Saturday 18th July 2026
Blog Page 473

BREAKING: University releases new guidance for exams and the upcoming term

Sasha Mills and Abigail Howe
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BREAKING: University releases new guidance for exams and the upcoming term

In an email sent to all students today, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), Martin Williams, confirmed that “formal teaching is very likely to remain online for most students, unless there is a significant change in Government policy”, describing this as a “difficult decision.”

He also noted that “some students on a small number of additional courses will be invited to return in time for University in-person practical teaching to begin in Week 5 of Hilary term, where this is vital for them to complete the year”. These students should expect to hear from their departments early next week.

New provisions have also been confirmed for students taking exams this year. The University stated that they would not be introducing a blanket ‘no detriment’ policy, in line with the Russell Group’s previous statement. Williams echoed the Russell Group’s statement in his email, saying that a “formulaic policy for all students is not the right approach, and that a more considered and tailored solution is required.”

For finalists, the University will instead be introducing a rescaling policy across courses, comparing cohort achievement to marks in pre-pandemic years and scaling where necessary. The University will also be implementing an enhanced Mitigating Circumstances process, similar to last year’s, allowing students to set out the disruption they have experienced during the pandemic without a need for independent medical evidence. 

Williams stated that the University “will also offer improved support and guidance for both students and examiners, to ensure MCEs are handled with empathy and consistency,” and encouraged students to keep a record of any disruption they face so that it can be considered during the MCE process. 

Provisions have also been put in place for those with coursework deadlines. Students will now be able to submit an explanatory statement with their coursework if they feel they have been impacted by lack of access to resources, which will be considered at the marking stage rather than after marking by the exam board. 

This comes after the SU launched their ‘Fair Outcomes for Students’ campaign, pushing for further action from the university to aid final year students. The SU called for a safety net policy, including rescaling and possible re-weighting of marks, alongside an enhanced mitigating circumstances policy. The Russell Group University newspapers recently published a joint editorial calling for a safety net policy, and urging Russell Group Universities “to act compassionately and responsibly.”

Regarding a return to university later in the year, Williams stated that:  “At this stage, we anticipate that we will be able to welcome students back to Oxford in Trinity term.” The University is currently working on options for “teaching and wider student life,” such as whether catch-up in-person work will be required for small numbers of students. An update will be provided by the University around the middle of term. 

Williams also noted that “the libraries are working to maximise the range of resources and support available to everyone through these means.” For students currently in Oxford, the Old Bodleian will be offering access to study spaces, and Williams anticipates that opening hours and spaces will be expanded as the term progresses. Staff at the Bodleian previously spoke to Cherwell, claiming that keeping reading rooms open is not “safe or sustainable.” 

Review: Playboi Carti’s ‘Whole Lotta Red’

Zacharie Mouille
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Review: Playboi Carti’s ‘Whole Lotta Red’

The most interesting thing about Playboi Carti is that despite the immense attention and hype he draws, he remains a relative mystery. Past projects have revealed little about the rapper, and the two and a half years since his debut album Die Lit have perplexed fans who filled the wait with countless leaked tracks and low-quality 15-second snippets that gave only glimpses into the rapper’s developing style. None of this, however, could prepare listeners for the direction Carti would take on his latest release. 

Whole Lotta Red is Carti’s most confident album to date, with a cover proudly embracing the “rockstar” persona he has tentatively crafted for himself in past releases. Whole Lotta Red is not the culmination of the artist’s signature trap sound that many fans were hoping for, but instead the most significant evolution the rapper has ever undertaken. Rather than rely entirely on his tried and tested sound defined by euphoric beats and playful adlibs, Carti continues his trend of breaking new ground in the rap genre, pioneering an abrasive and unapologetically cut-throat sound that gives his latest project an intoxicating and manic energy that never lets off.


The opening track ‘Rockstar Made’ immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album and Carti dominates the track with his raspy and abrasive voice. Whereas previous albums saw the artist at his best when his delivery blended seamlessly with the addicting beats, his delivery on Whole Lotta Red raises the beats’ intensity, with track after track coming at the listener with force, leaving barely an opportunity for them to catch their breath. Lyricism has never been a point of praise for the rapper, with him taking the concept of “mumble rap” to new heights by barely even speaking a discernible word of English at times; a masterstroke in further blending his delivery with his beats. Carti is refreshingly clear and articulate on Whole Lotta Red, his aggressive lyrics serving to further feed into the album’s manic and intense vibe. Yet, he does not exclusively drive the album’s intensity with abrasive delivery. ‘Teen X’ is a standout track that sees Carti utilise his signature “baby voice” to complement the high-pitched beat. Rather than call back to the euphoric highs of Die Lit, the result of this delivery is a fierce, drug-fuelled anthem that resonates in the listener’s ears: “I’m on the X, I’m on the codeine”.

That is not to say that the rapper never breaks up the relentless pacing by calling back to the types of tracks that made him so popular in his last two projects, his eponymous mixtape Playboi Carti and debut album Die Lit, and in his leaked music. In fact, Carti drastically switches up the vibe at several points. ‘New N3on’, ‘Control’ and ‘Punk Monk’ depart significantly from the manic energy of the album’s first half, featuring exhilarating vocal performances and beats that characterise much of the latter half of the album. Tracks like ‘Sky’ and ‘ILoveUIHateU’ would fit perfectly among Die Lit’s symphony of syrupy beats, whereas ‘Over’ and ‘Place’ recall the chill vibe that made the rapper’s leaks and snippets such viral sensations over the past year (‘Place’ was, in fact, leaked). These would normally risk harming the overall cohesiveness of this predominantly aggressive album, but the album’s arrangement results in the tracks serving as a much-needed shift away from the first half’s intensity. They prime listeners for three of the most introspective tracks Carti has ever released, making a tribute to his brother on ‘Die4Guy’, reminiscing on his personal growth in ‘Not PLaying’ and reflecting on his mental health in ‘F33l Lik3 Dyin’.

