Saturday 26th July 2025
Blog Page 319

Loneliness, and why we need to practise talking about difficult things

Becca Funnell
-
0
Loneliness, and why we need to practise talking about difficult things

Loneliness is not the absence of social interaction – it’s the absence of satisfying social interaction, a mismatch between what you need and what you experience. Given many of us arrive at uni with very high social expectations of constant live-while-we’re-young partying, forming life-long friendships and exciting romances, it’s no surprise that the reality of adjusting to life in a new place with new people can be disappointing. 

But loneliness is not an inherently bad thing. A kinder way to think about it is as a natural signal from your brain telling you to be with people! Just like when you are hungry you know to grab a snack. Perhaps the most important difference between signals to other needs and loneliness is that the latter is not talked about so casually. I think we’d all benefit from changing that.

A 2021 ONS survey found that more than one in four university students of an >2,700 person sample, said they have felt lonely often or always. If I had been asked in my first year, I would’ve been the 1 in 4. It’s not that my college wasn’t full of welcoming people (huge shout out to Wadham!), or that I was spending an unusual amount of time alone – I got my boogie on 1/2 times a week and played netball (often hungover). Nevertheless, I was lonely often; I felt small and I missed home. 

Dr Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford has found that humans consistently need three types of friendship: 

  1. close friends, who you’d go to with an urgent problem 
  2. casual friends, who offer shared support, and you might chat to in the lunch queue 
  3. and thirdly, communities of people: those who study your subject, are in a club with you, or are at your college

When one of these layers (of what I like to think of as a wonderful social tiramisu) is missing, then we can end up feeling three types of loneliness: intimate, relational, and collective, respectively. 

Leaving home for uni is tantamount to mastering the recipe for this lovely tiramisu, enjoying it just the way it is, and then suddenly having it taken away, mid-scoop. Reconstructing the pudding can be dauting and confusing. 

Let’s take a trip to the loneliest and most dramatic moment of my first year. It was a cold winter’s night and I had stolen myself away to the chapel to cry in private on the phone to my mum. Fast forward 1 ½ years and I’m back at the same chapel showing a group of summer school students around enthusiastically. I’ve been laughing uncontrollably and playing games like ‘duck duck goose’ all week, beaming with pride and love for my college as I chat to the kids about college life.

How did that happen? Well, a large part of it came from constructing an incredibly gorgeous social tiramisu over those 1 ½ years. 

Things started to change at the end of Hilary last year: lockdown started and we faced a challenging term at home. We all had to learn to enjoy our own solitude, and for a while I was rubbish at it! I filled my time with study and other ‘productive’ activities to distract myself from feeling lonely, but completely burnt myself out. After admitting that it wasn’t working, I started spending time doing things I really enjoy: scrapbooking, going on walks and listening to podcasts. Spending this time alone with my thoughts allowed me to understand myself better; I started to enjoy the solitude. 

Building strong relationships with ourselves is crucial to allow us to be alone and not feel lonely. After building this connection, I felt more prepared to re-enter the social world at uni once I was back. What also made a huge difference were the few close friendships I’d made over the summer, and the knowledge that they’d be with me at college when we returned.

I find that my close friendships give me this rocket fuel for social interaction, and the more people I talk to openly and earnestly, the more I want to keep on talking to new people. This is not an experience unique to me; when we experience satisfying social interaction, we are more likely to interact with others openly, and they in turn are more likely to react to their social situations more positively. It’s a wonderful positive feedback effect that increases our collective capacity for connection, and it highlights the value of being kind to those around you. It also underlines how important that first layer of the social tiramisu is – making the effort to create close friendships will help you navigate the rest of the social world at uni. 

At this point in my journey towards creating my delicious social dessert (haha), I had the energy to get involved in various clubs and participate more fully in college life – the building of that third layer started to get in action! The things I stuck with became a huge part of my university life and made me feel like I belonged. 

Throughout this journey from loneliness to loving my university life, I have noticed several things which make me optimistic. First, small gestures make a big difference. Reaching out to others can make them feel seen and open the doors to friendship, be it casual, close or a friendship that becomes more than a friendship. 

Secondly, the more openly I talk about my experiences of loneliness, the more I realise my experiences aren’t uncommon. Feeling lonely is not something to be ashamed of, or something that you only feel when you are in crisis; it is a part of our daily lives, and we need to learn how to recognise it in ourselves and do something about it when it comes. Let’s start talking about loneliness like it’s the mundane human experience that it is, rather than one of the bad words your parents told you never to say. 

EXCLUSIVE: Oxford Union announces final speakers and return of beer garden

Charlie Hancock
-
0
EXCLUSIVE: Oxford Union announces final speakers and return of beer garden

The Oxford Union has announced its final speakers for Michaelmas term, with The Secret Barrister, BAFTA-winning actor Jared Harris, and journalist Yalda Hakim among the high-profile speakers set to attend in-person events. The Union also announced a calendar of social events including a stand-up comedy open mic night, drag show, and ‘Oxtoberfest’ beer festival.

