Saturday 5th July 2025
Blog Page 211

Glass Onion Review: Those ‘Knives’ Need Sharpening

Beatrice Ricketts
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Glass Onion Review: Those ‘Knives’ Need Sharpening

Beware, contains spoilers!

“Well, here’s another clue for you all:

The walrus was Paul.”

So jeers John Lennon in The Beatles’s “Glass Onion”, a song plied with red herrings to laugh at those who read far too much into the band’s lyrics. 

Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, which was released on Netflix in December, the sequel to the well-regarded (thoughperhaps too much so) 2019 Knives Out, refuses successful detective work by the spectator. With twists, turns, and flashbacks, the viewer is never given the opportunity to believe that they could work out the mystery. 

Miles Bron (Edward Norton) is a Zuckerberg-Musk-esque tech billionaire who invites a star-studded group of old friends to his private island for a murder mystery game, where he will be play-murdered. But, surprise! In the first (and most obvious) of the film’s promised twists, the game is quickly cut off and a real murder occurs instead. In fact, there are several, including one before the time of the film starts. 

And who is there to solve the case? Daniel Craig’s drawling southern Benoît Blanc, of course. With the help of a handy ‘twin’ device (played by Janelle Monáe), we find out through the course of the film the motives of each character on the island, and finally who is the murderer, in a lengthy final scene culminating in the Mona Lisa burning to ashes. Gone is the eerie and autumnal Art Deco of the first film, and instead is stifling heat and swimming pools. 

Johnson’s plot borrows heavily from—if not pillages—Agatha Christie. The concept of a cast of eccentric characters stuck together on an island is not new (see And Then There Were None, 1939), nor is the opening declaration of a death before it has happened (see A Murder is Announced, 1950). Glass Onion is rife with intrigue and clever ideas, yet, if we were to raise Christie up from the dead to give Johnson a few pointers, I think she would advise the following: 

Firstly, spend more time with each character individually. 

Caricaturing Elon Musk, Norton’s Miles Bron turns out simply bland in comparison. His group of friends is not much more compelling. Despite a clever, and quite literally ‘on the nose,’ scene in which the politics of each of the characters is demonstrated by their mask-wearing style (the film is set in May 2020), the men’s rights activist (Dave Bautista), scientist (Leslie Odom Jr.), and corrupt politician (Kathryn Hahn) do not develop much further from their introduction. Their possible motives are identical and vague: save their own career by backing the rich guy, and not the truth. An oddly-integrated mix, the friendship of the self-described ‘Disruptors’ is hard to believe, and the dynamics appear much weaker than the intriguingly dysfunctional family of the first Knives Out. The film mocks its characters, but we have no reason to care. 

Secondly, allow the viewer to believe they can guess the culprit (even if they will inevitably be wrong.)

Johnson seems to laugh at the watcher. A third of the way in, he pulls us back: none of what you just saw was the whole truth. An element of the viewer’s trust is lost as previous scenes are peeled back to reveal missed dialogue. The basis of the ‘murder mystery’ genre is eclipsed by clever scene cutting and a self-referential script which claps itself on the back (“Stop these malapropisms!” Blanc reflects on Bron’s previous lines.) Anything from this point on could still be a lie, for all we know. 

Finally… the twist is based around a twin, really?

The film is certainly entertaining and flashy enough to fill its 139 minutes, yet for all its cleverness, perhaps it needs to go back to Agatha Christie a bit. 

Linacre College proposes new charitable governance statutes in light of Thao dispute

Rufus Hall
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Linacre College proposes new charitable governance statutes in light of Thao dispute

Linacre College has proposed changes to its governance statutes which would see the creation of a Board of Trustees with duties including the management of charitable donations. The board would be comprised of up to seven members of the Governing Body, a junior research fellow, the President of the common room and up to three independent trustees “currently unconnected to the College (but who may include emeriti, alumni or those with professional expertise relevant to the business of the College)”.

Linacre College website states that “The Trustee Board has responsibility for ensuring the College is properly run and fit for purpose.” Other new statutes should regulate the ‘Powers of the College’, ‘Application of Income and Assets’, ‘Conflicts of Interest and Loyalty’ and ‘Meetings and Decisions of the Governing Body’.  

