Monday 28th July 2025
Blog Page 428

Oxford study finds immune memory of coronavirus in patient T cells

Abigail Howe
-
0
Oxford study finds immune memory of coronavirus in patient T cells

Oxford University researchers have found that infection with coronavirus leads to a significant T cell response. This includes T cell ‘memory’ to “potentially fight future infections”.

This paper, published in Nature Immunology, is based on the work of the Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit and the Oxford Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

It was already clear that infection with coronavirus leads to a B cell antibody response, but previous research had been less perceptive regarding whether coronavirus prompts the production of virus-specific T cells. Antibodies destroy the inciting agents – viruses and bacteria – while T cells latch onto cells in the body which are already diseased. This includes virus-infected cells.

Professor Dong, who led the study, said: “By studying the T cell immune response in depth and breadth, we will begin to build a better understanding of why some individuals develop milder disease, and how we might be able to prevent or treat infections.”

He added that “T cells may also be longer lasting than antibodies, and so could offer alternative methods to diagnose whether someone has had a past COVID-19 infection, after antibody levels have waned.”

Study co-lead Professor Graham Ogg, Interim Director of the Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, said: “We found that individuals with mild COVID-19 had a different pattern of T cell response when compared to those with more severe infection; this could help provide insights to the nature of immune protection.” He continued that “the research demonstrates the power of bringing together many clinicians and scientists to address a global challenge, and we are extremely grateful to all of those involved, especially the research participants.”

Other scientists across the country were enthused by the new paper. Professor Peter Openshaw from Imperial College London, the Immunology Lead for UK ISARIC, said: “It is exciting to see the speed with which UK scientists can generate such novel findings and the spirit of collaboration that underpins it. T cells are important in clearing the virus and recognise parts of SARS-CoV-2 that are not seen by antibody. The role that they play in disease is not yet fully revealed, but this study provides the tools for studies to be done. This landmark study opens many new areas of work”.

Professor Paul Moss of the University of Birmingham, who leads the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium, added: “This paper is highly important in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. The team demonstrate that cellular immune responses develop in most people after infection and are particularly strong in those with more severe disease. This provides the foundation for new approaches to assess immunity and also for optimisation of vaccine design”.

The team’s next steps include investigating how long T cell immune memory lasts and whether this has implications for new diagnostic tests and future treatments.

Image Credit to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC-BY-2.0.

Will there be a COVID-19 novel?

Grace Scanlon
-
0
Will there be a COVID-19 novel?

As an English student, much of my time is spent convincing myself that literature is necessary. The idea that the literary world is intrinsically linked to the world of current affairs underpins my own motivation to read and study; we need novels and poetry to grieve, to understand, to find comfort. And yet, when faced with the aftermath of a pandemic which swept through the world on a global and on the most personal of levels, we’re left with a nagging thought – will we ever be ready to relive it?

A ‘COVID-19 novel’ felt, perhaps, inevitable as lockdown began. The wave of ‘lockdown productivity’ and the concept of experiencing a new kind of reality, where we were left simply to nothing but our own thoughts, seemed ideal for dusting off the old manuscripts or experiencing sudden inspiration. “Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine”, a favourite though dubious fact, led to the idea that every author, now suddenly blessed with time, would finally get around to putting pen to paper and producing their magnum opus. Indeed, even as early as the very beginning of lockdown, literary agents and publishers were receiving soaring numbers of submissions. An Irish publishing house, Tramp Press, reported in March that they were averaging twice as many submissions per day as novelists finally turned to their forgotten projects.

The question, however, remains how far these novels can directly tackle coronavirus and the catastrophic path that it cut through life as we knew it. Lockdown, a novel first written in 2005 by Peter May, marks the start of a possible surge in mainstream literature surrounding the pandemic. Finally published during lockdown for the first time in 2020, May described how he “told [his] publisher about it and my editor just about fell out of his chair. He read the entire book overnight and the next morning he said, ‘This is brilliant. We need to publish this now.'” May’s novel is described as “inescapably relevant” by The Scotsman, and its publication history suggests that literature can perhaps provide a mechanism to ground the surreal nature of the pandemic by finding similarity in fiction. Dismissed in 2005 for describing what seemed impossible, Lockdown now finds itself as the first publication surrounding coronavirus to take the apocalyptic energy haunting the news and make it digestible for the public.

