Monday, May 19, 2025
Blog Page 125

Oxford Union fears return of ‘Trump’s America’ in decisive debate vote

Rufus Hall
-
0
Oxford Union fears return of ‘Trump’s America’ in decisive debate vote

On Thursday night, the Oxford Union voted with a stonking majority in favour of the motion: This house fears the return of ‘Trump’s America’. 182 people voted in favour, whilst 55 voted against. The vote followed a debate marked by stark differences in tone of the proposition and opposition sides, with both drawing on aspects of the legacy of the Trump presidency in the United States and abroad. 

Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, while currently facing 91 felony charges in four different criminal cases. These cases concern his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in New York and his handling of classified state documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Speakers for the proposition were: political reporter and White House Correspondent, April Ryan; academic, former social worker and Oxford Green party councillor, Larry Sanders; and Balliol student Isabelle Horrocks-Taylor. 

Opposing the motion were: former Deputy Assistant to the President during the Trump administration and host on right-wing Christian Salem Radio, Sebastian Gorka; Christ Church student Oliver Jones-Lyons; and St Anne’s student Charlie Chadwick, who stood in for absent American conservative activist and radio talk show host, Charlie Kirk. 

Horrocks-Taylor opened the debate for the proposition with a list of the “multiple of firsts” achieved by Trump, including his suspension from Twitter and his two-time impeachment. She argued that the wealth of pre-suspension Tweets, which included one telling black Democrat congresswomen to “go back” to their home countries was reflective of a “deep-set prejudice, deeply rooted in Trump’s political identity.” This, she stated, is “not befitting of a national leader, particularly of one of the most diverse nations.” 

Horrocks-Taylor further criticised Trump for his diplomacy, where “nuclear war codes were an appropriate tool for playground politics”, for his mishandling of the Black Lives Matter protests, and the January 6th insurrection. 

Opening the proposition, Oliver Jones-Lyons agreed with the proposition about the seminality of Trump’s presidency. However, he distinguished between Trump and the America that voted for him, citing the “silent minority” of white voters without college degrees, among whom “voter apathy is high.”

“For better or for worse, the neglected felt heard” in Trump’s America, Jones-Lyons argued. “Fearing the people who made Trump president will achieve nothing,” he added. 

April Ryan followed this speech by acknowledging that America wanted something “not familiar to previous political standards,” claiming that this could be found in Trump’s “reality TV charm.” Drawing in large part on her experience as a journalist working in close proximity to the president, she described Trump’s rhetoric as using terms that were “used by Hitler”. Ryan also noted how Trump had asked her, a woman of colour, to organise a meeting for the congressional black Caucus “like I was his secretary.” 

Sebastian Gorka’s booming case for the opposition was made using sharp terms, arguing that Trump, a president “untainted by the elite,” had “defended Western civilization against those who wish to destroy it.” Whilst Barack Obama had been soft on Islamic extremism, it was Jihadis and Isis, “who should fear my former boss,” as well as Iran and Vladimir Putin. This was met with laughter from the chamber.

Gorka characterised Joe Biden as a proponent of “high-tech lynching”, preceded by a suggestino that Trump was a godsend for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Despite repeated points of information attempts from Spectator, Gorka declined them with “I’m good, thank you.’

Closing the proposition, Larry Sanders asked the audience: “Do you know how many people died in Covid because of his stupid arrogance?”

“What did he do about income? What did he do about minimum wage? What did he do about taxes? He cut taxes for the rich. 1.5 trillion in tax cuts,” he continued. Bringing up Trump’s climate change policy, Sanders further argued that “the last eight years have been the hottest on record. What is Trump’s response to all this? He wants to increase fossil fuel extraction.”

Charlie Chadwick in his closing speech restated the opposition’s original contention that Trump’s America had not gone away, characterising Biden as a Trump continuity candidate. In the Middle East, “the only suggestion that has given any prospect of peace has been the Abraham accords, started by Trump. Who continued them? Biden.” 

Other aspects of Trump’s policy mentioned by Chadwick appeared more than anything to distinguish him from Biden: Chadwick suggested that Trump’s “threat of tariffs on China guaranteed a fairer deal for the American people,” and further that Trump’s “tax cuts led to a booming economy,” a claim which ran contrary to his contention that the “soaring inflation” that has come about as a result of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act was also a “continuation of Trump’s legacy.”

The next US presidential election will take place on 5 November 2024, with incumbent Joe Biden running for reelection, whilst his predecessor, Donald Trump, will also run for re-election to a second, non-consecutive term.

Oxford turns to public to collect artefacts for new digital World War II archive

Sophie Magalhaes
-
0
Oxford turns to public to collect artefacts for new digital World War II archive

Their Finest Hour, a University of Oxford project launched in July 2022, has received funding from the National Lottery Heritage and will be made accessible from the 6 June 2024. The online archive aims to catalogue local stories and relics from the Second World War, documenting human stories through everyday objects. The project follows the hugely successful Lest We Forget online archive for artefacts from the First World War. 

The project focuses on community archive collection as it builds an archival database. It will run a series of events and digital collection days scheduled at museums, libraries, and heritage centres across the UK. Organisers encourage members of the public to bring in their war-related stories and objects – whether this be documents, medals, letters, photographs, or stories passed down throughout generations. Dr Stuart Lee of the Oxford Faculty of English said: “Our aim is to empower local communities to digitally preserve these stories and objects before they are lost to posterity.”

Organisers say a Second World War project will become particularly crucial as the number of people 1939-1945 generation declines. Stories passed on through children and grandchildren will become vital in preserving the experiences of the wartime generation. As a free digital platform, both Lest We Forget and Their Finest Hour make wartime heritage accessible for all.