 The current statutes were created in 1986 and are “out of date”, according to an announcement in the Oxford Gazette. The new statues have been updated to “to enable the College to meet the high governance standards expected of a major modern educational charity”, a website announcement reads. 

These changes come after the college signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 31st of October 2021 with SOVICO Group represented by its chairwoman Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao to receive a donation of £155 million. The donation has proved controversial with Oxford University Campaign for Climate Justice, who criticised SOVICO’s association with the Russian oil company Zarubezhneft. As part of the Memorandum with Linacre, Madam Thao has committed the SOVICO Group to carbon net zero by 2050. SOVICO’s other commercial involvements include offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as Vietjet Air, Vietnam’s first privately-owned airline.

The deal has courted further controversy relating to the college’s application to the Privy Council to change its name to ‘Thao College’. Head of Alumni Relations and Development at Linacre Lisa Smårs acknowledged that she had received emails expressing “sadness, or even anger” when the proposed name change was announced in 2021. Writing on the college website, Smårs said that “however important our name is to us, I believe that the values we represent are of far greater importance”, citing other colleges that had been renamed following donations.

Concerns were raised by Julian Lewis MP that Thao was “extremely close to the Vietnamese Communist Government” during a debate on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill in the Commons. On 13th June 2022, then Education minister Michelle Donelan announced she was ‘actively investigating’ the deal between Linacre College and SOVICO, but Donelan has since resigned.

Of the total £155 million donation to the college from SOVICO, £40 million has been earmarked for the college endowment fund. Under the new governance statutes, investments, including parts of the endowment, could be managed externally by  ‘a financial expert’, according to a draft of the new statute book, available on Linacre College Website.

‘Not my King’: charges dropped against Oxford activist who spoke against monarchy

Olivia Boyle
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‘Not my King’: charges dropped against Oxford activist who spoke against monarchy

After shouting “who elected him?” during King Charles’s proclamation ceremony through Oxford, activist Symon Hill was arrested for a public order offence. Cherwell can reveal that the charges made against the alleged anti-monarchist have now been dropped. 

The ceremony that took place at Carfax Tower in September was part of the standard procedure for the assumption of a new monarch. Though, with the death of the country’s longest reigning monarch and for most of the population, the only monarch they’ve known, this was no ordinary proclamation ceremony. Hill told the BBC that he “remained quiet” in the moments that warranted respect for the late Queen. The activist spoke up when King Charles III was declared the new monarch, who is, as Hill commented, “a head of state being imposed on us without our consent”. His protestation, “who elected him?”, resulted in being arrested, a journey in a police van, and four months of legal proceedings. 

The Crown Prosecution Service has now decided to “discontinue the matter” of the charges against Hill just three weeks before the court hearing was expected to take place. This is a success for the wider civil liberty campaign though it is shadowed by the surprising suppression of many individual protests against the monarchy across the UK. The activist stated in an article for Bright Green that the police had become “defensive and refused to talk” when he “expressed a mild criticism of the royal procession”. The police reaction to Hill’s small-scale protest raises further questions of the relationship between state and monarchy, not to mention the notion of a society that welcomes multiple points of view.

The Oxford protest was not singular. There has been a host of republican protests across the country since September, including the billboard campaign ‘#NotMyKing’. The campaign was inspired by a lone protester in London holding a piece of A3 paper of the same phrase; video footage shows she was promptly confronted by at least three police officers. Though, with the tension surrounding Prince Andrew, and more recently, the Royal Family infighting, it is not surprising that the King would feel threatened by growing public discontent. Nevertheless, anti-monarchist troops were rallied and protests against the non-democratic assumption of a new monarch are expected to reach their peak at the coronation on 6 May 2023. 

The nation has an apparently expanding distaste for the monarchy. Though Oxford has its share of republican action, the monarchy remains a strong presence with the King as Visitor at three University colleges. For now, Britain remains hooked on its monarchic tradition.

I tried out college football last term, you should too

Zoe Abereoje
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I tried out college football last term, you should too

If you haven’t tried a college sport, have you really gone to Oxford? Well yes, last year’s academic stress and fatigue was enough to say been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Yet people commonly say that getting involved with college sports is the gateway to a good college experience. Like the nosey person I am, I had to see if it was true, and tried out college sports. More specifically, football last term. A term later, I would now say, it’s at least worth a try.

