Friday 11th July 2025
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Interview: Sir Peter Stothard

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What do you ask the man who has read everything? This was the question which haunted me as I climbed the stairs to the top of the Corner Club. Sir Peter Stothard, Editor of the Times Literary Supplement, is probably one of the most intensely literary persons on the planet. He can probably quote the Iliad backwards.

This was my unfounded impression of the man who would later greet me with a beaming smile and direct me into a side room decorated with bookish wallpaper.

Stothard is a Cherwell icon primarily due to the fact that he edited the paper in 1970, while he was up at Trinity, reading Classics. From there, he went to the very top, editing The Times for ten years and becoming one of the foremost names in British journalism.  Stothard, like most ex-Cherwellians, looks back upon his days editing the paper with mixed feelings; a combination  of joy and the pangs of panic which result from too many late nights and not enough copy.

When Stothard was at Oxford, Cherwell consisted not of the ever-expanding Orwellian nightmare it is now, but of a small hut-like building behind the Union – a far cry from the rooms filled with technology (albeit faulty) of Matthew Comfort Ltd on St. Aldate’s. All the same, under Stothard, Cherwell was printed weekly, and had a wide range of sections.

However, there existed yet another, fundamental, difference between now and then: the method of printing. Back then, Adobe had not been invented, and the computer existed only in the form of an object with the dimensions of a moderately-sized room.

Instead, editors would send documents via snail mail to the printers, who would then lay out copy (journo-speak for articles) and images in the received way. In an age of Photoshop, in an era dominated by the looming shadow of the Guardian Student Media Awards, design can make or break a newspaper. Today is the day of white space, of shadow highlighting, of the cleverly crafted info box.

Not so when Stothard was editing. In fact, as he mentions, the principal fault of student journalism is the concentration on form over content: something which is probably due to the nature of the readership; good design is necessary to pull the casual reader into the article.

As Stothard observes, edgy design should be no substitute for good copy, and conceptual design must be met with groundbreaking journalism. In an age of libel, of Heather McCartney, university is the only real opportunity for students to write journalism which expressly places itself on the side of contrariety, of contention.

The atmosphere surrounding student journalism during Stothard’s editorship was rather different to what it is today. He bemoans the ‘get to the top quick’ culture, the age of the internship, of the CV point, the race to accumulate a vast and diverse portfolio of cuttings, of experience (both journalistic and editorial), and, of course, a sharp and keen eye for the value of white space.

So it comes as no surprise that Stothard’s rise to the top of British journalism was somewhat different. After a brief stint at the BBC as a trainee reporter, he went on to work for the National Theatre and Shell before picking up his reporter’s notebook for freelance work on the New Statesman. This led to work for the Sunday Times as a political journalist – including a large and influential piece of the 1981 Budget.

Stothard comments that in a time of such unrest and hostility, working from Whitehall was particularly stimulating. Nevertheless, The Times shut down in 1978-79, and the resulting purchase of the paper by Murdoch meant Stothard was quickly elevated through the paper, becoming Editor in 1992-2002.

Having moved to the Times Literary Supplement in 2002, Stothard is now at the forefront of literary journalism, titillating the cultural sensibilities of the middle class intelligentsia week in week out. This, of course, makes him highly authorities on a whole range of broadly literary issues. A natural question arises: what, according to Sir Peter, is hot at the moment? To ask such a question is to broadly misunderstand what the TLS stands for: the revelation, or revaluation, of the neglected in culture at large Moreover, as Stothard notes, the notion of ‘hot’ is hugely subjective anyway. Recent issues have included lead articles on Elgar or working class fashion. Both niche topics, of course, but both reveal a wider relevance to modern day Britain.

The question of subjectivity, and, indeed, of  what constitues ‘top notch’ literary journalism is central to the future of criticism. A whole host of articles have been written about the rise of the blog culture, either in praise of the globalisation and universality of opinion, or decrying the move away from print, and into a world of normative, dull conformism. Stothard appears undecided on the matter, acknowledging that there is, of course, a great value in the blog. He notes a time when he discovered a really very interesting piece of Icelandic philosophy, pointed out to him by a friend on a really very obscure blog. However, Stothard astutely notes that ‘intellectual life was globalised before globalisation was invented’; the internet was not necessary for the development of a world-wide literary community; letters and newspapers served us perfectly well.