Items brought to a collection event in Gosport included a passport with a mysterious alteration. Valerie Cope, who brought in a British passport owned by her grandfather bearing visa stamps from locations in Latvia and Western Russia from the beginning of the war. His occupation was crossed out, a common identifier of wartime spies. Mysteries like this one will be researched and digitised by the database in an attempt to preserve stories and diverse narratives from the Second World War. Event volunteer Stephanie Cunningham said “We’re in danger of losing [these artefacts] and we have many people coming to the events saying they didn’t know where else to turn.”

Organisers emphasise that they would like stories and artefacts from children as well as narratives from relatives who refused to discuss their wartime experiences. Narratives from underrepresented backgrounds in wartime heritage, including those from women and the commonwealth, are particularly encouraged. 

Feminist Samurai in Netflix’s new “Anime”?: Ōoku: The Inner Chambers Review

Yoshimi Kato
-
0
Feminist Samurai in Netflix’s new “Anime”?: Ōoku: The Inner Chambers Review

This review contains spoilers and mentions of sexual violence.

What would society look like if three-quarters of the male population disappeared? Ōoku: The Inner Chambers depicts such a scenario in an alternative history in which an epidemic wipes out the young men that populate 17th century Japan. Amidst the Oppenheimer media centrality over the summer and attention on Sex Education’s finale season in the autumn, the release of Ōoku in June 2023 has been a modest one. The animated Netflix series is based on a Japanese manga of the same name and is originally produced in Japanese, but dubbed and subtitled in eleven and thirty-seven languages, respectively. It is (in the writer’s opinion, questionably) categorized by Netflix UK as an “emotional” and “romantic” animated drama.

The epidemic forces the practice of patrilineage to be abandoned, with women becoming heads of businesses and inheriting family property. The disease does not discriminate towards aristocratic and warlord families, forcing even the nation-governing Tokugawa family to secretly appoint a female shogun under her father’s name, Iemitsu, with a screen and male spokesperson to disguise her gender during public appearances. From the age of ten, Iemitsu cross-dresses as male and adopts the lifestyle of a samurai. Under the guidance of her councilors, she builds a male concubine cohort to ensure the production of a male heir to succeed her. Thus begins the “Ōoku”, or the “inner chambers” of Iemitsu’s court, and the series’ exploration of gender and power dynamics in the Japan of history and today. 

The series follows the development of romance between Iemitsu and the soft-spoken Arikoto, who is selected for his delicate beauty by senior councilor Kasuga. The gender-queerness of Iemitsu and Arikoto’s unexpected budding relationship in the reversed world of gender norms is embraced by the couple; as one of the other male concubines comments, “it’s hard to tell which one is a man and the other a woman”. It is their embrace in episode five— Arikoto in a harmonious josou (female-presenting cross-dressing) of rouge, women’s kimono, and hair extensions embracing the top-knotted Iemitsu— that compels their official confessions of their love. 

Ōoku is rife with sexual violence and coercion, both committed by the shogunate’s powerful figures and among the male concubines. The frequency begs questions of necessity and veers the series close to sensationalism. The violence committed upon the young men in the Ōoku, however, grimly spotlights the inevitability of such realities upon women concubines in the shogunate and their roles in the court, reminding us of our perhaps subconscious— yet still complacent— acceptance of sexual violence, particularly against women, in reported history and historical media. 

The depiction of sexual misconduct against men and boys is also particularly poignant in consideration of the March 2023 BBC exposé of sexual assault crimes committed by Japan’s late idol production mogul Johnny Kitazawa against the young male idols in his employment. Although allegations have been scarcely reported upon in Japanese media for decades, the company’s public acknowledgement of the allegations in September 2023 prompted televised coverage across national news. It is important to remember that Japan only recognized men as victims of non-consensual sexual intercourse in their 2017 revision to the Penal Code (formerly it only applied to women victims); only this summer, the legal age of consent was raised from 13 years to 16.

The altering gender roles in Ōoku’s Japan also has economic and political implications that echo in the country today. In the series finale the narrator expounds how despite the participation of women in work,

“The roles of men and women were not exactly reversed. The job of men just became fathering children, while women took upon child-rearing labor and business matters.”

With the burden of both household and business being thrust upon the female population in Ōoku’s world, one cannot help but think of the increasing demands upon women in twenty-first century Japan as more women enter full-time employment amid a workplace culture unsupportive of working mothers, yet face social and government pressure to have children as the birth rate declines. The all-male cabinet of Iemitsu’s Shogunate at the beginning of Ōoku also nods to the male domination of politics in the current Japanese parliament; according to the Gender Equality Bureau Office, 20.7% of the representatives in the House of Councillors are female. This is double the percentage of women in the House of Representatives: 10.1%. 

On the international stage, Japan sent a male representative for the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in 2023 (a conference that otherwise consisted of women). Locally, Kanagawa prefecture’s “Women Act” committee, which functions to support “participation of women in central roles in society”* yet came under scrutiny in 2015 for appointing an all-male cabinet. The Women Act website cites the reasoning behind the deliberate all-male appointment to the need for 意識改革 (ishiki-kaikaku, “consciousness reform”) among the industry heads in Kanagawa, of which 90% are men; this reform was thought to be most effective when “top men negotiated with top men”. Since November 2022, prompted by “consideration of changes in ideas around gender and diversity”, the twenty-one member Women Act committee now includes four women.

In contrast, as we see in the first foundation episode of Ōoku set generations after Iemitsu’s first female shogunate, the entire cabinet is composed of women and is led by an openly female shogun. In its unsettling alternative take on history Ōoku thus highlights the absurdity of male domination of top positions in politics and corporations and posits the potential for actual female participation in leadership roles. Timed at a moment in Japanese society, media, and legislation in which progress is being made towards gender equality as well as destigmatization of LGBTQ+ issues and towards allegations of sexual misconduct, Ōoku is an animated series that is sure to continue discussion beyond the “emotional” and “romantic”. 