Much of Carti’s appeal has always laid in the quality of his albums’ production, and ‘Whole Lotta Red’ is no different in this regard. He thrived on Pi’erre Bourne’s minimalistic and vibrant beats on Playboi Carti and Die Lit, but the frequent collaborator is notably less present on Whole Lotta Red, only producing tracks ‘Place’ and ‘ILoveUIHateU’, leaving way for a dizzying line-up of producers. The result is some of the most exciting and ground-breaking production in the hip hop genre. From the thumping beats influenced by punk rock in ‘Stop Breathing’ and ‘New Tank’, to the more pop-influenced beats on ‘Slay3r’ and ‘King Vamp’, to the vampire-themed remix of Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’ on ‘Vamp Anthem’, Carti demonstrates an impressive ability to jump onto any type of beat, which should dispel the notion that he derives his success purely from the work of his producers.

Nonetheless, much of the album’s production, though unique, gives the impression that the project was rushed and highlights several low points. Mixing is messy on ‘Go2DaMoon’, baffling composition choices were made on ‘Place’ (a five-second-long pause that I still struggle to fully come to terms with) and ‘JumpOutTheHouse’ sees Carti at his most repetitive and uninteresting, neither attempting to blend his delivery with the beat nor drive the track’s intensity. Low points on the album are, however, few and far between and do little to break up what is ultimately a very cohesive and relentlessly exciting listen.


If Playboi Carti and Die Lit were electrifying and euphoric escapes, Whole Lotta Red is an intense journey from start to end, accentuated by blissful highs, chilled vibes and introspection. The album is a breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by generic trap beats and phoned-in vocals that try to emulate Carti’s restrained minimalism from past projects. The record sees the rapper at his most assured, unafraid to push the boundaries of the genre and experiment with sounds that are certain to alienate a large proportion of his fanbase. To doubt the success of his latest project would be to forget the pushback he received on past projects, criticised as mindless, repetitive and uninspired works. Whole Lotta Red is undoubtedly Playboi Carti’s most polarising album to date, but fans and sceptics of this new sound alike should expect it to strongly influence the hip hop genre for the foreseeable future.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Hallucinogenic healing

Mara Ciuntu
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Hallucinogenic healing

Recent years have seen a surge of research into the effectiveness of psychedelic drugs in treating mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and PTSD when assisting psychotherapy. Since 2010, a number of studies have shown the potential of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in treating PTSD. They have observed that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy consisting of two or three doses of MDMA provides long-lasting treatment – with patients being in PTSD remission for up to six years – with no side-effects. This year the FDA is set to approve MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, with similar prognostics for the UK, Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic. Surprisingly, a study comparing the use of MDMA and SSRI medication (currently the most common drugs for treating a plethora of mental health issues) in the treatment of PTSD found that patients treated with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy reported fewer side-effects due to the small number of administrations of the drug, and that the drop-out rate of MDMA-treated subjects was considerably less than in comparable SSRI trials. They also found that the issue of patient compliance is not present in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy because the medication is administered only a few times and under clinical supervision, while SSRIs rely on the patient independently taking the drug daily.

Likewise, it has been demonstrated that, while there is a lot more research needed , LSD-associated psychotherapy can provide significant and long-lasting benefits to patients suffering from anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease. Participants in this study experienced ‘insightful, cathartic and interpersonal experiences, accompanied by a reduction in anxiety (77.8%) and a rise in quality of life (66.7%)’.

The medical use of other psychedelic drugs has been increasingly researched, with DMT-assisted psychotherapy having been approved to be trialled as a treatment for depression in the UK as recently as 2020.

Ketamine, although not a psychedelic, has also enjoyed considerable amounts of research in the past years due to its antidepressant properties.

PRICING AND COST

Among the above-mentioned drugs, ketamine has a unique legal status, as it is officially licensed as an anaesthetic/analgesic, which makes researching and using it for medical purposes comparatively easier. It is currently available on the NHS for the treatment of severe depression that has not responded to 2-3 other treatments. It’s pricey, though, with the initial assessment and standard treatment of three infusions costing a patient in Oxford £365, followed by £195 per subsequent infusion. One could possibly expect similarly high prices once psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy becomes available. However, while these prices might seem high, some scientists argue that the use of psychedelics can drastically cut medical costs by generating a shift in psychiatry from the current palliative approach towards a curative one. Dr Ben Sessa makes the bold claim that ‘with psychedelics, we can take a person in their 20s or 30s with a history of severe childhood abuse and a severe mental disorder like PTSD, and we can completely cure them and send them on their way’. A recent study speculated that ‘for 1,000 individuals, MAP [MDMA-assisted psychotherapy] generates discounted net savings of $103.2 million over 30 years […], compared to continued standard of care’.

