Monday 13th October 2025
Blog Page 716

Abracadabra, à la Kassam: How the magic of the cup can get students watching local football

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Abracadabra, à la Kassam: How the magic of the cup can get students watching local football

Oxford United will host Manchester City at the Kassam Stadium in the third round of the Carabao Cup on the 25th of September. It promises to be a huge game for the town, with a bumper crowd expected and selection for television coverage almost an inevitability.

However, very few people at university seem to care about Oxford United. Although the Kassam Stadium and the chance to watch professional football is just a bus ride away, there does not appear to be an appetite for local football among students and even the thought of it seems so detached from university life.

Last season I went to my first Oxford United home match, against Rochdale. The price of the match ticket was reasonable at £14, the standard of football was high and the atmosphere created by the home fans was as good as I’ve seen on my travels, following my team Morecambe up and down the country. To top it all off, Oxford came away with a 2-1 win. There was nothing not to like. So why is it that there is no real taste for local football among students and what could make more people get behind the local side?

In my opinion, students don’t go and watch Oxford United because it is too easy to get your football fix elsewhere. With Monday Night Football, midweek cup competitions and Super Sunday, the concept of 3 o’clock on a Saturday is being lost. Going to watch a football match seems like an occasion, rather than a routine. It is this routine that is at the centre of enjoying lower league football. The familiarity of catching the same bus, having a pint in the same pub before the game and sitting in the same seats as two weeks before is the charm of it all – but the JCR TV will always be the cheaper and easier option. Another issue is the work required on the fan’s part, and with university life being so busy, this work is difficult to put in. The average student probably could not name any Oxford United players, couldn’t tell you how to get to the ground or who the manager of the team is. It does take time to learn these things and get this familiarity, but once you do, you can really feel a part of the club. Without such familiarity, you are only really going to watch the yellows against the reds or the blues. It isn’t the most exciting prospect.

So this is the issue, to get people to want to watch the football there is a need for familiarity, but this familiarity is only achieved by going to the football. It is an impenetrable cycle, like that meme about applying for a job when you have no experience. What’s more, the number of games it takes to achieve this familiarity is hard to reach given the busy nature of university life and the fact that most students aren’t actually in Oxford for that long. It seems like a cycle that cannot be broken – but this is where the magic comes in.

Televised coverage can fast track the process of familiarisation, and Oxford’s match with Man City will be a prime example. Sky Sports are very adept at putting across the story of a football club. Knowing that most of its audience won’t know much about Oxford United, they will pick out the players to keep a close eye on, tell anecdotes that endear us to the players and staff, and set out the story of the season so far, in order to make the game more interesting to the neutral. To diehard Oxford fans this may come across as an oversimplification of their club, but to casual supporters, and any student watching, this is the information that enables you to root for the team and create an affinity with them. Whether they win or lose, after this game Oxford United will become a lot more familiar to students and it will be a much more enticing prospect to go and watch them play.

I speak from experience. The second team I follow is Bristol City and last season they reached the semi-finals of the Carabao cup, knocking out Manchester United and playing two legs against Manchester City in the process. I was lucky enough to go to the second leg in Bristol with my friend from Bristol University. He brought some of his university mates along and you could see other similar groups of students in the crowd. The magnitude of the game visibly connected the students with the town and its football club. It was great to see the unifying power of football, not too dissimilar to this summer with the World Cup. I really think something of the sort can happen with Oxford and its students.

And so if you can, sit down and watch the game against Man City. Oxford are the underdogs, but with the magic of the cup who knows what might happen? You might even find yourself a second team.

First-generation, black student launches crowdfund to take up Oxford place

Oscar Baker
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First-generation, black student launches crowdfund to take up Oxford place

A prospective Oxford student has received widespread support for his crowdfunding effort to raise enough money to take up MSc studies this academic year.

Roy Celaire, who is a first-generation student, aims to become an academic anthropologist to “work on the issues confronting members of the black community in Britain.”

Roy is currently short of his target by just under £3,000. Last year, the University of Oxford agreed to defer Roy’s place, when he could not raise the £30,000 fees required.

His crowdfund has drawn support from across the U.K. so far, including from Cambridge University Professor of Classics, Mary Beard.

Growing up in Hackney, east London, Celaire attended the failing Homerton College of Technology, now “closed down due to incredibly low attainment, gangs and violence.” He later became homeless after his mother abandoned him aged 17.

Moving to Brentwood in Essex from Hackney, Roy became the first member of his family to go to university when he took up a place at the University of Southampton to read Sociology and Social Policy. However, he was forced to drop out after his first year, due to the financial pressures of commuting and meeting rent bills.

Nonetheless, he remained undeterred and enrolled as a mature student at Brunel University in London, graduating with a degree in Anthropology and Sociology. He then attended LSE for a Masters in Gender Studies while continuing to work full-time.

“I was having to work 50-60 hours a week just to keep myself and pay my rent as well as studying. Somehow I managed to graduate with a Merit but when I told my tutors that I had worked full time throughout the degree they were stunned,” Roy said of his time at LSE.

Following an offer from Oxford for further study, it was whilst working in Waitrose that a customer suggested Roy set up a crowdfund.

Roy told Cherwell: “The journey has been overwhelming, in that I did not expect the immense support I have received to date. I’m truly grateful to all who have donated, regardless of whether it was a £5 donation or a £1,500 donation.

“Many have commented on the fact that there are not many black people at Oxford in general and at postgraduate level in particular, and we are talking about those born in the U.K., not international students. People have expressed concern over the lack of black British academics in the U.K. and also shown their amazement at the deep costs of postgraduate study.