An American’s take of the Americans’ take

Amelia Bishop
-
0
An American’s take of the Americans’ take

This term, the Oxford Union has planned to host two former United States Speakers of the House, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy. In an already star-studded term card, the Union is bringing not just trailblazing Pelosi, but at the time it was released, they were to host the current (now former) Speaker of the House for the United States. In the post-Trump era it is truly significant for the Union to provide an opportunity for members to hear from former office holders of America’s third most powerful political position. You might line up for hours to attend the event. So, as an American in Oxford, I hope to share the importance of Speaker Pelosi and Speaker McCarthy coming to the Union. Especially in this time of continuous political turmoil across the pond.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a Democratic Congresswoman who has represented San Francisco in California’s 11th District for nearly forty years. Her political career has been host to many milestones and in 2007 she made history by becoming the first woman to become Speaker of the House. She got her start as a bit of a political nepo-baby, as her father was a Representative for Maryland, and eventually the Mayor of Baltimore. Upon moving to the West Coast, she became active in the Democratic Party in San Francisco, becoming head of the California Democratic Party in 1981. After the death of a friend holding California’s Fifth District, Pelosi ran in a special election to fill the seat, becoming a Congresswoman in 1987, at a time when only a handful of women held seats in the house. 

A strong supporter of LGBTQ and immigration rights, Pelosi had stood behind issues like the legalization of same-sex marriage, and publically disagreed with Republican immigration policy leading to the separation of families on the Southern Border. The Affordable Care Act of the Obama administration was practically made possible thanks to her consistent push for healthcare reform, and ability to gather the 219 votes needed for the bill to pass. 

This achievement was one of the most significant outcomes of the Obama Administration and was part of an effort to give all Americans the healthcare they deserved, not just the wealthy, emphasising Speaker Pelosi’s fight for progress throughout her tenure as she consistently looked out for the interests of all. She also notably participated in the passage of the post-economic collapse Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and the Recovery Act of 2009, plus the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, showing just a glimpse of the magnitude of her tenure and its impact on America as a whole.

In terms of breaking glass ceilings, Nancy Pelosi has shattered them. She joins the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and Former SCOTUS Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in being the first woman to hold her position, something to celebrate in a country which has yet to have a woman president. Her commitment to her career and steadfast support of what the Democratic Party stands for has gained her acclaim and awards worldwide. To have her speak at the Union is an honour for us to witness, and a priceless chance to hear from one of the greatest political figures of our time, and a woman who rose to the top of the inherently patriarchal system that is government.

Some may feel I am waxing poetic, but the role Speaker Pelosi has played in expanding women’s and girls’ idea of what is possible in my country is paramount to her political career. She paved the way for progressive women in Congress, leading America to accept female leadership in positions of power, bringing us to the 118th Congress of today which boasts the largest number of women in Congressional history. This is her legacy, not only her policy, but what she has represented for millions of Americans as an impactful leader, and an inspiration for many young girls to grow up and study politics because she showed them they could. Nancy Pelosi can be heard at the annual Benazir Bhutto Memorial Lecture on the ninth of November.

A fellow Californian, Kevin McCarthy is the Republican Congressman for California’s 20th district, in the Central Valley region. He climbed the political ladder, being elected to the California State Assembly in 2002, and becoming a US Representative in 2006. His time as House Speaker was a matter of mere months thanks to the ongoing polarisation in American Politics. He is a long serving Member of Congress and has served as both House Majority Leader from 2014-2019, and Minority Leader from 2019-2023. In his time as Minority Leader, McCarthy remained a staunch Trump supporter, particularly in the face of his impeachment and loss of the 2020 election. 

He was one of many Republicans who signed an amicus brief supporting Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the Supreme Court which contested the results of the election, a choice which is judged by anyone with the sense to recognize a fair election or mature enough to be a good loser. His work while he was speaker focused on the controversy surrounding the 2020 election and attacks of January Sixth, as well as navigating the debt ceiling crisis of this past May. 

On the international scale, McCarthy touched on a few foreign affairs issues, holding a CCP-condemned meeting with the President of Taiwan, and working to represent the interests of Congress about the war in Ukraine. His tenure was short-lived, ranking near the bottom of the list of time served by House Speakers, so one must rely on speculation alone to imagine what else he may have achieved in the office of Speaker. He was seen on the 28th of October speaking for the opposition alongside Frank Luntz during the special event, “This House Believes US Interventionism Has Done More Harm than Good”.

McCarthy’s departure from his former role as Speaker of the House has made headlines around the world, as Congress descended into an unprecedented level of chaos. By doing what one would expect of a politician and cooperating on a bipartisan plan to prevent a government shutdown, McCarthy lost the support of some of his most conservative party members. With a motion from Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida demanding his removal, McCarthy’s role as speaker was in the hands of his colleagues. 

On the third of October, the House voted to oust Congressman McCarthy from his role of Speaker, in an incredibly close 216-210 vote influenced by several far-right conservatives, who joined the Democratic Congress Members. It may have taken fifteen rounds of voting for the former Speaker to gain his status, but only one vote led to his removal. Now these two Califonians both have a historic first, as this is the only time in American History where the House removed its leader. As Americans watched their government implode, we were all left thinking, “Who will be next?” 

The House ran without a leader for several weeks, with Patrick McHenry taking the wheel as Speaker pro tempore until congress members could decide how to sort out the mess they had made. Several prospective candidates later, McCarthy has since been replaced with Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson, whose beliefs can best be summed up as representing the Christian Right. While former Speaker McCarthy has now been nationally disgraced and has often been criticised for holding some extreme views, he was a more familiar face to the American people than his successor, a relative unknown in the political world, who will certainly keep us on our toes as we wonder what lies ahead for the 118th congress.

