Sunday 27th July 2025
Blog Page 318

Pandemic sees rise in suspected exam cheating and collusion cases

Jill Cushen
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Pandemic sees rise in suspected exam cheating and collusion cases

The University of Oxford investigated 27 cases of suspected cheating in the academic year 2020/21, Cherwell can reveal. Of the 27 suspected cases, only one case was upheld. 

This is a rise in the number of cases in the previous academic year during which there were 15 cases, and a significant increase in the number of suspected cheating cases before the Covid-19 pandemic. There were no suspected cases of cheating in 2018/19 and only 2 in 2017/18. 

The number of cases of suspected collusion dropped from 21 last year to 9 this academic year, with only 3 being upheld. However, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic saw 18 students involved in suspected collusion cases, a rise from only 2 students in 2018/19.

Suspected plagiarism cases remained this year high with 36 cases, following 32 cases in 2019/20 and 33 in 2018/19. 13 of the 36 suspected cases were upheld. 

The majority of exams held by the University in Trinity term of this year were open-book assessments and were not invigilated. However,  a small number of exams were conducted using the ‘Safe Exam Browser’ in Inspera which restricts the use of other applications and websites outside Inspera. The University did not make use of Inspera’s proctoring or monitoring features for exams and instead asked students to sign an exam honour code. 

A spokesperson from the University told Cherwell: “Given the change in examination types, a change in the profile of misconduct referrals is to be expected, as students and staff adjust to new methods of assessments.”

They also said that the 27 cases of suspected academic misconduct referred to the Proctors Office “represents a very small fraction of the 55,000 exams sat, the vast majority of which were open-book exams.” 

They added: “The cases referred to the Proctors’ Officer this year were considered under Regulation 1 of 2003. We can now confirm that eight of these cases were upheld as a breach/penalty, while 19 were referred back to Exam Boards. These Boards have a range of options available to them, in accordance with their exam conventions.

“The University is committed to the highest standards of assessments, and will continue to respond as appropriate in the future as we adapt our examinations based on our experience during the pandemic.” 

Data from the University of Oxford

An article by Dr Lancaster and student partner, Codrin Cotarlan, published in the International Journal for Educational Integrity earlier this year, found there was nearly a 200% rise in the number of homework and exam style questions posted online since the beginning of the pandemic, supporting the rise in the number of academic misconduct cases being investigated across the education sector. 

Dr Thomas Lancaster, Senior Teaching Fellow in Computing at Imperial College London and specialist in academic integrity and contract cheating, told Cherwell that the rise in academic misconduct cases is in part due to the unsupervised manner in which assessments and exams have been carried out during the pandemic. He also said that “firms are marketing their offers very heavily to students, sometimes trying to disguise what they’re doing by calling this support”.

He believes that online learning was brought in quickly at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic without suitable consideration of online assessment and student support but that there is now time to find out what works best for institutions and students.  

He added: “I don’t know if high pressure and high stakes exams are the answer. It is possible for students to cheat in a face-to-face setting. It’s possible for online exams to be invigilated. But ultimately, the higher the stakes, the more temptation there is for students to find ways to subvert academic integrity. 

“Students this year have not had the same experience of taking in-person exams as those in the past and that’s just going to cause more anxiety. We have to ask if so much assessment has to be taken with such tight time pressures or if we can give students more freedom to research problems and work on longer-term assessments in areas of interest to them.”

Image: Sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0 via wikimedia commons

The future of film in a post-pandemic world

Rebecca Walker
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The future of film in a post-pandemic world

The impact of the pandemic has become an inescapable discussion point. From the news to conversations in the street, it seems every aspect of life has been affected in some way. The film industry is one of many that has faced changes throughout the last year. With the closure of cinemas, streaming services have become ever more popular, and more films are increasingly accessible at the click of a button: all from the sofa at home. Is the cinematic experience in danger of decline? Or, is it a temporary phenomenon, just like “Video Killed the Radio Star” and the predicted death of cinema by the hand of the home VCR in the 80s? 

As of 2020, Netflix, the most popular streaming service in the UK, had more than 13 million subscriptions, while Amazon Prime had 7.9 million. These numbers rose during the pandemic. Time spent on these services almost doubled in 2020, with almost 5 million British households having signed up since the lockdown first began. Disney+ was a success story of the pandemic. Within 3 months of its launch in March 2020, it had over 5 million downloads for its app and 4.6 million subscribers in the UK. In a time when social interaction outside the household was limited, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and NowTV were able to provide entertainment and an escape from reality.

The “Golden Age of TV” that has reigned over the last 20 years has been spurred on by the rise of streaming services. Shows such as Game of Thrones demonstrated how a cinematic experience could be created on the small screen, with vast technological improvements. Various TV shows have had huge success because of the enjoyment people find in the extended character development over multiple hours and in binge-worthy content. Whereas films at 2 hours long, or even more, may be seen as a commitment, TV shows can feel shorter and snappier. Ironically, people often end up watching more hours of TV than the length of a regular film. TV streaming has made this possible. No longer do we have to wait for a weekly episode to be released; we can watch the entire season of Stranger Things in one sitting.

