An open letter from Jewish faculty members addressed to Oxford University and the Vice-Chancellor, Irene Tracey, was published on Monday 27th May in response to the most recent University statement on Oxford Action for Palestine’s (OA4P) protests. The letter disputes the University’s statement that the pro-Palestine encampment has established “an intimidating environment” for Jewish staff and students.
The letter accuses the University of failing to engage in conversation with members of the Jewish community who support the encampments and protests. It describes how Jewish academics, who “reached out to you [the University] recently to propose a conversation” were “ignored”.
Twelve prominent Oxford academics from a range of departments and varying political stances signed the letter. It said they were all: “deeply disturbed by the rising tide of rhetoric conflating criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza with antisemitism, and by the use of this rhetoric to justify government interference in higher education and repression of student protest.”
The letter rejects the University’s portrayal of the recent Jewish experience at the University, and said: “We therefore object to the University’s reductive and misleading claims to speak on our behalf. The characterisation of Jews as a uniform mass with a single viewpoint is itself a common and insidious antisemitic trope.”
Oxford’s Jewish Students for Justice (JSJ) also released a statement addressed to Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey. JSJ stated they: “Call for the University of Oxford to explore alternative analyses of antisemitism which offer a more nuanced approach and connect the fight against antisemitism with the fight against all other forms of hate.”
The open letter from faculty members called on the University to learn from “students who have been urging the University to reckon with its complicity in the catastrophe unfolding.” It also refers to other institutions, including the University of Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin, who, according to the letter, have engaged in “meaningful, good-faith dialogue with protesting students.”
Cherwell have contacted the University of Oxford for comment.
When the trailer for an adaptation of Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel The Idea of You came out last month, it set the internet ablaze. Within a month, it becamethe most-watched trailer ever for an original streaming movie. As word of the film spread online, one question abounded. ‘Is this film based on Harry Styles fanfiction?’
The film follows 40-year-old gallery owner Solène Marchand (played by Anne Hathaway) and her love affair with 24-year-old boyband superstar Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). They meet when Solène, a single mother, escorts her daughter to Coachella and unwittingly finds herself in the trailer of the heartthrob Hayes Campbell. She does not recognise him, but he takes a shine to her and an immediate connection is formed. Hayes then pursues Solène, they fall in love and try to navigate the media storm that follows their relationship.
As soon as Lee’s book was published, it was connected with One Direction’sHarry Styles. Lee, who once admitted that Styles acted as something of a muse, has now expressed regret over the statement. ‘It’s unfortunate because it’s being used as clickbait,’ she toldEntertainment Weekly, ‘and when I’m writing for Hayes, I’m not picturing Harry Styles.’ A debate about the degree to which The Idea of You can be considered fanfiction has since emerged. But Lee’s desire to distance herself from the genre says more about the derision that surrounds the label “fanfiction”.
Some people have traced fanfiction back toStar Trek zines created in the 1960s but its history dates back much further. If “fanfiction” can bedefined as ‘stories written about TV, film, or book characters by their fans’, Virgil, Jean Rhys and John Milton can be considered some of its best writers. Paradise Lost, Milton’s epic 1667 poem about Adam and Eve in Eden? Bible fanfiction. Inferno, Dante’s poem detailing his own journey through hell? Self-insert fanfiction. Tom Stoppard’s modern classic Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead? Hamlet fanfiction at its finest. Authors tend to shy away from the term “fanfiction” because it is so frequently used in a derogatory manner but on a very basic level, the concept has always existed in literature.
Robinne Lee’s rejection of the label “fanfiction” may stem from a fear that her work and its themes would not be taken seriously if it is labelled as such. Talking toVogue, Lee explained, ‘This was never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles . . . It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole.’ The Idea of You is, in many ways, a book about the ways in which ideas and people can be shamed by society. Solène, Lee’s protagonist is quickly labelled a “cougar” by the press when her relationship with Hayes goes public. The media is incredulous, appalled by the idea that a middle-aged woman could be an object of attraction to a younger and highly desirable man. Part of the book’s purpose is to prove that it is possible to rise above ideas unfairly ridiculed by society. Why can’t fanfiction, surely the most ridiculed subgenre of them all, do the same?
In recent years, work that originally started out as fanfiction has produced some of the biggest hits in the publishing industry. Most famous, of course, was E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, whichstarted out as fanfiction based on Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight. Since then, Ali Hazelwood’s TikTok sensation The Love Hypothesis, which started out as Star Wars fanfiction about Rey and Kylo Ren, has taken the industry by storm. In the same year,Neil Gaiman defended the legitimacy of fanfiction online: ‘I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for an H. P. Lovecraft/Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction,’ he wrote, ‘so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I’m not giving the Hugo back.’S. E. Hinton, the author of TheOutsiders, who has written fanfiction based on her own novel, similarly praised the genre, arguing that ‘two of the best stories I’ve ever read in my life, published or not, were fanfiction’.