On the whole, it seems that Stothard is widely sceptical about the normalisation and democratisation of opinion which the blog can bring, and the error of the view that the opinion of Socrates is as valuable as the fool. He uses a good analogy to describe the phenomenon: imagine a crowd of Arsenal supporters, all chanting for the same team, but shouting different slogans. The end result is the same, the players on the pitch are spurred on, and someone watching the spectacle would be aware that this particular stand was definitely full of Gunners supporters.

 

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the result is the same. The main difference between a publication like the TLS and the blog is a distinction between a ‘judiciously argued judgement and a quick fix of opinion’. All the same, on the whole, Stothard seems to subscribe to the views of J.S. Mill: only within a free market of ideas will truth emerge, as good ideas displace bad ones and ignorance is progressively banished. As Mill has argued, the value of open debate and discussion is that ‘bad’ ideas are exposed as bad, meaning that ‘good’ ideas prevail. The blog helps this process along nicely.

Finally Stothard airs his views on the future of journalism. Modern media is all encompassing: the Telegraph has a TV channel on its website, and journalists aren’t ready to report unless they have a good digital camera with video-recording capabilities. Nevertheless, one simple, golden rule of journalism, in whatever form, remains true: the good journalist will have an eye for the interesting, and will find a way of bringing the reader or viewer into the story. This, for Stothard, is the reason that Plato’s Republic is still so widely read: the opening line is arresting and draws the reader in. Its literary merit, which need not be incompatible with journalistic appeal, is timeless.

It is for this reason, then, that publications like the TLS prevail: the fascinating will always be so. The same was true when Stothard was editing handwritten copy in his hut behind the union, and is still true today. When OSPL is able to open up a state of the art media centre, Cherwell will still be looking for intriguing articles to fill pages. After all, white space isn’t the only thing which wins awards.

Piece of cake

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I’m sure you’ve noticed The Cake Shop on meandering trips through the bustling Covered Market. The bright display of elaborately-iced cakes and colourful sugar animals and figures is a unique attraction and never fails to draw the curiosity of Oxford’s discerning public. Inside, you can taste icing-sugar in the air and the staff are always hard at work, crafting some new and exotic design, all from sugar and marzipan. The shop churns out an impressive 200 cakes every week – and every single one is different.

Described mysteriously by Wikipedia as ‘one of the sugar arts’, cake-decorating is one of those luxury, celebratory things that provides a focal point for a party or wedding. It’s been around for longer than you might think, though, with the first artistic decorating going on during the mediaeval period, when hearty cakes made of meat and raisins were topped off with branches of herbs or flowers.

Today’s sweeter examples are rather more decadent and, indeed, beautiful. the Covered Market’s Cake Shop is cleverly designed so that three of its sides are fronted by large windows which let passers-by peer in at extravagant cakes and busily-engaged decorators at work.

‘It helps the business a lot,’ Sally Davis, founder of the Cake Shop, confirms, ‘and one of the Oxford walking-tours handily comes right by our shop. We get a lot of tourists who notice the cakes in the window, and the sugar animals are very popular with them. We also rotate the displays periodically to reflect seasonal demand and to provide variety.’

So how did the business begin? ‘I did a cake-decorating course at university, but I couldn’t get a job when I finished so I asked my parents for a little help and I started this business. I’ve always enjoyed cookery, and food, but I love art as well, so being a cake-decorator allows me to combine these things.’

The shop is now in its twenty-second year of business. ‘We don’t have any rivals who are working with the same level of skill. There is, also, definitely a Cake Shop way of doing things. We make special efforts to produce more realistic models and objects. Our figures have fingers, for example, rather than simple ball-shaped hands.’ I’m shown three tiny and very intricate icing dogs whose tongues have been lightly coated with jelly to make them look wet, as further proof of attention to detail.

But detail means time and time means money. The cost of buying a cake from Sally’s shop depends on how much time and effort has gone into its decoration. ‘You can get a nice, basic birthday cake for £30. This one’ – she pulls down a two-tiered birthday cake, topped with a pair of high-heeled icing shoes – ‘is £112. The more tiers you have, the more expensive they are. An average wedding cake will set you back £300 because they are multi-tiered and are often heavily personalised.’

I ask what the most expensive cake they’ve ever made has cost. In a very matter-of-fact way, Sally says, ‘We did one once for £2,800. It was a wedding cake for a DPhil student who was studying ancient history of some sort. She wanted a replica of a specific temple and her husband-to-be did very detailed botanical drawings of flowers which he wanted produced on it as well. It was a very realistic piece, and very large – we had to use a step-ladder to finish it.’
In one of their bulging portfolios are pictures of cakes in the shape of buildings. There’s one of Brasenose College, another of the Sheldonian theatre (with authentic-looking black railings which I’m told are made from dried spaghetti painted black) and another of the Taj Mahal. All of which are stunningly detailed.