Another significant publication surrounding COVID-19 was intended just for kids. Coronavirus – A Book for Children originated as a free digital information book for primary schoolers produced by Axel Scheffler, iconic illustrator of The Gruffalo. Now being taken to a wider physical release, it appears to me as an interesting building block in the ongoing construction of the pandemic in literature. Scheffler discussed how he “asked [himself] what I could do as a children’s illustrator to inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad, about the coronavirus”. Unlike Peter May’s Lockdown, which has an eerily familiar yet fictional illness dominating its narrative, the children’s book incorporates the hard facts surrounding COVID-19 into the classic comfort and warmth of Scheffler’s illustrations.

It is this blend of COVID-19’s harsh reality with the everyday that has characterised many of our approaches to the outside world as we move forwards and out of lockdown. The mantra of the “new normal”, of masks and distancing in the most mundane of circumstances, is beginning to be drilled into the public, and it is this idea that will most likely have the strongest impact on literature. In past examples of global crises, the presence of the after-effects was keenly felt in the writing produced. World War One allowed for the gritty, detailed, and graphic poetry of Wilfred Owen, alongside the birth of modernism, as seen in the evocative presence of the war in novels like Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. Both Lockdown and Scheffler’s illustrated work suggest that it is inevitable, just as it was after the First World War, that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt in every aspect of our reading. As these new works begin to shape the literary identity of COVID-19, they have reiterated to me that directly or indirectly, literature comes from experience. After months of quarantining, of Zoom calls and empty supermarket shelves, it feels foolish to suggest we’ll emerge from this crisis as the same people as we were when we entered it. Consequently, our writing must also change: children’s books becoming laced with traces of social distancing; our dystopia centred around flu and vaccinations.

Coronavirus has turned the experience of reality into one we may not recognise anymore. As we settle into our new normal, I look forward to the manifestation of this in our novels and poetry. Will every new publication centre around London under lockdown and a mysterious flu-like disease? Perhaps not, but in a society touched by mass grief, isolation and separation, will our new publications start to reflect the impacts of the pandemic? I would say yes.

The Sword-Cross

Edward McLaren
-
0
The Sword-Cross

A warrior of Palestine
Traversed with a Cross for sword,
From Babylon to Jerusalem,
Until he spoke not word.

His nascent thought was born again;
Yet, dragging gladly back,
He found his journey onward going
Under a sky like a sack. 

The metered step he paced withdrew
Into itself, at last,
And the eyes in his head, all glassy through,
Looked into their thoughtful task. 

The Cross that scratched against the ash,
He would not stop to clean
For, sparking on the soil or Nile,
It taught him that he lived.

Aye, if it still was sharp enough,
Then further forth he tramped
To slay the soul that cursed him thus:
Forever-on, to stamp. 

If Cross had weight to strike a head
Or numbered nails to spike,
Or sharpened stake upon the end
To gouge a throat, he’d try it.

If arms had power to strike a blow,
Or legs the hate to sprint,
The warrior who used them all
Would waste them till unbent.

Shame that the Cross was never light
Throughout his glaring day!
It grew a vine to gnaw his sweat
And prophesied defeat.  

So, when arrived so very late
Upon a view not far
From the gateways out of Nazareth,
It was a sword no more.

The Cross had foe to pierce, yet still
It stayed in its warrior’s hand
To grow as dense in vengefulness
As him who dropped it now;

Till meeting sand, it sturdied there
And sprouted as a tree
That one of many seedlings spare
Had strived its life to be. 

Here then, the blood-tired warrior fled
To lie within a cave,
And watch the Cross begin a fire
That smouldered on his gaze.

Retiring, the warrior 
Saw men at arms and mad,
And criminals carried down and up
And the boil of the Cross’s blaze;

Then, glimpsed, at last, with pale a wroth
Among the crinkled leaves
His foe, whose name he had forgot,
In a garment redly greased;

And by the time the night arrived,
He could not help but start
To wonder how the upturned blade
Had turned against the lord.

Artwork by Edward McLaren

Christ Church dean exonerated after safeguarding allegations

Imogen Duke
-
0
Christ Church dean exonerated after safeguarding allegations

CW: Sexual assault

The Dean of Christ Church has been exonerated by the Church of England after investigation into claims that he mishandled sexual assault allegations at the college.

In March, allegations were made that the dean, Martyn Percy, had not fulfilled his safeguarding responsibilities in handling four separate disclosures made by survivors of sexual assault. These claims were brought by the college to the Church of England, as an independent QC advised that this fell under the Church’s jurisdiction.

The investigation conducted by the National Safeguarding Team (NST) of the Church concludes that the Dean “acted entirely appropriately” in each case.

Martyn Percy has tweeted: “Thank you to everyone for their support and prayers. It is good to have a line firmly drawn under this.”

Christ Church states that they will “be reviewing the NST’s findings with regard to Christ Church’s safeguarding responsibilities.”

