Tuesday 7th October 2025
Blog Page 761

New crowd-management measures introduced for May Morning

Daniel Hall
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New crowd-management measures introduced for May Morning

Oxford City Council have announced a new crowd management system for May Morning, set to be implemented this year.

A record-breaking 27,000 people descended on the city last year, with large numbers congregating on the High Street and Magdalen Bridge.

To help with manage these large crowds, one-way channels will be put in place along Magdalen Bridge, in order to allow people to move easily during and after the event. There will also be stewards and signs in place, while bicycles will not be allowed to cross the bridge.

The new strategy comes after reports of a ‘crush’ at last year’s May Morning, when a gridlock occurred on Magdalen Bridge as people tried to leave.

According to the Council, this was due to people leaving the bridge towards East Oxford being met by “an unusually high number of people wanting to come into the city from the Plain Roundabout”.

The Council hopes that the one-way channels, as part of the new crowd management system, will ensure that this problem will not happen again.

Paula Redway, Oxford City Council’s cultural development manager, said: “We take crowd safety incredibly seriously and, following last year’s May Morning, the City Council and event partners have been working hard to make sure that the crowd problems are not repeated.

“Magdalen Bridge will look different during this year’s event, with signs, barriers and stewards directing people to keep the crowd flowing on the bridge. We ask that those wishing to attend make themselves aware of the new plans and follow instructions on the day.”

Demand also looks set to be high for other May Day events in Oxford, with special all-night club events at The Bullingdon and O2 Academy selling out months in advance.

Life Divided: Formal or Normal?

Julia Alsop and Lara Scheibli
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Life Divided: Formal or Normal?

Formals: Julia Alsop

There’s nothing that feels more Oxford than donning a gown, grabbing a bottle of wine (second cheapest is far classier than the cheapest, right?), and making your way to an ornate hall for a formal meal that cost you a maintenance loan-friendly £5.

Sure, it may be ridiculous. Sure, it may be an archaic tradition. But even the haters among you have a soft spot for it. It’s one of the peculiarities of Oxford life: it’s a privilege that makes up for the intensity of eight-week terms and the pain that is fifth week. And sometimes, even students who live off pesto pasta need a touch of decadence to feel human.

Obviously, some colleges are better renowned for gastronomical pursuits than others. But wherever you go, your college hall is your space – somewhere you have worked your arse off to get to (and still do), and, as such, get to enjoy the space with friends, good food, and a decent bottle of wine.

Trust me, I have come to appreciate this all the more, since my beloved hall, at Worcester College, has been out of action for the duration of Michaelmas and Hilary for renovation. Going to formal at other colleges is great, but the real joy of formal is really down to enjoying your college and the people in your college community.

Oxford traditions are innately a bit stupid – you either love them or hate them: sub fusc for one (even the name is outmoded), matriculation, trashing. But, in my opinion, formal hall is probably one of the most wholesome ones.

When you spend so much of your time in college having essay crises, what is better than to get to enjoy your environment, to appreciate the wonderful architecture, and to have conversations that help build the memories of your days of Oxford?

Not Formals: Lara Scheibli

To most people formals mean good(ish) food and a chance to have a pleasant evening in the company of friends.

However, what many do not consider is the ways in which formals can perpetuate an image of Oxford that might deter those from already underrepresented backgrounds from applying.

There is already a widespread belief that Oxford is for the posh, privileged and privately educated. We foster this view further with extravagancies such as frequent formal dinners. Many applicants do not know anyone who attends Oxford, and they therefore rely on hearsay to build up and understanding of the University. If you hear about these events and already have a preconception of Oxford, you may well think twice about applying here.

Of course, there are lots of programmes which do great work in ensuring that more people from all kinds of backgrounds apply to Oxford. However, making the University a little less “traditional” by reconsidering formals and other associated traditions could help the wider access problem further. It is no coincidence that those colleges which are regarded as less traditional tend to have higher percentages of state school students.

On a wider societal level, formal dinners also reinforce the obsolete British class system. They support the ultimate smugness of Oxford students seeing themselves as in some way just “better” than others. It seems like we should all learn to recognise that there are lots of intelligent and deserving people who do not go to prestigious universities, either by choice or chance.

Formal dinners just highlight the existing social privilege of many Oxford students. We should therefore rethink their place at the University in the 21st century, and whether we might be better off without them.

Merton beat Newcastle to reach University Challenge final

Matthew Roller
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Merton beat Newcastle to reach University Challenge final

Merton College have reached the final of University Challenge after beating Newcastle University 215-110.