Roy added: “The donations have now started to dry up, the last few were from me asking colleagues to donate.

Regarding the attention his crowdfund has attracted, Roy said: “The comments and support have touched me deeply, as it showed me that I was not alone and that people could see and appreciate the efforts made to get to my present situation of having a place at Oxford.”

He also noted: “My mentor Jon Blair CBE has been amazing, so too has Professor Mary Beard, who has tweeted and donated. Mary has been extremely helpful and I’m so grateful to her for her support. I would like to thank them both publicly. I want to thank everybody at Keble as they have been very helpful, patient and understanding, regarding my situation, since last year.”

Roy’s raised his initial target of £20,000 to £30,000 after he realised he was no longer eligible for a postgraduate loan of £10,000, since he had already completed an earlier Master’s degree. He hopes to reach £32,000, so that when GoFundMe take their percentage fee, Roy has the £30,000 required total for his studies. At the time of publication, 715 people have donated £27,203 in 20 days.

Roy writes on his GoFundMe page: “I am incredibly moved by the generosity of so many people and I hate to be asking for so much money but I can assure you all that I will try to repay your faith in me by giving something back to society as an academic one day.

“To the best of my ability, I have persevered so as to not let circumstances beat me, but now I feel nearly beaten and this is probably my last chance to put myself on the road to my dream.”

Donations to Roy’s crowdfund can be made here, or by visiting https://uk.gofundme.com/hackney-to-oxford

Barcodes for the homeless: insulting or ingenious?

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Barcodes for the homeless: insulting or ingenious?

A new scheme by Greater Change in Oxford aims to provide homeless people with QR barcodes which pedestrians can scan. This would enable people to read about their backstory, donate to them via mobile bank transfer, and ensure that the donated money is only spent on approved activities. Homeless people participating in the scheme can display the barcode in any way they wish, whether that be by wearing it or holding it as a sign.

For: Tara Sallis

“Do you not think that it is rather like scanning an item in the supermarket?” suggested the BBC reporter presenting a video on this new initiative. I’ll admit that I feel discomfort when seeing this form of giving, which stems from the fact that it comes across as transactional. When we think of someone giving change to the homeless, we imagine someone generous and kind; someone scanning a homeless person’s QR code does not conjure up such a warm image, even though they are essentially doing the same thing.

The problem here is that when people perform small acts of charity such as giving to the homeless, there is typically an element of that person wanting some social credit. Interestingly, much of the outcry about this initiative has been about the optics – as if the giving process was somehow tainted by being made digital.

The debate that we are having here is not really about the homeless: it is about how good we look when we are giving to them. If we used this barcode system, it is likely that at least some pedestrians who would have wanted to give to a homeless person but were short on change, will now be able to. And others, who may have worried about how the donated money would be spent, may now be persuaded to give to someone in need since the money cannot be stolen and is guaranteed to go towards constructive things.

But ultimately, all that really matters is that we are giving an option to people in need. Homeless people can choose for themselves whether or not they want the QR codes, and they are more than capable of simply not signing up for one if they don’t like the idea. Surely if a homeless person chooses to use the QR code as a tool to improve their life, it would be incredibly patronizing of the student population to condemn this choice.

The argument that the system encourages us to just scan the QR code and move on, thus taking away a human dimension to the process, simply does not stand up. It is unclear why unlocking your phone and scanning it takes any less time than putting down a few coins. People who stay and chat to the homeless will continue to do so, people who don’t, won’t.

As for the idea that homeless people will start competing to create the most desperate story about their lives to get the most donations, this fundamentally misunderstands the nature of giving to the homeless. People do not go from one homeless person to another before donating to the individual they perceive to have the worst life. For the most part, people pass a homeless person on the street and arbitrarily choose to give them money simply because they happen to have spotted them. The notion that people will start demanding that the homeless offer up their QR codes before ranking them off against each other is frankly ludicrous.

What really dehumanises homeless people within our society is that they are living in such desperate conditions on the streets. If we genuinely care about making the homeless feel human again, we should commend the creation of new tools which they can choose to use to get themselves out of their predicament. Maybe this scheme will be successful, maybe it won’t be. But the introduction of such an innovation addressing the homelessness issue is a positive development which should undoubtedly be encouraged.

Against: Sophie Kilminster

The thumbnail for the BBC news video explaining Greater Change’s scheme to allow people to make cashless donations to homeless people was enough to put me off the idea. The picture is of Terry, a homeless man in Oxford, looking up towards a faceless person brandishing a smartphone at him to scan the barcode attached to a string around his neck. The immediate initial impression I get is that of Terry wearing a dog-tag and being at the whim of someone with a lot more power than him.

It is inevitable that there will be a power imbalance between the homeless and the rest. This is particularly the case in Oxford, where students in ball-gowns, sub fusc and expensive designer gear flounce past those who can barely afford to eat. That power dynamic is perhaps unavoidable, and as one homeless woman interviewed in the video admits: yes, wearing a barcode is objectifying, but at least it brings in some money.

But here is where my main gripe with the system kicks in: when you scan the QR code attached to your homeless person-of-choice’s neck, you’re able to read their bio. Terry’s bio states that he was once a scaffolder, but that his relationship with his partner ended badly and led to him becoming homeless. It is frankly none of our business why Terry is homeless, and how galling must it be for him to have to make the painful facts of his past public to get a few quid off some student standing over him with their expensive smartphone?

Likewise, I worry that this QR barcode system could result in people who are on the streets for less ‘nice’ reasons, such as being an ex-incarcerated person or being an addict, being seen as less deserving of people’s money. No matter their reasons for being on the streets (which, again, are none of our business), homeless people deserve a chance at a fresh start and should never have to air their dirty laundry to get this.