The key word here is Gaimain’s: ‘legitimate’. Though fanfiction is undeniably a popular form, and one that can easily be found in the canon, it is still not taken seriously by the media at large. This, perhaps, is where Anne Hathaway comes in. Anne Hathaway is a multi-award-winning A-list actor, known for her performances in Interstellar, Les Misérables and, of course, The Devil Wears Prada. Not only does she have a proven track record as a film star but she’s also enjoying what has gleefully been dubbed as a ‘Hathaissance’ in the media. Praised onsocial media for her iconic performances and ‘unproblematic’ celebrity persona, Hathaway may well be at the peak of her powers. Her decision to star in The Idea of You gives the film and book a kind of legitimacy: a premium label that can only be found in the brand of Anne Hathaway.
So, will this turn the dial in turns of how we start to view fanfiction? The film, thoughnot universally praised, has not been derided in the way that it might have been five years ago. Instead, it has been lauded as an enjoyable piece of escapism and was even described as ‘deceptively courageous’ byEmpire. Love or loathe it, The Idea of You is a mainstream rom-com about an older woman finding love. She is not laughed at in the film, nor is she an object of pity. In its own quiet way, The Idea of You is doing what fanfiction has always done on the fringes of the internet: namely, provided a space for people to express their desires in a way that mainstream culture may not allow. Fanfiction, as we know, has always been an object of derision but when it starts to dictate the conversation as much as it has done recently, perhaps it’s time we stop dismissing it and start paying attention to all the bizarre and creative things it is capable of saying.
Is an Oxford degree truly worth the stress? What really should be worn for a lounge suit dress code? (spoiler alert, reader: I still do not know). Whether it manifests in academic or non-academic form, imposter syndrome has been, and always will be a notable facet of my Oxford experience. Despite being told (albeit, in a well-intentioned way) by one of my tutors that I shouldn’t be feeling imposter syndrome at this point in my degree, it hasn’t been something that I can escape.
I am a proudly state-comprehensive educated, first-generation student, and whilst some may jokingly claim my degree consists of purely colouring-in, that does not mean I’ve never felt out of my depth in a tutorial setting. I distinctly recall the feeling of not understanding any of the words one of my humbly intelligent peers used in one of my first tutorials. After working myself to the ground to understand the topic beforehand, I was so incredibly fearful about admitting I had no clue what was being discussed, and instead left after the hour was up without making a significant contribution. Swiftly following this, I arranged a video call with the only person able to reassure my tiny brain about why the hell I was offered a place here (thanks Mum). Whilst I had expected the chats about privilege and family background, as a relatively self-assured person in my academic work, this meeting with the Imposter really threw me;I had no idea how to deal with him.
Speaking to my (eternally wise) mum made me realise that working with rather than against these fears is the way to go from meeting the Imposter, to greeting and welcoming his presence into your everyday life. When you interviewed at Oxford, someone saw your potential and will have gone some way to back your corner in admissions discussions. You were chosen as someone with the potential to succeed in this environment;it would be a shame to prove them wrong.
Whilst you will never escape the Imposter, it is, in my view, important to find ways to recognise and celebrate your successes, your efforts, and your journey to get to where you are now. Battling the experience to produce results is incredibly rewarding. In the sweltering heat of my final Prelims exam, I came across a word in one of the essay questions and had absolutely no idea what it meant. Instead of forcing myself to answer a different question, I used this doubt productively, providing my own (questionable) definition for the term and structuring my essay around it. Whilst it was by no means the highest mark I have received in an essay, a meeting with the Imposter in this split second could have forced me to, abandon all knowledge I had and lowered my mark significantly; instead, I embraced the feelings of doubt, finding ways to adapt to the encounter amongst the stress. In this moment, I accepted my failures, let go of my hopes of writing a perfect response and cultivated something that was the best I could do in the circumstances.
Leaving the exam, I was reassured by the fact that others had found difficulty in understanding this term too. Everyone meets the Imposter.
Whilst it is true that some struggle more than others, it would be unfair to claim that it is an issue isolated to a certain subset of students. Imposter syndrome is a real, felt, unavoidable reality for everyone. I am, however, highly aware that this account of the issue is personal to me and I wish to note that reader, I still often meet the Imposter in a non-academic context; it is a continuous, dynamic process of learning, with no one-fits-all method to solving these dilemmas.
Nevertheless, I hope that one day you can greet, rather than meet your Imposter, whoever he/she/they may be in your many future encounters. And when you do meet again, take time to stop, breath, notice, reassess and respond to whatever they throw your way.
In 1984, shortly after the epic finale to the (original) Star Wars trilogy was in theatres, David Lynch’s Dune treated audiences to, in the words of one critic, “one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.” In contrast, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series has received high praise from fans and critics alike. So how did Villeneuve pull this off?
