Monday 5th January 2026
Blog Page 3

University criticised for not crediting Indonesian researchers on rare flower discovery

Anna Waldram
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University criticised for not crediting Indonesian researchers on rare flower discovery

Oxford University’s recent X (formerly Twitter) post about the discovery of the Rafflesia hasseltii flower in the Sumatran jungle, Indonesia, has sparked online backlash. Critics say the post did not give adequate credit to the Indonesian researchers that Oxford’s Chris Thorogood worked alongside.

Oxford University shared a post on X on 19th November describing the discovery, which has since received 11.2 million views. They wrote: “Yesterday, Oxford Botanic Garden’s @thorogoodchris1 was part of a team that trekked day and night through tiger-patrolled Sumatran (an island in Indonesia) rainforests to find Rafflesia hasseltii.”

Thorogood, an associate professor of biology at Linacre College, Oxford, recently travelled to the Sumatran jungle, working with a team of Indonesian researchers to find rare flowers and plants. He documented his journey in a series of posts on his own X account, including several expressing his gratitude to members of the team he worked with.

Most notably, the team found the rare Rafflesia hasseltii flower, with Thorogood writing on X: “Few people have ever seen this flower, and we watched it open by night. Magic.” Botanist Septian Andriki described to the BBC how, after “13 years of waiting”, the team “had to travel 20 hours on land” and climb and descend a mountain to reach the flower.

The post received significant backlash for not adequately crediting the team of Indonesian researchers who worked alongside Thorogood. The top comment, which has received 47,000 likes, reads: “WRITE THE NAME OF THE INDONESIAN RESEARCHERS, COLONIZERS.” The controversy also prompted widespread debate online about Oxford’s broader role internationally, including an opinion piece in the Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s largest English-language newspaper, which critisised the role of Western researchers in general.

The flower, known locally as tiger-faced mushroom, or cendawan muka rimau in Malay, is only found in a few locations in Kerinci Seblat National Park in Indonesia, as well as parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Local tribes such as the Orang Asli use the flower for medicinal purposes, and a 2009 study indicated that it has shown potential in accelerating wound healing in rats.

The University told Cherwell: “The University of Oxford is delighted to be working in collaboration with colleagues from BRIN Indonesia (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional), including Joko Witono (BRIN), the University of Bengkulu (Universitas Bengkulu), including Agus Susatya (Bengkulu University), as well as local community groups, to document and conserve Rafflesia in Indonesia. These partnerships have been ongoing since 2022, a key aim being capacity building, and supporting local conservation heroes. Visiting the site of Rafflesia hasseltii was carried out in this context, and we are very grateful to Septian (Deki) Andriki who joined Chris Thorogood in the field, and their local guide, Iswandi.”The University has since posted on Instagram detailing the team Thorogood worked with, thanking, among others, ‘local conservation hero’ Septian (Deki) Andriki.

Mansfield College unveils plans for major redevelopment

Amaan Yasser Effendi
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Mansfield College unveils plans for major redevelopment

Mansfield College has submitted plans for an extensive redevelopment of the College that would create 174 additional student bedrooms, as well as new teaching facilities. Mansfield described its estate transformation project as its “most significant investment” in decades. 

The project aims to replace the buildings in the College’s South Range with a single, unified building. This new building would complete the College’s Main Quad , in addition to forming two new quads, theSouth and West Quads. 

As well as facilitating additional student accommodation, the newly proposed building would reimagine the existing point of arrival into the College. It would include a new Porter’s Lodge, shared student kitchens, as well as new Junior and Middle Common Rooms. 

The College also plans to construct a new two-story Mews Building, located on its northern side, which would contain catering ancillary facilities. This plan would see the addition of  150 double-stacked bike stands,and a new passenger lift extension to help improve accessibility.

A spokesperson for the College told Cherwell: “Mansfield is a beautiful and inspiring place to study, work and visit, but we have long since outgrown our current space. To ensure we can continue to lead the way on widening participation at Oxford, we need more high-quality student accommodation on site, with improved accessibility, digital connectivity, and increased communal and kitchen facilities.”

The new buildings will involve low-carbon designs, with the ambition of helping Mansfield fulfill its sustainability targets. Heat pumps and photovoltaics (the technology converting light into electricity) have been included to ensure a low-energy system. This is estimated to result in a 42% carbon reduction, exceeding Mansfield’s current target of 40%. The plan also aims to increase the College’s biodiversity by at least 10%.

