sabbatical officer passes

A

motion submitted by Keble College JCR of no confidence in the sabbatical officer for Welfare and Opportunities, Keisha Asare, for her failure to deliver on her election manifesto pledge of essay writing workshops has passed in Student Council. Having been offered the programme in a PresCom meeting in Michaelmas Term, Keble

by Dominic ENRIGHT

Senior editor

President Tom Morris signed his college up.

However, of the four planned sessions, two of them ended up being cancelled. For one of the sessions, key information was not sent to the volunteer tutor and the SU officer is reported to have Read more on page 4

assuring the continued education of its current students.

“Education will continue as normal at St Benet’s until the end of the current academic year, and we are making arrangements for students continuing at the Hall from the next academic year… We hope that the Hall will continue to operate for as long as possible, in the interests of students.

However, as and when this is no longer the case, arrangements will be put in place to ensure all current students can complete their studies at another college or hall.

Should this be necessary, you will be fully consulted,” the statement declared.

Ongoing financial difficulties have constantly put a strain on the Hall’s ability to sustain itself, resulting in the Council having “decided to not grant a long-term licence to St Benet’s Hall to continue to operate as a Permanent Private hall when the current licence ends.”

Further, the statement continues, “In light of these developments, Ampleforth Abbey Trust, which owns St Benet’s buildings, has taken the decision to put the Hall’s two properties on the market.”

Ampleforth Abbey Trust, a charity affiliated with the British-run Benedictine monastery, are currently the main guarantors of the Hall.

Read more on page 6

Image credits:St.Benet’s hall JCR

“

This is sad news to everyone who knows Benet’s as a lovely and unique place in Oxford. We are working as hard as we can together with the Hall and the University to ensure that students’ experience is disrupted as little as possible

”

- Julian Danker, St Benets Hall JCR President

2 | Editorial

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

The TRINITY TERM 2022 EDITORIAL TEAM EDITORS IN CHIEF Dania Kamal Aryf & Elias Formaggia ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jason Chau CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrew Wang

DEPUTY EDITORS Agatha Gutierrez Echenique, Anna Davidson, Chris Collins, Dominic Enright, Jen Jackson, Madi Hopper, Marietta Kosma, Matt Holland, Yii-Jen Deng NEWS Dominic Enright, Jessica Kaye, Shivanii Arun, Adi Kesaia Toganivalu, Efan Owen, Eve Thomas, Harrison Gates, Tim Green COMMENT Daniel Kovacs, Shivanii Arun, Tom Elliott, Kylah Jacobs, Harrison Gates, Samuel Kenny PROFILE Elsie Clark, Maya Szaniecki, Ciaron Tobin, Kylah Jacobs, Samuel King FEATURES Maya Szaniecki, Eve Thomas, Ciaron Tobin, Duoya Li IDENTITY Anmol Kejriwal, Srishti Kochar PINK Jessica Kaye, Kiki Wrece ENTERTAINMENT Joe Wald, Kian Moghaddas, Eve Thomas, Duoya Li FOOD & DRINK Lydia Fontes, Oscar Smith, Jasmine Wilkinson GREEN Katie Hulett, Yexuan Zhu SCITECH Emily Hudson, Yexuan Zhu SPORT Ayomilekan Adegunwa, Joe Sharp, Dominic Enright, Joe Wald OXYOU Milo Dennison, Susie Barrows, Jonah Poulard, Adi Kesaia Toganivalu COLUMNISTS Anvee Bhutani, Blane Aitchison, Cicely Hunt, Daniel Harrison, Nadia Awad, Poppy Atkinson Gibson DIRECTORS OF STRATEGY Alex Foster & Andrew Wang SOCIAL MEDIA & PUBLICITY Eleanor Warrington

@theoxfordstudent

issuu.com/theoxfordstudent

I

wrote my first ever article for The OxStu at some point during Trinity Term 2020, exactly two years ago. I applied to join the editorial team only shortly after. As cliché as this sounds, it has genuinely been one of the most meaningful decisions I’ve made throughout my time at university. We still have another print edition coming out in 7th week, but I will be sitting it out to focus on my exams. Consider this my graceful exit as an ‘early retirement’ after an equally incredible, yet exhausting, ‘career’.

Looking back at how things have turned out, I can’t say I have any regrets.

If anything, all the mistakes I’ve accumulated these past two years – initially as a junior journalist on the Identity section in MT20, all the way up throughout my time as Editor in Chief these past two months – were mainly a list of necessary experiences to learn from. I also cannot dismiss how my work at OxStu has opened the doors of opportunity for me to attempt getting involved with (student) journalism more widely – whether through dipping my toes in the Isis and Cherwell, or external rivers of words that I’ve been trying to wade through.

When I came into this role through an unexpected turn of events barely two months ago, I joked that we would ‘revolutionise’ and ‘incite radical reform’ for this term. Everyone on the team has heard me consistently rambling on about my work ethic being analogous to, “if I were a country, I would have an aggressive foreign policy”, or how I never shut up about,“only radical actions lead to radical change.”

Yet, it has been remarkable to witness what we’ve managed to achieve so far, with our extent of ‘radical change’ – and we’re currently only through 5th week of term!

It overwhelms me with so much warmth to witness how all of us have had the opportunity to grow: as journalists, friends, and people. In the timespan of

five-to-six-ish weeks, we’ve managed to completely re-design our entire website, revamp our print edition, and create more efficient logistical structures for the rest of the team to carry on with in the future.

I can’t say I don’t often beat myself up about not feeling satisfied with the way this paper has looked, or with some of the content being put out that ‘could have been better’. It would be dishonest to deny how much I’ve cried and broken down in the presence of Elias, Jason, Alex and Andrew, how much sleep I’ve lost, and how much of my health and studies I’ve been neglecting because of this paper. But again, I can’t say I have any regrets about all that, either.

I am so lucky and so grateful to have worked with such an incredibly supportive team, and to have shaped this legacy of ‘radical reform’ together. My work with OxStu has also given me the opportunity to meet and have meaningful conversations with so many incredible people. Whether through the guidance of former Editors who have now graduated and have become ‘proper’ journalists themselves, or students across the university who have willingly reached out to share their stories, or the endless list of people I’ve had the opportunity to interview, to exchange emails/text messages with, and to learn from.

At heart, I have always been determined to pursue a career that would allow me to constantly engage in meaningful exchanges with other people, and to form connections over our shared experiences of being human. The ‘silly student journalism’ I’ve done at OxStu has hence given me this incredible blessing.

With that being said, the Profile editors for this term have also given me the opportunity to pour my heart and soul into these special interviews that we have for this week’s print. I consider this my ‘retirement gift’ from the editorial team. I am so grateful to receive, just as I am grateful to have also given as much as I can.

Time has been kind enough to teach me how to give more gracefully, without giving too much until I burn myself out. Hence, the reason why I’ve chosen to resign and focus on my exams for now. I cannot express enough love for everyone on this team, especially Elias, Jason, Alex, and of course – Andrew, who has worked so hard to create such fertile ground for reform during his time as Editor last term. I am happy we have now been able to plant the seeds of change and watch our flowers bloom.

Editor’s Picks

Profile Designs of Dissent: In conversation with Malaysian activist Fahmi Reza

16

Entertainment Doctor Strange and the Demilitarization of the MarvelIndustrial Complex

23

Dania Kamal Aryf, Oriel College.

From the Editors

I

’m starting to use the time at which I write these editorials as a barometer for how well the paper’s doing. And, writing this before 11pm on Wednesday is a significant improvement from last time.

The 5th week print edition is easily the best we have seen yet, with the sad news of Benets’ likely closing, an intimate account of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s sensual snooker, and a comprehensive review of the new King Gizzard album. However, the publication of this week’s print edition is ultimately a melancholy one. It comes with the news that my fellow Editor-in-Chief Dania is stepping down from her role at the head of the paper. Working alongside Dania has been a privilege in a myriad of ways. She is ineffably competent and capable, and this coupled with her unmatched drive has been the primary driver of all the progress seen at the paper this term. On top of this, Dania is a highly caring and passionate leader who will always go the extra mile

to help individuals navigate the migraineinducing complexities of InDesign and journalism generally. Dania will always be a part of the OxStu family and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future. The profile section this week consists of three articles written by Dania, each of which she has poured her heart into. They are essential reading and we hope you enjoy them alongside all the rest of this week’s content. We will see you back in 7th week for the final print of the academic year; in the meantime enjoy your sunny South Park evenings and boozy Turf afternoons.

All the best.

Elias Formaggia,

The Queen’s College.

@theoxstu

Sport Fuelled on Faith: Ramadan and Sport

SciTech Monkeypox: What you need to know

30 29

her dedication, service, passion and leadership, and I’m sure I’m speaking for the whole team on this.

T

his has been a big week at OxStu. It’s great to see the team really getting into the groove of the OxStu life. This means faster laying-in (from Thursday 5am to 2am) and better use of InDesign. It means more stories, more scoops and more content. It also means navigating the intricacies of upholding journalistic integrity, reporting in a candid, honest, objective and responsible way.

OxStu is also not immune to Week 5 Blues, and with that we sadly bid farewell to Dania as Editor-in-Chief, who has dedicated her ‘blood, sweat and tears’ (almost literally!) to this paper. She is an inspiration to me and the rest of the senior team. I want to thank her for

Journalism requires care and courage, and OxStu embodies that (case in point, see letter on next page -- we do not cave to threats, and we know our libel laws well!). With Elias at the helm, and with a great team to support, we’re looking forward to more fearless reporting, and more exciting news to share in the coming weeks!

Jason Chau,

St Antony’s College.

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

editor@oxfordstudent.

Contents

Comment - p. 9

Profile - p. 14

Identity- p. 22

Food & Drink - p. 25

Gen Z - p. 27

SciTech - p. 29 Sport - p. 31

Write for us!

Illustration: Jonas Muschalski

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Editorial | 3

EDI TORIAL

@TheOxStu

News - p. 4

Features - p. 12

Columns - p. 18

Entertainment - p. 23 Pink - p. 26

OxYou - p. 28 Green - p. 30

Legal note: The email to the right was sent to the personal emails of the original authors of the article. Our authors have consented to our publication of this email here.

Personal contacts have been redacted. One author preferred their name to be redacted as well.

The email references aspects of our article, “Afghanistan Society protests the invitation of Hamdullah Mohib to Oxford Union,” published in week 3 Trinity Term.

We’ve redacted the name of the original sender. The original sender is not Hamdullah Mohib, and we are unsure if the original sender represents Mohib. However, we present the sender’s complaints as a record of us fulfilling our editorial duty to consider such complaints Complaints should be sent to the Oxford Student’s editorial email: oxstu.editor@gmail.com.

Please refrain from contacting our reporters personally with formal or legal complaints.

The Oxford Student

oxfordstudent.com

Letter to the Editors:

4 | News

Lincoln college chapel defaced Dominic Enright Senior Editor

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

Technicality stops vote to ban slates at Oxford Union Ciaron Tobin News editor

T

O

n Friday the 13th of May, the Chapel of Lincoln was defaced during a power cut between 1pm and 9pm. Those responsible are currently unknown to the college, and anyone who knows what happens is advised to contact the college. An email was sent out on the Monday following by the Chaplain, Dr Andrew Shamel, to the whole college, explaining the significance of these actions and why they are particularly hateful to Christians.

The culprits burned out the chapel candles, which included the Paschal candle that must remain burning for the whole 40 day period of Easter. This means it should have been lit until this Friday the 7th of May, which is the Christian holiday of the ascension.

On top of this, they wrote strange symbols on hymnals and service books with black makeup pens. Further, they defaced an embroidered cross on a linen, and spread charcoal into the cloths covering both the altar side table and the altar.

These actions should not only be seen as acts or vandalism, but also hold crucial symbolic meaning for Christians. For example, the altar is the location of the central Christian rite of Eucharist and so the defacing of the linen there is blasphemous. The burning out of the Paschal candle as well can be seen as symbolically aimed against Christians given the

candle should remain burning for the whole period.

The Chaplain of Lincoln College emphasised this in his email “These actions may sound trivial, and in a sense many of them are: the service books which were marked can easily be reprinted and the linens may be able to be washed. However, as Chaplain, it is important for me to share why it would be upsetting to find these objects used in the way that they were.

Many of the objects used or defaced have been blessed for use in Christian worship.”

“to find them (objects defaced) abused is for some not unlike the destruction or abuse of a precious heirloom, a work of art, or a memento resonant of a loved one. For others it constitutes a direct attack on God or at the least Christian faith itself.”

He further reiterated that “it is important for the continuance of the shared life of the Chapel that members of Lincoln appreciate the importance of the space and its furnishings.

While the Chapel is indeed a space open to all, regardless of faith, and a beautiful space in which to rest and contemplate, it is also a place of Christian worship, which conditions the use and meaning of many of the objects that reside within.”

If you have information, please contact the Lincoln college porters who are working on the in-

The Oxford Union President-Elect Ahmad Nawaz’s Private Business motion to ban slates has been halted after the Returning Officer deemed the motion incompatible with the technical rules of the Society.

The motion in the Oxford Union would prevent candidates for different positions from joining together in slates. Like political parties, slates are groups of organised candidates who campaign and run together for elections.

There are criticisms that slates make running as an individual candidate harder, since people in slates can share resources.

In a surprising turn of events Mr Nawaz questioned the Returning Officer (RO) Christopher Collins, in a point of order on the reasoning behind this before the Thursday debate. Questions asked

by Mr Nawaz included asking Collins ‘it is an odd coincidence that is what not until this morning, the very day of the motion to ban slates was set to be debated that his technicality was brought to your attention’. To which Collins regretted it was not brought to his attention sooner.

The rule in question the RO not-

ed was that the Private Business Motion had not been submitted according to the technical rules of ‘listing Executive Seniority’, so thus did not meet the requirements to be brought before the chamber Further, Mr Nawaz questioned whether ‘Members deserve the right to democratically decide whether or not slates should be banned’. To which Collins replied that it is the role of the RO to ensure a valid motion is brought before the chamber.

Unsatisfied with the Situation the President-Elect left the chamber. Mr Nawaz is determined to bring the reform back in the future and ensure the Union changes.

We have asked for a comment from Christopher Collins, the returning officer, he had this to say: “The Union’s Rules require and compel the Returning Officer to take this action against any invalidly written motion, without any room for discretion. I entirely sympathise with Mr Nawaz’s frustration and I have already offered him my assistance in ensuring that this situation does not arise again.”

We have asked for a comment from Ahmad Nawaz, presidentelect, who has not yet replied.

Any response recieved will be published online.

CNN video evidence found “no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death”.

Exeter JCR in the motion also pointed to the fact that Human Rights Watch has stated that “Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin” and that Amnesty International has “declared Israel an Apartheid state.” The motion was also pushed on the basis that the situation seemed to be escalating, stating that “Israel has killed five times as many Palestinians in 2022 than it killed in the same period in 2021, including the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque that injured over 150 Palestinians.”

On this basis, the JCR expressed a desire to show support and solidarity - the motion expressed that the college “should do whatever

possible to show solidarity with Palestine amidst this international crisis” and also “should similarly ensure that Palestinian students, and students who identify with the Palestinian cause in Oxford, feel adequately supported by the college.” In addition, the JCR stated its intent to contribute toward humanitarian missions in Palestine.

Following these intentions, the JCR resolved to buy a Palestine flag for display in the JCR, as well as to donate £100 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

The charity provides medical aid and aims to develop the Palestinian healthcare system long-term through focus on local capacities and skills, aiming to improve “the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees.”

Full text of motion on page 5.

Exeter College passes motion supporting Palestine, condemning Israel Anna Davidson Senior Editor

E

xeter College has recently passed an unprecedented motion condemning Israel and resolving to purchase and display a Palestinian flag in the JCR, and has moved to donate funds in support of medical aid for Palestinians.

According to the motion, the JCR suggested this move in recognition of recent developments like the murder of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at the hands of Israeli forces, which has “led to widespread outcry”.

The Al-Jazeera journalist was shot fatally in the head while she reported on Israeli military operations in the West Bank.

Subsequent evidence which has emerged of the incident shows journalists being shot at in spite of their press vests and without being asked to leave first, while

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

News | 5

Motion of no confidence in SU sabbatical New LGBTQ+ nightclub Glamorous officer passes obligated by the mandate of his the SU, there was no payment for open now Cont. from page 1

Dominic Enright

Shivanii Arun

Senior editor

(cont) “berated Keble JCR and the volunteer tutor for not having the required information.”

A motion regarding this was submitted to a Keble JCR meeting on Sunday of third week of Trinity, with 45 voting for, none against and five abstentions. As a result of this, the Keble JCR President was mandated to submit this motion to the Student Council meeting on Tuesday the 24th of May, where it was debated by Student Council representatives from across the University.

Having spoken to the Keble JCR President Tom Morris, he has told The Oxford Student that he “does not expect this will result in her being ousted from her position. This is since for a vote of no confidence to pass, there needs to be two votes of approval from Council, and then a Universitywide referendum”

This means it is logistically hard before the officer’s term ends this academic year, given there are only two more council meetings, and the university-wide referendum would have to be in ninth week. A university-wide referendum would need 5% of the student body to vote to be valid (1250), and then a simple majority to pass.