The Secret Barrister is the pseudonym used by a barrister whose blogs and tweets about the legal system have drawn acclaim for their candid explanation of the judicial system. Their debut book Stories of The Law and How It’s Broken became a Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller upon publication in 2018.

Jared Harris won a BAFTA for his portrayal of the Soviet physicist Valery Legasov in HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries. He has also starred in Mad Men and The Crown, and will star in the upcoming Apple+ series Foundation, which is based on the series of books written by the science-fiction author Isaac Asimov.

Yalda Hakim is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has reported on stories across America, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. She currently anchors the BBC World News programme Impact with Yalda Hakim. She recently drew acclaim for her professionalism when conducting an impromptu interview with a Taliban spokesperson like on air, while presenting the BBC’s coverage of the group’s takeover of Kabul.

Oriel College recently announced that they would expand a scholarship it offers with the Yalda Hakim Foundation to allow more Afghan women to study at Oxford.

The Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith KCB CBE has also been announced as a speaker. During his 39 year military career, he served in Northern Ireland, the Gulf War, before serving with the SAS in Bosnia. He led operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, before being promoted to the rank of General in 2018.

Other speakers include the ITV political journalist Robert Peston, World Affairs Editor of the BBC John Simpson, and the Tour de France cyclist Mark Cavendish MBE.

The American civil rights activism Reverend Al Sharpton, whom President Obama called “the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden”, will speak at a date which is yet to be announced.

Former US Representative Joe Kennedy III, and the Pulitzer Prize Winning political commentator Thomas Friedman will also speak at in-person events.

The official release of the Union term card included details about social events on offer to members and guests. Among these details were the announcement that the beer garden will return to the Union courtyard for the month of October. It was also announced that Union members will enjoy reciprocal membership of the National Liberal Club – a private members’ club in Whitehall which has been used as a filming location for Doctor Strange, The Crown and Tenet.

The Union have announced that tickets for their 12th November Moulin Rouge-themed black tie ball will be released at 1pm on October 23rd. Entertainment will include a DJ set provided by former CBBC presenters Dick and Dom.

Image: Miss Take Official

The society will also host an Oxmas Soirée in the Union Chamber on November 20th, with jazz music provided by Garfunkel.

Drag Queen Miss Take will be returning to the Union “by her own demand” after her performance in the Union Beer Garden in Trinity term 2021.

Speaking to Cherwell, Miss Take said: “Good morning class! It’s me, Miss Take (yes that’s Miss), and as the recent recipient of Ofsted’s ‘sexiest teacher alive’ award, I am back with a whole new syllabus of life lessons, lipsyncs and laughter. I expect to see you all in class on the 21st November at the Oxford Union – anyone not present can expect a big red mark…
‘Till then, I’ll leave you with my most important lesson: Love who you are, but love me more!”

Other events include a wine and cheese night, gin tasting with the Oxford Artisan Distillery, an ‘Oxtoberfest’ beer festival in collaboration with the Oxford University German Society, and a ‘Wear it Pink’ karaoke fundraiser with Oxford Women in Business, Oxford University Feminist Society, and Pink Week.

The President of the Oxford Union, Chengkai Xie, told Cherwell:”Shaping the conversation has never been more important and the Oxford Union continues to lead and listen. This term, we are honoured to host pro-democracy Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya and civil rights activist Al Sharpton. We hope that members will enjoy the opportunity to listen and lead when they have a chance to ask their own questions. From the sex-positive activist Carol Queen; to Azra Jafari, the first female Mayor of Afghanistan; to Julie K Brown, who broke the Epstein allegations, the Oxford Union has a speaker lineup for all.

“The Union will also return to being a social hub for its members and we have some particularly excellent partnerships this term. From The Oxford Artisan Distillery, who are bringing a gin-tasting social to the bar, to our collaborative ‘Oxtoberfest’ with Oxford German Society, we hope that everyone will find something tailored to their tastes. Not least, we will be raising money for breast cancer awareness with our ‘Wear it Pink’ fundraiser and I would urge all members to come along and support such a worthy cause.

“Excitingly, we have new benefits for our members. The gardens will once again be transformed into a beer garden until the end of Second Week and into the Freshers’ Essentials Fair for 9th and 10th October (0th Week). We also have a new home away from home in the form of reciprocal membership with the National Liberal Club, in London, also available to our members. As ever, we do encourage everyone to come along to the Union, especially during our Open Period, and see all that we have going on!”

The full term card can be accessed here.

Image: The Oxford Union

Feminist or Anti-feminist: Responses to Promising Young Woman

Rebecca Walker
-
0
Feminist or Anti-feminist: Responses to Promising Young Woman

CW: sexual assault and rape, suicide

“Every week, I go to a club, and every week, I act like I’m too drunk to stand. And every f***ing week, a nice guy comes over to see if I’m okay.”

Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut Promising Young Woman was simultaneously lauded as a female-empowering revenge thriller and criticised for being anti-feminist. How can one film generate such contradictory responses?

It follows Cassie (Carey Mulligan) on her path to avenge the sexual assault and subsequent suicide of her best friend Nina. Working in a café by day, by night Cassie goes to clubs every week and pretends to be drunk so that a ‘nice guy’ offers to take her home. She then reveals her sobriety and calls out their exploitative behaviour. Thereafter, she sets out to punish those involved in Nina’s sexual assault, including bystanders. 

The film was released in cinemas in the US at the end of 2020, but, due to the pandemic, skipped its theatrical release in the UK and went straight onto Sky Cinema. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts scores of 90% from film critics and 88% from audiences, and a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb. Those praising the film note its timely release; amidst the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, PYW challenges the normalisation of everyday misogyny, from predation in bars in clubs to the complicity of onlookers to sexual assaults. 97% of women aged 18-24 say they have been sexually harassed in public places, thus this issue is obviously a prevalent one. By combining tropes from the thriller and rom-com genres, Fennell creates a daring and thought-provoking piece; one where viewers are “schooled as well as shocked.” 

The casting of the film has received acclaim, in particular, Mulligan as Cassie whose nuanced performance carries the film’s emotional weight. Moreover, casting actors typically known for comedic roles to play the various men who surround Cassie serves to illustrate that anyone, even the ‘nice guys’, can be predatory – sometimes, most worryingly, without realising. Indeed, the casting of Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Neil, one of the men who take Cassie home from the club, is a self-conscious one. Mintz-Plasse had his breakthrough role as “McLovin” in the 2007 comedy Superbad, which follows two high-school boys in their efforts to get alcohol in order to reduce the resistance of girls they hope to lose their virginity to. The normalisation of this kind of behaviour, which went unquestioned in the early 2000s comedies, is being called out not only by PYW’s content, but also by its casting choices. 

The introduction of Ryan (Bo Burnham) as Cassie’s love interest creates a much-needed mood-lifter, especially the mid-movie montage that pays homage to the rom-com genre. Initially, Ryan appears to be caring and, by contrast to the men Cassie usually surrounds herself with, the ‘model man’; he tells Cassie: “If you don’t like it, we can have a safe word, and you can leave, no questions asked.” This is most likely why Ryan’s wrongdoings are some of the hardest for Cassie (and viewers) to stomach. When it is revealed to Cassie via video footage that Ryan was a bystander to Nina’s rape, Fennell snatches the perfect love match away in the blink of an eye.

Unsurprisingly, there have been criticisms of the film regarding its handling of such a sensitive topic; in part, because the film presents a dour view of living with the impact of sexual assault. Not only does Nina kill herself after this abuse, but Cassie is also violently murdered as a result of her revenge mission. As critic Ayesha A. Siddiqi argues, PYW positions rape as an experience “one is both defined by and cannot survive”: it does not offer a message of hope for those who have been through sexual assault themselves. And whilst Nina and Cassie lose their lives to the cause, it seems that those who Cassie wants to punish receive little more than “embarrassment, some social awkwardness, and maybe a blemish on their records.” It could seem both problematic and anti-feminist that Cassie starts the film bearing the trauma of her friend and by the end as a victim herself; worse yet, killed by Nina’s rapist.

Siddiqi perhaps had preconceptions for the film: an image of what she desired, which she felt the film did not fulfil. She tells: “I wanted to see men die” but instead “had to watch a woman be slowly, torturously killed, after wasting her time (and mine).” So would the film have been a good use of time if men were killed? This seems to be what Siddiqi is arguing. She holds that rape-revenge films are satisfying because there can be “a clear and gratifying course of action” and that “female wrath…can restore something by taking something.” But two wrongs do not make a right. A horrific crime was committed against Nina, but that does not make it right to kill men in response. Cassie’s method of punishment, humiliating predatory men rather than killing them, clearly demonstrates their wrongdoings. If Cassie was leaving a trail of dead men behind her, perhaps viewers would have been more ambivalent about her character. Killing men would not make the film a feminist one. The dark twist at the end of the film, where Cassie is suffocated by Al Munroe (Nina’s rapist), is hard to watch. Yes, it means that Cassie is the victim, but is this not the film’s point? The film is all the more shocking because of her death; we do not often see a protagonist murdered. The horror of it is what creates such an impact, and it is certainly memorable. It shows how far Al is willing to go to protect himself, by committing more violence to hide his previous sexual crimes, and how one man’s actions can have such serious repercussions.

