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Welsh Education Minister visits Jesus College to celebrate outreach to Wales

Estelle Atkinson
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Welsh Education Minister visits Jesus College to celebrate outreach to Wales

Jesus College was visited by Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, on Thursday August 19th. 

The Minister said of his visit: “I’m very pleased to be here today to mark Wales’ longstanding and continued links with Jesus College and the University of Oxford more broadly.”

The Minister came to learn about the University’s, and particularly Jesus’, strong connections with Welsh educational institutions and the ways in which the University supports students applying to top universities in Wales and across the UK. After lunch at the College, the Minister gave a welcome address to the Seren-Jesus College Residential Summer School attendees.

Jesus College, colloquially known as the ‘Welsh College’, has maintained strong ties with Wales since its founding by Hugh Price in 1571. Today, these ties are nurtured through a number of access initiatives such as Oxford Cymru, an access partnership maintained by Jesus, St Catherines, and New Colleges. The partnership works with the Welsh government to offer opportunities to students in rural and coastal areas of Central and North Wales. 

Jesus College works closely with the Welsh Government’s Seren programme, which supports the brightest year 8-13 students from Welsh state schools and FE colleges in reaching their full academic potential. Two Seren summer schools are hosted at Jesus each year, with over a thousand students having participated in the program since 2016.

The Minister’s visit coincided with one such Seren Summer School: the fifth annual Seren-Jesus College Residential Summer School. Miles met and spoke with the summer school participants. The residential course is designed to give students a taste of Oxford life and in turn encourage them to apply to study. Students in the program have the opportunity to attend tutorials, seminars, and lectures. 

Miles also met with Dr Matthew Williams, Access Fellow of Jesus College. Dr Williams said: “About 70% of the 10,000 young people we work with annually through our wider outreach and access activities come from Wales, and we are committed to encouraging and enabling academically-gifted young Welsh students to apply to Oxford and other leading universities in the UK. Our work through the Oxford Cymru consortium and the Seren programme are essential to delivering on this commitment, enabling us to embrace the depth of knowledge and experience necessary to make an impact.”

Jesus’ Welsh ties are also strengthened by its Welsh alumni and prominent Welsh figures. The summer school series was recently secured in perpetuity thanks to an endowment from Mr. Oliver Thomas, a Jesus alumnus. Additionally, earlier this year Jesus announced the Michael Sheen Bursary, which will provide financial support for Welsh undergraduate students. The Bursary has been developed in collaboration with Welsh actor and activist Michael Sheen and will operate on a means-tested basis, primarily using household income criteria. 

Dr Williams added: “We understand that disadvantaged students can face financial inequalities that create a barrier to embracing the full benefit that an Oxford education can offer, so bursaries such as the Michael Sheen Bursary provide a tremendous opportunity to support Welsh students at Jesus College, making their experience more equitable, and reassuring them that Oxford is for everyone, regardless of background.”

Since the implementation of these access schemes, there has been a 20% increase in applications from Welsh state schools to Oxford and a 55% increase from 2016-2020. In 2019/20, 10% of all applications to Oxford by Welsh students came from Seren summer school participants. 

The Minister also met with Helen Charlesworth, Senior Executive Officer in the University’s Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Department; Lois Williams a co-designer of the international summer school course, Seren ambassador and alumna of Jesus College; and Tomos Wood – also a co-designer of the course and Seren ambassador who recently graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge. He was also welcomed by Rhian Edwards, Deputy Director for Further Education and Apprenticeships at the Welsh Government, and Rhian Griffiths, Head of Seren.

Miles continued: “The links between Jesus College and Wales date back centuries, and all those attending the residential summer school can be proud not just of their fantastic achievements, but also that they are continuing a longstanding tradition of learners from Wales going on to study at some of the best universities in the world.

“Since starting in 2016, our Seren programme has gone from strength to strength, and summer schools such as these play a vital role in building the confidence and raising the ambitions of Welsh learners, and ensuring they know that the world’s leading universities are within their reach too.”

The Minister concluded his day with dinner at his alma mater, New College. Daniel Powell, Head of Outreach at New, said of the event: “This year marked the creation of the ‘Wales Consortia’, an initiative which New College is incredibly proud to be a part of.  We hope that the students enrolled in the Seren Summer School have a rewarding and inspiring week of study in Oxford.  Of course, the opportunity to socialise is also an important trait of University life, and we look forward to welcoming them, as well as New College graduate, Mr Miles, for a celebratory dinner.” 

Image: Jesus College

Asylum Welcome displays orange hearts of solidarity with refugees

Joshua Low
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Asylum Welcome displays orange hearts of solidarity with refugees

Asylum Welcome, a local Oxford charity supporting refugees and asylum-seekers, has launched a mini-exhibition at the Old Fire Station called “Have Heart, Take Heart” to display messages of solidarity for refugees and asylum seekers in Oxfordshire. The exhibition will be open until 21st August, and these messages are also viewable on Asylum Welcome’s website. 

Featuring more than 150 postcards with orange hearts comprising of words of kindness, solidarity, and welcome, the exhibition was launched on 28th July in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Refugee Convention of 1951. The Convention is a piece of international law, to which the UK was a key drafter and signatory, that sets out the rights and responsibilities of refugees as well as countries who ratified the legislation.   