However, Morris told The Oxford Student that this motion “ was to draw attention to the need for professionalism in the role of Sabbatical Officer moving forward”.

He also wanted to reiterate that “ there is no ill-will towards the Sabbatical Officer, and the JCR was instead opening a public conversation on their need for support from the SU”. However, after “exhausting all prior means”, he felt

JCR to bring forward the motion.

In her election bid, Keisha made a manifesto pledge of “closing the gap and helping all student via workshops” and these would be “provided by willing members of the faculty, graduate students or both”. The pledge was that “the workshop will take place twice at the start of term”, although there were additional workshops planned for life sciences students and medical students.

The motion of no confidence included the following statements of belief:

The performance of the Sabbatical Officer has been inappropriate for someone representing students at a university level, and has led to substantial disruption within the Keble community.

Frequent attempts by Keble JCR over a period of 5 months to attempt to rectify the situation have fallen through consistently due to the disregard by Oxford SU’s Officer.

This is a level of performance that is not acceptable for someone paid a year’s salary to make student’s lives easier, especially given the hostile communications the JCR has received.

The lack of any apology thus far in any form only seeks to enforce the feeling of disconnect and disregard for JCR engagement from the SU. On point 3, the salary of sabbatical officers, the role of vice President Welfare and Equal Opportunities for next year has a salary of £21,686. This differs from the volunteer tutors, Keble JCR Access officer and the Keble JCR president who were all unpaid for their work in their scheme. Indeed, in any study tutoring scheme run by

News Editor

those implementing the scheme at college level. The new sabbatical officer for welfare and equal opportunities has been elected, and is Grace Olusola.

As point 2, suggests, the Keble JCR President has told The Oxford Student of the many attempts he has made to get in contact with the sabbatical officer, and has meetings with the CEO of the Oxford SU. While we are yet to receive minutes of the Student Council meeting, all sources of the Oxford Student at the meeting suggested that there was civil and productive discussion on Tuesday, nor any hostility from any party.

The results have been published for this motion as: Total Votes: 36 For: 25 Against: 7 Abstain: 4

This means that the motion passed with over a two third majority. However, given the mandate needs to be given in two separate council meetings, and via a university-wide referendum, Keisha will remain as sabbatical officer.

We reached out both to the current Sabbatical officer for Welfare and Equal Opportunities and the SU President for comment on Monday the 23rd via Facebook, and then emailed on Tuesday both the Communication Manager, and SU President with the same message. This was forwarded on Wednesday to the Sabbatical Officer for Welfare and Equal Opportunities, who also is yet to respond.

This JCR notes: · The murder of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at the hands of Israeli forces has led to widespread outcry. · Human Rights Watch has stated that “Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin”[1]. Amnesty International has declared Israel an Apartheid state[2]. · Israel has killed five times as many Palestinians in 2022 than it killed in the same period in 2021[3], including the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque that injured over 150 Palestinians This JCR believes: · Exeter College should do whatever possible to show solidarity with Palestine amidst this international crisis. · Exeter College should similarly ensure that Palestinian students, and students who identify with the Palestinian cause in Oxford, feel adequately supported by the college. · Exeter College should aim to contribute towards humanitarian missions in Palestine.

This JCR therefore resolves to: · Buy a Palestine flag to display in the JCR. · Donate £100 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Proposer : Jack Klein Seconded: Sara Pelham

T

he newest LGBTQ+ nightclub, Glamorous Oxford, celebrated its opening night this week on Friday 20th May.

Already a well-established chain in Birmingham and Coventry, the company’s website describes Glamorous as ‘a blend of a modern cocktail bar and nightclub’. It offers a site for ‘after work drinks, a preclub drink or a nightcap with some friends’ and a ‘chic underground room for the ultimate party’. Excitingly, the venue also promises ‘award winning international drag artists, top UK drag artists and resident DJs’ — a welcome addition for the Oxford LGBTQ+ community.

While Plush is Oxford’s reigning LGBTQ+-oriented clubbing scene, and the Jolly Farmers a more relaxed pub-like environment, new owner Matt Eason has emphasised his hopes to integrate the fusion nightclub-bar Glamorous into the existing LGBTQ+ nightlife at Oxford rather than ‘cannibalise’ any business.

Eason told the Oxford mail: “It is about being part of the community, not coming into Oxford being like the ‘big I am’ because we have a venue in Birmingham.

“We are here to complement what is already in the city.”

If anything, Eason stresses that Glamorous’ arrival as the third new LGBTQ+ space should be viewed as an extremely positive addition, since “the more that is going on, the better for the com-

munity”.

Glamorous is situated neatly on St. Clement’s Road, in a different part of the city from Plush and the Jolly Farmers. Helpfully, the venue is only a 5 minute walk away from the city centre, and 15 minutes from the train station.

One clubber, went on the opening night on Friday, told us that “my experience of Glamourous was a mixed one: the queue was long for opening night, understandably, however waiting for forty minutes does peter out interest.

Saying that, once I got inside, the first floor could be described as a cleaner version of hanks.

With your typical cheesy tunes, glamarous is a good edition to Oxford nightlife even if it isn’t unique. It is important to have another LGBTQ+ friendly space in Oxford, since given current state of affairs, Oxford sorely needs them.”

One worry expressed to me by another club-goer was that the queue was close to the Plain roundabout which is one of the more dangerous roadways in Oxford. Hopefully, the queue was just as a result of the excitement for opening night, and the venue will not see the high demand.

The venue will be open Monday to Sunday, from 12pm to 3am, including a daily happy hour from opening time until 11pm. be quiet or polite about it.”

6 | News

St Benet’s Hall announces that university will not renew its official licence Cont. from page 1

(Cont.) The recent failure of St Benet’s Hall to renew its licence as a PPH at the University of Oxford, cannot hence ensure the sustenance of its Oxford-run education, offices, or accommodation facilities.

In response to the announcement, the Joint Common Room (JCR) at St Benet’s Hall has called for an Extraordinary JCR meeting to discuss the issue further. The current JCR President, Julian Danker, says that “the JCR is as surprised as anyone else to hear about this latest development. This is sad news to everyone who knows Benet’s as a lovely and unique place in Oxford. We are working as hard as we can together with the Hall and the University to ensure that students’ experience is disrupted as little as possible”.

Dominic Enright, former St Benet’s Hall JCR President, and a current member of our Senior Editorial team, says that, “Benet’s is the most unique institution at this prestigious university. To know there is a high possibility of it not having a long term future is difficult.”

Dominic continues, “while I know that my fellow students and I will find it hard, I wanted to make special mention to the staff – both academic and nonacademic, who have been at this institution for decades, and for whom this announcement will be all the harder to hear.”

Students are reassured that the PPH is determined to ensure that the quality of academic teaching and welfare will remain consistent within university standards, despite the ongoing uncertainty, and that the Hall is still willing to offer as much support wherever they can.

Members of the college are urged to get in touch with the Senior Tutor and Deputy Academic Registrar if further queries or concerns arise.

As of 19.03hrs on 16/5/2022, relevant staff from St Benet’s Hall have been contacted in request for comment.

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

HRH Prince Charles visits Oxford University Samuel Kenny News Reporter

P

rince Charles visited Oxford on Friday to open Trinity college’s new Levine Building, costing £30 million, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. The Levine building is Trinity college’s first major upgrade in more than 50 years and includes a new state-of-the-art auditorium for lectures and performances. It has purpose-built teaching rooms, student bedrooms, a function room, and an informal study area with a café.

Trinity College which was founded in 1555, has a financial endowment of £164 million, and is the 11th richest Oxford college.

Despite its large physical size, the college is relatively small in terms of student numbers at approximately 400, making it the 9th richest for assets per student.

Prince Charles arrived through Trinity College’s Broad Street gates in style in a blue electric Audi. The Prince of Wales apologised for being 40 minutes late after being caught in heavy traffic on the M4 and M40.

He joked “I’ve now done a comprehensive tour of Reading and Pangbourne. I feel awful that you were left waiting outside for me to arrive”

Prince Charles called the new building a “building worthy of this historic site”. He was speaking at a ceremony attended by members of the college’s govern-

ing body, students, and staff, as well as college President Dame Hilary Boulding, and Oxford University Chancellor Lord Patten.

Prince Charles told those in attendance “I can only congratulate you all on the vital work you do and the generosity of spirit that underpins it.

“And ladies and gentlemen, that same generosity has clearly infused the development of this building.

“So many former students contributed to the fundraising campaign, no doubt because of their own memorable and lifechanging experiences here and the desire to make that possible for others.”

Dame Hilary Boulding said it was a “huge privilege” to have the prince open the new development.

She called it a “wonderful build-

ing which will transform what we can offer our students and academics”, as well as Oxfordshire school students and the wider Oxford community”.

The building is named in remembrance of the parents of Peter Levine. The former student, who donated to the project, also met the prince during his visit.

Prince Charles made an unexpected Covid comment while opening the new building, mentioning the university’s “vital” role in creating the covid vaccine. The future King praised “the benefits that Oxford can bring in a local national and global scale”. “The impact of this work was never more apparent, I think than during the past two years when Oxford’s scientists produced a vaccine to combat covid in an extraordinary race against the clock,” he said. “The work of your academics, as we have seen, is making a real difference in people’s lives” he continued.I can only congratulate you all on the vital work you do and the generosity of spirit that underpins it.”

After visiting Trinity College, he travelled south to University College where he was greeted

by Baroness Valerie Amos, the first black head of an Oxford College. Here, he met with student committee members of underrepresented backgrounds. These included students who were either recipients of the Amos Bursary, to support talents of African and Caribbean heritage, or from Opportunity Oxford, a programme to support Oxford University offer holders. In the presence of both His Royal Highness and the Baroness, students recounted their journey to the university.

After the discussion, a picture was taken with the panel and the Prince left via the now less busy M40.

Prince Charles’s visit comes at a time just as he’s taking over more responsibilities from his mother, the 96-year-old monarch. Charles only a couple of days before his visit to Oxford, performed for the first time, the sacred state opening of Parliament. However, the Queen attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show as part of her Jubilee celebrations at the weekend in her first public appearance since March.

Image credits: the Household of TRH Prince of Wales and Duchess

Friday 27 April 2022 | The Oxford Student

Comment

Comment | 9

Editors: Daniel Kovacs, Shivanii Arun, Tom Elliott (deputy), Kylah Jacobs (deputy), Samuel Kenny (deputy) comment@oxfordstudent.com

Does trashing belong in the bin?

by Florence ALLEN

O

xford is full of strange and eccentric traditions, and while many of them may verge towards being pretentious or simply bizarre, these traditions arguably give the University and its community its character. As a result, the majority of Oxford students are somewhat attached to these traditions (however begrudgingly they might admit it), particularly when it comes to making exams slightly less monotonous. One only has to look at the 2015 vote on whether to keep the tradition of wearing sub fusc for exams. Although this may seem uncomfortable, impractical, and wholly unnecessary, the vote resulted in 75.8% of students showing their support for its continuation.

Although the tradition was criticised as being elitist and archaic, many argued that it was instead egalitarian, putting people from all backgrounds on the same level. It also can’t be denied that many students enjoy being able to have the fun of feeling fancy to cheer them up on an otherwise dreaded day.

students as they finish provides an opportunity for the release of all the immense stress that has built up over the weeks of revision leading up to it. This somewhat beloved tradition, however, is similarly controversial, due to its detrimental effects on the environment. In a push to become more environmentally conscious, the University has put a strict ban on the practice, making students liable for a £150 fine. As the University website points out, trashing can result in plastic pollution, damage to the local environment through littering, and an average of £45,000 annually being spent on cleaning up, which could otherwise be spent on better resources and facilities.

Trashing serves a similar function, acting as a source of relief after the seemingly endless slog of exams.

The decades-old tradition of hurling confetti, shaving foam, silly string, and anything else suitably messy at

Although the University has optimistically suggested substitute ways to celebrate the end of exams, such as a daytrip, a night out, or attending socials, these are things that people would probably have been doing

The University is still taking a firm stand against trashing, even if it is done using environmentally friendly materials.

anyway, and are arguably simply not on a par with covering your friends with the messiest substances you can get your hands on. Students’ enthusiasm to keep the tradition of trashing has been shown by the great lengths that some have gone to find biodegradable and environmentally friendly trashing materials.

Some have replaced the use of Holi powder with biodegradable and bioproduced cornstarch powder that has been dyed with organic food dye, rather than the toxic or carcinogenic chemical dyes typically used.

Confetti has also been replaced in some instances with dried petals and water-soluble food dyed confetti, made from cellulose.

Despite this, the University is still taking a firm stand against trashing, even if it is done using environmentally friendly materials. The University website states that this is because “even biodegradable materials have a negative impact on the environment”. Although the University doesn’t explicitly state this, having two different policies with one applying to non-biodegradable trashing and one applying to environmentally friendly materials would be extremely difficult to control, particularly because at a glance the different materials can appear the

same as each other. There is also the question of whether the majority of students would actually commit and use environmentally friendly materials, as they tend to be quite difficult as well as more expensive to acquire, and are currently mostly provided through often painstaking work on behalf of JCR environmental reps.

of £150 to any students caught trashing shows a blatant disregard for the issues that Oxford has with accessibility, and the unequal consequences that fining has on its student body.

It is also worth questioning whether a complete ban on such a beloved tradition is really the way to go forward. To the greatest extent possible, becoming more sustainable should be about adapting our habits to cater to the climate, rather than stopping them completely.

The practice of fining students as a means of disciplinary action The University’s ban on trashing is both outdated and in order to protect the environment may well be a necessary measure, classist particularly as so many students are so passionate about climate acAs much as it is painful to admit, tion. However, the use of fining to trashing is essentially an unsustain- enforce the ban is certainly not the able practice which needs to be at right way to go about it. Like most least reformed if not entirely discon- rules enforced by the University, tinued. Yet the University seems to it also deserves to be questioned be going about this in completely the by students, particularly in terms wrong way. The practice of fining of whether an all-out ban is really students as a means of disciplinary necessary when students are going action is both outdated and classist, to such measures to make trashing disproportionately affecting students environmentally friendly. from less privileged backgrounds.

This has already been raised multiple times regarding other disciplinary fines, to the extent that the issue is now recognised and the practice has been discontinued by many colleges.

For the University to threaten fines IMAGE CREDIT: skittledog (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

10 | Comment

The Oxford Student | Friday 29 April 2022

Is a Charles regency the way forward for the British monarchy? by Samuel KENNY Humanist One

O

Currently, the monarchy is inching closer to a regency in all but name.

Each and every year, the Queen seems to be slowly withdrawing from public life, giving more and more responsibilities to her son Charles, the Prince of Wales. Charles now does most public events for his mother, with the Queen heavily relying on virtual events for her public duties. It’s understandable that the Queen is becoming frailer, given that she

is 96 years old (and still in remarkable health for her age). However, this is a new issue for the monarchy. Yes, Britain has had monarchs who were frail – or who, like George III, went mad – and the Regency Act was needed then.

But it has never had a monarch reach their late 90s. The problem is the Queen is still mentally sound, with more skill and experience performing her royal duties than any other member of the Royal Family. The issue is she is being let down by her body.

The Queen seems to be slowly withdrawing from public life As the Queen becomes less public, what position is she leaving the monarchy in? Could the monarchy afford a regency or is it too reliant on Elizabeth 1st? Queen Elizabeth herself has a sky-high approval rating of 75%. She is by far the most popular governmental and monarchical figure, whereas her son Charles sits on only 50% approval. The Queen’s longevity and service have made her instrumental to British life. Most people love and respect her, and she’s an integral part of British culture. But that’s the issue for the monarchy: it’s the Queen people feel attached to, not the institution itself. This poses a significant question. Does the monarchy have to keep utilising Queen Elizabeth even as she gets frailer or slowly wean people off her so that

they get more used to Charles?

Would a regency increase Charles’ popularity and help secure the monarchy’s future?

I believe it’s quite clear that it would. The Queen would still be the monarch and the official head of state, but Charles, under the Regency Act of 1937, would take over all of her engagements. He would be known as Prince Regent, a more senior title, and would become the monarch in all but name. The bigger role and greater amount of publicity could help Charles demonstrate that he is a capable leader and in tune with the nation.

At the climate summit in Glasgow, Charles demonstrated his strong environmentalist views by giving a very well-received speech. If Charles were to be allowed to express himself more, and at larger events, it could do great things for the way he is received by the public.

No one wants to see the Elizabethan age draw to a close but sadly one day it must However, a problem that lies with this course of action is the Queen herself. Would she, as long as she was in possession of mental competency, ever allow a regency? The Queen committed on her ascension to the throne when her father George VI passed away that she would serve all of us from this moment to

death as our Queen. The Queen has already done a lifetime of public service, and she is beloved because of that, but she feels it’s her duty to carry on to the end.

No one wants to see the Elizabethan age draw to close but sadly one day it must.

