Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Blog Page 379

Doom and zoom: student work life in 2020

Clementine Scott
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Doom and zoom: student work life in 2020

Like so many other current second year students, my Trinity term in 2020 was characterised by long, repetitive hours spent at a desk I hadn’t utilised since A-Levels, and a workload (two essays a week for the first time in my degree) which prevented me from engaging in many family activities which could potentially have broken the monotony. With this in mind, I was thrilled at the prospect of my Michaelmas 2020 – not only was there the widespread relief of returning to the irreplicable atmosphere of Oxford and to all the benefits of having friends nearby, but for me there was also the reassurance of my workload being reduced from two essays to just one short problem sheet per week, leading me to rejoice at the thought of eight weeks of enjoying learning without excessive pressure or deadlines and improving my mental health.

However, the reality has not been this idyllic; during this term so far I have found myself managing to slip all too often into the same patterns of repetition and monotony as I did during Trinity. It’s worth mentioning at this point that I’m a classicist, a degree with the quirk of exams in the middle of second year, so despite my lack of imminent deadlines, my longer term academic responsibilities threaten to ambush me should I take too much joy in the rarity of an Oxford term with a reduced workload. Aside from this, though, I have found that my lack of potential essay crises this term has forced me, paradoxically, to reconsider my approach to work in a similar way to a completely virtual Trinity with a heavy workload.

Part of this is due to the pandemic-induced closure of libraries and the ensuing necessity of working in one’s room or in a cafe; just as working from home in Trinity blurred the lines between the regions of my life concerned with study and those not concerned with it, the lack of designated study spaces this term (as well as the lack of physical distance between one’s room and tutorials which remain online) has granted similar ambiguity to the concepts of ‘work’ and ‘not work’ – this has caused me to be always in a no-man’s land between working and relaxing, rather than focus on one or the other. Moreover, I feel oddly as though my smaller workload this term has mimicked the lockdown in Trinity in terms of its effect on my ability to work efficiently. Both phenomena have appeared to promise abundant amounts of free time in lieu of the pre-pandemic social obligations, but in reality have illuminated my capacity for allowing work that should take a day to fill an entire week. In Trinity this unfortunate ability of mine was exacerbated by the lack of anything outside the home enforcing limits on my time spent working, and now a similar effect is achieved through my lack of work – it’s infinitely more possible to overthink and procrastinate a piece of work when one is not pressured by several other assignments that week, and this effect, as ever, is compounded by the reduced number of reasons to leave one’s room. Both this term and the very different one that preceded it have demonstrated to me that I need some sort of limit placed upon my work, either temporal or relating to the space in which I work, in order to be able to do it effectively.

This strange hybrid of a global pandemic and a lack of deadlines has caused many empty hours in which I’ve drastically reconsidered the working strategies that have always worked for me, and this hasn’t been easy to deal with at times. Nevertheless, there are advantages to the enforced monotony. A lack of both high academic pressure and opportunities for socialising with a wider variety of people has given me the chance to enjoy some simpler aspects of life which I rarely made time for last year – when I’ve been able to put aside the fear of exams next term, I’ve cooked more ambitiously, as well as exercising and making music, much more often than I ever did in first year. There is also the fact that even though it is still easy to fall into the solitude and assignments stretching out over days which characterised Trinity, the return to the physical environment of Oxford has had a far from meaningless symbolic effect on me; though we still can’t mimic the unique experience of studying in an Oxford library (at least without an unromantic booking system), it is surely better for my work to be studying in a city which contains all my memories of first year and hopes for future years, than in a home which, though I do love it, I put aside as a thing of the past when I came to university. Though it has been strange to experience the twin effects of pandemic-induced solitude and a lull in academic work, my way of life this term has somehow felt simpler than first year, and I hope I continue to have the chance to enjoy myself, reflect and reset before both my academic schedule and the state of global health return to normal.

The American Story, Part 3: The Future of America’s Pasts

Josh Self
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The American Story, Part 3: The Future of America’s Pasts

The act of conscripting American history for contemporary ends is as old as America itself. But today, Americans are more enamoured of their pasts than ever before. In a modern, atomised age, the promise of a shared history directly appeals to the most basic human instincts. Present political discourse is hence saturated with history, its deployment is routine, calculated and, more often than not, rewarding. Many Americans still believe that they are entrusted with humanity’s highest ideals and loftiest aspirations. But who can blame them? They are told as much in every speech.

On July 5th 2020, President Donald Trump delivered his ‘Independence Day’ speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is itself part of a cultic infrastructure designed to illustrate and reinforce the myth of American ‘exceptionalism’. The monument consists of the faces of four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, who respectively signify the ‘founding, growing, preservation, and development’ of America. Mount Rushmore is, very literally, the ‘American story’ carved into stone; and like the ‘American story’, Rushmore is a monument by white people for white people.

From Rushmore’s very inception, the monument was a symbol of oppression. The faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt were carved not into just any mountain, but one illegally obtained from Native peoples. In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled that Mount Rushmore, known to the Lakota Sioux as ‘The Six Grandfathers’, had been unlawfully obtained by the US government. Rather than a ‘shrine of democracy’, therefore, Rushmore mocks any notion of inclusivity. It is telling that Trump believed this location appropriate for his 2020 ‘Independence Day’ speech.

