Monday 6th April 2026
Blog Page 1043

Balliol joins protest against Yarl’s Wood

Lizzie Diggins
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Balliol joins protest against Yarl’s Wood

Balliol JCR passed a motion on Sunday pledging £100 of financial support to the upcoming protest at Yarl’s Wood Immigrant Removal Centre in Bedfordshire. The protest, which will take place on December 3rd, is being coordinated by a number of activist groups including ‘Movement for Justice’, which is running the fundraising initiative for the protest.

The Facebook page for the event criticises “the brutal, racist attitude of the guards” at Yarl’s Wood as revealed by undercover footage from Channel 4, as well as government inquiries. The protest’s aim is to shut down Yarl’s Wood and other immigrant Removal Centres.

A spokesperson for Serco, the security organisation that runs Yarl’s Wood, said, “We understand and appreciate the vulnerability of the people in our care and the legitimate concerns that many people and organisations have about them.

“We will continue to work to ensure that the residents are well looked after at this difficult time in their lives. Any instance of sexually inappropriate behaviour is completely unacceptable and any allegations are reported to the police. The last incident of this nature was in December 2012.

“Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prison[s] were clear in their latest report that no residents at Yarl’s Wood said they were aware of staff involved in any illegal activity or sexual abuse of detainees.”

The motion was proposed by Balliol’s charities officers, Rivka Shaw and Sophie Conquest.

Shaw said, “The main thrust of our motion was actually to publicise the protest in question. Having attended one in the same vein in March, we feel that these protests are particularly important because of the tangible effect they have; the women inside the centre are able to communicate with the protesters, even putting messages out of the window that we could read.”

The Balliol General Meeting passed the motion with no opposition. On the ‘Movement for Justice’ funding page, they state, “As the demonstrations grow, so do the costs. Your money will fund coaches, train tickets, public transport costs and food/drink for the day.’

A spokesperson for Movement for Justice commented, “Racist and xenophobic attacks on immigrants post Brexit are becoming ever more menacing with the border encroaching into our schools, hospitals, housing and sweeping attacks on international students we need students to step up, to take up this struggle as their struggle.

“We’ve won so much in the past few years, detention is at the lowest point it’s been for over a decade with detention centres closing that’s no accident, it’s because of the movement now it’s time to build that movement in our schools, colleges and universities.”

Teddy Hall rugby team in“topless brawl”

Tony Diver
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Teddy Hall rugby team in“topless brawl”

Members of the St Edmund Hall rugby team were involved in a “topless brawl” on St Anne’s quad, and inflicted damage on the college bar area, Cherwell has learnt.

The bar, which was also being used to host the Anne’s versus Teddy Hall darts match, had its disabled toilet “smashed up” and its pool balls stolen, before the “brawl” began.

A source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the damage was caused by Teddy Hall’s rugby team, who were hosting drinks in the bar that night. They had come to support the darts team in the match against Anne’s, Cherwell was told, and significant damage was inflicted on the bar area after their 10-2 loss.

One St Anne’s second-year student said, “I was in the pool room of the bar and it sounded quite rowdy. Then some guy rushed in and shouted ‘quad wrestle’ so everyone went to see what was going on. These two guys were on the patch of grass between Wolfson and stacs and one of them was barely able to stand. Other people made them strip off their shirts and take off their shoes, then they started wrestling on the grass.

“All the Teddy Hall people had formed a semicircle around them and were shouting things like ‘I wanna see blood’”.

Arthur Norman, a second year biochemist, said, “They had generally been unpleasant throughout the night. One of their second years had apologised for their ‘rowdy freshers’. They all poured out of the bar onto a patch of grass that definitely wasn’t our quad. About 3 pairs of people arranged themselves opposite opposite each other, most were topless. The rest were standing around cheering them on.”

Another student at St Anne’s said, “I’m so glad I wasn’t there. It’s so frustrating. It’s also annoying in that the people that did it might get validation from the mess they’ve caused. I hope they get punished for it because our college has had to clear up the mess.”