This investigation report comes amid an ongoing dispute at Christ Church over Percy’s position. The dean was suspended in 2018, reportedly after conflict over pay, and he was reinstated after an internal tribunal in August last year. The Charity Commission ordered the two sides of the dispute to enter into a mediation process in June after academics called again for the dean to be dismissed.

The Guardian reports that Percy’s supporters label Christ Church’s referral of allegations to the NST as part of a ‘black ops campaign’ to discredit him.

The full Christ Church statement reads: “The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team has announced the outcome of its independent investigation into the handling of four disclosures to the Dean of Christ Church, made by survivors of sexual assault. The NST has now informed Christ Church that its report concludes there has been no breach of the Church of England’s protocols.

“Safeguarding is of the utmost importance at Christ Church, and it is our obligation to report such concerns appropriately. After a query from a national newspaper regarding a serious sexual assault, an independent QC advised that a referral should be made to the Church of England as the handling of such disclosures fell within its jurisdiction. It is vital that everyone has the confidence to report safeguarding concerns. We will be reviewing the NST’s findings with regard to Christ Church’s safeguarding responsibilities. 

“Our thoughts are with all survivors of abuse. If anyone affected by this news requires support, they should contact the police or the relevant safeguarding authority.”

Jonathon Gibbs, the Bishop of Huddersfield and the Church’s lead safeguarding bishop, said: “An independent investigation into allegations that the Dean, Martyn Percy, failed to fulfil his safeguarding responsibilities has concluded the Dean acted entirely appropriately in each case. The National Safeguarding Team, NST, followed the House of Bishops guidance when the four separate allegations were referred earlier in the year relating to the Dean, a senior office holder. At no point was there any allegation or evidence that the Dean presented a direct risk to any child or vulnerable adult.

“I am aware this has been a very difficult time for all parties, particularly Martyn and his family, and I would like to thank everyone for their cooperation. There will of course be lessons to learn about the processes, as there are with any safeguarding case, and that is an essential part of our guidance to make the Church a safer place for all. We welcome the Dean’s commitment to taking part in this. Now the investigation has concluded and the Dean has been exonerated of these safeguarding allegations, the NST’s involvement has come to an end. I continue to pray for his ministry and the life of the Cathedral and its mission in the diocese and wider Church.”

As I have said before, the NST has no view about, and is not involved in, the wider issues relating to the College and the Dean at Christ Church, Oxford and this remains the case.”

The Bishop of Oxford states: “I welcome the news that the investigation by the National Safeguarding Team (NST) has concluded and that Martyn is exonerated. The investigation process was not without pain, and could have been concluded more quickly, but it is entirely right that allegations against clergy and church officers are properly investigated when they are made. This investigation brings full closure to the matter put before the NST, though these continue to be testing times for all at Christ Church. My prayers remain with Martyn and Emma, the Chapter and wider College at the start of this new academic year.”

Image credit to Bernard Gagnon.

Social distancing patrols in Oxford after rise in coronavirus cases

Mark Robins
-
0
Social distancing patrols in Oxford after rise in coronavirus cases

Oxford City Council is enforcing local patrols and inspections to ensure residents adhere to social distancing rules. A spike in cases has led to fears that Oxford could be put under local lockdown restrictions.

Case numbers have fallen since mid-August, lowering the city’s alert status from amber to yellow. However, Oxfordshire’s Director for Public Health warned residents to “stay on guard.” The BBC reports that there were 18 cases in the week up to 3rd September, 14 fewer than the previous week.

The Council announced that six officers are carrying out daily patrols in the city centre to ensure social distancing is followed. They will also check that pubs and restaurants are complying with government regulations.

The Council is working closely with food vans and takeaways, where social distancing is difficult, to emphasise the need for face masks and collecting track and trace data.

The Council says that the increase in cases was “predominantly among young people” and is targeting 18-29 year-olds specifically through a social media campaign promoting mask wearing. Meanwhile, posters have been placed in bus stops in areas where young people live and gather.

Oxfordshire County Council told Cherwell it is working with both universities in Oxford to plan for the control of the virus.   

A new coronavirus testing centre was opened at Oxford Brookes last week, open to anyone with symptoms. The free swab test takes less than a minute and returns results the next day. Oxford University students will also have access to the University’s dedicated testing service for staff and students.

Ansaf Azhar, Director for Public Health, warned residents to stay vigilant, saying that 18-29 years were the “catalyst” for increased case numbers.

Mr Azhar said: “While the figures are going in the right direction, now is not the time to relax. We’ve had an uncomfortable period of being statistically close to areas of the country that we know are on the Government watchlist.