Streaming services have opened the door for TV. Now we can watch series at any time we like, from the latest releases to old favourites like Friends and The Office. TV shows were designed for the small screen: they were never meant for the cinema. So how have streaming services, and their increasing role in the industry during the pandemic, impacted film?

With streaming services so accessible, and the number of subscribers increasing during the pandemic, it perhaps gave more people the chance and time to watch films as well as TV. 

However, in many cases, the pandemic caused problems for the release and the success of films. Phillippa Lowthorpe’s Misbehaviour, about the women’s liberation movement interrupting the 1970 Miss World beauty pageant, was released in cinemas in the UK on 13th March 2020. However, its theatrical release was cut short due to the pandemic, and the film was instead released early to video on demand on 15th April. It grossed about £300,000 in the UK and a worldwide total of $1,200,000. Its box office takings were clearly impacted by the short theatrical release and meant that it failed to attract as much attention from critics and audiences. In a pandemic-world of streaming, films run the risk of becoming lost in the plethora of options available.

In contrast, A Quiet Place Part II, which was released after more than a year of postponements due to COVID in May 2021, was highly successful. Despite the delays, it grossed nearly $295 million worldwide: the 6th highest-grossing film of 2021. Although it became available to stream on Paramount+ 45 days after its cinematic release, it is noticeable that it did extremely well having had a full cinema release and being one of the first films to do so after cinemas reopened. There is surely something to be said here for the magic of cinema. People were clearly still keen to see this movie on the big screen. However, the fact it was released to a streaming service, if not immediately, then not long after its cinema release, perhaps shows that the pandemic has accelerated a shift towards streaming services. Not only are large production companies considering how to gain the most money from their films, but the high numbers of subscriptions also show the demand for TV streaming. Rather than pay for a cinema ticket on top of their various subscriptions, audiences can watch films from the comfort of their own home.

The future of cinema release versus streaming is now a litigious one. The controversy is highlighted in Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney, in which she argues Disney broke her contract by releasing Black Widow simultaneously on the big screen and on Disney+. The film suffered a 67% box office decline in its second weekend, which has been directly linked to its availability at home. The pandemic encouraged Disney and others to change the way we consume film, as seen in their release of Mulan to Disney+ without a cinema release. It would be expected that the huge Marvel series would still lure fans for the big-screen experience, yet the box office figures say otherwise. If even Marvel is struggling to draw people to the cinema, perhaps streaming has gained the upper hand during the course of the pandemic.

Sadly, when Johansson finally got her own standalone film after 11 years, it was affected by the pandemic, placed on Disney+ immediately unlike any Marvel film before and then performed the worst of any MCU film in its second week decline. Disney’s next release, Free Guy, with the male-lead Ryan Reynolds, will be released exclusively to cinemas. It seems that perhaps Disney, like other streaming services, is still testing out the waters for the future of their film releases.

It was perhaps inevitable that streaming services would increase in popularity, and there are so many benefits, including its ease and accessibility of so many different films and TV shows. But do you remember the magic of cinema? As we are coming into the post-pandemic world, the experience of seeing a film on the big screen, becoming fully immersed, having the atmosphere of an audience and the smell of popcorn in the air, is one we can enjoy again. Now is a great opportunity to support local cinemas and help show that there is a future for cinema releases.

Athletics and aesthetics – how the media is sexualising athletes

Maddie Hooper
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Athletics and aesthetics – how the media is sexualising athletes

In 2018, the International Olympic Committee published a set of guidelines addressing the media coverage of the competitors, with the end goal of ‘setting the  tone as to how women and girls in sports…can and should be…portrayed’ – in other words, attempting to knock back the sleaze that hangs around media coverage of elite athletes like a bad smell . It’s well known that sexism in media sports coverage is rife – during the 2012 London Olympics, for example, our own dear Prime Minister (then Mayor) wrote of the female volleyball players ‘glistening like wet otters’ in his Telegraph column and during the Games the same athletes often appear in multi-page tabloid spreads that usually fail to feature a single wide-shot set or spike, focusing instead on close-up shots of the female athletes’ bodies.

So how did they try to tackle the problem ?  In amongst the standard stipulation of clunkily squeaky-clean terms like ‘sportsperson’, and advice not to ask female athletes if their husband is proud of them came the section that seemed designed to tackle the more overt manifestations of sexism head-on, largely by advising ‘camera operators’ against certain angles. Specifically : the crotch shot’, ‘tight facial framing’ and ‘the ‘reveal’ shot from foot to head to depict aesthetics rather than athleticism ’. Whilst you might think we ought to give the IOC credit for trying to take action against the problem of athlete sexualisation – though, as the IOC has no actual control over the media outlets responsible for the filming/photographing of its events, recommendations, rather than rules, are about as much as it can do – the filming rules in particular are ones which made me wonder about the assumed link between aesthetics and sexualisation. That sexualisation is an unfortunate fate of many Olympic athletes, particularly in media coverage, seems somewhat inevitable– but how do aesthetics play into that? Ought we to blame viewers, or the camera operators ? And what really is the best way to ensure coverage that shows the competitors as athletes rather than objects ?