Tom Dyer, the St Edmund Hall JCR President, told Cherwell, “The actions at St Anne’s bar are in no way acceptable and are not something which we want any student or society of Teddy Hall to be associated with. I cannot comment on the nature of the events as I was not there and the college investigation into the incident is ongoing. The events occurred whilst a darts fixture was going on in the adjacent room to the bar, however I understand it was not a member of the darts club responsible.

The Teddy Hall dean will be working to ensure that appropriate action is taken against those responsible. I would like to take the opportunity to apologise on behalf of those there to the bar staff, dean and students of St Anne’s. As I have said, this is absolutely not acceptable and not something we wish to be associated with Teddy Hall.”

St Anne’s College and JCR President declined to comment.

Fanny Price: Unsung heroine

Thomas Peet
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Fanny Price: Unsung heroine

Poor Fanny Price. The virtuous, earnest and shy protagonist of Mansfield Park is undoubtedly Jane Austen’s least popular heroine. She possesses neither the wit nor vivaciousness of Elizabeth Bennet, neither the glamour nor fortune of Emma Woodhouse. Equally she does not undergo any major transformation like that of Marianne Dashwood that allows her to become adored by the reader over time. No, instead Fanny spends most of the novel wandering about the edges of the titular estate, lamenting the hardship of her position as an outsider, frowning upon the immoral behaviour of her spoilt relations, and bottling up her long-held love for Edmund, the one cousin who treats her kindly. One can easily deduce, therefore, why critics like Clara Calvo find Fanny “priggish, passive, naive and hard to like”. Indeed, Austen’s own mother famously thought Fanny was “insipid”, a view that has often been perpetuated by current audiences.

Mansfield Park was Austen’s third novel to be published, and is certainly one of her most profound works; however for too long it has been neglected by readers and scholars alike on the grounds that it is less ironic, less comical and perhaps less typical than the rest of the author’s output. Clearly, the main character herself is not often liked.

Nevertheless, I believe there are more subtle conclusions to be drawn about the character of Fanny Price. Many of her defenders invoke a kind of paragon of Christian virtue, summarised by Claire Tomalin’s view that “it is in rejecting obedience in favour of the higher dictate of remaining true to her own conscience that Fanny rises to her moment of heroism.” Essentially she is suggesting we realise our affection for Fanny by the end of the novel because she has endured a difficult upbringing away from her parents and because she refuses to compromise her integrity for the sake of fashionable tastes. Such a view carries significant weight amongst modern readers. Although it does not include certain aspects of the Mansfield Park narrative.

Fanny’s story is also about class, in an era when social justice discourse was still infantile. She is not upright or frigid out of personal choice, but because the role of representing the dutiful purpose of a less-privileged background is forced upon her. It may well be Fanny would enjoy an indulgent, care-free existence, much like the frivolous lifestyle of Mary Crawford, but her circumstances do not allow it. Her personal difficulties in a more troublesome environment at Mansfield presents her with stronger insight, and in this way, she offers a much more realistic portrait of women’s life in Regency England. Fanny is, after all, a poor relation offloaded by her overburdened parents who is sent away at a young age to be raised in the opulent surroundings of her cousins’ estate. Her mean-spirited aunt, Mrs Norris, continually reminds her of her social inferiority in this context, despite displaying warmth at the start.

And yet Fanny is resilient, unperturbed and uncorrupted by the more luxurious situation landed upon her. To me this displays a strength of character which we should not only sympathise with, but admire and appreciate as one of Austen’s greatest portrayals, especially since her authorial genius in this novel is so remarkable, for she does not just set about making you fall immediately in love with the book’s heroine from the first chapter. She does not glorify her with flattering gentlemen, skills of flirtation or noble actions. Instead, she patiently sketches out the humility, respectability and overall good nature of an underloved and under-appreciated young woman, which is why Fanny Price’s happy ending is perhaps the most deserved out of all Jane Austen novels.