“Asylum seekers and refugees are a really important part of our society and have made a fantastic contribution,” one resident wrote. 

“Some of us are deeply ashamed of the UK government’s inhumane attitude towards refugees,” another contributor expressed. “We do not share it and wish to make you welcome!”

Introduced in 1951 following the forced displacement of millions in the aftermath of World War II, the Convention today is a foundational piece of international law that underpins asylum systems in the UK and around the world. It sets out the definition of a “refugee”, the rights of refugees, as well as the principle of non-refoulement, the principle that refugees are not to be forcefully returned where their lives or freedoms would be threatened. 

Asylum Welcome started its campaign to collect messages of solidarity after Home Secretary Priti Patel announced in March 2021 a plan to overhaul Britain’s immigration system, potentially bringing about major negative ramifications for refugees and asylum seekers in the country. The organisation’s stance is that the plan is “is deeply flawed, inhumane and is unlikely to achieve many of its desired aims.” On 20th July, the plan came to further fruition after the House of Commons passed the second reading of the Nationality and Borders Bill by 366 votes to 265. 

While the Home Secretary created the Bill with the aim to “better protect and support those in need of asylum” and “break the business model of people smuggle networks”, refugee rights campaigners have raised concerns over the Bill’s stricter requirements for refugee status, restricting of rights of refugees, prospective use of offshore asylum centres, and ineffectiveness in stopping modern slavery. 

Message from an Oxford resident: “Everyone deserves to feel safe and welcome in Oxford! My message is that while voices of hate may be loud, love is stronger and will win.” Image: Asylum Welcome

Stricter Requirements: Illegalising Refugee Modes of Arrival


One major reform arising from the Bill is that it will be illegal for newcomers to make an asylum claim if they came through a “safe third country” or United Kingdom waters without permission. 

A safe third country is defined under the new legislation as a country where one can apply to be recognised as a refugee and where one’s life and liberty is not threatened on the grounds such as race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. By these definitions, routes taken without permission through Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, or Bosnia and Herzegovina could therefore be deemed as “illegal routes”. 

Under the proposed reforms, anyone who enters through these “illegal routes” could be subjected to up to four years of imprisonment and removal, and anyone who facilitates their entry could be punished with a life sentence. 

It is likely that these reforms would limit refugee protection to only people who enter the country through state resettlement or migration schemes. But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the international agency dedicated to protecting refugees, says that state resettlement is “only open to a tiny minority of eligible refugees”. According to the Migration Observatory, between 2016 and 2019, the government has resettled 5000 – 6000 refugees every year, with this number falling to 823 in 2020. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel has recently announced plans to create a “displaced talent scheme” that would allow highly skilled refugees living in Jordan and Lebanon to work in the UK for a maximum of five years, which is to be piloted for 100 refugees and their families in the next two years. But the government has yet to provide a numerical commitment to resettlement in the future. 

Restricting the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Prospective Use of Offshore Asylum Centres


Another set of concerns relates to the restricting of rights of asylum seekers and the prospective use of offshore asylum centres. 

Under the proposed Bill, anyone who has taken “illegal routes” would be subjected to deportation back to a safe third country, but the UK government currently does not have any practical agreements to deport refugees to other countries. 

In the absence of agreements, the government has proposed that those who cannot be deported will have their asylum claims processed. If successful, asylum seekers would be granted a “temporary status”, but that will leave them in a legal limbo, as their status would need to be periodically accessed and their family reunification rights as well as access to public services restricted.

The Bill also paves the way for the creation of offshore asylum centres, termed as “designated places”, to process such asylum claims following the footsteps of Australia and Denmark. Speculations are that these centres would be in Ascension Island, oil rigs, or disused ferries. 

Nuha Abdo, an Oxford newcomer from Syria and spokesperson of the Have Heart, Take Heart project, expressed wariness over these reforms and said that she would not be living in Oxford today if the Bill were in place five years ago. 

Abdo arrived in 2016 with her two children as part of the UK government’s family reunification program for refugees. Her husband, a Syrian professor who arrived a year before, took multiple routes that would be deemed illegal under the proposed Bill before he successfully sought sanctuary in the UK. Part of his journey to safety, which spanned the countries of Greece, Turkey, and Qatar, included travel by land on lorries and by sea on boats, multiple arrests at airports, and a serious injury that led to his hospitalisation. 

“If this bill existed, it would mean that both my children and I would be separated from my husband. How can you accept people as refugees [give them temporary status] but not accept their families?” Abdo asked. 

Will the Bill Effectively Tackle Modern Slavery?


At the heart of the debates around the Bill is also the question of modern slavery. During her speech, Home Secretary Priti Patel spoke of the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in a trailer in Essex at the hands of human traffickers and the “moral duty” to “stop this vile trade” as the drivers of the Bill.  

Asylum Welcome Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Hari Reed said that the organisation agrees that modern slavery is a crucial issue that needs to be tackled but does not believe that the bill is going to “tackle it in any way”. 

“The government is treating smuggling as the cause of the problems with the asylum system when in fact it is the consequence. Smugglers are filling in the gap in international legislations,” Reed emphasised. “If there are safe and legal ways for refugees to get to where they need, there would be no need for smugglers.”