Some feminist critics have argued that despite PYW being a rape-revenge film, part of a genre devoted to the retribution of female rape victims, women are punished more than men. Cassie visits three people connected to Nina’s rape, two of which are women: Dean Walker (Connie Britton), who took Al’s side in the case, Madison (Alison Brie) who remained friends with the group, and the lawyer (Alfred Molina) who defended the rapist in court. Cassie punishes Madison for her complicity by getting her drunk and leaving her with a stranger in a hotel room. Cassie deceives Walker into thinking that her young daughter is at risk of assault at the hands of college students, as a means to make her admit to the threat of sexual violence on college campuses. 

It has been argued that the (male) lawyer received Cassie’s forgiveness whilst the two women did not. However, whilst she overtly articulates her forgiveness to the lawyer, she expresses the same towards Walker; both the lawyer and Walker acknowledge the wrongdoings of their past actions. Cassie reveals that Walker’s daughter is safe only when the Dean learns “how easy it was” to admit there is a problem with sexual assault on campus – she “just had to think about it in the right way.” “I guess it feels different when it’s someone you love,” Cassie observes. 

Cassie dangles the threat of sexual assault over Madison and Walker instead of inflicting physical harm. Her punishment for them is educational; an acknowledgement of their misconduct. For Women’s Republic, Phoebe Scholefield writes that “Cassie ultimately directed a lot of her anger towards the wrong people” and that it “undermined her cause”, but perhaps her cause was to enact revenge on anyone connected to the rape, not only the perpetrators themselves. This enables the film to explore the issue of complicity suggesting that to reduce the threat of harassment, it is a societal attitude shift of both men and women which is needed.

For Another Gaze, Rebecca Liu points out that the film ends with the “most troubling institution of all – the police.” Despite most of the film emphasising how justice is not served by established institutions, we are expected to feel some sort of relief “in the image of a handcuffed man” by the film’s end. It seems hypocritical that we are expected to believe that a judicial system that so frequently fails victims can be trusted to serve justice to Al Munroe: a rapist and then murderer. Perhaps the plan Cassie executes to have him arrested, ending with her losing her life in the process, seems pointless if it involves relying on the very system that has already failed her and her friend before. Especially in light of the recent Sarah Everard case – how far are we able to accept the notion that the police protect women?

It may have caused controversy, but controversy seems to be deliberately central to Promising Young Woman. Rape culture is a difficult subject to handle, but its exposure ultimately brings awareness to issues of sexual assault, to the impact on survivors and family and friends and to everyday sexism. Film is a space for visually articulating societal problems, and irrespective as to whether or not critics agree with the ways in which the film expresses it, it is undeniable that Promising Young Woman forces these issues that surround the culture of sexual violence directly into the spotlight.

Oxford nightline is open 8pm-8am, every night during term-time, for anyone struggling to cope and provide a safe place to talk where calls are completely confidential. You can call them on 01865 270 270, or chat at oxfordnightline.org. You can also contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by calling 116 123 or emailing [email protected].

OSARCC (Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, (https://www.osarcc.org.uk/)

Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service (https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/supportservice) 

Oxford Hub’s Schools Plus to host second hand clothes sale at Trinity College

Maurício Alencar
-
0
Oxford Hub’s Schools Plus to host second hand clothes sale at Trinity College

Schools Plus is hosting a second hand clothes sale at Trinity College on the 17th October to raise funds for supporting students with free laptops, and for the publicity, the onboarding, and incentives for tutors and for the full-time coordinator. 

Schools Plus is a charity project run by Oxford Hub which provides free tuition and resources to schools. The charity “aims to ameliorate educational inequality”. 

The second hand clothes sale will run between 11am and 3pm. Schools Plus is inviting students to make donations of clothes, in particular formal wear and clothing that is size 10 or larger. Collection boxes will be available in JCRs from the 5th onwards. 

Items have “deliberately” been priced “super affordably for students”. The event organisers have also confirmed that they will take cash and card. 

Leah O’Grady, Schools Plus’ Events and Fundraising Officer, told Cherwell: “‘In keeping with our aims, we’re particularly focussed on making this sale accessible to all. What’s really exciting is the amount of interest and support we’ve gotten already! A huge number of people have volunteered their JCRs for donation boxes and gathered up their old stuff to donate. [We would like to send] a big thank you to Trinity College and Pack and Send removal company for helping us out!”

Image: Pexels/ via pixabay.com

Dominican delicacies: Food travels in the Dominican Republic

Jill Cushen
-
0
Dominican delicacies: Food travels in the Dominican Republic

“Como de todo”, or “I eat everything”, was the first phrase I attempted in my not-so eloquent Spanish after landing in the Dominican Republic. Bidding adieu to my oat milk obsession and discarding my suspicions of a gluten intolerance at the door, I told my host family that I was happy to eat and embrace all that Dominican cuisine had to offer. 