To ensure that the institution of monarchy survives, the Queen must allow her son more of the limelight and more of the responsibility Queen Elizabeth II has reigned over this great United Kingdom for 70 years. Her reign is not only unprecedented in British history, but she is also only the third monarch in European history to reach 70 years on the throne and she is the longest-reigning female monarch ever. Her reign represents modern Britain and our changing role in the world since the Second World War. It will be an immensely sad day when she leaves us but, so that we don’t lose our attachment completely to the monarchy when she passes, she must allow her son to become regent to prepare us for the reign of Charles III.

Image Credit: shining.darkness (CC BY 2.0)

n Tuesday the 10th of May, something fundamental happened in regard to the future of the monarchy. For the first time in 59 years, Queen Elizabeth did not perform her royal duty to open the new Parliament. This sacred royal duty, performed by the monarch, is argued to be the most important ceremonial role of the year. Prince Charles deputised for his mother, and Prince William also appeared alongside his father.

Not only did this give us a glimpse of the future, more slimmed-down, monarchy after Elizabeth, it also presents us with an evergrowing problem: because of the Queen’s continually declining health (she isn’t sick or poorly but sadly just getting ever frailer), people have begun to speak ever more about a regency being needed. If the Queen can’t carry out her basic duties as monarch, then surely a regency must be enacted? But would the monarchy benefit from that decision?

The Oxford Student | Friday 29 April 2022

Comment | 11

Perseverance

Why we must stand with Ukraine František Ježek writes that the West must continue to provide full support to the Ukrainian people

A

As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth

month, one ought to start wondering about its possible outcomes, and what may happen in the interim. It became clear long ago that Putin’s original intention of sweeping the country, overthrowing the government and presumably installing his allies in their place was based on a gross misassessment of the spirit of the Ukrainian people.

Currently, it seems that the Russian forces are mounting an offensive in the east of Ukraine, having previously abandoned the Kiev front entirely. It is said that the country is now facing the toughest phase since the first weeks of the war. At the same time, the United States has pledged another $40 billion in aid to Ukraine. As it currently stands, it seems that both Ukraine and Russia have plenty left to give, and at least one of the belligerent sides seems not to care about the toll of the war at all.

As a result, it is clear already that, as with any war,

there will be an extraordinary toll on Ukraine and its people. Beyond the most imminent tragedy of the countless lives of brave soldiers and civilians, of innocent men, women and children lost, there are many others. Large parts of the country have been destroyed by the invading Russian forces, leading to the displacement of almost 13 million

Ukrainians, which is almost a quarter of its people.

Many of them will not have homes to return to at all, which means that they will either have to rebuild, stay elsewhere in the country or remain abroad – mostly in European countries to the west of Ukraine.

It is precisely those last three points, alongside military aid, that the governments and people of Europe and the world have so generously been helping with, and which we ought to keep helping with in order to provide for the people of Ukraine.

Some suggest that it be best for Ukraine to agree to cede some territory to Russia in order to appease Putin and to put an end to the war. However, not only does President Zelensky’s government seem distinctly uninterested in this course of action, the very idea that the attacked should yield to the attacker to protect itself is unjust and impractical.

It is clear already that, as with any war, there will be an extraordinary toll on Ukraine and its people

I would hope that the world has moved past a point where ‘bigger army diplomacy’ is applied, particularly not in practice. As this is clearly not the case, we must stand behind Ukraine. They are not only fighting for their lives – they are fighting for ours. To the rest of Europe, particularly to countries like Slovakia, Hungary, Poland or, indeed, my home-country, the Czech Republic, Ukraine provides a line of defence that is rather too close for comfort. If we told Putin now that he can bully his way towards territorial gains, what is to stop him from proclaiming the government of Ukraine a ‘Nazi regime’ once more, and what is to stop him from putting such ridiculous labels on the rest of Europe? History remembers all too well what happened before the Second World War, precisely to countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and the likes, and it was certainly not helped by a policy of appeasement.

Looking across the globe, the brave resistance of the people of Ukraine sends a message to other thug regimes, like the communist government of China, which may very well have been more inclined to pursue an offensive against Taiwan if the Russian war effort had gone to plan.

As with most things in life, facing an issue headon, as early as possible, is not only the morally right

thing to do, it also prevents the issue from growing into disaster. Similarly, as with most things in life, it will be the persistent efforts of the people of Ukraine, backed by the international community, which will – and I have no doubt about this – inevitably defeat the evil Russian regime in its entirely unjust and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

We must stand behind Ukraine.

They are not only fighting for their lives – they are fighting for ours What we must do in the interim, and what we will have to continue to do once the war is won, is to aid the people of Ukraine, not only militarily, but also by providing humanitarian aid, by welcoming Ukrainian refugees with open arms, and by helping fund the eventual reconstruction of the country. Because as brilliant as many of the people of Ukraine who have had to leave their home country are, we must help them rebuild their country and return to it if they so choose.

IMAGE CREDIT: eltpics (CC BY-NC 2.0)

12 | Features

Features

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

Editors: Anna Davidson, Marietta Kosma Deputy Editors: Ciaron Tobin, Maya Szaniecki features@oxfordstudent.com

AFROTASTIC:

NEURODIVERGENCY AT OXFORD

Bronwyn Riani I

recently had the joy of attending an event with neurodiverse people from all over the university community, to discuss a new young adult novel by Oxford resident and graduate Kala Allen Omeiza, called ‘Afrotistic’. Neurodiversity at Oxford is a new group set up by some of my tutors at St Anne’s, and I feel honoured to go to a college that has such a focus on intersectionality and welfare for all of its students.

The seminar allowed students and staff to share a space to think about intersectionality and disability. We started speaking about the cultural side of this, such as a great example taken from Allen Omeiza’s novel.

At one point the protagonist, a 15-year-old black girl with a love of AI tech, writes an essay on the social responsiveness scale, and its use in diagnosing autism. Noa (the protagonist) tells it like it is, explaining how these tests use an outward perspective that ‘measures how cool you are.’ She points out that it’s not fair to compare the white American male archetype of autism to everyone. Why should, she argues, her relatives in Sierra Leone who have a very different social culture to Americans, be tested by its social standard?

From this, we moved to talking about intersectionality. One of my favourite quotes

from one attendee was “Ableism isn’t racism, but for disabled people, and racism isn’t ableism but for ethnic minorities.”

Within the discussion there was definitely a sense of coming together over shared experience.

I can’t speak from personal experience about immigration, but I can share the brilliantly eloquent ideas of some of the young people around me. They elaborated on the socioeconomic pressures there are to succeed as a BAME immigrant, and how neurodivergence can be seen as a failure within that community structure. But they also spoke about how, despite the fact that autism, ADHD, OCD, and other conditions can be seen as weaknesses, this misguided concern comes from a place of love. There was so much nuance and understanding throughout this meeting.

Within the discussion there was definitely a sense of coming together over shared experience. Over the vibrant characters in Allen Omeiza’s book, and the joy of a neurodiverse hero. In my reading of Afrotistic, I personally found it really refreshing to see autism portrayed not as a ‘personality trait’ but as an innate part of who Noa is. She is unafraid of this label. Back in Oxford, this concept led us to discuss the neurodiverse

embrace of labels, from gender and sexuality, to friendship groups (Noa names her autism group the Roaring Pebbles and it’s adorable). I found Allen Omeiza’s book to be really refreshing in terms of this representation. As our group discussed how ‘disabled’ is a negative label to some, one group member expressed that “The term ‘disabled’ for a disabled person grants innate recognition of the needs you have and, for me, that’s validating.”

Allen Omeiza creates a wonderful cast of characters, and a character-driven novel that highlights the teenage joy of finding your people. The Roaring Pebbles group welcomes anyone, autistic or not, and I found it so joyful to have a character whose parents were so kind. This kindness was really highlighted in a moment in the book where they install a ramp to the basement where the group meets, without asking questions. The conflict for this novel comes from within the characters themselves, not from miscommunication or a set antagonist.

This meant that, for me, it really felt like a novel by an autistic person who truly understands her own experience and managed to capture a subtlety in her writing.

To have such an unabashed and clear example of a black, autistic teen girl as a star

of a book for kids brings tears to my eyes.

To have such an unabashed and clear example of a black, autistic teen girl as a star of a book for kids brings tears to my eyes.

I would have loved this book as a child, and I can’t wait to read more of what Allen Omeiza has to write, and attend more events from Neurodiversity at Oxford.

Kala Allen Omeiza’s book Afrotistic is available to purchase on Amazon, and make sure to also check out the Neurodiversity at Oxford group if you’re interested!

“Within the discussion there was definitely a sense of coming together over shared experiences.”

Features | 13

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

N

othing makes us feel more connected as a continent than the Eurovision Song Contest.

This annual competition involves contestants from all over Europe (and Australia,

The first semi-final led to countries like Ukraine, the Netherlands and Greece passing through at first, second and third respectively. Ukraine was a popular favourite from the start that led the televote, while Greece and the Netherlands presented emotional ballads that were wellreceived by the jury, who ranked them first and second respectively in the jury table.

Viral songs such as those from Norway and Latvia also featured in this

:A N O SI

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for some reason) performing songs selected by their national broadcaster with the hope that they will be crowned the winner. It is a celebration that fosters connections amongst Europeans as we all eagerly watch the best (and sometimes the weirdest) of what Europe has to offer.

whether or not to compete; sometimes, they are disqualified, as was the case with Russia this year. Countries may also choose not to compete due to financial reasons or as a protest against the inclusion of other countries, or they may simply be unable to join the competition if they are not members of the European Broadcasting Union.

Then came the final. This included a variety of strong acts repeated from the first and second semifinals, along with the acts of the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The acts of the Big 5 varied; a particularly captivating performance from Spain’s Chanel became a fan favourite, alongside the powerful vocals of the UK’s Sam Ryder, who performed his song “Space Man”. Other new songs included an Italian ballad, a German rap/pop song sung in English and the French Celtic electronica entry sung in Breton.

The discrepancy between jury and at-home votes was pretty clear in the final this year, leading to some massive rearrangements in the leadership table once televotes were added to the jury votes. Australia’s ballad “Not the Same” by Sheldon Riley clearly impressed judges, who gave it 123 points – however, at-home voters only gave the song 2 points. Similarly, while Switzerland’s ballad “Boys Do Cry” got 78 votes from the jury, it received no points from televoters.

The op-

PE

AN

posite phenomenon also occurred – the Moldovan folk-rock song “Trenulețul” got only 14 points in the jury votes but scored an impressive 239 televotes, making it the second-highest entry in terms of televotes and moving it from 20th to 7th overall.

RE

There is usually a discrepancy between athome voters and jury voters; a 2017 study showed that juries tended to prefer traditional songs like ballads while televotes would go towards more risky or unusual acts. However,

SU

In the second semi-final, the favourites included Sweden, Australia and Serbia. Interestingly, Sweden’s “Hold Me Closer” won more votes (396) in the second semifinal than Ukraine (334) did in the first semifinal, despite Ukraine winning in the overall final.

Other songs that made it through to the final included cowboy-themed “Hope” from Estonia, which the jury voted in as third, or the dance track “Llámame” from Romania.

A popular entry that didn’t make it through was Brooke Scullion representing Ireland, who presented a catchy pop track called “That’s Rich” which will be definitely featuring in my Spotify Top 100 this year. Interestingly, Azerba jan’s performance in the second semifinal led to zero votes from the public, but 96 votes from the jury – these jury votes pushed it into the final as the 10th act to qualify.

EA TR

This year, Eurovision had two semi-finals with 17 countries in the first and 18 countries in the second; the top 10 from each semi-final then progressed to the finals, where they performed again in addition to performances from the nations who are the biggest financial contributors (France, Germany, UK, Spain and Italy). The votes were tallied, with 50% coming from professional juries and 50% coming from the public. The geographical composition of Eurovision changes every year as countries decide

RO

Eurovision songs are iconic. They are what make the competition so fun – it’s the only contest where you wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest when an Icelandic ballad is immediately followed by a folk-rock song about a train going from Chisinau to Bucharest. Historically, songs in English have had greater chances of success, but this is changing as more winners sing in their own language. The songs reflect the diversity of Europe; this year, the Serbian entry consisted of a critique of the Serbian healthcare system sung in Serbian and Latin, featuring a woman repeatedly washing her hands in a little sink and wondering how to get hair like Meghan Markle’s. Concerningly reminiscent of a cult, but a typical Eurovision song nonetheless.

semifinal, with Latvia’s song “Eat Your Salad” about… environmentalism… unfortunately failing to secure a place in the final.

Other notable acts include Slovenia, whose band consisted of five teenagers singing a satisfyingly upbeat song about a disco with saxophone solos throughout, or Portugal’s ethereal indie pop entry “saudade, saudade”.

EU

The Eurovision Song Contest has a colourful history of diverse acts. From Maneskin’s “Zitti e Buoni” last year to 1974, to when ABBA catapulted to global stardom following their performance of “Waterloo”, Eurovision’s importance to pop culture should not be ignored. More recently, this is evident on platforms like TikTok, where the songs of Eurovision winners like Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade” have gone viral. Even when songs don’t win, they can still become immensely popular – this year’s UK entry “Space Man” reached number 2 on the chart despite ending up as the runner-up in the competition.

this year there may have been more happening behind the scenes. The European Broadcasting Union, responsible for the Eurovision competition, announced that the national juries of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino were removed from Eurovision 2022 due to “irregular voting” during the second semi-final and votes were replaced by an aggregated voting system mimicking the patterns of previous years. These countries have recently retaliated with threats to leave the Eurovision competition and assertions that the EBU was “authoritarian” in their decision to remove the national juries from the competition.

From the dreaded “nul points” last year to being awarded jury favourite in 2022, the rise of the United Kingdom in Eurovision has shocked viewers. Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” outperformed expectations, and viewers were shocked as country after country awarded the UK the coveted 12 points – in fact, eight juries in total gave the UK the top score. UK typically has performed poorly in the Eurovision in recent years, with critics often attributing

it to the fraught relationship between the UK and Europe post-Brexit. However, Sam Ryder showed everyone that with a high-caliber song, the UK can be in with a chance to win.

The overall winner, though, was Ukraine.

Five countries gave Kalush Orchestra’s song “Stefania” 12 points; however, this number was dwarfed by the televoting results. Ukraine received 439 points in the televote – this is more than any country in the history of Eurovision. With this, Ukraine sailed through with a 165 point lead to be crowned winners and given the rights to host the next Eurovision.

Ultimately, Eurovision brings us together as a continent. Never have I been invested in the songs of obscure European nations more than during their performances on the Eurovision stage. Watching countries root for each other in the stadium, like when the Romanian entrant danced along to Ukraine’s song or when the UK entrant comforted the Swiss entrant post-voting, inspires hope in the idea of European camaraderie. Eurovision leads to some strange music, but it also brings out the best in Europe. Now, let’s begin the long wait for Eurovision 2023 in Ukraine.

ISABEL SCHMIDT

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

14 |Profile

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan

discusses poetry, politics, and dismantling institutions of power with outgoing Editor, Dania Kamal Aryf.

S

uhaiymah and I exchanged far too many emails over the past year, before we finally had the chance to speak on the phone. The chaotic sounds of traffic on her end of the line, with consistently terrible signal on mine, meant that our plans to speak to each other could’ve nearly been thwarted, yet again.

Thankfully, this time, luck was finally on our side. When we finally got on the call, we both laughed at the hilarity of the situation – considering how I initially reached out to her in March 2021, yet eventually having to repeatedly postpone this eventual conversation due to a string of endless circumstances on both ends.

I first found out about Suhaiymah through her poetry, several years ago as a young teenager fresh out of high-school who was only beginning to explore the spoken-word scene. Soon, I realised we had a lot more in common than just poetry – she also studied History at university, is visibly a Muslim woman in a world that continues to have its endless pre-conceptions and misunderstandings about Muslim women, and I resonated a lot

with her outspoken political views. She also pursued her undergraduate degree at Cambridge, and is hence familiar with the many complexities that comes with merely being yourself in a place like Cambridge and Oxford where merely existing as an outlier sometimes already feels radical.

She published her first poetry collection, Postcolonial Banter in 2019, and more recently, in March 2022, her first non-fiction book, ‘Tangled in Terror: Untangling Islamophobia’. Alongside her essays and articles being published in several other publications, she is also one of the co-authors of ‘A FLY Girl’s Guide to University: Being a Woman of Colour at Cambridge and other Institutions of Elitism and Power’. Suhaiymah hosts a podcast, Breaking Binaries, and has also been involved in several documentaries, theater performances, and has dabbled in the art of playwriting.

When I ask her to introduce herself, she tells me that she identifies as a poet, writer, and educator, and how a lot of her work is mainly centred around “the sharing of ideas.” She continues to explain how a lot of love and

care” is involved in what she does, and that she is driven by, “belligerent optimism that the world can be changed, and that we are accountable for what we do.”

her time at university. She wrote frequently for the Cambrige-based blog, FLY, and it was also at the same time she began exploring her

I listen to her speak with my phone on loudspeaker, and smile wistfully as she e x plains why she has not yet given up or let go of that ‘belligerent optimism.’ I tell her that I genuinely admire her outlook on things, despite both of us recognising how exhausting it can be sometimes when working within – or against – institutions of power that have adamantly been resistant to meaningful change.