Maybe it’s best to give a little context. There’s not a sporty bone in my body. I watch lots, (some say too much) safe in the knowledge that I can’t catch a ball (or a break) or hit a beach ball with a mattress sized racquet, but I never was too keen on taking part. I peaked in Year 4 with my Essex County sliver in 600m and I hung up the boots then. Since then I’ve been savvy to avoid PE, with conveniently timed music lessons and so on. So back when I was a wide-eyed naive little fresher, you can only imagine my total joy and elation at hearing from almost anybody I spoke to, encouraging me to get involved with college sports. Curious by the high number and various types of people suggesting I do, I took the laborious first step of searching for and joining my college football group on facebook and never took it further than there. Maybe the occasional like of a post letting me know when the training was or telling myself that this term I was going to get involved. 

Spoiler alert: I never did. But it’s not just my chronic laziness that prevented me from doing so. The more of first year that passed along, the more and more negative things I started to hear about college sports. Specifically the side that wasn’t to do with actual sport-ing. The crew dates that went too far, the socials that seemed terrifying. If my lack of sports acquiescence gave me cold feet, the social aspect of it had me turned off.

But when I found myself wheezing a bit too much after walking up one of the numerous flights of college stairs, I decided enough was enough. It was time for me to become a (barely) sporty person. Netball required too much coordination and rugby straight up terrified me, so off to football I went.

And after a term of going, I can say I was definitely not the best at it. But I definitely did try. What I really enjoyed (and did not expect to happen) was meeting the people like me who were also trying something new, and were okay with getting things wrong. The first time I showed up to any practice I was dragging my feet, but once I had gone to one session I started really enjoying it. By the end of term, I was genuinely looking forward to playing. I can’t speak for all colleges or all sports, but I can vouch for my college: it really is worth trying out. All the girls I played with were really nice and supportive, not like the netball girlies (omg netball girlies please don’t take me seriously). This seems to be a general trend from people I spoke to outside of colleges too, not just mine. Even if you are terrible, you can still have a great time taking part. I’ve concluded that horrible people don’t get involved in college sports. 

While the social element seemed a bit intimidating given that it’s not really my scene, it shouldn’t put you off playing. They aren’t going to bind you by your arms and legs and drag you to Jamal’s. If you’re not an extrovert or you don’t really go out much, maybe you might know the names of the people you play with a bit better if you do go out. But from my term I would say that I still enjoyed myself playing, despite the fact that the day I’m sighted at a crew date is the day Phil Mitchell grows some luscious locks. 

That being said, in the interest of being fair here are some of the genuine negatives. 

It really isn’t easy to be good, especially at football. I want to believe that one day I’ll play and my skill will spontaneously appear. But no. Sometimes the ball goes really far away and I internally scream “oh naur!” because I know I have to run after it. Despite all of this, running is still one of the top ten worst things you could put a human through in my personal opinion. Not to mention the awful soreness that comes from my rusty bones after running about for a bit. 

But if anything, I hope that I showed it is, believe it or not, worth it. I’ll go again this term with the hope that the pain of exercise can distract me from the miserable months of hillary. But in all seriousness, if you were on the fence, or have been considering it and thought it was too late to try, it really is never too late and it is always worth it to try a college sport. You don’t have to do football, most colleges do rugby and frisbee- last year I went to watch ice hockey cuppers. And after discovering the university has a team for the totally made-up sport “Eton Fives”, anything is possible. it’s worth having a look at what else you could try.

As for me, provided I don’t score an own goal next term, I’ll consider myself proud! As someone who avoided sports in first year like the plague and still gets the shivers when someone says the word PE, trust me, anyone can try.

The Brookes Side

Michael Pista
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The Brookes Side

Michael Pista examines the differences between Oxford University and Oxford Brookes…

Living in the student city of Oxford is such a unique experience. In a place holding two large universities, chaos and activity is expected. However, the life of a Brookes student – campus, home, social – is slightly different to the life of an Oxford University student. Although we share a similar environment, your culture and our daily lives differ.