“It may be that the message is getting through to people that they must self-isolate if they are returning from holiday in a country that is not on the exemption list. It may also be that people have responded by remembering to do the basics – keeping their distance, washing their hands and wearing a face covering.

“What is for certain is that if we forget those basics again and slide into bad habits, those figures will rise once more and we’ll be heading at speed into becoming an area of concern for central Government and ultimately lockdown.”

He added: “We have been heavily targeting messages at the 18-29 year old age group that had been the catalyst for this rise in cases in Oxford. We hope to have had an impact. However the reminder is a constant one for everyone. Do not let your guard down. COVID-19 is still circulating and the only way to suppress it is by our own actions as individuals, families, colleagues and neighbours.

“This advice will apply this week, next week and every week until we are able nationally and internationally to say that COVID-19 no longer presents a risk. We are watching the statistics on a daily basis and will respond to trends as they emerge.”

Image credit to David Iliff/ License: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Self-isolation for international students: How has your college responded?

Amelia Wood
-
0
Self-isolation for international students: How has your college responded?

Government guidance means that students travelling from certain countries overseas will have to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in the UK. Following Oriel College’s controversial decision to charge international students self-isolating there before term over £700, including a nearly £30 per day food bill, Cherwell has conducted an investigation into colleges’ self-isolation policies for international students.

Colleges have varied widely in their approach to rent over this period. Some colleges, including Hertford, Magdalen, Queen’s, and Worcester College, have opted make accommodation free, while others are charging at their normal termly rate.

Food provision has been another point of difference. Some colleges, such as Balliol, have opted to use the third party Compass Catering to provide meals to isolating students – at a cost of around £18 per day for three meals. Other colleges are opting to provide meals in house or are giving students facilities to cook. Students at St. Anne’s and Oriel will face a total bill of over £500 for the 14 day period.

When students must arrive by and where they will be housed also differs, from graduate blocks to term time rooms. Finally, some colleges have emphasised welfare support to those isolating. New College has designated specific locations within college for students to exercise. St Peter’s College has organised daily welfare checks and afternoon activities.  

See how colleges have responded below.

Balliol College: Students self-isolating before term are encouraged to return to college by 15th September. Students will be charged for the full cost of two weeks of rent for the room they have been allocated. Hot meals can be purchased from Compass Catering, at a cost of £15 per day plus 20% VAT for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Orders must be made 72 hours in advance and are charged to students’ battels. Takeaways and shopping can be delivered to the lodge, providing students can find a non-isolating friend to deliver it to them as porters will not be delivering to rooms.

Brasenose College: Students who need to quarantine are encouraged to arrive by 19th September and will be charged standard rates for their room band. Isolating students may spend 30 minutes per day in the quads if wearing a face covering. Meals may be catered from Hall, though it is unclear whether students can have takeaways and shopping delivered.

Christ Church: Students travelling from outside the UK should arrive back in Oxford by 15th September at the latest. Students will be provided with catering facilities and a small group of student helpers will be around to assist with shopping and food deliveries. 

Corpus Christi College: No information yet.

Exeter College:  Overseas quarantining students are encouraged to arrive from 14th September. Students will typically be allowed to isolate in their term room, with the same rent price as during term. Meals can be collected from the Servery at the usual cost or from an ‘external contractor’.

Hertford College: Those who must self-isolate before term have been asked between 7th and 13th September. They will receive rooms in the Graduate Centre/Folly Bridge, moving into their term time room once the 14 day isolation period has finished. Quarantine accommodation comes at no charge to students.

Jesus College: Students can arrive as early as 7th September. Isolating students will be provided with an ensuite room. The catering team will provide three meals per day to the door, provided that students pre-book. The meals will be charged to battels, but details on accommodation costs were not specified. They also suggest renting an Airbnb or getting food deliveries from Tesco or Ocado.

Keble College: Students can arrive at any point provided that they leave enough time to finish their isolation period before the beginning of term. Three meals per day can be delivered to the door, if desired, at the cost of £18 per day. Grocery deliveries are also possible. Keble accommodation is almost exclusively ensuite, and students will be housed in their term rooms, at the cost of £5 per night. Financial support is also available for struggling students.

Lady Margaret Hall: No information yet

Lincoln College: No information yet.

Magdalen College: Students who need to quarantine have been asked to return on September 7th, 10th, 14th, or 17th. The cost of accommodation will be automatically covered by the Student Support Fund, so there will be no additional rent cost. The email made no mention of food provision.

Mansfield College: No information yet.

