Saturday 25th April 2026
Blog Page 1076

Brexit: have you heard the good news?

John Maier
-
0
Brexit: have you heard the good news?

Some of you may have missed the fallout from the recent EU referendum, which by all accounts was a minimal and rather subdued affair – a real blink-and-you’ll-miss-it geopolitical disaster.

If, like me, you’ve been too busy aggressively trading against the Pound and applying for dual citizenship to fully take notice of the country crumbling around your feet, then the outlook after Brexit-week-one might seem a little perplexing. The media coverage has been a bit like a 24-hour version of the ‘fake news’ they have in episodes of Dr. Who, used to create an impression of imminent apocalypse; except it’s been scarier because Diane Abbot’s been on a lot of it.

Speaking of which, I think we can all agree that what is sadly often missing from fictional representations of unimaginable catastrophes is an appreciation of how difficult it is for the viewer at home to keep track of the many different threads of disaster. Like having an orgy in a house of mirrors, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by how absolutely everybody is totally fucked from every possible perspective.

Confusion is the problem. Particularly in the days since the referendum, in which we’ve watched the country trying to vomit out a decade’s worth of news in a single week. A suspicious volume of news, one might say. So much news, in fact, that I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole “referendum” thing isn’t just a Westminster plot to incapacitate Laura Kuenssberg through over-work. See! More news – right there!

As is clear, the proliferation of news is practically unstoppable. Thus, even the attentive viewer may be in need of some guidance as to what exactly – to use a technical word – has ‘happened’.

Thursday 23rd:

Thursday was referendum day, and by 10pm, although we didn’t know it yet, we’d already ‘made Britain Great again’.

This is the first bone of contention. Some argue that we have ‘made Britain great again’. Others suggest that we have ‘put the great into Great Britain’; by my calculations this would make us ‘Great Great Britain’, a name which seems not only descriptively un-creative, but also uncharacteristically enthusiastic.

The nail-biting eight hour results show started as it meant to continue: managing to combine terror and tedium in practically unbearable quantities. Almost immediately Wales decided unequivocally to leave, which is funny because last time I was in Wales, so did I.

Friday 24th:

This was the day ‘Brexit’ went from seeming like an unpleasant kind of cereal to seeming like an unpleasant kind of serial – one which refused to end.

By daybreak our great floating ham of a Prime Minister had resigned, much to the dismay of all of those who had just gotten used to his steady and predictable level of incompetence. During the interludes between fresh news, footage of Dave resigning was continuously replayed, often under a black and white filter, to show us how it will look to future school children watching documentaries about the causes of Britain’s decline and eventual collapse into the sea. Meanwhile, a spitting and sweaty Nigel Farage addressed his dutiful planet from the new UKIP Deathstar, so visibly aroused by victory that he was barely able to maintain his human form.

Most channels balanced these disquieting images with soothing footage of stock-market traders screaming at each other across their offices while desperately trying to hold three telephones to their faces and gaping at various plummeting graph lines.

The weekend:

As prominent Brexiteers helpfully reminded us, the clever thing to do after plunging ourselves voluntarily into a situation of unprecedented division and antagonism is to ‘unite’, ‘come together’, and most importantly, ‘move forward’. It’s hard to know what to take from this, except that we must have previously imported most of our appreciation of irony from the EU. But the advice certainly does provide a moment of reflection to anyone who previously thought that Michael Gove couldn’t appear any more punchable.

Monday 27th:

The UK’s credit-rating was downgraded from triple A to post-apocalyptic. This means the outlook is not good for the UK’s short- to medium- to long-term future.

Later on, George Osborne was found alive, in hiding, and promptly captured, shaved and hauled in front of a camera. This provided an acute reminder that nothing screams market-confidence like senior political figures being positioned, wide-eyed and trembling, in front of auto-cues and stammering through the lines: ‘we have robust plans for Britain’s future outside the EU ’.

Tuesday 28th:

Not wanting the referendum result to unduly disadvantage the Tories, the ever fair-minded Labour Party took it upon themselves to make the Conservatives look well-organized – comparatively, at least. Pretty soon, with a heavy heart, I too sent my letter of resignation to Jeremy, (I had been assured this was very much the ‘in’ thing to do). Soon enough, the front bench were running out of seats to resign from, leaving poor old Jeremy, John McDonnell and the work-experience-boy-turned-Shadow-Justice-Minister in a desperately understaffed office.