The challenge of directing a successful Dune movie starts with the dense source material. In the original Dune novel, with a reading length of over 12 hours, Frank Herbert builds an intricate world around the fight on the planet Arrakis, where a cadre of factions each fight for their own goals with varying levels of moral ambiguity.
The complexity of relationships between factions in Dune is what makes it so difficult to condense into a movie. Two to three hours is just not enough time to familiarise the audience with everything in the novel at a comfortable pace. Hence, the director has to decide what bits of the source material to cut out in order to capture the audience’s imagination.
This is the first place where Villeneuve shines: while Lynch tries his best to fit a majority of the novel into his film, Villeneuve purposefully omits some of the details of the book in order to underscore the details he does show. For example, Villeneuve omits a lengthy dinner hosted by the Atreides, freeing up the screen time for him to flesh out Lady Jessica’s character.
Additionally, David Lynch’s film relies on inner voice narrations to give key details to those watching the movie, and while these can be informative, they sometimes disrupt the pace of the film. On the other hand, Villeneuve’s films convey information to the viewer with a much more “show, don’t tell” approach. Villeneuve also aligns his films with Frank Herbert’s message in the original Dune series, namely that “the mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” Audiences still have to pay attention to fully understand what is happening in the new Dune films, but thanks to this reframing of the events portrayed, piecing together the subtleties of what the films convey is now much more satisfying.
One scene where Villeneuve’s approach is especially effective is when Paul rides Shai-Hulud. This climactic scene, after which Paul is fully accepted by the Fremen, is almost entirely dialogue-free. On top of that, our view of Paul trying to mount the beast of a sandworm is often obscured by sand. Despite not saying a single word, though, Paul’s growth is apparent to the viewer in this scene: he has become a confident desert warrior.
The new Dune films also look better. Not only is there better CGI, but Villeneuve experiments with film techniques to make the film look as convincing as possible. To emphasise the barrenness of the Harkonnen homeworld of Giedi Prime, he filmed the scene on that planet using an infrared camera. In conjunction with the decrease in dialogue, this new look more effectively presents the colossal scale of the planets in the movie. Hence it is not only the changes in pacing and tone that make these movies more immersive, but the greater care that was put into their visuals.
On the whole, the new Dune films are an example of a “less is more” approach gone right. By focusing on making a more cohesive whole rather than fitting in every detail from the source material, Denis Villeneuve has treated moviegoers to one of the best sci-fi experiences of this century.
Where now those sentences, those syllables, Loaded like cannon balls on the field of Austerlitz? Full of the weight and confidence And destructive power of centuries Of thought, they were. If thrown, in seconds they would Rip through that sheath of wary silence And the meeting of unsure eyes Across the battlefield. Much depends On the ground, the air and the preparedness, The steadfastness of those opposite, But also on the surety of the gunman. Primed himself, by himself, now Confronted with the chance To batter down those built illusions Of peace, the weight of those cannon ball syllables Returns. The prospect of their release Had lightened their load on the journey, But merciless gravity held them now In the barrel of his throat. Their choking weight would leave for a moment only, Returning inevitably with a thudding and crushing Upon impact. They could not be delivered. The ground was wrong, the air too quiet. Peace would rain down weightless, As those cannon ball syllables retreat And tear out craters in his heart.
St Hugh’s College Junior Common Room (JCR) Vice-President, Madeline Bryant, announced her resignation via email following a JCR meeting on Sunday 26th May, which she described as an experience of “blatant antisemitism.”
At the meeting, which Bryant reported as three hours long, the JCR debated a motion supporting the demands of the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) encampment.
The motion at St Hugh’s is now up for an online vote among JCR members after it was amended during the meeting to include explicit condemnation of antisemitism in Oxford. Similar motions have been passed in dozens of colleges.
Bryant put forward her own motion during the meeting, which asked for “co-existence, dialogue, and a condemnation of the clear antisemitism that has come from some of the members of the encampment.” That motion was discussed first.
Her motion states that some members of the OA4P encampment “minimised students’ lived experiences of antisemitism or used language that intimidates Jewish students like ‘intifada.’”
It said: “By not actively opposing such harmful rhetoric, the camp has given space to rhetoric that is antisemitic, justifies/refuses to criticise acts of terrorism on civilians, and denies the right of the state of Israel to exist.” It further characterises the slogan “globalise the intifada” as “a call for violence against Jews.”
The motion to support OA4P included a demand that the college cut academic ties with Israel. At the meeting, Bryant argued that St Hugh’s College’s Hebrew language program would effectively end under this demand to which one JCR member allegedly responded “‘So what?” Another member “laughed” when Bryant and another student spoke of their experiences with antisemitism.
Bryant wrote that her resignation “isn’t about Palestinians. It’s about the Jews in Oxford” and concluded her statement by remarking that “St. Hugh’s College has an antisemitism problem.”