Like the monument behind him, Trump’s speech intended to preserve the ‘virtues’ of former ‘patriots’, but only succeeded in exposing the hollowness of American memory. Although the ‘myth’ of American independence crumbles under Fredrick Douglass’ famous criticism (see my first article), Trump evoked his memory as proof of American exceptionalism. ‘Only America could have produced [Douglass]’, Trump mused, ‘No other place’. At Rushmore, Trump took history into his own hands, at once moulding and mocking figures like Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. Here, two and a half centuries of myth-making collided to produce a mutant abomination of American history. And the crowd went wild.

The appeal of a mythologised American past has become nearly overwhelming. So usable is America’s past that historian Jill Lepore advises, ‘When in doubt, in American politics, left, right, or center, deploy the Founding Fathers’. Indeed, Americans have invested so much faith in the myth of the ‘founders’ that they are consulted as part of contemporary policy debate. When Congress began debating an overhaul of the health care system in 2009, the ‘Founding Fathers’ were, we are informed, very distressed. ‘The founders are here today’, said John Ridpath of the Ayn Rand Institute, ‘They’re all around us’. In truth, America’s history is hardly history at all.

The founders’ presence is now so pervasive that it transcends politics. Newsweek Magazine coined the phrase ‘founders chic’ to describe the explosion of the ‘fathers’ in American culture. Alongside new biographies, films and musicals (you know the one) charting the virtues of the founders, a strange but significant sub-genre describing the fathers’ culinary impact has taken-off. The highlights of these include:

 • Dave DeWitt’s The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine; (2010)

• Dennis J. Pogue’s Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey; (2011)

• Robert W. Pelton’s Baking Recipes of Our Founding Fathers; (2004)

• Thomas J. Craughwell’s Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America; (2012)

The founders are so great that their achievements do not stop with ‘America’, but—I guess—with burnt cream and whiskey.

Although appearing inane, these books’ attempts to introduce the long-dead ‘fathers’ into today’s celebrity culture is immensely problematic; this is especially the case considering that these books flirt with and often overtly deal with slavery. At best, the books refuse to discuss the inherently abusive nature of the master-slave relationship, at worst, they legitimise and justify the practice with delicious culinary ends in mind. In The Founding Foodies DeWitt suggests that ‘[the slave James] Hemings lived a charmed life’ and presents a quasi-familial bond between Jefferson and his slaves. Against the backdrop of recent revisionism regarding Jefferson’s relationship with James’ sister Sally, this myth-making proves awkward reading.

With the present rise in myth-making, interest in revisionism has grown in tandem. In 2019, The New York Times launched the ‘1619 Project’, aiming to place ‘the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of [American history]’. Many historians have expressed ‘strong reservations’ about the project, accusing it of replacing one ahistorical ‘meta- narrative’ with another, but critique has come at its most extreme from those who hold their ‘fathers’ closest. Senator Tom Cotton has introduced the ‘Saving American History Act of 2020’ which would defund schools that teach this ‘racially divisive’ curriculum. Defending his bill, Cotton retreated into the comfort of his ‘fathers’, whom he claimed constructed America ‘to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction’. In tacit support of Cotton, on 17th September 2020, President Trump announced the establishment of the ‘1776 Commission’ to promote ‘patriotic education’ and ‘the miracle of American history’ in schools. There can be no doubt that the sense of crisis surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement has brought with it a resurgent reverence for the ‘American story’. Similarly, Trump’s election defeat will serve only to inspire America’s myth-makers more.

Simply put, the ‘American story’ is so resilient and long-enduring because it is useful. It silences dissenters and manufactures consent; it destroys and creates in equal measure, invariably distorting all around it. For those silenced by the American story, a new ‘America’ is long overdue, and this ‘America’, envisioned by all of David Walker, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Dubois, James Baldwin and Martin-Luther-King, is possible. In my final piece on the ‘American Story’, I am, again, reminded of Langston Hughes:

“I say it plain,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this oath— America will be!” 

In case you missed it: now read Part 1 and Part 2 of The American Story.

Oxford Reopened: Temple Lounge

Max Mutkin
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Oxford Reopened: Temple Lounge

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Oxford students who wanted to catch infectious diseases had to venture into Cowley. Back in the ‘old normal’, Temple Lounge – an Oxford institution in much the same way that Man vs. Food is an American one – was a mecca for signet-ring-sporting rugby players, tin-toting footballers, ever-so-slightly-awkward subject gatherings, and (bizarrely) the occasional family of four with young children – that is, if Mecca were a medium-price curry restaurant with a shisha bar attached. 