As the ultimate self-proclaimed foodie, I was excited to be immersed in a world of new culinary experiences while I volunteered at a school in a small town on the north coast. After almost forty eight hours of travelling, the offer of a glass of juice when I first arrived was greeted with a sigh of relief. The initial sip of that thick, excessively sweet pineapple juice set my taste buds up for a month of intense flavours, unusual textures and at times, unusual combinations. 

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the house every morning, but as I sat down to my first breakfast of toasted sandwiches, that first cup of coffee almost immediately sent me into a sugar coma. As a straight black coffee drinker, I couldn’t understand why a delicious cup of coffee could be ‘destroyed’ with sugar. It turned out that my request for sugarless coffee was much more unusual to my host family than sugared coffee was to me, and every morning after, it was offered to me with a curious giggle.

Dominican coffee is dark and rich-flavoured, but there is a far less sweet story behind many sugar cane plantations on the island. With the promise of higher wages and steady work, 20,000 Haitians move each year to the Dominican Republic to work on sugarcane harvests, only to be greeted with a form of modern day slavery, a reality addressed by Spanish priest Father Christopher Hartley in 2007 documentary The Price of Sugar. A 2016 article found that Father Hartley has since been removed from the country, and human rights attempts to solve the issue are often met with persecution from the state.   

Dominican food is heavily influenced by its former coloniser, Spain, where lunch is also considered to be the most important meal of the day. Typically, lunch consists of rice, meat and red beans, nicknamed La Bandera (“The Flag”). Habichuelas guisadas (“stewed beans”) make up one corner of the flag and while all versions contain seasoned savoury beans, recipes differ. Every household claims that theirs is ‘the best’ and after slurping up every last drop from my plate, I would also tag a superlative onto the description of the beans made by my host family. My favourite on the lunch plate was ensalada de tayota, a perfect warm medley of salty sliced carrots and soft tayota. The latter is a fruit, with a taste reminiscent of courgette or summer squash, and when cooked, has a texture that feels as if you are biting into thick silk. 

There are also indigenous Taíno and African influences on the country’s cuisine, such as Mangú, or mashed plantain; when served alongside salami, fried Dominican cheese and eggs, the dish is known as Los Tres Golpes (“The Three Strikes”). At first, I was sceptical of the mushy substance and the black spots staring up at me, but as the weeks progressed I began to appreciate the Dominican favourite as much as the locals. Despite my initial doubts, since coming home I’ve found myself craving mangú over our less texturally exciting mashed potatoes. 

Another Latin American staple is tostones, which is something I became quite the connoisseur of during my time there. Trumping French fries in my book, tostones are a favourite Dominican side dish. Tostones are made from squashing and frying slices of plantain squashed before heavily dousing them in salt. Plantains are to Dominicans what potatoes are to the Irish: a national treasure. By the end of my time there, with no disrespect intended to my native country and its prized potato, I adored plantains in whatever form they came in — boiled, fried, or mashed. 

Most households make their own juice and while I was often mocked for my need to de-sweeten a glass with a water dilution, drinking homemade juice introduced me to a variety of new fruits. Breadfruit, buen pan in Spanish, is a starchy fruit with a gluey texture, and when eaten raw it is almost flavourless. While I gulped down the homemade passion fruit juice and coconut water, buen pan juice was one that (even with a generous mix of water) I just couldn’t stomach! 

Many of my Dominican food favourites I won’t be recreating in the college’s shared kitchen come October, but one thing I will be taking home with me is an appreciation for fresh avocado. Before my trip I refused to eat avocado, not wanting to buy into the ‘avocado on sourdough toast’ stereotype. But having tasted fresh avocado, picked from a tree minutes before serving with a drizzle of vinegar, olive oil and salt, I’m ready to argue with anyone who tells me that its ‘tastelessness’ means it’s not worth devouring, whether that be on sourdough or not!  

Food is not the same the whole world over but the love of it is certainly universal. No matter what continent it’s in, times spent with others eating around the table are joyous occasions. I wasn’t drooling over every meal I had during my time there, but the conversations, confusing Google searches and hilarious food name translations that emerged from a plate of unusual vegetables or a glass of sweet juice had everyone around the table speaking the same language and united by the love of good food.   

Image Credit: RIGHT TO HEALTH / CC BY 2.0 via flickr

EXCLUSIVE: Carole Baskin and Jacob Rees-Mogg to speak at Oxford Union

Charlie Hancock
-
0
EXCLUSIVE: Carole Baskin and Jacob Rees-Mogg to speak at Oxford Union

CW: transphobia, mention of assault

Tiger King star Carole Baskin, Afghan politician Azra Jafari, and Jacob Rees-Mogg MP are among the speakers who will appear at the Oxford Union in Michaelmas Term.

Ms Baskin rose to public attention following her appearance in the hugely-popular Netflix documentary series Tiger King. The series included her feud with the animal keeper Joe Exotic over the ethics of keeping exotic animals in private zoos. She was the target of online abuse after the series included a conspiracy theory saying she was involved in the disappearance of her second husband.