She tells me more about her experiences at university, and co-authoring ‘A FLY Girl’s Guide to University’ (often shortened to just ‘FLY’) with several other women of colour at Cambridge who mainly felt the same way. I could not emphasise enough how I stumbled upon this book some time last year after I had recently suspended my studies , and found it to be the most reassuring thing to have been published.

She explains how the book came into fruition, when a group of them decided that it would be meaningful to collectively put out the sort of writing that was deliberately meant for a specific target audience: namely, young and impressionable women of colour within instiutions of power.

There was an initial reluctance to even publish it, Suhaiymah tells me, because of how they did not want this project to seem like mere lip service to ‘diversity and inclusion’, or to be co-opted by these institutions themselves as performative substitutes to radical and meaningful change.

When I ask her about the inception of her writing career, she tells me that she only began properly writing during

interest in poetry.

“At university when I was really depressed, it was actually the college nurse who encouraged me to write poetry for the first time. I then realised how therapeutic it was, and it was only some time after that, that I properly started to really enjoy it.”

She continues to explain that poetry is one of the most accessible forms of art due to how ‘instant’ it is, and how visceral the process of writing and consuming it can be.

“I never enjoyed poetry or literature much when I was in school, mainly because of the way it was taught. All those years, I assumed ‘poetry’ was mainly an elitist, boring form of literature that could only be enjoyed if you were familiar with classical Western authors and cannons that most people who aren’t from a conventional European, upper-middle class background would struggle to understand,” she says. . . . . .

Before our conversation draws to a close, I take the opportunity to ask, “Would you say you genuinely enjoyed your time at Cambridge?”

Suhaiymah pauses. “That’s an interesting question. I think it was definitely very difficult.

I definitely appreciate the experiences I’ve had, the genuine connections and the true friends that I’ve made from my time there, but I don’t know about ‘enjoyed’...”

She continues, “but if I look back and think, ‘would I do it again?’ the answer would probably be no, I don’t think I could. Knowing everything I know now, I don’t think I could put myself through that again. But, having said that, would I be who I am today without having gone there? I don’t think so. From a viewpoint of ‘what is meant t o happen will happen’, I do think that it was meant for me. It definitely politicised me in a way that would not have happened if f I had gone to a different university – maybe I would have had more of a fun time if I ended up somewhere else, but I don’t I would have become the person I am now if it weren’t for my experiences at university.”

I don’t think I could. Know ing everything I know now, I don’t think I could put myself through that again. But, having said that, would I be who I am today without having gone there? I don’t think so. From a viewpoint of ‘what is meant to happen will happen’, I do think that it was meant for me. It definitely politicised me in a way that would not have happened if f I had gone to a different university – maybe I would have had more of a fun time if I ended up somewhere else, but I don’t I would have become the person I am now if it weren’t for my experiences at university.” * The conversation in this print edition has been edited for brevity.

The full piece can be found online, via www.oxfordstudent.com

Profile | 15

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Designs Designs of of Dissent Dissent

Dania Kamal Aryf, outgoing Editor-in-Chief.

In conversation with Malaysian activist and graphic designer, Fahmi Reza

I

t was a Sunday afternoon when I was offered the sudden, surprising opportunity to sit down face-to-face with Fahmi Reza for a conversation. We found ourselves in the most unlikely setting; Within the cramped kitchen of a friend’s student apartment in London, I sat with my laptop and notebook preparing a list of last-minute questions as chaotic and unexpected as this interview came to be.

The faint rhythm of 70s rock music continued to hum in the background as we spoke. My friends had been enthusiastically blaring tunes from classic rock bands in the room beside this kitchen, even long before I had arrived. Looking back, it might have probably been much more characteristic to have sat in there than in this sterile, silent kitchen – it was a room adorned with beautifully large windows, colourful protest posters across its walls, and an unrelenting sense of youthful political adrenaline.

My easily distracted mind immediately shifts back to focus on Fahmi, who remains seated across me on a plastic chair at this square-fit-into-the-corner-

of-the-wall, Ikea dining table. I ask him to ‘introduce himself.’

I explain how I often ask this ‘very basic question’ to most people I interview, because often, the public already has their own pre-conceived perceptions of high profile individuals, that may not necessarily be accurate.

Yet, speaking to anyone on a personal level – whether ‘high profile’ or not– and asking them to introduce and themselves to tell their own story, can sometimes offer an entirely different perspective.

Fahmi nods in agreement and pauses momentarily. “Well, I think, if I were to describe or introduce myself with specific labels, then I would probably go with the term ‘political graphic designer’, or a ‘visual activist’ – because a lot of my activism predominantly involves graphic design and visual art,” he says.

“I use other forms of art as well – I’ve made documentary films, videos, participated in theatre, made music, given lectures. I don’t restrict myself to only one form of art, but I do think it all depends on who your target audience is,” he says.

Fahmi Reza has never shied away from his admiration for music, especially punk music –

and explains how his ‘political awakening’ was first incited by his involvement in punk. He emphasises how Punk, as a specific genre and movement has played a pivotal role in political protest and the expression of dissent. In the late 1990s, throughout his time as an Engineering undergraduate at Vanderbilt University in the United States, his interest in punk only continued to intensify.

Back then as a student, he recalls designing his ‘first official poster’ for a punk band, ‘From Ashes Rise’. Shortly after, he also briefly played as a guitarist in a band called,‘Skullcrusher’, upon his return to Malaysia in the early 2000s.

“Despite your previous involvement with other forms of art, would you say you are apprehensive about identifying as an ‘artist’ then?” I ask, curious.

“Hmm... I would not say I am ‘apprehensive’, but I do usually tend to introduce myself as a ‘political graphic designer’ first, instead of an ‘artist.’

In some ways, I definitely am an artist, considering all the work I’ve done. But I believe there’s still a distinction between these terms,” he says.

Fahmi continues to explain, “an artist is someone who uses

creative forms of expression, regardless whether it’s for themselves or for an audience.

Their work is often open, and welcome to other people’s interpretation. But for me, as a political graphic designer, I use the same medium of art to send a very clear message to my audience – I don’t hide the purpose of why I’m creating it, and there is much less ambiguity or open-endedness.”

“So when I produce my artwork, I deliberately hope that people understand the message I am trying to convey. If the message fails to come across, then it means I have failed in my design – and I think this is what I use to distinguish between ‘designer’, and ‘artist,’” he emphasises.

He continues, “over the years, I’ve realised that my graphic designs have so far been the most effective way of getting my messages across, and they have been the most impactful, which is also why I’ve mainly been identifying with this label.

My graphic designs have so far been the main reason why I have been arrested, convicted, fined, and sentenced to jail multiple times. At this point, I’ve been doing graphic design for over

20 years, so it barely feels like ‘work.’ But I guess you could say still say that it’s a medium I use to express my opinions.”

Fahmi Reza’s creativity in expressing such opinions have thus consistently made him an infamous target amongst the Malaysian authorities. While fellow dissenters continue to admire him as a figure of relentless determination with undying loyalty to his principles, many also view him as a ‘provocateur’ and instigator of conflict.

Despite Fahmi’s involvement with graphic design, activism, and community work for more than two decades, his most prominent ‘rise to fame’ mainly happened in 2016, when his clownish caricature of the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak (as pictured above), gained an incredible amount of nationwide – and eventually – international traction.

More recently, Fahmi was intially also blacklisted from leaving Malaysia, only a few weeks prior to his arrival in the UK... *The full interview continues

online, and is available on our website, www.oxfordstudent.com

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18 | Columns

J

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

USA-CHINA: War or Peace?

oe Biden may have made another infamous gaffe when he was in Tokyo on Monday for the QUAD meeting. He appeared to drop the USA’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan when he proclaimed that the USA would intervene militarily if Taiwan was attacked by China. Cue the sharp drop of heads and uncomfortable shuffling in the seats as his national security team realise that there is a reason why he does not do many press conferences or sit down interviews.

It would not be the first time that Joseph Biden has dug himself a whole so deep that he needs Mr Trump to rescue him.

There is a serious point here, which is that the likelihood of a USChina conflict is rising, but it is not inevitable. There is tension, but this does not have to be terminal.

It is fashionable to talk about the end of US hegemony as though the USA’s global power can be dropped and dismissed like some ailing football player as a young academy start-up shines, but this is a gross exaggeration.

The USA’s power is entrenched.

The post-war rules-based international order was crafted by the USA and the USA still dominates the UN, IMF, World Bank and NATO, due to the resources and expertise it contributes and the voting powers it has. The USA’s entrenched power is further evinced by its longstanding alliances. There are the obvious ones, such as its leadership of the Five Eyes alliance and AUKUS, but then this hegemon also has security agreements with Japan,

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South Korea, Thailand and small Pacific states, such as Kiribati. The USA has a preponderance of hard power. Its annual defence budget is almost double that of China’s and it spends more on on defence than all of the rest of NATO combined.

Its soft power is also formidable, as proven by the global influence of American film, media and sports.

This is not to deny that Chinese influence is growing and that China is becoming more assertive, as its recent security agreement with the Solomon Islands illustrates.

The USA remains the hegemon and China has moved beyond being a plucky upstart, as it is entrenching its power through the Belt and Road initiative and its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Great powers tend to copy each other and learn from how their great power rivals acquired their position and China is doing the same through building its entrenched, institutional power. So there are more similarities between the two states than the extremes of left and right will suggest.

Competition between the USA and China is becoming more intense, which is not an inherently negative development, as both states are pushing each other to see who can advance the most in the fields of AI, green technology, robotics, space and advanced manufacturing. This inter-state competition becomes especially problematic if it morphs into becoming intense military tension or if one of the great powers uses illegitimate means (such as intellectual property theft) to steal the march on their competitor in a non-military sphere.

To prevent conflict between the USA and China, the USA must engage from a position of strength, so it can raise the cost of war. Both states must also develop a framework through which they can cooperate on a limited number of areas. They must aim for limited strategic cooperation and allow expansive strategic competition, as history teaches us that great power competition is just a fact of the international system.

As Graham Allison writes on Thucydides’ Trap, in his sample of sixteen cases of where there has been a transition of power from one great power dominating to another great power leading, twelve of these transitions resulted in war between the great powers involved in the transition. There are flaws in his argument, as the causal direction is not unidirectional, because war can also produce shifts in global power, as well as being the result of it. World War Two produced a significant shift in global power towards the USA, as the leading European powers were left militarily and economically exhausted by the war. But Allison draws our attention to a crucial point, which is that great power competition can become great power conflict if both sides do not consciously agree to manage competition.

The USA must engage with China from a position of strength and

this approach is inspired by the Reagan administration’s policy of peace through strength, as it faced down the Soviet Union. The USA must maintain its defence spending levels and especially focus on improving its economic competitiveness through strengthening domestic supply chains. The Biden administration must consolidate old alliances, principally the US-EU relationship and also its relations with Japan and Australia. It must also strengthen the more volatile and vulnerable relationships it has with India, the Philippines and Thailand.

Strengthening alliances is about building an American led balancing coalition to demonstrate to China that any expansionist tendencies that they act on will not go unchecked.

Peace through strength can no longer be achieved through military might alone; the USA must build up its alliances and raise its long-run growth rate. China is less likely to militarily intervene in Taiwan or provide direct military or economic support to Russia in Ukraine if the USA has a fixity of purpose and resolve based on a tripartite system of strength. This system should be based on strong economic growth, a network of alliances and a formidable military.

The USA currently has the latter, but the former rest on shaky

foundations.

The second part of the USA’s strategy should consist of pursuing limited strategic cooperation with China. There are a small number of global issues that both states can cooperate on and cooperation should be practiced in a piecemeal, step-by-step and issue by issue way. The strategy should consist of limited cooperation on tackling climate change, terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons. The word ‘limited’ is crucial, because when there is intense great power competition, it is unrealistic to expect expansive cooperation that is grounded in fraternal relations.

Both states must accept that competition and tension will dominate their relationship in the coming decades, but as long as competition and tension are interrupted by flashes of cooperation, peace can prevail.

Both states must respect the advantages that their rival has and acknowledge that competition can easily become conflict without raising the cost of war. War is not inevitable, but it remains a possibility. Policymakers in Beijing and Washington will hopefully adopt the adage of prepare for the worst and hope for the best. But probably doing more of the former is wise.

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Columns Columns

Reviewing the Colour Schemes of each Boat Club

W

e’ve all been there – you’re stood on the banks of the Isis cheering on your friends as they inevitably get bumped into oblivion by a boat that’s going as fast as a crocodile on crack cocaine.

Then you realise that you have no idea which team just overtook your college’s boat because you haven’t devoted hours of your life to remembering the colours of each team, let alone the rules of whatever’s going on, for the simple reason that you want to do well in your course.

After many hours consulting charts, websites and real, live rowers, I’ve compiled a guide that will help you identify each college. It also lets me give my unwanted opinion on each college’s colour scheme. It’s a win-win situation!

Brasenose Black with some yellow details. The blades are completely black.

Although the glamour of the little black dress is undeniable, this doesn’t translate well to rowing blades or all-in-ones. The ‘Childe of Hale’ colours of red, purple and gold that are usually used for the M1 and W1 boats could really improve the blades, but the college’s overcomplicated coat of arms doesn’t really lend itself to a specific design to be put on the blade. Maybe just adding some stripes would fix it? 5/10.

Hertford Burgundy and black. The blades are burgundy with two vertical white stripes.

The burgundy colour of Hertford’s rowing club is one of the more unique colours to be featured, making it much more memorable that the hordes of blue and white monstrosities that parade down the Isis. It is a shame that the iconic deer head emblem is reserved for the M1 and W1 boats only though. 9/10 Keble Blue, white and red. The blades are white with the iconic red Keble chevron.

No surprises here, the ubiquitous Keble chevron is on both the blades and the all-

in-ones of the Keble boat club. It’s always nice when a brand (or a boat club) has a consistent motif (think the Louis Vuitton monogram or the interlocking Cs of the Chanel logo), and the Keble chevron is no exception. It is a slight let down that the stars on the Keble crest aren’t featured on the all-in-ones though, maybe they could be put on the sides, or on the front as a faux belt? 8/10 Magdalen Black with white details. The blades are black with a white lily.

Florals? For rowing? Groundbreaking.

The design on the blades is nice, but what on earth is going on with the all-in-ones!?

The all black front and backs are fine, if a bit boring, but who approved the strange black-and-white striped side panels? Unfortunately, they come across as slightly clownish. Of course, all rowers are clowns, they just don’t know it. 4/10 Oriel White and navy blue. The blades are navy blue with two vertical white stripes.

There’s something eerily clinical about the predominantly white all-in-ones of Oriel.

In fact, there’s something eerie about Oriel in general. Maybe it’s that statue of Cecil Rhodes. 2/10 St Benet’s Hall Blue and white. The blades are white with a vertical blue stripe.

Everyone’s favourite disaster stricken PPH unfortunately falls into the blue and white trend that plagues many Oxford boat clubs. In comparison, the crest of St Benet’s is a crazy combination of primary colours, so why not lean into this by having more coloured panels on the allin-ones? Alternatively, the navy and blue combo would be fine if there was more white to create a better contrast. 6/10 Your college not rated here? Check the Oxford Student’s website for the full review.

H

ello and welcome back, readers. I’ll admit, COVID has once again really been getting up in my grill recently, especially with the advent of online lessons.

In order to escape the monotony of these online classes, we caught a high-speed rail train to Taiwan’s southern former capital city, Tainan, where we stayed in a charming house with a café underneath it. Here, we did our classes every morning (by every morning I mean just the Thursday morning after we arrived because I conveniently wasn’t woken up by my alarm on Friday).

Known as Taiwan’s former capital city, Tainan is full of temples and forts preserved from periods of Dutch colonisation. In addition, it is known as one of the best places in Taiwan for food (which is saying something!) and has some of the biggest and most famous night markets heaving with people, arcade games and delicacies. Our first day took us to Tainan’s Confucius Temple and the area’s surrounding art galleries. We had dinner in a fish restaurant complete with an entire wooden boat in it and then went to the only club in Tainan, which, as it happens, was closed, presumably because of COV*D. We ended up in a rock-n-roll themed bar nearby, which was completely empty apart from our group, another victim of the virus.

The following day we mounted our motorbikes and tootled on down to Anping Fort, or Fort Zeelandia as it was known by the Dutch colonists who established it. I somehow drew the short straw and ended up stuck in a group of male friends who gathered round at squealed at cannons at regular intervals, discussing whether they were rifled (whatever that means) or not.

During these periods, I would mull over the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ and feel a sense of gratitude to the universe for not knowing, or having an intention to know, certain things.

I somehow drew the short straw and ended up stuck in a group of male friends who gathered round at squealed at cannons at regular intervals, discussing whether they were rifled (whatever that means) or not.