That being said, there are other, less enthusiastic voices than Dr Sessa’s, especially when it comes to ketamine-assisted treatments. In early 2020 The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) decided that, despite the need for new ways of treating drug-resistant depression in adults, there is not enough evidence of the long-term effects of treatments with nasal esketamine spray (a form of ketamine) to justify its use by the NHS due to the high costs per course of therapy (of £10,000). Moreover, both ketamine and esketamine have ‘potential neurocognitive and urologic toxicity’ and require close clinical monitoring prior to, during and after treatment.

HISTORY OF RESEARCH AND LEGISLATION

So if psychedelics and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy treatments have the potential to be both more medically effective and (depending on whom you ask) more financially desirable than what we currently have, why have they largely been neglected by psychiatrists over the past few decades? Psychedelics are neither addictive nor medically unsafe. Surprisingly, the scientific community has been aware of psychedelics’ potential as mental health drugs ever since the first decades of their discovery; during the 1950s and early 1960s, their therapeutic potential in treating alcoholism was advanced by a number of respected scientists. That being said, there are very few studies into the subject between the early 1970s and the twent-first century.

The answer to the question seems to lie neither in the medical nor the academic fields, but in politics and social stigma. Psychedelics first gained their negative reputation following the Harvard Psilocybin Project scandal, which received national press coverage in America. The press focused on the leading researcher, Timothy Leary, whose studies had poorly controlled conditions and non-random selections of subjects, and who promoted the recreational use of the drugs among his students and purportedly pressured some of them into taking psychedelics. At the same time, the association between psychedelics (especially LSD) and the counterculture of the 1960s further encouraged legislators and the public to view those drugs with distrust. While modern laws prohibiting the use of certain drugs have been around since the late nineteenth century, the current obsession with the prohibition of recreational drugs, particularly those prevalent in marginalised communities, has its roots in President Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’, which he began in the early 1970s. The questionable reasons for Nixon’s actions are well-known nowadays; years later, his rationale was best expressed by John Ehrlichman, his own Assistant for Domestic Affairs:

The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.

In addition to the effects it has had in perpetuating racial inequality in the US justice system, the ‘War on Drugs’ continues to cost the US government an incredible amount of money and resources (over $7.8 billion a year). There have been clear social and economic disadvantages to the heavy criminalisation of recreational drugs, especially when compared with the efforts made to decriminalise drugs in Portugal. This is not to mention the fact that it shifts the focus of political discourse and diverts public attention from more effective social policies. Most importantly is that the War on Drugs, which is not only limited to the US, has been impeding psychopharmaceutical research into psychedelics and ketamine for decades, in spite of having little logical basis for existing in the first place. Professor David Nutt expresses this best in an interview with Metro, where he argued that the illegality of synthetic psychedelics ‘has caused about a million excess deaths a year, due to the failures of being able to access medication’, with the War on Drugs having set back research into the medical use of psychedelics by at least 50 years.

SLOW PROCESS

When it comes to researching psychedelic and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, there are a number of impediments that will be encountered. Louise Morgan discusses the presentation of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in peer-reviewed studies and publications such as The Independent and The Guardian. She argues that misreporting on recent research by the media could ‘potentially lead people to believe that MDMA will “cure” them of psychological trauma‘. She wants to make it clear that, in all studies on the benefits of using MDMA on treating mental health disorders, ‘it is the psychotherapy that is the treatment and that the MDMA facilitates the psychotherapy’. The misleading reporting she mentions risks tarnishing the reputation of this all-important field of research and creating unrealistic expectations.. As Morgan puts it, ‘MDMA may provide a bridge to effectively overcome the gap between psychotherapy and psychopharmacology’. By misreporting, the media risks generating a stigma in a field that is already heavily censored. The illegal status of the drugs being studied is making the research exceedingly difficult for academics everywhere. If someone wants to undergo research into MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the UK, they must go through a complicated and costly process. Because the substance is a Schedule I drug in the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, researchers, along with all production sites and distributors, must obtain a Home Office licence, which Morgan observes is a very lengthy and pricey affair involving repeated police inspections and criminal record checks.

Whether one takes the enthusiastic approach of Dr Sessa or Morgan’s more cautious one, it is clear that the use of psychedelics and ketamine in psychotherapy is a promising field of research and holds a lot of hope for the world of psychiatric treatment. One conclusion that should most definitely not be taken away from this article is that those struggling with mental health issues should take matters into their own hands and attempt to self-medicate. Apart from the fact that one can never be sure of the purity (and thus safety) of what is on the street, the substances in all of the studies mentioned above were taken under close clinical supervision, in controlled microdoses and in conjunction with psychotherapy. This field of research is still in its infancy, and there may be some time before such therapies become widely available and affordable, but it just might be worth the wait, given the promising results obtained thus far. Only time can tell.

Artwork by Charlotte Bunney.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Khadijah Ali
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Hair today, gone tomorrow

Everyone’s hair plays an integral role in their identity and how they are perceived by the world. We change up our hair like we change our style of clothing every once in a while, to express our personalities and the stage of life we’re at. Girls are typically associated with having a drastic hair change when they go through a break-up: she moves on from her old hair in the same way she moves on from her ex. Particularly during our teenage years, we experiment with new hair colours and styles as we explore who we are. But how much does our hair define our identity and influence the preconceptions people have about us?