In relation to our schedules and how we spend our time on campus, I suspect it’s unlike that of an Oxford University student. At Brookes, our courses are typically taught in lectures, then solidified in seminars. Our lectures are usually two hours long and used for introducing, explaining and exploring new content. This is done in large groups with minimal participation. Most of the time, seminars come right after lectures, and they last for about an hour. Here we are in smaller groups discussing the content learned, exploring it further, and clarifying things where needed. This is an opportunity for us to dig deeper and interact with the content, as well as with each other. This structure works well and manages to effectively teach difficult topics and concepts. 

On a normal week, we can expect four days on campus, with a lecture and seminar on each day. Occasionally, as a part of certain courses, workshops require attendance. This would usually be an opportunity to work on more practical skills. For example, a ‘communication skills for lawyers’ workshop is required as part of the Law LLB course, where practical court etiquette is taught. As Brookes students, we are fortunate enough to have a dedicated bus route with Oxford Buses (U5). This service is free to all Brookes undergraduates, and is a lifesaver all year round in terms of saving time and money. 

While on campus, there is also plenty to do. One of our greatest features is access to modern sporting facilities such as pitches, courts and gyms. These facilities are available to Brookes students at all times, for free or for just a small fee. Going to the gym on campus can save almost £15 every month when compared to other memberships in the area.

Term-time home life has proved to be a positive experience for Brookes students as well. We have a selection of university and private company accommodations available to us. Typically they are in the areas of Headington and Cowley, as these are close to the campus. Luckily,most of the student accommodation also falls on our free bus route, resulting in incredibly convenient, free travel to campus or town. Furthermore, Oxford Brookes provides affordable houses for students in the same areas. The prices are fair and facilities are of high quality- no complaints.

One thing we may have in common is that after hard work comes a hard party. Oxford is one of the best student cities in the UK, and caters to us in endless ways. The diversity of food and drinks, and entertainment is one of the best things about it. Our favourite restaurants include European cuisine such as ‘Moya’ just by St Clements,or Nepalese cuisine such as ‘Yeti’ in Cowley. For some well-priced and deserved drinks, the ‘Swan and Castle’ is a regular, in addition to smaller and cosier pubs such as the ‘Corner House’ in Headington. When on a bigger mission, and celebrating hard, visits to clubs such as ‘Atik’ and ‘The Bridge’  are a must. These are amazing nightclubs right in the heart of Oxford, that are loved by us all. When the party’s over, making use of the parks and greenery around Oxford is essential. Among our favourites definitely has to be ‘South Park’, or the ‘Shotover Country Park’. These make for great walks and talks, and are definitely popular among the Brookes students living in the surrounding areas. As well as this, we all make sure to make use of the brilliant museums such as the ‘Ashmolean’, and other attractions such as the ‘Botanical Gardens’, which are all free to us students. Not to forget, visiting the ‘New Theatre’ and catching a show has also proved to have been fantastic. A breathtaking tribute to ‘Pink Floyd’ was on just before the new year, and it was the best £30 spent!

Living in Oxford as a Brookes student is very pleasant and (most of the time) trouble-free. The city is incredibly well adapted for all the students that live there, and our universities act as great support.

Despite holding two large, very different universities, everything is in order. While our learning environment and methods may perhaps differ, I suspect our social lives are very similar. After all, every student is always on a hunt for a bargain and fun university memories.

Crap start to term: Hazmats remove waste from Univ as students face fine

Cecilia Catmur
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Crap start to term: Hazmats remove waste from Univ as students face fine

University College’s messy discovery earlier this week sparked what has since been coined the ‘Oxshit’ scandal. 

College residents awoke to discover that a student had defecated in a ground floor bathroom in the Durham Building II, which houses first-years. Univ told Cherwell: “On 16 January it was reported that a shower in a student accommodation block had human faeces spread across the seating, walls and the flooring of the shower. On further investigation it became clear that the shower had been used as a lavatory.”

An email sent by college soon after the incident’s discovery threatened residents of the building with, “a £1000 fine to get an external cleaning company in” if the culprit themselves, or the residents collectively, did not clean up the mess before the end of the day. Univ further told Cherwell: “As a result of this incident the College has closed the shower block until a professional cleansing company equipped to deal with such biohazards is able to clean and disinfect the area concerned.”

