There are few figures to emerge in the last 50 years who have had as definitive an impact on culture as Dame Vivienne Westwood. Her work is concrete proof of the undeniable and perpetual power of counterculture in society. Not only did her work create punk fashion, but it also helped to propagate the punk movement as a whole.

From her shop on the King’s Road, she and her former partner Malcolm McClaren spearheaded the movement for social change. “Punk was about how we don’t accept everything that’s going on in the world, we don’t accept your values and your taboos. Punk was really about trying to change the world, and to get young people involved.”

Most people approaching their 74th birthday in April would take a more relaxed approach to life. However, activism is in Westwood’s blood. It is a bone in her body which is integral to her functionality, grown in the womb and springing into action when she was a child. Like the characters of a medieval morality play, Westwood is Activism personified. Far from being initiated solely by the events around her in the 1970s, her desire to change the world for the better came about at the age of four, in a revelatory moment that evidenced the power of art on the individual.

“My activism, my idea of trying to prevent suffering, making a better world, it began when I was very young. I always feel a bit embarrassed about telling this, but I saw a photograph of a painting of a crucifixion on a calendar when I was four. I couldn’t believe it. I’d never seen anything like it before. It shocked me so much and since then it kind of defined who I was.

“I really thought something should be done against everything terrible. So I’ve always been trying to find what I can do. I was always on a crusade to make the world better. I don’t want to say fashion can change the world at all – but sometimes I thought maybe it could have an effect.”

In her fashion career, Westwood has styled an endless list of names of the great and the good, from the flawlessly shocking Sex Pistols to the Duchess of Cornwall.

Yet, it is a career that almost never was. After punk, she faced a crisis of faith in the fashion industry and its buyers. “Certainly, the punk way of dressing signifies ‘I’m a rebel’. That’s what we were trying to do. Then at the end of punk, when I stopped being so interested in it, I realised these young kids were not that interested in it, but just wanted a good time.”

Although advocating change, there was a difference in interests between designer and consumer. “The Sex Pistols had failed and I wanted to know what my perspective was from then on. And so at that point I had to decide whether I wanted to continue in fashion. And I said to Malcolm McClaren, ‘Either I help you in the music business, or you help me in the field of fashion, as we can’t do both. The Sex Pistols had collapsed in disaster. His reply was, ‘Fashion every time’. But as soon as he’d said that, he was off doing Bow Wow Wow. So I continued anyway. And there were reasons why I continued, mostly because I realised I was very talented and I thought I should continue for that reason. I was being copied all over the place. So I went into something completely different – I decided I was going to be a fashion designer and to research history and see where I’m going to get some different inspiration from.”

The powerful sentiment of Westwood’s activism has remained with her constantly, since her St Augustine-like conversion experience as a child.

However, her later influences underwent dramatic changes – they did not take the form of a stylised picture of Christ. Rather, Westwood emphasises the infinite importance of culture. To be able to understand ourselves, we must first understand the world in which we live. “At the time of the Buffalo collection, I had already met the man who influenced me more than anyone in my life, and that was my friend Gary. He was the one who properly introduced me to the importance of culture, the importance of the past, of having a perspective on the world we live in and understanding things.

“And I still say this today, that you can’t have a view on the world, things don’t start from you – you’re just inheriting a whole tradition of different views of the world that changes all the time. But you need to know something about that to have your own view. Culture is terribly important, and Gary influenced me incredibly. I would not be the person I am without his advice.

“A little bit later, I met my Italian manager, Carlo. He realised I was on a little bit of a crusade about fashion. I’d just done the Buffalo/Nostalgia of Mud collection [in 1982], and he was really into second hand cars.

“He said to me ‘You think you can fight the system. Imagine the system is a car going 100 miles an hour and you think you can stop it. And you think you can throw some rocks at it. You won’t stop it, it’ll just go faster with your energy. What you need to do is to go 200 miles an hour.’ So I stopped hanging on the idea of banging on the door of the establishment, well kicking on the door, and I just started to propose my own ideas.”