The student who proposed the motion to support OA4P, who is Palestinian, told Cherwell that their “voice was minimised” during discussion of the co-existence motion. They also said that the language of the discussion of Bryant’s motion was “appalling to me as a Palestinian Muslim.”
When asked for comment, St Hugh’s College responded that they had “not received any report of alleged anti-Semitism by any St Hugh’s student”, and emphasised that they had “urged any student who experiences or witnesses any unacceptable conduct to report it as a matter of urgency so that the College can investigate.” The College also expressed its commitment to maintaining its Hebrew language courses despite the pressure to cut academic ties with Israel.
I am writing to you today to inform you of my resignation, effectively immediately, from the JCR Committee.
I have been serving you since my first term of my first year, first as Environment and Ethics representative and then as Vice President.
As soon as I started at this university, I wanted to work on making it a better place for all students. I can no longer serve this aim.
Last night, I endured a three-hour JCR meeting regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a Jewish student, I aimed to explain my own experiences of antisemitism which have been directly related to the way in which such debates have been conducted.
I also put forward my own motion asking for co-existence, dialogue, and a condemnation of the clear antisemitism that has come from some of the members of the encampment. I urge you to read this motion, titled ‘Coexistence,’ in full (appended to this letter).
I have watched my peers at this university chant to ‘Globalize the Intifada’ – a call for violence against Jews – but I was not prepared for it to come to St. Hugh’s College.
It is clear to me that some of the students last night did not come in good faith. At one point, when I pointed out that the St. Hugh’s Hebrew language program would effectively end under the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) motion, the response I received was ‘So what?’ with a smile.
It is beyond the pale the blatant antisemitism I experienced in that room – my lived experiences were completely dismissed. Up until this point, I believed that people were just ignorant of reality: the living nightmare that many Jews, myself included, are living. We have faced hate on unpreceded levels in recent months; myself and Emanuel Bor exposed that truth last night, on the record.
Our vulnerability, honesty, and humanity were ignored.
My motion, asking for the basic principle of equal treatment and peace, was sent to a working group – effectively thrown out. The OA4P motion will now be voted on by the whole JCR – a motion that defames and delegitimizes the Jewish people. It denies our ties to our ancestral homeland, dehumanizes Israeli academics and students, and neglects to call out the actions of terrorists.
To every OA4P protestor reading these words, I ask of you: try your best not to dismiss me because I am a Jew who stood up for her people. It is not enough for you to reply by saying there are Jews at the encampment or insisting that Friday night dinners are available.
My Judaism is more than a Friday night dinner. My lived experience is more than a talking point. My humanity cannot be shrugged off.
I recognize that you seek justice for Palestinians, a minority group affected by destruction, displacement, and trauma. Palestinians have suffered immensely, but my resignation isn’t about Palestinians.
It’s about the Jews in Oxford. We sit next to you at lectures. We compete in Torpids with you. We dine in Hall together. We are here and we are human too. We are hurting. And while you will continue to demand justice for Palestine, I asked you to listen to both the Jews in Israel and the Jews in Oxford.
It is clear to me that this JCR either refuses to listen to my experiences, or just doesn’t care. Just as we recognized your suffering, we asked for recognition of our suffering too.
While the Israel-Hamas conflict might be thousands of miles away, the Jews of Oxford are right here. To every bystander reading my words, consider standing up for a small minority who have been bullied for our entire existence.
I won’t give up on trying for dialogue and fighting for my place in this college community. I want you to fight too. Check on your Jewish friends and ask them about their experiences. You might be surprised to hear a silent minority speak up.
And if this letter infuriates you, then check your biases. Why does it bother you when a Jew rightly points out antisemitism? Why is my lived experience worth any less than yours?
I will not serve a JCR that has treated me so cruelly. A JCR that laughed when Emanuel and I spoke. A JCR that refused to engage in productive debate and instead decided to shut down peace and progress.
The meeting last night was an insult to social justice and a win for antisemites everywhere.
Last night, the JCR refused to live up to the values and the community it ought to serve. It is a stain on this college’s history and it should be a stain on your consciences. St. Hugh’s College has an antisemitism problem.
With endowments of over £1 billion, both Oxford and Cambridge stand out among peer British universities for their student support packages. Both universities have made vigorous attempts in recent years to subvert the idea that they are exclusively for those born into wealth. Schemes like Crankstart make Oxford one of the most affordable universities in the country.
Looking across the pond, however, the picture changes. Increasingly, students from top private schools are leaving Britain for the Ivy Leagues. Equally, with generous university support, it may be more realistic for middle-income British students to attend Harvard and Yale over the institution an hour away from home. In light of this, Cherwell investigated: how effective are Oxford’s financial support schemes? And how do they compare to Oxford’s international competitors?