Red on Blue: How can we best help refugees?

Liam Astle and Matt Burwood
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Red on Blue: How can we best help refugees?

Red: Liam Astle

At this moment we are living in an increasingly global world – something we all prosper from. We can travel across continents with relative ease and study in other nations than our own; we can spread ideas with the press of an upload button; we can get a job in almost any location, and become informed on global happenings by turning on the TV.

Yet we can’t just reap the benefits of being British citizens in a global community without accepting the duties that come with it all. Refugees are people in the most vulnerable position we can imagine: without homes, without nations and in total desperation. If we accept that a community has a duty to help those in need, why do we refuse to directly help the most desperate on a global scale?

By only accepting 20,000 refugees into Britain per year, the government has done the bare minimum. Canada is letting in 25,000 per year; Germany has already received 800,000; and Turkey has received 2,500,000. Britain, meanwhile, has dodged its duty to the international community by only allowing a small amount into our nation.

The natural rebuttal to such an argument would be that by funding refugee camps we’re doing our international duty by supporting refugees in vulnerable positions, ensuring there are institutions open to them so that they have immediate relief available. What this disregards is the value of a stable environment where people can move past the trauma of war, outside the limbo of a camp and to a new life. The opportunity to have a fresh start is one which cannot be understated. The opportunity to raise a family in peace, to get an education and the safety that can often be found are a stark contrast to the war-torn zones refugees escape from.

Take Ahmed Hussen. He arrived in Canada as a refugee from Somalia in 1996 at the age of 16. He finished his secondary school studies and attended York University in Toronto, graduating in 2002, followed by a degree in law at the University of Ottawa. He began practising law in 2013 – and in 2015, he became the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons.

Such a story shows the transformative opportunities presented by the chance to settle in a new nation, to have clear opportunities to develop one’s education and to have a clean break.  What we can offer is opportunity along with stability, something which cannot always be ensured by funding distant refugee camps.

We have a duty to the global community and to the most vulnerable to share the burden which we face more evenly across our nations; a duty to offer people a direct chance to better their condition and give them a fresh chance at life. We owe it to the world and we owe it to the refugees themselves.

Blue: Matt Burwood

The government can scarcely be accused of holding back when it comes to their response to the Syrian crisis. By now, over £3.2 billion of public funds have been committed to the UK’s response. We can be proud of this tremendous donation which goes to support some of the most vulnerable people trapped in Syria and displaced in the region, and goes a long way to fund regional and international organisations as they go about their extraordinary relief work. It’s worth finding some perspective on just how significant the UK contribution has been, and I refer you to Oxfam’s “Fair Share Analysis” for 2015, which compares national GDP to relief contributions. The UK was deemed to have provided 237% of their theoretical “fair share”, eclipsing Germany, France and Russia at a decent 152%, meagre 45%, and abysmal 1% respectively.

In terms of cash, then, we are not one of those countries flagrantly shirking their responsibilities to some of the most beleaguered and desperate people in the world. But there is the question of how British generosity should be directed – whether the government should continue to focus on regional support rather than the acceptance of refugees. Fundamentally, both approaches have the potential to achieve great things for those touched by the conflict, but we must make sensible choices which lead to the best results given our limited resources.

Accepting refugees is a costly business; the charity War Child UK estimates that while providing basic food, water, education and opportunity to a refugee in Jordan would cost circa $3,000, the equivalent cost in Europe is more like $30,000. Advocates of large scale acceptance of refugees into Europe have to explain why the benefits of moving one refugee to Europe outweigh the opportunity cost of ten refugees in the Middle East who might otherwise have benefitted from our support. I am not arguing that refugee camps are a comfortable or in any way satisfactory compromise – as four million refugees in camps remain without access to work or education, their lives indefinitely on pause, it is essential that we work hard to uphold our commitments to help these people meaningfully and quickly. We could certainly pour resources into helping tens of thousands of additional refugees relocate Britain, or we could choose to stretch those funds ten times further by bringing some basic human dignity to the vast camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.