They will contest Monday’s final against St John’s College, Cambridge, who thrashed the University of Edinburgh in their semi-final clash last week.

Merton have won the competition once before, when they beat a Queens’ College, Cambridge team – which included Stephen Fry – in the final of the 1980 edition.

The team have won all of their fixtures in this year’s competition, and were the highest-scoring team in the first round when they scored 285 points in their thrashing of King’s College, London.

Team captain and second-year Physics student Leonie Woodland particularly impressed during Monday night’s semi-final.

The rest of the team is made up of: Edward Thomas (History, now graduated), Alex Peplow (History, postgraduate), and Akira Wiberg (Molecular & Cellular Medicine, postgraduate).

This is the first year that Merton have had a team on the show since 2011, despite the college’s reputation for academic excellence.

This is the fifth year in a row that an Oxford college has made the final of the competition.

It is also the fifth consecutive final that will be contested between one Oxford college and one Cambridge college.

Last year’s final was won by Balliol College, who made headlines after refusing an interview with the Daily Mail, which they labelled a “fascist rag”.

[irp posts=”98983″ name=”Balliol’s University Challenge victors boycott Daily Mail”]

The show has also come under the spotlight in the past few years due to the lack of female students featuring in the latter stages of the competition.

Last year, St Hugh’s College was criticised for fielding an all-male team. Critics asked why a formerly-all-female college had chosen a team featuring four men.

In November, Wadham decided to enforce a gender quota for its entry into this year’s competition.

Oxford professor faces fourth rape complaint

Greg Ritchie
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Oxford professor faces fourth rape complaint

A Swiss woman has filed a criminal complaint for rape against Oxford scholar Tariq Ramadan, who is already being held in custody in France over similar charges.

The allegation by the unnamed woman relates to an alleged incident in Geneva in October 2008. The woman was about 40 at the time.

“At this stage of the procedure, I can confirm that we have filed a criminal complaint,” her lawyer, Romain Jordan, told Radio Télévision Suisse on Friday night. “The complaint puts forward facts that may amount to rape with aggravated circumstances.”

The news follows Ramadan’s detention in France in February on charges that he raped two women. A third woman has since accused the professor of rape.

Ramadan denies all charges, having suggested they may be part of a smear campaign against him.

A professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony’s College, Ramadan took a leave of absence in November, which the University said was “to address the extremely serious allegations made against him”.

Oxford-Cambridge Expressway a threat to rare species, RSPB says

Alice Bruce
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Oxford-Cambridge Expressway a threat to rare species, RSPB says

A proposed new dual carriageway which will run between Oxford and Cambridge has been criticised for the potential damage it would cause to a local nature reserve.

The RSPB has said that the expressway would pose a serious threat to the Otmoor Nature Reserve and its wetlands.

Calling the proposed route a “disastrous outcome for nature”, a spokesperson for the RSPB has explained that certain species of bat, butterfly and wetland bird could be endangered by the large road.

Bechstein’s bats are one of the rarest and endangered species in the UK – an estimated 1,000 bats populate areas in the south of England – and black hairstreaks are one of the rarest butterflies in the UK. Both species could be put under threat.

The threatened black hairstreak butterfly, which live in their thousands in the south of England

A campaign group, the “Expressway Action Group”, has been set up by Oxfordshire residents to protest the damage that the route could have on the area’s green belt.

The group is supported by 34 Oxfordshire parish councils and has put signs up along the proposed route reading slogans such as “Green belt not commuter belt” and “Trees not tarmac”.

The Expressway is a proposed new road which would run from the A34 to the A14, near Cambridge, running via Milton Keynes. It is hoped that it would complete the missing link between the M1 and the M40.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) gave cause for its construction in 2016 after producing a study on the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor.

The government has identified the corridor as one of the most significant areas of growth in the country. It is hoped that the construction of the road will contribute to the growth of housing and employment.

The NIC, in its “partnering for prosperity” report, described the three major areas of this development as being some of the “fastest growing, innovative, and productive” locations in the UK.

However, they explain that, at the current time, “poor east-west connectivity” is leading to “restricted interaction between these economies”, and further economic growth is threatened by journey times, congestion and housing unaffordability.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid is expected to approve the creation of up to five new towns along this route in the coming weeks after discussing the proposal in The Sunday Times in March.