To hear from former Speakers Pelosi and McCarthy provides a rare chance to hear from some of the United States’ most powerful people during the politically turbulent years of the Trump and Biden Administrations and to hear the perspective of both parties from their former leaders. While Speaker Pelosi’s career accomplishments certainly outshine those of McCarthy, his appearance at the Union is no less impressive as the most recent person to hold the position of Speaker, and an influential Republican through the last decade, providing listeners with a better perspective of what the Trumpian party actually believes from one of its own, especially through the intense factionalism within the party itself. 

While discussing politics of the recent years here, it seems that the subtleties of the Republican Party have been hidden behind the sensationalist voices of the far right, and to hear a Republican debate in the United Kingdom may reveal a bit more about the party than the extremist representation it has overseas. 

In the wake of his fallout with the Republican party, it was especially interesting to hear Congressman McCarthy debate at the Union, only weeks out from a pivotal moment in his career. To hear him argue in favour of historical American interventions while seeking to limit US funding of Ukraine and stating he did not want to send “blank checks” to the country in the face of war with Russia, was something to behold. 

The chance to witness Pelosi give the Memorial Lecture will be a testament to her life’s work, and an honour well deserved for her commitment to progressive causes and equal rights. Most likely more muted on the political front than McCarthy’s debate, her lecture, I expect, will focus on hope for worldwide progress.

The American political arena has been perilously divided in the past few years. My country is easily victim to appearing foolish on international news outlets all while its policies tear apart families who can no longer share dinner at the same table – nor even in the same country. To have both a high-ranking Democrat and Republican come to Oxford is a small step towards recovering from this division. I hope that hearing Pelosi and McCarthy at the Union will show that, once again, America is more than its current political struggles. 

As an American who has answered questions about abortion, guns, the election of President Trump time and time again, and faced general ridicule for the political system in which I vote, I hope these talks will offer the opportunity to recover what American politics really beholds. 

The political world is a confusing game, but thanks to the talks at the Oxford Union, a closer look at some of the players might bring the political clarity we need, and the cross-spectrum connection we seek. 

While the American political system is as flawed as any other, this does not always reflect those who serve and represent its citizens. When you have heard the Speakers at their respective events, This ought to be an opportunity to see the impact of their leadership (particularly of longer-standing Speaker Pelosi) and to alter your understanding of American politics with a glimpse of its innards.

Oxford announces new AI Environment centre amidst wider UK investment

Bea Keady
-
0
Oxford announces new AI Environment centre amidst wider UK investment

The University has announced plans to open a new “Intelligent Earth Centre” focusing on theintersection between Artificial Intelligence and environmental sciences. The centre will be funded by a £12 million grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with nearly £3 million more from the university itself and partners including Google DeepMind, IBM, the European Space Agency and the Met Office.

The “Intelligent Earth Centre” is intended to train almost 100 PhD students to use AI technologies to tackle environmental crises over the first eight years. The announcement follows the recent AI Safety summit which signalled the UK’s determination to regain its dominance in the AI field.

The centre is one of 12 new UKRI centres for doctoral training with over £117 million awarded, building on their previous 2018 investment of £100 million. Other centres include Biomedical Innovation at the University of Edinburgh, Sustainability at the University of Southampton, and Decision Making for Complex Systems at the University of Manchester.

This is part of an investment in British technological developments and comes amidst a wider industrial strategy shift as nations compete for dominance in the AI sector. The UKRI website states that: “The investment will continue to ensure that the UK has the skills needed to seize the potential of the AI era, and to nurture the British tech talent that will push the AI revolution forwards.”

Similarly, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, said: “The UK is at the very front of the global race to turn AI’s awesome potential into a giant leap forward for people’s quality of life and productivity at work [and these plans] will future-proof our nation’s skill base, meaning we can reap the benefits of AI as it continues to develop.”

Oxford claims the centre aims to address a “crucial skills gap” between environmental scientists and data scientists. It will do this through a multidisciplinary training programme and specific interdisciplinary measures. Each project is advised by both an environmental science supervisor, an AI supervisor, and an advisor from one of their non-academic partners as a secondment host.

Training will be in both environmental science and data science and there will be entry streams for both “numerate candidates from environmental science backgrounds” and “for environmentally-driven candidates from computer science, data science, mathematics, statistics, or physics backgrounds.”

The programme is also intended to be student-led with students being matched with supervisors and partners throughout the first year of training and developing their project proposal with their personal supervisory team rather than applying to a singular predefined project. The first PhD positions will start in September 2024 and applications will open later this month.

According to the Director of the new Intelligent Earth Centre, Professor Stier, students are not just expected to graduate into a wide range of industries but “to drive innovation and found their own start-ups.”

Oxford’s main teaching hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital, plans to construct new elective theatres

Daniel Thomas
-
0
Oxford’s main teaching hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital, plans to construct new elective theatres

The John Radcliffe Hospital has put forward plans to build seven new elective theatres to Oxford City Council’s planning authorities, in an effort to cut down on mounting waiting lists for patients.

Submitted by property management firm Carter Jonas on behalf of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the expansion consists of a new 7541m2 theatre facility building, with all requisite infrastructure and parking amenities, to be built on top of an existing staff car park. 

The submission includes seven new operating and recovery spaces, with cutting-edge hybrid facilities allowing for radiological intervention during surgery when necessary. 35 cycle parking bays will also be added to the site, although there is no information as yet where they will be built.

The proposal for the Headington site also contains plans for a link corridor connecting the new building to the hospital’s existing west wing, as well as a permanent shell space with the potential to be converted into a sterile services facility. 

This expansion, the hospital says, is sorely needed to help reduce waiting times, and speed up patients’ access to routine elective surgery through increasing recovery space capacity.

Waiting lists for NHS procedures lengthened significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic, and most remain high even 3 years on. Students in Oxford frequently complain about extensive waiting times in the hospital’s A&E department, which fell well over national NHS service standards last month; meanwhile, in July, over 76,000 patients were waiting for routine non-urgent elective surgery.  