Wednesday 29th:

To be honest, by this point I got bored and switched channels to Grand Designs. But I’m pretty sure I can piece things together.

With no effective Prime Minister, and no leader of the opposition, things quickly went from bad to Michael Gove. By dawn, crowds were pictured straining desperately against the reinstated Hadrian’s Wall border with Scotland, while others smelted down their worthless Sterling into spear heads and other rudimentary tools. The UKIP Deathstar eclipsed the sun and Emperor Farage looked down upon his creation and saw that it was good. Rural England was swept by uncontrolled fires and outbreaks of bubonic plague, while Jeremy Corbyn insisted he still held the widespread support of the grassroots Labour Party members.

On the bright side, I was just moving the sofa and found a whole euro!… enough to purchase safe passage to that mythic free world beyond the closely-guarded borders of Great-Great-Britain.

 

 

 

Scottish Independence: a referendum too far?

Charles Clegg
-
0
Scottish Independence: a referendum too far?

The course of politics, Shakespeare may well have said, never did run smooth. The EU referendum was always going to disturb that path in some way. A seed first planted in January 2013 and watered by the unexpected Conservative majority of last year, the referendum, now sprung up but bearing an unexpected flower, sprawls across the course of British politics and national life like an impenetrable overgrowth in whose obfuscating tendrils everyone and everything’s fates seem doomed to be entangled. All now is in doubt: the Conservative and Labour leaderships, Britain’s immediate economic prospects, and even how or if at all the result of this referendum will be enacted.

Nowhere in Britain is such doubt more keenly felt than in Scotland. The surprise loss of the SNP majority at Holyrood and the surge in Conservative support in the elections of earlier this year seemed to point to an interesting coming term. The SNP not only had no clear mandate for their proposed second referendum on independence, but finally, it seemed, they would be grilled by a competent opposition. Meanwhile, Sturgeon would have to placate the large swathes of her party’s membership who wanted a second referendum as soon as possible, while confronting the reality that not only were they unlikely to win an immediate second vote, but that the constitutional question was effectively off the table.

Then the Referendum happened. Any such predictions are in pieces on the floor. Bitter, prolonged, and decisive as the last referendum on Scottish independence was, Scotland was promised continued membership of the EU if it remained in the UK The EU Referendum has result has changed that and, as unpleasant as a second referendum may be, there are now grounds for one.

Nevertheless, a second referendum on Scottish independence oughtn’t to, and I doubt will, happen immediately. Tempting as an SNP government may find it to capitalise upon the immediate shock and disappointment of many Scots and hold a referendum as soon as possible, there is no guarantee the independence case would win one. The EU Referendum showed a clear majority of Scots in favour of remaining in the EU, but subsequent polling, while mostly showing higher support than previously for independence, does not show support for independence to be as high as might be expected and few put it as high as the sixty per cent the SNP claim to want to win a referendum. Many Scots who voted to remain did so chiefly because they wanted to keep the UK together.

Meanwhile, a number of options must be explored before another Scottish referendum can take place, some of which, if successful, may invalidate the need for such a referendum altogether. The Scottish government ought to wait till Brexit negotiations are finished and there is a clear idea of what Britain’s exit will look like. A referendum should take place only once it is clear whether Scotland could continue in the EU without the arduous process of application and readmission or if the UK could negotiate an advantageous continued relationship with Europe. Without these assurances, any campaign would be fought in a mire of conjecture and dogma. We don’t need another referendum like that.

Scotland, and indeed Northern Ireland, could also push for continued membership of the EU while remaining in the United Kingdom. While it’s easy, and very often right, to be sceptical about the SNP’s approach to anything that may delay the prospect of independence, the recent foundation of a committee of experts aiming to keep Scotland in the EU and Sturgeon’s own apparent lurch towards this stance suggest that the Scottish government could be aiming for such a position. Unusual as it may seem, such an arrangement would not be impossible. The Danish realm contains both Denmark, an EU member, and Greenland, a former EU member. This option has its complexities, but it also has precedent and in an organisation able to make up its own rules, only reciprocation on the part of the EU would be necessary to keep Scotland in the EU if the Scottish Government chose to take this approach. Given that such an outcome may also abrogate the cause for a second independence referendum, the UK government would be wise not to stand in its way.