‘Buildings are my favourite because they’re always such a challenge. We study the structure carefully before we do the icing, and we try and make them as proportional and realistic as possible,’ Sally says.

‘Oxford is a special town,’ she continues, ‘It has some quite unusual people in it, and that helps our business. The University fuels that, definitely. Last year a professor wanted a cake for his students and he wanted an inscription written in an ancient language on it. He gave us a copy of what he wanted, and we had to be very precise of course because his students would have been able to tell if we’d made a mistake.’

One of the most crowd-drawing cakes in the window at the moment is a wedding cake topped with two grooms. ‘We have quite a few gay customers,’ Sally explains, ‘and we really enjoy doing their weddings. Gay couples are fun to work with – they always ask for great colour schemes, glitter and so on. We’ve done a lot of gorgeous gay wedding cakes and we certainly don’t have a problem with it, but sometimes we hear exasperated people outside saying, “Hey, there’re two men on that cake!”’

No cake is truly worth its salt (or sugar), however, unless the cake-mix itself is up to scratch. As such, The Cake Shop say they pay just as much attention to taste as well as appearance.

‘There are two bakeries we use for our cakes: one in Yorkshire and one in Nottingham. We’ve tried to source them more locally, but the quality isn’t good enough, and we wouldn’t compromise on that. Every day another batch of vanilla or chocolate sponge and fruit cake is couriered to our shop from the bakeries. We quality-control them as well, so if a particular sponge isn’t good enough, we’ll send it back. The bakeries specialise just as we do, and our businesses support each other for that reason.’

It’s clear The Cake Shop offers service of high standards. The cakes in the window and the icing being made behind me all look stunning, but also a little fragile. Have any unfortunate accidents ever happened?
‘We get the occasional mishap from a customer who’s dropped it on the way home, but it doesn’t happen very often. If the cake is reparable, we’ll take it in and patch it up free of charge.’

So whether it’s an exact replica of the Radcliffe Camera or a birthday cake which reflects various aspects of an individual’s personality, The Cake Shop seems able to do it. They also very kindly made us a fantastic Cherwell cake and let me nose around their shop taking pictures. I guess you could say we’ve had our cake and eaten it all at once.

News feed

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More contemplative readers might take a break from salivating over this week’s Cherwell centrespread to consider the fate of that tasty-looking Chercake.

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Now we know what the Chief’s on about when he mentions news feeds.{nomultithumb} 

SEX ON THE BEAT – Wednesday 23rd April

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In a word – no.

 

Sex on the Beat is one of those nights where the second you walk in the dance floor is your destination. No drinks deals/shots/socialising (you know – shouting “How are youuuuu?” to people you barely know…) but straight for some of that BEAT. Despite the lack of queue, there was a sufficient size crowd. It seemed full but always room to get out your moves. And I mean arms-flailing-lets-dance-like-circus-animals moves.

 

Sex on the Beat was started about 2 years ago by an ex-Oxford student who recognised a niche in the market for an underground house night in Oxford. Before last term it was less known about by Oxford students; being more visited by the Brookes crowd. But now it has been taken under the wing of Rock Oxford (and we all know whose wing exactly that is) and so increased advertising to the Oxford crowd has brought in the troops.

 

Wednesday’s crowd was relatively harmless. Slightly less glow paint, glow bands and sunglasses (this is nuh-rave darling) than usual but there was still a definite element of ‘posing’ around. I will leave you to decide whether this lay with the Brookes or Oxford clubbers. As for the venue – well, Filth is pretty much Filth whatever the night. Sadly.
Wednesday was the first Sex on the Beat since the after party of the boat race at 12 Aukland Road.

 

The resident DJs, such as Sam Frazier, pulled out their usual dirty electro and underground house. Some sexy beats for sure. However, it was a little extra something which made the night for me: live bongo drumming over the music. Genius.

 

The night stretched out till 3am with few remarkable incidents to report on. Unless, that is, one counts the slight ‘dance-off’/‘get-out-of-my-space’ that I witnessed between two people. By witnessed, I mean had. Well, it’s all light-hearted at Sex on the Beat. This is Oxford after all.