I hate to think of how this could become some battle of tragic backstories, with certain homeless people alienated by the scheme’s donators because their story isn’t as nice as that of the man sitting a few metres down the same road. Ultimately, our kindness and goodwill should never be exclusively for those who are homeless for supposedly ‘worthy’ reasons; if our goodwill is not universal, then it becomes divisive, not helpful.

An even more pressing concern is that the act of refusing to wear a barcode which details all the bad hands life has dealt may be misconstrued by the public as such homeless people being unwilling to get back on their feet. It’s important to remember that nobody wants to be homeless, and if it were simply a question of willpower then the current homelessness crisis might not exist.

Ultimately, the bio element of the app and the likeness of the barcode to a dog tag are real oversights which make this system fatally flawed. Whilst this scheme has its heart in the right place, we must be careful not to sacrifice morality and humanity when technology takes such a big step forward.

Artist Feature: Drake

Orlaith Fox
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Artist Feature: Drake

Despite facing accusations of uninventive ghost-writing and over-singing on his tracks, Drake currently occupies 13 spaces on the Billboard 100. Drake is omnipresent: the radio is obsessed with ‘Nice for What’, social media was captivated by the #InMyFeelings challenge and Spotify is still obsessed with his image. It’s hard then, to imagine him before the fame – a teacher at my school nonchalantly spoke of going to school with the young Aubrey Graham, and disappointingly described him as a pretty normal guy. Whether ‘Fuckin’ Problems’ or ‘Take Care’ was more your taste, Drake has been a constituent figurehead of contemporary music for our generation.

This is, in part, due to his appearance on TV show Degrassi in the early 2000s, which cemented his popularity in native Canada before his music took off. He left the show after the release of his debut, Room for Improvement, in 2006, with particular standouts like ‘City is Mine’ showcasing his playful arrogance and establishing his allegiance to Toronto – a theme which continues to influence his music.

His 2007 mixtape, Comeback Season, birthed the OVO label, and a collaboration with Trey Songz on Replacement Girl brought him national attention. However, it was Drake’s remix of Lil Wayne’s ‘Man of the Year’ which could be seen as the beginning of his rise. Wayne invited Drake to join him on tour, spawning mixes together like I Want This Forever (the precursor to Drake’s popular song, ‘Forever’). This laid the foundations for Drake’s later signing to the Young Money Entertainment label.

His 2009 mixtape, So Far Gone, was his first taste of commercial success – ‘Best I Ever Had’ was his first top-ten single, and also earnt him two Grammy nominations. His celebrity had unmistakably launched.

It’s hard to deny that his debut album, Thank Me Later, demonstrated his innate early lyricism and easy flow, but perhaps its title was aptronymic in that his second studio album was much more deserving of the fanfare and dizzying praise associated with a debut. Take Care, as the title suggests, was more cautious and the production more consistent – the end result being an album that remains a firm fan favourite, despite numerous subsequent releases.

A project I could rant about easily, Drake’s sophomore album sees him finding balance. It delivered in all aspects, occupying the marginal gap between self-conscious maturity (e.g. on ‘Shot for Me’) and his regular brazen showmanship, seemingly accentuated by Lil Wayne on ‘The Motto’ and ‘HYFR’ – both of which are still weekly staples of the Park End Curve floor seven years later (if that’s any marker of success). It’s also the album which helped get a generation through heartbreak – ‘Marvin’s Room’ remains the pièce-de-résistance of long-time producer 40’s talents, for bringing his typical muffled synths and broody ambience to a head. Praise is also due for his work alongside The Weeknd on the mellow and introspective ‘Crew Love’. The album as a whole cemented Drake’s status, while the vulnerability and candour he brought was largely unparalleled by contemporaries, his emotive lyricism providing refreshing quality, resulting in a much wider audience for the budding artist.

2013’s Nothing Was The Same saw the return of Drake’s early boastfulness, with ‘Started from the Bottom’ and ‘Worst Behaviour’ showcasing a cocky attitude. It’s easy listening, but with actual merit besides the mellow beats and honey vocals provided by Jhene Aiko and Majid Jordan. Remembering to pay homage where it’s due, Drake successfully carries off a sample of Wu-Tang’s ‘It’s Yourz’ on ‘Wu-Tang Forever’, and the later ‘Pound Cake’ interpolates ‘C.R.E.A.M’ – his talent is shown in the duality of his increasing experimentalism, with an ability to throw it back and expose the humble sensitivity of earlier hip hop.

What A Time To Be Alive, a collaborative album with Future, brought Drake back into the buzz with energetic beats, and Metro Boomin’s trap-inspired production. It’s probably fair to say that it’s an album which Future dominates, but ‘Jumpman’ was of course an immediate classic, and it’s a track which Drake navigates with authoritative confidence.

2015 would perhaps be better celebrated as the year of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Though ‘Madonna’ and ‘Now & Forever’ showcase his melodic prowess, and led to him being christened ‘the original sad rapper’ by critics, there’s an obvious harshness in tracks like ‘6 God’ and ‘6 Man’. ‘Know Yourself’ boasts of his possession of Toronto and its slang, which sadly took prevalence over the more emotive ‘You & The 6’, a softer devotional to his single mother which would likely be more at home with his earlier R&B moods, and deserves more hype for the honesty and perspective it displays.