Working and volunteering
As a stipulation for financial support, Crankstart Scholars are “encouraged to complete 25 hours of volunteering work” a year in order to give back either to Oxford or their home community. Oxford bans students from participating in paid work during term time – yet Crankstart Scholars are actively encouraged to participate in term time volunteering.
A meeting of JCR Access representatives hosted found the volunteering “unfair” and one college Inreach Representative commented: “It makes low income students feel as though they need to do free labour in order to earn their place here. It’s quite demoralising for these students who then have 25 hours less than their peers to revise, write essays, do sports, etc.”
No clear support is provided for Crankstart students to complete their volunteering. When asked if they provide additional support related to volunteering, a spokesperson for Balliol told Cherwell: “No – we understood it to be covered by the University.” Similarly, St Anne’s stated that they had no specific general or financial support paths for scholars to aid with finding volunteering.
The introductory handbook states that Crankstart donors “are especially keen that [scholars] encourage school and college leavers to apply to university and promote the benefits of Higher Education.”
The message is reiterated on their website. It includes encouragement for students of lower-income students to complete outreach to lower income background students alongside their degrees. A first-year Crankstart Scholar told Cherwell: “It can feel a bit unfair when scholars have to feel as though they need to ‘earn’ the money they are provided when realistically it is not their responsibility for their lack of privilege.”
While Oxford officially doesn’t allow students to work during the term, some colleges provide opportunities for students to work within college outreach, such as meeting prospective students or running social media. Finding work exclusively during the holidays can be difficult, especially when vacations are often described as “studying away from Oxford.”
Comparison with other universities
Compared to British universities, competitive overseas institutions – especially in America – provide much higher levels of financial support to middle and lower income students. For instance, while a British student with a household income of £32,500 would, factoring in Crankstart, still need to pay £4,150 per year and would not be allowed to work during term, a British student with the same household income at Harvard’s would pay £2,750 per year, and would be able to supplant the entirety of that cost through an on-campus job.
At other similarly-ranked US universities, like Yale, families earning up to £58,972 per year are expected to pay nothing toward tuition, room, or board, and all students are expected to graduate without loans. However, while these American universities provide scholarships and financial aid packages that cover the cost of tuition, room, and board, they lack an equivalent to the British “maintenance loan”, and students are therefore responsible for costs they incur outside food, tuition, and accommodation.
Other top UK universities like UCL and Warwick, give minimal extra funding. Warwick offers low-income students a bursary of up to £2000 a year, and both operate a hardship fund. Oxford and Cambridge have significantly higher endowments than other UK universities, compared to the US where the high levels of wealth are more common.
Student loans
With maintenance loans, English students on Crankstart receive around £14,100 in funding a year, meeting the University estimated yearly living costs of between £12,000 and £17,000. Oxford students on Crankstart are unique in potentially not needing parental financial support with their studies.
The way student loans are provided is not an exact replica of a student’s financial position. Eligibility is decided by one household, ignoring separated parents who both financially contribute and including the income of step-parents or new partners, who may not be financially responsible for the student.
Some students also face parents refusing to contribute to their education. Student Finance England presumes a parental contribution, however there is no legal obligation for parents to support their children after the age of 18, placing some at a significant disadvantage for accessing higher education. In 2018, the Universities definition of estranged was criticised as narrow, leaving only a few eligible for additional support. With a college survey showing that 15 out of 68 don’t receive family financial support University finance does not extend far enough to help all.
Student loans differ between nations within the UK, and even more so internationally. Welsh students all get £12,150, with the amount being loaned or granted shifting based on income. Scottish students studying in Scotland pay no tuition, and all receive a minimum of £8,400. Both Welsh and Scottish students can use their maintenance loans in England.
International students, on the other hand, are often without access to any government financial support. The University “encourages students to explore options for sourcing funding in their home country”, however, these resources are often not available. This limits the diversity of international applicants, restricting Oxford to those who already come from financially able families, especially given that international fees are nearly triple those of home fees.
Living costs
A strength of the scholarship is the control it enables scholars to have over their finances. There is no demand to spend the scholarship on University fees or accommodation costs. This is unlike the nearest equivalent at American institutions, where scholarships must be put toward the teaching fees. The money for Crankstart Scholars has no caveat as to how it should be spent.
A first year Crankstart Scholar told Cherwell: “I think Crankstart has been very beneficial in helping me be able to take part in social activities within Oxford. Though I’m grateful to have financial support, that mainly goes towards essential things (accommodation, bills, food etc) and wouldn’t be able to cover all social aspects of my student life here at Oxford.”
Colleges also offer further support to students on Crankstart, and other bursaries. St Anne’s College told Cherwell: “In the recent past the JCR have offered subsidised tickets to the College Ball for Crankstart and Oxford Bursaries recipients.”
Some colleges provide additional support on top of Crankstart. Lincoln College, who notably provide the most in bursaries, offer additional financial support to Crankstart Scholars.