Surprisingly little has changed. The walk across the Magdalen Bridge and into Cowley still has all the aesthetic charms of a walking tour through the centre of Birmingham. Once we had arrived, the food was up to its usual standards: the hummus and pitta was as flavoursome as ever, while one of your correspondent’s co-diners found the umami of white wine poured into a bowl of red curry very interesting. The yellow chicken was yellow, which is, at least, better than salmonella-pink. Likewise, the drinks did not disappoint. There was a wide array of wine on offer: the Echo Falls White tasted every bit as good as it looked; the citrus and peach notes of the McGuigan Estate Sauvignon Blanc were complemented especially by its presentation in a plastic cup; and, at the more expensive end of the scale, the Yellowtail Chardonnay lived up to its promise of ‘bringing a smile to everyone’s lips’, as well as bringing problems to their gastrointestinal tracts. For non-oenophiles, a mini-keg of Doom Bar offered a balanced and moreish alternative in sophisticated packaging. Meanwhile, one fresher, opting for a bottle of Glen’s vodka, ended the evening looking paler (and less healthy) than a vampire Matt Lucas. In other words, all the ingredients for getting up close and personal with the inside of your toilet bowl were present and correct. 

Indeed, the ambience – ‘the atmosphere of a Persian bazaar’, as the website improbably claims – was only slightly diminished by social distancing. Awkwardly long slightly wobbly tables have made way for weirdly small slightly wobbly ones. Distance has increased the decibel level, if not necessarily the quality, of conversation. Although pennying is now banned – those wanting to find out what it was like in Stalingrad in 1942 will have to go elsewhere – much is the same. The lighting remains surgical, the service anything but. The artwork on the walls still has all the charm and idiosyncrasy of a Premier Inn built in 1997. Lap dances are permitted (provided masks are worn). Similarly, clothes-swapping is tolerated: those wondering how a six-foot-two man looks in an Urban Outfitters tube top, New Look miniskirt and A-cup push-up bra need look no further. Fortunately, shoes continue to be among the more hygienic drinking vessels available. When I woke up the next day, it felt like my brain was being used as a hamster wheel. Oxford hasn’t seemed more ‘normal’ before or since.

Food: Edible, technically

Atmosphere: 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Vomit odour

Value for Money: Undoubtedly

Overall Rating: 10/10

Oxford’s homelessness services will not cooperate with deporting rough sleepers

Sasha Mills
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Oxford’s homelessness services will not cooperate with deporting rough sleepers

Oxford City Council have announced that they will not cooperate with the Home Office on their new deportation policy for rough sleepers. 

Rules introduced on the 1st of December grant the Home Office the power to deport foreign nationals on the grounds of rough sleeping, even if they are legally living in the UK. Over a quarter of rough sleepers in the UK are thought to be foreign nationals. 

Oxford City Council have previously passed a motion dedicating their commitment to being a city of sanctuary for migrants, and in July 2019 they made a statement promising that their homeless services would not pass personal data to the Home Office without explicit consent. 

Councillor Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini, migrant champion, said: “It is distressing to see the government continue to pursue hostile environment policies by punishing our migrant residents who have been forced to sleep rough.”

“As the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group says, making rough sleeping grounds for removal of UK non-nationals will put victims of domestic violence and modern slavery at further risk.”

 “As stated in our pledge as a city of sanctuary, our homelessness services will continue their non-cooperation with the Home Office by refusing to share information for the purposes of immigration enforcement.”

Jane Cranston, chair of Oxfordshire Homeless Movement, said: “Along with many others who work in and alongside the sector I am very concerned that the effect of the new immigration rules will be to lead homeless and rough sleeping immigrants not to seek support.”

“Should we be running the risk that fear of being deported will lead those who are already vulnerable being exploited and even becoming victims of modern slavery?”

Review: Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Post Humans: Survival Horror’ EP

Jennifer Goodier
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Review: Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Post Humans: Survival Horror’ EP

In November 2019, frontman of Bring Me The Horizon, Oli Sykes, boldly claimed that the band were “not going to do an album again, maybe ever”. Almost a year later, on the 30th October 2020, they released the second product of this new musical approach the Post Human: Survival Horror EP. Their first experimental EP received mixed reviews, with some praising its experimentation and others criticizing its length. Nevertheless, it proved the seriousness of the group’s move away from being constrained by their heavy metal audience’s desires, something they’d been steadily working on since the release of That’s The Spirit in 2015.

The Post Human: Survival Horror EP, though, offers some redeeming features for Bring Me The Horizon’s earliest fans, with there being a considerable revival of the guttural scream. Adding to this ‘revived’ sound is the resonance of the subject, with Sykes’ lyrics harking to the insanity of these ‘apocalyptic’ times, and the appealing political rhetoric of corrupt and dangerous leadership. Indeed, the EP sees Sykes condemning Donald Trump’s attempted classification of Antifa and Extinction Rebellion as ‘terrorist’ organisations. 

‘Dear Diary’ punchily sets the pandemic-centric stage for the EP, invoking the diary-keeping obsession of the first lockdown. The lyrics manage to capture much of the pandemic feeling of repetition and confusion, “I’m going braindead, isolated”, and introduces the idea of the ‘end of the world’, something which remains a fundamental theme throughout. The end of the song blends beautifully into the beginning tribal sounds of ‘Parasite Eve’, one of the stand-out tracks on the EP. This song is another apocalyptic take on the pandemic, with references to sneezing, vaccination and quarantining, but in true Bring Me The Horizon style, the implication of mind-control and war exaggerate the feelings surrounding the virus. However, the eerie alien-esque pre-chorus, contrasted with the heavy guitar sounds of the chorus, combine to reinforce the main message of the track: “When we forget the infection/ Will we remember the lesson?”