The chief facilities officer at OUH Trust, Mark Holloway, described the scheme as at “a very early stage”, adding that the trust will “continue to review and consider all opportunities […] to help support the delivery of services for patients”.

Opposition to the hospital trust’s plans has risen from some quarters. 

Headington Heritage and Oxford Civic Society, two local campaign groups, criticised the trust’s record on housing, transport infrastructure, and the environment, arguing that the proposal will worsen housing needs in the city and increase road congestion through extra demand. The groups also maintain that the cycling-parking provision ratio of 1:5 is inadequate, and that hard-surface car parks increase the risk of flooding in the vicinity.

Thames Water expressed similar concerns regarding local drainage infrastructure, and has contacted the developer for assurances. The public environmental protection body Natural England, however, expressed no objections to the proposals on ecological grounds.

Oxfordshire County Council, though not objecting to the plans in principle, has also registered concern over the loss of 132 parking spaces and insufficient cycling amenities, noting that too many hospital staff rely on cars to access their workplace. 

The hospital site is poorly-served by public transport routes, and traffic on the surrounding roads is frequent. 

John Radcliffe Hospital frequently does research with Oxford University with the latter being an academic partner, one of the leading Biomedical Research Centres in the UK. The hospital houses many departments of Oxford University Medical School. 

What happens on a peace-building exchange in the Western Balkans?

Nick Marshall
-
0
What happens on a peace-building exchange in the Western Balkans?

At a dinner in a small, smoke-filled restaurant in Belgrade, Serbia, during a youth programme set up by the German War Graves Commission, I was asked:

‘So, what are the stereotypes about the Western Balkans where you’re from?’ 

Growing up in London, I have been exposed to an array of cultures. But this question revealed my alarmingly minimal knowledge on this large region. If you had asked me to draw a line around the region that constitutes as the ‘Western Balkans’ last year, I probably would have been woefully mistaken. I simply couldn’t answer.

This was precisely why I decided to embark on the project in the first place. Peace Line’s Yellow Route would take young people from across Bosnia, Serbia, and North Macedonia and bring them together to discuss peace-building in regions that have experienced historical and recent conflict. Peace Line’s aim is to encourage dialogue on cultures of remembrance and how they vary across Europe so that respect can be built within the continent and to emphasise the significance of preserving historical reminders in the promotion of European unity. This prompted reflection on the idea of the individual against collective memorialisation of the past, and reclamation of conflict via the arts, infrastructure, and legislation.

The region is undeniably underrepresented when it comes to forming the whole picture of European history, even within the nations themselves. Much of the region’s political geography has been dictated by memory politics, determining the ways in which future generations go on to remember their relatives, and how they perceive their identity with respect to ethnicity and religion. Setting a start and end-point to the Balkan Wars, in particular, is nearly impossible, and volatile narratives focus on who the ‘victims’ and ‘perpetrators’ were, rather than the appreciation of civilian loss of life. Art has become a particular point of interest in expressing both disdain and remembrance of such a past in the Balkans – its abstractness has an ability to unite in collective memoriam, yet it undoubtedly may also be used to draw attention to strong beliefs. Thus, one of Peace Line’s many facets was being able to explore the culture of remembrance through art, which I have been drawn to reflect on when considering building sustainable peace in the region.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo and Srebrenica-Potočari  

We began the programme in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most notable part of the city at first glance is not a particular landmark or sight, but rather the overwhelming presence of bullet holes. This is a relic of the Siege of Sarajevo, lasting 1425 days from April 1992 to February 1996, it was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, and the longest siege anywhere since WWII. Many of these facades have been partially restored so that the holes remain visible, but upholding standards of building quality. These scars on Sarajevo have fed directly into local art, a way which reflects the ownership locals have of their past and reflects a modern culture of remembrance. One of these artistic methods is the ‘Sarajevo Roses’, where shelling craters have been filled with red resin, each location marking an attack where at least three people had lost their lives. The recent development of the city has led to the loss of many of Sarajevo’s Roses, taking the memory of the victims of the war with them in a country that often lacks formal memorials to commemorate their losses.  

What strikes me about Sarajevo is that although it has no singular voice, the city speaks for itself. The War Childhood Museum told the stories of those who grew up there between 1992 and 1995. It described personal – not political or martial – histories from the time of the Siege. 

The one that resonated with me most was titled ‘A Dress for Dancing’, where a brother recalled preparation for a dance competition with his sister, Nina. The museum displayed the pom-poms her mother had made to accompany a dress given to her by the dance coach. Nina had no other means to buy one but the dress then allowed her to compete. The day after the competition, 12-year-old Nina was wounded, and died a few days later in hospital, making her one of the last children to fall victim to the Siege. It is these items that, despite being of little material wealth, are crucial in generating a culture of remembrance around conflict by humanising those who fall victim to it. 

We continued to discuss the Bosnian War in Srebrenica-Potočari, in the region of Bosnia known as Republika Srpska. Srebrenica, as declared by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was the site of the genocide of approximately 8,372 Bosniak men and boys during a week in July 1995. 

At the site, we met a woman who had lost both her husband and sons in the events of Srebrenica, and headed the organisation ‘the Mothers of Srebrenica’, who took both the UN and the Dutch Government to court over their role in the events. She owned a small shop outside of the graveyard for the victims, where she sold carefully sewn white and green flowers with eleven petals, commemorating the day on which the genocide took place. As one of the few Bosniaks to return to Srebrenica, she expressed worries that one day Srebrenica will be left behind, yet expressed fondness for her children, whom she believes can craft a future of peace and reconciliation in Europe. 

In the days after leaving Srebrenica, 30 more men and boys were buried at the graveyards following their identification, stressing the time in which it has taken for families to learn the fate of their loved ones, and have a place of individual memorial for their mourning. To date, around a quarter of the victims of July 1995 remain unidentified or missing. The Srebrenica Flower has become a symbol of resilience for those who still await the identification of lost brothers, sons, and fathers, uniting those who lack a palpable site for individual commemoration. 