Mansfield Principal Helen Mountfield, KC, said: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure Mansfield’s future for generations to come…By increasing on-site student accommodation, improving our green spaces and honouring the College’s heritage, this development helps both our community and the wider city to thrive.”

The project’s architects noted that the proposed design aims to complement the buildings on the College’s northern side, designed by  19th-century architect Basil Champneys. Edmund Fowles, the lead architect on the project, said: “We want the character of the new buildings to be ‘quietly radical’, speaking of the College’s present ambitions of diversity, openness, optimism, and social justice.”

Oxford City Council’s decision on whether to approve planning permission is expected to arrive in spring 2026. Prior to  this, the application will be open for public consultation. If it receives approval, the College plans to begin construction in autumn 2026 and expects the project to be completed before the start of the 2029/30 academic year.

Graceful and self-assured: Circle Mirror Transformation reviewed

Lara Machado
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Graceful and self-assured: Circle Mirror Transformation reviewed

Boulevard Productions’ Circle Mirror Transformation is a faithful and competent take on Annie Baker’s 2009 tragicomedy. 

The play follows a group of people of different ages taking a beginners’ drama class at their local community centre. The class is taught by Marty (Hope Healy) who over six weeks leads the group through a series of drama games. Her students are her husband James (Andrew Spielmann), Schultz (Alec Greene), a recently divorced carpenter, Theresa (Alex Coupland), a failed actress and aspiring masseuse who has just moved to Vermont from New York and Lauren (Evangeline LaFond), a painfully self-conscious sixteen year old. As the group grows closer, their lives become entangled in complicated ways.

The nature of the play is fragmentary. We see a series of discontinuous drama exercises performed across six weeks. Each exercise is separated by a small blackout. Whenever the week changes, there is a longer blackout and the cast leaves the stage. A sign signals which week we are on. During the blackout, Tarund Mohanthas treats us to some live music on the electric guitar. Although Mohanthas is obviously a talented musician and the music is pleasant, it seems to serve little purpose other than ensuring that the audience has something to distract them during the long blackouts which are unfortunately still rather awkward. 

The acting is by far the most impressive aspect of the production, with great performances by the entire cast, who are individually talented but most importantly very aware of and responsive to each other’s performances. Especially for an opening night, they were remarkably graceful and self-assured.

Healy in the role of Marty is a standout. She is completely believable as an older woman and her wide, patronising smiles and motherly gestures are the source of much of the show’s humour. However, Healy is clearly a great dramatic actress too. She perfectly conveys the tension between trying to tease out the group’s vulnerabilities and being emotionally neglected herself. She has a very expressive face, which, as the play unfolds, becomes increasingly torn. Spielmann joins her in an equally subtle performance. There is a great gentleness in his approach to James’ somewhat elusive character which makes him hard not to feel for.  

Greene has a particularly difficult task with the character of Schultz, who is often the butt of the joke and as his budding relationship with Theresa goes awry could be played unpleasantly. In Greene’s hands, however, Schultz is always sympathetic. He was clearly an audience favourite, eliciting many laughs. Schultz’s infatuation with Theresa is also entirely convincing: Greene’s puppy-like adoration of his classmate is both funny and endearing. Alex Coupland’s Theresa is very charming and great at depicting emotional conflict. 

All the cast are skilled at background acting, they are always reacting to each other which makes them a pleasure to watch. LaFond is particularly good at making us feel her age and discomfort in what is a very physical performance. It was easy to get distracted watching her reactions. She carries the play’s ending with grace and subtlety. 

It must be said that this is not a script that strongly speaks to me. In many ways the characters  – although some more than others – remain frustratingly stereotypical and multiple of its lines feel like misguided attempts at profundity, so it really is a testament to the actors’ skill that I was kept engaged with material until the end. 

Loris Avery’s set is simple but very effective. The Pilch is papered over for the second time this term, now with faux wood panelling. A mirror covers the back wall of the Pilch and a yoga ball lies in one corner. It perfectly evokes the space without getting in the way of the intimacy which Charlie Lewis, the director, seems to be aiming for. 

The lighting by George Gibb, who is also responsible for the sound design, is similarly effective in its simplicity. The sound is less successful. At the end of the play, it is supposed to evoke a busy street and mark the transition between a drama exercise and reality, but the sound is far too quiet and indistinct and it is hard to understand what is going on. 