Mr Rees-Mogg will speak alongside a panel of high-profile politicians in a debate of no-confidence in Boris Johnson’s government. He will speak in opposition alongside the Former Attorney General Sir Geoffery Cox QC, and the former Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland QC. The Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symond MP, and local Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran will be proposing the motion.

Azra Jafari is the first woman to have been appointed mayor of a city in Afghanistan. She was Editor-in-Chief of the cultural magazine Farhang, and worked in a refugee cultural centre before President Hamid Karzai appointed her Mayor of Nili in Central Afghanistan. She has been outspoken about the threat the resurgent Taliban pose to women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Other speakers include the controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, the American sex-positive feminist educator Carol Queen, and the Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.

Jordan Peterson rose to prominence due to his opposition to an amendment to the Canadian Bill of Rights which categorised gender expression and gender identity as protected characteristics. He claimed the amendment would criminalise freedom of expression.

Mr Wallace hosted a debate between President Trump and President Biden during the 2020 Presidential Election.

The journalist who broke the story of the late financier Jeffery Epstein’s sex crimes, Julie K Brown, will also speak.

Although some events will be hosted in the chamber, some will continue to be held online-only owing to international travel restrictions. The Union told Cherwell that some events would be streamed online, to allow the Union’s global membership and those who cannot attend in person to watch.

President of the Oxford Union, Chengkai Xie, told Cherwell: “I am looking forward to sharing our Michaelmas Term 2021 Term Card with incoming freshers and our existing members later this week. My committee has worked hard over the summer to put together an exciting term card, featuring a diverse range of individual speakers, an interesting series of debates and special events as well as some great social events to ensure there is something for everyone at the Union.”

The full term-card will be released next week in Cherwell.

Image: The Oxford Union

Germany’s general election: Uncertainty until the end

Johannes Moehrle
-
0
Germany’s general election: Uncertainty until the end

When I first wrote about the upcoming German general election six months ago, the race for Germany’s most important political office looked very different from what it does now, hours away from election day. Annalena Baerbock’s Green Party has not managed to keep up its initial momentum, Merkel’s conservative CDU under Armin Laschet has lost even more popularity than was thought possible, and the Social Democrats lead by Olaf Scholz (SPD), then so irrelevant that I didn’t even bother to mention them in my previous article, are now leading in the polls.

A week from the election it is still unclear who will govern Germany for the coming four years. Firstly, unlike in the UK, the government will consist of a two- or perhaps a three-party coalition, which theoretically means that the three leading parties, the Greens, the Conservatives, and the Social Democrats could lead the country together through the next four years. As for the Chancellor, it will most likely be the leader of the most prominent party in parliament after the election. 

With this in mind, let’s look at the candidates proposed by the three leading parties, and in what direction they will try to steer Germany after Merkel leaves. Starting at the top of the race is the centre-left Social Democrat Olaf Scholz running for the (SPD), “winner” of the final TV debate, who is well-acquainted with the chancellery and with the art of governing more generally. He has been Merkel’s Vice-Chancellor since 2018 as well as her Minister of Finance and was Mayor of Hamburg previously. He has recently been praised for his response to the pandemic, in which he drafted a series of rescue packages, including a 130 billion euro stimulus package for businesses and freelancers which helped to avoid mass layoffs and ultimately allowed Germany to weather the crisis better than some European neighbours. Scholz is perceived as a discrete character because of his plain-spokenness and his cautious behaviour, which, in the age of social media that values personality over policy, has played in his disfavour. Indeed, his sobriety has earned him the nickname “Sholz-omat” (i.e. Sholz-Machine). However, in the last few weeks, he has managed to convince more and more Germans that his “dullness” is synonymous with stability, which perhaps reminds all of us of the current Chancellor. As the election approaches, his tactic of presenting continuity and stability, trying to profile himself as a natural successor of Merkel, seems to be working; he has peaked in the polls in recent weeks to position himself as the frontrunner with 26%, after scoring no higher than 15% for most of last year. On top of continuing Merkel’s work, he has vowed to push for a quicker energy transition away from fossil fuels and promised to do more on environmental fronts, a move that has given him a certain proximity to the Green Party and, if successful, might earn him the title of the first-ever “Klimakanzler” (Climate Chancellor).

Armin Laschet is the other candidate who is clearly trying to position himself as a continuation of Angela Merkel. He is the conservative CDU candidate and current governor of Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia. Politically he is, and has always been, close to Merkel. However, his popularity, which started low in April when the party selected him as their candidate, has only gotten lower. Firstly, he was never the obvious choice for the majority of CDU voters, many of whom would have preferred seeing the more charismatic and more right-leaning Markus Söder represent the conservative camp in this election. Then, the deadly floods that hit his state North Rhine-Westphalia in July and caused over a hundred casualties raised many questions over his climate protection program and more generally over his ability to respond quickly to a crisis situation. Furthermore, following the circulation of a video of him joking and laughing in the background whilst President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was solemnly addressing the press about the many victims of the floods, his once appreciated good humour is now deemed unbefitting of the next chancellor.