Serbia – Belgrade  

Belgrade provided a stark contrast to Bosnia. Whereas Sarajevo has art intertwined into a rugged cityscape, Belgrade interlaces glossy skyscrapers and high-rises with bombed ruins of former ministries. Belgrade, like Sarajevo, bears the scars of a turbulent past, one that is felt in modern-day Serbia by murals and, in many cases, their vandalised counterparts. Depending on the day you pass Njegoševa Ulica, you may or may not see a mural of Ratko Mladič, leader of the army of Republika Srpska, who was convicted by the International Criminal Court for orchestrating genocide in Srebrenica. It was cemented a month after his sentencing in The Hague and despite numerous attempts by the building’s residents and Belgrade-based peace organisations, it remains. 

A deeper exploration of this came later that day when meeting Serbian young people, many of whom were members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), a Belgrade-based NGO that has had numerous members arrested in an attempt to cover the mural. A discussion with young people demonstrated how it is the walls and buildings of Belgrade that are being used as a battleground for conflicting political ideals, specifically in the furthering of Serbian nationalism. Marko Milosavljevic, head of YIHR, has stated that “the glorification of convicted war criminals has led to the fact that we have a monument to Ratko Mladič, embodied in a mural, which is protected by both the police and extremist organisations,” highlighting the lack of intergenerational unity following the breakup of Yugoslavia.  

Cultures of remembrance – the way forward 

Sarajevo’s use of art as a memorial in the centre of the city, rather than demonising a particular group as a perpetrator, has gained wide international traction for its perception of the war of Bosnia, seeing the Siege of Sarajevo as an attack on the city’s rich, multi-ethnic history. With this said, the culture of remembrance has not been perfect in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as with the implementation of plaques in schools. The Bosniak teachers and students who fell victim to war commonly have plaques in their former schools that, whilst acting as remembering, have a dual function as accusers. Mourning of Serb losses in Sarajevo is essentially held in secrecy, rather than collectively, and many believe that Bosnia is more sectarian than it has ever been before.  

Battles may no longer be fought on the ground, but walls and bridges are marked by them as nations reckon with dealing with a turbulent past. There is a need for an interdisciplinary approach to reconciling the past that encourages communal expression of mourning and remembrance. Ubiquitous street art, for instance, paints the cities’ healing grief in the absence of formal reconciliation. Collective expression through the arts can then be used as a foundation for debate on how to better formalise collective memorial within these nations, regardless of ethnicity or nationality.

The peace-building programme in the Western Balkans was a vital learning opportunity. I found it worked as a way to memorialise permanently what has been lost to the horrors of the wars. 

Feel Good Films — British 1950s Comedies

Hassan Akram
-
0
Feel Good Films — British 1950s Comedies

When I’m shattered after a long essay, or brooding over the state of the world, or merely wanting to enjoy a pleasant few hours, classic comedies are my go-to.

The golden age of film comedy in Britain was the 1950s. In this decade, or just outside it, came all the Ealing Comedies listed in the BFI’s “Top 100 British Films”. Here, however, I want to focus on the era’s lesser-known, non-Ealing productions. Although the lesser-knowns lack the nuanced social analysis and elegance of the Ealings, they are certainly superior as “feel-good” laugh-getters. And most importantly, they remain criminally under-watched.

Most of them had a recurring but interchangeable cast and crew. Each regular had a characteristic persona, which allowed audiences to become familiar with them, as if in a TV show; although most of the films were unconnected. As genre goes, they range from social satire to domestic farce to dark comedy. What they all had in common was the ability to get you into hysterical fits of laughter. The best of them assembled as many of the below actors as possible:

Ian Carmichael remained the staple comic hero. He played the title role in Lucky Jim, which fixed him as the hapless but likeable Fifties man; a relatable sort of idiot up against the worlds of the legal system (Brothers in Law), politics (Left, Right and Centre), trade unionism (I’m All Right Jack), and others.

Terry-Thomas was known as the delectably nasty “cad” or “bounder”. With his gap-toothed smile and high-pitched voice, he exemplified the caricature posh Englishman. He was at his best playing the likes of tax-evader Billy Gordon in Too Many Crooks, or Lord Mayley in The Naked Truth. In some films, though, he abandoned that persona for a kind of comic method acting. He played, for example, a dodgy street-crook in Brothers in Law.

Dennis Price never returned to the Oscar-worthy heights he had reached in 1949 with Kind Hearts and Coronets. But his outings as, for instance, Carmichael’s brilliantly corrupt uncle in Private’s Progress, or the used-car swindler in School for Scoundrels, all show an undimmed air of cool and cunning. There was another thing, too, that Price could always be relied on to do well: fall off boats. Off the top of my head, I can think of scenes in Lady Godiva Rides Again (which is otherwise a dud), The Naked Truth, Double Bunk and several others in which, as if unable to help himself, he just keeps on falling off boats.

Alastair Sim had a slightly more subdued style, and his greatest asset was his delivery. His signature role was that of Amelia Fritton in the St Trinian’s School series (of which the second instalment, where he’s joined by Terry-Thomas, is the best). He is equally excellent as an assassin in The Green Man; and as the law-abiding novelist who, in Laughter in Paradise, fruitlessly tries to become a criminal in order to inherit a fortune.

Then there were a range of character actors who were not leading men but played just-as-good small roles. In Happy is the Bride, Miles Malleson’s turn as a deaf magistrate is largely responsible for the most uproarious courtroom scene since Bardwell v. Pickwick. Cecil Parker, with his blend of pomposity and awkwardness, was failsafe as a butler or a father-in-law. Also noteworthy were Sid James, Eric Barker, Peter Sellers, George Cole and Richard Attenborough.