At around sunset, we decided to head home via the scenic route, which seemed like a good idea at the time but in hindsight probably wasn’t. We drove north to a national park full of luscious paddy field-adjacent scenery, where, much to my friend’s chagrin, I fretted and backseat drove the whole way, which blended in harmoniously

Columns | 19

with the sounds of nature around us. Upon encountering several packs of ‘night dogs’ (‘yè gǒu’ - we’ve also heard them referred to as wild dogs, called ‘yě gǒu’ in Chinese, so we might have got the ‘night’ bit wrong), we quickly skedaddled away from said paddy fields. At this point, my friend and I discovered that both our phones were dead, hence no more google maps, and our bike was running very low on petrol, hence no more driving. After losing our only other friend who had a charged phone, we ended up stranded in the middle of Tainan and its convoluted traffic system with no petrol or means to get home. It’s one of those year abroad moments (or YAMs) in which one decides to hastily re-establish a relationship with the divine and pray for a miracle.

Fortunately, God’s help hotline was open that day and we quickly managed to find a petrol station and, by a sympathetic twist of fate, reunite with our friend who had a charged phone. Despite my nerves being rather shot after this incident, I was soon revived by a 7-Eleven hot-dog, and we ended up at Datong night market to sample some snacks and see if we could win any stuffed toys (successful on both fronts).

It’s one of those year abroad moments (or YAMs) in which one decides to hastily re-establish a relationship with the divine and pray for a miracle.

Our final day was marked characteristically by torrential rain. After our group splitting up to see various exhibitions, museums and forts, we ended up sheltering in the tranquillity of an old-style teahouse where we honed our pouring and steeping skills that are customary and necessary in a tea ceremony. A three-hour train took us back up to Taipei, where I am now safely back writing this. Nothing feels like more of a homecoming than arriving back to a notice on the door of our apartment building warning of a routine power cut. Trying to buy a bottle of water in 7-Eleven in a queue behind others paying taxes, picking up packages, doing dry-cleaning, buying train tickets, booking cabs, printing, etc., feels like a familiar comfort. No other place better exemplifies the phrase ‘one-stop-shop’ more than good old 7-Eleven. I am now back to attending in-person lessons and have just a few weeks of term left now. Time flies or whatever. CC xx

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Identity

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

22 | Identity

Editors: Shrishti Kochar, Anmol Kejriwal Deputy Editor: Madi Hopper identity@oxfordstudent.com

Solidarity or Pity ?

Isabel Schmidt discusses the relationship between Eurovision and politics

T

he song “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra broke Eurovision records and was a clear sign of solidarity as people across the continent (and Australia) voted to support Ukraine. However, critics such as Piers Morgan have responded to the record-breaking win by arguing that it was “politically motivated” and characterising it as just a “sympathy vote”.

It is definitely possible that the political atmosphere surrounding Ukraine influenced people’s opinions when it came to the songs this year. However, suggesting that Eurovision has never been political or that “Stefania” was undeserving of a win is misguided, and doesn’t recognise the true point of the contest itself – an event meant to foster unity within Europe.

Firstly, suggesting that votes for Ukraine were cast purely out of sympathy overlooks the fact that “Stefania” is a quality entry. The song “Stefania” is a rap/folk song including traditional Ukrainian woodwind instruments like the sopilka and the telenka – unique entries like these are often favoured by the public. On the 23rd February (one day after Kalush Orchestra’s “Stefania” was chosen as Ukraine’s representative and the day before the invasion of Ukraine occurred), betting odds placed Ukraine as third most likely to win. While the threat of Russian invasion might have influenced people’s opinions on who would win, these betting odds still indicated that Ukraine’s song was seen as a strong contender prior to the extensive news coverage of the Russian invasion that we

see today. This isn’t even the first time that Eurovision has taken place while Russia has attempted to annex Ukrainian territory. The 2014 Eurovision Song Contest took place immediately after Russia annexed Crimea, and Ukraine came sixth in the final – only one place above Russia, who was still allowed to compete. In fact, in relation to the televoting portion of the votes, Russia got 20 more points than Ukraine did despite the annexation of Crimea being a prominent news story in the weeks prior to the competition. Clearly, the political background didn’t influence 2014 voters enough to end up placing the song in first.

Arguing that Ukraine was unfairly favoured also neglects the fact that “Stefania” didn’t even win the jury vote – the UK did.

Ukraine came fourth. The jury verdict in favour of the UK, despite the UK’s fraught relationship with Europe post-Brexit, suggests politics weren’t a critical factor in the decision-making process.

As a result, Kalush Orchestra only won the competition after they were awarded 439 points in the televote. While songs such as “Stefania” that have more traditional or unusual elements have proven to be favoured by televoters over juries in the past, this is the highest number of points ever received in a televote. It’s possible that these at-home voters may have taken the context behind Ukraine’s entry into consideration.

No one is disagreeing with the idea that the events in Ukraine may have influenced some voters’ opinions. However, music is

an inherently emotional thing.

It is unavoidable that European voters would learn about the circumstances of Ukraine through news stories, and that they would connect emotionally with the focus of the song. Knowing that the men of Kalush Orchestra left a battleground to arrive in Turin and had to get special permission to leave Ukraine, or that the Ukrainian broadcaster was operating out of a bomb shelter, led to many people admiring the courage of these people and the country they represented.

Most importantly, the inclusion of voting based on politics is not a new thing. Eurovision is in itself political. Before the competition had even started, Russia and Belarus had been banned from the competition after their involvement in Ukraine. Belarus had in fact also been banned in 2021 due to song lyrics that were interpreted as criticising protestors who were against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.

While there is a rule stating that songs cannot contain overly political lyrics, the enforcement of this rule can vary; in 2016, Ukraine won with “1944”, a song sung in the Crimean language that could be seen as a protest against Russian occupation of Crimea. Clearly, 2022 was not the first time that politics made its way into the contest.

When navigating a Europe-wide song competition where each contestant represents their country, even the inclusion of certain countries can spark controversy and cause backlash from other nations.

Many Arab nations have refused to join the competition in protest of Israel’s presence as a competitor. For example, in 2005 Lebanon pulled out of the contest as there was an Israeli competitor, and laws forbade the broadcasting of the Israeli performance. Other countries that are presumed to avoid Eurovision for the same reason include Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya and Tunisia. Who knows if these countries would win if they sent delegates to the competition?

Kosovo is another country that has been campaigning to join Eurovision but cannot as it is not a part of the European Broadcasting Union. To become a part of this group, Kosovo must be recognised by the United Nations. Since Kosovo’s declaration of independence on the 17th of February 2008, only around 50% of UN states have recognised it as a sovereign state and it is not yet eligible to be recognised by the UN. As a result, people from Kosovo have represented other countries in the competition. Therefore, it could be argued that the entries from these other countries only performed as they did due to the exclusion of Kosovo from Eurovision, and these results were political in nature.

Bloc voting is also a common occurrence in the Eurovision. This refers to when countries will vote for their geographic and cultural neighbours; for example, the jury in Spain gave their 12 points to Portugal this year and vice versa.

Other common incidences of bloc voting include votes being shared between Scandinavian countries and former Soviet countries giving

votes to each other. Less obvious examples of biased political voting can be based on diaspora communities; for example, increased levels of Armenian diaspora in countries like France, Belgium and the Netherlands correlate to increased votes for Armenian acts.

The prevalence of bloc voting is common knowledge amongst Eurovision fans – people will even predict which countries the desired 12 points will be given to, and a deviation from the expected result will lead to jokes about an oncoming political crisis. However, while some countries may have received an advantage from political and cultural relations, statistics have shown that it is possible for any country to win Eurovision. In the 2017 final, Portugal, Bulgaria, Moldova and Belgium all featured in the top four. These are countries which had previously performed poorly yet rose to the top irrespective of any advantages.

Ultimately, critics like Piers Morgan who argue about the unfairness of the result are missing the point entirely. Eurovision isn’t a high-stakes competition. At its core, it is about European unity.

From this perspective, Ukraine’s win is a perfect example of Europeans coming together to support Ukraine. The song “Stefania” was a well-crafted entry, made all the more emotional by its context.

The question of whether the win was “politically motivated” or not ignores the fact that politics are always going to be relevant in a competition between nations.

Image credits: EBU/ Andres Putting

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Entertainment | 23

Review: Omnium Gatherum

by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Enter tainment

Joe Wald

O

mnium Gatherum, the latest release by Australian quasipsychedelic prog rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, is an acid-fuelled fever dream of weirdness. The album is a collection of offcuts, songs which did not fit into previous albums reanimated, made complete, and slotted in amongst a handful of new tunes. It’s a risky strategy for a band renowned for politically charged works on big issues, and those after a hazy yet gritty admonition of the perils of fossil fuel dependence will be disappointed.

But aside from these, or frankly any, expectations, it is a complete work full of humour, profundity, and unique sounds.

Few artists can compete with the prolific ‘Gizzy’ on volume of musical output: astonishingly, this double-LP is the twentieth album that the band has released in a decade. King Gizzard have earned the right to choose their own musical direction and to fly in the face of expectation, and they waste no time in doing so in this album. The first track, ‘The Dripping Tap’ is an unapologetic eighteen-minute thrash, lasting the whole of side A. It opens in the melancholic lounge-pop style of Oddments (2014) before turning up the metal just one minute in. The lyrics and melody of the introduction recur sporadically over the driving distortion-heavy guitar line, and the drums push ahead incessantly. In spite of the speed at which most of the song moves, there is no rush, and eighteen minutes slips by effortlessly.

Frontman Stu Mackenzie’s vocals are mischievously tonguein-cheek and the entire track boasts an attitude of unfazed playfulness. Dizzying, maybe.

Impressive, no doubt.

The title of the album means ‘an assortment of mis-

cellaneous things’, and the freedom of this concept is palpable.

Side B glides through synth-led ‘Magenta Mountain’, a hits-thespot pop track, into the jazz-hop style ‘Kepler-22b’ before moving onto the thuds and grates of metal smash ‘Gaia’. The first four songs have no right to be in the same album, but that doesn’t bother The Gizz. The switches are erratic but the transitions are beautifully crafted and rarely feel forced.

‘Gaia’ melts into ‘Ambergris’ with the ultimate satisfaction and it’s clear that the group is up to this ambitious task.

Not every experiment hits the mark, though. ‘Sadie Sorceress’ is Gizzy’s surprise rap debut, bottled 90s hip-hop mixed with crashbang-wallop bassline funk and poured over pseudo-ironic angst.

It calls back to a strange phase for music, the mid-2000s hey-day of white male American rap: artists with full tattoo

sleeves and names like ‘Mac Lethal’ evacuate their Mid-Western twang all over the floor with a fuzz-pedal bass backing and an indifferent drummer to boot. It doesn’t do it for me. Whilst I am a big fan of the throw-enough-shitsome-of-it-will-stick approach, I think this one will go down as an own goal.

it at once jars and fits seamlessly, simply by virtue of its weirdness

The rest of the album rocks back and forth with the delightful ease of an inside joke. There’s time for silly ideas like ‘The Garden Goblin’ and ‘Presumptuous’, tracks slathered in the indulgent nonchalance and disposable hyperbole of a band pulsating with confidence in its own unique sound. The punchline finally lands with the last four songs. The overdrive vocals of ‘Predator X’ are extreme to

the point of ridicule, which give way to a psychedelic fade-out lasting three songs. ‘Candles’ is a masterclass in the drummer’s ability to entirely dictate the mood of a song. Spooky synth overlays leering vocals and it is the drums which remind us if we weren’t sure before: we needn’t take any of this too seriously. We might think that we’re getting it, but the last laugh is Gizzy’s with ‘The Funeral’.

Search for the meaning if you like, but the inescapable fact is that this album remains ‘an assortment of miscellaneous things’. A perfect cadence would feel wrong at the end of over an hour of chaos; it at once jars and fits seamlessly, simply by virtue of its weirdness.

Omnium Gatherum is a complete work. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard started life out as a jamming outfit and this album illustrates how they have evolved without losing sight of the musical freedom upon which they are founded. It is an album where the overarching point is that there is no overarching point; it takes this as its unifying principle and enacts it uncompromisingly. The album speaks of an uninhibited group of musicians unfazed by external expectations of their sound. Very few of these tracks will make it onto your playlist and some miss the mark entirely, but they’re clearly enjoying themselves in their weird acid-trip delirium, and there’s a lot of joy in being there with them.

Image credits: Mark Derricutt/ Chalice of Blood via Libel Music ltd.

24 | Entertainment

Summer reads: Adrift with Albert Camus

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

Matthew Holland

I

was first introduced to Camus, rather informatively about my internet habits, from a quote on the Reddit page r/ QuotesPorn, taken from the Myth of Sisyphus: “Many people have asked what is the meaning of life. That answer is simple. It is whatever happens to prevent one, in any given moment, from killing themselves.”

This quote spoke to my angsty 16-yearold-self’s obsession with existentialism and philosophy. While I grew out of that obsession, my admiration for Camus has continued and I can’t help feeling that his work continues to speak to me on a philosophical level, as if he understands me and has met me and written a book with express purpose of conveying my deepest thoughts and beliefs.

The first of his numerous works which I read was possibly his most infamous, The Plague, which I bought secondhand from the Last Bookshop in Jericho.

Telling the story of a mysterious plague which inflicts a fictitious coastal town on the French Riviera and set principally in a humid, suffocating summer, this book managed to be both incredibly profound and incredibly light reading all at once.

It invoked memories of my own experi-

Doctor Strange

and the Demilitarisation of the MarvelIndustrial Complex Will Neill

S

poilers to follow.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a glorious disaster: a multi-million dollar, two-hour-long absolute train wreck of a film; the cinematic equivalent of a bathing in a warm septic tank. The film is hot, hot trash. A terrible script, piss-poor special effects, sickening direction. It was awful and I loved it. Perhaps this is my somewhat manic state of mind before my finals, but I laughed so hard at this film that it felt like bullying.

Either this film was written by a seven year old or this is the biggest-budget episode of CBBC’s Prank Patrol to date; with Sam Raimi clearly playing the role of Barney Haywood, and the unwitting child cont-estant being the

ences of summer in the time of a pandemic, appealed to my love of history with its allusions to Nazi tyranny and its metaphor for totalitarianism, and made me dream longingly of spending a summer in a dreamy, quiet French town, which as an Englishman brought up to xenophobically hate France, was a powerful effect to have on a human. While lacking in the depth which one would expect, the characters invoke a humanity that demands sympathy, as they are ground down by the relentless mental and physical toil of fighting back against the eponymous plague.

It was certainly after reading this seminal work that my obsession with Camus became indisputable. I became consumed in researching his life and his personal experiences; a survivor of French occupation who had worked with the French opposition, a lifelong lover of football, a prominent syndicalist who opposed radical Marxism at a time when it was the dominant political philosophy of intellectuals.

His works set in motion a reassessment of everything French for me, I began to appreciate French wine more, to under-

stand why so many people are fascinated by the French language, and to also obsess with France as a setting. Not long after finishing The Plague, I watched Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’ in the cinema, and felt deeply engrossed in the post-war France of Camus’ glory days.

Following on from this, I next read his other completed novel, The Stranger, which I will not pretend to have understood completely, and yet I appreciated it just as much as The Plague. Much like The Plague, it is the perfect balance of profound and entertaining, pulling me in with its setting of Algiers, Camus’ birthplace. As you read this book, you can feel the sun blistering your skin, and the feeling of the sand underneath your toes; a strange sensation as I read this book in January.

One can also feel the callousness and isolation of the titular character; a stranger to the society which he is experiencing, as he experiences disillusionment and disgust towards that very society which has made him a stranger. Another concept woven into this narrative is the interactions between native Algerians and the ‘Pied-Noir’ settlers from the

country which occupied Algeria, a dynamic which Camus was familiar with as a Pied-Noir himself.

The tragedy of reading Camus is knowing that his life was cut brutally short at the age of 46, and to know that as a result his work is limited. However, this can also add a preciousness to his works, which are so rich and developed with ideas and characters as to invoke more interest than three or four average authors. His numerous essays and non-fiction works help to inform and add to his list of fictional writings, providing enough reading for at least a summer if you pace yourself.

millions of global Marvel fans. I commend Sam Raimi; with his 2001 Spiderman he accidentally started this billion-dollar, cinema-killing behemoth franchise and has now come back like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven to mercilessly bury it in its grave. This film is anti-nostalgia, it is a black hole destroying all that Marvel fans like. Raimi is here to brutally kill off every character that you love and I applaud him.

I have had more coherent fever dreams than the plot line for Doctor Strange 2.

The opening ten minutes of the film are gloriously nonsensical, with an alternate version of Doctor Strange - who can speak Spanish for some reason (¿porque por qué carajo no?) - running along a rainbow bridge, attacking some massive zombieish tornado-like monster. The spinning camera and bright visuals almost made me gag on my popcorn. It reminded me of the scene in the Beavis and Butthead film when Beavis eats a peyote cactus in the desert and hallucinates demons. It’s less being thrown in the deep-end of a swimming pool, and more being forcibly kicked in and then belly-flopped on.