Blonde, brunette, black, ginger. Each hair colour has different connotations and characteristics attributed to them throughout history or due to popular culture, playing a huge part in how a woman sees herself and how she is perceived by others. I’m sure we’ve all heard blonde jokes or can think of ‘dumb-blonde’ movie characters. One of the most blatant Hollywood characters that springs to mind is Poppy Moore from Wild Child. As a blonde, she is reckless, rude and shallow-minded. As soon as she has her hair dyed brown, she somehow instantaneously becomes a different person. Another character whose hair plays an integral role in her identity is Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. When her boyfriend breaks up with her, she asks him if it’s because she’s “too blonde?”. Elle later discovers that he’s engaged to a sensible, high-status, soon-to-be-lawyer who, you guessed it, just happens to be a brunette! Elle grows to become a successful law school student, in spite of being a blonde female. Why should the colour of someone’s hair be a determining factor in their capabilities?

One of my favourite childhood books was Anne of Green Gables, in which the main character is portrayed as a fiery, short-tempered, and daring girl. She is regularly reprimanded and told she is “wicked” on account of her red hair. “You’d find it easier to be bad than good”, Anne claims, “if you had red hair.” It’s not just Anne though, redhead characters in books and films are regularly portrayed in a similar way: Hetty Feather, Merida, Annie. How can the colour of someone’s hair determine their personality traits? It’s not just popular culture though. In various times and cultures, ginger hair has been prized, feared and ridiculed. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, many people believed that redheads were affiliated with witchcraft, many of whom were drowned or burned at stake in an attempt to cleanse society of witches.

I’ve been asking myself how much hair colour plays a part in my identity. Over the past years, my hair has been through a (rather concerning!) number of changes, all of which have coincided with major life decisions or personal crises I’ve had. I’ve realised that one of my ways of coping with stress is to change my hair. At the beginning of 2019, when I was stuck in a rut about what I wanted to do with my future, I cut myself a fringe 15 minutes before I needed to leave the house. Before my 18th birthday, I trimmed a few inches off my hair as I no longer wanted to be seen as a child. During exam season in Year 13 I cut, then dyed, my hair after two horrendous exams that left me feeling despondent. By changing my hair in these situations, I felt that I was able to move on from a situation and feel like a new person who could tackle whatever I was facing.

I recently decided to dye my hair burgundy, and a couple of days ago I cut my hair to shoulder length. Perhaps it was to signify a new part of my life: the part of my life in which I’m growing up, learning to take myself less seriously, and having FUN! Burgundy reflects how I’m being bolder and braver, and no longer constricting myself to the rules and regulations I was subjected to for years at school. At school, I was regularly in very formal settings where I didn’t think it would be appropriate to have a wacky hair colour, fearing judgement from other people. But I’m now learning to care less about what other people think and express who I really am.

I have (sadly!) been gifted the gene of a babyface, and, even at the age of 19, I am regularly told that I look 14, 15, or (to my absolute horror) 12 years old. I find that when I’ve got longer hair or leave it down people tend to think I’m much younger and that I’m naïve or immature because I look ‘more girly’. It surprises me that the length of a woman’s hair can affect how she is treated by others, whether she is treated as a girl or a woman. In a male-dominated work-world, if I want my voice to be heard and respected, I have to tie up my hair and get the job done. I don’t think that girl’s hairstyle should determine the level of respect she receives. But the world we live in means that, sometimes, she has no choice.

At the end of the day, even though I’ve been through a plethora of hair styles and colours ­–long hair, short hair, fringe, no fringe, brown hair, blonde dip-dye, slightly ginger, black hair, and burgundy hair – I’m still the same girl underneath: no matter how much my hair changes, I remain the same person with the same brain and heart.

Do you agree with my views on hair length and colour? How does stereotypical hair colour tropes influence how you perceive someone? And to what extent does your hair colour play an integral part in your identity?

Union speaker described as denying “autistic trans people – and autistic people as a whole – agency over their lives”

Issy Kenney-Herbert
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Union speaker described as denying “autistic trans people – and autistic people as a whole – agency over their lives”

CW: Transphobia, ableism.

The Oxford Union has sparked controversy after inviting Dr Debra Soh as a speaker, describing her as a “renowned Canadian science columnist, author, political commentator and academic sex researcher… [whose] research indicates that abnormal sexual preferences are results of neurological conditions rather than learned behaviours”.

Debra Soh has described autism as a “mental health condition”, stating there is “definitely a correlation between autism and gender dysphoria” as “‘for some people with autism they fixate on things, go through periods of being really into one thing – gender could be one of those”.

The Oxford SU Disabilities Campaign told Cherwell: “Soh’s comments describing autism as a ‘mental illness’ betrays her lack of understanding of the matters she attempts to speak on, and her suggesting that the existence of autistic trans people is a result of ‘fixations’ attempts to deny autistic trans people – and autistic people as a whole – agency over their lives.”

“The continually documented attempt of anti-trans individuals (including J.K. Rowling) to draw focus towards trans autistic people as incapable of understanding their own identity represents only one part of a wider attack on trans individuals in an effort to block trans people from the respect and healthcare they are entitled to. The attempt to invoke autism within this attack does not do anything to consider autistic voices, merely using autism as a vague talking point to dismiss trans rights, and should be thoroughly rejected not just by trans activists but disabled activists as well.”

In a statement published on their Facebook page, Oxford SU Disabilities Campaign said: “The Oxford Union’s invitation of Debra Soh represents another instance of the Union’s continued willingness to uncritically platform individuals whose harmful views are widely documented.” Alongside their statement, they shared the Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign’s statement, also published to their Facebook page, in which they wrote “her positions are unequivocally transphobic” and cited “the point in inviting her is for the Union to excite controversy”.