Merton College: According to the college’s website’s FAQs on coronavirus, provision of food, accommodation, and regular visits from the welfare team. Prices are not mentioned. 

New College: Self-isolating students must have completed their quarantine period by the beginning of their term time lease in October but should also not complete it before their lease is due to start. Accommodation for this period will be charged at £22.12 per night plus insurance until 1st October, when it will increase to £23.04 per night. This means the minimum rent cost for the 14 days is £310.10. Students may only leave their room to exercise on college grounds or to collect food deliveries from the Porters Lodge. Food provisions were not specified. 

Oriel College: Read our article here. International isolating students will be charged a flat cost of £400 for food over the two weeks for three meals per day, which breaks down to just £9.52 per meal or £28.57 per day, batteled. The total cost including accommodation is over £700. Students must arrive by 18th September. There are “some funds” available for anyone in financial hardship. 

Pembroke College: Students should arrive ideally by 20th September, but by the 23rd at the latest. Rooms will be priced according to the room band, and students will be batteled for the extra 14 day residence period. Food will be ‘available’ but exact arrangements were said to depend on the accommodation type. Anyone in financial hardship can contact the college as usual.

Queen’s College: Those who must quarantine before term should arrive on 20th September. They will be housed in ensuite accommodation. Food parcels will be provided to students on arrival and then can be ordered online. All charges, including rent and food, have been waived by the college, but there is still funding available to support any students with financial problems. 

St Anne’s College: Students should return to college on the week of September from the 12th to the 19th. They will be given ensuite rooms that will be deep-cleaned by scouts once the isolation period is completed. Hot meals will be delivered to the room. The total cost including food and rent is £548.10. Anyone who may struggle from the cost is urged to contact the Treasury.

St Catherine’s College: No information yet.

St Edmund’s Hall: No information yet.

St Hilda’s College: No information yet.

St Hugh’s College: Students should arrive between the 14th and the 17th. There is a flat charge of £350, covering both ensuite accommodation and food for the 14 day period. Once students have finished their self-isolation, the rooms will be deep-cleaned ready for term-time students. 

St John’s College: No information yet.

St Peter’s College: After checking into college, students who must self-isolate will be directed straight to their allocated accommodation where they must remain for 14 days. They must have arrived by 19th September. Students will isolate in their term time room and be charged rent at the normal daily rate. St Peter’s Kitchens can deliver hot food to student’s doors for £14 per day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Compass Catering can also supply three meals for around £18 per day. If other food deliveries are arranged to mainsite, a non-quarantining friend will be required to collect it from the Porters Lodge. Outdoor areas have been assigned for exercise. Daily welfare checks will take place during the isolation period. Academics and students will be running activity programmes in the afternoon. Anyone in need of financial support should contact the Student Finance Officer.

Somerville College: No information yet.

Trinity College: No information yet.

University College: International undergraduates should arrive from the 14th to the 17th September. The accommodation will be charged at £20.61 a night, the lowest normal nightly rate. Students isolating on arrival will be grouped into households. Non-isolating students have been given the option to volunteer for “delivering food” and “providing support” to the international students in exchange for free accommodation and meals during that time.

Wadham College: International undergraduates should arrive between the 14th and 16th September. Students will be able to purchase food boxes from the college. Accommodation will be made available ‘where possible’ to isolating students. ‘The charge for vacation residence will depend on site and arrival date’. Students can apply to the hardship fund. The college did not reply to further enquiries about cost.

Worcester College: All students, regardless of whether or not they have to quarantine as they have come from abroad, have been allowed to return to college early at no cost. The college decided to revert its previous decision to charge for the self-isolation period following concerns raised by the undergraduates. 

If your college is missing and you have information, please contact [email protected].

Students asked to sign COVID-19 Responsibility Agreement

David Tritsch
-
0
Students asked to sign COVID-19 Responsibility Agreement

The University has announced that all students will be asked to sign a COVID-19 Student Responsibility Agreement at the start of the 2020/21 academic year. The agreement supplements students’ existing responsibilities under University and college student contracts.

Each student is expected to make eight commitments about their behaviour by signing the agreement. These include “abiding by all national public health regulations brought in to stop the spread of COVID-19,” as well as “the University and/or colleges’ specific guidance on health measures, together with local public health guidance as relevant.”

The agreement explicitly commits students to follow college/University guidelines on how to interact with and share communal spaces with members of their household. If they live in a private household, they commit to following the relevant Government/Public Health England guidance. Additionally, students are expected to request a test via the University’s testing service if they experience COVID-like symptoms and to notify their College and Department.