Abdo said that the Bill will discourage refugees from coming to the UK, but it will simply compel them to go elsewhere without deterring the activities of smugglers and traffickers. “Refugees will not stop. They will go to Europe – France or Germany. But the Bill is not going to stop smugglers. Whatever the sum is, I will pay to be safe.”

Former Prime Minister Theresa May has also voiced opposition against the creation of offshore asylum centres, saying that it “wouldn’t automatically remove the business model of the criminal gangs”, as smugglers would be “waiting for those who are rejected by the centre, and they’d still move those people across the Mediterranean.” May also believes that the Bill could potentially even increase “people being picked up and being taken into slavery”.


The UNHCR has argued that the Bill “unfairly punish[es] many refugees” in violation of the terms and spirit of the Refugee Convention. The Refugee Council, a UK national charity providing services for refugees and asylum seekers, has also called the Bill an “anti-refugee bill”. 

“Since we arrived in this country, every day new bills are being passed. We do not feel safe,” Abdo expressed her sense of insecurity. “It affects me emotionally. Every time [the government] applies something new, it is stressful to us.”

“What are we gaining from this Bill? We will only lose valuable people in our community,” Reed questioned and adding, “We don’t see this as progressing our asylum law at all.” 

Each of the clauses of the Bill will next be scrutinised by the House of Commons Public Bill Committee, scheduled to meet on 21st September. Members of the public with expertise, experience, or a special interest in the Bill would be able to submit their views for the committee’s consideration in oral form or in written form to [email protected]. Further information can be found here.

Image: Asylum Welcome

Review: “Smart Casual” // GOYA Theatre

Patrick Gwillim Thomas
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Review: “Smart Casual” // GOYA Theatre

The musical Smart Casual centres on a London flat, three meet-ups, and a group of friends fresh out of university: Mel, Marc, Willow, Lily, Ben, and Jordan. Together in the apartment where they got together, broke up, and made up, each of them gets caught up by frustrations typical of one’s early 20s: Ben wants to settle down into married life but discovers neither himself nor his partner, Willow, are as certain as he thinks; Lily wants only to not be boring, to not be business-like, to not be making the world shittier, yet struggles to positively want anything; and Mel knows her rent will be paid by her parents but she cannot get the one job at Vogue she wants. These characters, and their performers, feel to me like the main reason for the success of the work. Their personalities are clear-cut and well-conceived, often fitting an archetype without losing their own opinions and motivations. This frankness then lets the play focus on their interactions between them. 

Most songs have two, three, or four voices singing against or with one another and they keep a conversational tone outside of the chorus or solos, thus making each song an evolving dialogue. This style is effective in continuing interactions into the songs, but at times the balance in volume between band and co-singers make the words hard to follow. But this is far from enough to get in the way of appreciating the great vocals or understanding the character development. Ultimately, however, the play is not bound to these characters and their frustrations. It is bound to the apartment. So, when Mel moves out, the play can end leaving the characters with only directions and possibilities rather than closure. Even the ‘always better for the experience’ refrain of the final song feels like an optimistic perspective rather than an objective point. As a 21-year-old myself, that felt fitting.

A special highlight of this production is the skillful incorporation of class and sexuality into the narrative. There isn’t any one way to use such important concepts in art, but I really like it when the social gives everything a slightly tragic air without reducing the characters to stand-ins. When the friends assume that Mel is doing great in London, that she will play host, and always hear their troubles, it is somewhat because she’s the rich one with ‘rents ready to cover an apartment’, but it’s also because she hides her feelings and shies from open conflict. Or when Ben spends a year never really falling in love with Marc, it must be something to do with Marc’s flawed character and defensiveness, but it’s also the naggingly familiar story of a bi-curious man who can’t think of a male as that family-starter, life-partner he grew up expecting.

Coming back to the music though, the writer, Sam Woof, claimed that Smart Casual aspires to depart from some of the ‘farce and melodrama’ that typifies most musical theatre. This is well put, and that intent is delivered upon. Obvious moves like the conversational tone, or the general lack of movement and dancing, keep the songs grounded in the apartment conversations of the group. And none of those songs are wasted. Even a comic relief song by Marc, the camp queen of the group, works as defensive posturing that his character would struggle to overcome.

However, one might ask, why bother to undo the melodrama and unreal extravagance of the musical? The form will just work against you. Nearly all musicals will dedicate 3-5 minutes of sweeping soundtracks to a singular character point or emotion, often with recurring lines. It is not impossible, but perhaps unavoidable, that the songs will drift towards the edifying and melodramatic. But what melodrama there’s left in Smart Casual, I find it is put to good use. After all, I can think of no better way of summing up the giddy feeling of knowing you are meant to be living the most ‘formative’ and ‘pivotal’ years of your life than having each life event or strong emotion affirmed in song – the most obvious extent of this being the repeated line ‘this is actually happening’. Moreover, the edification works perfectly with the self-delusion of many of the characters. Mel sings about hating her friend’s callousness in the evening and then erases that with a song about always loving them in the morning. And in that moment, you feel the affirmative background of the score is as much for the audience as for her. So, where the show delivers on giving musicals a bit more ‘real life,’ it doesn’t leave you wishing they had just made a play.

