For a man who might be the most celebrated astronaut since Neil Armstrong, Chris Hadfield is exceptionally modest. When I speak to him at a signing for his new book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life, he is amiable and approachable. Only his uncommonly firm handshake betrays the strength and control which he undoubtedly gained from thousands of hours of intense training.

“I’ve lived most people’s childhood dream. I’ve piloted 70 types of vehicle, gone on three separate space missions, and space walked twice. I’ve had so many of the richest and most rewarding experiences of life and I count myself as extremely fortunate.

“If I was to follow a life like this with regrets and concentrate on the things I missed out on, I think that would be a very sad way to go through life. It’s certainly not a way I’m going to do it.”

Like millions of others, Hadfield was inspired by the Apollo 11 moon landings, but he is among only several dozen to have risen to the rank of Commander of the International Space Station. I ask him what, besides plain determination, allowed him to become one of the very few to achieve such a lofty goal.

“If you have a great goal that you’re working towards, people tell you to visualise success, but the reality is actually the opposite. Instead imagine that everything goes as wrong as it possibly could at every step. Visualise and make plans based on the idea that everything is going to go wrong, so that when you come to execute your plans you’re ready for anything that can possibly be thrown at you. Make sure you have a rigorous attention to small details.

“We have a joke among us that there is no major problem in space that a good astronaut can’t make worse! When I first decided I wanted to become an astronaut, aged nine, Canada had no space program of any kind. So I prepared my high school, college and career as a military fighter pilot with that goal in mind.”

In 1983, when NASA first invited Canada to fly astronauts on the Space Shuttle as part of the Canadian Astronaut Program, his planning paid off, allowing him to be one of only four Canadian astronauts from a field of over 5000 candidates.

Hadfield stands out from other astronauts through his engagement with social media and attempts to humanize the experience for people back on Earth. He meticulously documented each and every detail about life in space, from the magnificent to the mundane. He credits his son Evan for introducing him to the possibilities social media provided to share his experiences. He used Twitter to provide over a million followers with awe-inspiring photos from the depths of outer space, and participated in two of the most popular ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions in the history of Reddit. He also filmed the first ever music video in space, a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, as well as interviewing the Canadian actor William Shatner from orbit.

“What you learn to understand about space is that, while the technical details are interesting and have their place, what people mostly care about is the human experiences and feelings, the minutiae of how different space is.”
His videos record everyday events made extraordinary by the otherworldliness of outer space; one is an explanation of how it feels to cry in space, where water coalesces in a pool over the eyes in the absence of gravity. His observations provide a captivating personal perspective on his travels into the unknown: the smell of space after a spacewalk is like gunpowder, to his mind, for instance. He also tells of how Australia is the most interesting looking country of them all from space.

Considering that he is well known for bridging the gap between scientific exploration and artistic endeavour, I ask him what particular works of art best replicates the feeling of space exploration. He calls Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron’s celebrated film, “visually stunning; I don’t know how they managed to capture the visual aspect of being in space so completely.” But, he adds, “it’s inaccurate on the technical details, although I don’t think that’s a problem.

Apollo 13 is the film that is easily the most accurate portrayal of all facets of spaceflight; the director went to significant lengths to give a historically and technically accurate portrayal, down to the individual pieces of dialogue.”
We move to discussing some of the more practical political issues surrounding space. When questioned by Reddit users, he described the privatisation of space as the, “right and natural way of the future.” I ask him what he thinks about the possibility of space travel being privatised in the future.

“Privatisation is the natural historical progression and I have no problem with that. If you take any comparable industry such as air travel or railroads they initially need a collective organisation to set up infrastructures and create frameworks for them to operate. They need an initial large investment by a government, but will slowly transition to a state where they are primarily the ground of private enterprise.

“We are at the cusp of the transition where most of the major advances in space are going to come from private enterprise. We’re starting to see it now with the SpaceX dragon and we’re going to see more of it soon with endeavours like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.”
I offer another commonly cited concern. As spaceflight gets cheaper and more accessible, is he worried about the weaponization of space by the Earth’s militaries? He tells me that is like asking whether we are worried about the militarisation of the sea. “The idea that space will somehow be treated differently to anywhere on Earth just isn’t realistic.

“There is a tendency to romanticize the idea of outer space. But the idea that space is some new beginning or blank slate is wishful thinking. We have never been peacefully united on the ground, and there isn’t a reason why being higher up will somehow make us behave differently. It’s just a little bit silly.”

Next, I question him about his emotional response to the isolation of being in space. “It’s not an experience comparable to anything most people experience, and, especially in the beginning of space flight, astronauts could have trouble dealing with their emotional responses.”

He mentions Buzz Aldrin, who wrote about falling into a deep depression for years upon returning to Earth after the first moon landing. This meant that it became important for Hadfield to try and connect his life aboard the space station much as possible with his life on Earth.

He explains that having the guitar he famously played Space Oddity on, or the laptop that he used to document his travels with, served a purpose beyond mere entertainment; they also became a way to reconnect with life back on Earth and defeat that supreme sense of isolation.

This is a man who, after such an exceptional career, manages to retain a great mix of humanism and pragmatism. He might have retired, but he continues to make his mark on this world by sharing with us what he has learned from the time he has spent outside it.

This desire to communicate the importance of space travel has defined Hadfield’s career. As he wrote shortly after the Challenger disaster, where the space shuttle broke apart just seconds into its flight, “As each of the fallen crew would tell you, exploration of the rest of Creation is fraught with complexity, challenge and risk, yet the benefit of understanding is infinitely worth the cost.”