When I left the film I was angry, I felt disrespected. I’ve sat through several films and television shows, watched endless debates, and read endless theories in the build-up to this A-Class crock of crap. This film has absolutely no respect to any fans of Marvel films. But this is my working theory: that is the point. Sam Raimi does not respect anyone watching these films, he hates the craft. He set out to make a purposefully awful super-hero film. And he succeeded with flying colours. This film

is Godawful. Well done Sam! As George W. Bush proclaimed after the fall of Baghdad: mission accomplished. Perhaps I’m being a tad overdramatic, but this did feel like the final season of Game of Thrones; characters acting stupidly, a storyline that lost all sense of logic, ugly visuals and no satisfaction. Some might be upset by this, but I think it’s hilarious. I have wasted so much time! Oh well.

I have grown apathetic towards the Marvel films since Endgame; it seems to me that they have lost their way, indulging in the same narratives and tired tropes. The hype-culture surrounding Moon Knight epitomised this, with the filmmakers promising it would be ‘groundbreaking’, incredibly violent, and a deep character exploration; a project that would truly grasp mental health. It wasn’t any of that, it was the same. It’s strange, it feels like from Iron Man in 2008 to Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the filmmakers were careful in gradually bringing characters together and meticulously building up the stakes.

Here, they have thrown all that patience away, with the stakes now being just unfathomably large, it’s not just New York or the world that is at risk but every single conceivable universe. Where do they go from here? How do the stakes get bigger than that? They literally can’t. The Marvel cinematic franchise is an Ouroboros: it is devouring itself.

I think my favourite moment was the introduction of the Illumanti, a superhero team who get their own Avengers style introduction; with Captain Carter and Captain Marvel, alongside fan-hyped Mister

Fantastic and returning favourite Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. What does Raimi do with this new, nostalgia-fuelled squad?

Within five minutes, all these heroes are violently and suddenly murdered. Fans have speculated about John Krasinski in particular for years, pining for The Office actor to play the role of Reed Richards. And unfortunately for these nerds the monkey paw curled with gusto, with Krasinski being given less than ten lines of dialogue, not even showing his stretching powers, before being contorted into a pile of wet Pot Noodles. A general lack of disrespect to a loyal fan base from Marvel so aweinspiring it brings a tear to this cynic’s cold cheek.

The overall cost of watching this film was £18, with a tenner for a ticket and eight quid for snacks; that feels less like a payment for a recreational activity and more of a tax on my own stupidity. I’m done with Marvel, and I feel like Marvel is done with Marvel.

Image credits: Clay Banks

Image credits (above): Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons Image credits (left): NASA via Unsplash

FOOD&DRINK

Food od & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink Food & Drink

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Editors: Jasmine Wilkinson, Lydia Fontes Deputy Editor: Yii-Jen Deng food@oxfordstudent.com

Food and Drink | 25

Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival Yii-Jen Deng

B

ut what is it? I hear you ask.

It appears to be a small parcel that is vaguely shaped like a pyramid. A parcel wrapped in a leaf, like something out of My Neighbour Totoro, except a fragrant steam is rising – don’t touch, the zongzi is still hot.

The what?

I present to you zongzi, or rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. The name is also sometimes translated as ‘rice dumplings’, although such a name does little justice to this delectable concoction. Eating zongzi is one of the main ways to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwujie, which also sees people taking long boats painted as colourful dragons to race along the river, in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, but also more recently in America.

It takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Admittedly, I’m unfamiliar with moon phases, but my relatives assure me it means zongzi shall be made and eaten on Friday 3rd June.

The making of zongzi ought to be a group effort, as my mum would pointedly say, since it requires various stages and ingredients – glutinous rice, soya sauce, pepper, and five spices. The filling has to be stewed separately. Often people choose marinated pork belly, but since we’re vegetarian this typically means tofu, peanuts, soya meat, and shiitake mushrooms. I like these savoury ones best, al-

though there’s a sweet version, with red bean paste, dried fruit, or chestnuts; you might eat these with honey and a cup of hot tea.

The fiddly bit comes next: wrapping the rice in leaves. You can buy dried bamboo leaves in most Chinese supermarkets around this time; it’s usually the job of my sister and I to rinse them after they have been soaked, and then snip off the tips with a scissors.

To eat - undo the string and carefully remove the leaf

My own attempts at wrapping zongzi always end up slightly lopsided… First, you overlap two leaves to make a little cone which you fill with rice, before adding some of the soya meat or shiitake mushrooms you stewed earlier.

After some deft folding, the leaves are secured with a string, tied in a ribbon. The zongzi then has to be boiled for a couple of hours, depending on the size of your zongzi, and you can freeze them afterwards (they’ll keep for months!).

Steam them when you’d like to eat them; a rice cooker works well for this.

To eat – undo the string and carefully remove the leaf. The bamboo gives an extra special aroma to the rice, which should be a light golden colour, and very sticky. The stewed filling lends another dimension of

flavour, and the corners are QQ and therefore delightful.

It is nicest, I believe, with a generous dollop of sweet chili sauce.

Now, I don’t mean to spoil your appetite, but like any good journalist I feel compelled to explain its history. The lovely festival food you have just (imaginatively) eaten was meant for the fishes – as a thoughtful alternative to devouring a human body.

You see, if you were living in c.278 BC, you would really have been tossing the zongzi into the Miluo river. It would have been a hasty affair, the rice bundled up in silk, your thoughts elsewhere.

Because what if the fish got at him?

A great poet named Qu Yuan had drowned himself, disillusioned by the politics of his time.

The trigger for this act is unclear, though the story I’ve been told is that he went to the emperor and tried, very eloquently, to persuade him to address the corruption of the court and alter his policies. He cared a lot about this disappointing emperor, so his anguish at being totally ignored was twofold.

And so the people who loved the great poet rushed to river. Qu Yuan, as a social idealist and perhaps arguably a ‘people’s poet’, was popular among the ordinary folk who, seeing that they could not save him, believed they could at least try to save his body and soul.

In boats and at the river’s edge, they banged drums and shouted

at the fish to leave him alone, and someone had the idea to throw rice into the river, to help Qu Yuan’s body remain in peace.

According to this legend, the Dragon Boat Festival developed from the race to save the poet, and then to search for his body in the river. It is more than that, of course, because the search for Qu Yuan suggested a poignant effort to recall lost ideals. Other legends suggest dragon boat racing originated as a ritual to avert misfortune. The festival has taken on different commemorative meanings over the years, such as remembering the death of the feminist revolutionary Qiu Jin, who was killed in the early 20th century.

These days the Dragon Boat Festival is also simply a celebration of summer, of family and community and eating glorious food. Like many festivals, it’s a good excuse to have fun. And zongzi make lovely gifts; I always felt very pleased and proud when my friends tried it and found, to their surprise, that rice wrapped in leaves could be so delicious.

Most of us in Oxford won’t be able to get a tasty zongzi, so here’s a simpler game for the Dragon Boat festival: a superstition claims that if you manage to make an egg stand by itself, you’ll have good luck.

Exam-takers, take note!

Image credits: Mae Mu via Unsplash

26 | Pink

Pink

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Editors: Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (senior); Jessica De-Marco Jacobson, Jessica Kaye, Kiki Wrece (section) oxstu.pink@gmail.com

‘Tuesgays’: A Review Kiki Wrece

O

n Tuesdays each week, the OULGBTQ+ Society holds a drinks event – called Tuesgays – at different locations around Oxford. Over the past year, I’ve been to a few of these and I thought I’d give my thoughts on how the event differs from place to place.

What follows is very idiosyncratic and may feel like a series of footnotes without any substance.

I haven’t included every single college, and the selection is basically random. So, if your college doesn’t show up, I’m sorry Maybe that’s for the next edition!

Worcester College

This was the first Tuesday Drinks I ever went to. Worcester is big. If you go when it’s dark (which it was when I went), watch out for the pond. You don’t want to fall into the pond. Not that I fell in myself. Really, I didn’t. I just had a shock of fright when I realised how close I was to the pond, and how hard it was to see.

It doesn’t help that there is no fence or railing or any other intermediary material that might halt someone in their transit from land to water.

The room the actual event was in was enormous. Perhaps the only room that has held this event and been big enough for it. Again though, it was dark. To be fair, it looked like the kind of building where you’d need a degree in stage management just to know how to turn on the lights.

Jesus College

The event was full to the point of suffocation. I remember it took about half an hour to get a drink.

I grew old in that time.

Keble College

On the other hand, this event was empty to the point of embarrassment. Drinks were held in a marquee, which was a great disappointment to me. I always think that part of the allure of these events is that it gives you the opportunity to see colleges you haven’t seen before. If I’m going to see a new college, I’m not interested in their marquee. One the flip side, the lack of people in attendance meant that you could actually hear the people talking to you.

The Student Union

Whatever activity you want to do, the SU is probably not a good place to do it. Unless the particular activity you have in mind is feeling a little miserable in uninspiring surroundings that make you feel like you work in an office. This event consequently felt a bit like a works-do, like we had all come to a retirement party. That said, the turnout was surprisingly good and I was accompanied by a different friend that week, which made things more interesting too.

The wild success of drinks here inspired us to attend the same event the week after – also, as it turns out, in the SU.

to hold a Tuesday drinks, so the marquee was the only option.

Despite the mild disappointment in terms of location, this Tuesgay event was a nice addition to the Brasenose Arts Week and was brought to life by a show of pole dancing at the start of the event.

I hope the reader has found something of use in these keen observations. This review of Tuesgays is intended in good spirit and it should be noted that I’m very grateful to the OULGBTQ+ Society for putting on Tuesgays, wherever they manage to do it.

Liked the review? For more information concerning OULGBTQ+ Society’s Tuesgay events, visit their Facebook community: Oxford University LGBTQ Society. This page is regularly updated with their Tuesgay events, as well as other fun (and informative!) events for students to attend!

University College

‘Relatively nondescript’, was my friend’s verdict of this event. On a positive note, they did hold the event in the hall, which provides a great opportunity for inspection of the portraits (one of my favourite games).

Brasenose College

This was a marquee situation again. To be fair, Brasenose doesn’t really have a room big enough

UK Commemorative Pride Coin Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson(ed).

O

n 20 May 2022, the British Royal Mint issued a commemorative 50p coin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UK Pride Movement, made in partnership with Pride in London. The coin will not be in circulation. Instead, it will only be available online.

The Royal Mint has historically used the 50p coin to commemorate special events. This is the first time that official UK coinage has celebrated the country’s queer community.

More specifically, the Pride UK 50p coin commemorates the first UK Pride event, which took place in London in 1972. People marched in solidarity with the New York Stonewall Riots.

The new Pride coin has the number “50” inscribed at the top.

Its face features a silver filigree with a heart motif. There are five

Image Credit: Royal Mint logo via wikimediacommons.org. Rainbow in background taken from freepngimg.com.

rainbows which feature Pride in London’s five values: Protest, Visibility, Unity, and Equality. At the bottom is a series of five chevrons: white, pink, blue, brown, and black. These five chevrons, in combination with the rainbows, are a reference to the Progress Pride Flag. The coin was designed by an east London artist, writer, and LGBTQ+ activist: Dominique Holmes.

In an interview with Dezeen, Holmes said they designed the coin with the purpose of evoking “images of the original Pride marches – the hand-made placards and protest signs calling out the demands of the brave LGBT+ people who were taking to the streets to fight for their rights.”

Those involved in the coin’s creation have been excited about its imminent release. Pride in London director Asad Shaykh told the BBC

that “Nowhere in the world had this been possible, except the UK. Pride in London feels very proud today.”

However, some have criticised

the coin, given that recent attempts to ban conversion therapy do not include transgender people. Others have criticised the release of the coin as an act of per-

formative activism.

The Pride UK 50p coin will be released this summer, but the Royal Mint has not announced a specific date.

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z Blane AITCHISON N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE he celebrity wedding has GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G long been a media phenomenon. From as long ago Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z as Richard Burton and Elizabeth N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Taylor’s first wedding in 1964, all GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE the way up to Prince Harry and GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018, Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z they often become the centre of N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN media frenzies and just generGEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE ally get the public’s attention. If it GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G was attention that musician Travis Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z Barker and reality TV personality Kourtney Kardashian wanted, N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN then they definitely achieved that GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE by getting married to each other GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z G three times in 7 weeks.

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The Existential Horror of Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s Three Weddings.

T

The second wedding took place on the 15th of May in a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California and was a small, yet official, affair ahead of a bigger ceremony.

Travis Barker’s father was present, as was Kourtney’s Grandmother, although none of Kourtney’s famous sisters were there. Once again, Kourtney shared photos of herself and Travis, amongst them was a shot of the couple in a car with a “Just Married” sign affixed to the bumper.

For the third and grandest wedding of the three, the pair travelled to Portofino, Italy. The ceremony took place on the 22nd of May at a castle the overlooked the sea.

There was a strong theme of catholic imagery, with crosses, rosaries and the Madonna and child featuring heavily (including a giant embroidered portrait of the Madonna on the back of Kourtney’s custom Dolce and Gabbana veil, which was made to match her dress, which was also designed by Dolce and Gabbana), making the venue feel like a mix between the 2018 Met Gala theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Based on the pictures from Kourtney and Travis’ Instagram pages, the venue was busy, with all of the KardashianJenner sisters in attendance, as well as many of their children, although several members of the

Kardashian’s inner circle weren’t present, including Pete Davidson, Kanye West, Rob Kardashian and Kourtney’s ex Scott Disick, despite him making frequent appearances in the new TV show The Kardashians regardless of them no longer being romantically involved.

There were many other strange goings on at the Italian wedding too: Kim’s daughter North West arrived wearing a nude-coloured corset, which many fans deeming this to be inappropriate for an eight year old to wear. In terms of food, lacy underwear with Travis’ name embroidered on it was served as a tongue-in-cheek table setting, while the actual meal consisted of what appeared to be the world’s smallest portion of pasta, served in the middle of a giant plate.

I suppose you couldn’t really expect anything else from the Kardashians, could you? They’ve essentially become figureheads for materialism and their rise to fame changed celebrity culture forever. But underneath the Dolce and Gabbana sponsored wedding, the perfectly edited Instagram photos and copious amounts of plastic surgery, there’s something undeniably romantic about Kourtney and Travis wanting to marry each other three times and wanting everyone to know about it.

Image credits: JessBaileyDesign via Pixabay

Gen Z | 27

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28 | OxYou

Editors: Jen Jackson, Susie Barrows, Milo Dennison, Jonah Poulard

OXYOU

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

Oxford Students’ Toxic Traits Susie Barrows

E

veryone at Oxford has a toxic trait or two. Whether it be the Union hack who just won’t leave your DMs, or the rower who manages to turn every conversation into rowing (even if you were only talking about the feminisation of nature in the poetry of William Wordsworth), here’s a definitive list of the most frequently observed around our humble university.

1. THE LATE-NIGHT LIBRARY-ER

Either you know one or you are one. By day, the student who annoyingly scrapes by despite seemingly doing no work. By night, the Oxford equivalent of Hermione Granger. The second the sun goes down, and everyone else is clocking off for the night, ready to head to the college bar and inevitably get peer pressured into ending up at Park End, your day is just beginning.

When you actually sleep is a mystery unbeknownst to everyone (including yourself).

2. THE UNION HACK

BEST OF

Rordon Gamsay

I

t’s fifth week, but Rordon’s back to beat the blues – no, he’s not condoning scrapping with any university sports team members (even if that would at least stop them dropping the fact that they’re in a university sports team into every conversation), he means that wonderful Oxford phenomenon, the fifth week blues. When there’s no origami and Mario Kart to hand, this will have to do. Bon appétit.

SHOCK: ROWERS TALK ABOUT ROWING

Rordon has sadly remained distant from the college rowing community during his time at Oxford, having not set foot on Boathouse Island since an unfortunate incident involving Pimms, an oar and a swan in freshers’ week.

Normally, this has meant Rordon has little to no idea of what is going on down at the river: rowers are, after all, a quiet bunch.

Yet this week, something incredible happened. A seemingly normal conversation suddenly veered sharply into an in depth conversation about 3 seat in M2. Rordon was so shocked that rowers were actually talking about rowing that he failed to grasp the context of the conversation, but

You don’t have friends. You have potential voters. Your days are spent buying coffees for people who you discover don’t even have Union membership when you just casually drop in to the conversation that oh, there’s an election at the Union this weekend!. Your Facebook is filled with you tagging the people who you actually really dislike but who wanted to run on the same slate as you and there’s not much you can do about it your best friends in posts where you gush about how much you love them and are so honoured to run for [weirdly named role] on #INSERTIMPERATIVEVERBHERE with them! Just one message notification from you sparks fear in every acquaintance you have.

3. THE DEDICATED STUDENT

You actually (gasp) enjoy your degree.

Everyone is a little weirded out when you

start talking about how much you have loved writing your essay this week and the 18-hour library sessions you did for four days straight to complete it. Maybe just keep it to yourself.