Stakeholders are currently being consulted by Highways England, on behalf of the Department for Transport, to gain opinions about which “corridor” between the two university towns is the most preferred.

Salt ‘n’ Sauce Review: Far from a seaside chippy

Matthew Roller
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Salt ‘n’ Sauce Review: Far from a seaside chippy

An indoor food court next to an indoor crazy golf course sounds like a childhood nightmare: a place to host a tenth birthday rather than to host an “elevated and dynamic revolution” of a staple of British food.

And in many ways, Salt ‘n’ Sauce’s description of itself as an innovative take on a chippy is bizarre. Of course, it has the basic ingredients. But while there is batter aplenty, smooth and creamy mushy peas, and thick-cut chips, the restaurant is not an archetypal chip shop.

Indeed, as I tuck into my squid burger, lathered with spicy harissa mayo, and wash it down with a craft lager, I can’t help feeling that this experience can’t be any further from the greasy chippies of the South Coast.

But I do not mean this as a bad thing: the burger is excellent. The squid – lightly dipped in salt-and-pepper tempura flour – has been prepared to perfection by a London-trained chef, and the flavour combination is ambitious, but manages to work.

My date for the evening bites into his vegan fried ‘fish’ – actually beer-battered tofu wrapped in seaweed. He agrees: to compare this to a chippy is to compare a high-end brunch spot to a greasy spoon cafe. They are different places, both with their own merits.

Sadly, Salt ‘n’ Sauce does commit one cardinal sin. In my book, incorrectly labelling a portion of fries by calling them ‘chips’ is an almost unforgivable error. In fact, it is made even worse as I look across at Fred, and see his glee as he devours a fatty, indulgent chip butty – including proper chips!

However, my disappointment at the mislabelling is atoned for by the sauces on offer. The tartare sauce is salty and sour, as it should be. It is the kimchi mayo that particularly impresses – spicy, as promised, full-flavoured, and creamy.

And it also sums Salt ‘n’ Sauce up well: a restaurant that started life out as a pop-up in London, and is trying to provide its own spin on a chippy.

But in reality, it is much more high-end than that.

It is fast food, but only in the way that Pret is – it cares much more about flavour and innovation than it does about speed.

The Bill

Vegan Fried Fish – £6.75
Tempura Squid Burger – £8.50
Ultimate Chip Butty – £5.50
Chips ‘n’ Cheese – £3.50
Skinny Fries – £2.25
Mushy Peas – £1.50
Homemade Tartare Sauce – £1.50
Kimchi Mayo – £1.00
2x Schiehallion Lager – £9.50

Total: £40.00

Reversed: A Memoir

Kurien Parel
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Reversed: A Memoir

Nicholas Letchford completed his doctorate in mathematics last year from Oxford University on a full international scholarship. Unknown to his colleagues, Nicholas had been diagnosed with severe learning disabilities as a child, and now his mother, a passionate advocate and teacher for children with reading difficulties, has written a book about his struggles through the education system.

The path from being described as “the worst child I have seen in twenty years” by his school counsellor to an Oxford graduate was not a smooth one. The story takes place in Australia, the UK and the US, since his family moved about. The book makes clear that “learning disabilities are for life,” and even alludes to the challenges he encountered while a student at Oxford. Many of the events recounted are dire and Nicholas himself has avoided reading the whole book. Speaking to me, Nicholas said: “I don’t relate much with that time period. It is almost like the book is about another person.” He says he remembers being stressed a lot during his childhood and has avoided reading the book so as not to relive some painful memories.

After a dismal first year of school in Australia and being tested in WISC of having a low IQ, in the ‘borderline’ category, 6-year-old Nicholas was dismissed by his teachers as pointless to teach. His mother took his education into her own hands, particularly his struggle with reading. Through fun learning games and with a lot of practice, Nicholas finally learnt to read. In the meantime, his parents tried a variety of interventions, some of which turned out to be bogus, such as physical exercises that were meant to help with reading.

One of the striking points the memoir illustrates is the level of abuse children with learning disabilities face, from teachers and others. This was something Lois, Nicholas’s mother, could relate to, herself having struggled to learn to read as a child. After recounting suspicions that Nicholas had been shouted at by his first-year teacher on a regular basis, she recalls an incident from her own schooldays in which she was berated by a teacher for an assignment she handed in. It becomes apparent quite soon that the memoir is as much about the author as it is about Nicholas. Being able to relate helped her to diagnose stumbling blocks and develop strategies to teach reading.