Alternatively, the Scottish government could attempt to override Brexit. This view is rather dubious as it rests on the untested belief that the Scottish Parliament has the right to veto Westminster on matters regarding the EU It furthermore seems unlikely that the EU would recognise a Scottish attempt to block the whole UK’s exit from Europe given the much-expressed desire of EU officials for this process to be carried out as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Even if it were practicable, the Scottish Parliament would likely earn the justified ire of many for blocking a proposition supported by the majority of the British public.

The course of politics, European, British, and Scottish, is clouded and overgrown. I offer no predictions, but doubt. While a second independence referendum is not inevitable if some of the outlined options are followed, the continued integrity of the UK cannot be presupposed if Brexit complete and utter occurs. As a country, we have a long yomp before we know if that will be the case. Only once Britain’s future in Europe is known can the Scottish question be posed again and a fair debate be had of it.

A Student’s Guide to Wimbledon

Emma Leech
-
0
A Student’s Guide to Wimbledon

Wimbledon, as the epitome of middle class summer revelling, may scare off students. Who wants to spend their entire student loan for the privilege to experience what they would from the comfort of their own living rooms but with the added risk of sunburn? However, having just been to the land of green lawns and white skirts for the first time, there are certainly some ways in which students can make the most of Wimbledon on a budget.

The Queue

The most cost efficient way to get tickets into Wimbledon is by queuing up in the early morning. Don’t be phased by the reports of people camping out seemingly weeks in advance, if you can work against every teenage fibre in your body, arriving at 6am should see you able to get a ground pass at the very least. There is access to food stalls and, crucially, coffee and being assigned a queue number negates the need to be passive aggressive towards queue jumpers. The atmosphere fluctuates with the weather and clapping the sun when it comes out is indicative of the delirious tiredness of the crowd. Never fear though, napping is accepted, nay expected. In general, the queue has a great vibe and is enjoyable if your outlook, at least, is sunny.

Tickets

Once you get through the seemingly endless queue then you are faced with the decision of which ticket to buy and on 4 hours sleep this can be quite bewildering. A ground pass is £25 and this allows you to access all the courts except the top two. On a tight budget this is probably the best option as you can still watch Federer from Murray mound as long as you aren’t opposed to a few grass stains on your shorts. Also, seeing some of the less popular players in real life on the other courts gives you a much more personal experience with all the atmosphere still intact. There is also the added option of, if you can stomach it, another queue later in the afternoon to get resales of centre and first court tickets at £10 and £5 respectively, the proceeds of which are donated to charity.

Food

Food at Wimbledon on a budget is all about planning. If you are feeling frivolous you can dine at the champagne bar with buckets of shrimp or caviar but if you didn’t happen to take £200 cash then then this is my advice: swallow your pride and do as your mother always forced you to do, pack a lunch. Yes the micro-portion of fish and chips looks tempting but the £10 price tag leaves a bitter taste and, as you may be there for 9 or more hours, you could enter into your overdraft just by snacking. The staff are quite happy for you to bring food (although, from experience, bringing a butter knife to spread your hummus is more than frowned upon) so pack more than you think you will need and you’ll be set. At £2.50 the strawberries and cream are actually quite reasonably priced and, let’s be honest, if they’re not in your Snapchat story, did you even go to Wimbledon?

Drink

In terms of water, Wimbledon has been very accommodating to the needs of their clientele and has set up water fountains all over the site so bringing a water bottle is essential. I know what you’re really wondering about though, the Pimms. At £8.30 for a glass that is approximately 10 parts ice and fruit and 1 part Pimms, it might be best to say goodbye to the old clichés and avoid it. However, in these once in a lifetime situations, throwing caution to the wind and splashing out is maybe understandable. Alternatively, they do allow you to bring your own drinks, although there are some restrictions to avoid rowdiness as there is a fine line between getting merry on the mound and throwing up on Serena Williams.

Merchandise

It is easy in the cheerful, sporty atmosphere to get overwhelmed in the gift shops and come out with Wimbledon-branded everything and a full tennis kit insisting that you absolutely, positively will get in shape this year, but be savvy. There are several ways to get a memento without paying extortionate amounts for a tin of sweets (just because it has a logo on it). There is a stall selling used championship balls quite cheaply which is nice if you’re a player or the sentimental type. Also, if you’re feeling cheeky, the plastic cups that the beer is sold in have a logo on them and won’t be reused, I am reliably informed, so sticking a few in your bag doesn’t seem too rebellious.