As the post-apocalyptic alien voice fades out from ‘Parasite Eve’, the song ‘Teardrops’ hits with force and deals with the impact of lockdown on mental health, offering a hard-rock take on pop. ‘Obey’, very recently voted Annie Mac’s hottest record of the year, stands out in particular due to its collaboration with the up-and-coming singer-songwriter Yungblud, marking new territory for British rock and further proving the band’s desire to explore beyond the horizon of traditional rock-metal artistry. 

The short electronic transitionary song: ‘Itch for the Cure (When Will We Be Free?)’, is one of my favourites on the EP because, like their previous expertimentalisms, it is unlike their previous work. It also fades perfectly into ‘Kingslayer’, featuring another intriguing collaboration with the ‘kawaii-metal’ band Babymetal. As well as being a reference to a medal in the game Call of Duty, Sykes also reveals that the term ‘kingslayer’ is an ode to someone who is “willing to do what’s right even if it’s illegal”, which Sykes reveals is in reference to those denying the effects of climate change and trying to silence those actively working against this.

‘1×1’, featuring the Nova Twins, presents further comment on the guilt of humanity at the harm done to other species, genders and ethnicities, something which the pandemic has further served to highlight. The second stand out track in the EP, ‘Ludens’, despite being released in November 2019, is a perfect anthem to serenade the pandemic era. Harking to the fact that “a world covered in cables was never wired to last” and highlighting the frustration of isolation: “How do I form a connection when we can’t even shake hands?”, as well as the reiteration that we “need a new leader”, the song ‘Ludens’ expertly portrays the growing frustrations with politicians and lockdown isolation.

As the final song brings the 32 minute long EP to a momentous close, the feeling is certainly one akin to finishing a full-length album. Yet, the theme linking this stream of songs together somehow makes the experience more succinct and topical than their 2019 album Amo. With many fans entertained by the return to their earlier sound, even noting the similarities to Linkin Park both in musicality and artistry, parallels being found in the music video for ‘Teardrops’, the ability to focus on a smaller set of thematically linked songs has perhaps opened up avenues for both musical experimentation and reconciliation. Whether the band seeks to push to newer musical horizons, or to return to their musical roots, their recent release has given rock-metal fans further hope for the future of the genre.

Image credit: Markus Hillgärtner via Wikimedia Commons

Hilary term 2021: how has your college responded to staggered returns?

Abigail Howe
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Hilary term 2021: how has your college responded to staggered returns?

After the Department for Education advised students to return in a staggered manner, with some not arriving until February, colleges are now releasing their individual guidance. The latest suggested arrival date so far for students at the University is the 24th January, while some colleges are advising that all students arrive in Noughth week.

Balliol – In an email to students prior to the Department for Education’s announcement, students were assigned return dates in January which would stagger arrivals, particularly within households. An email after the new guidance was released stated that “happily, this [arrangement for arrivals] seems to meet the Government requirements” and “almost all the undergraduates should be back in residence by the Thursday of 0th Week (14 January)”. Ultimately, Balliol advised students in both tranches not to alter their plans for returning based upon the plans for some to learn remotely: “We suggest that students stick to their allotted dates for return, whether or not they will be having any face-to-face teaching in 1st Week”.

Brasenose – Brasenose informed students that they should “arrive in Oxford to complete the first two Covid- 19 tests before your advertised teaching start date” with two slots available. Those in the first group – students who will receive face-to-face learning in the first week of term – “can arrive from 10th – 14th January” while those who will initially be learning remotely “can arrive from 17th – 21st January”. In both cases, “exceptions to the above arrival dates will be considered on a case by case basis by the DB”.

Christ Church – An email from Christ Church to its students told them: “we have made the decision that the safest way to manage student returns is to designate arrival slots for UK-based undergraduate students according to household, as we did at the start of Michaelmas Term. These arrival slots will be between 8th January and 14th January. We expect to have notified all students of their arrival slots by early next week.” All students then, will arrive by the point they would have done if it were a typical term.

Corpus Christi – Corpus Christi reassured students that “College will be open as planned from 4th January, and our facilities (catering, the library) will be operating as this term from that date. Therefore, if you would like and need to return as you had originally planned, you may do so notwithstanding the date your formal in-person teaching now starts”.

Hertford – Arranging two main arrival “windows” for students to use, Hertford advised that those within the first tranche arrive from the 14th January to 16th January while those in the second tranche return from the 21st January to 23rd January.  However, they highlighted the need for flexibility, writing that “in some cases there may be reasons why a delayed return is not desirable, and the option to return in the first window (0th week) will also be available. Students may determine this for themselves, based upon individual circumstances”. The email continued: “For each window, you should arrive where possible on the Thursday, as this leaves four days for taking the first two arrival COVID tests ahead of the start of in-person teaching weeks”.