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Westwood’s current ideas and activism are heavily focused upon environmental politics. Despite being a supporter of the Labour Party for many years, her own views have undergone a shift in light of the ever-increasing threat to the world we live, caused through our own mismanagement.

“I’m interested 
in voting Green.
People don’t
have an un-
derstand-
ing of how
revolution-
ary the Green
Party really are.
There is a miscon-
ception of what Green
really is. That’s what as-
tonished me. When I read all
their policies comprehensively,
I thought ‘I couldn’t have written this better myself.’ They’ve got it all sorted as to what they should be doing.

“We live under a capitalist system, and the way to destroy that flawed system is to implement Green policy. To be against austerity and smashing up communities, selling their land to speculators for short term benefits. And so I think that you must not kick the door down, but instead you have to get the answer, the solution, working. We will defeat the capitalist system by trying to implement the things that will change everything anyway.”

As always, Westwood is not one simply to be content letting change come to her through the work of others. Alongside participating in numerous protests to increase awareness of environmental perils such as fracking, she is working with the Green Party to improve their presence in society, in the media and to highlight the need for young people to vote. Her political legwork is highly impressive. “I said ‘You’ve got to make your message much better, suggesting ‘We are the Revolution?’

They enthusiastically replied, ‘That’s great!’
“I am really interested in this, particularly in young people who don’t vote. Because if you could get young people who don’t vote at the moment to vote for the Green Party, which is the only party worth voting for, it would make an incredible impact. Because the UK is so important in the world, it’s got so much credibility on the international stage.
“If something happened, it would send shock waves throughout the world. And so it’s not even a question of getting more Green MPs. If you could have a 20 per cent vote at the next election, or 25 per cent, that would be so shocking that things would have to change.”
What is perhaps more surprising to those familiar with her anti-establishment associations is her recently discovered admiration of Prince Charles. In the past, she has fashioned varying garments emblazoned with Jamie Reid’s now infamous defaced image of the Queen. Now, the Duchess of Cornwall is one of her clients. Perhaps the change of heart is a reflection of the progress made by the monarchy since the 1970s?

“No, no, no, I don’t think so. I don’t know why they are more popular than they used to be – that’s not to do with me! Or my attitudes towards them. Yes, at one time I was anti-royalist. But I think when you start thinking things out, the idea of a parliament, they are all the same. It’s not like we’ve got any democracy; removing the monarchy wouldn’t make our system any more democratic. I think Prince Charles has done more good than any politician ever has, at least in my lifetime for sure.

“He’s just really brilliant. The Queen keeps aloof. David Cameron said she was terribly relieved when Scotland voted against independence. So we don’t really know what she thinks.

“But apart from that, I think the idea of a monarchy as social cement is really good. It helps people nationwide, patriotically. It gives them an identity, a sense of unity.”

It could be said that Westwood’s topics of interest have changed since she first burst onto the London cultural circuit. But then, so has the world in which she lives. Her work as an activist for both individuals and groups is hugely commendable.

She uses her powerful voice to advocate change with a view to improving the world in which we live. To summarise her work in a simple sentence does not do either her or her causes justice. But her passionate commitment to these causes is an inspiration to us all.

Although Oxford University prides itself on progressive thinking and intellectual curiosity, so much more could be done to ensure mental health is not a barred topic of conversation. Due to the fierce stigma attached to suffering from mental illness, many brilliant minds are curbing their potential by suffering alone or resisting admitting they have a problem altogether. Because this pain cannot be recognized externally it is considered illegitimate. The damaging ‘pull yourself together’ treatment is still offered by some tutors and university nurses.

Meeting of Minds was created to restore the legitimacy of mental illness and to foster an environment of open conversation about these issues. We provide a place for students to source information free from pressure to share, meet others facing similar issues and receive answers they may otherwise feel reluctant to ask. We encourage the informal discussion of mental health from an academic perspective, highlighting the biological rather than dispositional nature of mental illness.