Even aside from the cast, the “feel-good” charm of these films is down to the wit and energy of the screenplays. Censorship kept the innuendo at a low, meaning the filmmakers had to rely on dialogues, situations, visual gags and facial expressions over “obscenity”. The period charm of the post-war decade – of a Britain experiencing the rapid growth of prosperity and optimism – also imbues the films with a sense of having been made in a golden world apart.

By the 1960s the familiar run was petering out. A few films captured glimmers of the old magic – The Amorous Prawn, for example. By the middle of the decade, however, a new wave of Technicolour Swinging Sixties comedies had put an end to the golden age.

So please don’t be prejudiced! Don’t be put off by the black-and-white. Watch any or all of the above comedies, and you’ll have “never had it so good”.

Feeling Blue? A deep-dive into Oxford sport

Anika Gupta
-
0
Feeling Blue? A deep-dive into Oxford sport

“You leave Oxford with a First, a spouse, or a Blue.” The latter of the three, a Blue, is the highest honour granted to individual sportspeople at Oxford University. It is highly prestigious and sought-after. With its history tracing back to the early 1800s, its relevance in Oxford students’ day-to-day lives, social activities and career prospects cannot be understated. However, this elusive award and the culture revolving around it remains largely unknown to the average Oxfordian, despite numerous Blues being awarded every year. You have probably seen them, without fail every Wednesday night frequenting the Parkend’s Tiki Bar in classic social attire, leaving many to question what sporting prowess has given awardees the right to wear the notorious dark blue blazer? What does one have to do to get hold of one?

What is a Blue?

Coming in a few variations, a Full Blue, a Discretionary Full Blue, or a Half Blue – a Blue is an award handed out as an acknowledgement of achievement within a sport.

The term “Blue” can be traced back to the early 1800s from historic sporting fixtures between Oxford and Cambridge. In the boat races between the two boat races, the first one being in 1829 over Hengley Bridge, a Cambridge oarsman tied light blue ribbon to the bows of the Cambridge rowing boats to represent the colours of his school, Eton College. A dark blue colour was then ascribed to Oxford, as the colour of Christ Church College, and the Oxford crew sported white jerseys with dark blue stripes during the race. These colours, and the merit associated with them, still exist today. Indeed, those who achieve a Blue are entitled to wear and show-off these colours in their blazers.

Further, the start of the Oxford-Cambridge competitive “Varsity” match tradition can be traced back to June 1827. This is when the two universities challenged each other to a two-day cricket match at Lords. Nowadays, Varsity games often attract huge student and alumni crowds. This can be seen through the annual boat races and the rugby matches played at Twickenham, engaging an over 20,000+ strong crowd.

How to get a Blue

The ability to obtain a Blue (Full/Half) depends on the status of each sport. Traditionally played sports such as football, athletics, and rowing allow for Full Blues; while more fringe sports, such as clay pigeon shooting, only allow Half Blues to be attained. The criteria for attaining them also differs between sports, mainly due to the measure of success in each sport differing itself, and often between their men’s and women’s teams. In Hockey, for example, Full Blues are awarded to the starting eleven  in the Varsity Match, as well as up to five substitutes in the Varsity Match at the discretion of the captain.

The awarding of this prestigious accolade and the management of the sports clubs is no easy feat and, like most things in Oxford, is governed by a committee. The Oxford University Blues Committee is made up of the current captains of the affiliated Blues-status clubs, alongside an executive committee made up of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer. As part of this, affiliated clubs must send one representative to a termly meeting and to those which review the status of their sport once every three years. 

While the specifics of each sport’s criteria are determined in these reviews, some general rules govern all Blues sports. Predominantly, no award (Full/Half Blues or first team colours) can be awarded to someone who does not compete in a Blues Varsity match. In addition, each team must clearly define what constitutes their Blues team in the Blues Varsity Match, reserves or substitutes who do not play cannot be awarded Blues, members of a second team or equivalent cannot be awarded a Blue and all awarding criteria must be met within the same academic year as the Varsity Match, being verified by The Sports Federation.

The Oxford University Blues Committee Constitution sets out other specific requirements for attaining a Full Blue. For example, the sport must be registered with the Sports Federation; there must be considerable College organisation, with recognised Colleges playing each other, and (not-surprisingly) there must be a substantial degree of athletic ability required. Additionally, adaptive or para-sports are still in their infancy at Oxford, with plenty of room to grow with support. Current high-level disabled athletes are able to attain a Blue but have to go through an “Extraordinary” route which is different to standard procedure. In conjunction with a Blue, a grant may be awarded to an exceptional sportsperson for future personal development. This may include new personal equipment, a training camp, or travel with a national team.

Life of a Blue 

Now that one knows a little more about the history of a Blue and how to go about getting one, we can proceed to delving in more deeply into life as a Blues sportsperson. For these passionate athletes, the process starts early. The previous Women’s Blues Football Captain, Jess Cullen, told Cherwell that “try-outs happen in freshers… generally we do a small section on skills and then go into matches. Choosing new players is a process all of the current players are involved in and we meet at the end of trials to discuss. In the end, the captain and coach choose the final teams.”

When asked about being able to manage an insane training schedule with rigorous academic work, Jess communicated: “I train everyday in some format except Saturday. Sport keeps me mentally sane and gives me a community, so I couldn’t not do it.”

Further, a current Amateur Boxing Blue and committee member reflects that while training is “hard work” with tough training sessions in the early morning and late at night, he enjoys balancing sport with his role on committee. This involves securing a new ring and investment for Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club, organising boxing events and an annual trip to Tenerife which provide a chance to meet and train with Olympians.

On maintaining a healthy sports-work balance, Men’s Blues Rugby Captain, Jack Glover, told Cherwell: “The academic pressures that go hand-in-hand with being a student at Oxford University are very important when structuring training and players’ workload. We are realistic in knowing that players will not be at every session, however, we try to adapt and be flexible to all their needs to ensure that they are getting the most out of being part of this club. As we are a player-led club, I feel as though we manage to strike an extremely well-balanced programme and that we are all very considerate to one another during term time.”