Besides this general argument in favour of supporting refugees in the region over large scale resettlement, I feel it is right to note a few more details about our government’s approach. Firstly, 87% of Syrians claiming asylum in the twelve months up to March this year were accepted into the UK. Secondly, the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme provides a route for refugees to enter the UK who have suffered torture and sexual violence, or who are elderly or disabled. Thirdly, there is the intention to resettle 20,000 in the next five years, and a more recent commitment to accept 3,000 vulnerable child refugees. These policies are abundantly sensible and compassionate when considering the significant but not limitless resources of the British public. Amid a tragedy on the scale of the Syrian Civil War, it is nearly impossible to reach satisfactory resolutions. Ultimately, hard decisions must be made, and the ones being made by the government are for the right reasons.

Rediscovering Halloween

Emma Leech
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Rediscovering Halloween

If you walked down my street ten years ago, a few days after Halloween, you would be greeted by spooky-themed carnage: moulding pumpkins, tattered paper skeletons and littered sweet wrappers. It was, almost ironically, a Halloween ghost town. A few days prior, the streets were filled with DIY ghosts, sugar-fuelled witches and laughter. The quiet cul-de-sac was lit up with can- delight glinting off sparkly costumes. Huddles of parents chatted as children extorted their neighbours for the sweets which would become the main point of familial contention over the coming weeks.

Eventually, the children went to bed with smudged face pain and stomachs full of E numbers. Happy. However, like those mould- ing pumpkins, my experience of Halloween has been somewhat ravaged with the effects of time. As a small child, my house was the hub of festivities when the spooky season approached. Weeks of planning went into the night: papier mâché decorations, hand-sewn costumes, apples to be bobbed. The community came out in its masses to celebrate the one holiday that brought us all together. My cyclical alternation between cat and witch costume sufficed to help me garner all the sweets I could carry as I went around my neighbours spouting a joke for which I had spent the previous week trawling through tattered joke books. It is a Scottish tradition to say a joke to earn your ‘treat’ so this was a vital part of proceedings and “What is brown and sticky? A stick” was a family favourite. In a rare display of un-Britishness, we would voluntarily interact with the people we lived around. Elderly neighbours would meet the kids whose screams kept them from their afternoon naps and those who were more reclusive would be, if willing, welcomed into the neighbourhood circle. Under the guise of spreading Halloween fever, we were actually spreading neighbourly values and friendship. Of course, those who did not want to participate were respected as were encouraged only to approach houses with decorations. I am under no illusions that the appearance of a ghost is always unwelcome to some people, even if it is just an eight-year-old under a bedsheet.

My memory of these years may sound hyperbolic, and I will admit, at the time, I was more focussed on the food and that one neighbour who gave out actual money (a whole 20p each!) than the social barriers being broken down, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. As all the children in our street bobbed for apples in my living room, we shared more than a basin. Our common childhood experience of Halloween is something we will always treasure. It was never high-budget or flashy, but it’s amazing how far doughnuts on a string can go to entertain a village’s children. I accept that memories are embellished over time, and I don’t deny that there were Halloween mishaps, but having your face painted as a spider witch instead of a regular one is not exactly catastrophic. As Halloween rolled around every year, we dusted the cobwebs off the faux-cobwebs and prepared for one of our favourite nights of the year. However, just as carved pumpkins cannot last for- ever, neither could this wonderfully juvenile experience.

As we entered our later teenage years, we no longer wanted our parents accompany us around our block as house parties beckoned. Influenced by swathes of Halloween parties in movies (Mean Girls I’m looking at you) the aim was now to look striking, not sinister. Witches cloaks were replaced with short skirts and fake blood with high heels—although, admittedly, the way I staggered in them was almost zombie-like. Outfits were planned for weeks, not for realism but for the opportunity to strategically smuggle vodka past our parents. As a non-drinker at that time, I stood aside awkwardly as Aladdin flirted with Cher from Clueless and the entire cast of Anchorman vomited in the middle of the dance- floor.