Take two of the three types of shot the guidelines advise against, which – crotch shot self-explanatorily to the side – you could easily argue to not really be all that inherently sexualising. Varied camera angles and the usage of both close-up and wide shots is a crucial part of the camera-crew and editors’ roles, as it helps add interest to whatever’s being filmed, heightening emotion and building tension. The pan-up could simply emphasize the sheer physical athleticism of the Olympian shown ; the facial close-up might be used to show concentration or to emphasize the pre-event tension between competing athletes. Whilst the IOC obviously has a responsibility to ensure respectful representation of the athletes performing under its umbrella, it’s not hard to wonder whether the blame for the sexualisation of athletes ought really to be placed upon the spectators themselves. In an ideal world, the Olympians themselves would not be inherently sexual objects, and film-crews would be able to do their jobs safe in the knowledge that audiences would merely admire the athletes as examples of peak sporting physicality.

Sadly, we live in a society that has a tendency to portray both muscularity and tight clothing (almost ubiquitous at the Olympics) as sexual so often that the qualities have almost become embedded within each other, which can make it alarmingly easy to objectify athletes – even unconsciously. So, is it really fair to put the blame on the camera-crews?  Wouldn’t it just be easier to allow them to use their own judgment when certain angles or shots are appropriate for the atmosphere they’re trying to build ?

Trouble is, the device of the camera itself is one which creates an uneven power dynamic between the viewer and the camera’s subject. In her 1975 essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, the British film theorist Laura Mulvey argued that the dynamic created by a film camera between its object and the spectator is one based upon scopophilia, a Freudian concept referring to the pleasure to be gained by watching someone and by being watched. While the underpinning Freudian theoryis typically convoluted, the basic idea that film engenders a voyeuristic, unequal ‘gaze’ due to the fact that the subject cannot engage with the viewer is one that highlights the vulnerability of the athlete facing a lens, as they become an object to be viewed. Not an inherently sexual one, to be sure, but perhaps one that is easier to sexualise than they would be if seen in person. The objectifying role of the camera is also increased by the long tradition of its use specifically to sexualise its subject, and camera angles are a major part of this. Take the angles mentioned by the IOC – whilst non-sexual in themselves, the pan-up and the facial framing are so often used within everyday television and cinema to create or emphasize the audience’s perception of a character as a sexual object that their usage might easily trigger the viewer to sexualise an athlete upon which they were used (think Pavlov).

In light of this, it’s quite interesting to note that the guidelines only specifically address the ‘crotch shot’, making no mention at all of other such angles which focus on a specific area of an athlete’s body. In a way, it’s sad that  the IOC even had to address it at all, as it’s hard to think of any conceivable way anyone would think a ‘crotch shot’ would be appropriate in their coverage of an event, and yet there is clearly some sort of precedent the committee felt the need to address. More cynically, I wonder if the reason it was included was because it’s the easiest close-up type shot to blanket ban – exactly because it’s so completely unjustifiable. Coverage of women’s beach volleyball, for example, typically features close-up shots of the players from behind – to allow the viewers to see the hand-signals players use to signal strategy to their team. If you’ve ever watched one of the matches, though, there is definitely something uncomfortable about these shots, even if the camera never lingers longer than it ought – when all is said and done, they’re essentially extended close-ups of the player’s backsides, especially because your average viewer definitely isn’t going to understand the hand-signals.

Through the lens of Mulvey’s theory, such angles are objectifying above all others, as they reduce the subject to a body part in a way that is quite uniquely dehumanising, as the subject more or less becomes the body part – a physical object. They also stand as proof of the power the camera can hold as a tool of objectification and sexualisation. Sure, you (and I mean ‘you’ in the more general sense) as a live spectator could choose to zero in on an athlete’s bum, but it wouldn’t be as total as the image you’d see on a screen created by a camera-person doing the same thing. Human eyes don’t have a zoom function, so the athlete would still be wholly within your field of vision, whilst through a camera the athlete can be totally (if only briefly) reduced to the body part the camera zooms in on, as it’s all that can be seen on the screen for however long the shot is shown . Whilst, at the end of the day, it may really be the viewer’s prerogative to then sexualise the athlete shown, it’s clear that not only the simple act of filming but the way it’s undertaken play a massive role in this process – so, really, the guidelines are a good start. They may only scratch the surface of the issue of the sexualisation of athletes on camera, but, by acknowledging the issue highlight it in a way that ought to help the camera-crews be more aware of the implications of certain choices.