Keble – In a different approach to other colleges, Keble has altered their Licence Agreement so every student can spend a full term in their accommodation: “In order to facilitate the more flexible arrangements called for by the Government, for Hilary Term 2021 only the period covered by the termly rent will be extended by two weeks to the Saturday of Tenth Week (27th March).  This should allow every student, even those returning on 21st January (the latest date indicated in the University guidance) to spend a full term at the College at no additional cost”.

Lincoln – Lincoln sent a holding email to its students, advising them to check the College website over the next week for more details of how they would manage the beginning of Hilary term but, like most colleges, specifically referenced the difficulties for international students: “We are aware that many international students will have already booked their travel; if you have pre-existing travel plans, you do not need to change your bookings”.

Magdalen – Magdalen advised students not to change their original plans, urging them to “return when you had planned to return”. If students had not already arranged plans, though, they were urged to “please consider returning between Monday 4 and Saturday 9 January if your course is in the first group of subjects referred to in the University’s email, and between Sunday 10 and Thursday 14 January if your course is in the second group of subjects referred to in the University’s email”.

Mansfield – In one email, Mansfield urged students to contact them regarding their plans for returning to College in Hilary. They explained: “Once we have an overview of when students would like to arrive back in College, we will be in a position to confirm arrival dates. If the arrival dates are not sufficiently staggered, we may have to ask some students to arrive earlier or later than their preference. We do not expect this to be necessary for large numbers. If we do not contact you about this by Friday 8th January, you can assume that your preferred arrival date is confirmed.”

Merton –  For students who have face-to-face teaching initially, Merton instructed that they should “return in accordance with normal expectations”. For those who begin term with remote learning, an email to students outlined that they “may return within the window 9th January to Sunday 24th January, taking into account academic commitments that have a bearing on your need to be in Oxford”, continuing that these students “should let their tutors and Director of Studies know what their plans are for returning to Oxford so that these can be taken into account.”

New – New stated that they will be open from 10th January and “students may choose their return dates”, emphasising that “students may return as normal if they have reasons to do so such as lack of suitable accommodation, facilities or study space at home”.

Pembroke – In response to the staggered start, Pembroke told students that “we now expect latest return dates to be Thursday 14th or Thursday 21st January, depending on when your course returns to face-to-face teaching. You may have already elected to return sooner, or need to be back in residence earlier for academic reasons, to access library or IT facilities in College, for health and wellbeing reasons, because of travel challenges or otherwise. Given that (for those affected) term-time contracts begin on 13th January, there will be no problem with facilitating this”.

Queen’s – In a letter to students, staff at Queen’s College expressed concerns for student welfare: “As your health and well-being are vital to your intellectual growth, we are concerned not only for your physical health when your travel back to Oxford, but also for your well-being before and after you arrive here. The recommendation that some students arrive later in term presupposes that all students have, outside of term time, sufficient working conditions. From our experience last Trinity Term, we know this not to be the case. Additionally, in comparing this year’s two lockdowns, we saw — and many of us felt — the difference between isolation far from Oxford and isolation in College households. As we have all benefited from working with one another (albeit at a distance of more than 2m) I won’t belabour the point; suffice it to say that we remain concerned for the well-being of students who, by staying away from College, do not benefit from the level of support for their education that our collective efforts provide. For this reason, and consistent with our overall approach to do as much as we can safely and appropriately, we expect all students to be in residence by the end of 0th week. In order to facilitate staggered arrivals, we are relaxing the normal regulation (10.3) that requires you to come into residence on Wednesday of 0th week”.

Regent’s Park – For students who begin remotely, an email advised that they should “be back in College/private accommodation by the evening of Wednesday 20th January 2021 (Wednesday of 1st week). Those coming to College accommodation will be able to arrive from Saturday 16th January 2021”. Arrival slots will be released at a later date.

Somerville – In an email to students, Somerville provided a return window from the 10th January to the 21st January for all undergraduates, with variable accommodation charges: “Accommodation charges for HT21 will begin on the Wednesday of 0th week (Wednesday 13th January), with flexible calculations based on your arrival date until 24th January, after which all students will be charged for their rooms as per normal”.

St Catherine’s – St Catherine’s College provided a link to an external booking system so students can stagger their arrivals, as well as announcing a later final return date for the term: “exceptionally for Hilary Term, in light of the Government guidance and the University approach to staggered student returns, and for those who do not need to quarantine, the latest dates at which you can take up College residence and from which accommodation charges will apply, will be 14 January for Group 1 students and 21 January for Group 2 students. You may arrive earlier than these dates, if you have reason to, with charges being applied from the date on which you arrive”.

St Hilda’s – In an email to students, St Hilda’s announced: “we will be following the University guidance about return dates, but we understand, of course, that some of you will have reasons for returning more than four days before the start of in-person teaching, including pre-booked travel arrangements”. They continued that by “next week we will send you details of how to notify us if you wish to request to return to college accommodation before the advised return date for your course” and asked students to wait for further information.