Soh has also been accused of “anti-trans” views by the Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign. In interviews, Soh has stated that “most of these kids who feel gender dysphoric, when they reach puberty they will outgrow these feelings and are more likely to grow up to be gay in adulthood.” She further wrote an article in 2017 titled “Why bans on conversion therapy are misguided”. Debra Soh’s book contains a chapter title “Myth #3: There Are More Than Two Genders” as well as appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience categorically saying ‘Gender is not a spectrum’. In September of 2020 she also authored the article “How the Nonbinary Trend Hurts Those with Real Gender Dysphoria”. Her repeated reference to “rapid onset gender dysphoria” and how it “contradicts gender-affirmative care” has been described in an article by two academics as “best explained by transphobia and research study biases, it does not withstand scrutiny”.

In their statement, Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign outlined Debra Soh’s qualifications: “a Canadian neuroscientist who made her reputation studying paraphilias (that is, sexual fetishes and associated behaviours) before leaving academia and taking a hard turn into criticising the idea of gender identity, supposed early transitions in trans youth, and efforts to outlaw conversion therapy. She is not an academic, and when she was, trans health was not her field; she is hardly qualified to comment on these issues and her positions are unequivocally transphobic.”

Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign’s statement went on to say: “we note that this is not even the first time this year we have been compelled to comment on the Union’s practice of inviting anti-trans speakers. That transphobia is viewed by the Oxford Union’s leadership as an acceptable belief to platform, even a reliable source of attention, continues to exemplify a culture at this university that is profoundly anti-trans. This culture will not change until the University and the student body, as well as the Oxford Union, take steps to understand the damage and their decisions to tolerate, tacitly support, or even encourage transphobia causes to trans students, to our studies, and to our lives”.

The SU LGBTQ+ Campaign told Unon members: “It is your money that helps perpetuate this atmosphere. You might consider donating to charities that work to support LGBT people, especially young people, who are most at risk from conversion therapy, such as the support line Outline, youth group Gendered Intelligence, or the UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group, which aids LGBT people from all over in the application process for asylum in the UK.”

The Union President, James Price, told Cherwell: “I’m proud of the work of so many people for putting together such a diverse, broad and hopefully-thought-provoking term card that includes speakers across the political spectrum. The Oxford Union champions free speech, alongside robust scrutiny and debate. It is, was, and will be a place that debates important issues, and no one will ever be allowed to speak without being robustly challenged and taken to task for their views. We will always welcome the help and advice of anyone who can help us better do that, and we will always ensure, even in a virtual term, that members will be able to have their questions put to every speaker.”

Cherwell also approached Dr Debra Soh for comment.

Image Credit: ToppertheWombat / CC BY-SA 4.0

Tuition fees to be temporarily frozen prior to review

Charlie Hancock
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Tuition fees to be temporarily frozen prior to review

University tuition fees for UK residents will be temporarily frozen before the government comes to a decision about whether to cut them, according to the government’s interim response to the Augar Review of post-18 education.

Tuition fees for UK residents have been capped at £9,250 since 2017. Fees have not risen in line with inflation, leading some universities to complain that they lacked the money to fund some degrees as a result. The Department for Education said: “We intend to freeze the maximum tuition fee cap to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control. This will initially be for one year and further changes to the student finance system will be considered ahead of the next comprehensive spending review.”

The review outlines the government’s plan to make technical education more attractive to school leavers. Only 10% of British adults hold a level 4-5 technical qualification as their highest level of education, compared to 20% in Germany. The government says their expansion of apprenticeships and increasing investment in technical education will help them achieve this.

The review shows that the government is considering implementing the Augar Review’s recommendation that students would have to meet a minimum entry threshold to attend university and be eligible for student finance. This is intended to reduce university drop-out rates.

President of Universities UK, Julia Buckingham, criticised the plan: “Enforcing minimum entry requirements for prospective university students would be a regressive move, preventing students from disadvantaged backgrounds whose prior educational experiences have adversely affected their grades from attending university and ignoring the evidence that many of these students excel at university.”

The Augar Review recommends that minimum entry requirements would be subject to a contextual evaluation of a student’s circumstances. By the review’s calculations, if minimum entry requirements were set at 88 tariff points, 38,000 students from England would not be accepted to university. After applying “a specific version” of the UCAS Multiple Equality Measure to contextualise their applications, the number of ineligible students would fall to 6,000.

Commenting on the report, the National Union of Students expressed concern that “setting a minimum entry requirement to higher education will be a significant barrier to students’ choices and their potential. We must ensure that our funding and admissions system makes higher education accessible to all.”

Bodleian Bangers: Alan Rusbridger

Matthew Prudham
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Bodleian Bangers: Alan Rusbridger

Starting a new music series where we ask Oxford dons and alumni about their favourite tunes, artists and composers, Matthew Prudham speaks to Lady Margaret Hall Principal and Former Guardian Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger.

MP: So, to start us off, what is the one song you can’t you keep listening to at the moment?

Alan: So I, nearly all the music I listen to is classical. Does that matter?

MP: No, that’s fine! 

Alan: So that the answer is I’m very obsessed with the last 45 minutes of Act I of The Marriage of Figaro. It has an incredible structure where it begins with two people, three people, then four people, then five people, finally, and six people. And it’s each bit within it is contrasted with a bit before, and every tune is astonishing. The drama, the pathos, the weight, the sparkling energy,  the musical invention… if you want 45 minutes of music to die to the last bit of the first act of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro is as good as any 45 minutes of music.