Historic Oxford pub to reopen

Charlotte Keys
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Historic Oxford pub to reopen

For some, the news in January this year that the historic Lamb & Flag pub would not be reopening would have devastated their hopes of completing Oxford’s notorious pub crawl. This fate has changed upon support from the community interest company, The Inklings Group.

The Inklings Group, an Oxford based literary group recognised for their members J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, both former patrons of the Lamb & Flag, have rescued the pub from closure. The Group has signed a long-term lease with the pub, allowing the literary lover’s pub to keep their doors open. The Group formed in Oxford in the 1930s and 1940s and members frequented the Lamb & Flag and the nearby pub The Eagle and Child. 

Speaking to St John’s College, Kate O’Brien, Chairman of the Inklings Group, said: “Several hundred people, brought together by a love of Oxford and the Lamb & Flag pub, have established the Inklings Group to secure the future of this well-loved pub. We are determined to ensure that the next 408 years of this beloved pub will be as fun, interesting and impactful as the last 408 years.”

O’Brien said that this space is a “community project”  and will be a pub inclusive of Town and Gown alike. 

This comes after news of the pub closing earlier this year incited political involvement from the Oxford Liberal Democrats who highlighted that the pub is an important community asset.

In January this year, upon news that the pub was to close, it was hoped that support would come to prevent the closure of this 17th century pub. 

The pub was originally forced to close after being unable to breakeven in the summer of 2020 after the first lockdown. St John’s deputy bursar said at the time that the pub had been “hard hit by the pandemic” and continued that the college was unable to support the Lamb & Flag. “As a charity, [St John’s] is not allowed to financially support a loss-making business that is not part of its core charitable objectives”, he said.

Principal Bursar of St John’s College, Zoe Hancock, expressed that she was “delighted” that the Lamb & Flag could reopen and believes that “the vision of the Inkling Group will bring great benefit to all”.

The Lamb & Flag will remain recognisable in its traditional character but will also undergo a light refurbishment.

The Lamb & Flag has been serving Oxford students and academics alike since 1566 and will now, with the help of the Inkling group, be able to continue their trade this festive season. 

Image: *Robert*/CC-BY SA 2.0 via flickr.com

The Varsity Trip to take place in Val Thorens

Maurício Alencar
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The Varsity Trip to take place in Val Thorens

The organisers of the historic Varsity Trip have announced that this year’s trip will take place in Val Thorens, located in Les Trois Vallées resort in the south of France. 

The Varsity Trip is the official ski trip for Oxford and Cambridge students. The trip coincides with the Varsity Races, in which the Oxford Ski and Snowboard Club competes with the Cambridge Ski and Snowboard Club. 

The event this year will take place between the 3rd and 11th of December. Michaelmas term officially finishes on Saturday 4th December for Oxford students, and on the 3rd of December for Cambridge students. 

The event organisers reminded followers on Facebook that it is currently “compulsory to be double vaccinated to go to France”, and that they are “expecting this rule to still be in force by the time Varsity Trip comes round”. 

The Varsity Trip was founded in 1922 in Wengen, Switzerland. There are multiple ski racing events, including racing and freestyle. Skiing is a discretionary Full Blue at Oxford. This means club members only receive their Full Blue if they finish 1st overall at the Varsity Races, or if they place in the top 10 at BUCS. 

Since then, the Trip has become available for 3000 students. The event is known as the “largest student-run snow sports event in the world”. The Trip is open to skiiers and snowboarders of all abilities. 

In addition to skiing and snowboarding, the Trip’s organisers arrange several après ski and nightclub events, often with famous music acts. Some acts to have headlined at The Varsity Trip include Tinie Tempah, Rudimental, Calvin Harris, and Shy FX. Sigala was one of the many to have performed at the last Varsity Trip in 2019. There are also other forms of entertainment on offer. 

Last year, the Varsity Trip was cancelled due to circumstances concerning the ongoing pandemic. In the antecedent year, the Varsity Trip was also held in Val Thorens. The other location to commonly host The Varsity Trip is Tignes, situated in the Tarentaise Valley in France. 

Oxford and Cambridge students who would like to go on The Varsity Trip will have to book their tickets on the 21st October. More information on the Booking Day process will be released in due course. Bookings for the event sell out very frequently.

Image: pxfuel

Review: How The Suicide Squad brings the Director’s Cut back to life

Khusrau Islam
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Review: How The Suicide Squad brings the Director’s Cut back to life

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Suicide Squad

“I’m a superhero,” cries Polka-Dot Man in the third act of the film. “I’m not just a superhero movie,” screams The Suicide Squad for the entire 2h12m runtime. James Gunn’s movie perfectly captures the essence of his source material, while also challenging the conventions of Marvel/DC films. Gunn has done this in a year that has seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League released, while demands continue for #ReleaseTheAyerCut, but he has risen above these controversies and put his stamp on the project. And so, The Suicide Squad comes as an entertaining breath of fresh air.  