Both Laschet and Scholz appear to offer what they think Germans want and need the most: stability. This is why neither of them has a hint of charisma, and this election has repeatedly been termed uninteresting by the national and international press. Die Welt asked whether “It is the most boring federal election ever?” and John Kornblum, a former American ambassador to Germany described Olaf Scholz in an interview with the New York Times as “the most boring guy in the country, [who] makes watching water boil seem exciting.” 

For those who’d like to see change, there is an “outsider” in this election: Green candidate Annalena Baerbock. She wants to push forward a very ambitious climate agenda, as she proposes to invest 50 billion euros annually into a social-ecological transformation of the country, and aims to end mining and the use of coal in Germany by 2030. More than 20 years younger than both male candidates, and with a CV that is less conventional than the two others, she quickly made an impression last spring when in April she was ahead in most polls, with some forecasting the Greens to be the winning party with 28% of the vote. Back then, many believed that having a Chancellor from the Green party could be a real possibility for Germany. However, for Baerbock the tide has turned, and the past summer has proven to be difficult. Her credibility was undermined when inaccuracies were pointed out in her resume published on the Greens’ website, stating that she had been a member of committees and think tanks she was never involved with. Furthermore, the press accused her of plagiarism in her book Now: How We Renew our Country, in which many passages appear to be lifted from various newspaper articles. Finally, her performances in the debates were too weak to convince the German public, and there too she failed to get basic facts right – even about climate change, a topic with which a Green candidate should be familiar.

For now, we shall wait and see how the election unfolds this Sunday and which coalition emerges from it. However, it is most likely that at least two of the candidates will have to govern together, no matter which one ends up winning the chancellery. In terms of change, Germans can expect that with Olaf Scholz ahead and a Green Party that despite its setbacks has never been so strong, they will have a government and a parliament that is more than ever preoccupied with climate change, and which will undoubtedly trigger important changes in German industry.

Image Credit: Pedelecs / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Lincoln College and St Edmund Hall asking students for COVID vaccination status

Charlie Hancock
-
0
Lincoln College and St Edmund Hall asking students for COVID vaccination status

While Oxford University is not requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Cherwell has learned that two colleges are asking students to disclose whether they are fully vaccinated against the disease.

Cherwell has seen emails from St Edmund Hall and Lincoln College, asking students to tell their College their vaccination status. Both colleges said they were asking students to share this data to understand what proportion of the College population was vaccinated.

The colleges also said that having this information would help them keep track of who needed to self-isolate. In England, people who are double-vaccinated do not need to self-isolate if they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

A person is considered fully-vaccinated if they have received two doses of a vaccine approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA). These conclude the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Moderna vaccines, as well as the single-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine.

A close contact is considered anyone who lives in the same household as someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Those who have been in face-to-face contact within two metres of someone who has tested positive for at least fifteen minutes, or within one metre for any length of time, are also considered close contacts. A person who has been within one metre of someone who has tested positive for river a minute – regardless of whether they have been in face-to-face contact, is also considered a close contact.

Lincoln said that knowing students’ vaccination status would help “keep our college life as close to ‘normal’ in this academic year”.

The email from St Edmund Hall emphasised that it was up to students to decide whether to share their vaccination status. They added: “a full picture of who is and who isn’t vaccinated will help us to respond effectively to potential outbreaks and ensure that the right information is given to the right people”.

Lincoln said student’s vaccination status would only be shared with College personnel “who have a need to know the information”. It was unclear from the email seen by Cherwell how St Edmund Hall would store this information, and under what circumstances it would be shared.

Lincoln College and St Edmund Hall have been approached for comment.

Image: Caro Wallis/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via flickr.com

Review: “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” by Little Simz

Rosa Chalfen
-
0
Review: “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” by Little Simz

Little Simz obviously isn’t a ‘leave the best ‘til last’ kind of person, because Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’s opening and eponymous track is a belter. Released as a single earlier this year, Introvert echoes with roiling drum beats and dramatic flute playing, and the artist’s trademark lyricism hits home every time. In an age where the best songs can aim for a catchy chorus that will blow up on TikTok, you might think that a 6-minute track is a brave choice. But even my shredded attention span is captured, and it’s a perfect introduction to a seminal album.

In fact, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is a lesson in structure. From the first dramatic track, the album climaxes in the joyful Afrobeat-influenced collaboration with Nigerian artist Obongjayar Point and Kill and drifts away into Simz’ characteristically reflective sound in  How Did You Get Here and Miss Understood. The narrative arc is tied together by precise interludes, most with the disconcerting tones of Emma Corrin’s voiceover.