For a student work the topics discussed are close to home. It’s why the promise of a grounded and tender depiction of undeniably important years works so well. The piece made me feel like that time could be a bit more real, and so a bit more manageable. Overall, seeing Smart Casual at the North Wall was a lovely experience and I look forward to more great work from GOYA in future.  

Image Credit: GOYA Theatre

Nostalgia, Saxophones and Eighth Weeks: review of Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night by Bleachers

Katie Kirkpatrick
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Nostalgia, Saxophones and Eighth Weeks: review of Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night by Bleachers

Listening to ‘Chinatown’ and ’45’, the first two singles from Bleachers’ latest album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night takes me right back to eighth week of my first term at Oxford. I spent that week wrapped up in a big grey coat and scarf (channelling Dark Academia as best I could), taking Main Character walks around the city, reading in the cafes that had finally opened again, and, most importantly, dealing with a lot of messy emotions that had been building up all term. These two songs provided the perfect soundtrack for that week, blending nostalgia, sadness, and hope through melancholic vocals, acoustic guitars and soaring choruses. 

2020-21 has been a big year for Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff. With jokes about him being ‘passed between the pop girls’ trending on Twitter, he’s produced and co-written music for the likes of Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana del Ray, cementing himself as a powerful presence in the pop scene. Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night finally allows him to write music that’s entirely his own and it is an album which is extremely personal. Antonoff describes the album as, in many ways, about growing up in New Jersey and moving between there and New York and it also touches on his relationship with his mother and the premature death of his sister. This isn’t new ground for the songwriter: his previous album Gone Now deals with many of the same themes. What sets this new album apart is its tone: where Gone Now was energetic, youthful and bold, Saturday Night is slower, more reflective and more distanced from the adolescent experiences it often describes. 

Musically, there’s no denying it’s excellent. Antonoff has achieved his pop production icon status for a reason and his signature thick textures, catchy sax riffs, and clever sound effects all make their way into this album. Stand-out tracks include ‘Stop Making This Hurt’, with a melody bound to get stuck in your head and lyrics that tell a narrative. The euphoric shouting that kicks in towards the song is reminiscent of certified banger ‘Don’t Take the Money’ from Gone Now and the song has a brightness that makes it feel written for this summer. The same can be said for ‘Don’t Go Dark’, Antonoff said: “it feels like this plea and this release. I just didn’t know what else to do besides write that song. It’s probably the angriest song I’ve ever written.” This insistence can be felt in the song’s driving rhythm. 

‘45’, one of the songs that kept me company on those tumultuous December days, is one of the album’s slower, more thoughtful moments. Lyrically, it’s some of Antonoff’s best work: in the first verse, he sings ‘Hang the words of a perfect stranger / In the hallways of my heart / ‘Cause all the blessings are somebody else’s / They’re flowers in my neighbor’s pot’ and the song builds to the soaring refrain ‘Now you’re just the stranger I know best’. It’s beautifully nostalgic and benefits from being one of the songs where the texture is stripped back to primarily vocals and guitar. 

Not every song on the album works quite as well: ‘Strange Behaviour’, its quietest moment, is musically pretty forgettable and the lyrics don’t warrant its hushedness, as pretty as it is. The same can be said of ‘Secret Life’, which features Lana Del Rey: it’s nice to listen to, but doesn’t quite live up to its potential. 

As much as Saturday Night feels like a clear artistic development and sophistication from Gone Now, it does make me miss Antonoff’s previous album. Gone Now is so much brighter, so much more ambitious and so much more exciting; it also, in my opinion, works more cohesively as an album, with intricately repeating melodic motifs and really clever use of speech samples. There are stronger, catchier singles that will – and already have – stand the test of time better and the album overall feels more distinctive, more original, while still maintaining those notes of nostalgia and melancholy. 

Returning to ‘45’ and ‘Chinatown’ now, two terms later, is a different experience. Hearing them in context with the rest of the album feels like looking back on that week of my life in the context of this first year of university: notes of sadness and quiet in the context of a whole that’s brighter, more emotionally all-over-the-place and overall a much more varied, multi-layered experience. 

Image credit: Justin Higuchi/CC-BY-2.0

Review: Monsters by Tom Odell

Flora Dyson
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Review: Monsters by Tom Odell

Tom Odell’s fourth album is far from the singer’s lovesick, ballad-heavy sound many recognise from the early 2010s. Rather than centring around the artist’s struggle in love, Monsters is a daring exposition of Odell’s struggle with anxiety. He experiments with sampling material and synthesised effects to create a technologically progressive, yet dark album.

The creation of Monsters in lockdown contributes to its experimental style. Odell used instruments to which he had easy access: a Moog synthesiser, an MPC drum machine and, of course, a piano. The substitution of a band for electronic, bedroom pop sonorities simultaneously evokes the sound of someone bored during isolation as well as Billie Eilish, Easy Life and Kanye West. Minimalist instrumentation on accessible technologies gives the album an intensely private feeling to it: we are allowed access into Odell’s musical life in lockdown Britain. 