Wimbledon continues until 10th July so if you’re in the area I would definitely recommend going along. Be thrifty but enjoy it, being woken from my post-queue nap on Murray Mound by light applause as Djokovic won another set was surreal but will surely be one of the highlights of my summer.

 

 

Rhodes Must Fall campaigners demonstrate outside Oriel open day

Ellen Peirson-Hagger
-
2
Rhodes Must Fall campaigners demonstrate outside Oriel open day

On Thursday 30th June members of Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford demonstrated outside Oriel College’s open day.

Oluwafemi Nylander and Ntozoko Sbo Qwabe, prominent members of the anti-colonial campaign in Oxford, stood shirtless outside the college which houses the infamous statue of Cecil Rhodes. The demonstrators stood with ‘I prefer land to n******’, reportedly a Rhodes quote, and ‘All Slaves College’ painted in red paint on their chests. The latter refers to All Souls College’s Codrington Library which commemorates Christopher Codrington, a fellow of the college who amassed his fortune through plantation slavery.

Source: Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford
Source: Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford

This demonstration comes after Nylander stood outside All Souls College on 20th June, topless and wearing a chain, with the words ‘All Slaves College’ painted on his chest in red paint, intended to symbolise the bloody nature of this history.

The two men stood outside the college from 9am-4pm yesterday, and were joined intermittently by other Rhodes Must Fall protesters, including Tadiwa Madenga and Athi-Nangamso Nkopa.

Photos make it clear that Oriel student helpers were vying for attention against the protesters, despite the Oriel College website insisting that potential Oriel students would be met with “a warm welcome” when visiting the open day.

Videos of Nylander and Qwabe discussing Rhodes and colonisation with members of the public were posted on the Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford Facebook page last night, but have since been taken down.

Speaking to Cherwell for comment, demonstrator Nylander said “We had a lot of discussions with people, some of whom claimed Rhodes killed no one and that the land he stole belonged to no one. Others of whom were rightfully disgusted.”

Source: Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford
Source: Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford

On their Facebook page, Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford argued that yesterday’s demonstration was a continuation of their call for the Rhodes statue to be removed.

“We will remember that just recently, overwhelming sentiment that the statue should be REMOVED swept at both the shallow ‘listening exercise’ events that Oriel purported to host in the past two weeks. We will also remember that various student bodies and platforms including OUSU, the Oxford Union, and a plethora of MCRs and JCRs have voted for the statue to be removed. But the college continues to hold on to this white supremacist monument – showing utter disregard for democratic values, and for the voices of its students, particularly those of colour.”

The statement went on to say “We find it important that potential Orielites, and students across Oxford, should know that Oriel College, like most of Oxford, is built on the blood of black people. Blood that has never been atoned for and addressed in any way. Blood that Oriel, and the rest of Oxford continues to unashamedly bath and bask in. Blood for which people of colour continue to bear the brunt of in this space, and around the world.”

Nylander also reports a police officer entering the college and quickly leaving. It is unclear whether the police presence was directly relevant to the protest.

Oriel College has declined to comment.

Touring the Ruskin Show’s newly-defined spaces

Anietie Ekanem
-
0
Touring the Ruskin Show’s newly-defined spaces

It was Brian O’Doherty who said that we experience the space before we experience the art in our contemporary context. Within the confines of the blank white walls at the new Ruskin School of Art studio in Cowley, the visitor finds the finalist degree show, exhibiting the debutants of the contemporary art scene.

The show was varied, with artists exploring experimental uses of both new and traditional media, drawing influence from both popular culture and visceral self experience. This was a show that took you on a journey.

Entering the space, one was confronted with both the sound pieces that formed a part of the video installations hidden behind curtains, before moving towards the more central part of the studio. anietie oneOne video installation which stood out in particular was Lu Williams’ Scum Channel — a video installation which combined a thought-provoking exploration on female representation within a tactfully kitsch setting. In deploying figures that were uncanny and almost unsettling, one couldn’t help but remain engrossed at the questioning of paradigms that are increasingly being challenged.

The use of 3-D media was not shied away from by any means, with interactive sculptures such as Lucy Gregory’s which explored the boundaries of both space and balance, transforming things one might not consider important into works self-described as “wonderfully haptic, reshaped before the point of a total loss of use.”