At certain moments it felt like the text needed to be interpreted more strongly. When Marty sets up the game of secrets is she innocently introducing a new drama game or does she hope her husband will reveal himself? Similarly, it would have been good to set up with James’ attraction to Theresa that seems to appear out of nowhere. 

Lewis and his team have put together a strong production which is certainly worth your time. As a faithful interpretation of Annie Baker’s play, little can be said against it. 

You can watch Circle Mirror Transformation at the Michael Pilch Studio 1st-4th December at 7.30pm

‘We’re all mad here’: Alice in Won-DRE-Land at Tingewick 2025

Peter Chen
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‘We’re all mad here’: Alice in Won-DRE-Land at Tingewick 2025

When I wandered into Tingewick Hall on a cold, dark evening in seventh week, I was utterly unprepared for the madness that awaited me over the next three and a half hours. By the time I walked out of the John Radcliffe I had – both literally and figuratively – been transformed: armed with more insider hospital jokes and medical puns than I ever thought possible, and faced with the frankly impossible task of reviewing a pantomime whose absurdity could justify its own book. Still, I will impose upon myself the sentence of trying to do justice to a production that stands in a league of its own, and hope that the verdict you pass will spare my head.

Tingewick has deep roots in Oxford’s medical scene. The hospital Christmas pantomime dates back to the days of the Radcliffe Infirmary – now the site of the Schwarzman Centre – more than two centuries ago. It was in 1940 that the medical students first took charge, with earlier productions led mainly by nurses. The name Tingewick, originally styled “Tynchwycke”, commemorates Nicholas Tynchwycke, the first teacher of medicine in Oxford, and physician to Edward I in the 14th century. Today, each cohort of fourth-year medics takes to the stage under the direction of a select group of fifth years – the “Tingewick Firm”. The society’s status is written into the fabric of the John Radcliffe Hospital itself, which boasts a large hall and foyer bearing the Tingewick name.

This year’s panto, Alice in Won-DRE-Land, is directed by Poppy Stafford-Dorlandt and produced by Anthony Vakis, with Wesley Donaldson as Treasurer. The title gives the game away early: yes, DRE stands for Digital Rectal Examination, the first of many, many medical gags. We follow Alice (Saskia Haines Francis) as she journeys through the body of Mr John Radcliffe (David Akanji), stricken by a mysterious illness, in search of six bodily “stones” that will allow Cathanos (Alice Wyles) to restore him to health. Along the way she encounters the Fluperheroes (Finn Galway as Clerk Stent/SuperVTMan, among others), assorted strange creatures, and the imperious Queen of Hearts (Anastasis Avraam) and her cronies.

Plot is not the production’s strongest suit. The story sprawls across eight (nine?) scenes, two acts, twelve musical numbers, and an unrelenting barrage of digs at tutors and consultants. But what it lacks in narrative tightness, it compensates for in sheer invention. The writing team – Faisa Ali, Natalia Nieora, and Lexie Pert, led by head writer Emily Semahegñe – have clearly thrown everything they have at this script. For those not steeped in clinical life, a good portion of the humour inevitably goes over the head: much of the clinical in-jokery was certainly lost on me. Judging from the constant, loud, and sustained laughter around me, however, it landed squarely with the target audience, who received a very healthy dose of medicinal comedy.

Musically, the show is remarkably strong. A standout sequence is a reworked ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, staged while Alice is trapped in the brain and ambushed by animals escaped from testing. It combines some of the evening’s best vocals with sharply drilled choreography by Julia Louw and Kirsten Parsons, underpinned by live music directed by Shawn Lau. The band is a consistent highlight, managing to keep pace with frequent lyric changes and abrupt mood shifts, and special mention is due to cellist Emily Paterson, who navigated some technically demanding terrain with ease.

The overall vocal standard is impressively high for a student panto. Solos by Avraam, Haines Francis, and Ella Emery-Peters are particularly notable, and the ensemble numbers are generally clear, coherent, and rhythmically tight, despite the density of the rewritten lyrics. A show that relies so heavily on contrived lines and internal references could easily have descended into chaos; instead, the cast largely maintain control and clarity, even in the more frenetic set-pieces.