However for some colleges financial support outside of Crankstart is scarce. When asked about “support, financial or otherwise” that the college provides to students on Crankstart, a spokesperson from Balliol College told Cherwell that there is a JCR grant students can apply for. They further said: “If an application for financial assistance is made we will pay careful consideration to low-income students… [and] make them aware of the financial support available…” but did not offer further detail.
When asked the same question, a spokesperson from St Anne’s College told Cherwell that there is “no specific financial [support].” They also noted that all students can apply for travel grants and hardship grants, which, according to an online report, is for students experiencing “unexpected financial hardship” they “could not have foreseen.”
The Oxford Fashion Gala was an incredible success from start to finish. Designers, models and fashion lovers gathered to share their creativity and passion in a whirlwind of wild looks. While the show itself ran smoothly – a perfect portrayal of the talent Oxford has to offer – Cherwell wanted to delve into the hard work that went into building such a fantastic evening.
In this exclusive interview with one of the wonderful designers and photographer of the evening, Ocho, Cherwell discusses the influences, creative processes and top looks of the Gala!
We began by asking Ocho where her love for fashion stemmed from. While many members of our generation rebelled from the advice of their parents in order to find their aesthetic, Ocho credits her mum for her brilliant style. ‘She keeps a folder filled with cutouts from early 2000s magazines, of both paparazzi and runway’, she said, adding that she herself looked best on occasions where she followed her mum’s advice. Being constantly surrounded by scrapbooks of different fashion trends gave Ocho the nuanced perspective of design that she needed to begin working on her own pieces.
With the 2024 gala’s ode to Issey Miyake catching her eye, Ocho decided to take part in this year’s event. She had attended the 2023 Fashion Gala, and was astounded by the designs, but had never thought she would be taking up this role the following year. She then delved a little deeper into the influences behind her looks, which were based around the ‘Hanbok’. This is a traditional Korean article of clothing, often worn in celebration of ceremonies like New Year’s or other special occasions. Talking about it, Ocho said ‘I think it has such a unique beauty to it – there are a plethora of ways you can style it, and it shifts between minimal to maximal depending on the colour, pattern, and occasion’.
Her vivid blue pieces were a statement of the runway, inspired by the colour of the sea during the day and night. Ocho lives on the coast of California, and so wanted to emulate the ocean in her looks to reflect her environment. She expressed her admiration or her models, Dora and Roya, who brought her vision to life and allowed her to fully captivate the ideas she had for the pieces. Dora’s look was a more traditional representation of the Hanbok; a deep royal blue contrasted by red accents that shimmered on the runway. As the theme was an ode to Issey Miyake, Ocho wanted her designs to resonate with his ‘Pleats Please’ line. In Roya’s look, which was ‘a modernised two-piece Hanbok’ taking inspiration from a bolero top worn by one of Ocho’s friends, pleats were added to emulate Miyake’s style. She loved this addition as the movement of the pleats on the wide leg trousers reminded her of ocean waves.
Of course, Ocho’s designs were a beautiful illustration of her personal influences for fashion throughout her life. However, we could not talk to Ocho without mentioning her spectacular talent for photography. Her pictures captured the essence of every look on the runway, including her own! When asked what her favourite look that she photographed was, Ocho was spoilt for choice. She immediately mentioned the white two-piece that Jacob wore, designed by Clara. The mesh material of the top and the dazzling white patterns on the bottoms made it excellent to photograph. ‘It was slightly transparent, and I loved how it reflected through on the photos with the flash’. Next, she praised OFG’s President, David, and his designs. He made a statement by combining high fashion looks with intriguing materials and balaclavas. In particular, Ocho highlighted his black dress, modelled by Ruby, which was made of a quilted puffer material. She said that it was the most creative piece she saw on the runway! Finally, she mentioned Axel’s pieces, which had also been raised by attendees and president David during the show. She admired their beautiful material, which ‘illuminated really nicely during the runway’.
Ocho drew a connection between the looks she most enjoyed at the gala, and her fascination with the costumes for Dune 2, pointing out that the looks that caught her eye were somewhat reminiscent of the movie’s style.
Ocho’s take on the fashion gala, and her insight into the ‘behind the scenes’ elements of the night, gave us a completely new perspective of how every designer came together to encapsulate the theme. It was truly a beautiful evening, and we can’t wait to see how it all comes together next year!
Oriel College and Christ Church College defended their positions as Head of the River for the Men’s and Women’s Eights Week races respectively this year. The races, which took place from the Wednesday to the Saturday of fifth week, were tightly contested in the Women’s first division, but all of the top five in the Men’s first division retained their spots from last year.