Jack added that matches are undeniably the highlight of being a Blue: “Some of our best matches include playing professional premiership rugby sides such as the Harlequins and Leicester Tigers. Other exciting games include those against the England U20s, an old boys team called the “Major Stanleys” – which welcomes back all OURFC alumni back down in Iffley. Of course, the big match that we look forward to is the Varsity Match against Cambridge. With so much history behind it, it is always one of the main highlights of any player that has represented OURFC.”

With post-match rituals often including beers and dinner with the opposition, karaoke and a trip to the Vincent’s Club – Blues matches, while unimaginably pressured, appear to always end well despite the outcome.

A Blue social life

Despite having a jam-packed schedule, for some reason, somehow, you will always find a Blues player out on a Wednesday night. Overlooking when strict pre-game drinking bans are in place, Blues sports culture is filled with events, socials, including crewdates at Oxford’s finest institutions Angrids or Jamals. While initiations are technically “banned” for many of these groups, the Blues teams don’t shy away from a vibrant social culture aimed at integrating all team members and other university sports teams.

The Vincent’s Club (Vinnie’s), is also regularly frequented. Pre-eminently a club for Oxford’s sporting elite, Vinnie’s was founded by Brasenose oarsman Walter Bradford Woodgate in retaliation to not wanting sporting matters being discussed at a suggested location, the Oxford Union. Woodgate famously said in reference to the Union, “I wouldn’t be seen there at a dog fight” and proceeded to select forty people (from the sportiest Oxford colleges at the time – Merton, University, and Brasenose) as original members of his new club. This was set up at the club house above the publishers at 90 High Street, named Vincent, and thus the club got its name. Intriguingly, the club only welcomed female members in 2015, only recently allowing the Club to more properly represent the finest sporting talent at Oxford. Part of the reason for the little change in ethos probably lies in the fact that while the focus has always been on sports-minded people, there has never been a sporting (Blues) qualification for membership. 

However, women empowerment in high-level sport does not get overshadowed. Atalanta’s is the leading society that promotes and supports the University of Oxford’s women in sport.  Founded in 1992, they now have a large network of resident members from over 24 different sports teams across the university, as well as a strong alumni database. Atalanta’s aims to recognise and foster the impressive achievements of sportswomen across the University, helping to inspire other hard-working, skilled and like-minded individuals across all sports. It promotes the development of sportswomen at all levels of University sport, through grants, scholarships and a vibrant social events calendar.

Members from the Oxford University Yacht Club (sailing) have told Cherwell that one of Atlanta’s dinner events was “very fun, definitely a bit daunting at first but once you get chatting to everyone, all very friendly. There were lots of different sports and different age groups, including a few alumni, and also a mixture of 1s, 2s and 3s sporting teams.”

Final reflection

With this whistle-stop exploration into Blues sport, it begs the question: are you feeling Blue? All you need is insane athletic ability, unwavering motivation and commitment, a capacity to drink your weight in alcohol and a love affair with Parkend. Easy stuff. 

Read Cherwell’s last reflection here: https://www.cherwell.org/2012/01/27/how-to-get-the-oxford-blues/ 

Oxford-led research highlights importance of nature-based solutions for net zero in Brazil

Matthew Grigg
-
0
Oxford-led research highlights importance of nature-based solutions for net zero in Brazil

With the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) approaching, international researchers led by Oxford have found that nature-based solutions must feature in Brazil’s climate change policy if the country is to meet its commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. Cessation of deforestation and implementation of regenerative forest schemes were identified as the most important measures Brazil should undertake.

The team of international scientists found that nature-based solutions could contribute to around 80% of Brazil’s net zero goal in the next thirty years. 

Published in Global Change Biology, the research also made a case for Brazil avoiding a focus on negative emission technologies (NETs) and solutions that involve engineering nature. These solutions, including Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), incur higher costs and have not yet been proven effective on larger scales. 

Ending both illegal and legal deforestation in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest, and restoring areas already cut down will enhance the country’s biodiversity and bolster this natural carbon sink.

In order to realise the benefit of nature-based solutions, policies will need to extend beyond Brazil’s current Forest Code which requires a legal reserve by private landowners. 

Dr Aline Soterroni at Oxford’s The Agile Initiative said the following: “While the implementation of the Forest Code is urgent and can enable Brazil to achieve and increase its short-term climate ambition, it won’t be enough to bridge the gap to net zero emissions by mid-century.”. 

Integrated modelling was used to determine the expected emissions reductions associated with different policy directions. Scenarios that only use Brazil’s Forest Code fall short of the country’s net zero aim, only bridging the gap to greenhouse gas emissions by 38% by 2050. Further renewable and sustainable measures that engage with nature in agriculture and energy could support Brazil in achieving net zero. 

Professor at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and co-author of the study, Roberto Schaeffer, said the following: “The country’s energy sector already has a significant share of renewables and its contribution to Brazil’s net zero ambition would heavily rely on BECCS. Nature-based solutions, in particular ending deforestation and restoring native vegetation, are the way to go here…”.

Significantly, such nature-based solutions were recognised as fundamental to Brazil meeting Nationally Determined Contribution promises as part of global action on climate change. Researchers behind the study have stressed the importance of nature-based solutions being represented in national strategies ahead of COP28. 

The publication of this study follows a 13 % reduction in tree cover in Brazil from 2001 to 2022, as assessed by the Global Forest Watch (Global Forest Watch, 2023). While policies that accelerated deforestation in recent years have been reversed under a new administration led by left-wing Brazilian President Lula da Silva, the new research emphasises the need for nature-based solutions to go further if Brazil is to meet its net zero climate target by 2050.

1...124125126...2,496Page 125 of 2,496

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 James Ashley