Visually, Alice in Won-DRE-Land is a feast. Under the leadership of Adithya Nair, set and costume design deliver an endless parade of inventive props and visual jokes, many of which reward close attention. The world inside Mr Radcliffe’s body is rendered with a gleeful disregard for anatomical realism but a keen eye for stagecraft. A particularly titillating and much anticipated dance number – led by Joy Sidhom, Cem Muminglu, and Jonas Krusic – more than lives up to the hype, drawing one of the loudest reactions of the night.

With a cast list as long as a hospital on-call rota, it is impossible to acknowledge everyone by name; among those who particularly stand out, whether for comic timing, vocal strength or sheer commitment to the bit include: Manon Roberts, Samuel Thompson, Luke Boulton, Josh Jankiewicz, Thomas Bowyer, Milind Khashu, Samuel Santhouse, Sophia Clyde, Daniel Cox, Aria Appoo, Ashley MaLauchlan, Matthew Brown, and Jack Grivvell.

It would be remiss not to emphasise that all this effort serves a purpose beyond entertainment. Tingewick 2025 is raising money for Oxford Hospitals Charity (which supports innovative research and some of the most vulnerable patients in the community) and Asylum Welcome (which helps refugees and asylum seekers across Oxfordshire lead dignified lives). It is hard to begrudge an over-long joke or an obscure reference when the result is a substantial contribution to organisations doing vital work.

In the end, Alice in Won-DRE-Land is exactly what a great student panto should be: chaotic, occasionally overstuffed, and self-indulgent, but driven by a disarming mix of talent, goodwill, and sheer graft. I entered Tingewick Hall unprepared for the rabbit hole; I left with my sides aching, my medical vocabulary expanded, and a renewed respect for what a group of exhausted fourth and fifth-year medics can achieve when let loose on a stage. We may all be mad here, but sometimes madness is the best medicine.

Distance does make the heart grow fonder

Poppy Littler-Jennings
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Distance does make the heart grow fonder

Being a student at Oxford certainly comes with its challenges – something that, as Oxford students, we love to lament. The workload is intense, the nightlife limited, and the caffeine dependence debilitating. But whilst the University is not without its faults, since embarking on my year abroad, I’ve come to realise just how much there is to love about it. With this in mind, I think we could all use a reminder of the charm that lies at the heart of our wonderfully unique student experience. 

I’m currently about three months into my semester studying at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris, and whilst it is just as wonderful and surreal as you would imagine, I feel as if my academic muscles are beginning to atrophy. Without the weekly essays and the accountability that comes with tutorials – all of us with horror stories of turning up to tutes woefully unprepared will understand – I’m not doing anywhere near as much work as I would in an Oxford term. On one hand, I’m relishing the chance to step off of the academic conveyor belt for a bit, breathe, and enjoy all of the opportunities that living abroad as a student boasts (at this point I remember my tutor’s comparison of termtime to a lorry going down a mountain at full speed without any breaks).

But equally, there’s a part of me that misses the productivity and the fast-paced nature of a normal Michaelmas. Maybe this is the result of a kind of Stockholm Syndrome but, regardless, I’ve been reminded of why I chose Oxford in the first place. The opportunity to study my passion under the tutelage of leading experts is not something to be overlooked. At the ENS, my experience as an international student has been very different. Cours or classes are more like lectures, with little discussion or interaction, and the only assignments to validate modules are due at the end of the semester. This, whilst a welcome break at first, is definitely less effective at cementing my understanding of new topics and less engaging than the tutorial system.   

Beyond the scope of the purely academic side of Oxford, there is so much more that I’ve come to miss – the little idiosyncratic oddities that make Oxford what it is. Formal dinners as a regular indulgence; heavily subsidised college bars never more than a stone’s throw away; gazing in awe at the dome of the Rad Cam every time I stumble across it… All of this is part of a microcosm of quirks and traditions that we might occasionally roll our eyes at but ultimately is close to all of our hearts. I know it’s embarrassing when you catch yourself using Oxford-specific vernacular with friends from home (“What the f*** is a bop?” – a dear friend of mine) but it wouldn’t be our university without it. With this in mind, I would venture to argue that the romanticisation we tend to deride so-called Oxford influencers for is not necessarily the crime we purport it to be. Why are we so intent on denying that (true to its Harry Potter connotations) Oxford can feel magical? Whilst I don’t deny that the intensity can of course be damaging, and too much pressure can erode the novelty of gorgeous libraries and eating in resplendent halls, I think we can also become desensitised to our University’s beauty too quickly. 