Our events focus on one particular topic of either mental or general wellbeing; emphasising that mental health can only ever be considered an extension of general health, combining testimonial and round-table conversation. We want to highlight the universality of mental illness. Hearing a figure students respect speak on such matters can normalize their own suffering and break through any feelings of isolation and hopelessness.

Meeting of Minds hopes to break through any preconceived notions of mental illness and bring together sufferers and nonsufferers alike. We launched at the Union last term with Supersize vs Superskinny’s Emma Woolf and are hugely grateful for their ongoing support. This partnership captures our belief in the power of debate and open conversation; it is the only way of starving stigma. Excitingly, in December the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, invited us to discuss student mental health and this term we will be holding even more film launches and panel discussions which will be announced shortly.

Mental health is a concern for us all. We are dedicated to helping students understand how best to protect their mental health and support their friends and family. We are always thrilled to take on more volunteers – you can join our Facebook page to keep up with planned events and to contribute suggestions for future meetings.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/550005795133844/

[email protected]

When Stephen ‘Red Badge’ Crane questioned his secondment to a peaceful Cuba to cover a non-existent war, the legendary newspaper proprietor William Randolph Hearst reputedly told him by telegraph, “You provide story. I’ll provide war.” Sky News’ Europe Correspondent, Robert Nisbet, has fortunately needed no such interventions, his appointment coinciding with a series of events that has once again placed Europe at the heart of world news.

The most recent of those events was the Paris terror attacks. The response to the attacks were “fascinating,” he said. “I’ve seen other campaigns move much more slowly, this exploded in a few hours… You got the sense that the protesters were fighting for the French way of life.”

In contrast, Nisbet talks about the relative lack of coverage on the simmering war between Russia and Ukraine – the first major seizure of another country’s territory in Europe since the Second World War. Nisbet was frank about the frustrations of his job. “This is,” he responds resignedly, “the nature of modern news. The news cycle has sped up, stories that used to linger in bulletins when I was young are being used up and spat out. As for Ukraine, I am not sure that either side will back down. When I was reporting in the Crimea it very much felt like Russia… Any effective response is a long way off.”

I ask him whether he has any ethical qualms about reporting on events when there is little he can do to help. He talks about reporting in Haiti. “When we arrived we went to a collapsed school to make our report. As soon as we got out of the car my cameraman tripped over the corpse of a child in the rubble.

“At that moment you have to check yourself, calm down and get on with your job… but there is always something useful in shining a light on these stories. It can produce positive results.”

Recalling one particular experience in Haiti, Nisbet says, “[We] were stood on the roof of an airport, on our right lay piles and piles of aid, and behind the fence on our left were thousands of desperate people. We thought there was something seriously wrong, and so we reported on it. Within a few days, the aid was getting to the people who needed it. The story had a purpose and made a difference.”

And his best news story? “A story that I’ll remember was the Chilean miners because it was so unexpected. I was with a group of families watching round a television when the first miner walked out of the rock. I am usually quite cynical about this sort of thing; what heartened me was that our audiences went through the roof. News stories don’t always have to be about death and destruction, the best news can be a heart-warming story where you need only point a camera at it and it speaks for itself.”

Nisbet clearly enjoys the journalistic lifestyle. When we spoke, he was just about to fly out from his home in Brussels to Greece to report on a possible ‘Grexit’. His career has embraced reporting on the Amanda Knox trials, Obama’s 2008 election campaign, and interviews with icons such as Robin Williams, George Clooney and even Gorbachev.

I ask him about the US election campaign, and he laughs wryly. “Obama was at a fair, and I, in a clump of reporters yelled at him above the clamour, ‘What do you hope to achieve in the future?’ He replied ‘I just want to eat this corndog,’ and ran away. As my father said, it was hardly Frost and Nixon.”