Drake’s change with each album can again be charted with 2016’s Views, and honestly, it’s an album I’ve never been able to listen to in full. Like an autobiography set to music, Drake’s introspection becomes tiring, and his inability to settle on a mood for the excessively-long listing makes listening disjointed. His interest in dancehall here does bring something new to his discography – ‘Controlla’ and ‘One Dance’ are undeniably bops, and it’s a shame that their overexposure made them somewhat annoying. However, the emotion which made Drake sound different years earlier now came off as hollow. The album did well, as all of Drake’s do, but rightfully received less critical acclaim than his usual introspection.

More Life could be a playlist, it could be a mixtape – critics are split on what to call it, but united in positive reviews of the 2017 project. Changing things up for a seventh major release is no easy feat. Most importantly, Drake used his huge celebrity to give rise to genres usually ignored in favour of viral rap: dancehall influences continued in ‘Blem’, he featured on Nigerian star WizKid’s ‘Come Closer’, while Drake’s unusual love of the UK and grime scene became apparent in ‘No Long Talk’ and ‘KMT’.  Drake got into British rap and the grime battle scene through spearheads such as Wiley and Skepta, with Skepta admitting to seeing his shadow in the toxic beefs between Drake and Meek Mill. Toronto would forever be home, but there has been an undeniable hint of London in Drake’s releases from the past couple of years – Sampha’s vocals on ‘4422’ are delicate yet atmospheric, and the natural Canadian twang on ‘KMT’ or ‘Gyalchester’ is amusing when twisted around British slang. More Life was the birth of Drake’s relationship with the UK, which recently culminated in him doing a ‘Fire in the Booth’ freestyle, with an obvious UK drill influence.

More Life was long enough for Drake to explore everything in depth, and thus no one side felt short-changed: there was broody, evaluative ambience (I put ‘Do Not Disturb’ and ‘Teenage Fever’ on almost every playlist I make), while stellar features from Travis Scott and Young Thug rooted his more energetic side.

Finally, we’re brought to this year’s offering, which both surpasses expectations and still manages somehow to fall flat. Some tracks romanticise paternity, with ‘Emotionless’ hinting at some inherent protectiveness to explain Drake’s absent take to parenting. However, the issues in his personal relationships and the maturity he manages in admitting his faults are reminiscent of his early sincerity, and embracing his shame informs the dignified and triumphant tone of the album as a whole, despite an inevitably forced hand. It’s not our place to judge whether or not he’s a good parent, but elsewhere the weighty ‘March 14’ gives the album an unspoken intimacy.

It’s inevitable that in 90 minutes, with few major guest appearances, there are going to be some passes – while having no obvious flops, there’s little to say about songs like ‘Ratchet Happy Birthday’ (not even PARTYNEXTDOOR can revive this) and ‘Can’t Take A Joke’. Scorpion follows its predecessor in being exhaustingly long, with little grit to keep listeners hooked. Yet, not unlike the loyal 40 who still masterminds the majority of album production, we stay invested – it’s worth remembering that he has just spent 6 weeks topping the Billboard 200. Though victory over considerably aging albums from competition like Post Malone and Cardi B is hardly impressive, there is something to be said for Drake’s ability to captivate his audience so consistently, and the monopoly he holds over streaming services and the radio.

In theory, the double-album offers Drake the scope to both revel in his glory on the A-side and reflect upon it on the more R&B minded flipside; but there is at times confusion, such as between the heavy background thump of ‘Elevate’ versus its own soft lyricism complicating its position on the ‘rap’ side. ‘I’m Upset’ shows that Drake refuses to give up his juvenile approach to relationships and the social media play on ‘Summer Games’ is immature amidst his (excessive) (try-hard) gloomy vocals.

The R&B-side is a mixed bag: Drake sounds tired and disinterested in the opener ‘Peak’, and I don’t think it’s just method-acting for the deadbeat boyfriend the track discusses. ‘Final Fantasy’ on the other hand uses his slurring to an atmospheric, sensual effect.  ‘After Dark’ is an overlooked winner on this album, sampling the late Static Major to create a mellow tune which you could easily believe dates to the early 00s, surprisingly impassioned by a solid guest appearance from Ty Dolla $ign.

Guest appearances as a whole are where Scorpion really comes into its own, and they also demonstrate Drake’s bold experimentalism and the extent of his fortune – ‘Nice for What’ may have prominent (and therefore pricey) samples in Lauryn Hill and Wu-Tang to name but a few, but the obvious choice across the album is Michael Jackson’s posthumous appearance on ‘Don’t Matter To Me’. Sampling previously-unheard vocals, Drake takes his music to edge of experimentalism and pushes the boundaries of R&B and pop. The song is emotive and Drake’s reflective verses couple hauntingly with Jackson’s brief sample. Michael Jackson is as instantly recognisable as ever, but heavy autotune makes him come off more like The Weeknd, who ironically drew heavy inspiration from the late King of Pop on early tracks. The appearance is a flex – it’s less about what Drake has done with the MJ feature and entirely about the fact that he was able to secure it in the first place.

As with much of Drake’s recent work, the album is largely spoiled by its own overexposure – I refuse to listen to ‘In My Feelings’ in full out of principle, and everyone was over ‘God’s Plan’ by the time the album actually dropped. Nonetheless, the album’s highlights – ‘Nonstop’, ‘8 out of 10’, ‘Sandra’s Rose’, ‘Don’t Matter to Me’, ‘Final Fantasy’ – are worth a listen.