MP: That’s quite a statement. I’m pretty sure that’ll attract some debate! If you had to choose one album or work to be the only thing you would hear for the rest of your life; something that wouldn’t get too repetitive but that you could enjoy listening to over and over again. What would it be?

Alan: Let’s say Bach’s St. John’s Passion. I myself, like a lot of people, sort of underrate Bach because he’s not romantic – his language was more limited and he was writing with sort of smaller forces. Though it’s more intimate than your Romantic opera, The Passion holds a power and intensity, emotional depths and heights. It’d obviously a huge work, at whatever it is, two and a half hours? It’s about the most profound subjects, it holds incredibly revolutionary harmonies and orchestrations.

I mean, it goes from sort of enormous numbers where you see a composer playing for the first time with a possibility of brass, with incredible Baroque trumpets – but also some of the most precious parts. I went to a performance once in King’s College, Cambridge, sitting very near the Viola de Gamba; and Bach writes for whole sessions of just a Viola de Gamba and voice. The Passion can be very small, almost like chamber music, and it can be enormous as if it was an opera or mass. If the challenge is to find something that that you were trying to endlessly fascinating, that would be it.

MP: Who would you say that are the most in the three most important artists or composers in your in your life, which made the most personal impact? 

Alan: I would say Schubert was one of them. Again, I came quite late to Schubert; I sort of thought he was a poor man’s Beethoven, but actually, he’s incredible – especially his range. I mean, just recently I’ve been playing a lot of his song cycles on the piano; his sonatas, his chamber music, his the symphonic music – it’s just an array of astonishing output: 900 and something pieces!

Also, I’m going to say Benjamin Britten. He’s been a sort of hinge into contemporary music for me, with which sometimes I struggled. And I think Britten at his best was the opera Peter Grimes, which feels to me as so contemporary because it’s about society and outcasts from society. If you think about Trump’s America and the kind of populist mobs that exists in Peter Grimes, you know, it’s a very contemporary opera. I think Britten was an admirable, brave person and a humanist as well as a brilliant composer.

And increasingly, Wagner would be. Again, it’s funny how you develop as a listener. I thought Wagner was such a boring and verbose and I wasn’t interested in the plots, but then flipped. I mean, when you talk about the last 45 minutes of Figaro, listen to the last 45 minutes of Act III of Die Walküre. If you’re not in tears by the end of that…  I’m still not really interested in the plots – all that German folklore and myths leave me a bit cold.

I’ve just bought Alex Ross’s book, Wagnerism, the effect of Wagner on the world since his death, his impact on music. At the time, being called a Wagnerist could be pretty damning abuse; people cared enough about music that, concerning Brahms and Wagner and Verdi, you had to be one camp or the other. Can you imagine that right – saying I’m, I’m a Maxwell Davis-ist or a George Benjamin-ist. It’s not that centralised any more. 

MP: So, for a bit of nostalgia for the normal times where we could have fun and enjoy things. What was the last and the best concert that you’ve attended? 

Alan: The last concert I attended was at the Royal Festival Hall in March last year. So just as the pandemic was all kicking off, it was George Benjamin’s 60th Birthday concert. So, the programme was full of music by him, but also with things like the Janacek’s Sinfonietta – you know with the big trumpets (imitates trumpets)…That was the last concert I went to, sadly…

The best… I went to Austria in 2008 when Alfred Brendel was giving his last ever concert. And I went to the Musikverein which an incredible concert hall in Vienna. Just because, you know, there was a man grew up in Austria during the Second World War, and has been a sort of Titan of music. I just wanted to be there for the last time he ever played in public and it was very moving.

I think he was about 80 and it was great to see somebody go out at the peak of his powers.. I’ve been to concerts with very distinguished old pianists who were sort of a bit past their best, whilst Brendel just decided to go while I’m still at the top of my game. He performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat and then a solo piano piece at the end, and it was all there. But I think it was a brave thing to go at his time of choosing. 

MP: I’m going to try and test your your knowledge of the the music of the youth; what artists do you think that this year’s freshers are listening to right now? 

Alan: Adele? (Laughs)  

MP: What should they be listening to instead?

Alan: The Beatles?

MP: I mean, the Beatles are fantastic. You can’t knock that.

If you’re talking about music, it’s going to sort of stand the test of time and was revolutionary – surely The Beatles?

MP: Do you have a favourite Beatles record? 

Alan: I think…. the White Album. 

MP: I completely agree! It’s just the amount of adventure and that found it so many genres of music in one album. When you say “You know, the Beatles – they invented heavy metal. Some people are bemused because they can’t imagine them being the same band.

So, let’s imagine that it’s late at night at the old Guardian offices, and you need to hear something to get yourself through the last checks of an edition. What are you putting on to give you that extra push something that will motivate you?

Alan: Well, I went through a phase when I was at college, during my university years, listening to the Grateful Dead. I think people felt they were sort of caught up with acid and were quite far out. And if you followed them, people would call you a “Deadhead”. So, I was kind of semi-“Deadhead” for a bit.  There’s an album called Wake of the Flood.  Before the pandemic, I took up swimming while listening to music through waterproof earphones. It’s immensely energetic, invigorating, motivating music. So, yeah, that would be a good choice.

MP: Fantastic. And so finally, if you could sum up Oxford in a piece of music, what would you choose?

Alan: Elgar’s First Symphony in A Flat in the sense that I think sometimes people listen to Elgar, and they think it’s very grand and is about Empire in some sense. But actually, if you listen to it, it’s very tender and vulnerable and emotional. And so sometimes I think Oxford can seem very sort of formal and unchanging and unbending; but actually, the people are what makes it special. So, if you look beneath the surface, as well in that Elgar Symphony, you’re into a completely different sound world – but you have to look beneath the surface, and the same is with Oxford. 