Even the allure of Oxford itself springs to mind, which might seem odd considering I’m currently living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But the small-but-mighty Oxford holds its own against the boulevards of Haussmannian buildings and views of the Eiffel Tower peeking around street corners. The way that the University is intrinsically intertwined with the city grants its students a special relationship with every nook and cranny of the place, allowing it to truly feel like home. So whilst running into an ex-situationship in the Tesco’s on Magdalen Street is a nightmarish reality, there is also something comforting about the snug muddle of colleges, libraries, and faculty buildings that makes up Oxford.  

As I’m typing now, I cast my mind back to that day in Year 13 when I received my offer and was, predictably, overcome with disbelief and euphoria. I would urge fellow students to do the same – remember that attending Oxford is both a huge achievement and a colossal privilege. Amidst the essay crises and the weight of your sub fusc, remember to look up every now and then to appreciate where you are (unless you’re in the glink). 

The Gee’s knees: Brunch in North Oxford

Beatrix Arnold
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The Gee’s knees: Brunch in North Oxford

Good things often come in threes. Having reviewed both Parsonage Grill and Quod, it was only right that we complete the trilogy with their North Oxford sister restaurant, Gee’s. 

On a crisp November morning, after a short walk up Banbury Road, we were welcomed into the warmth of the restaurant’s iconic conservatory dining room. The neighbourhood certainly set the tone: spacious 19th century townhouses lined with trees stretched down the road, the kind that most of us could never dream of affording in our lifetimes. The dining room was gorgeous, brightly-lit by the sunshine pouring in through the glass roof. The service was extremely attentive, and always friendly, contributing to a relaxed and accommodating atmosphere. 

For me, brunch at Oxford has never escaped the confines of the college, and so I welcomed the chance to try a mid-morning meal that didn’t involve undercooked hashbrowns at Christ Church, or watery mushrooms at Somerville. Thankfully, Gee’s provided an altogether different culinary experience. 

We began by ordering coffee, which, with a rich flavour profile, was clearly of a very high quality. Faced with an eclectic menu, we chose several dishes to share. The eggs benedict were perfectly cooked, with a rich yolk that spilled over the dish when broken into. The citrus notes in the sauce, combined with the freshness of the chives, really elevated the dish. 

The highlight, for me, was the smashed avocado and burrata on toast. The creamy burrata and the chewy sourdough transformed the dish from the typically millennial photo opportunity into a truly decadent brunch option, complemented perfectly by a generous drizzle of olive oil. We also opted for a pain au chocolat, a pastry which, in the UK, can so often be disappointing. Yet the beautifully flaky pastry, combined with the rich filling, would have exceeded the standards of even the most pretentious French patisserie connoisseur. We also ordered the pan con tomate; the juicy tomato mixture, enhanced by olive oil, provided the ideal texture to accompany the sourdough toast. Ordering a cocktail at 11am on a weekday felt a little indecent, but the bellini was a delicious balance of sweet peach and dry prosecco, exalting the entire meal to heights that the college brunch could only dream of.

As with its sister establishments, Gee’s is definitively an occasional restaurant. The other diners included a disproportionate number of people in black tie, the kind of place people with wealthy parents and substantive allowances might stop by before a graduation ceremony. But in a gorgeous setting, with an appealing menu, a cocktail in hand, and amazing company, Gee’s was the perfect place to spend a long, leisurely morning as I congratulated myself on my excellent life choices.

What we ate: Pain au chocolat £3.95; Pan con tomate £9.50; Eggs Benedict £11.95; Burrata & smashed avocado on sourdough toast £12.95; Bellini £10.95; Americano £4.25

The luxury of political ignorance

Morien Robertson
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The luxury of political ignorance

PPE at Oxford is often seen as a one-way track to ending up in the House of Commons (usually on the wrong side of the house). Introduce yourself to anyone as a PPE-ist and you’ll inevitably receive the displeased sighs or disgusted face befitting the discovery of a bit of chewing gum on the bottom of a shoe. This is understandable, of course: many politicians do take PPE at Oxford and go on to make a mess of the country they were ostensibly taught how to govern. So perhaps this article is just a futile effort to avoid the unfortunate association of my degree.