Admittedly, this new-found freedom was exciting, but the hyperactivity from too much sugar was easier to sleep on than the nausea from too much off-brand gin. My meticulously planned costumes would last an hour at most before someone was sick on them or the party was shut down. I would return home, exhausted and disappointed, to my parents who would tell me of all the trick-or-treaters who had come to our door and a small part of me wished I could have joined them instead. One of my favourite days of the year had been marred by adolescence and insolence. However, in the depths of my heart, a lit pump- kin still flickers. Those memories of traipsing the streets surrounded by friends and neighbours, weighed down by bags of chocolate will always prevail in my mind and my love of Halloween endures. I am in no way demonising (excuse the pun) alcohol for its involvement in these years. We were naïve and thought we were untouchable, which some found to be untrue the hard way through the intervention of a stomach pump, but I’m taking back control of my Halloween. This year I am going to lay on the sweets, decorations, and judgement if people don’t make an effort. Yes, there will probably be drink involved (sorry, mum) but I assure you, if someone is sick on my decorations then there will be no need for fake blood.

How rational are we?

Johanne Nedergaard
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How rational are we?

One of the cornerstones of the Western philosophical tradition is the idea that human beings are fundamentally rational, that we can question motives, reason about causation and think logically about abstract problems. Or at least we believe we can. However philosophical the issue of human rationality may seem, attempts have been made at resolving it with experimental science and the results have severely called the very notion into question.

In experimental psychology there are ways to test and measure whether humans react and respond rationally compared to what is dictated by formal logic, the philosopher’s golden standard. The most famous experimental paradigm used to test logical reasoning is Wason’s Card Selection Task. Four cards with a letter on one side and a number on the other are placed on the table in front of the participant, with A, K, 4, and 7 showing on the side facing upwards as illustrated in Figure 1a. The participant is asked to turn over the two cards which would allow definitive confirmation of the rule that if there is a vowel on one side, then there will be an even number on the other—which, in the language of logic, is “if p, then q”. Try this for yourself first before you read on.

According to formal logic, the correct choice would be to turn the cards showing A and 7. If A is true then there must be an even number on the other side, and if 7 is true, then there cannot be a vowel on the other side. However, most people rather turn cards A and 4, the ‘positive evidence’ of the rule. This seems to suggest that formal logic might not be a good model of optimal human reasoning. Nevertheless, human beings do reason. So if not by formal logic, then how?

Later research has suggested that we may instead employ probability or use an evolved mechanism for detecting social cheaters because when detecting cheaters in a real-world scenario people do generally demonstrate logical reasoning. This can be seen, for example, if the participants in the experiment are asked to detect ‘rule breakers’ in a card selection task such as the one shown in Figure 1b. Here the rule is that if a person is drinking wine, then they must be over 18. Which cards would you turn over now? Most people will now turn cards ‘p’ and ‘not-q’, the ‘correct’ choices according to logic.

The reader will sense that it is much more intuitive to turn cards ‘p’ and ‘not-q’ than it was with the vowels-and-even-numbers rule. Perhaps the first task is too abstract and too far removed from everyday reasoning. Although it may seem like we are following the rules of formal logic in the second task, it may be merely an example of optimal data selection.

Consider that if a pot falls in the kitchen then there will be a loud bang. To check this rule, it is hardly rational, or useful, to run to the kitchen every time we do not hear a loud bang as formal logic would dictate, but rather look for the positive evidence to draw probable conclusions. If there is a loud bang, it is probably—but not definitely—because a pot has fallen in the kitchen.

In the end it seems that logical reasoning may not be the best and most adaptive way for human beings to reason. Instead, we adapt our reasoning to prior knowledge and the particular problem posed. We adjust our actions to the situation and the problem at hand, attempt to extract the most useful information, and adjust our conclusions accordingly. People are not rational in the sense that they always use logical reasoning but rather in the sense that they choose the best strategy for the situation.