Students will be expected to participate fully in any contact tracing if they are requested to do so and will be held responsible for ensuring that their guests adhere to the same standards of behaviour in University, college, or other spaces.

The University’s website states: “The purpose of the Agreement is not to prescribe an additional code of discipline; it is to support community safety and well-being. It is an affirmation of shared values – community, consideration for others, patience and tolerance, and inclusion.”

Students are encouraged to speak to a relevant welfare contact or Departmental Administrator should they believe that someone’s conduct is “persistently and unreasonably creating serious risk.” Possible consequences that the University has committed to range from a discussion with individuals about their behaviour to disciplinary action.

However, students are reminded that circumstances will be different and “any response must be appropriate and proportionate.” Regarding the wearing of masks, the University’s website urges students to “remain mindful of possible valid reasons for not wearing a mask, and not challenge an individual about this, no matter how tactfully.”

The full agreement and FAQs can be found here.

Comfort Films Medley – Chocolat, Call Me by Your Name, Ferris Bueller

Sarah Townsend
-
0
Comfort Films Medley – Chocolat, Call Me by Your Name, Ferris Bueller

During the summer vacation, countless people wish they could ‘pull a Donna Sheridan’ and escape to the Greek island from Mamma Mia! For me, there are three perfect summer films that offer a similar holiday escapism: Chocolat (2001), Call Me by Your Name (2017), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). 

“But isn’t Chocolat set during Easter?” I hear you ask. You’re right, it is, and it doesn’t have an ABBA soundtrack. Nonetheless, its protagonist, a free-spirited traveller, and its rural French setting are comforting to the housebound, and remind me of a summer holiday I’m yet to experience.

Based on a novel by Joanne Harris, the story is sweet and simple: single mother Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter travel whichever way the North wind blows, settling in a sleepy French town where outsiders are unwelcome. Much to the dismay of Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the old-fashioned mayor, they open a chocolate shop during Lent, offering sweet treats to tempt the locals. The film even introduces a hint of magic with Vianne’s supernatural ability to prescribe chocolate as a remedy for each customer’s problems. The story is pleasant and charming enough to resemble a countryside fairy tale.

It’s true, Chocolat might be more of a springtime drama than a ‘summer lovin’ romance – but with rich food and a happy ending, it offers a gentle reminder to enjoy the vacation and indulge in all things sweet.

Then again, after the amount of chocolate I ate during lockdown, the freedom to indulge in my every whim might just have lost its appeal. In all honesty, the end of term meant the freedom to sleep – a lot. Summer is just a breakdown of daily structure, with longer hours and less to do.

Easily a modern summer favourite, Call Me by Your Name is the perfect embodiment of this lazy vacation feeling. Based on André Aciman’s novel, 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) spends the quiet summer of 1983 in his family’s Italian villa, striking up a passionate romance with 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer), his father’s archaeology student intern. It must be said that considering the uncomfortable age gap, Call Me by Your Name does not portray the perfect relationship. Still, by ensuring that the film is entirely from Elio’s perspective, director Luca Guadagnino transforms the intense, short-lived summer romance into a sensual coming of age tale. Through an exploration of unrestrained sexuality, the film focuses on Elio’s awakening to desire, love, and heartbreak.

“It was very important for us for the movie not to look period, for the movie not to look like a reflection on the 80s,” said Guadagnino at the New York Film Festival of 2017. In line with Guadagnino’s artistic vision, costume designer Giulia Piersanti avoided ‘80s clichés’ in favour of more ambiguous, loose-fitting outfits. In her words, the costumes communicated “a sense of summer heat and sensuality” – and this is the essence of the film. With its pastel colour palette and Northern Italian setting, Guadagnino creates a dream-like film in which one summer’s day seems to blur into another.

But if I said that a summer classic is anything that captures the lazy ‘what day is it today’ feeling, I’d be sorely mistaken. If there’s one film that teaches you to make full use of a perfect summer’s day, it is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. A teen comedy blockbuster written and directed by John Hughes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of those 80s classics that never gets old.

One of Hughes’s most beloved characters, Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is the high school student everyone wishes they were – popular, brainy, and not afraid to skip school. Having convinced his parents that he’s ill, Ferris trades in stuffy classrooms for a sunny day out in Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and best-buddy Cameron (Alan Ruck). With ingenious plans to cover his tracks, Ferris’s quick wit is put to the test as he escapes the wrath of two amusing opponents: uptight principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), and Ferris’s sour-faced sister Jeanie (Jennifer Gray). From witty dialogue to slapstick comedy, the film is both inventive and hilarious.