I’d be happy to see Drake take a hiatus and focus more on the October’s Very Own brand before coming back to music with a little more substance – starting off by fulfilling his annually-disappointing promise to bring OVO Fest to London wouldn’t hurt. He’s faced criticism in the past that he’s stifling newer talents like Roy Woods and dvsn through lazy management at OVO: both hugely talented, and yet still minor, players in the industry despite years since their respective debuts. Drake could do well mentoring fresh meat, but critics will only get more vicious at the future release of more half-baked albums lacking the enthusiasm of his younger self, and fans increasingly disillusioned at the dilution of his early potential.

Strictly Straight Dancing: Why millennials no longer watch TV

Fin Kavanagh
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Strictly Straight Dancing: Why millennials no longer watch TV

The vac offers a golden opportunity to catch up on some sorely missed trash TV. However, as we leave the Oxford bubble, it becomes clear the more progressive ideas and attitudes that many of us have come to adopt in our time here have not permeated into society far beyond Thornhill Park and Ride.

From the overwhelming prominence of gender binary toilets, to employees receiving well below the living wage paid at most colleges, students and their respective universities across the UK appear to be speeding down the progressive highway, while much of rest of the world looks like its struggling to get out of second gear.

Terrestrial television might be one of our best examples of this. The average age of an ITV1 viewer is now 60. Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse could have all met their untimely deaths, been reborn, had an entire second career, died again, and they’d still be younger than the average bloke watching Broadchurch.

If you decide you’ve had enough of ITV1 and watching Gail Platt shout at her kids, you can flick over to BBC2 just in time for Pointless, where you can add an extra two years onto that age. No coveted Pointless trophy for working out that’s 62.

Fear not though, the average age of a Channel 4 viewer, the home of cult adolescent comedies like The Inbetweeners and the vomit inducing Naked Attraction, is a sprightly 55 by comparison. So bear in mind next time you ask “is that a wart or a third nipple?” that Gran may well be wondering the very same thing.

Mainstream television viewership is dominated by a demographic with views and values of a different generation, as are the production companies, station managers and focus groups where these programs are piloted. It should come as no surprise then that last week Strictly Come Dancing bosses have announced that it had no plans to introduce same sex couples onto the show.

Budding LGBTQ competitor and resident doctor on Schof and Holly’s This Morning, Ranj Singh, took issue with this. As I’m sure did the London Academy of Dance, the UK Same Sex Dancing Council and the multiple other same sex dance academies, clubs, and schools operating in the UK.

Yes, despite the tango originally being danced between two men, the producers saw adjusting the show’s very nuanced, intricate and in no way soul-destroying formula far beyond the capabilities of mere mortals.

And then there’s Love Island, the show that captivated millions and divided a nation. When the show’s producer was questioned on whether the station had any plans to make the show any less of a dystopian, hetero, Barbie and Ken fake tan fest, he replied rather sheepishly that the show’s format simply wouldn’t work if it included same sex couples.

Asked how it could be made more inclusive, he suggested: “we should have a separate show for gay audiences”. Cheers pal, that’s just how you reassure a bunch of questioning adolescents that their sexuality makes them no different to anyone else.

Well, fuck him I say. And, funnily enough, so did Sophie and Katie in the 2016 series, when they stuck two fingers up at the show, upset the heteronormative apple cart and coupled up anyway — only to be fetishized by half the nation in the process.

Anyone who says that these shows can’t embrace diversity is, much like Dr Alex on his recent Instagram stories, chatting absolute horseshit.

Take First Dates, a show which takes the concept of blind dates, which go as back as far back as the 1920s (when homosexual activity was still illegal in pretty much all the Western world) and applies a very modern definition of love to them. The shows successful applicants vary from individuals in their 90s, to people with both physical and mental disabilities — not to mention the vast majority of us who don’t look like we’ve been chiselled by Michelangelo himself. Yet the show still makes for entertaining, dramatic and often genuinely heart-warming viewing— without the need, funnily enough, to be near totally whitewashed or entirely heteronormative.

Television has always been a force for progression. From the first televised close ups of the Queen during her coronation, to Julia Hesmondhaulgh playing the first transgender character in Coronation Street, programmes both fact and fiction have challenged the way we view people in our society.

It’s the energy and daring of young writers and producers to question societal norms that has driven this. However, we now turn to streaming services and online platforms for our media fill, while the once maverick TV broadcasting falls by the wayside. Online shows both old and new are happier to move with the times, the producers conscious of the fact their younger audiences’ demand a programmes more representative of the society they live in.

But as we open a new Netflix tab, spare a thought for Gran, who sits plonked in front of her Sony Bravia with the volume on full as she listens to Len Goodman whittle on. With that laptop she got for Christmas still firmly in its packaging, she won’t ever stream new favourites like Queer Eye, Orange Is The New Black, or Brooklyn 99. Instead, she’ll be forced to watch the same regurgitated episodes of Come Dine With Me three times a day. It will do little to change her perspective on minorities, masculinity or mental health, but at least she can have a right laugh when Sue fucks up the panna cotta…silly Sue.

How Instagram ruined your summer

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How Instagram ruined your summer

Scrolling through my Instagram feed in August is enough to fill anyone who has spent the last month stewing in a rural backwater with an acute sense of inadequacy. I see picture after picture of bikini-clad friends sprawled on sun loungers, sipping candidly from enormous cocktails, floating on giant inflatables in sparkling swimming pools, or else enjoying rooftop dinners against glowing sunsets. Then there are the travellers – we see the smiles at the airport, the backpacks and bundles, and scroll past “Checked into: [insert enviable country]”. Day by day on feeds and stories we witness them befriending locals and fellow travellers, helping out with worthy causes, and relaxing around beach fires, in hammocks, or aboard yachts on Mediterranean oceans.