Since the original email, the figure of £1000 may alter, depending on the actual costs. A statement the College made to Cherwell made it clear that: “The costs associated with this sort of cleaning, in the absence of any student owning up to the incident, will be shared among residents in the normal way.” 

University College’s original request was that the building’s occupants cleaned up the mess themselves. The College left gloves and cleaning products in the bathroom for this, and withdrew scouting from the building. 

However, this request was not fulfilled. Instead, Univ students have reported to Cherwell that they saw two people in Hazmat suits entering the affected block on January 17th. 

When asked to comment on the JCR reaction and plans, the JCR President, Shermar Pryce, told Cherwell: “It is our hope that the college administration will consider the potential impact on students who were not involved in the incident before rendering any decision. From my interactions with the relevant staff at Univ, it is clear they are also cognizant of the potential injustice of such a fine and are sympathetic to the students’ predicament. 

“While I am unable to comment on the specifics of a hypothetical response from the JCR in the event of the imposition of monetary fines, I can assure you that we stand in solidarity with the affected students, particularly in light of the ongoing cost of living crisis.” 

The reaction to this incident has sparked a feeling of disgust among both students and staff. 

The email the students received the following day described such behaviour as “repulsive” going “beyond any bounds of what could be considered reasonable.” 

Pryce told Cherwell: “the reaction of the student population at Univ to the recent incident in the accommodation bathroom has been one of disgust, dismay, and disbelief.”

When asked how they aim to address the incident from the wellbeing perspective of the student involved Univ told Cherwell:

“The College prides itself on being a community and a family. The behaviour of the student involved in this incident has fallen well below the standard we should be able to expect of a member of our community and we hope for better in the future.”

A further email from Univ shows that the Domestic Bursary still intends to process the fines, but acknowledged “I understand that this news may evoke feelings of consternation and disappointment among you.”

No Sex in the City

Anonymous
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No Sex in the City

Once upon a time a young woman came to study amongst the idyllic spires of Oxford. She dreamed of being ‘Crazy in Love’ as she strolled hand-in-hand across the cobblestones, having ‘Sex on Fire’ beside a bookcase in the corner of the Old Bod, and of a handsome PPEist proclaiming his love to her by means of a placard and a stereo in the middle of Broad Street. 

Instead, she soon discovered that she was not Crazy in Love, but rather driven crazy by her weekly essay; having sex that was far more forgettable than explosive. She was often found standing in the middle of Broad Street having yet another existential crisis, fuelled by her dwindling academic prospects and her romantic disillusionment that now involved ‘she’s as well as ‘he’s. 

As I performed my umpteenth walk of shame down Broad Street at the end of last term, clenching my best Ann Summers lace bra under my arm, I couldn’t help but wonder, is romance dead? And if so, who killed it? Or had I just been brainwashed by a childhood of Richard Curtis films into thinking that there ever was such a thing? Welcome to ‘No Sex in the City’, a hopeless (and single) romantic’s attempt to put words to the often gruelling, but exhilarating, struggles of dating at Oxford University. 

I recently read about a virgin in her late twenties who found the ‘love of her life’ through writing a sex and relationships column. And so, here goes… What’s the worst that can happen? I find people throwing stones at my window overwhelmed by a desire to have me as their regular booty call? Or my innocent friends banging on my door to burn me at the stake after I expose all of their worst sexual escapades? 

There are over 25,000 students at Oxford University. I only need one. And I’m not picky, but you better be good looking, funny and about 500 other things (I can send the list to any potential prospects). From incestuous college flings, uncontrollable horniness around housemates, to passing a one night stand on the tescalator, Oxford certainly throws up its challenges. But has romance become too much to expect? If you search for ‘love’ on SOLO, you’ll find over 9 million results…so we certainly have enough reading on the topic. 

Watching  some of my friends’ beautiful and mature  relationships certainly helps to expel any cynicism I might have and so, I’m optimistic. Single life is the most practical option for many students ; some of us are simply trying to make it out the other side of this place with a degree in hand. I’ve tried that approach – telling myself I’m far too busy and important to be obsessing over my love life, but then I find myself coming to the same realisation as Bridget Jones, “that unless something changes soon [I’m] going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine”. At least in my case, I’ve had three major relationships: with a bottle of wine, gin, and tequila. 