In the more traditional medium of paint we find artists indulging in figurativism. From John Izatt-Lowry’s exploration of human details, to studies of classical antiquity with a light oil sketch style, to Emily Carrington Freeman’s close exploration of light and form within drapery and flesh. Khushna Sulaman Butt. figuratively depicted a scene both intense and quiet. In drawing from personal experience, the painting almost appears to be a transportive plane into the artist’s memory.

anietie three

Contrarily exploring non-figurative and eccentric methods of painting, I spoke with Ollie Bass about his art practice.

Do your concepts influence your choice of medium, or were you already predisposed to painting which has subsequently shaped your practice?

“I woke up in a version of a room that I’d already seen before, trying to reenact last night’s ideas in my head. The only possibility of success is to process these artefacts through the same painting again and again.”

Do you consider this show as a start or end of your artistic study — as an artist, do you think does one ever finish studying art?

The parameters of the institution are both a disability and a crutch. To paint in free fall is to only have yourself to box against.
Who are your influences and what would you say to yourself at the start of your degree?

I’m influenced by the shrapnel from my pockets, we are all implicated by the language of the high street. What would I say to myself? Put a higher value on clarity.
Overall, the show was a success. The large artistic corpus of ideas were realised in ways that weren’t entirely accessible, but idiosyncratic nonetheless. One can only look forward to the new creative minds that may grace the artistic forefront in the foreseeable future.

Review: Colin and Katya – Innovative and Marvelous

Douglas Milenko Taylor
-
0
Review: Colin and Katya – Innovative and Marvelous

FIVE STARS

Jack Clover is the talk of the town and upon the evidence of his latest play, Colin and Katya, rightly so.

Staged among the wonderful dark wood of the North Wall Arts Centre, Grace Linden’s hanging, minimalist set took on an ominous feel under the influence of Chris Burr’s accomplished lighting design.

The love story that develops between Colin and Katya touches on east/west relations and the internet, but explores both these themes in extremely innovative and nuanced ways.

Interspersing the love story are interviews conducted by a pair of narrators, where western men and Eastern European women are interviewed as to why they choose to date online, or to participate in events where western men are driven on a speed-dating tour of Donetsk in Ukraine. The structure of these interviews worked especially well in those moments where there was ambiguity as to the role of the interviewers; whether they were in or out the action.

In such moments Clover’s brilliance really shone, as he managed to capture the feeling of everyday life in relation to everyday life online in the balance between internal self consciousness and public projection, and between integrality and centrality (the internet is there but it is not the focus).

The physical theatre was constantly fantastic, including along with madcap, hilarious group scenes that were original and heartwarming. However, the first twenty minutes or so of the play, though very engaging, was slight over-reliant on physical theatre, the live band and jokes that did not do enough for characterisation.

The play might also have benefited from being about ten minutes shorter. The last ten minutes were of a similarly brilliant standard as the rest of the play, but one felt oneself itching to be left with the questions that the play had posed so marvelously.

The acting, under Clover’s directorship, was extremely good. Tom Curzon was especially notable in one scene that Curzon spent alone on stage with no speech in a sad rage, which was done as a magnificent, understated set-piece.

Daisy Hayes brought Katya to life with style, perfecting the directness of the character and balancing it with a deep sympathy, holding the crowd in a single hand. The supporting cast must also get a big mention, with stellar performances virtually all round bringing to life characters that were absolutely hilarious, but done with a tenderness that did justice to Clover’s wonderful script.

All in all, Colin and Katya was a spectacular production, one the Oxford drama scene can really be proud of. One feels that with talent such as this emerging, British drama as a whole looks to be given a clean bill of health for many more years to come.

‘Tough times’ in doom pop

Joshua Mascord
-
0
‘Tough times’ in doom pop

Lonely The Brave’s style comes from a deeply personal place. Listening to the current singles, anyone can tell that they’re filled with ‘tough times’. Ross is quick to say that despite their gloomy style the album contains ‘uplifting songs – we mix it up’.

In response to my remark that two years is fast to create an album Ross laughs, “we’ve had a head start! The last one was probably done two years before [it came out].”

He reveals they actually wrote “25 tracks, I think some of those might make it out… a lot of [our] songs are a reflection of the time, when we discussed some of the songs that we wrote and putting them on a third album, we decided against it.”