Summer has become like a mini gap yah. Everyone seems to be enjoying a perfect montage of picturesque family fun, quality time with friends, charity adventures to Thailand or Australia – and all of it well documented of course, in a regular stream of dazzling photos on Instagram.

Far from advancing my CV, my mental well-being, my prospects, horizons, and bragging-rights, I have this summer reverted to kid-mode. I have spent much of my time at home, bickering with my siblings, postponing vac work, and relishing reversion to total dependence on others. My sole attempt at being a grown-up was the acquisition of my first job at a pub in Oxford, which I loathed with every fibre of my being, and the small amount of money I did make I put towards my ISA rather than exotic travels.

Unsurprisingly, I have at times found myself feeling like something of a failure, because thanks to social media, #summer has become something we have to actively celebrate over the weeks, something that cannot – and should not – be “wasted” simply through lack of initiative, energy, or funds. We must take advantage of the hot weather by going abroad, swimming and festival-ing, take advantage of the time off uni by indulging in photogenic, high quality relaxation (we’re talking spa not sofa, pool not park!), while the ambitious take advantage of the free months by engaging in internships to boost their CVs.

When I stop and consider Instagram and its notoriously nebulous relationship with reality, everything makes sense – what we see in a photo is a single flash of time, a very carefully chosen, perhaps even constructed, moment in an ordinary life. Instagram is a platform designed for the nosy, ironically to punish the nosy, because what we choose to display to everyone we know is naturally going to be the very best we have. We post the best, not the normal, or we would be posting every five minutes rather than once every few days.

As a result, Instagram is a breeding-ground for competitiveness: we see other peoples’ best, and our pride demands that we present ourselves as better, and before you know it we have the string of preposterously glamorous photographs on my feed that cannot represent lives that I know are really very similar to my own. Could it be that this narcissistic cycle, which feeds on the worst of each of us – our pride, our self-absorption, and desire to dominate – manipulates us into feeling sufficiently insecure that we simply must keep posting to prove ourselves sufficient?

There is of course truth and real graft behind the pictures that we see. For most, every day spent abroad represents hours of labouring in minimum-wage jobs, and every day by the pool is surely balanced by a day at the desk – I am not the only one faced with Mountain Vac-Work.

So, depressing though Instagram can be for those of us who have not left the UK this summer, let’s not confuse social media for what it purports to be: a documentary of our lives. Well-angled snapshots of the ups do not displace the many downs we all have to face, and lack of publicity does not make your vac any less a summer. The Vac, after all, is what it says on the tin – a vacation from the pressures of Oxford – and whether you are vacating to long white beaches or to the back garden, it’s real worth is surely how much you enjoy it, rather than how good it looks next to others on the screen.

Lessons learned: Long-distance relationships

Julia Pieza
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Lessons learned: Long-distance relationships

If you’re reading this, you’re likely to be in a relationship, and with the end of the summer approaching fast, the ‘University question’ facing your relationship is looming above you. If you’re anything like me this time last year, you’ll have read reading dozens of articles desperately looking for reassurance that your relationship can survive the distance. Like me, you also may be surrounded by friends who have already broken up for university and it may seem as though the odds are against you.

Yet, a year later, I am here to tell you your relationship can not only survive, but also benefit from long-distance. Here are some lessons I’ve learned over the last year in a long-distance relationship.

Lesson one:

Plan your visits. Choose a date when one can travel to see the other, but remember that the first month of university is usually quite hectic, so make sure to give yourself enough time to settle down so that you’re comfortable travelling to see your significant other. Oxford terms can seem like an intense 8-week marathon, so being able to escape the bubble is something I personally began to look forward to when visiting my significant other.

Lesson two:

Be clear about each other’s expectations. This will be relevant if one or both of you has a heavy workload– understanding the demands of your significant other’s course will help you plan your time accordingly. Although working whilst with your significant other may seem like a waste of time, there are some things you may not be able to avoid, and it can certainly help to have someone to talk through your ideas with freely.

Lesson three:

If they are at university, explore their city or campus. Truly integrate yourself into the life at your significant other’s university, even if only for a weekend. Meeting each other’s friends is the key to tackling jealousy and maintaining a healthy relationship; and it is more than likely that you’ll make good friends too. If they are still at home, this can give you a chance to visit family also.

Lesson four, and perhaps the most cliché:

Trust each other. There is perhaps no better way to learn what trust really means than by being in a long-distance relationship. The process of learning how to trust each other is rewarding too. There is a sense of self-confidence that comes from being in a room full of people with your significant other, meeting new people and knowing you’re both really just thinking about getting back to each other.

A long-distance relationship helps you learn how to live as an individual in a relationship, which is easy to forget when you’re with your significant other virtually all the time. You may have been warned or even discouraged by your family and friends, but there will be other people in the same situation here, counting down the days until their next trip across the country.

The support of your significant other at the start of this new chapter of your life is something I know I wouldn’t have been able to manage without– knowing that they’re there for you despite the distance, always ready to give you that pep-talk before your first tute or listen to you complain about annoying neighbours. That feeling you get when you’re just about to see them at a bus or train station; the pure excitement as if it were your first date, will remind you why you’re so good together.

Oxford student successful in campaign for mother’s right to cross Mexico-US border

Oscar Baker
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Oxford student successful in campaign for mother’s right to cross Mexico-US border

An Oxford student has successfully petitioned the U.S. government to allow his mother to cross the Mexico-U.S. border to see his dying father.

St. Anthony’s student Bill De La Rosa started the online and press campaign after U.S. authorities denied his mother’s plea for humanitarian parole.

Bill’s father, Arsenio De La Rosa, 85, is hospitalised in the USA, and doctors predict he has only a few weeks to live.