However, believe it or not – and certainly don’t inform my politics tutor (sorry Federico) – over the last year or so I’ve found it impossible to engage with political news, especially British party politics. Whilst in Sixth Form I was one of those (super cool) people constantly refreshing Twitter to find out the latest fiscal announcement or policy U-turn, ironically enough, being in Oxford has slowly but surely reduced this desire to the point where I have to make an active effort to keep on top of what’s going on in the world. Recently I opened the Financial Times and was genuinely baffled by an editorial reading “Labour has shredded its claim to competence” – having missed all mention of the budget, an event which looms large in the calendars of political aficionados (and those who wish they were).

Perhaps this is simply because you naturally get sick of the subject you’re constantly studying – just look at the mockery English students face when they complain about having to read novels all day. No matter how much you might think you like something, subjecting it to endless academic scrutiny is a surefire way to prove yourself wrong. Yet this isn’t the case for me. Contrary to the beliefs of all those politicians-in-waiting, the academic politics course in Oxford is very far from lessons in governance; even less so is it training to be a backbencher (apart from induction into not having much real thinking to do). And the kinds of quantitative analysis and theory-testing that we do is, in fact, very enjoyable for me – precisely because it is so different from what you get in a current affairs programme. 

The real explanation, I think, as to why getting through a news article feels like an ever more insuperable task, lies in a dangerous conjunction of four facts: (1) there’s not (that) much you can do to change things significantly; (2) many of us are fairly isolated from its fluctuations, or can at least pretend that we are; (3) politics is very boring; (4) Oxford is pretty interesting. I don’t intend to debate the first here: whilst lowering the voting age to 16 is a good step in giving younger people more of a voice, the overall nature of representative democracy means that individuals’ impacts are inherently minimal, so it takes some kind of aggregating movement to have a discernible effect on the composition of government. I hope for your sake, dear reader, that (4) is true – whether that’s because you have back-to-back nights out or because you get to have tutorials with academics you love, it seems fair to suggest that student life in Oxford is, on the whole, pretty damn good. With a huge range of events, societies, work, and interesting people, the usual problem is having too much, rather than not enough, to do.

If you are deeply exposed to the vicissitudes of short-term policy decisions, then naturally politics will be of some interest to you – even if not out of choice. And this is true for lots of students. Many people simply cannot afford (quite literally) not to pay attention to politics. Even if you aren’t allowed to work during term time, when the vacation rolls around again, you suddenly realise that someone has to pay for all those formals – and not everyone can pull out daddy’s chequebook. But still, if you aren’t dependent on the government for some kind of benefit, seeking refuge, or any number of other cases, it’s (all too) easy to pretend as though Westminster is far away. (Tuition fees? No such thing.) 

If that’s not convincing – which it really shouldn’t be – then consider (3). Oxford’s own politics tutor Matt Williams is fond of describing politics as “Love Island with nukes”. This can be taken in two ways: if you love soaps and have little else going on in your life, then perhaps this high-stakes production will be just the opiate you need. Alternatively, if you wouldn’t watch Love Island even if held at gunpoint, it sounds like just another reason to clock out. With so much else going on, who in their right minds wants to follow a cabinet re-shuffle? That’s not helped, of course, by some of the least charismatic politicians ever to grace Parliament’s seats. (Say what you like about him, Tony Blair’s PMQs are some of the finest lessons in British debating you could ask for. His successors? Not so much.) When you stop to think about it, it’s almost amazing that so many people read about politics so frenetically. If you aren’t sure, I can recommend a hundred more enjoyable or interesting things to look at (Try Cherwell’s Lifestyle section). 

To all of this you may well say: it might be just lovely for you to frolic around, blissfully unaware, in your ivory tower. But you have a duty to be informed, to participate in social and political affairs. In the past, I myself was one of those moralising evangelists for being an ‘active citizen’ – it was being informed or the guillotine. But Tim Harford, a staple of the centrist dads, makes a fair enough point: why? There’s certainly a level of knowledge and attention which you should pay to the goings-on in the world – these things do matter. You should vote and have opinions on who runs the country – god knows other people will if you don’t. But after a certain point, the marginal gains of another news story or six drop off rapidly. Who does it help? It might feel like doom-scrolling The Guardian is a necessary response, forced upon you by the wrongs of ‘the system’. But if you’re not organising a movement, attending a protest, door-knocking, or voting (none of which I intend to diminish in the least here), then why bother? At a certain point, following politics just doesn’t help. 

And whilst I wouldn’t want to suggest that my life in Oxford is making the country, let alone the world, directly better off, it’s too quick to just dismiss it. At the least, study gives you critical and (if you’re lucky) practical skills, and I think much more besides. After all, it is a luxury to be able to do this – to turn off the news and read a book, chat with others, and explore an ancient city. So make the most of it. You’ll have the rest of your life to follow Labour’s “shredded claim to competence”.