4. THE NOT REMOTELY DEDICATED STUDENT

You seem to have completely forgotten why you applied to this university in the first place. To you, the degree is just the excuse for all of the formals and gowns and nice buildings and pretentious stash. You might be found in the library at 2am with No. 1 as you desperately do just enough to be allowed to remain at the university: the difference is they work hard, just nocturnally. You work only when absolutely necessary. You’re a master of calculating precisely the bare minimum.

5. THE DRAMA PERSON

Your profile picture changes on Facebook

THE SUNDAY ROAST his limited understanding is that 3 M2 was a grid reference for the rowing version of Battleships (bumping is the same as sinking, right?).

It is unclear whether rowers will ever talk about rowing again, but Rordon waits in nervous anticipation.

NO WAY: STUDENT’S MENTAL ILLNESS CURED BY STROKING ALPACA Rordon interviewed a student to whom a miracle occurred this week. The student in question has been a long-time sufferer of depression and anxiety and, having finally asked for help from his college, was offered a bewildering opportunity – the welfare officer invited an alpaca petting zoo to the grounds of the college. While at first, the student was baffled by this proposition – “I just don’t know how an alpaca is going to solve my deep-rooted trauma that has only been exacerbated by the intense workload of this university,” he told Rordon – he reluctantly agreed to attend said petting zoo.

To his, and indeed everyone’s (except the college welfare officer’s) surprise, just one touch of this fluffy horse-like creature was enough to rid the student of any and all mental illness (including some that had yet

to be diagnosed!).

“I’ve never felt so free,” the student said, when asked about his new life as a mentally stable human being. “I am hugely indebted to the college welfare support system for bringing this petting zoo into college. I can’t imagine where I would be if they had just, say, paid for me to have therapy.”

Rordon wonders whether more colleges will follow suit for this most depressing of Oxford weeks – the powers of a petting zoo are clearly not to be underestimated.

STUDENT NEWSPAPER SAYS OH WELL TO SATIRE One of our esteemed rival papers has decided that rather than compete with Rordon, it might as well just say ‘oh well…’ to its satire section. Rordon understands that the section editors have said ‘never mind’

more frequently than you remind everyone of how busy you are because you’re just in so many plays. Which is saying a lot.

6. THE STUDENT JOURNALIST

Your Instagram story is purely just you plugging your newest articles that probably two, or three at maximum, of your followers will actually read. You spend too much time talking about editing and laying-in and how you just don’t think X newspaper is as good as the one you have sworn allegiance to (because apparently writing for an Oxford newspaper is the same as being born into a blood feud). It’s all worth it for the dopamine rush when once in a blue moon someone says ‘oh, I read your article!’. It must have made a lasting impact on their life and changed their mindset forever! It didn’t. It was just a review of Florence and the Machine’s new album.

7. THE ROWER

Everyone knows you have rowing in the morning. No one cares.

and come to an agreement with the editors in chief that they ‘aren’t to worry about it’.

According to sources within said newspaper who spoke to OxYou, they’ve adopted the strategy of sticking every joke about Oxford students under the sun into every article in the hope that one sticks. Rordon has been given exclusive access to their next article, which he can now share with you: ‘Union, Rower, PPE, SU, Alpacas, Oxfess, Prelims, BNOCs, Stash, hahahahahahah’.

BALLIOL: YEAH! Yeah Balliol!

SciTech | 29

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

SciTech Contagion Briefing: May ‘22 From Covid to Cronobacter

C

OVID in North Korea In the turmoil of COVID-19, a population of 25 million in North Korea has stayed out of character from the beginning.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the North Korean government had created a buffer zone along the border and ordered unconditional shoot-on-sight for unauthorized entrance. However, cases of “malignant fever” reported since late April, highly likely to be a result of Omicron infection, inevitably dragged the nation into the game.

COVID-19 cases reported by the Korean Central News Agency skyrocketed in May. Over five percent of the population is showing symptoms of the infection and 50 deaths have been attributed to it, estimated Kee Park, director of Harvard’s Korean Health Policy Project. The nation has now entered a lockdown in which people are confined at home, workplace, or schools.

The future of North Korea with COVID is rather unpredictable.

Alongside COVID-19, the nation

is also struggling with a weak health system already burdened by other infectious diseases, food insecurity, and political tension with the international community. North Korean authority has neglected previous international aid, including the global vaccine distribution scheme Covax, leaving its population with no immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

Still a mystery: Hepatitis in Children Three weeks into May, hepatitis cases among children are still growing, though it seems that we have gone through the peak. In the UK, 34 more cases are identified in the past to cases, bringing the total infection to 197 cases as of 20th May. Two more deaths are seen in Europe and the US. There is still a fair chance for the hepatitis to develop into considerable severity - close to 10 percent of patients across Europe and North America now require liver transplantation.

In addition, scientists are working to trace more retrospective cases that might be relevant, including those developed as early as October 2021.

The cause of the hepatitis remains elusive. So far, the adenovirus hypothesis has stood among medical experts - social distancing regulations during COVID-19 prevented the development of immunity against adenovirus, which used to be a common virus causing only flu-like symptoms, among young children. Dr. Jay Butler, CDC deputy director for infectious diseases, explained that

there is yet no support for a direct role of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hepatitis. He also appears to be cautious in referring to the hepatitis as an epidemic issue, admitting that more data are needed to confirm that the hepatitis cases represent an unusual spike, as

“Misfortune never comes singly COVID-19 is clearly not the end to public health crises.

severe and idiopathic hepatitis is not uncommon among children.

Misfortune never comes singly - COVID-19 is clearly not the end to public health crises.

Deja vu: Monkeypox prevalence

More than 40 years ago, on 8th May 1980, the World Health Assembly announced that humans have eradicated smallpox, thanks to effective vaccination. Forty years later, a relative of smallpox, named monkeypox, again catches our attention. Monkeypox spread was regularly detected in central and western Africa, and this makes the abrupt emergence of 120 cases outside the continent alarming.

Monkeypox is transmitted vibody fluids. Scientists observed that most cases are among men aged between 20 and 50 within

Yexuan ZHU

the GBMSM (Gay, bisexual and have sex with men) community.

A rough draft of the monkeypox genome has been available from Portugal researchers. Based on this information, scientists conclude that the monkeypox cases are likely related to strains that originated in western Africa, though more

contact tracing information is under examination for confirmation.

Regardless, we have got several pieces of good news here. Monkeypox is not an especially deadly virus - in fact, most people recover within weeks. Plus, the smallpoxvaccine, which remains in stock, or is even mandatory, in many countries, provides some protection against monkeypox. Finally, monkeypox is a DNA virus, which means that its genome is much more stable, compared to RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. It is unlikely to see mutant strains that completely evade smallpox vaccines.

From what you eat: Salmonella in chicken and Cronobacter in baby formulas

During a routine inspection of the Cranswick Country Foods processing plant in Hull, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) detected Salmonella bacteria in several

batches of cooked chicken products. So far, several products have been recalled from a total of 12 supermarket and coffee shop franchises, including Sainsbury’s, M&S, Tesco, and Pret A Manger, just to name a few. Salmonella infection typically causes gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. Special caution is advised when consuming prepared poultry products.

Across the Atlantic, cronobacter contamination of Abbott baby formula aroused great controversy.

Cronobacter infection can cause sepsis and meningitis. It is rare, but deadly to infants under one year old. The first case of infant cronobacter infection after consuming Abbott baby formula was reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2021, with a total of four infections and two deaths recorded to date. FDA inspection across the following months confirmed cronobacter contamination in an Abbott factory in Sturgis, Michigan due to worker malpractice. Abbott has closed down the factory, recalled three formula brands, and promised to improve sanitary standards in manufacturing.

Misfortune never comes singly COVID-19 is clearly not the end to public health crises. Yet at least, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us lessons, leaving us hypersensitive to contagious diseases. All we can do is to learn from the past epidemics to continue perfecting the healthcare system and paying attention to personal hygiene. Infection and defense, this is the way of nature.

In the heart of our galaxy T he black hole at the centre of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*, has been imaged for the first time by researchers at the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. This black hole is the beating heart of our galaxy, with a mass equivalent to 4.3

million suns. Using cutting edge techniques, the collaboration managed to create an effectively “earth-sized” telescope to capture light from the accretion disk of the black hole, which is about 26 thousand light years away.

Astronomers face myr-

iad challenges in imaging black holes, and this is only the second ever image of one circulated to the public. Although Sagittarius A* is much smaller than that which was previously imaged, the two images look very similar.

What differences there

are, though, are being scrutinised by scientists who seek to confirm even further Albert Einstein’s predictions of general relativity, over 100 years since his work was first published. This black hole imaging is huge news in the world of astron-

omy—a stellar achievement for science, and a major breakthrough in technology.

Emily HUDSON Image credit: Event Horizon Telescope.

Sagittarius A*, as captured by the EHT

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

30 | Green

Green Sustainable Hobby Feature: Knitting

Editors: Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (senior); Katie Hulett, Yexuan Zhu (section). oxstu.green@gmail.com

Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (ed).

I

’m a huge textile fan. My friends can easily recognise me in a crowd because I’m almost always sporting two layers of oversized knitwear, regardless of the season. I think that knitted socks make or break an outfit, and even if you can’t always see mine, you can rest assured that they are patterned in some fun manner.

For these reasons, people are always unsurprised when I say that I’m a knitter. Knitting is something I do to relax: there is nothing more relaxing than cranking out a so-called ‘vanilla’ (read: easy, mindless pattern) pair of socks as a reward for writing another challenging essay for my degree. The process is repetitive and therefore meditative and the end result is comforting and creative: a little bundle of joy that serves as a reminder of a fun time every time I wear it!

But I didn’t take up knitting just because it’s incredibly healthy for you (and that’s scientifically proven!). I also took up knitting because I felt it to be the kind of hobby that, given my own wardrobe choices and subsequent purchases when shopping, would lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. I happen to be a bit cash-strapped, as I am sure many university students are. Consequently, when I did have to go clothes-shopping, if I was not thrifting, I would tend to visit those stores which were within my budget, i.e., cheap, fastfashion stores. The unfortunate reality of those stores, however, is that they tend to use materials which have rather deleterious effects, environmentally speaking, and they employ exploitative sweatshop labour in the production of their

clothing.

Given this, it was simply unconscionable to me, regardless of how infrequently I visited these stores, to continue shopping at fast-fashion chain stores. And while many of my needs could be satisfied by going thrift store shopping – there were other needs (like socks!) which were much harder to meet.

Furthermore, sometimes it was nice to entertain the idea of having a custom made piece just for me. For these reasons, I thought it might be nice to take up knitting.

And I’m so glad I did!

Now, I should say a couple of things about knitting for those people out there who are considering it as a hobby. For one thing, one does not start with making socks, nor even really sweaters.

Most knitters start with lopsided scarves, potholders, and coasters.

Making garments that fit is quite difficult, for it involves a mastery of a variety of different skills: yarn tensioning, correct gauge, mastery of multiple stitches, either sewing or knitting in the round, and blocking. So if you are considering knitting as a sustainable hobby, you should note that you’re not about to revitalise your wardrobe in a matter of months. In all actuality, it will probably be well into your first year of knitting that you will feel comfortable knitting garments for yourself.

Furthermore, while I advocate knitting as a sustainable hobby, it can also be an expensive hobby. Consider, for example, making a sweater which you could otherwise buy at a fast-fashion chain store. A sweater can take anywhere from around 6-8 skeins (read: balls) of yarn, depending on what size sweater you are making. The cost of a skein of yarn differs depending on the kind of yarn which you buy. There are sometimes arguments amidst knitters over acrylic yarn, which is the cheapest kind of yarn on the market. Acrylic yarn is synthetic yarn, made of some kind of plastic.

Because acrylic yarn is created in plants that are not usually wellmanaged and because it’s not the kind of fibre that is biodegradable, it is not the most environmentally friendly yarn, overall. However, it is important to consider that, in

particular, compared to the effects of fast-fashion, wherein there is mass-scale human labour violations in the production of clothing, probably buying skeins of acrylic yarn to make yourself a sweater is much more ethical. Natural fibres are not in everyone’s budget and that’s understandable.

However, there are some natural fibres – wool and cotton, which are quite reasonably priced and which are biodegradable and are therefore considered more environmentally friendly (though nothing is quite perfect. Raising livestock and planting cotton are both activities which use up quite a bit of water, for example – something which can contribute to desertification). In either case, buying 6-8 skeins of either acrylic yarn or wool or cotton is still anywhere from about 12-18 pounds at the cheapest (in the case of acrylic yarn) or if one is buying slightly more expensive wool yarn, the price goes up about 4 or so pounds. Furthermore, really nice yarn, like merino, cashmere, angora, or mohair can get quite expensive – think upwards of 100 pounds for a sweater.

That includes merely the price of fibre. We still have not factored in the cost of tools. Knitting needles – which to make a sweater you usually require about 2-3 different sizes of needles – range in cost from 4-6 pounds. Further, you’ll also need a tapestry needle or a crochet hook to weave in ends: add another 2-3 pounds. If you’re using a pattern and you are purchasing it from someone, you’ll need to factor in this cost as well: patterns can be free or upwards of 10 pounds, though most are around 2 to 5 pounds.

And finally: probably the biggest cost in knitting is not an actual money-cost, but a cost in time. I am currently knitting a sweater which will take me a week of straight knitting to complete. I don’t mean that I will knit spo-

radically for a week and then I will emerge, lackadaisically, with a completed sweater. I mean that in total I will need to have sat down and knitted for a week straight to have completed my sweater.

Therefore, it will be done – maybe – by the end of this term, should my degree allow it. This hobby is not for the fainthearted!

Still, I think it is worth it because at the end of my week of straight knitting I will have produced a garment made exactly to my tastes (a goth sweater with a clown-ruffle collar!) that I also know is ethically made because I got to witness every moment of its conception. I know the maker!

In a capitalistic society, most of us are totally alienated from the processes by which the things we wear, interact with, and even eat are brought to us. Knitting is one of those little hobbies in which we can put ourselves back in contact with those creative processes that make us a teensy bit more human.

With this in mind, I have a few tips to make the hobby more accessible to you. For one thing: though the section in which I discussed costs can seem a bit scary, there are many ways to reduce the price tag associated with knitting.

One of these is to find people who already knit! Back in my home institution, I started a knitting club and would give my extra knitting needles to people who were interested in learning how to knit.

There are probably people – especially older people in your family – who already know how to knit and have several tools associated with the craft who would be more than happy to help you on your creative journey. There are also several crafting groups associated with local churches and yarn stores which are there to help budding knitters start. All it takes is a little Googling. Furthermore, charity shops can be a good place to find cheap knitting needles and yarn – lots of people donate old tools and craft materials they no longer use.

It can be difficult to start knitting because there is a lot of information out there and you might not have a clear idea of how to start.

My advice is to buy a pair of 5 mm straight knitting needles and a ball

of cheap, worsted weight yarn in your favourite colour. A lot of people recommend starting with a scarf as your project – I hesitate to do so because I feel that a scarf is quite a long, tiring project and it can be easy to get discouraged at its seeming interminable-ness.

Instead, it might be good just to make some little garter stitch coasters by casting on around 20 or 25 stitches and knitting until one has a nice square. Then you can have a nice set of coasters to put your mugs on in your university room! And when you feel comfortable with the motions of knitting, then you can try knitting in the round and making yourself

a hat.

Finally, YouTube is your best friend when it comes to learning how to knit. There are some great tutorials by, in particular, VeryPink Knits and ExpressionFiberArts. And for those that do already know how to knit, I have a couple of extra sustainable pattern recommendations to really add to your environmental-knitting repertoire. It is possible, for example to make so-called ‘plarn’: that is to say, by cutting up strips of old t-shirts or plastic bags and tying them together, one can make plarn that can then by knit up (or crocheted) into tote bags or containers which can be used again and again. For very old garments, it’s also possible to pick apart the garments and salvage them for their yarn in order to re-knit them or use the yarn for other projects – whether it is possible to do so will depend on the garment in question and its seams.

Having said all this, I wish you the best of luck in all your sustainable knitting adventures!

Image Credits: Green Ball of Yarn via freesvg.org ; Old Lady Knitting via pixabay.com.

Photographs of knitting are taken by Agatha Gutierrez Echenique.

32 | Sport

Friday 27 May 2022 | The Oxford Student

Sport

Fan’s Corner: Fulham – is yo-yoing a problem?

Dominic Enright

Fuelled on Faith;

Joharn Sharp

Ramadan and Sport

Sport Editor

On the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, every year, Muslims across the globe observe Ramadan. So it should come as no surprise that such a widespread practice affects sport. Athletes of all sorts take part in this month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. It is a holistic month where of course one must abstain from food and water for nearly 16 hours in a day, but it also encourages Muslims to refrain from bad habits. As my good friend Musa Ali outlined to me ‘it is said that during Ramadan the devil is locked up, so what happens is authentically us’. He importantly highlighted that this is not a monolithic experience, adding ‘there are different threshold[s] for different people’. He notes a key role in shaping this spectrum of experiences is that we all have ‘lives, jobs and degrees to do during Ramadan’ which obviously cannot be neglected. This is what makes the continued effort of Muslim athletes during this period remarkable - their ability to balance faith and performance.