Bill and his mother, Gloria Arellano Montoya, crossed the Mexico-U.S. border at Nogales Port, Arizona late last week. Bill, his father, and his three siblings are all U.S. citizens, but his mother was barred from entering the U.S. for ten years in 2009 after being denied a green card. Bill’s brother Jim was honourably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2011 to become their father’s full-time caregiver.

Mr De La Rosa, who is a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, told Cherwell: “I believe my family had all of this support because people felt this was an injustice. The fact that the U.S. immigration authorities were not allowing my mom to see my dad even for just one day was plain cruel and inhumane.

“This outcome means the world to me, particularly because this means that we can come together as a family one last time.”

The change.org petition, addressed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, received 16,069 signatures. Mr De La Rosa’s efforts received public attention in Arizonan local and regional press, as well as the support of local U.S. Congressman, Rep. Grijalva.

Mr De La Rosa wrote in the petition: “U.S. immigration law has already torn my family’s lives apart.

“My father is dying. The very least the U.S. government can do is allow her to see him one last time, and to allow him to see his wife during the final moments he has.”

It went from 5 days to 0 days to now 30 days. Mom has her humanitarian parole to come over after all the heat and…

Posted by Jim De La Rosa on Friday, August 24, 2018

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) originally denied Bill’s mother’s application on 21 August, citing her 2009 denial of residency and ban on reentry. Bill launched his campaign the following day, saying he found this decision “strange” since “my mom had previously been granted humanitarian parole in 2011 when my dad suffered his first stroke.”

His mother Gloria had then been allowed into the U.S. for five days, with the CBP granting her another five-day extension upon completion.

In addition to the petition, Bill contacted U.S. and Arizona representatives, held a press conference, and had multiple TV and newspaper interviews.

The U.S. government reversed their decision by the morning of 24 August. Bill’s mother was given a 30-day humanitarian parole, longer than the temporary length Bill had expected.

He told Cherwell: “When I first heard about this, I simply could not believe it, especially the length of her humanitarian parole. I went down to Mexico that same morning to pick her up and cross the U.S.-Mexico border together.”

Bill De La Rosa thanked all those who had supported his campaign in a video moments after crossing the border.

Cellar: a haven for nonconformists

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Cellar: a haven for nonconformists

Cellar is more than just a club, it is a theme in and of itself. Most people describe Cellar as sweaty or grungy, but what has always fascinated me is that those dripping neon walls are covered in murals of the fantastical. Dragons, castles, princesses, goblins in radiant pinks and purples. Sure the art style looks like a stoner was given a 6-pack of highlighters, but these walls give me the impression that Cellar represents a desire for escapism that’s a little different to other clubs.

When the nights themselves often have quite niche motifs, a journey to Cellar isn’t an attempt to mindlessly lose yourself in alcohol, bass and the mouths of other people, it’s a journey to transport yourself to another point in time. To go to a club night for the sake of the music rather than only the social aspect shows that those who rock up already have an emotional connection to what’s being played, and because of this there’s a feeling of community between strangers there. We all already love the same thing, and want to be taken for one night to the world it came from.

People complain that Cellar itself is just trying to be edgy, as are the people who enjoy it. But to me it seems there’s a touch of self-aware irony. Clubbers there wear light-up sneakers, sequin jumpsuits, heaps of glitter, and holographic nightmares. I bring my best/worst trashy glam outfits there, and get free drinks from the club. In the way that people revel in the bright tastelessness of glam, Cellar keeps on being proudly and authentically dire.

Now I can’t vouch for all of Cellar – I’ve been to many Burning Down the House nights, a couple RnB ones, and Dance Kapital (what other club would agree to put on something as simultaneously lame and glorious as a Labour club night? I mean it when I say Cellar is self-aware). But I can at least say that Burning Down the House is something truly special. Bowie, Talking Heads, The Smiths, these are bands who can be said to have changed the culture of their time through the intellect and narrative of their work. Life on Mars?, Bigmouth Strikes Again, Once in a Lifetime tell stories, and the musicians’ careers can be said to tell dozens of little stories that shaped their period.

I’m always going to dance to Rihanna’s S&M or Taio Cruz’s Dynamite, but the English student in me knows that reading into the more profound lyrics of narrative songs often chosen in Burning Down the House surrounding that Smiths/Bowie/Talking Heads core group might change me ever-so-slightly as a person. Some people go to clubs to forget themselves, but I guess I look for something unforgettable and irrevocable.

The first time I went to Cellar was a kind of Renaissance for me. Only been clubbing twice before, fairly innocent, whisked away there by a guy I knew was bad news. To be brought into this seedy little den felt so right, and there were my favourite bands reaching out and telling me to seize life. The other clubs mostly present one or two large open floor spaces with strobe lighting, but Cellar is a dark little labyrinth, where drunk you could very likely get lost. Kiss someone in Parkend and all your friends and the entire floor are going to see it, but in Cellar you can easily be stolen away and find a nook you’ve never noticed before.

On top of club nights Cellar is a space for live music events given to local small bands, a sign that above all else, the place cares about music instead of ripping as much money away from you as it can. I haven’t been to these, but there is a devoted fanbase of people who don’t especially like club nights who enjoy Cellar gigs. Shutting down Cellar would leave even more of a social divide between those who go clubbing and those who don’t, if there is less opportunity for the halfway point of gigs.