Hague to confer nine honorary degrees to celebrate first year in office

Sharon Segaye
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Hague to confer nine honorary degrees to celebrate first year in office

Lord William Hague has announced the conferral of nine honorary degrees to mark his first year as Chancellor of the University of Oxford. The degrees will be awarded during a special ceremony on 24th February, or at the University’s next Encaenia, Oxford’s annual honorary degree ceremony.

Hague told Cherwell: “I have nominated exceptional individuals whose achievements have been an inspiration to me and also made lasting contributions to society. I am very much looking forward to honouring their accomplishments next February.” 

The nominees include Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey; former US Secretary of State John Kerry; presenter of ‘The Rest is History’ podcast Dr Dominic Sandbrook; journalist and Cherwell alumna Christina Lamb; and the British elections pollster Professor Sir John Curtice.

Christina Lamb, who will be conferred with the honorary degree Doctor of Letters, told Cherwell that “Doctor of Letters sounds so cool. And getting a doctorate without having to do any of the academic work has got to be good”. 

Lamb added: “I’ve been a foreign correspondent for 37 years since an unexpected wedding invitation took me to Pakistan, and have covered most of the major wars and conflicts of the last 25 years…as a woman in what was very much a male field, I have always focused on what war does to women. In particular I’ve tried to raise awareness of the horrific and widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon.”

Sir John Curtice has also been nominated for an honorary Doctor of Letters. Reflecting on his nomination, Curtice told Cherwell: “I have spent much of my career, which began as a student at Oxford, trying to understand and explain the interaction between what politicians say and do and what the public believe and demand. It is humbling to have this work recognised.” 

The University normally confers honorary degrees once a year during the annual Enceania ceremony. But by longstanding tradition Oxford’s new Chancellor is invited to nominate candidates for additional honorary degrees, including the serving Vice-Chancellor of the University and the current head of the Chancellor’s former college.

Hague graduated from Magdalen College in 1982 having read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). Dinah Rose KC, President of Magdalen, told Cherwell: “I am utterly delighted to have been nominated for an honorary doctorate by the Chancellor. It is a great privilege to represent Lord Hague’s own College, Magdalen, in this way.”

The other nominated honorands include the author and conservationist Isabella Tree; New York University Professor Jonathan Haidt; and Lord Clerk Register of Scotland and former St Hugh’s College Principal Lady Elish Angiolini.

Isabella Tree, who is expected to receive an honorary doctorate in science, told Cherwell: “I feel something of an interloper accepting an honorary degree that has fallen into my lap but I take it in the spirit of it being an honour – and it’s a huge one. It’s incredibly kind of Lord Hague to consider me in such amazing company, including Christina Lamb who has long been a hero of mine.

“I don’t see myself as an academic or scientist…I’m just the chronicler, someone who has told the story and – I hope – can tell it in a way that is accessible and can inspire people to see the value in nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. Without inspiration and hope it’s easy to give up, but nature needs a voice and the world needs change. It’s an incredible honour to be recognised for helping to do something towards that change.”

A comical approach to a classic text: ‘Hedda Gabler’ reviewed

Charlie Bailey
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A comical approach to a classic text: ‘Hedda Gabler’ reviewed

Tiptoe Productions’ Hedda Gabler, co-directed by Ollie Gillam and Gilon Fox, delivered a strong version of the classic text, impressive in its ability to make the differences between characters so comic. Laughs were consistently drawn from the audience, balancing out the fact that some moments lacked polish. 

Hedda Gabler follows the strife and eventual downfall of aristocratic Hedda (Georgina Cooper), confined unhappily to a marriage with George Tesman (Sam Gosmore), reimagined as an uninspiring and, bumbling economics academic in the political setting chosen by the directors. As they return from their honeymoon, Hedda’s discontent with her life manifests in a series of elaborate manipulations centred around her past lover Eilert Loevburg (Rohan Joshi) and his new fling Thea Elvsted (Thalia Kermisch). 

Cooper played the titular role wonderfully. Every movement was poised and calculated, reflecting her control over the play’s disastrous events. She was outstanding at appearing focused and unfazed as chaos unfolded around her, and her ability to maintain this stance enhanced the comedy of Gosmore’s George Tesman. 