Figures adapted from Yeung, N. (2016). Cognitive Psychology: Logical Reasoning lecture series

Interview: Paul Smith

Stephanie Wright
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Interview: Paul Smith

Professor Paul Smith is a palaeontologist and the Director of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, having worked in and curated many museums in his career. He spoke to Cherwell about his research and the role of the OUMNH.

First a little about your research. What was the Cambrian explosion?

It’s a short period of geological time about 520 million years ago when most of the major groups of animals appear in the fossil record. The more we’ve looked at this interval the more we’ve realised that it’s an event; it’s not that different groups appear gradually through time. By geological standards it is sharp.

Is research into the Cambrian explosion changing?

In recent years we’ve been looking at a new locality. There aren’t too many places that we can go in the world that have the exact time interval with the quality of fossil preservation that we need to look at anatomical detail. One is the Burgess Shale which was found in the early part of the 20th century. The problem is that it slightly post-dates that maximum period of diversification. There’s another locality that’s the right age, very diverse and has wonderful preservation in South China, the Cheng Jiang deposit, but that’s only one locality. A few years ago a third locality turned up in Greenland, only about 500 miles south of the North Pole, so quite a hostile environment, but it has all of those qualities. We can now use geochemistry and standard geological field techniques to really begin to put together a detailed picture of exactly which environment these early ecosystems were located.

Do we know what caused the Cambrian explosion?

It doesn’t take long researching to realise that there are almost as many hypotheses as papers have been written about this event. Everything from enhanced cosmic ray bombardment, through to changes in the genome of these multicellular organisms through to changes in ocean geochemistry and many more. For the most part people are proposing single cause hypotheses within their own discipline—biologists invent genetic mechanisms, geochemists invent geochemical mechanisms, geologists tend to look at bigger-picture geological mechanisms. What relatively few people have done is look at all of these different events and how they work together in a causal chain.

What we think happened is a major sea level rise flooded a piece of the continent that had been weathered for half a billion years so it was rich in detritus that was flushed into the marine system, introducing a lot of nutrients. There’s also a flush of toxins. Calcium, a cell toxin, is noticeably higher at this time in oceans. We think that that utilisation of calcium may have led to the origin of skeletons and shells. Interestingly, we find both predatory tissues (teeth) and defensive tissues (shells) appearing at the exact same time, so it seems this immediately triggered an evolutionary arms race.

A rise in sea level also dramatically increases the habitable area where light can penetrate. The diversity of an ecosystem is directly proportional to the habitable area, so if we’re flooding that continent with warm, shallow water full of nutrients we’re going to increase the carrying capacity. There’s a whole range of events that we can monitor using this site in Greenland.

Why is the Oxford University Museum of Natural History important?

We have a full role in research and teaching at the university, so in that sense we are an academic department. But we’ve got another role in public engagement, where there are two principle aims. One is to create the next generation of people who are interested in the natural environment, capturing their enthusiasm when they’re young and then making sure it’s a lifelong interest by propelling the widest variety of people to choose careers in science.

The other role that’s coming to the fore is that, as a society, we face some really big decisions over the next decade, whether it’s climate change and polar melting of ice caps or whether we should frack, whether we use GM crops. We can inform on these using our collections and can harness university research to tackle them. We’ve launched a series of temporary exhibitions called ‘Contemporary Science in Society’ where we try to address some of these themes. Last year we had ‘Biosense’, an exhibition about 3 types of biological sensing: oxygen sensing and light sensing in animals, and spatial sensing in bacteria. Underpinning all three elements was research into finding new generations of drugs—cancer treatments, jet lag treatments and practices, and new antibiotics.

We bring research that would otherwise be embedded in technical papers to new audiences and let them make their own minds up about the science.