Eights Week is part of the 200-year old Oxford tradition of ‘bumps’ racing. Boats race single file and attempt to physically bump the boat in front of them, while avoiding being bumped by the boat behind. Crews are ranked within divisions that race each day of the four days of Summer Eights. Bumping moves a crew up in their division, while being bumped moves them down. Crews that are on top of their division then race as the ‘sandwich boat’ at the bottom of the next division; if they manage to bump, they are promoted to the division above them. Crews that are bumped by the sandwich boat are relegated to the division below.
The crew that finishes on top of the first division becomes the ‘Head of the River’. At Eights 2023, Oriel M1 had finished as Head of the River for the Men’s races, as had Christ Church W1 in the Women’s. This year, both teams rowed over (did not bump, nor were bumped) every day to defend their position at the top. While these results suggest stasis from the previous year, there were significant shakeups in the divisions below them.
‘Blades’ are awarded to crews that win Head of the River, or have bumped every day of the four days of the races. Similarly, ‘spoons’ are won by crews that have the dubious honour of being Tail of the River, or were bumped every day. Moreover, since each college often submits multiple crews, there are multiple opportunities for a college to win either blades or spoons, and sometimes even both.
Blades were won sparingly this season; only 14 out of a total of 159 crews won blades. Merton and Green Templeton were the only colleges to have more than one crew win blades, with two each (Merton: W1 and W2; Green Templeton: M1 and M3). Green Templeton M3’s 8-place rise represents the biggest jump this year for any crew. Hertford M2, Balliol W1, and Keble W2 are the only crews to have won blades both this year and last year.
Spoons, on the other hand, were won more plentifully, with 20 crews winning spoons. Oriel’s headship of the Men’s races obscures what has been a disappointing performance from the college overall. Out of the eight crews that they submitted this year across both the Men’s and Women’s races, four (W1, W3, M3, M4) won spoons. This is well clear of other colleges; the runners-up at winning spoons were New (M5 and W3), Catz (M1 and M2), Wolfson (M4 and W2), Antony’s (M1 and W2), and Lincoln (W2 and M2), all with two crews each. The single largest fall for a crew was by Jesus M2 and Trinity W1, both of whom fell six places.
At the college level, the biggest risers were Merton, whose crews across both the Men’s and Women’s races enjoyed a net gain of 15 places. The largest gain in the Men’s races was Green Templeton, whose crews rose 16 places, while in the Women’s, Merton gained 12. The biggest losers this year were, unsurprisingly, Oriel, which overall fell 13 places. In the Men’s races, Catz fell 8 places, while in the Women’s, Hugh’s fell 6.
After inclement weather on the first three days of racing, the final day was graced by some lovely sunshine. Crowds numbering in the thousands visited Boathouse Island to spectate and cheer on their college’s crews. Crews were dutifully doused in champagne and prosecco upon completion of their races, win or lose. And isn’t that the essence of Summer Eights?
The War in the Gaza Strip has been going on for over seven months. In this time, it has cost the lives of over thirty thousand, injured tens of thousands more, displaced hundreds of thousands, destroyed cities, and brought hundreds of thousands to a state of hunger or famine. However, on the morning of April 9th, I had a conversation that gave me hope.
Alon-Lee Green is a leading Israeli activist. He founded the largest Israeli-Palestinian grassroots movement, Standing Together, in 2015, which aims to ‘mobilise Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice’.
Though Green has received much media attention in recent months, his activism began nearly 20 years ago, while working for a local coffee shop in high school. His attempt to unionise restaurants in Israel led him to be fired from his job; but the story didn’t end there. “A judge ruled they must reinstate me, and after a six-week-long strike we won and gained a collective agreement”, he tells me. The ruling was “historic in Israeli terms, [in demanding] we receive all legal rights for workers”.
Though he “didn’t have the language for it yet”, Green began to appreciate the power of collective action. Nazir, a Palestinian citizen of Israel was one of the five union leaders who stood alongside Green at the time. “For the first time in my life, I understood the power of organising people, even if they are very different from you”, he says. To a young Alon-Lee Green, it had seemed mystical that a Palestinian could lead hundreds of Muslims and Jews in Israel, but from this experience, he saw it was possible.
Sign reading “The people demand social justice”, 30 July 2011. Image Credit: Hanay/ CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Several years later, at 22 years old, Green was among the leaders of Israel’s 2011 “social justice protests”, one of the country’s largest-ever protest movements. “It was a crazy and magical summer”, he recalls. “Tent cities and hope spread across the country carried by the belief that we will bring true change”. Yet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the movement’s demands and “hope quickly turned to despair”. Despite the setback, Green understood that “leading people is not enough, organising them for the long term is needed” and began to look for a way to enable a unified political struggle, in which Jewish and Palestinian Israelis could be united in their demands.
These earlier lessons laid the foundation of Green’s current organisation Standing Together, a “grassroots movement mobilising Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice”. For Green, its purpose is “to build power in the struggles for peace and against The Occupation, for social justice and for full equality for all the people living here”.