Last time Cellar faced closure, the situation was one in which local support could make a difference – the relocation of the Lush store and issues to do with rent. This time, I can’t think of how the problem could be resolved by students, though I’m sure many would agree to pay more for entry, and will still do what we can to verbally support the club. This place means a lot to me, and I think everyone who goes there regularly has their own stories as to why it means something to them. Cellar shutting down would be a great loss to Oxford as a whole, but for now I suppose it’s up to the gods of crappy grunge to decide what will happen to it.

The Cherwell Freshers’ Packing List

Libby Cherry
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The Cherwell Freshers’ Packing List

After experiencing three terms of packing and re-packing, you will soon become adept in knowing exactly what you take to university. The first Michaelmas pack is always full of the unnecessary and, in hindsight, rather ridiculous (entire cutlery set for a dinner party of 12, enough food to see you through World War III, yet just one pair of socks). Obviously, what you will need varies massively from college to college, let alone for each individual, but here are some of the basics:

Clothes 

When it comes to clothes, the amount you bring is really up to you. I personally have no shame in declaring my laziness by hulking the entire contents of my wardrobe down to Oxford, meaning that I only have to do a wash every 2 weeks. However, no matter if you are a little more adept with washing machines (or have less obliging parents), you need to cover these main categories.

  • Day-to-day. Essentially wear whatever you want, wherever you want. Dress codes are fairly hazy, although I personally I always feel that whilst ‘In College’ I can dress very casually and slightly scale up if I’m going to faculty. Some may say that the pinnacle of sartorial showing-off is the RadCam but, equally, I have been in there in sweaty running leggings and no one has batted an eyelid.
  • Whatever your style, I would say just think layers, layers, layers. University buildings are erratically heated and it is not unusual to find yourself freezing in an unheated library to going into a packed lecture hall that is more Amazonian than Oxonian. Get ready to strip.
  • Bop clothes – The backbone of any fresher’s wardrobe is ultimately a collection of weird stuff that doesn’t really go together, or, if worn at once, wouldn’t come close to any kind of coherent outfit. Yet, combined with some more nondescript items, these garments make very enviable bop costume that can accommodate for pretty much any theme. The kind of things I’m talking about are bandannas, wigs, fluorescent tights, coconut bikinis, animal onesies, dungarees, PVC leggings, dog collars, anything that glows in the dark, tutus, Hawaiian shirts, anything food-related. And, of course, the absolute staple is glitter (for everyone). For the more creative: scissors, cardboard, and facepaint. 
  • The essay crisis outfit. This varies but is almost universally sweatpants and some kind of greatly over-sized school leavers’ hoodie. Comforting water-bottle strapped to stomach is optional.
  • Big coats – a lot of the pubs/drinking locations have outside seating, and, you will be spending a lot of time shivering. A full-face balaclava wouldn’t go amiss, in my opinion.
  • Clothes for formal – again, this varies from college to college. But generally a nice dress and heels will suffice, otherwise, its a suit or a suit. Whether you have to wear a gown is dependent on your college.
  • Sports clothes – make sure they are weather appropriate for first term.
  • Shoes – wear whatever you like on a regular basis, but in addition 1) 1x pair of ‘fancy’ shoes for formal 2) 1x black boring shoes for matriculation (whack out those old school shoes) 3) 1x pair of disgusting shoes for clubbing (they will be trashed. Whatever club. However classy aspire to be). 4) 1x trainers-for-actual-sport 5) 1x slippers. Essential in draughty bedrooms. 6) 1x flip-flops. Even in winter. I know. Trust me, they aren’t just for holidays.
  • Dressing-gown. Embrace your inner Edwardian – this is the only solution to dashing to the shared bathroom.

BEDROOM

  • Light features. My college room had a single bare bulb. Ask your college parents what your room will come with but I imagine that most rooms could do with a lampshade, fairy lights (battery-powered), and, possibly, desk lamps. 
  • Rug. 
  • Wall coverings – posters, photos of that gap yah/interrailing trip, more rugs. Check what is allowed for your college, but most will at least offer a pinboard.
  • Blankets/cushions – if you like that sort of thing.
  • 2x sets of sheets – they take surprisingly long to dry in November.
  • Additional pillow. Unless you’re a kind of Puritan that can deal with their single, flat offering.
  • Hot water bottle.

Bathroom 

  • Shower cap 
  • Towel 
  • Toothbrush 
  • Flannel

Eating

  • Snacks. Of course, there are supermarkets in Oxford. But I always found it useful having a supply of nuts, and reheatable rice pouches for those days when you can’t make it to hall and are absolutely ravenous.
  • Cooking implements: Check what is on offer at your college, kitchen-wise. But at least one set of cereal bowl, plate, knife, fork, spoon, mug, glass is useful. Tupperware and water bottle for lunch on the go. Sandwich bags are also good for sneaking food into libraries. If your college does offer a hob – wooden spoon, small saucepan, grater, colander are all useful. If you’re a foodie, raiding your home cupboard for spices and oil might be a good idea.
  • Surface cleaner, washing up liquid, sponge, scrubbing brush. 

Other equipment: 

  • Swimming costume. 
  • Bike. Most colleges house their freshers on-site so a bike may seem fairly superfluous if you are close to the centre of town. However, despite being at a very central college, I still found it useful cutting that 15 minute walk to faculty to 5 minutes! The essentials are: a back and front light, a helmet, a bell. It might also be good to have a back grid and bungee. A D-lock is absolutely vital if you choose to bring a bike as well.
  • Re-usable shopping bags/cloth tote bags.

All of this may seem a bit overwhelming, and like a bit of a challenge to get in the boot of a Ford Focus, but you’ll work out pretty quickly what you do and don’t need. No one ever packs the perfect selection of stuff, and as people in third year will tell you, it’s an art you gradually improve at term on term.

 

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