Ashmolean opens new Islamic Art exhibition

Ethan Croft
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Ashmolean opens new Islamic Art exhibition

The Ashmolean Museum’s new exhibition of Islamic art opened to visitors last Thursday. ‘Power and Protection’ displays a variety of imagery and artistry that reflects the hopes and fears of Muslims over the centuries. From the thirteenth century Mosul to nineteenth century Darfur, the selected artefacts open up a fascinating span of religious and artistic history, drawing from the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi branches of Islam.

The first section of ‘Power and Protection’ focuses in part on the practice of astrology in the Islamic world. Although a point of contention amongst Muslim theologians, the link between this so-called superstition and scientific inquiry is of particular interest in the exhibition. I noticed an ‘astrolabe’ contraption, which ostensibly measures the position of celestial bodies according to the horizon. Muslim astronomers, however, modified the device to determine the time and direction of prayers. An intricate tablet from thirteenth century Damascus was also used to mechanically enhance the process of geomancy (or ‘science of the sand’), a popular method of divination. The importance of dreams in Islam is clear to see in items such as the painstakingly assembled ‘Dictionary for the Interpretation of Dreams’, accompanied in the exhibition by the personal Dream book of controversial eighteenth century Indian ruler Tipu Sultan. Much of it is devoted not to literalism, but rather to formulating his own opinions about these ‘visions from God’, evincing the optimistic view on the wall of the exhibition that “the universe is a vast book waiting to be read.”

Other artefacts impress not through their innovation, but because of their striking aesthetic value. These include sabres and armour emblazoned with sacred verse, for example the sword of Sultan ‘Ali Dinar, crafted in 1898. This emphasises the power of the word in Islamic culture. Similarly, Talismanic garments worn by men, women, and children bare religious calligraphy. This appears to stem from the Quranic idea that sacred words provide protection from harm.

Although recently opened, the ‘Power and Protection’ exhibit has already garnered praise from Islamic leaders and scholars. The Oxford Foundation’s Imam Monawar Hussain has commented, “I am convinced that this exhibition will help to deepen and enrich people’s appreciation of our faith.” And Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at St. Benet’s College, said: “the exhibition shows the many creative paths which Muslims follow towards the Oneness of God.”

The ‘Power and Protection’ exhibition is free to visit for all University of Oxford students, and will run until 15th January 2017. An illustrated catalogue of the exhibition is also available to buy.

Pembroke JCR passes anti-Brexit motion

Theo Davies-Lewis
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Pembroke JCR passes anti-Brexit motion

Pembroke College’s JCR have passed a motion that stated its “disapproval” of the current government and its support for an “open and tolerant Britain”.

The motion also mandates the JCR to donate £300 to Open Britain, the official replacement of ‘Stronger In’, which campaigned for the ‘Remain’ campaign during the EU referendum.

The motion, proposed by JCR Treasurer Thomas Ash, accused the government of “undermining liberalism”. It called on the UK to “remain a bastion of tolerance, liberalism and openness in a world fraught with oppression and cruelty” as the government “seems to be heading towards a ‘hard brexit’ and various parochial polcies”.

Thomas Ash said that he had been “appalled by the rhetoric” of current members of the government.

He added that Theresa May’s comment was an example “of pure nationalism and xenophobia, especially when combined with other recent comments concerning foreign workers and immigration”, and that Open Britain are “one of the few organisations that exists specifi cally to get an open deal out of the Brexit negotiations”.

While 49 JCR members voted in favour of the motion, there was a small minority present at the meeting who disagreed.

Charlie McGrath, a History and English finalist, said, “it would have been much better, and certainly less political and divisive, if the money had been donated to a charity that genuinely does contribute to a more open and tolerant Britain, rather than one whose actions are clearly intended to nullify to the greatest extent possible the referendum result.

“The proposer of the motion, JCR Treasurer Tom Ash, made clear that he believed this motion should be divorced from the Brexit vote. Open Britain’s admission that it is a successor to Stronger In makes it clear that this is impossible”.

Daniel McAteer, who seconded the motion, said, “Any time our JCR supports an LGBT campaign, we are taking a political position: a position on what people should be able to do with their lives.”