While the immediate
 concern may be with 
a ‘Grexit’, the shadow of 
a ‘Brexit’ must also loom large for a European correspondent. How does Nisbet think the story will play out? “In 2011 when everything was going to pot with the debt crisis, even then talking to European diplomats the response they gave was ‘Britain always threatens to leave, always nothing comes of it.’ Now there is a change in the air. The contempt felt by the British people for the EU is strengthening.”

Nisbet claims that some diplomats think David Cameron actually wants Britain to leave as a ploy to win short term political gain, “though that’s not my opinion,” he qualifies. “It all comes down to a fundamental difference between Britain and the rest of the countries in the EU… there is an emotional attachment to a united Europe that British people just do not share.”

“People like Farage take advantage by stripping it of its nuance. He knows that if you mention facts and details you sound boring. Take the debate between Farage and Clegg. Clegg gave facts and figures, Farage gave emotive rhetoric. He knows that you can win on the broad brush strokes but lose on the detail.”

I finish by asking for advice for aspiring journalists. “Inhale information. Read everything. I read everything from the Financial Times to Buzzfeed… You must remember
that the media isn’t dying, it’s changing. Your generation has
 to adapt and find your place in it. 
As consumers and maybe as reporters, it is up to you to adapt our news, whilst keeping its integrity.”

A report into Oxford’s underage drinking culture was released yesterday by OUSU, following a month-long investigation into Oxford’s social scene. The investigation was conducted in light of the recent underage drinking scandal at OULC, where a 17 year old was found to have consumed several alcoholic beverages at one of their drinks events.

The report highlights the many places where ID-checking needs to be introduced, and discusses the impact of Oxford’s underage drinking culture on wider society. It ends by recommending that ID checks are performed in all college bars, even if the bar staff think they ‘know’ the people they’re serving, and for all underage students to be made to wear brightly coloured bibs at society events.

The report further recommends that underage students be breathalysed nightly by porters, just to be on the safe side, and be paired with an older student on trips after dark to ensure they’re not going anywhere near alcohol. When questioned as to whether these measures match up to how significant the problem is, OUSU officer Martin Goring, who was in charge of the report, argued, “Although there are in fact only seven students at Oxford that are under 18, we think we are more than justified in calling this an underage drinking culture. This insidious culture is poisoning Oxford life and destroying its prized reputation for sobriety.”

The national media was quick to agree with the report, and to condemn the underage drinking epidemic at Oxford. The OxStew contacted Guardian editor Paul Elder, who said, “We were going to do a double page spread with new information on the threat to the UK from militant Islamists, but decided that there was a far greater public interest in a 17 year old Oxford student consuming too many alcoholic drinks. The public has a right to know that the leaders of tomorrow are consuming alcohol before their 18th birthday, which we can all agree suggests a tendency to disregard the law that they will one day be required to uphold.”

Buzzfeed editor Stacey Lister agreed, adding, “Everyone has an interest in how Oxford students behave, and it’s simply unacceptable for them to be drinking underage. Oxford is now number one of our ‘Top Ten Unis To Drink At When You’re 17’, and frankly it’s pretty disgraceful.”

It has been noted by several think tanks that media interest in Oxford stories has increased lately, with several Oxford stories such as the underage drinking scandal making it into national newspapers. Aside from covering Oxford’s teen drinking crisis, papers have also included articles on various subjects such as the Law Society’s elections; inequality in punting abilities; an argument at a college bop over inappropriate outfits; and one drunk student smashing two glasses at dinner.

When asked why this might be, Derek Cox of The Media Observatory suggested that it was to do with matters of national importance, “From interviewing several editors of national publications,” he said, “we have ascertained that the media disproportionately features Oxford stories because of the overwhelming public interest in them. It is certainly nothing to do with needing to fill space, or it being easier to write stories that compound stereotypes rather than contradict them, or that the underage drinking problem in the rest of the country being frankly too large and obvious to bother reporting on. Oxford is a national treasure that everyone loves to hear about – especially when it’s good news. By chance, it just so happens that it hasn’t been recently”