Not only does the album give us an insight into Odell’s musical life in lockdown, but it also shows us his innermost anxieties. The cover art for Monsters, a grainy, close-up image on a computer screen which shows Odell, head-in-hands, staring into the abyss, feels as though we could be speaking on a Zoom call in which Odell is dealing with his inner demons. The album was written at a time in which debates surrounding mental health were at the forefront of our society and this is by no means lost in Monsters. 

The title song is, paradoxically, a catchy reflection on Odell’s own struggle with anxiety. It is a heartfelt address to his own mind: “You’re only in my mind/ Tomorrow I’ll be fine/ Cause you’re only in my mind”.  Speaking to the Sun, Odell talks about the cathartic effect of the process of tapping into his anxiety and writing about it; he encourages others to do the same. ‘Monsters v. 2’ is punctuated by sampled children’s shouts which accompany the lyrics. These lyrics have a slightly random feel to them; perhaps they reflect the growing chorus of public figures speaking out about mental health, perhaps they reflect the artist running a little too far away with experimental techniques. 

Odell’s avant-garde efforts are pursued in the album’s opening track, ‘Numb’. It has a lazy base overlaid by an in-depth exploration of the artist’s inner emotion in an evocation of Billie Eilish. Similarly, in ‘Problems’, Odell uses electronic effects to embellish the repeated and desperate affirmation: “I haven’t got a drinking problem”. Despite his efforts to convince us of his sobriety, we can’t help but worry Odell is misconstrued. 

Our worries subside a little when we hear ‘Lose you Again’ – archetypal material by Tom Odell and a ballad reminiscent of his hit, ‘Another Love’. The ballad is stitched into the album’s centre and acts as a point of reflection and grounding in Odell’s past self. Yet ‘Lose you Again’ is not simply a run-of-the-mill space-filler by Odell as it invokes a feeling of musical progression. The addition of the MDI drum machine in the ballad’s angsty second verse suggests personal and musical progression in his fourth album as Odell alters the genre expected of him. 

Monsters makes it quite clear that Odell refuses to play to his stylistic expectations. The poppy nostalgia of ‘Me and My Friends’ subverts the album’s prominent feeling of darkness – it is as though rays of a George Ezra have peaked through a blanket of introspective clouds. Despite this, ‘Me and My Friends’ feels out of place and confusing within the context of the album. ‘Fighting Fire with Fire’ similarly reflects a change of mood from melancholy to frustration. It provides an angsty rebuttal to Trumpian, polarised world politics: “I’m sick and I’m tired/ Of white messiahs/ And climate deniers/ Well bred liars”. 

Monsters takes the listener on a whirlwind tour of raw human emotion. Whether you love or hate Odell’s marmite exposition of various moods, the album clearly provides something for everyone.

Image credit: Jörgens.Mi/CC-BY-SA 3.0

Winners of Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Awards 2021 announced

Maurício Alencar
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Winners of Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Awards 2021 announced

Esthy Yi-Hang Hung, Jacob Kelly and Harry Twohig have been announced as the winners of the Vice-Chancellors’s Social Impact Awards 2021. The annual awards are given to students who have “demonstrated an exceptional impact and commitment to positive social change while at the university”. 

Esthy Yi-Hang Hung co-founded End the Eating Disorder Crisis Now, a campain which has met and/or liaised with politicians such as Nadine Dorries, Tim Farron and other government departments. The campaign has also worked with leading health professionals from the NHS and the Royal College of Psychiatry. The group have also called for a specialised provision for eating disorders at the University at a meeting with Professor Louise Richardson, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, and are currently working with medical professionals to work towards creating new national policies. 

“The award recognises what eating disorders are: silent, deadly illnesses which have a devastating impact on sufferers, loved ones and society in lost hours of work and the need for healthcare, and also that the healthcare available to treat eating disorders is currently near-non-existent,” Esthy told Cherwell. She added: “What we’ve achieved so far would not have been possible without the other two women, Izzy Creed and Emily West, who co-founded the campaign with me and it’s been wonderful to work together on a cause we feel passionate about.”

Image: Jacob Kelly

Jacob Kelly founded the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative after the beginning of the pandemic. The project meant school students received a cumulative of over 50,000 hours of free tutoring. Jacob now works full time with Tutor The Nation, which is the Initiative’s successor. 

Jacob told Cherwell: It’s really lovely to receive this award as recognition of all the hard work that myself and a huge number of volunteers have put in over the last 18 months. The impact of the pandemic on education is going to be felt for years to come, and it’s been a real honour to play a part in the recovery process. Knowing that we have made a difference makes all the late nights and slightly delayed essay submissions worth it!”

Image: Harry Twohig

Harry Twohig’s social action has “centered around the broad theme of challenging inequality and addressing power imbalances”. He has worked as the President of Target Schools, which is an Oxford SU access scheme which creates outreach programmes for prospective students from different backgrounds. He has also met with government ministers and officials as a member of the DCMS Policy Steering Group of the British Youth Council. Harry told Cherwell he is “looking forward to working on new topics and causes in the future”. 

Image credit:Mike Peel/ CC-BY-SA-4.0.via Wikimedia Commons

Incoming Oxford freshers react to A Levels Results Day

Maurício Alencar
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Incoming Oxford freshers react to A Levels Results Day

A number of students with confirmed places to study at Oxford spoke to Cherwell to share their thoughts on their successful results day. 