St Hugh’s – St Hugh’s split their students into two groups, mimicking the tranches – “arrival Tranche 1 – For Practical or Placement Courses to arrive in readiness to commence face-to-face teaching from Monday 18th January 2021” and “arrival Tranche 2 – For all other Courses to arrive in readiness to commence face-to-face teaching from Monday 25th January 2021” and continued that “you should arrange to arrive in Oxford no later than four days before the advertised in-person start date to allow time for the Lateral Flow Tests to be self-administered”.

St John’s – In an email, students were told to wait for more information but reassured that they could retain their original return dates: “If your arrival date has already been agreed because you need to quarantine on your return, because you have extended terms, or because you have already booked tickets for your journey back to College which you cannot conveniently change, please don’t worry about how these new arrangements might impact on your arrangements; we are expecting that you will still be able to return as originally planned.”

St Peter’s –  St Peter’s was clear that “the dates of next term have not changed”, continuing with “you are asked to return to Oxford no later than four days before your course might start in-person teaching. So students on group 1 courses should arrive no later than Wednesday 13th January, in order to be ready to do your Collections on Thursday and Friday of week 0. Students on group 2 courses should aim to arrive in Oxford no later than Thursday 21st January”.

Trinity – Trinity has outlined two return slots for students: “Students in Group 1 courses are invited to return between Sunday 10 January and Wednesday 13 January (in 0th Week); students in Group 2 courses are invited to return from Thursday 14 January to Sunday 17 January inclusive”. Expanding on their choice of weekend arrival slots, the email continued that “both groups will therefore have an opportunity to travel at a weekend which may assist parents to provide private transport”.

University – In their email to students, University made it clear that arrangements for return in Hilary would be made on an individual basis – “the College will contact you to make arrangements about the date on which you return. We expect that all undergraduates will be asked to come back on (or no later than) the Thursday of the week before face-to-face teaching for their subject is scheduled to resume. This will allow you to take two voluntary lateral flow tests before your teaching is due to start, should you wish to do so.  You will not be charged rent for any days on which we do not permit you to be in your college accommodation.”

Wadham – Wadham advised that all students would be able to arrive in Noughth week with no changes to their previous arrival plans after the Department for Education’s announcement: “There is no change to the previous details about the arrival process for students who are leaving and not returning early on vacation residence. Arrivals will be staggered over the 11th, 12th and 13th January in order that everyone can arrive safely and that students can participate in the lateral flow testing before the start of term”.

Worcester – In an email to students, Worcester created a table of suggested dates of arrival, with those beginning with face-to-face teaching arriving by the 14th January and those who will initially learn remotely arriving by the 21st January. Those wishing to arrive outside of their tranche need to make a request by the 15th December; they were urged to “ensure you have provided enough detail as these requests will then be considered by a panel”.

Don’t see your college on the list? Have some more information regarding how your college is handling the pandemic, staggered starts or coronavirus rules? Get in touch and send us your college’s policy at [email protected].

Hilary term 2021: when does your undergraduate course resume?

Charlie Hancock
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Hilary term 2021: when does your undergraduate course resume?

Following the publication of new guidance from the government for students returning to university after the Christmas vacation, Oxford University has staggered when in-person teaching is due to begin in Hilary term. For some students, this will mean they do not need to return to Oxford until first week to begin in-person lessons in second week.

Subjects have been sorted into two groups. In-person teaching for courses in group one will begin from Monday 18th January, and Monday 25th for group two. Subjects requiring in-person practicals such as sciences and medicine, and finalists reading for humanities have been prioritised for return at the beginning of term. For students studying subjects in group two, any scheduled teaching which takes place before their return date will take place online.

The University has advised students to arrive at least four days before whichever date applies to their course in order to take two lateral flow tests. Colleges have issued advice to their students about how they should plan their return to accommodation in light of social-distancing guidelines and when in-person teaching for their subject resumes.

Undergraduate courses are listed below according to which group they fall into.

Group 1 – 18th January

Humanities
BA Ancient and Modern History – Finalists only
BA Classical Archaeology and Ancient History – Finalists only
BA Classics – Year 2 only
BA Classics and English – Finalists only
BA English and Modern Languages – Finalists only
BA English Language and Literature – Finalists only
BA European and Modern Languages (Arabic) Finalists only
BA Fine Art
BA History and Economics – Finalists only
BA History and English – Finalists only
BA History and Modern Languages – Finalists only
BA History and Politics – Finalists only
BA History – Finalists only
BA Music
BA Oriental Studies – Arabic, and Arabic and Islamic Studies Finalists only
Bachelor of Philosophy

MPLS
BA/MBiol Biology
MChem Chemistry
BA/MEarthSci Earth Sciences
BA Geology
MEng Engineering Science
BA/MEng Materials Science
BA/MPhys Physics
BA/MPhysPhil Physics and Philosophy

Medical Sciences
MBiochem Biochemistry
BA Experimental Psychology
BA Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics
Pre-clinical (years 1-3) and Clinical (years 4-6) Medicine
Graduate Entry Medicine