Described by John Hughes as his “love letter to Chicago”, Ferris’s fast-paced adventures show the city in all its glory. Even including an iconic public performance of ‘Twist and Shout’, Hughes creates the perfect high-energy setting for the film’s carefree ‘live for the moment’ mentality.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has been hailed as a pop culture touchstone, and ‘iconic’ is the right word to use. Decades later, some of the film’s most famous scenes have been recreated in the likes of Deadpool and Family Guy, and this comes as no surprise. Infallible Ferris Bueller serves us the fantasy of fun without consequence – the ultimate feel-good film even 34 years later.

Whether you’re longing for a Chocolat style French holiday or an escape to sunny Chicago, I can’t help but feel that it’s Call Me by Your Name that best describes the summer of 2020. No, unfortunately I’m not referring to a dreamy Italian romance, but when Oliver asks Elio what he does during his vacation, to which he responds: “Nothing. Wait for summer to end.” Yeah, I can relate.

Image via Wiki Images

Glutton for Horror

Sophia Zu
-
0
Glutton for Horror

Mild Spoilers for Spirited Away and Pan’s Labyrinth

Of all the sins, gluttony is the only one we truly commit against ourselves, where the implications of the sin are seen in the sinner. There is a visceral image to gluttony, which itself derives from the old French word “gluton” meaning wolverine—teeth glistening with spittle, jaw agape, tongue flailing. There’s a biting irony in this. We—a species that has done irreparable damage to an entire planet with our own gluttony—metamorphosed the image of gluttony into an animalistic farce. It is a potent vehicle for horror because it allows us to empathise with and fear its consequences while assigning the blame to others.

Spirited Away, a movie from my childhood which I am still scared to watch to this day, features one of the most subversive and horrific representations of gluttony in film. Chihiro, the ten year old protagonist, is moving with her parents to a new home when they accidentally take a wrong turn that leads to an abandoned amusement park. While exploring the area, her parents stumble upon an empty restaurant filled with food (think pintxo bar in San Sebastian)—and they eat.

They eat, and they eat. Chihiro wanders off, and (I’m editorialising to not reveal too much of the plot) when she returns her parents have morphed into snarling adult pigs; snouts covered in drool, chewed up food falling at their feet.

The scene is so effective in its horror because the image of raptorial pigs is terrifying enough in its own right. However, Hayao Miyazaki (the director) also uses gluttony as a precise metaphor for the permeation of Western materialism in post-war Japanese society at the turn of the 21st century. Chihiro’s westernized parents, from their imported car to their European-style dress, stand in stark contrast with the aesthetics of the rest of the film, which draw on traditional Japanese influences. The gluttony in the earlier scenes serves as a thesis from which the rest of the film will draw on—the sly encroachment of capitalism, maximalism and consumerism welcomed with open arms by metaphorical pigs.

In Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia, 10 years old and terrified in a hostile military camp ruled by her tyrannical new stepfather, ventures into the lair of the Pale Man to retrieve a magical dagger (again, I am editorialising the lore and story line a bit). When elements of gluttony are matched with unlikely suspects, the jarring disorientation that ensues provides another avenue for horror. A feast awaits her; platters of roast turkey and delectable dishes cast shadows in a dank stone room. At the head of the table, in front of a crackling fireplace, sits the monster itself; a famed child-eater staring into a plate empty except for two eyeballs—its own.

In a movie filled with the devastating misery of war, the scene with the Pale Man stands out. Ofelia had been instructed by a magical faun to not eat anything, but, in a moment of weakness, she gives into the banquet and begins to eat. The elements of horror in this scene are exaggerated and precise—the Pale Man absorbs the eyeballs into his hands, fanning out his digits into a ragged mane framing his face. Ofelia escapes miraculously but not without the Pale Man capturing a few of the fairies who accompanied her and eating them whole.

It is difficult to understand or sympathise with Ofelia’s actions in this scene—why could she not just retrieve the dagger and leave? The years of nightmares that followed accidentally watching this scene as a 5-year old seem particularly unnecessary when I found out that she personally awoke the Pale Man and brought the scene upon herself. This contributes to the slightly outlandish terror of this scene—it was completely avoidable. 

The villainisation of gluttony logically accompanies our fatphobic society, where food can be either celebrated or vilified depending on the body consuming it. The discourse around bodies—what’s beautiful, what’s not—have created the myth of “good” and “bad” figures under the guise of health and wellness. Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pan’s Labyrinth, used this internal bias when designing the Pale Man’s appearance, whose flabby, pale skin was inspired by the excess of skin tissue after dramatic weight loss. 