Image: Eva Bailey

Matt Robyns-Landricombe, who will read French at Wadham, told Cherwell that it felt like “such a weight off my shoulders” to have had his place confirmed, whereas Mukhtar Quraishi, who will read Chemistry at New College, said that it feels “very surreal”.

Tanzim Chowdhury, who will read Engineering at St Hugh’s, said: “I feel amazing”.

Eva Bailey, who is looking forward to reading English and French at Queen’s, said she was thankful that she will “no longer have to add ‘hopefully’ at the end of my sentence when I tell someone I’m going to Oxford”. 

The University stated that it was expecting to admit around 3,265 undergraduate students in October 2021, in line with average acceptance rates in normal years.

Axel Marinho, who will read Philosophy and Theology at Regent’s, is relieved “after a year of uncertainty and disappointments to finally have a concrete offer” which “almost seems too good to be true”.

Daniyal Hussain, who will be the first from his family to attend Oxford, will read Psychology and Philosophy at New College. He told Cherwell: “I’m definitely looking forward to living in Oxford. It’s such a beautiful city and, of course, the student experience at Oxford is something I’ve heard incredible things about. Would it be wrong for me to say I’m excited for everything?” 

Janey Little, who got 5 A*s and one A in her A Levels across two years and works as a Young Liberals Policy Officer, will read PPE at Lady Margaret Hall. She told Cherwell that she was “most looking forward to studying what I love and what I’m passionate about”.

Ash Silva, who will read Biology at the same college as Janey, said she is looking forward to living in Oxford and finally visiting the Natural History Museum. 

Image: Anas Dayeh

As standardised A Level and AS Level exams were cancelled this year due to COVID-19 disruption, the government allowed schools to determine students’ grades using mock results, coursework and other assessment grades.

In most cases, students sat important end of year exams. However, some students said that they were anxious going into results day as they were unsure how different assessments would be weighted against each other. Weronika Szpak, who will read Classics at Corpus Christi, told Cherwell: “The biggest uncertainty was not knowing how my grades would actually be determined. My grades had fluctuated over the two years so it was difficult to tell which grades would be used as evidence, but it all worked out for the best. Honestly I coped with the stress of results day by telling myself ‘it is what it is’.”

Following last year’s government U-turn due to the backlash against the use of postcode algorithms to decide students’ results, some students were anxious about their grades going into this year. Anas Dayeh, who will read PPE at St John’s, moved to the UK in 2018. Anas has lived by himself since the age of 16. He told Cherwell that he “was scared” his grades would be lowered as his college “has a historical average grade of D+”. Anas got 2 A*s and an A in his A Levels this year.

Leon Coyle, who will read History at Trinity, summarised: “I could never guarantee that everything would actually work out properly for me”. 

A* and A grades rose to record highs this year, making up 44.8% of grades awarded. But this year’s cohort have struggled immensely, having to work from home for much of the academic year. Admission interviews were all done online in late 2020.

Ash said she got through her year “by spending as much time as possible with my friends”. Hannah Fogg, who will read English at Worcester, told Cherwell she “coped with the stress of it all by having a good support system around me that uplifted me throughout the entire process”. 

After a long, difficult academic year of uncertainty, students will now be able to celebrate their achievements. Ciara Rushton, who will read History and Politics at Magdalen, is celebrating by “ironically going for a night out in Cambridge!”.

Daniyal will be able to go out for a double celebration as his birthday is the day after results day. Eva said that she was looking forward to getting her free Nandos for lunch, whereas Hannah said she received some gifts from her local tea shop.

Image: Hannah Fogg

Axel and Weronika said that, because the last 18 months have been so difficult, they will be celebrating by getting some sleep. 

This article was updated on August 12th 2020 to include Fiona’s story.

Featured Image credit: Anas Dayeh, Eva Bailey and Hannah Fogg. Collage by Charlie Hancock

Objectify me: Social media and the perils of the aesthetic

Lily Kershaw
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Objectify me: Social media and the perils of the aesthetic

I admit it. I like using Instagram. My account is nothing groundbreaking, mainly consisting of pictures of my friends, me in cute outfits, and the pretty places I’ve seen. There is nothing special or unique about my posts. 

I like posting pictures to document what I’ve done and the people I’ve seen. I also use these posts as a form of self-marketing: look at me, aren’t I cute? Aren’t I busy? That should reflect something more about me – perhaps, seeing these pictures affirms any positive assumptions you have while, hopefully, sweeping whatever negative sentiments against me under the rug. Look at me doing stuff! Look at me seeing people! Using a form of media that is primarily image-based leaves room for projection whilst dispelling the potential for controversy. When the idea one has of me is based purely on the pretty pictures that I post, there is very little room for outright disdain. 

If I am the one promoting myself, I get to control the narrative, sanitising it in such a way that renders me more consumable than I may be in reality. We are all different people to different people, and it is ridiculous to assume that any number of images can fully encapsulate who we are as individuals, at least not in an aesthetic way. We are a disjointed combination of random personality traits and actions, many of which clash with one another and seemingly don’t make sense. On Instagram, I sacrifice any attempt at truly presenting myself as I believe I am and instead turn myself into an aesthetic – easy to consume, easy to like, easy to accept. 