“We want to keep making music,” Ross continues, but as they’re “a bit older than other bands,” they have more to think about. I ask about touring, which Ross gives an honest reply to.

“There are ups and downs, getting to play is great, but it gets hard on European tours where you have to drive across countries – but after a long drive when you arrive somewhere like Switzerland and there’s like thousands of people singing your music, It’s like ‘how did this happen?’ It’s brilliant.”

Ross joined two years ago, “about four days before a tour… It was daunting, but now they’re like my brothers.”

I end at the beginning of my interviewee’s time in the band so I wrap it up, wish him luck and run off to see if any of the rock-star magic has rubbed off on me.

Lonely the Brave will be playing Oxfordshire’s Truck Festival, July 15-17.

Oxford Students Refugee Campaign funds 8 full scholarships

Marianna Spring
-
0
Oxford Students Refugee Campaign funds 8 full scholarships

A campaign to fund scholarships for refugees launched by an Oxford student has managed to raise nearly a quarter of a million pounds in pledges.

Postgraduate student Thais Roque launched The Oxford Students Refugee Campaign in October to help people whose studies have been disrupted by war or persecution.

She originally wanted to encourage fellow students to pledge £1 each month for two years, which could provide up to 20 fully funded scholarships if every Oxford student chose to participate.

So far 11,000 people have signed up, with pledges and donations exceeding £240,000 over the two-year period.

Roque, who is currently completing a doctorate in Biomedical Engineering, says her own education in Brazil, Germany and now at Oxford has been possible as a result of scholarships “awarded on the dual basis of academic merit and ethical standing” and she therefore feels strongly about giving back to “its diverse, wide-reaching community.”

Roque commented, “When one of Citizens UK coordinators told me about their plan to lobby UK universities to set up fully funded scholarships for Syrian refugees I knew what my role was in that: I would fight to turn Oxford into safe havens for students fleeing conflict-torn societies.”

“As a student myself, I believe that such a scheme will create a tremendous positive impact on these students’ lives. And with the added benefit of raising the morale of the Oxford student community at large: The Oxford Refugee Campaign stands as a flagship example of how much the student body can achieve when they are concerned about and committed to improving fellow students’ lives.”

“The University authorities have been very receptive to the ideas so far, and are willing to back the campaign administratively. They are not only administering our fund but also have brought our initiative into the Oxford Thinking Campaign as well as into the existing Give as You Earn schemes for faculty and staff.”

Now that money has been pledged to the scholarships, the campaign and Oxford University have identified 8 eligible students holding offers for the coming academic year.

As the campaign is yet to receive the bulk of funding as a result of monthly contributions, it is reaching out to alumni, friends and the general public to raise enough funds to support all 8 candidates.

The first scholarships will officially be available in 2017/18. Asides from the scholarships, “The Journal of interrupted studies”, which is dedicated to publishing academic work jeopardized by forced migration, has been published by two Oxford students.

Editors Paul Ostwald and Mark Barclay created the journal with the aim to “raise awareness of some wider issues regarding contemporary discourse around the refugee crisis” through “academic engagement”.

The first edition came out at the end of eighth week with a circulation of 1500 copies, which will be distributed in Oxford, the UK and Germany.

Mark Barclay told Cherwell, “We feel that the more refuges are condescended by reducing them to their capacity to stimulate pity, anger or horror the less the possibility for real exchange and sincere. It is this sort of engagement we feel will be crucial in orientating any approach to the crisis. Being students, the field we felt we could use our resources and connections most effectively, was academia.”

“In putting together the journal, initially our difficulty was finding refugees with academic work. Fortunately we were greatly helped by aid agencies working on the ground in referring us to individuals who might be interested. We were further helped by the first instances of media attention such as in Der Spiegel, which raised an awareness in Germany that led to many more submissions. It also led to us being spotted by the ACT now a foundation who sponsored our first print run.”

“We were extremely humbled by the warmth and positivity of its reception. Most heartening of all, we received dozens of offers from academics across Europe and the US who want to review future submissions on a pro bono basis. We are extremely happy and grateful with this result as it is stirring genuine and sincere engagement with what refugees have to say, on terms of mutual respect.

The journal, which has already secured funding for another print run, is looking to expand in Michaelmas 2016 with a larger editorial team to seek and process submissions.