While the motion denounced the government for policies that were “a violation of liberalism and cosmopolitanism”, McAteer also offered his view as to whether institutions, such as Oxford University itself, had ever shown instances of “pure nationalism and xenophobia” discussed in the motion.

He said,“I don’t think the institution is xenophobic. I haven’t seen any students act in a xenophobic way either, but who knows what dodgy mutterings you might find in the darkest corners of Christ Church, for example”.

Despite the motion being proposed early in Michaelmas, it is not the first time a college JCR has expressed its view on members of the government and its policies.

In 2011, St John’s JCR unanimously passed a motion of ‘No Confidence in the Minister of Higher Education’, David Willetts. On that occasion, the JCR’s motion joined the 177 academics in condemning Willets, which Cherwell reported had joined “students in calling for the University to formally ‘express dissatisfaction’ with government higher education policy.”

Pembroke’s JCR President, Hope Oloye, said, “I believe that my own personal views on this matter are irrelevant. As a JCR we’re committed to representing all of our members and promoting unity within the student body.

We get a large variety of motions submitted for discussion and none, including those of a more political nature, change this fundamental belief; neither do they affect any of the other services we provide.”

Balliol JCR donates to ‘Toilet Twinning’ charity

Fatima Al-Kassab
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Balliol JCR donates to ‘Toilet Twinning’ charity

Balliol college JCR passed a motion on Sunday pledging to twin one of their loos with another block of toilets in a developing country. The JCR agreed to donate £240 to the clean sanitation charity Tearfund, as part of their ‘Toilet Twinning’ scheme. The College voted on the money specifi cally going towards the building of a toilet block in a displacement camp.

Balliol’s decision to twin its toilet follows a similar one taken by Hertford, who already run the scheme. The Toilet Twinning project aims to provide clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education to the poorest countries in Africa and Asia, in the hope of improving toilet facilities and preventing the spread of disease.

Balliol JCR member Richard Ware, who proposed the motion at the College’s GM on Sunday, told Cherwell, “it is ridiculously easy to provide adequate sanitation: there will be a number in the Balliol bar loos to text to donate to a loo providing charity. Do some good when you poop.” The JCR motion stated “everyone should have access to clean, safe sanitary facilities” and “Hertford are currently making us look bad.” Balliol College will receive a certifi cate to put up in the chosen loo confi rming its participation in the scheme. Toilets taking part also get a photo of their twin latrine, and GPS coordinates of where in the world it is.

The motion suggested providing a ‘donate now by text’ number in the bar toilets which college members could use to donate directly to a toilet charity.

Ellie Rink, from the Toilet Twinning charity, said, “I am absolutely delighted that Balliol College has pledged to raise enough money for a School or IDP camp. In fact, I challenge the college to raise enough to twin all the toilets within its premises.”

She added, “If diff erent colleges are pledging to twin their toilets it would be great if they could all work together towards a greater goal.”The charity also runs a ‘Toilet Twinning University Scheme’ that encourages university-wide fundraising to twin as many toilets as possible.

Balliol College’s Charity reps Rivka Shaw and Sophie Conquest told Cherwell, “We were really pleased that Richard brought the motion, and that it was decided that a toilet block would be built in a displacement camp, which follows on from Balliol’s recent eff orts regarding the Refugee Scholarship.

“As Richard said in the General Meeting, it’s also a good way of generating further charitable donations as when people see the ‘twinning’ certifi cate they will hopefully be inspired to do something similar.”

According to Toilet Twinning, there are currently 2.4 billion people in the world that don’t have access to hygienic toilet facilities.

In twinning the toilet nearest the College bar with one on the other side of the world, Balliol College will help to build toilet facilities where access to clean water is limited. Since its creation, the scheme has helped to build 64,187 toilets around the world.

Toilet Twinning describes itself as a “simple, quirky way to solve a serious problem.” The charity funds “the work of international relief and Tearfund. This combination works together to prevent the spread of disease. With better health, men and women discover the potential that lies within them to bring transformation.”

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