MP: That’s a very apt way of describing Oxford. Well, that’s all the questions that I had to ask. Thanks so much for your time! 

Alan: Well, if one person tunes into one of those things and finds out that they like it, then it’s definitely worth it. 

Find the full playlist for the interview on the Cherwell Spotify: @cherwellmusic.

Dear diary: new year, new me?

Elsie Clark
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Dear diary: new year, new me?

Since 2016 I have kept a diary, and over the past five years I have somehow managed to write in it every single day. No breaks, no omissions: just 1825 pages of my random scribblings from the ages of 14-19, peppered with strange anecdotes and long tangents on events of interest to no one but myself.

And since 2016, on the page marked ‘January 1st’, I have written my New Year’s Resolutions, apparently in the desperate hope that by setting them down in pen they might actually come to fruition. But out of the 15 goals I have set for myself over the past five years, I’ve only stuck to one! This leaves me with a staggeringly unsuccessful 6.67% success rate when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions.

Wondering how I had gone so wrong I looked more closely at what I’d resolved to do, and as I did so several common themes emerged:

1.    Attempts at fitness: “do some form of exercise once a week” (2016); “exercise at least once a week” (2017 – unoriginal copy of last year’s resolution); “exercise 3-4 times a week” (2018 – a massive increase on the previous year’s target. Not sure where this sudden unjustified enthusiasm for the gym came from).

2.    Healthy eating: “eat less unhealthy food” (2016 – uselessly vague); “not to eat mindlessly” (2021 – broken mere hours into the New Year when I found out I wouldn’t be allowed back to Oxford until at least the 25th and had to eat 2 bowls of Shreddies in rapid succession just to feel something).

3.    Relationships: “Do something re my crush???” (2018 – questions marks suggest I was already highly sceptical that I would ever do this); “get over my crush” (2019 – a resolution achieved, but only in the year after I set it so it doesn’t count).

Interestingly, the one year for which I made no resolutions at all was 2020. Perhaps deep inside I knew what was to come and that I should not bother – or I simply forgot to write them down. One or the other.

Why do we set these unconvincing and often unachievable targets every year? With the emergence of the #selfcare movement there has been increasing backlash against the idea of ‘New Year, New You’, most notably from celebrity activist Jameela Jamil who stated on Instagram last week that “we deserve to focus on a happier and more mentally stable us” rather than “the stupid fucking diet and detox industry”.

She has a point. Many, myself included, feel pressure to overhaul themselves come January 1st, throwing out their ‘old self’ along with the Christmas tree and the Bounties at the bottom of the Celebrations box. No one better embodies this desperate desire for change than Bridget Jones, who lays out her New Year’s resolutions on the opening pages of Helen Fielding’s genius novel. She asserts, amongst other things, that she will not “smoke/spend more than earn/get upset over men/bitch about anyone behind their backs”, but instead will “stop smoking/be more confident/be more assertive/eat more pulses/form functional relationship with responsible adult” and so on.

25 years on, these declarations remain funny because we are still making ones exactly like them: Bridget’s resolutions, like mine, could fit into the exact same Fitness/Food/Relationships categories listed above. So many of our years begin with such indefinable goals such as “get fitter”, “be happier,” or “be nicer to others” without setting out any realistic way of achieving them. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve, as long as it’s for the right reasons, but if you are going to make a resolution it has to be one you can actually stick to or measure. It’s all very well saying that I will eat less mindlessly this year, but what must I do if I want to achieve this? (This is a question with an easy answer I don’t want to accept: stop buying Shreddies.)

In the social media age I see more and more people resolving not to exercise more or eat less, but instead to “be proud of themselves no matter what”, “get help when I need it”, or “learn to say yes/no more”. These are more positive resolutions than Bridget’s list of musts and must nots. But I’m beginning to realise the arbitrariness of it all: why does it have to be ‘New Year, New Me’? Why, if you want to do something, can’t you just decide to start at any point in the year? If you want to take up stamp collecting, or pet more dogs, or stop listening to the same six songs you’ve had in your playlist since you were 14, why wait until January 1st to do it?

The single resolution out of the 15 that I did manage to keep dates back to 2016, where I announced that I would “write in this diary every single day”. I have managed to stick to it for over five years now, just because keeping a diary combines writing and moaning, my two favourite things. If the failure of the majority of my resolutions has taught me anything, it’s that you have to make them with conviction or there’s no point doing it at all. And I swear I really am going to stop mindlessly eating this year – just as soon as I finish this bowl of Shreddies.

Art by Rachel Jung

Not driving home for Christmas

Shreya Banerjee
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Not driving home for Christmas

Whenever I feel homesick, I find that my mind drifts to those things that have evolved into family traditions over time. This past winter vacation was no different, and although the childish glee of Christmas has frosted over for me, December is still a month enriched with small habits and special meals, each embedded with sentimental value. And so, though I was in Oxford for the entirety of this vacation, images from my childhood wove their way in and out of my mind: the twinkling of lights reflected in windows and the scent of silky onions, poking out from steaming trays of roast potatoes, inspiring my own Christmas dinner. Spending this winter vacation away from home, I considered what parts of Christmas I feel are the most essential, and by reworking old traditions and fashioning new ones for myself, I developed an antidote to this particular brand of sensory homesickness.