Oxford University has been contacted for comment.

A discussion with Buzz Aldrin

Ben Ray
-
0
A discussion with Buzz Aldrin

The phrase ‘out of this world’ is used too often – though I think Blackwell’s recent interview with Buzz Aldrin on June 1, held in the Sheldonian in front of a packed and eager audience, fits this description in more ways than one. After being ushered politely in to a seat in the cavernous rafters of the building, the excitement and expectation was almost palpable – a feeling that only seemed to build throughout the fascinating discussion, culminating in a rapturous standing ovation at the interview’s conclusion.

The talk spanned Buzz’s complete life of over 86 years, starting “in the womb” (his own words) – and I have to say I’ve never seen such a chatty, excitable and effervescent person. Buzz managed to hold the audience spellbound throughout the hour long talk, with stories of his various adventures on Earth and beyond. Indeed, he often interrupted and completely ignored his assistant, who ended up at times desperately trying to stop Buzz recounting anecdotes about his early life, his air-force training and his life as an astronaut in order to answer the question that had been asked. If anything, this just made the discussion even more fun for the audience- it seemed nothing could hold Buzz back. The highlight of this was, of course, when he stood up to show off his ‘Get to Mars’ t-shirt and socks to the eager crowd.

With Buzz, subjects like aeronaut training and childhood events that could be potentially dry and dull seemed to come alive in the electric atmosphere of the Sheldonian. He talked of his mother’s maiden name being ‘Moon’, of his job as an astronaut taking photos of stars (“real sexy stuff”) and of how he had completed the first underwater training for astronauts (“it’s basically the same as space, really”). The discussion jumped back and forth between his family, childhood and his later adventures, which meant that immediately after discovering how the Aldrin family had aviation in their blood, and that Buzz had met Amelia Earhart as a young boy, the audience were then told how Buzz “accidentally took the first selfie in space”. This gave you the sense of a warm, intimate discussion with the man – when he cracked jokes, you couldn’t help but laugh.

When the inevitable topic of the moon landing came round, Buzz seemed to light up- he leaned forward in his seat as he explained how most of the photos of astronauts on that day, including the famous image of one planting the American flag, were actually of him ”as Neil was the one holding the camera”. He welcomed questions, telling a ten year old that the moon “smelt of burnt charcoal” and reassuring the audience that “I’m not much of a sceptic – we really did go!” Perhaps the most surprising revelation as that Buzz only got given $33 for going to the moon, “We only got standard army pay in those days”. The event culminated in a huge selfie of Buzz and the Sheldonian audience, an act of inclusivity that seemed to sum up the night.

When asked by one audience member if he’d seen any aliens, Buzz paused and smiled. “I always think that I was the first alien. After all, we’d come from a different planet.” Although funny, this also seemed a great way for the evening to finish – if there’s one thing we could all learn from a man who’s been into space, perhaps it’s that we could all use a bigger perspective.

Oxford scientists discover “life-saving” helium gas field

Tony Diver
-
0
Oxford scientists discover “life-saving” helium gas field

A joint research project from the universities of Oxford and Durham has used a new exploration approach to uncover the first ever intentional discovery of helium gas.

The helium field, which was described by Professor Chris Ballentine from Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences as a “game changer”, will help to buoy the dwindling helium reserves available for welding, industrial leak detection, nuclear energy and the construction of MRI scanners.

The student research group, which partnered with the Norwegian company Helium One in the search for the gas, created an exploration process which involves analysis of volcanic areas to find a “goldilocks zone” of helium repositories.

The resulting discovery was made in the Tanzanian East African Rift Valley, and contained enough helium to fill 1.2 million MRI scanners.

Professor Jon Gluyas, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, said: “This is an outstanding example of industry and academia working together closely to deliver real value to society. The impact of this and expected future helium discoveries will secure supply for the medical scanning and other industries.”

Dr Pete Barry, who sampled the gases, and is also from Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences added: “We can apply this same strategy to other parts of the world with a similar geological history to find new helium resources.  Excitingly, we have linked the importance of volcanic activity for helium release with the presence of potential trapping structures and this study represents another step towards creating a viable model for helium exploration. This is badly needed given the current demand for helium.”

The research is being presented by Durham University PhD student Diveena Danabalan at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

1...1,0751,0761,077...2,579Page 1,076 of 2,579

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by Jamie Ashley