Social Sciences
BA Geography
BA Human Sciences

Group 2 – 25th January

Humanities – * indicates that students in years which were not directed to return by 18th January should now do so.
BA Ancient and Modern History*
BA Classical Archaeology and Ancient History*
BA Classics*
BA Classics and English*
BA Classics and Modern Languages
BA Classics and Oriental Studies
BA English and Modern Languages*
BA English Language and Literature*
BA European and Middle Eastern Languages*
BA History and Economics*
BA History and English*
BA History and Modern Languages*
BA History and Politics*
BA History of Art
BA History*
BA Modern Languages
BA Modern Languages and Linguistics
BA Oriental Studies*
BA Philosophy and Modern Languages
BA Philosophy and Theology
BA Religion and Oriental Studies
BA Theology and Religion

MPLS
BA/MCompSci Computer Science
BA/MCompSciPhil Computer Science and Philosophy
BA/MMath Mathematics
BA/MMath Mathematics and Statistics
BA/MMathCompSci Mathematics and Computer Science
BA/MMathPhil Mathematics and Philosophy

Social Sciences
BA Archaeology and Anthropology
BA Economics and Management
BA Jurisprudence
BA Jurisprudence (with Law in Europe)
BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics

The Pro-Vice Chancellor and Chair of the Conference of Colleges have recommended that students refer to communications from their department and college, and the Christmas vacation section of the university’s coronavirus website for further information.

100 years of Women at Oxford

Sharon Chau
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100 years of Women at Oxford

2020 marks the centenary of women being awarded degrees at the University of Oxford. Women were first granted full membership to the University on 7 October 1920, and were given the right to be awarded degrees a week later. As much as this is a cause for celebration, it is sobering to think that only a hundred years have passed since women were allowed to properly study here. Much remains to be done to equalise access to higher education for young girls, especially for those from worse-off socioeconomic backgrounds.

But while we lament the problems we see at home, from stereotypes that contribute to fewer women in STEM higher education or the microaggressions and sexual harrassment women face on campus (all of which are serious issues to be tackled), women in other parts of the world are faring much worse. Many young girls do not get the chance to attend school at all. A shocking example is South Sudan, which has been named as the toughest nation in the world for girls to receive an education. Nearly three-quarters of girls there fail to attend even primary school. As for the Central African Republic, there is only one teacher for every 80 students, contributing to very low attendance rates. And there is a gendered dimension here – nearly twice as many girls (38%) are out of school as boys (20%) in the Central African Republic. Research demonstrates that uneducated girls are more at risk of poverty, child marriage, violence and diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Clearly, something needs to be done for female education around the world.

The benefits of educating girls are quite intuitive. It vastly increases women’s participation in the labour market through equipping them with crucial skills and qualifications for employment, and through changing stereotypes about women’s roles. As earning power increases through education, women become more self-sufficient and autonomous, which frees them from an unhappy marriage or any marriage at all. Female education also slows down population growth, as educated women are more likely to delay marriages and use birth control. Infant mortality rates are lowered as well – each one-year increment in mothers’ education corresponds to a 7-9% decline in under-5 mortality in many developing countries. Lower mortality rates decrease population growth due to a declined need for many children as a risk insurer, and slower population growth in a stagnant economy leads to more resources per capita since the total economic pie is divided among fewer mouths. All these are clear reasons why female education is incredibly important, not just for the women themselves, but for the country and development as a whole.

But if female education creates so many benefits, why do so few girls around the world go to school compared to boys? This is due to a few factors – the opportunity cost of losing a pair of hands in the home, social and cultural norms surrounding female schooling, and low economic returns to investing into girls’ education. Not sending daughters to school is often a rational choice when they will be taken care of by their husbands, when nontuition costs such as transportation and learning materials are high, and when girls can stay home and fetch water or help their mothers take care of younger siblings. Girls might also not be sent to school because parents are afraid of physical or moral harm done to them, as demonstrated in longitudinal studies in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

In light of these barriers, governments have to develop explicit policies to increase girls’ education. This should include providing financial incentives for families, decreasing physical barriers for schooling, and changing norms surrounding female education. For example, governments could pay parents for consistent attendance or achievement of their children, build more schools in densely populated areas or provide transportation subsidies, and have advertising campaigns on the benefits of sending daughters to school. This changes the financial calculus of parents, making them more likely to view female education as a rational and sound choice. The success of similar education programs has been demonstrated in many countries. For example, Mexico’s PROGRESA program, which provides stipends for school attendance, is credited with increasing girls’ primary completion by 15%; a scholarship program for girls in Bangladesh has almost doubled female enrollment; and Indonesia has reached 90% enrollment for girls through building new schools that meet the specific educational needs of girls. These case studies show how active efforts by governments can remedy the inequality within education currently borne by young girls.

In addition, governments ought to scrutinise education materials and prevent them from entrenching insidious stereotypes, which are prevalent in many textbooks. Instead, education can be a powerful way to cultivate a virtuous cycle through increased illustrations of female scientists and doctors or expanded STEM programs for girls. If all these policies are adopted by governments, we can expect girls’ attendance in certain developing countries to skyrocket and, slowly but surely, for the benefits analysed above to materialise.