After teaching Nicholas to read, Lois, already qualified as a physical education teacher, retrained specialising in literacy. She was shocked to find the techniques she discovered teaching Nicholas were already prescribed in the academic literature – shocked that these insights had no bearing on classroom practice nor were being implemented even by special education teachers. In the book Lois describes in detail her teaching methods with her students in the USA. She laments the waste of time and resources, when some students after several years of schooling can barely recognise a few words, because the teachers do not use the appropriate methods for such students.

Speaking to me, Lois says that she doesn’t want to accuse teachers, since that will make them defensive. Rather, she would like to see a change of attitude. Instead of labelling some students as being stupid or incapable, she would like teachers to think of ‘what can they do to change things’. In the book, while some teachers encouraged Nicholas and his mother’s efforts, some clearly did not. After Nicholas learnt to read and began to do well in his studies he moved to a new junior-high school in Texas. In his first day, because he struggled to follow some instructions due to his difficulties, in front of the whole class, his pre-Advance Placement math teacher tore up his work and suggested he quit that subject, saying he was not capable of doing it. The incident was humiliating and painful for many years to come. Raising awareness of the difficulties such students face may help avoid similar events in the future.

The memoir Reversed is now out and will be invaluable reading for those interested in special education, particularly teachers and parents.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reversed-Memoir-Mrs-Lois-Letchford/dp/1947392042/

Mansfield Entz forced to apologise for ‘420’ bop theme

Ryan Gould
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Mansfield Entz forced to apologise for ‘420’ bop theme

Mansfield JCR Entz team was forced to apologise on Friday after students criticised plans for a “420”-themed 0th Week bop that was seen to encourage the use of marijuana and the appropriation of other cultures.

In an email seen by Cherwell, the JCR Entz team outlined plans for the bop to coincide with “a very, very, special day of the year: April 20th a.k.a 420, the internationally recognised day of protest for the legalisation of Marijuana.”

The email read: “‘But’ – you protest – ‘how do I dress as 420? Doesn’t that just mean getting high?’ No! 420 is not about the consumption of da herb itself, and more about the arts, music, and literature surrounding it; it’s a celebration of a rich culture including everything from hippies to Hip-Hop, from Seth Rogan to the Dude.”

Students took to Mansfield JCR’s Facebook group to criticise the Entz team. “Sorry I think the entz don’t get april fools, is this an actual joke?? because there are SO many aspects of the email that we all just received that are deeply wrong and squirm inducing [sic],” one post read.

Another student commented: “I’m genuinely working on the assumption that the Entz email has been hacked”.

The email encouraged “all you (plant) pot-heads out there” to “dress as stoner icons like Snoop Dogg, Todd from BoJack, Shaggy from Scooby Doo, Harold and Kumar – or even the Super Troopers.”

It continued: “Still stuck for ideas? Get creative with puns. ‘Ganjalf’. ‘The Grim Reefer’. A ‘baked’ potato. ‘Ganja Claus’. Make a ’blunt’ statement by just dressing in all green. Don’t forget, there’s always the classic ‘I was going to find a costume for the bop, but then I got high’.”

An addendum at the bottom of the email noted that “the possession and consumption of marijuana is illegal in the UK and against University regulations. The JCR Entz do not condone its usage in any way, both in this event or otherwise. 4/20 is an internationally recognised day of protest for legalisation as well as an iconic aspect of pop culture for our generation, and this is what we intend to celebrate.”

The Entz team sent another email shortly afterwards apologising “for the (no longer) ‘420’ themed BOP this coming Friday. We understand that this was met with offence and we want to apologise dearly to those who were offended.

“We overlooked the clear issues with this theme and now realise our very significant mistake in the matter. We can’t apologise enough.”

They added: “And clearly nor did we expect any members of the College to be dressing in a manner so as to be culturally appropriating any culture.”

The Mansfield Entz team told Cherwell: “We recognised quickly that there were many real problems with this theme and it was consequently changed. To reiterate, the event will not be going ahead with this theme. We regret and apologise for any offence or distress which may have been caused.”

‘She is the one controlling the play’- Rufus Norris’ Macbeth

Daanial Chaudhry
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‘She is the one controlling the play’- Rufus Norris’ Macbeth

A stage of classroom chairs, a porta-cabin house painted in a dim yellow, and a dishevelled, unkempt cast are not what one would expect from a production of Macbeth at the National Theatre. Far from the opulence and wealth that traditionally characterise Macbeth, Rufus Norris’ version is sparse and bare.