The space between who I am, who I want to be, and how I want to be seen is so vast that it is impossible to unify the three. Instead, it is far easier to reduce myself to an oversimplified idea and, by extension, objectify myself and demand others to do the same.

I have been feeling increasingly uncomfortable with my social media presence for a while now, a growing distance between this me, and that me, the person and the object. One of my greatest insecurities is this idea that my presence would let someone down: it’s not my looks, but my personality that would lead to rejection in some form or another. Initially, social media felt like a way of countering this to some degree, a way of directly controlling my own personal narrative. Yet, now, it increasingly feels like social media only feeds into this fear that the external, the aesthetic, is not the problem. My greatest flaw is an internal one, and the only people who would even hint at liking me in any capacity are those who don’t truly know me.

The woman who I present myself as and the woman that I am are not the same, and having her represent me makes me feel more and more uncomfortable. Equally, I am hesitant to change anything about my social media presence. It is difficult to make changes that may result in less acceptance, or else, outright rejection. 

Social media has garnered a lot of criticism, most of which is more than well-earned, but that is not to say that it is exclusively negative. For me, one of the greatest appeals of social media was the representation. I have always been a minority, yet social media allowed me to see people who looked like me being accepted and celebrated. The internet provides a space where diversity is not just limited to the token black friend; hearing voices like my own is affirming, as is seeing features like mine presented as beautiful as ultimately, I cannot compete with eurocentric beauty standards when I am not eurocentric. 

However, even these features can be negative in their own way.  Instagram demands objectification and while I can appreciate the humanity of these individuals, I fear many people can’t. Objectification left unmonitored can lead to fetishisation. These features are separated from the individual, becoming part of a catalogue of attributes to be fished out by white women when they want their next surgery: big bums, big lips, fox eyes… the list goes on. Minorities are discarded as their “aesthetics” are adopted to the profit of white, conventionally attractive influencers. In actively reducing myself to looks alone, am I not, then, contributing to this very problem? Through purposely stripping myself of anything that seems in the slightest bit disagreeable, am I not then doing an immense disservice, not only to myself, but to other women like me? 

Any form of media which encourages a one-dimensional perception of anyone does not provide true representation. Being an image is not being represented. Being seen as pretty is not being represented. Being objectified is not being represented.

The content that we consume matters, as does the content we create. Where once I could use my social media as a rock of consistency, a touchstone to return to as a kind of reminder of who I aim to be, I now find that I have created a standard that I myself cannot live up to. On an surfacel level, I know that nobody cares. On a day to day basis, very few people think of me, let alone consider my social media, yet, on an emotional level, the idea that I am the reason I won’t be understood by others, hurts. I want to be truly seen by those around me, but so long as I aim to escape my flaws, to present a better version of myself, all I will be is an image, not a person. 

Instagram necessitates such a reduction of character, and this forces us all to ask, when my life is reduced to just a few images, what do I want them to say? When we are controlling our image, can we ever show who we are, or will our own personal biases limit a truthful reflection? I doubt that this thought will mark any distinct change in my social media presence. In the question of whether I want to be liked or to be understood (for me, I doubt it can be both), I have chosen being liked. After all, isn’t that what social media is all about?

Review – Summer of Soul

Lily Kershaw
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Review – Summer of Soul

In Harlem during the summer of 1969 something big was happening. Tens of thousands of people came together in Mount Morris Park to attend the first Harlem Cultural Festival, a festival that put Black art on full, proud display. The music played crossed genres, from the pop-y Stevie Wonder to the more soulful Nina Simone, and even transcended linguistic division, with musicians such as the South African Babatunde Olatunji. The purpose of the festival was to promote Black pride, providing a platform for Black artists to, for the first time, share their work with an impoverished and oppressed community. Despite 40 hours of this momentous occasion being recorded, this footage was left abandoned, unseen, to rot in a basement for over 50 years. Until now.

Summer of Soul, which seamlessly interweaves original festival footage with contemporary interviews and news footage from the time, is truly brilliant. To say that the film merely shows the absolute talent of many of these performers would be an incredible understatement – the film positively resurrects them. Of course, I am not implying that such talents as Gladys Knight or Sly and the Family Stone have been lost to time, but that this film drags them forward into the present. They are no longer relics of the past, but right there, performing to you today, with all the energy and heart that they could possibly give. It’s a truly beautiful sight to see. There is a reason why all of these musicians are called performers, they absolutely know how to put on a show with such joyous and energetic choreography that you too get swept into their music, their lyricism, their passion for a brighter future. You become just another audience member at one of the most powerful concerts of the 20th century, dancing with the furious excitement of any other member of the crowd.

Witnessing such eclectic performances makes for an unforgettable experience. While I am now absolutely obsessed with the Summer of Soul playlist on Spotify, it just can’t compare to the incredible nature of their live performances. A young Stevie Wonder, just 19, jumping around on stage and playing the keyboard with such immense dexterity and unobstructed passion, really clarifies his musical genius. Equally, Sly’s incredible stage presence and apparent sex appeal makes it clear that he walked so Prince could run. Our musical history is linked to our musical present. If Summer of Soul shows us anything, it’s that we truly are standing on the shoulders of giants.