 

The only negative about it (apart from people hitting you in the face through extravagant dancing) is the Filth sound-system which seemed to turn dirty, heavy beats into painful screeches.

 

Sensitive ears? Head to Lava and Ignite. For everything else, there’s Mastercard Sex on the Beat.

Worcester ball hit by touts

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Revellers at a previous Commemoration Ball

 

Worcester’s upcoming Commemoration Ball, an event once dubbed as “Times social event of the year”, has been mired in controversy over ticket touting.

The Ball, to be held on 20 June, promises on its website to provide “a thousand excesses” and has aroused particularly fierce competition for entry. Users on the internet forum ‘The Student Room’ have been offering non-dining tickets for up to £500 in response to one ticket-seeker’s claim that they would “pay almost anything” to gain entry to the Ball.

Tickets for the ball were only available to Worcester students as the event was completely sold out by the time ticket sales were opened up to the rest of the University, the Ball committee confirmed.

Students were able to purchase a maximum of four tickets each, but due to the high demand, a clear gap in the market has opened for people who want to sell on their tickets for a marked up price.

Ball President, Nick Waddell, said that the committee in “no way condone ticket touting”.

He said, “We have been happy to transfer tickets into another name for people who have had cancellations, but obviously we have had to take people’s word in these few cases that it is just name transfer.

“We do not condone this ticket touting and anyone who buys a second hand ticket does run the risk of being caught without correct, corresponding ID at the door,” he said.

He added that the Committee had been “unaware that large amounts of money might be changing hands for ball tickets.”

 

He did however add that given the popularity of the ball, it had been suspected.

He said, “If students had bought tickets specifically to sell on, then this is not really fair on the people who missed out first time round and now can’t get hold of a ticket at a reasonable price.”

One Worcester undergraduate who was selling his ticket, bought for £160, at the increased price of £320, defended his decision.

He said, “I know £320 is steep, but the tickets are like gold dust and have sold for far more.” He later offered a reduced price of £300.

A second year from Merton described her experience of the ticket touting. She said, “I tried to buy a ticket that someone needed to sell, but they were basically getting people to bid for it, and since I wasn’t willing to go over £140 (15 [pounds] more than the face value), I didn’t get it.”

 

Wadstock

Another Oxford social event, Wadham’s music festival, “Wadstock” has also been hit by allegations of ticket touting.

One student at Merton has explained how high demand for Wadham’s ‘Wadstock’ event seemed to encourage touting from the moment tickets went on sale. She commented, “I queued up for a guest ticket for Wadstock on Monday evening, and bought three (for myself, my boyfriend and a friend who is visiting for the weekend).

“However, there was no limit on how many you can buy, so people all around me were buying seven or eight and saying things like ‘I’ll definitely be able to find someone to sell it to if so-and-so can’t make it.’”

She added that almost everyone in the queue bought seven or eight tickets, meaning that they sold out in about an hour, “rather than the several days organisers seemed to be planning on.”

Scouts “struggling” on wages

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A College scout

 

The Oxford Living Wage Campaign has claimed that staff in Oxford colleges are “genuinely struggling” to live on their wages.

The student-run initiative has been pushing for a wage of at least £7 per hour for all College workers. Liam Taylor, an Oxford University student involved in the campaign, reported that a recent poll of scouts in Hertford found 93% said they “cannot afford to live comfortably on their wages,” while the figure in Balliol was 63%.

A Balliol scout commented, “[The cost of] accommodation is too high in Oxford. Transport is too high. Food is too high.

 

The Oxford City Council tax is going up again and again.” The campaign has especially gained momentum in the College, where the Bursar is said to be “investigating costs” and a report to the JCR in February urged students to consider “How much (if at all) would you be prepared to pay” to see a higher wage implemented.

Figures for what College employees are currently paid are difficult to obtain, with most colleges reluctant to reveal financial details. The Magdalen bursar said the college would “absolutely not” disclose employee wages, citing confidentiality issues.

He also cast doubt on the campaign’s claim that staff are underpaid, saying, “I’d be very surprised if any Oxford college staff were down on the minimum wage.”

Harris Manchester revealed, however, that their lowest paid staff receive £6.82/hr, while Balliol scouts are paid £6.09/hr. This tallies with the 2006 survey of low-paid staff wages carried out by the Living Wage Campaign, which found that most fell in the range £6 – £6.90.