The comic book influences are apparent throughout the movie – from the minor details, such as the film opening in Corto Maltese (a fictional island from DC comics), to the very spirit of the team. In the opening scene, pretty much everyone on the “Suicide Squad” dies – a risk apparent from the name of the team. On a more fundamental level, just like in the comic books, the team forms a family. This bond provides the heart to the film, such as when the group hang out and relax, and Peacemaker (John Cena) demands a drink for his new ally’s pet rat. This arc, wherein the characters turn from selfish individuals to ones willing to sacrifice themselves for each other, is a defining feature of the Suicide Squad comics. 

Along with powerful relationships, fleshed out characterisation gives a somewhat feel-good sense to the film, each very in tune with the film’s tone. Starting with (arguably) the film’s actual villain, Viola Davis’ turn as the strategic Amanda Waller is chilling yet addictive. She is based on a character reputed for cold but cunning strategies, and this is consistent throughout the film and acts as a foil for the characters. She manipulates Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Savant (Michael Rooker) into joining the team, and in the first 10 minutes, condemns the latter alongside several others to death, and uses the former’s teenage daughter as leverage. Moreover, her threat of killing any of the members hangs over the team, and the periodic reminders of her callous nature make this threat real, adding tension to the film.

Meanwhile, the members of the team equally feel unique. While Bloodsport struggles with being a good father, Polka-Dot Man struggles with having a bad mother. Peacemaker (John Cena(!!)), certainly not a “good guy” by most metrics, is fuelled by his blind loyalty to America, and this clashes with Rick Flag’s (Joel Kinnaman) sense of justice to create an emotional climax, setting a contrast between American interests and ideals. Daniela Melchior’s standout performance as Ratcatcher 2 had me weepy as we saw her father (Taika Waititi) explain why rats deserve more love. She plays the role with the openness one would expect from someone raised to respect even the lowliest animals, and the heart in her acting turns King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) from a mere brute force into a wholesome force with which to be reckoned. 

It is also worth noting that Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) retains the character development she received in Birds of Prey, having escaped her toxic relationship with the Joker, carrying her growth into this film. In fact, she actively rejects that toxicity which she once faced. This was a positive move from Gunn, as it allowed the character to be one in her own right, rather than in the shadow of the sadistic clown. A certain level of careful, well-written characterisation is required to turn a group of villains and murderers into lovable rogues – and the movie meets those demands.

This vast array of characters lends the film a certain moral complexity. Admittedly, it is quite clear who the “good guys” are in the film – the Squad members – while, with a few exceptions, everyone else constitutes the “bad guys”. However, Gunn allows us to see clearly the motivations driving the characters on all sides. Waller has a job: protect the country’s interests. Flag has a righteous sense of duty at the film’s climax: he must let the people know that the US has sanctioned experimentation on everyone so there can be justice. Bloodsport just wants to protect his daughter. Meanwhile, Starro the Conqueror, a giant starfish from space, laments upon dying that it was happy floating among the stars, but it was the humans who captured it, tortured it, and experimented on it. If it hadn’t just tried to destroy an entire city, I might have felt sorry for it in the moment, but as it is, I do at least get the telepathic creature’s point of view.

A common accusation thrown at superhero movies is that they lack this complexity – as Martin Scorsese suggested, they’re “closer to theme parks than they are to movies”. Similarly, James Gunn said that he is now, generally speaking, bored by superhero movies. So, is this a superhero movie? Certainly not in regular terms: 4 of the main characters have nothing special about them other than the fact that they are good at what they do. Their key objective is not to save the day, while the main team practically fail at every turn. They  are supposed to rescue Rick Flag, but they inadvertently decimate an entire friendly camp. Harley Quinn freed herself. And when they do get Gaius Grieves (Peter Capaldi) to the right destination, the fortress Jotunheim, an over-excited Polka-Dot Man’s bodily expulsions explode, resulting in the early destruction of the tower. Peacemaker does not destroy the info regarding US experimentation, while Flagg does not publish it as he intended.

And so, we return to the core of the film: it has heart. It is a ton of fun. First, the visuals are incredible. A few highlights include the well-choreographed fight scene between Peacemaker and Flag, the escape of Harley Quinn, as flowers explode onto the screen as she brutally murders her captors, and the crew marching into Jotunheim through the rain. Gunn also brings his trademark banging playlists (there really is no other word for it), with ‘Rain’ (grandson, Jessie Reyez) offering a backing track to the march and Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ to open the movie as we look upon inmates in a penitentiary. And frankly, the film is hilarious. For example,  Bloodsport and Peacemaker compete to see who can murder in the most innovative ways, only for it to be revealed that they have decimated a camp of people willing to aid their cause. Bloodsport is made leader of a team where one of the member’s ability is to control rats, only for Waller and the audience to discover he is terrified of rats. And John Cena’s delightful delivery of the line “I cherish peace with all of my heart. I don’t care how many men, women and children I kill to get it” still has me laughing when I think about it. A film with the complexity discussed above, but also the pure joy described here, perfectly encapsulates the superhero genre: it is simply a vehicle to tell stories, rather than a genre, very much in keeping with the source material.