According to a Student Room survey, 35% of Oxford graduates found their true love at uni and they fared as most likely to marry their university love at 79%. I’m not setting out to be part of that statistic but I’d certainly like to rack up a few romantic anecdotes that don’t start with something like “that time in the Bridge toilets”. 

I’ve asked friends who are familiar with the show, which ‘Sex and the City’ character I most resemble, and I’m chuffed when I’m told that, of course, I’m Carrie. For those of you who don’t know, that means I’m a successful columnist living in New York who is funny, sexy, insightful and incredibly attractive (okay, you got me, I don’t possess all of her qualities). She’s the natural leader of the iconic friendship group, strong willed and ever optimistic about finding true love. But I also recognise that I share the qualities I’d rather ignore: she’s self-absorbed, has a problem with boundaries, and let’s face it, spent 6 seasons, 2 films and a reboot completely obsessed with love, sex and men. 

It’s no secret that many of the tropes of the show are outdated and controversial, and in ways, have instilled many negative ideas about relationships and beauty standards in me, personally. The show is the inspiration behind this column but its similarities end here because unlike Carrie, it’s not going to take me a decade of writing it to find ‘the one’ (it better not because a graduate writing for Cherwell is just too pathetic). 

The Cherwell Sex Survey last year found that you’re most likely to find someone to bring home in Plush and offering advice on finding sexual partners, a respondent said that “Piers Gav helps”. I’ve frequented Plush more regularly and filled out a membership form for Piers Gav, but to no avail. So it’s time for some new advice.

Because I’m a finalist and obviously have little work to do, I’ll be devoting this term to an experiment in Oxford dating. The number of Tinder dates I’ve had rivals the number of lectures I’ve attended since coming to Oxford and Cupid’s arrow over here at Cherpse has always missed the target. But I’m not giving up on love and in the name of my non-existent Cherwell readership, I’ll leave no stone unturned. I’ll be sharing my own experiences as well as the anecdotes of others, in an effort to shed light on what sex and dating is really like at Oxford. But I’d also love to hear from you! Your stories, suggestions and questions (maybe scrap that one because who am I to be answering them) and if you so wish, date offers. 

XO

Dolores Grey
Email [email protected] to get in touch.

Census data shows Oxford is getting smarter 

Anika Gupta
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The most recent census data, published January 10th, shows that Oxford’s residential population is one of the best educated nationwide. Oxford, a city which has education at the heart of its local economy, is getting smarter. 

The number of Oxford residents with no or lower level qualifications is falling, while the proportion of the population with higher-level qualifications is considerably increasing. Census data shows that 48.1% of Oxford’s usual resident population holds degrees and high-level vocational qualifications (Level 4), a significant increase from the previous 42.6%. 

Leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, told the council’s news feed that the City council aims to “encourage employers and developers to ensure more local people are developing skills, gaining qualifications and accessing high value, well paid jobs”. Oxford’s Level 3 (A-Levels, BTEC national levels, NVQ level 3 and equivalents) attainment average has seen a substantial rise; it has risen from 17.8% to 20.6%. This is far higher than the county of Oxfordshire’s level 3 and 4 averages at 17.1% and 42.0%. 

The City Council has said it is investing in the “growth of the knowledge economy”. Roles in teaching, research and healthcare are being actively promoted. Those sectors are increasingly attracting a highly qualified workforce. Additionally, the census data suggests that far more graduates are choosing to settle down in Oxford after finishing their courses to contribute to the growth of the education sector. Moreover, the Oxford City Council has enabled the increase of the number of organisations paying the Oxford Living Wage, which is currently set at 90% of the London Living Wage, to stimulate local growth.

Other than London, Oxford ranks in the UK’s top 5 for percentage of population with a level 4 qualification or more. Those that beat Oxford include St Albans (53.0%), Elmbridge (52.1%) and Cambridge (55.8%).

In recent years, increased opportunity to join the workforce, as well as to do apprenticeships and non-formal qualifications, seeks to benefit the local economy. The strategy of Oxford City Council may well continue to make Oxford’s resident population smarter.