The campaign is based on a similar one in London, which has been endorsed by Mayor Ken Livingston, and claims that the minimum wage – currently £5.52/hr for over-21s – fails to match the cost of living in London. Oxford City Council passed a motion in November for all Council employees to be paid seven pounds.

One result of the campaign will be the start of free English lessons for workers from overseas. “We found there was often a massive language barrier,” said Felix Flicker, a St Catz student who organises the lessons. “English lessons are so expensive in Oxford.” The initial session for the course had a turn-out of around 80 people.

Councillor Matt Sellwood, who is Deputy Leader of the Green Party Group and seconded the motion, commented, “I’m really glad that Labour and the Greens have been able to work together to ensure that the City Council is a fair and equitable employer. I hope that the University and Colleges will follow this example, and will do everything I can to support the excellent OUSU campaign on the subject.”

Anti-Tibetan violence at Anne’s

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Photo: Daniel Rolle

 

A student at St Anne’s has been the victim of a violent attack over a Tibetan Flag hanging outside her window.

Sophie Chao, a third year reading Chinese and Tibetan, was working in her room around noon on Wednesday when she had stones “hurled at her window”.

The offender, a Chinese male accompanied by two other girls, allegedly picked up stones from the side of the quad and threw them at Chao’s open window.

Chao said that she was unable to identify her attacker as she moved away from the window to avoid being hit in the face by the stones; the attacker was allegedly shouting “Fuck Tibet”.

She said, “He seemed intent on getting the code to my building so that he could come up and confront me. He was fully aware that my window was open and that he could potentially have hurt me.”

In an email sent to St Anne’s JCR, the Dean, Dr. Liora Lazarus, condemned the attack. She said, “Such violent and intimidating behaviour is simply not acceptable, and will not be tolerated in this college under any circumstances.”

JCR President, Amaru Villaneauva Rance described the event as “unacceptable”. He said, “I’m suspending judgement on the political perspective but from a JCR perspective, we must look out for students,”

“Anyone can stand where they like on the political line but when it comes to abusing someone else because of the stance they take, that’s simply not right.”

Chao has denounced the behaviour of her attacker. She said, “It is pathetic that the elite of China that Oxford welcomes is reduced to this kind of petty and menial behaviour.”

She said that resorting to physical violence to make a point was never acceptable, “[The stone-thrower] epitomises today’s China, that is morally and ethically blind to a reality that is obvious to all.”

Chao said that she had reported the matter to the Dean who “allowed me to look at photographs of all of our undergraduates as well as graduate students, but I wasn’t really able to identify a single one.”

She added that looking at pictures of foreign exchange students may well help her identify who the attacker was. In addition the Dean appealed to students for more information about the attack.

Oriel JCR President apologises

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JCR President Tom Callard

 

JCR President Tom Callard has said he will be issuing “a full apology” after members of Oriel’s JCR proposed a motion of censure against him.{nomultithumb}

The motion, proposed by undergraduate Cameron Penny, and due to be brought up at a JCR meeting this Sunday, asserted that Callard had “abused his position […] in allowing the College to book out the Junior Common Room during the Easter vacation”.

It also claims that Callard’s actions “deprived members of the JCR, especially Finalists, from the benefit of the room.”
Penny has accused Callard of “lying” about the communications that passed between him and the college about booking arrangements for the Common Room.

Penny said, “The JCR President was sent an email by the college in January asking if it was OK with the JCR that they book out the common room during the vacation.

“He didn’t bring this to the JCR’s attention, however, and when I returned to the college during the vac itself and was prevented from using my own JCR I asked him about it and was at that stage told he had no knowledge of the situation.

“It’s just a shame when a self-serving CV point hunter with little concern for his responsibilities decides on a course of inaction in defence of JCR interests,” he added.

Since news of the motion has reached Callard, he has stated that he will be apologising to the JCR for what happened.

In a statement he said, “I understand I made a mistake and misunderstood what was being asked in the original email about how the room was to be used.

“I understand that it would have invonvenienced the finalists massively,” he added.

Penny also criticised the JCR President for not being active enough in his role. Callard declined to respond to these accusations.

Dougall Meston, ex-JCR President commented, “I think it was irritating that over the vacation Finalists weren’t allowed to use their own JCR. There was a nasty atmosphere when we were told we weren’t allowed to be in there.”

However one member JCR committee member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “I think Penny’s behaviour is a clear demonstration of some sort of personal vendetta Penny has had against the JCR (and the President, as its representative).