The “Gunn cut” demonstrates why the Snyder Cut should have been released. Gunn took several risks in order to produce his sequel/reboot to David Ayer’s 2016 story about the team, adding his flair, and introducing several random characters that could have flopped but ended up being beloved, such as Ratcatcher 2 and Polka-Dot Man. He put his stamp on the film. He ultimately produced something that he himself enjoyed, and so he could trust that other people would enjoy his honest interpretation. David Ayer did not get to do that, nor did Zack Snyder. And so, Justice League and Suicide Squad were released in mangled states, and both flopped. But Snyder’s version proved to be a completely different film, almost double in runtime, and with a different overall villain. He ends the film on a personal note, dedicating it to his late daughter. His creative presence is felt throughout the film. Originally, I was not much of a fan of the Snyder Cut. However, watching James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad made me understand: the two directors were eventually allowed to present their own artistic vision, for better or for worse. And in this case, DC’s hands-off approach worked well with Gunn’s film. 

Anti-abortion stall at Freshers Fair criticised by Oxford student groups

Mauricio Alencar and Pieter Garicano
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Anti-abortion stall at Freshers Fair criticised by Oxford student groups

CW: abortion.

Several Oxford political societies, groups, and other students have condemned Oxford Students for Life’s stall at the Freshers Fair. Oxford Students for Life are an anti-abortion society that claims to “seek to promote a culture of life at the university”.

This comes as students at the University of Exeter complained about a similar society, Exeter Students for Life, for also having a stall at Exeter’s freshers’ fair. Over 5000 have signed a petition calling for their removal from the fair. Exeter University’s Student Guild stated that “debate and deliberation shouldn’t be suppressed” in response to calls for the society to be shut down. 

The Oxford Students for Life have previously had stalls present at past freshers’ fairs. The society is registered with The Proctors’ Office at Oxford. 

Oxford Feminist Society stated on their social media pages that they take a “firm stance against the pro-life organisations being promoted at the SU Fresher’s Fair”.

The society added: “The stalls’ ideology is a threat to the safety, health and autonomy of women*. The reproductive policy of the SU to ‘support the rights to choose’ and to ‘campaign and extend students rights of practical access to an abortion and extend rights of choice over pregnancy’ are undermined by having an anti-abortion stall.”

Holly Stapleton, the Class and Women´s rep at the SU told Cherwell: “It is uncomfortable, and hard seeing them there. It’s quite in your face and uncomfortable, and I want to reiterate that we are pro-choice.”

In response to criticism, the President of Oxford Students for Life, Anna Fleisher, told Cherwell: “Like most student societies of the University, we use the SU Freshers Fair to promote our mission and events. We are a secular, non-sectarian society, seeking to promote culture of life at the University and beyond, by fostering discussion and education on beginning and end of life ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia, from a pro-life perspective. 

“As someone who describes herself as a pro-life feminist, I believe promoting discussion and serious reflection on issues like abortion which affect women so profoundly is not only deeply worthwhile but necessary.”

The JCR welfare reps at Teddy Hall, Gregory Halliwell and Katie Long, stated in an open letter to the SU:  “We are deeply troubled by the presence of an anti-abortion society at the SU Freshers Fair. I hope you will not give this society a similar platform in the future.” 

In a joint statement, LGBTQ+ SU Campaign and LGBTQSoc told Cherwell: “We as a campaign wholeheartedly support the rights of women and other people with uteruses to make their own decisions about their reproductive health. We stand in solidarity with all those affected by abortion bans and other attempts to infringe upon reproductive rights.

“These efforts are rooted in misogyny and a denial of bodily autonomy, both of which we condemn. Bodily autonomy is a central value of LGBTQ+ community and a key goal of our campaign.” 

Freshers at the fair itself were critical. Ash, a first-year at LMH said: “I don´t think that a society that seeks to repress the reproductive rights of half the population should be allowed to be given a platform like that.” 

A student who wished to stay anonymous said: “[This is] triggering for survivors of rape and sexual assault, who had no choice at all, and were then confronted in this manner”

Some of the University’s student political societies also commented on the stall. The Co-Chair of Oxford University Labour Society, Oliver Boyland, told Cherwell: “I don’t see why they have a platform here at the Freshers’ Fair.  Obviously, their views are pretty abhorrent, probably quite triggering so it does seem questionable that they are being supported.”

Angus Parker, the President of Oxford University Liberal Democrats, told Cherwell: “We support the society’s freedom of assembly and speech, but it is not appropriate for such unwelcoming rhetoric to appear at an event that is meant to be inclusive to all students.”

In a statement, Oxford University Student Union said: “Oxford SU has a current and live policy on supporting reproductive justice which was voted in by Student Council. This represents the views of Oxford SU on reproductive rights, as well as that of the student body. Oxford SU is unequivocally pro-choice and supports all people’s right to make their own decisions regarding their bodies.

“We believe that no one should have to see their fundamental rights being up for debate, and for that, we apologise.