It is vital that feminists in the West deal with the many problems women face nowadays, such as the gender pay gap, sexual assault, the lack of representation, and prevalent stereotypes that prevent women from achieving their potential. Indeed, the fact that it has only been a hundred years since women were awarded degrees at Oxford is a grave reminder of the long way to go. However, it is also incredibly important to widen our scope and look into worse problems that afflict millions of women worldwide, including female genital mutilation, stifling cultural practices, and the lack of access to things like abortion or education. As a feminist and a student privileged enough to attend the University of Oxford, I am conscious of problems that myself and many women around me face. But I must also channel my privilege into trying to help the women who are suffering the most.

Image Credits: St. Hugh’s College

2021 Rhodes Scholars Announced

Naman Gupta
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2021 Rhodes Scholars Announced

32 Americans have been elected as winners of the US Rhodes Scholarship for 2021. From an initial group of 2,300 US students, the group have been chosen in what has been the Scholarship’s first virtual application process. Cherwell also spoke to Victoria Puglia, one of the 2021 Rhodes Scholars, here.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and one of the most prestigious international scholarship programmes and enables its recipients to undertake postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.

The American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust, Elliot Gerson, said in a press release from the Rhodes Trust: “Never before has a class of Rhodes Scholars been elected entirely virtually, with both candidates and selectors participating safely, independently and digitally.

“This year’s American Rhodes Scholars —independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simultaneously—reflect the remarkable diversity that characterizes and strengthens the United States. …are leaders already, and we are confident that their contributions to public welfare globally will expand exponentially over the course of their careers.”

“These young Americans will go to Oxford next October to study in fields broadly across the social, biological and physical sciences, the humanities, and public policy. They are leaders already, and we are confident that their contributions to public welfare globally will expand exponentially over the course of their careers.”

Previous recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship have achieved success in a variety of fields, including politics, journalism and science. Notable past winners from the USA include President Bill Clinton, American television host Rachel Maddow and Ambassador Susan Rice.

The Scholarship begin in 1902, following its establishment by Cecil Rhodes, a British diamond magnate. Rhodes set out a specific criteria for allocating the scholarships, including “literary and scholastic attainments…fondness and success in many outdoor sports…and qualities of manhood” among others. Rhodes originally stipulated that the scholarship was only to be provided to “male students”. This was only changed in 1977.

Cecil Rhodes has since become a controversial figure, and this has extended towards his projects, for his support of white Anglo-Saxon supremacy and imperialism. Rhodes sought, in his own words, “the furtherance of the British Empire and the bringing of the whole world under British rule”, and wrote in his will that “I contend that we are the finest race in the world”.

Image Credit: Wiki alf~commonswiki // Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.

Oxford students protest new Indian agricultural laws

Daisy Aitchison
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Oxford students protest new Indian agricultural laws

Oxford students have gathered to show solidarity with Indian farmers protesting new agricultural laws passed by the government earlier in the year. 

The demonstration took place at University Parks on Saturday and was organised jointly by the University of Oxford India Society and the Oxford South Asian Society.  

Mihir Rajamane, the general secretary of the India Society, said that the protest was organised to show “unequivocal solidarity with the farmers who have been protesting for the last few months. 

“Our solidarity is all the more necessary considering the undemocratic nature in which the law was passed in Parliament, with no complete consultation stage and a denial of a vote by division amidst chaos. The protestors have also been met with water cannons and were not allowed the freedom of movement to the capital where they planned to protest – rights inherent to all citizens in democratic India”. 

He also highlighted that for some the recent events were “part of a broader trend of anti-democratic acts by the Indian government- ranging from the detention of activists, intellectuals and students under draconian laws, the reconfiguration of Indian citizenship and interference with private relationships on religious grounds, the destruction of labour protections and more.” 

In addition, a statement for Oxford students and staff to sign in support of the farmers’ protests in India has been launched.  

The reforms, which were voted through the Indian Parliament in September, would allow private companies to have greater power in determining the pricing of agricultural commodities. There are fears among farmers that this could lead to businesses offering lower prices for goods, harming producers. 

There have also been questions about the procedure used to pass the bills, with a refusal to send the reforms to a parliamentary committee where they could have been scrutinised more closely. Eight opposition politicians were also suspended after staging a sit-in protest outside of the parliament to demonstrate their resistance to the new laws. 

Opposition to the legislation led to a nationwide strike by farmers across India which has grown particularly strong in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. In Delhi, farmers who marched from the countryside to protest the changes were met by police forces. Subsequent images showing tear gas and water cannons being deployed against demonstrators has led to global concern about India’s handling of the protests. 

The Oxford South Asian Society said that it was important for members of the university to try and raise awareness of the issue. 

“The University of Oxford is uniquely placed to influence policies across the world, or in the least, to get a serious conversation started. 

“Being members of an educational institution that respects democratic ideals and human rights, it is important that we make our opposition to these laws known.”

Image Credit: Oxford South Asian Society.

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