Standing Together activists marching for a cease-fire in Tel Aviv. Image courtesy of Standing Together.
Green tells me that the supporters of Standing Together are unified by a shared understanding, “a shared language, and consciousness about the reality in Israel. What is special about Standing Together’s members and participants is [that] they believe people of all national identities deserve full equality, liberty, and independence”. Standing Together aim, “is not about standing in solidarity with Palestinians, it is a shared struggle for the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis, which will arise from a solution that works for all”.
Although Standing Together is a relatively small organisation, it still receives substantial attention and is criticised across the political spectrum. The Israeli right sees them as the extreme left that is detached from the Israeli public. The Israeli far left criticises it for compromising on the Palestinian cause to increase their public reach. And, the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement opposes it for being “an Israeli normalisation outfit that seeks to distract from and whitewash Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza”.
Green seems unfazed by critique, regardless of its ideological origin, believing that Standing Together’s achievements are proof they are doing the right thing. He views such criticism only as an ideological barrier to preventing a larger base of people from engaging with the movement. This philosophy, of prioritising action over speech and efficiency over form, has guided Standing Together over the years and continues to do so during the War in the Gaza Strip.
A humanitarian aid truck delivering aid to Gaza. Image courtesy of Standing Together.
Throughout the current war, Standing Together has consistently challenged the Israeli public and government, ever pushing it leftwards. They were the first Israeli organisation to demand a cease-fire and the first Israeli organisation that created humanitarian aid shipments to the people of Gaza. Their aid convoys, however, were stopped several kilometres before reaching Gaza by Israeli police forces. When it became clear the shipment would not reach Gazans, Standing Together diverted it to Palestinians in the West Bank.
Beyond Palestine, Israel, and the current war, I asked Green about activism globally. Over the years, Green has learned from movements in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. For instance, during the global waves of protests in 2011, the Israeli protesters borrowed a phrase from Cairo’s Tahrir Square: “The people demand social justice”. In addition to echoing across national borders, this phrase broke barriers within Israeli society, as Israelis and Palestinians alike supported the cause. “It was chanted in Arabic in Nazareth and Haifa, and in Hebrew in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It was the first time in Israeli history that the phrase ‘the people’ was not [referring to just] the Jewish people.” The movement had encompassed the entire population, regardless of religious, national, or ethnic distinctions.
In the spirit of learning from international activists and movements, I hoped to get some tips from Green about what individuals who care about political issues should do. Above all else, Green believes that people should utilise their electoral power. “Take your political system very seriously,” he advises. “Your government has a huge impact on your own life and on what happens in Israel, Palestine and around the world. You can create broad coalitions that demand change from your governments”.
Despite the clear dialogue with activists Standing Together maintains across continents, there appear to sometimes be substantial differences in their respective attitudes, specifically towards language. “Occasionally, people think the terms you use are more important than what you really do”, Green says. During meetings with activists in the United States, after Green detailed the actions the movement was taking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans, he was asked in response why Standing Together didn’t use what Green terms “buzzwords”. “OK”, he says, “words matter, but actions matter more”. Conversely, Green’s position on language may be one of the reasons why movements like BDS criticise Standing Together and see it as “a normalisation outfit”.
I ended the interview by asking Green about which sources of information he would recommend on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the War in the Gaza Strip. “It’s a good question, but I am not sure I’m the best person to ask this”, he says. Green, as an Israeli, reads mostly Israeli outletsHaaretz andLocal Conversation, which offer a “very Israeli angle”, which is informative, but not necessarily what everyone needs. He suggests following local people on social media, who report and film their personal experiences.
In addition to Green’s recommendations, other sources of information can be found through Solutions Not Sides’s weekly news brief, where they provide articles from Arabic, Hebrew and English mainstream, verified media outlets. With this, they capture “what is being said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from different perspectives”, without influence from blogs, think tanks or unverified news outlets. Furthermore, Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford and one of Israel’s “New Historians”, recommends two books to understand the conflict. First, Deluge: Gaza and Israel from Crisis to Cataclysm by Jamie Stern-Weiner, published in April 2024, covers the context leading up to October 7th and possible ways forward. Second, he recommends The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi, as “a work of outstanding historical scholarship” which “presents compelling evidence for a revaluation of the conventional Western view of the subject”.
Green’s words continue to resonate weeks after our interview, as the war continues and around the world activists escalate their struggles. Green believes everyone has what it takes to be an activist. “We live in a crisis-riddled world where there are many opportunities, but the powerful minority reaps them while the majority suffer.” He says. “Throughout history, what broke these dynamics [of exploitation] was the people who forced change on their political system. We need to remember the saying, ‘if we won’t liberate ourselves, we won’t be liberated at all’ – and that is a real possibility”. Green speaks from years of experience, of both success and failures. But looking at the current state of Israel politically, economically, militarily, and morally, one cannot think his words are overly idealistic.