“We understand, and to some extent anticipated, the emotive responses and frustrations towards the presence of an anti-abortion stall at the Freshers’ Fair. The stalls present represent only their own views, and not necessarily those of the SU, and the Students’ Union has no say over the creation and existence of student societies. Societies are registered and approved by the Proctor’s Office and we are not a part of this process.

“Oxford SU also has to adhere to the University Freedom of Speech regulations which we are mandated to follow. This is especially the case for events hosted on University-owned sites, like University Parks. We hope this goes some way to explain the presence of this stall at this year’s fair, as well as every year before.

However, Oxford SU has to stand with and for its students. As an organisation, we want to learn from this to ensure that this policy does not overshadow our commitment to student mandates and welfare.

“We understand student concerns and have linked our complaints and scrutiny procedures… We would also encourage any students who are concerned with the University’s and Government’s stance on freedom of speech to get in touch with either Oxford SU or the University directly.”

On the second day of the Freshers’ Fair, a group of protesting students took down the stall and put the contents in a black bin. They were stopped by security, and refused to leave until they were sufficiently assured the stalls would not be reinstated. As of 13:47, the stall was running again.

Members of OSFL with promotional materials at their stall after it had been reinstated. Image: Maurício Alencar

For confidential advice or support, you can visit the Livewell Oxfordshire-  British Pregnancy Advisory Support website , or call their telephone line on 03457 30 40 30, open 24 hours a week. 

Image: Pieter Garicano

14:54, October 7th: This article was updated to include updates to the Oxford University Student Union’s statement.

22:37, October 7th: The second image in this article was replaced to better display the stall’s contents and protect individuals who were not members of the Oxford Students for Life committee.

March and Petition for first Hindu Temple in Oxfordshire

Matilda Gettins
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March and Petition for first Hindu Temple in Oxfordshire

Hindus from across Oxfordshire took to the streets on Monday evening, calling on the Council to help establish the county’s first Hindu Temple. The march was organized by the Oxford Hindu Temple and Community Centre Project (OHTCCP), who estimate that 80 people attended. It ended at the Town Hall, where representatives of OHTCCP handed a petition for a Hindu Temple in Oxford with over 2900 signatures to the City Council and held an address.

OHTCCP was formed in 2008, after a small group of Hindus started meeting in their homes for prayers because there was no designated place of worship for Hindus. The group began renting halls, grew bigger over the years, and is now an established community organization holding major spiritual and cultural events in Oxford. However, it still does not have its own designated temple. 

OHTCCP hopes that the City Council will sell them one of their over 800 properties. They have been in negations with Council officials regarding properties over the last two years, but have yet to receive a property. One of the properties OHTCCP has asked to buy are old changing rooms at Court Place in Marsh Lane. Yet the council has recently revealed that it will sell the property on the open commercial property market. This means that OHTCCP could be outbid by developers willing to pay above market value. OHTCCP Spokesman Mark Bhagwandin said: „to be clear we are not asking them for financial assistance [to build the temple]. We are asking to buy one of their derelict properties which they have and we will pay to renovate it and convert to a Hindu temple”. 

Chairman of OHTCCP, Mukesh Shori, said: “After more than a decade of appeals to the council, all we have to date is a pile of empty promises […]. The council talks incessantly about inclusion, but there can be no real inclusion when one important section of the Oxford community is overlooked and undervalued. The Hindus of Oxfordshire bring tremendous value to this city and county’s rich social and cultural fabric, yet our needs are ignored as if we don’t exist.”

People dressed in pink, blue and green drumming and holding a banner of the OHTCCP
People dressed in pink, blue and green drumming and holding a banner of the OHTCCP.

Councillor Shaista Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities, said: “Oxford City Council has been actively working with the Hindu community to help find premises that could be used as a prayer space, alongside other wider community initiatives. We understand the needs of the community and there has been open dialogue between us. We look forward to this continuing.

“Unfortunately finding suitable and available property within the city is challenging. Whilst the Council may have a significant number of properties, the vast majority of these are houses and the pressure for houses is sadly all too apparent. It is also likely that housing stock would present challenges in regards to planning and suitability. Most of our non-housing properties are either in use or are part of our commercial investment portfolio that delivers rental income to support core services.

“The Hindu community in the city is valued for its charity work and for bringing people together regardless of background. The Council would like to thank the campaigners for their strong commitment to diversity and inclusion and all their work.

“We have every sympathy with their difficulties over the high price of property in the city and have done our best to help them identify possibilities, but we cannot use taxpayer’s money to subsidise any single faith group.”

Around 10 people in front of the Oxford Town Hall. A man in the centre holds a sign saying: OXFORD NEEDS A HINDU TEMPLE.
A group of people standing and waving in front of the Oxford Town Hall. A woman in the centre holds a sign saying: OXFORD NEEDS A HINDU TEMPLE.