Motion to disaffiliate from NUS over antisemitism report withdrawn from Oxford SU

Suzanne Antelme
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Motion to disaffiliate from NUS over antisemitism report withdrawn from Oxford SU

Following an independent investigation that found evidence of extensive antisemitism within the National Union of Students (NUS), a motion to call a referendum on disaffiliation was put to the Oxford University SU Student Council. However, the motion was withdrawn over concerns that it lacked clarity.

The motion, proposed by Magdalen JCR president Ciaron Tobin and seconded by Mundher Ba-Shammakh, claimed the SU should disaffiliate from the NUS because the SU “serves the interest of Oxford students more”, citing “the horrendous issues the NUS has continually been associated with” alongside “numerous robust reasons including financial cost”. The motion resolved to “call a binding referendum on the SU’s continued affiliation with the NUS, with a view to disaffiliating from the NUS”.

An amendment was proposed by Joshua Loo to change the wording of the motion to clearly state that “in light of antisemitic conduct in the NUS and the findings of the report, the question of continued affiliation should be put to the membership”. Introducing his amendment in the council meeting, Loo spoke of the antisemitism report as “pretty grim” and showing “utterly contemptible behaviour”.

A report was published on 12th January on Rebecca Tuck KC’s independent investigation into antisemitism within the NUS which the union commissioned itself in May 2022. According to NUS, the report that has emerged subsequently is “a detailed and shocking account of antisemitism within the student movement”. The report itself states that the investigation found “numerous instances of antisemitism” including antisemitic tropes and holding Jewish students responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. One testimony in the report noted “I never initially entered student politics to talk solely about Jewish issues, but my time in the movement became defined with defending Jewish students’ rights to even be in the room”. In another incident, a Jewish student was targeted with a tweet that “invoked the notoriously antisemitic blood libel … that Jews use the blood of babies or young children to make Matzah”.

Following the report, the NUS states that “[t]here is no place for antisemitism within NUS and we are committed to ensuring that Jewish students feel safe and welcome in every corner of our movement”. The NUS has developed an “action plan”, based on the investigation’s recommendations, that includes establishing “[p]ermanent formal representation for Jewish students”.

In debating whether Loo’s amendment should be accepted, discussion at the SU Student Council meeting shifted to reasons for and against disaffiliation. Members of the council meeting spoke with frustration of limited SU budgets, especially for the Disabilities Campaign and the LGBTQ+ Campaign, and noted that the SU pays about £20,000 in NUS membership fees. Others expressed concern that disaffiliation would dilute the SU’s influence on student issues that extend beyond Oxford.

A representative from the Oxford Jewish Society (JSoc) said they had been disturbed by the contents of the antisemitism report and wanted to make sure the NUS had the best chance of actualising the report’s recommendations. The JSoc representative asked for clarification on the motive of the motion, noting that if the motion was primarily motivated by the potential financial and bureaucratic benefits of NUS disaffiliation then the timing was unfortunate as the ensuing debate would revolve around antisemitism and possibly impact Jewish students. Ciaron Tobin, the motion’s proposer, was unavailable for discussion as he was attending the meeting online and had lost connection.

Mundher, the motion’s seconder, told Cherwell: “My reasons for [supporting disaffiliation] are [three] fold; [antisemitism], dissatisfaction in the NUS and a view that money can be better spent on a local level. First and foremost [antisemitism] at the SU is something that cannot be ignored – to represent students you must represent students of all faiths and when there is a pattern of behaviour among the higher levels of this organisation that has spanned the last decade […] I cannot stay silent. […]

“Secondly I [believe] the NUS spends a great deal of time embroiled in policy debates, activism and political dealings unrelated to student issues and while I welcome any student who feels empowered enough to take on a national issue and attempt to affect change on a matter they deeply care about, I do not believe that extends into the duties of the NUS. The NUS has one and only one remit and that is to fight for the interests of students, be it for increased bursaries, rent cuts [or] student support from the government […].

“And finally the Oxford SU pays £20,478 in membership fees to the NUS a year, that money can and should be spent on our students which we have a moral duty to look after, with SU money going to local issues we have a better ability to […] deal with pressing issues such as the sexual harassment on our campus.”