Vac is a time prescribed for rest. With hours melting away like butter in a pan, and days punctuated only by Netflix’s “Are you still watching?” messages, I couldn’t be further from the structure or schedules that term thrusts upon me. This psychological shift is, however, usually accompanied by a geographical counterpart, with all the components of my university life hastily packed away into bags and shoved into a car – except, with tests coming back positive back home, this time was different. At the end of 8th week, however, I was optimistic: the winter break – the one that always seems to whizz past, with only the 25th and 31st as markers of time – was my opportunity to fill in the blanks left by the term-time hullabaloo.

Growing up in a non-Christian household, I’ve long been accustomed to picking and choosing from popular traditions, especially during the festive season. As a result, I underlined panettone on this year’s festive shopping list, the Milanese sweet bread that my family ritually devour on Christmas Day, conscious of my cultural distance from religious activities that would simultaneously be taking place. In Oxford, I also bought my first real Christmas tree – I was previously committed to the practicality of the packaged plastic that I would adorn back home, but now, I can’t believe that nobody told me how good real pines smell.

One moment stands out to me when reflecting on my vac in Oxford. As I was walking down Turl Street, beckoned by golden streetlights bleeding into the fog of the inky afternoon, I realised the malleable nature of customs, and that I was forging my own traditions in this city day-by-day. It was a walk I’ve done countless times before (admittedly, out-of-breath as I race to the Classics Faculty), but it felt as though I’d discovered it anew as the cold wrapped around my fingers like a Christmas ribbon. I headed back to my room, furnished with an appreciation for this unique Christmastime and presents to tuck under the tree.

Spending unexpected time in Oxford outside of term has refreshed my relationship with the city. Now, passing the Rad Cam, I’m reminded of those who gathered (socially distanced) outside the enduring monument at midnight on New Year’s Eve. We took it in turns to cry out, “Happy New Year!” – to those here during term, those here all year round, and to those who can’t wait to return.

Oxford student street style

Leia Liew
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Oxford student street style

Walking around Oxford, on the Tescolator, in the Pret queue, in the Gladstone link, even when on a bike, flashes of fashion catch my eye. Everyone has a different sense of style and knowledge of what works specifically for them. But I love variety – that’s what makes the world so much more interesting. Being an avid “papper”, I decided to put all these photographs of Oxford-esque fashion inspirations onto a grid, @itsoxfstyle, and share it with the world. Apart from being an inspiration to my own fashion sense, I hope that others can see my platform as a spark for their own creativity.

The kind of garments that you don undoubtedly creates an impression about you as a person, including your vibe, and the crowd you find yourself in. Oxford is a university where you will always have at least one mutual friend with someone you walk past on Cornmarket, and so what one wears is almost an identification with a certain group in Oxford. Clothing, on an Oxford student, is integral to crafting an identity. As much as people like to argue that first impressions don’t count, I disagree. A simple compliment on someone’s buffalos can create a friendship, and a question about where someone got their corduroy jacket can initiate an outing to Gloucester Green market. What you wear automatically attracts a particular type of person. 

I like to think that Oxford students (on the whole) have a “cool” fashion vibe, with a curious mix of garbs. With traditional grand buildings and dreamy spires as a backdrop, a bright Berghaus aztec print jacket, for instance, is a sharp, yet memorable contrast to the warm, yellow coloured sandstone surroundings. Beyond the Oxford sports kit, college or rowing stash, matching sweats, oversized hoodies with flared trousers, and the tasteful basics, Oxford students offer a plethora of individualistic outfits that I cannot wait to capture.

What do Oxford students wear? There is of course no distinct answer – what one wears to tutes is significantly different to what one wears to a sesh (or not?). However, I will try and list some refreshing recent trends that struck me. Delicious layering with detailed collars, vintage granddad patterned vests to style out the vagaries of the British weather, oversized rugby stripes with baggy jeans, statement necklaces that accentuate a thoughtfully minimalist outfit. Leather jackets to create a slim silhouette, tweed jackets for a pop of attention, classic corduroys to let the trousers do the talking. Graphic t-shirts with a shimmering long sleeved top hidden underneath, sharp blazers to add an edge with ripped jeans, chunky oversized “ugly” trainers paired with a checked skirt, unbuttoned blouses with long sleeved top and velvety trousers. 

What one wears in Oxford allows you to be a shapeshifter. There is no one word to describe exactly how Oxford students dress because it is just so varied and unpredictable. One word that I would not use to describe Oxford students, however, is sloppy. Whether it be the edgy hoodie or the Keith Haring top or the khaki chinos, there is always a spark of “fashpiration” to glean from any Oxford student strutting down Broad Street.

A friend of mine, Marnie Shutter who is also a great style inspiration, once said to me that clothing was an outlet for your inner creativity if you couldn’t paint or sing or write. Anyone can turn a piece of clothing into a piece of confidence. Oxford students dress to express and embrace. Ruffling through the racks of clothing in Oxford charity shops brings an exhilaration that cannot be replicated anywhere else. They are treasure troves in which you discover gems unique to your personality. Of course, Depop is an absolute gem of an app and Westgate satisfies our infinite needs but finding a piece so unique to you and you only – that’s an unparalleled feeling.

With a new batch of freshers settling into Oxford, however, who knows how the fashion scene in Oxford will develop? One trend I’ve certainly picked up on and cannot ignore is the “Tik Tok” style – perhaps some will take that style and make some twists & turns to create an unforeseen breakthrough in the Oxford fashion scene.

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