Ramadan does not impact a mere minority of athletes. The website ‘Planet Football’ was able to produce a starting XI of footballers observing ramadan which could have easily won the Champions League.

Yet football and Islam’s relationship is not limited to globally acclaimed muslim players like Benzema, Salah, Mane or Pogba.

Fuelled by the internationalisation of the sport, there are nearly 70 muslim players in the premier league alone with hundreds more found throughout the great teams of history. Indeed, muslim athletes are littered throughout the lists of greats of most global sports - Kyrie Irving, Kareem AbdulJabaar and Hakeem Olajuwon in the NBA, Khabib in the UFC or Ameer Abdullah in the NFL. Muslim athletes observing ramadan can be found in almost any global sport, not just those typically found in Islamic nations- like cricket. Thus, the lack of attention paid to these great competitors and the role their faith plays in their sporting conquests is remarkable. Indeed, when I explained my intention to write this article both of the Muslim friends who I consulted - Musa Ali and Hudaa Bax- noted their surprise that it was a topic I was giving any weight to. Despite the ever-increasing number of Muslim players, who must observe Ramadan during their season(s),it remains a notable blind spot in discussions by both sports media and fans. This even more egregious in the case of football

given the next world cup is being held, for the first time, in an Islamic nation - Qatar.

This is not to say that sporting seasons must be paused to allow Muslim athletes to observe Ramadan! Quite the contrary.

Many Muslim athletes often cite the enhanced sense of faith Ramadan gives them in explaining their sporting achievements.

Hakeem Olajuwon underscored in an interview on the youtube channel ‘Hoop Genius’ that during Ramadan he felt more energy, noting his ‘stomach feels light, more explosive’. Olajuwon acts as a remarkable symbol of the incredible ability Muslim athletes have found in balancing their faith and career winning February 1995 player of the month, fasting during all 15 games.

Hakeem’s success, much of which he credits to the fasting itself, highlights the willpower that Ramadan seeks to develop.

This is a great sporting achievement. Just as it should be recognised for any Muslim athlete able to maintain their level of performance while observing Ramadan. Though, some Muslims perhaps do not see it the same way.

Olajuwon himself, from of the onset of the same interview, details how Ramadan to him is ‘one of those uncompromising positions’ for any Muslim. He does not see it as a choice, and for him, that in of itself fosters the mental and spiritual benefits of the month. Similarly my friend Musa Ali illustrated how Ramadan brings about a ‘special gear’ that people click into while ‘competing or doing exams, for example, like [he] did for his GSCE and A-levels’. He underscores that ‘Ramadan is sort testament to the fact that we believe God is only going to add blessings and goodness into the stuff that we do while we are fasting’. He asserts that while Muslims aren’t eating ‘that doesn’t mean we are simply going to complete stuff’, they are going to compete.

They are not just there to participate.

Nonetheless - not being able to eat or drink for days inevitably takes a toll. In the same discussion Musa noted that even though he has been fasting since he was around 12 even at an amateur level he usually has to take the occasional day off during Cricket season. Khabib Nurmagomedov notably missed fights during Ramadan, but for a different reason. He was known to refuse fights and training camps during ramadan due to his desire for time to wor-

”When I explained my intention to write this article both of the Muslim friends who I consultednoted their suprise that it was a topic I was giving weight to”

ship. Of course, not all Muslim athletes who have fight offers, or matches in Ramadan refuse them, however, there are obvious elements of the month that might bring them to avoid so.

“Muslim athletes should not risk their and their family’s wellbeing due to a lack of awareness of their faith by their sport’s governing bodies” Hakeem, Khabib and Musa all serve to illustrate the need for greater discussion of Ramadan in sport. Not only do the achievements of Muslim athletes during the month deserve greater recognition, but more discourse of their everyday will also allow for structural adjustments to better facilitate these athletes. Of course, this is not a new revelation, and the premier league, surprisingly, have been leading the way. This year Crystal Palace’s head of sports medicine Dr Zaf Iqbal praised the improved awareness and actions taken by the Premier League, its clubs and referees’ to assist players who are observing Ramadan. ‘There certainly has been a lot more awareness’, Dr Iqbal, who has worked in the Premier League since 2007, told the PA news agency. Only Last season, Dr Iqbal was responsible for what is believed to be the first Premier League game paused midmatch so players could break their fast for Ramadan. This trend has continued into this season as seen when Leicester hosted Crystal Palace on April 2. Referee Graham Scott allowed a brief halting of procedures so Wesley Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyate could have Iftar, the evening meal that sees Muslims end their daily fast at sunset. Moreover, comments made by managers such as Brendan Rodgers and Thomas Tuchel, in post-match press conferences, where they praised their Muslim players’ ability to perform while fasting, has continued to raise awareness. Indeed, Tuchel’s comments themselves were the very inspiration for this piece. Nonetheless, as Khabib and Hakeem’s experiences expose - there is still much more to be done. Muslim athletes should not risk their and their family’s wellbeing due to a lack of awareness of their faith by their sport’s governing bodies. A greater awareness of Muslim players and Ramadan - which is, as we’ve seen, not a minority experience- is needed. Not only for the foremost reasoning of livelihood but also for the sake of our punditry and fandom. Enhanced knowledge of player’s everyday gives us more honest and thereby more rewarding analysis and fandom. In addition, and more abstractly, inherently a

”Muslim athletes should not risk their and their family’s wellbeing due to a lack of awareness of their faith by their sport’s governing bodies”

F

ulham is a strange football club: these payments coincides with a renot big enough to be classed duction in competition in the league as a Premier league main(championship) .” Indeed, clubs that stay, but always unbeatable in the have been recently demoted from the Championship. In fact, in the past Premier league are twice as likely to 6 years we have not stayed in the be promoted which may explain the same league for successive seasons, rise of the yo-yo phenomena. yo-yoing between the Championship Of course, this is hard to think and Premier league since 2017-18. I about as a Fulham fan, recently can’t wait for the day that we finally promoted off the back of a recordhave a league game with Norwich, breaking Championship season and who despite yo-yoing for the same with a state of the art new stand on period, are a year out of sync with us. the way. However, behind every one While to the casual, the constant of Mitrovic’s 43 goals this season, cycle of promotion and demotion is the parachute payment scheme has become a meme, for a Fulham which allows us to keep players as fan, the intense highs of promotion good as him. This applies to Bourneand lows of demotion have made mouth who go up with us, and other supporting Fulham more thrilling yo-yo clubs like Watford, West Brom than I can remember. Even during and Norwich. The gap between the my childhood, when there was stabilPremier League’s riches and the ity in the Premier League under Roy EFL has become so big, that even Hodgson, there Looking around us in the we, who only occawere never the drink from EFL, you can’t help but sionally same outbursts its chalice, have beof emotion, and see the clubs on the verge come miles ahead of there was only of ruin and those already our ompetition. Bury the constant FC were expelled in fear that one season it could all be 2019 after going bankrupt, Wigan gone. went into administration in 2020, That fear is gone and this can and Bolton and Blackburn, former mainly be put down to the paraPremier League mainstays like us, chute payment scheme introduced are teetering as we speak. in the 2006/07 season but greatly Probably, the club that best encapincreased in scope in 2016/2017. sulates the guilt for me personally, This guarantees relegated clubs 55% is Derby County, who this year were of the broadcast revenue share of a deducted 21 points for going into Premier League team in their first administration. In the 2017-2018 season, 45% in the season after, and season, Derby were in the Playoff 20% in the third season. The idea befinals with Fulham after years of ing that clubs that are relegated are spending under owner Mel Morris, not financially ruined by the massive yet lost in a game at Craven Cottage drop in revenue in the years after which I watched. The chanting at they are demoted. the Derby supporters seems cruel While in theory a good plan at sofwith the hindsight of history, and tening the financial hit of relegation, while it will never be known whether ironically the plan has been suggestthey would have got to the Premier ed as a potential cause of bankruptcy. league, those Parachute payments Researchers from Sheffield Hallam and Premier League broadcasting university, have found that revenue that we received would have “parachute payments offer clubs saved them. Further, we could well that are eligible to receive them a have been in their position if we lost, relative financial competitive advanfacing annihilation due to insufficient tage over other clubs in the sense funding. that they can be used to offset player The moral quandaries of being a transfer fees and wages.” football fan are endless: we support This means that clubs like Fulham a business intimately involved in the and Norwich are able to buy better cut-throat capitalist world of today. players as compared to their ChamPerhaps, my guilt is less than fans of pionship competitors on smaller clubs owned by oppressive states or budgets Russian oligarchs. However, for all The study also provides “empirithe thrill of these years of Fulham’s cal evidence that an increase in the history, I have to acknowledge that number of clubs with parachute the current system is part of the payments and the overall value of problem for the lower league, and

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022

T

his Formula 1 season has so far proven to be a titanic and fascinating battle between F1’s two greatest young drivers of this generation. Max Verstappen is a Dutch driver who currently races Red Bull Racing Team, and is the reigning World Champion having won his first ever World Championship last year following an equally blockbuster battle with Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc is a Monégasque driver for Scuderia Ferrari, having spent several seasons now establishing himself as a fast, consistent racer with a car that didn’t match his abilities. Who will come out victorious at the end of a thrilling season?

Sport | 31

Sport

Debate: Leclerc vs Verstappen

fine gravel of Barcelona and a very temperamental rear wing, it looked as if this might be the weekend that Max falters. Yet, one Charles debate Leclerc vs Leclerc DNF later and Verstappen stole the win.

Charles Leclerc, the man who many others back Verstappen to see who is the greatest Formula one driver of their to take the title, the man who will not beat Max generation Verstappen in a title fight. Why not you ask?

For one, Verstappen has already done it. This might sound simple, but no title fight can put you under as much pressure as your first, let alone one where you have to beat arguably the greatest of all time in Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen has experience that Leclerc simply does not, he knows where a desperate rival might Charles Leclerc - Matthew Holland send a late lunge because only one year ago he was that very rival.

Charles Leclerc had established himself as a Furthermore, Verstappen has proven his abilpromising young talent within the sport long beity to be relentlessly consistent. Since his FP3 fore his entry in Formula 1 with great success in crash in Monaco 2018, Verstappen has been at the junior categories, notably winning the 2017 Sebastian Vettel and fan favourite Carlos Sainz, the peak of his powers. Over a Grand Prix he Formula 2 Championship by 72 points over his he has been able to hold his own successfully Max Verstappen - Daniel Booth will keep that Red Bull at its very upper limit, nearest rival and becoming the youngest ever against these teammates and achieve relative and he has proven that he can driver to win this Championship. His first season success during a difficult period in Ferrari’s In the 2022 Formula “ The proof is in the pudding of do this without making many their wheel to wheel encounters costly mistakes. In contrast, in Formula 1 racing for Sauber allowed him to history. He finished 4th in his first season at One season there will this season. After Leclerc showcase the obvious talent which had earned Ferrari and 8th in his second season compared only be one winner, and outfoxed Verstappen with some Leclerc has shown that somehim such a great reputation as a young driver. He to Vettel’s 5th and 13th place finishes. And while that man will be Max DRS shenanigans in Bahrain, times he does make the errors would finish his first season in Formula 1 in 13th Carlos Sainz finished ahead of him last season, Verstappen. the victories have fallen to the that count. Take his qualifying in the Championship, 30 “[Leclerc] would finish his first this was only by a margin Currently sitting pretty crash last year in Monaco, losDutchman.” points ahead of his team- season in Formula 1 in 13th in of 5.5 points. atop of the World Driving the chance to start his home mate who he would outthe Championship, 30 points Fast forward to this sea- ers’ Championship is none other than reigning Grand Prix from P1.Finally, the proof is in the qualify a staggering 17 out ahead of his teammate who he son and Charles Leclerc champion Max Verstappen. Having just won the pudding of their wheel to wheel encounters this of 21 times. The greatest would out-qualify a staggering finds himself in the first title Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen is in form that season. After Leclerc outfoxed Verstappen with 17 out of 21 times.” way for a Formula 1 driver fight of his Formula 1 career. is quite simply ominous for the rest of the grid. some DRS shenanigans in Bahrain, the victories to display their talent is to be After 6 races, he finds himself This makes it three victories on the bounce, and have fallen to the Dutchman. You cannot trick consistently ahead of their teammate, the only currently only 6 points behind Verstappen, hav- more impressive is that this means Verstappen Max Verstappen the same way twice. other person with an equal car to them, and ing already won 2 races and claiming 4 pole has won every race he has finished.

Leclerc’s obvious success earned him the seat positions so far, highlighting his unbelievable Indeed, there has been an almost TerminatorWith his immaculate car control, bulletproof at Ferrari which he continues to hold. one-lap pace which may prove instrumental in like quality to Verstappen this season. Somehow, mentality, and formidable straight-line speed, Despite having teammates of a high calibre helping him overcome Verstappen at the peak someway, he hunts down the cars in front of him the WDC will be staying in the firm grip of Max since arriving at Ferrari, 4-time World Champion of his powers. and comes out on top. After a venture into the Verstappen this season.

Ronnie O’Sullivan: snooker’s favourite villain

Samuel Kenny

O

Matt Holland and Daniel Booth

n Monday 2nd May 2022, the cue sports

community stopped to see Ronnie O’Sullivan win the World Snooker Championship, the sport’s most coveted title, for the record-equalling seventh time. In his interview afterwards, he declared that he will be back next year in search of his eighth. His assured victory over Judd Trump in the final confirmed to snooker fans what they truly already knew: we are living in a golden age for snooker.

The first thing to say about the sport itself is that it is really, really hard. For those that have never stood at a snooker table, they are huge (twelve by six feet), and the pockets are little wider than the diameter of the balls. It is a sport that requires utmost precision and, perhaps more importantly at the professional level, a granite temperament to cope with missed shots and slip ups under the spotlight. The excruciating pain of underperformance is compounded by the merciless cruelty of having to look on helpless as one’s opponent capitalises ruthlessly on one single mistake. Players spiral and implode with the world watching. Don’t be fooled by the pointy shoes, white gloves and waistcoats: it’s a brutal game.

Snooker in the ‘70s was little more than a pub sport, but this changed fast as a boom in interest

gave rise to a huge injection of funds. The investment and involvement of prominent sports-commercial figures such as Barry Hearn (father of boxing promoter Eddie Hearn) triggered explosive growth in the early ‘80s, and the difference showed.

Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins won his first World Championship (1972) in front of 100 spectators at a residential park in south-west Birmingham; he claimed his second (1982) in a packed-out Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, watched by 1000 people in the arena and over 10 million on television.

The game has changed a lot over its 50-year professional era. However, one man has shaped snooker and taken it to greater heights than any other: Ronnie’ O’Sullivan.

Known simply as ‘Ronnie’ by most, he has a cult following unlike any player on the circuit. He receives unwavering fan reinforcement (in the form of slurred grunts of ‘Go on Ronnie!’ from the usually polite, geriatric audience), particularly striking in a game where viewers who ‘support’ a single player are relatively rare. He is a player characterised by extremes: at once outstanding and insolent, weepy and aloof, unyieldingly impressive and utterly unhinged, he has the unlikely reputation as the ‘bad boy’ of snooker. However, Ronnie’s controversy has worked wonders for the game’s popularity.

People tune in to watch him play because they

don’t know what he’s going to do or say next. He other player (38), was the youngest player to win can turn up to a tournament and decimate the both the Masters and the UK Championship and competition without breaking a sweat, or can lose is the oldest World Champion. He has made the in the first round, swear at event staff and behave largest possible break, 147 uninterrupted points as though the whole thing was a pointless chore. (36 consecutive balls!), more times in televised His unpredictability and emotion in an odd way competitions than any other player (15), and has encapsulate the enduring appeal of snooker. done it faster than any other (five minutes and He is a player charac- “He is a player characterised by eight seconds). The stats terised by extremes: at for themselves: surely extremes: at once outstanding speak once outstanding and inhe is the greatest ever? solent, weepy and aloof, and insolent, weepy and aloof, The Englishman’s 7th unyieldingly impressive and world title this month disunyieldingly impressive and utterly unhinged, he utterly unhinged, he has the played the vintage stylish has the unlikely reputawe have become unlikely reputation as the ‘bad snooker tion as the ‘bad boy’ of accustomed to from him; boy’ of snooker.”” snooker. he’s still got it and his ability On the table, however, at the table shows no signs his records are unparalleled and unrelenting. The of slowing down. His behaviour regularly sugprofessional snooker season consists primarily gests that his interest in the game is waning, and of seventeen so-called ‘ranking events’, the most it seems that this may be the rate-limiting factor important of which are the UK Championship, in his career, rather than age-related diminishing The Masters and the World Championship – the ability. Maybe he still cares, maybe he is interested coveted ‘triple crown’. Only eleven players in the in breaking his own records once again, and maybe sport’s history can say they have won each of these we can hope that he will yet take the sport to higher competitions at least once during their career, heights. He represents everything great and gritty while O’Sullivan alone has 21 triple crown titles in snooker, and what he does with a cue is art. Long – a perfect and truly unfathomable seven of each. may it continue.

He has also won more ranking events than any