Using Corrin’s voice is an interesting choice, and I can’t help but try and dig out the logic behind it. Her posh, assertive tone is immediately recognisable from the Netflix series The Crown, which aired last year and in which Corrin plays Princess Diana. That means listeners automatically associate the voiceover with her breakout role, and that iconic mingling of vulnerability and defiance with which Corrin plays it. Surely Corrin, inarguably a symbol of the establishment, is an unlikely choice for an album so rooted in racism, poverty and black identity? But somehow, the contrast works, and the tracks where their voices collide, like Gems [Interlude] where Corrin’s voice acts as an inner guide to Simz’ doubts, have a kind of divine power. The choice also seems pretty deliberate. Simz takes the face (or rather, the voice) of British royalty and uses it to represent her own inner voice. But more importantly, it brings the exploration of womanhood and female consciousness to the forefront of the album. This is, after all, an album about women breaking out of their role and being more than one thing. Corrin breaks away from her role as Diana to gain a new confidence in her voiceover and become something other than what listeners expect her to be. As the title suggests—sometimes I can be one thing, but sometimes I can be the other.

In terms of Simz’ sound, something’s definitely changed since GREY Area, her 2019 album which garnered her international attention, and even since her 2020 EP Drop 6. This Simz is more adult, more confident in her own voice and in playing around with her style. The pure anger that characterised her earlier work is very much still present, but it’s accompanied by a new maturity and mellowness. This is particularly evident in the album’s characteristically seamless transitions. The switch between Woman and Two Worlds Apart is actually gorgeous, symbolic of how this album can shift between gears without giving an inch. One second we’re confronted with a defiant Simz, questioning everything from global inequality to sexism to internal conflict. The next we’re seeing a different and previously unknown side to her. There’s a vulnerability to songs like Two Worlds Apart: ‘Please don’t tell my mama I’ve been smoking marijuana’ she implores the listener over a zoned out, reggae-influenced backing track. Often, the two sides converge in one track. It’s the perfect blend for an album preoccupied with the multitudinous nature of being a woman, and gives her even more avenues to explore as an artist.

Another thing I love about Simz’ work is the way she challenges tropes of female music. Like, obviously I like screaming Olivia Rodrigo in the shower as much as the next person, but it’s fucking refreshing to have an album so unpreoccupied with ex boyfriends and cat fights. Tracks like I Love You, I Hate You feel especially transgressive. If you’re expecting an ode to toxic love like gnash and Olivia O’Brien’s, i hate you, i love you, then prepare to be shocked. It’s actually an ode to her father, who abandoned her as a child, and includes such lyrical zingers as: ‘Is you a sperm donor or a dad to me?’ The narrative is continued in Rollin Stone, a quietly excellent track that mixes her classic style with rap that barely rises above a whisper and yet holds the emotional power of her louder stuff: ‘Mummy handled business, papa was a rolling stone/ I’m a mix of both, there ain’t no bitch-boy in my bones’.  Like the rest of the album, I Love You, I Hate You marks the notoriously private Simz giving her listeners more than ever before. It’s a window into her soul, and fans would do well to take the opportunity to peer in.

Image credit: GeorgeMichaelBaker/CC By-SA

Oxford’s ‘Broad Meadow’ to stay until October

Estelle Atkinson
-
0
Oxford’s ‘Broad Meadow’ to stay until October

Oxford City Council has decided to extend Broad Meadow until the 10th of October. The meadow was officially opened on the 1st of July and has served as a pedestrian-friendly outdoor space for residents and visitors to enjoy throughout the summer. Now, with Broad Meadow remaining on Broad Street into the autumn, students will get a chance to enjoy the space. 

The Council says that the project fulfilled its intention of promoting safe use of the city centre while supporting Oxford’s economic recovery. 

With the extension in place, the annual Arts Market will be hosted in the Meadow on the 2nd and 3rd of October, serving as one of the Council’s proposed community and arts events that the Meadow was intended to host. 

A consultation questionnaire is available on the Council’s ‘Citizen Space consultation portal,’ which has provided visitors to the Meadow the chance to “comment on the scheme and shape plans to create an outdoor public space on the whole of Broad Street on a permanent basis.” Students are also able to give their feedback on the Meadow as they return to the city for Michaelmas term.

The Council’s announcement of the extension coincides with World Car Free Day, which encourages people to opt for walking, cycling, or using public transport instead of driving. 

Councillor Tom Hayes commented “World Car Free Day is an opportunity to enjoy people-friendly streets and what better day is there to also announce the continuation of Broad Meadow? The wildflower meadow has given us a vision of what pedestrianisation of Broad Street could look like, and this Council is committed to bringing about the pedestrianisation of this street and others. As a listening council, we want to hear from the whole of Oxford, so please do share your views.”

Image: Pierce Jones

1...318319320...2,516Page 319 of 2,516

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by James Ashley