For filmmakers, gluttony is a useful technique for horror because there is no end to the dramatic imagery to which it is associated—bigger bodies, snarling animals, or a combination of both projected onto mythical monsters. It is the subversion of safe spaces—food, which is typically shared with family and friends—into sinister overarching evils that makes its usage all the more unnerving. The nightmarish landscape of food production, with billions of animals destined for blood-soaked slaughterhouses, is deeply entrenched in the modern globalist hellscape we live in. Filmmakers are able to tap into this modern horror, and use it with deft storytelling to craft and weld fear. 

Opinion: Why I won’t volunteer for access events

Joseph Drakeley
-
0
Opinion: Why I won’t volunteer for access events

As a working-class student, talk of access is particularly personal. Discussions of access in Oxford sometimes seems so abstracted, revolving around a desire to increase numbers while neglecting the duty to create an environment conducive for the people behind those numbers to thrive. The notion of Oxford being accessible brings up a myriad of emotions relating to my own experiences, and also my fears for people like me who have yet to arrive here.

Living life through working class lenses, I’ve become no stranger to the classism still very much alive within certain segments of our student population. I have been asked “how I finessed my way into Oxford” after telling someone my dad was a painter and decorator, told that my school background should have had no effect on my performance here and that my poor first year results were not related in any way, proclaimed to be “middle class now you’re at Oxford” when talking about how proud I am to be from a working-class background.

These micro-aggressions seek to completely erase my upbringing and invalidate the difficulties involved with securing a place at Oxford for someone like me. Additionally, I’ve faced more direct forms of bigotry, having been mocked for my accent multiple times. Other facets of college life such as exclusive drinking societies lead to a greater feeling of alienation for the working-class.

Although my personal experiences are echoed by other students like me, these issues are often boiled down to a failure to assimilate into the mindset of the elite. At open days, I felt pressured to simply laugh about the uncomfortable facets of life here and tell applicants they’d get used to it in the end. But this distracts from the classism that is a very real presence in Oxford. We’re told we suffer from mere imposter syndrome, and that we would fit in by simply having more self-confidence. Never has it been acknowledged that middle and upper-class students have a role to play in making us feel welcome at the university. Instead, the burden is on us working-class students to drop our accents and eccentricities in order to better assimilate with our peers.

With regards to the university’s progress in improving working class access, 12.2% of Oxford’s admitted undergraduates in 2019 came from ACORN 4 and 5, the two most socioeconomically disadvantaged groups according to the measure. This figure, which is a 3.6% increase over the proportion of ACORN 4 and 5 students admitted in 2015, is largely in line with the percentage of students from these postcodes which receive AAA or higher at A-level across all UK universities which in 2017 was 12.1%. However, ACORN is a postcode-based measure of socioeconomic disadvantaged, which might miss out working-class students who do not fall into specific postcodes. On the other hand, some middle-class students may fall into ACORN 4 and 5 postcodes, and their admission into Oxford would not spell a victory for working-class access. Oxford may be in line with other universities when it comes to accepting high achieving working-class students, but that shouldn’t be a praiseworthy outcome as it would be the bare minimum if the university were to take no positive action. If our university truly cared about getting more working-class students through the door, admissions should be more tailored to acknowledge the specific circumstances that each student is in whilst applying here.

When it comes time for college to recruit volunteers for open days, I find myself asking why, as a gay working-class man, would I recommend someone to study in a place which has made me feel so unwelcome. The complexity of the issue has made it difficult for me to turn up to access events. I’m not against making Oxford more accessible, but access events sugarcoat the reality of being a working-class student in what is still, in my experience, a highly classist and problematic environment. The Oxford touted as inclusive and accessible in open days has issues that can’t just be fixed by mere repetition of those positive labels.

When I volunteered at open day events during my first year, I found myself spewing generic lines about how inclusive Oxford is and how it is great to meet people from all walks of life, not once reflecting on the fact that as a working-class student, I have never really felt like I fit in. These events essentially present an idealised version of the working-class student experience, hiding the negative experiences that we’ve had to face throughout our time here. We’re an asset to the university only when it comes to matters of access, but are often left to feel unwelcome or like a burden. Volunteering made me complacent in sweeping issues under the rug, as I feared that revealing the faults would put students off applying, which is counterproductive towards greater diversity which the university so needs.

I would love to be that student that raves about how great and welcoming a place Oxford is, but I would be lying. But I am also aware that it would be unfair for me to volunteer at open days and tell every working-class student to run for the hills. Although issues at our university persist, voices speaking out against the inequalities faced by working-class students, such as Melanie Onovo, grow more and more vocal in advocacy, giving me a glimmer of hope for change in Oxford’s future.

1...427428429...2,516Page 428 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