I have no doubt that the audience would agree that Gosmore was sensational. In a play that has the potential to become stagnant due to its dark themes, his version of George Tesman brought genuine hilarity. There was a constant sense of not knowing what he would do next, as he seemed willing to push his physicality to a comedic maximum: he cheered for joy, hung his head in upset, and jovially patted his wife on the head as she spoke to another man. He brought humour even to the more dramatic moments simply by making Tesman so unaware. 

Commendation ought to be given to Thalia Kermisch as Thea Elvstead. Her approach to the role made Mrs Elvstead seem wide-eyed and fearful, consumed by love for the wrong man. Her convincing portrayal of worry served to emphasise the relative lack of concern of her false friend Hedda. Likewise, Ezana Betru as Judge Brack brought the calm certainty required for his role as confidante and bearer of bad news. He was the only man in the play that seemed to have some control over the direction of the narrative: the only one, in other words, who held some power l against Hedda, and his more relaxed tone of voice matched this. 

In this adaptation, it was the women who held the power onstage. Rather than making the men’s control over their lives seem sinister, it was presented as nonsensical: neither Tesman nor Loevburg were able to contain childish outbursts of emotion. Memorably, upon finding out that Hedda has destroyed Loevburg’s manuscript, Gosmore as Tesman put on a face of exaggerative upset, only to be placated by Hedda very briefly being sexually suggestive towards him. His failure to match the patriarchal masculine ideal was reinforced by Cooper’s constant disdain towards him, which reached into the entirety of her physicality. 

Another man whose emotional instability contrasted the steadfastness of the women surrounding him was Eilert Loevborg (Rohan Joshi). Joshi had less onstage time than the other actors, making up for this with the fact that every line was delivered with a splitting emotional intensity. His confrontations with his past love Hedda and current fling Mrs Elvsted were placed centre stage, allowing the audience to closely observe the consuming nature of his anger: a loose canon in comparison to Hedda’s calm certainty and Elvsted’s determined attempts to hold their relationship together. Making the male characters so vocally and physically unstable was effective, given that Ibsen’s focus on writing women who defied the patriarchal standard and made the men around them seem less entitled to their high social status. 

The acting in the production was impactful, but I felt some of the directorial aspects adhered too closely to the script at the expense of originality. For example, the scene t in which Judge Brack and George Tesman have a drink offstage was taken so literally that it distracted from the central onstage conversation. Similarly, the moment where Hedda burns Loevburg’s manuscript, professing that she’s “killing” his “child” felt like it was included out of necessity rather than being carefully thought out, as it created some unnecessary emptiness onstage. The set was functional rather than original, but this is likely justified by a need to focus on the raw emotion of the actors’ interactions. 

Overall, Tiptoe Productions, while not quite adding the originality promised, created a portrayal that balanced tension and hilarity.

‘Rage bait’ named Oxford Word of the Year

Noah Robson
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‘Rage bait’ named Oxford Word of the Year

Oxford University Press (OUP) has revealed that “rage bait” is their official Word of the Year for 2025. Over 30,000 votes were cast from a shortlist of three, which also included “aura farming” and “biohack”.

“Rage bait” is defined by OUP as: “Online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.”

According to OUP, the word has tripled in usage over the past year, although its first mention can be traced back to 2002. Back then, it referred to a form of road rage, when a fellow driver flashed their lights to indicate they wanted to overtake, in a form of “deliberate agitation”.

The other two contenders have also seen a significant rise in usage through social media. “Aura farming” rose to prominence after a video of an Indonesian boy dancing seemingly effortlessly on the front of a boat went viral. OUP defines the word as: “The cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona or public image by behaving or presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of confidence, coolness, or mystique.”

Meanwhile, “biohack” is defined as: “To attempt to improve or optimize one’s physical or mental performance.” It has risen in prominence as efforts to find ways of reversing, or even halting, the process of ageing have increased, particularly among the rich and famous.

Every year, OUP announces a word – or expression – which was of the most “cultural significance” over the past twelve months. Last year’s winner was “brain rot”, while previous selections have included “rizz”, “vax”, and “climate emergency”.

Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages described 2025 as “a year defined by questions around who we truly are; both online and offline”. He added: “The fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online.

“Year after year, it’s incredible to see the campaign spark curiosity, conversation, and – most importantly – participation. The Oxford Word of the Year invites us to pause and reflect on the forces shaping our collective language.”

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