Jojo Sugarman, JSoc President, told Cherwell: “My comment before, which I stand by was that, ‘The report confirms, as Jewish students have long been aware, that the NUS has a problem with antisemitism. We very much hope that NUS use this report as an opportunity to alter the hostile environment that it has created for Jewish students, by following the recommendations made by Rececca Tuck’. That comment was not made in relation to any talk of disaffiliation. As the representative of [J]ewish students, [JSoc] has not been spoken to by those proposing disaffiliation. Our main concern is to represent Jewish students and we try to stay away from political matters. We would need to speak to Jewish students and to learn more about the consequences of disaffiliation to determine whether it is the right thing to support.”

Members of the meeting debated different procedural means to change and clarify the motion, with suggestions ranging from delaying the motion to the next meeting or moving it to a special or ‘extraordinary meeting’. A general consensus emerged that withdrawing the motion altogether was the best option. This would allow for consultation with students likely to be affected with a view to submitting a new and improved motion in due course, although no concrete plans were made. By this point it had become apparent that the meeting was inquorate because it had been running for nearly three hours and too many members had already left. Ciaron Tobin reconnected briefly via video to withdraw his motion and the meeting was brought to a close. 

Peter Thiel bashes “Greta and the autistic children’s crusade” at Oxford Union

Andy Wei
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The Oxford Union opened its bicentenary year on Monday with an address by Peter Thiel, the entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Paypal and Palantir. He spoke primarily on the culture war in the West, arguing for what he called “anti-anti-anti-anti-classical liberalism”.  

Thiel began by asking the audience, “What is the antonym of diversity?” Someone shouted in reply, “University!” For the rest of the event, he delved into politically charged topics, declaring that “stagnation” is the greatest crisis of our time and to blame are universities, environmentalism, and the establishment. 

Thiel characterised the study of humanities as “flaky” and pointless, while he described climate change as “one of the controversial subjects of the sciences.” He also described the modern environmentalist movement as “Greta and the autistic children’s crusade”. Later, he encountered pushback on his comments during the Q&A period, with one student staying, “I’ve met Greta and she’s actually quite lovely,” resulting in cheers.

Thiel is currently the Chairman of Palantir and presumed to be its largest shareholder. The company has been contracted by NHS England to provide data services; it is also the current front-runner to win an additional £360 million contract, despite pressure from a coalition of civil liberties groups concerned about privacy, data security, and Palantir’s track record as a “key enabler” of mass surveillance and Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies. When questioned on how he would fix the NHS given his lack of faith in government, Thiel quipped, “The NHS makes people sick,” and said, “The first step is to get out of the Stockholm syndrome.”

In brief, Thiel described the current world as “stalled” and “deranged” due to the overwhelming influence of the “centre-left zombie straightjacket” has replaced bygone values of “classical liberalism.” “It is all stalled out beyond belief,” he emphasised. Part of the solution, he said, is shifting public opinion, which is why these talks are important to him. 

A Union spokesperson acknowledged in a statement to Cherwell that some of its guest speakers may “hold views which are regarded as unacceptable”. However, the Union believes that it is central to their function as a debating society “to facilitate open and respectful discourse on controversial views and topics.” Thiel echoed this sentiment. He believes it is important  to discuss contemporary issues in a public forum, arguing that many modern woes, including stagnation, can be partially solved by shifting public opinion. 

Thiel also expanded on his contrarian views in a 2009 essay, saying, “I stand against confiscatory taxes, totalitarian collectives, and the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual. … Most importantly, I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”

A prominent donor to Donald Trump’s electoral campaign in 2016, one member asked him once the floor was opened to questions, why he backed Trump. Thiel responded that it was based on a “very deep conviction that things were too far off track, too locked down, too stagnant.” As a member of the executive committee of Trump’s transition team, Thiel proposed that a top climate change skeptic be appointed to White House science advisor and that a bitcoin entrepreneur lead the Food and Drug Administration. The former US president has praised Thiel, saying once at a meeting after his 2016 victory, that the entrepreneur was “a very special guy.” Thiel continues to donate to conservative politicians in the US.

Union President Charlie Mackintosh told Cherwell: “I am incredibly proud that, two-hundred years on, the Oxford Union remains true to its founding principles of free speech and debate. By hosting people with differing views, the Union presents its members with unique opportunities to challenge viewpoints they disagree with and engage in open discussions.”

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