Oxford University Hindu Society Vice President said: “We welcome efforts to establish a place of worship and community centre for Hindus in Oxford, as spaces like these are so important for us to practise our faith and we believe every Hindu should have access to one. At the Oxford University Hindu Society we hold weekly aartis at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies where students can sing bhajans and discuss their faith in an informal and relaxed setting. We also run social and cultural events for students of all faiths and backgrounds at the university.”

Oxford academics awarded Turing Fellowships

Florine Lips
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Oxford academics awarded Turing Fellowships

The Turing Fellowship, run by the Alan Turing Institute, has been awarded to 33 Oxford University academics. Researchers from over 14 departments were recognised by the programme, including the Social Sciences, Medical Sciences and Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) divisions. Many of those selected have been involved with the Alan Turing Institute since its creation in 2015.

In total, the fellowship was awarded to 400 academics across 13 partner universities in the UK. Those awarded the position are scholars who have shown excellence in research in data science, artificial intelligence (AI) or another related field. The fellowship rewards scholars whose research would be supported by their association with and involvement in the Alan Turing Institute.

Institute Director and Chief Executive Adrian Smith said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome this new group of Fellows. This cohort is incredibly multidisciplinary and diverse. They will bring a rich range of expertise and ensure we continue to do world-leading, impactful research.”

Oxford’s recognised academics specialise in topics ranging from the application of data science to current global issues, the development of AI and topical concerns such as immunology, volcanology and mental healthcare.

Professor Sam Howison, Head of the MPLS Division, said: “I am delighted to see the work of so many Oxford researchers recognised in this way. Their wide-ranging expertise illustrates not only the breadth of outstanding data science and AI research in Oxford, but also the critical importance of data science to so many aspects of the modern world.

“Recent work on the analysis of rough paths, led by Prof Terry Lyons from Oxford’s Mathematical Institute, has already shown how the networking opportunities afforded by the Turing Institute can lead to transformative new areas of research. We look forward to the new internal and external connections and collaborations which this year’s cohort of Fellows will form.”

The fellowship will cover 12 months and start on Friday 1st October 2021. The full list of Oxford Turing Fellows can be found on the University website.

Image: Jon Callas/CC BY 2.0 via wikimedia commons.

A definitely unbiased and completely impartial guide to clubbing in Oxford

Tara Shutes
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A definitely unbiased and completely impartial guide to clubbing in Oxford

Since there’s a new flock of freshers incoming and the second years have never been clubbing, it seemed an apt time to sit down and reflect on the nightlife in Oxford. If you were looking for an entirely nonpartisan and dispassionate guide to clubs, you are in the right place. Starting with the true BNOC of the clubbing scene, Parkend (aka ATIK, to literally no one) can be summarised as ‘too bright and a bit jarring’ and is only worth the money on Broke Mondays, but not when they run out of VKs and you have to have a Desperado instead. Prepare to be shoved around by a lot of aggressive dancers – this club is the only place you will ever see people moshing to White Flag. You will discover mysterious bruises on your legs the next day and if you lose your friends you will never find them again. Do not go to the Tiki bar if you don’t want to see a lacrosse player dressed as a carrot chunning in the corner.

Next, a shout out to Fever, the best club in Oxford and forever in our hearts. Apparently John’s are turning it into offices – which given there is zero daylight or ventilation seems illegal (this information is as reliable as the rumour of Cowley Tesco opening in October). Luckily there is still a beacon of clubbing hope on the Somerville-Christ Church axis in the form of Wednesday student DJ nights at the LGBTQIA+ club Plush. Guaranteed good music and cheap drinks but expect an incredibly sweaty night and do not, under any circumstances, drink the poppers. The Jagerbomb man will ensure you are not asleep before 6am giving you the energy you need to enjoy what is definitely now the best night out. 

Bridge is the best place to go if you don’t like dancing and do like smoking. Having fallen down stairs at all the clubs in Oxford, Tara can say with confidence that these are the slippiest and also the most painful. If you have ever met anyone who went to a private school or is from West London, you will run into them here – prepare to feel like you’re standing in Hammersmith Broadway. Bridge’s smoking area is the kind of place where you will speak to 20 people and remember 3, unless you are a Union hack, meaning you have gone there completely sober to network. Although the best music is undeniably in Anuba, there is also no atmosphere there. Head next door instead to Thirst, which is definitely the most underrated night out in Oxford. This is the place to meet members of the Oxford Brookes shooting team and the drinks are surprisingly good value, especially when the Brookes boys are buying them. 

The key problem with all these clubs is they are a very long walk if you live in Cowley. This brings us to Bully and O2, which will blend into one as they are essentially the exact same. Go here if you want to pay extortionate amounts of money to do drugs and listen to Techno or DnB. The prices of some of these tickets genuinely makes some people think it’s socially acceptable to sell their left kidney on the black market just to destroy the other one with ket. But both are still solid nights out: good music, change of scene from the centre of town, and the thrill of thinking you might get mugged at 4am on the Cowley road. 

Choose wisely!  

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