“Penny’s contributions at JCR meetings have been frequently non-constructive, regularly plainly destructive and almost universally offensive.  The situation has been blown completely out of proportion.”

Libertarian leader to visit Oxford

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The leader of a new British political party is to speak in Oxford next month.

Patrick Vessey will be visiting Oxford to discuss the policies of the recently-formed Libertarianism party.  Its principal policy is to prevent intrusion into the lives of British citizens on the part of the government, and it operates under the motto ‘You Own Yourself’.

Tim Carpenter, Head of Policy for the party, said, “None of us are career politicians, we are all independent thinkers from various walks of life.”

Students representing different political views have responded in a variety of ways to Vessey’s impending visit. Patrick Vessey’s talk has been welcomed by Ben Wallace, Trinity undergraduate and member of the party. He said, “The party is very much aimed at people who have become apathetic about politics. It wants to reintroduce some personal elements back into government.”

Guy Levin, President of OUCA, said, “I’m looking forward to the visit, and I’m sure it will be of interest to some of OUCA’s members.

“Regardless, I think that a vote for the Libertarian Party is a wasted vote. Those who agree with broadly libertarian principles of lower taxation and less state interference would be best served by a Conservative government.
“I personally disagree with many of the Libertarian Party’s proposed policies, such as the total abolition of income taxes, the NHS, and state pensions,” he added.

Another Oxford student, who describes himself as a Liberal Democrat, said, “From their website, the Libertarian Party’s main policy seems to be abolishing income tax. That’s just infeasible in the modern era. They don’t offer any realistic solutions or projected figures. To me, their income tax policy seems irrational and ridiculous.

“If they are coming to Oxford to talk about their policies, I’m sure any audience would tear them to pieces.”

Carpenter remains confident however that there has been a “growing feeling” towards libertarianism in the UK for some time now. He also suggested that there was a general sense in the party that many people in Britain have Libertarian leanings, but do not know it.

He said, “I believe I was a Libertarian before I knew it, although at one point I might have described myself as Conservative, or even Green.”

Martin Nelson, President of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats criticised the party ‘s policy line on the grounds that its practical application was too inflexible.

He argued, “Real freedom of choice depends upon the economic situation in which you find yourself. We simply do not think that you can take a policy [of libertarianism] and extend it to every situation.”

Vessey is due to give a speech at Trinity College in Fifth Week.

Spirit of ’68

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On the morning of May 11, 1968, a student reached to take a hot cup of coffee and a square of chocolate from a resident leaning out of his window on the Rue Gay Lussac. The girl was not alone; stepping back over trodden baguettes, she was drawn into close crowds of university and school students who had barricaded their position in the Latin Quarter in response to Paris’ paramilitary police encircling their peaceful demonstration.

Amidst the taut wires and red flags, cobblestones and overturned cars, young workers rushed to join them. Yet the protesters couldn’t enjoy their coffee for long, for at two o’clock the riot police began a vicious series of attacks, each marked by the crack of percussion grenades and the heavy scent of tear-gas.

It wasn’t until after six that the demonstrators were dispersed. Yet this moment would not be end of the struggle; by late morning, trade union leaders, who had listened intently to reports of the fighting in all-night meetings, called for a general strike that would show solidarity with the students against the state violence but also radicalise the grievances of the French working class. What followed was historic: an estimated ten million workers struck indefinitely or even occupied their workplaces. The students took control of the Sorbonne and produced a flourishing of radical creativity, not just in images and propaganda but in ideas – ideas for a society without chains.

Now, for all their significance, the near-500,000 teachers, lecturers and civil servants who left their workplaces yesterday and took to the streets have not pronounced another 1968. Nor has the presence of an enthusiastic student delegation at the Oxford rally opened a path to campus ‘red bases’ or ateliers populaires. But we’re getting there. Slowly. Because you don’t need a copy of Trotsky under your arm to realise that cutting the real wages of our public workers in the face of soaring food-prices is ruinous to human welfare and the services upon which so many rely. Even in Oxford the fallacy of student isolation is falling away. The port-swillers at the Union may relish their separation from the rest of society, but universities don’t exist in a vacuum: our past, present and future labours connect us to the millions. The bonds that unite us to the rest of society are inalienable and it is through  common struggle that we become  capable of realising our collective aspirations. If we join together, in the lecture-hall and on the picket-line, we will realise them.

If last term’s Oxford Radical Forum brought hundreds of us together in discussion, our goal for next year is clear: hundreds more must join the movement – and fight.