It’s not just the music, though. The film works to regularly contextualise its very moment. It is a year after the assassination of Martin Luther King; four years after the assassination of Malcolm X. The police are regularly attacking and abusing Black citizens, particularly in impoverished areas like Harlem, areas which often seemed to be abandoned by a state which cared very little about its non-white citizens. It is a year after Nixon was elected; it is the month of the moon landing. It feels like America is moving forward, but trying to leave its Black citizens behind. To say that the cultural atmosphere was tense would be an understatement: this fact was even pretty plain at the festival itself where, despite having police at security, the festival organisers felt the need to call in the Black Panthers too – “just in case.”

While the film obviously intends to document a music festival, it also documents an immense turning point for Black America, when people no longer defined themselves as “negro” but “Black”. This period represents a desperate search for an identity independent of the country which seemed to actively reject them. This is not only reflected in the more Afrocentric fashion of the time or the changing politics in black spaces, but in the very music itself. The sound of the era, captured here so well, is both optimistic and demanding, religious and secular, songs that called for peace alongside those that called for war. They wanted more, as we do now.

The truth is, while a lot has changed since 1969, the sentiment remains the same, the cultural tension has persisted. African Americans want more, Black people globally want more, we all want more from a system that continues to regularly ignore or attack those who don’t have power. This film could not have come at a better moment. If anything, Summer of Soul only emphasises that this is the time for change. We have come too far to stop now.

There’s a world waiting for you, this is a quest that’s just begun.

This documentary, unlike many others which seem to fetishise Black suffering, places Black joy front and centre, celebrating talent and progress without ignoring the injustices that many also faced. I cannot recommend seeing Summer of Soul highly enough. The editing, the music, the performances, the message… it may have all been buried and ignored for half a century, but that doesn’t mean you should delay seeing it now.

Summer of Soul is in cinemas and available on Hulu now.

Oxford University accepts 92% of offer holders

Charlie Hancock
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Oxford University accepts 92% of offer holders

After A-level grades were decided by teachers’ assessments for the second year running, the University of Oxford has announced that 92% of offer-holders have been accepted. This means the University’s intake is inline with average years.

Around 3,265 students have been admitted in the 2021 admissions cycle. In 2020, 3,695 students were admitted after a u-turn by the government meant that students who were downgraded by the algorithm would receive the grades their teachers submitted.

A statement from Oxford University confirms reports that fewer offers were made than usual, in anticipation that more students than usual would meet the grades required for their course. The 3,543 offers made is 8% lower than in an average year. This means that 92.15% of offer holders have been accepted.

The University said: “Oxford University is delighted to celebrate the success of our offer-holders, whose places have been confirmed today. Their achievement is all the more impressive this year, and we congratulate them and their teachers, schools and families, after a hugely challenging 18 months.

“Since the outbreak of the pandemic and resulting widespread disruption to education, the University and its colleges have worked closely with individuals and schools to minimise the impact on prospective students. We have worked to ensure they have all the information and guidance needed to make strong applications.

“Despite the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on school pupils from less advantaged backgrounds, last year’s new undergraduate intake to Oxford showed the first signs of this work paying off, as the University accelerated  the trend of an increasing number of places going to students from UK state schools. While admissions results under current circumstances cannot be compared meaningfully to previous years, our aim for 2021 has again been to secure an undergraduate intake that continues to reflect our priorities and builds on the progress of recent years. More detailed data will be available in due course, but the figures released today show a continuation of the positive trends of recent years.”

68% of the 2021 intake come from state schools, and 20% from the “least advantaged backgrounds”. 57 students from state schools who narrowly missed their offer who had experienced “significant extenuating circumstances” were admitted.

Exeter College has admitted all of its offer holders.

Oxford University’s statement continued: “Our work during the pandemic has included moving Open Days and our flagship outreach programmes online. More than 35,000 people have participated in our online Open Days, while last summer saw 1187 Year 12 students from less advantaged backgrounds attend our UNIQ Digital access programme, spanning 30 academic courses. 80 Oxford applicants participated in the Target Oxbridge digital scheme to support African and Caribbean heritage students and regional programmes such as Aim for Oxford for disadvantaged students in North East England also transferred to an online format.

“Preparations are now well underway for the 2022 admissions round with the deadline for submission of applications to Oxford being 15th October 2021. 

“We moved our interviews online in December 2020 and ensured that all shortlisted candidates had access to the technology needed to participate in their interviews. This included purchasing and distributing tablet computers where necessary. Interviews for the 2021–22 academic year will also take place online and the date of the last online Open Day this year is 17th September.

“The University, its colleges and departments consistently adjust access and outreach work to optimise the opportunities for the next generation of Oxford students. In the light of the pandemic, we are now working to help current offer-holders to prepare for their first year of University study. One aspect of this work has been to expand the online component of our Opportunity Oxford programme, so that 300 more offer-holders, whose education has been particularly affected by the pandemic, can feel more prepared for their studies and confident about starting at Oxford this autumn.

“We congratulate all incoming students on their success and thank their teachers for the professionalism and hard work.”

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