Following a referendum carried out last term to disaffiliate from OUSU, Oriel College JCR has confirmed today their decision to break ties with the central Student Union.

This decision follows a long-lasting dispute over the JCR’s constitution after a motion was passed to sever links with OUSU last term. In the referendum, 76 out of 125 voters were in favour of disaffiliating from OUSU, with 37 against and 12 abstaining. But with only 60.8 per cent of the vote, the motion did not achieve the two-thirds majority necessary and was pronounced to have failed. However, issues were raised at the time concerning the validity of abstentions in such a vote. 

In a motion passed last Sunday, the JCR appointed an independent adjudicator, Dr Paul Yowell, a Law tutor at Oriel who specialises in constitutional law, who was to produce a report on the referendum, which was to be binding. The JCR meeting also passed a motion to explore a more general constitutional revision. The fellow is thought to have presented his report this week, only one week after he was tasked with the job, validating the motion and thus confirming Oriel’s break with OUSU. 

In a joint statement, the Oriel JCR President and Vice President last week said, “There were procedural issues stemming from a lack of concrete guidance in the JCR constitution, from which we are keen to move on in a constructive manner. In order to do so the JCR has asked an independent adjudicator to review the referendum and provide suggestions, which the JCR has agreed to accept as binding.”

Chief among the reasons for the decision to disaffiliate are the financial costs of running a student union which is preceived as providing little returns to the Oriel student body.

In an email sent to Oriel students on Sunday Night, Ianthe Greenwood, Oriel JCR President confirmed that “the motion to disaffiliate from OUSU for the remainder of the academic year passes”.

The email also included an explanation by Dr Paul Yowell, the independent adjudicator, highlighting his position, “The relevant provision in the JCR Constitution, provides: ‘Any referendum must be passed by a two thirds majority of all those voting in the same referendum’. It is my opinion that this language refers only to those who cast a vote either in favour of or against a referendum, and that the phrase ‘all those voting’ does not include someone who indicates the intention to abstain from voting. Thus, in deciding the outcome of a referendum vote, abstentions should not be counted as part of the total votes cast for determining whether the requirement of a two thirds majority is met.”

A second-year undergraduate at Oriel who seconded the original motion to propose a referendum told Cherwell, “It’s an unspoken fact that we all know OUSU is dominated by certain political cliques who use petty factional politics to further their own ends. I’m surprised they think they’re fooling anyone when these people claim its legitimate democracy, or that we can change anything from participation, as you will just be shot down. They can do this all they want, but not in our JCR’s name.”

OUSU President, Tom Rutland, was quick to point out last week that even if Oriel chooses to break links with OUSU, individual students remain affiliated with OUSU regardless of their JCR or MCR’s affiliation status.

“The common room affiliation model is largely outdated, and is a leftover of the age where OUSU was funded primarily by common room affiliation fees. These days, disaffiliation only results in that common room losing their votes at OUSU Council – thus silencing their members,” Rutland said.

“Given that OUSU Council’s voting membership is almost entirely made up of JCR and MCR representatives, the best way to effect a change in policy is to stay affiliated and have your members’ voices count at OUSU Council.”

Trinity is currently the only college disaffiliated from OUSU. Stuart Sander, JCR President at Trinity commented, “Trinity disaffiliated in 2007, during a period which saw a spate of OUSU disaffiliations. Following funding reforms which meant that OUSU affiliation did not directly cost JCRs money most of the disaffiliated colleges trickled back, so for the last few years Trinity has been the only disaffiliated JCR.” 

Trinity hold a referendum each year on whether to re-affiliate, and last Trinity term the JCR voted overwhelmingly to remain separate from OUSU. 

UK graduate recruitment at top employers is on the rise in 2014 with vacancies for this year’s school leavers reaching record levels since 2007, according to the Standard.

Employers are set to raise graduate intakes by 8.7%, the biggest rise for 4 years, says one study by High Fliers Research. This is a big improvement given cuts in graduate vacancies during time of recession, followed by small rises/falls in graduate recruitment since. At the University of Oxford, the university reports that, nearly 95% of all leavers are in work or further study six months after leaving.

A study of 100 leading employers in the country found that employers in 11 out of 13 major employments areas will take on more graduates in 2014, with the largest rises in the public sector, accounting and professional services firms, investment banks in the City, retailers and engineering and industrial companies, which aim to recruit 1,200 extra graduates combined this year.

The median starting salary remains unchanged for new graduates at £29,000. Though a quarter of top graduate programmes will pay new staff with more than £35,000 and 10 organisations offering at least £40,000.

The report highlights graduate employers are offering record levels of paid work experience and internships this year to university students and recent graduates. Over half the recruiters highlighted in the research that those who had no previous work experience are unlikely to be successful.

Martin Birchall, Managing director of High Fliers Research said, “This very significant increase in graduate vacancies at Britain’s top employers means the job prospects for graduates leaving university this year are the best they’ve been since the start of the recession seven years ago.

“And there are more opportunities than ever for university students to get paid work experience with the country’s most sought-after graduate employers – together they are offering over 11,000 paid internships and work placements this year for first and second year undergraduates.”

Charlie Parkes, a first year PPE student at New College, commented that, “for me that’s a good thing.” Another student at New College added that, “I am delighted, I feel much more confident about my future.”