Yet Norris’ decision to lay the stage bare, to have Duncan, who is supposedly the king, wearing a cheap, untailored crimson suit on an otherwise dark stage is an overt reflection of Macbeth’s deceit. Duncan’s throne, a plastic chair, more reminiscent of a primary school than a castle, is worn down and blackened with age. A spare suit, exactly the same as the one he wears, lies to one side, as if his royal outfit were a uniform rather than an emblem of his power. Plastic coverings protect both the throne and the spare suit – protection against the threat of deceit, perhaps.

Yet Duncan is, although he does not know it, exposed. In a party reminiscent of Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby, there is music pounding from a speaker, alcohol flowing freely, as guests pound their cups to the beat, and Duncan obliviously dances away. However, Lady Macbeth doesn’t sit quietly in a corner, for she is no longer the silent partner in her collusion with Macbeth – while Macbeth looks on terrified, Lady Macbeth embraces Duncan into her home.

She entertains him, she dances, she flirts, she knows full well what she is doing, and as her husband looks on, physically sickened by the task before him, Lady Macbeth revels in the knowledge that the man she is dancing with will be dead come the morning. She dons a green coat, concealing her nimble frame and her fragility, providing her with physical strength, but also disguising her mal-intent: she is the one controlling the play. The audience knows it: as she dances, she pushes bits of the set away; she is the one in control of the fast-moving, dynamic stage. Each of the sudden changes, the bursts of music, abrupt though they may seem, are hers.

Anne-Marie Duff, as Lady Macbeth, is able to command the audience and the stage in a way that Kinnear cannot. Indeed, as Macbeth is torn, so too is the actor that plays him – Kinnear appears torn between a loyalty to Shakespeare’s original script and Norris’ desire to make it his own. Macbeth’s soliloquy is literally broken apart by movements of the stage and Kinnear appears a weak Macbeth, confused from the offset.

Duff’s Lady Macbeth, however, passionately kisses her husband, strokes his chest, lays her leg over his. She knows what she is doing, and just as she manipulates Duncan, she manipulates her husband. Norris’ production is a moving theatrical piece that allows Lady Macbeth to be the puppeteer she has so desperately always wanted to be.

Occasionally, the play’s delivery may have appeared abrupt, rushed, and rough around the edges, compressing, condensing and missing lines. The dynamics of the stage, however, and the juxtaposition of the dire setting with Duncan’s royal title lay bare the reality, that Lady Macbeth controls the stage, controls the action, and controls all the men, including her husband.

The Making of Pray it Doesn’t Rain

Nabeela Zaman Esther Borsi
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The Making of Pray it Doesn’t Rain

Pray it doesn’t rain is Nabeela Zaman’s debut documentary, following the plight of rough sleepers in Oxford. It is a poignant and emotive watch for any Oxford student. Nabeela Zaman, the film’s maker, told me about the process of completing such a project and her own views on the issue of homelessness in Oxford.

“Growing up, one of the things I have often reflected on is how grateful I am to have a house. This thought process is also one of the inspirations for the title ‘Pray it Doesn’t Rain’. My original idea was to film this in the coming year. However, I noticed that homelessness was growing and student participation in combatting the problem was growing with it. And so, on a whim, I took my camera into town and started to talk to homeless people.

When I started out, I expected the video to last ten minutes. But, the quantity of my footage quickly grew, so much so that people began to call it a ‘documentary’. In general, I would ask people the same questions adapting them slightly depending on if I was talking to rough sleepers, charities or others. Many people didn’t wish to be filmed but still provided me with insider knowledge. I also asked rough sleepers I interviewed if they wished to go by a fake name. I thought it was important to respect how people decided to present themselves as personal identity is, in a homeless person’s case, the one thing no one can take away from them.

Film was my chosen media because at the time I was just beginning to develop my technical skills, and a film seemed like a more active response to such a systemic problem. Furthermore, film allowed a truly up-close view of homelessness. It put participants front and centre, giving them the freedom to talk about their views. This said, I made sure to accommodate the needs of those who were not happy to be interviewed directly. Some people spoke more freely once the camera had been turned off, but the majority had no particular reaction to being on camera, with most very keen to talk.

As a first-time filmmaker, I’m still learning and I’m not fully satisfied with the film. The project took a couple of months to film, as I was balancing it alongside other projects and, of course, my actual degree! One key piece of advice: really care about who you are speaking to. You may be standing for a long time talking to your subject knowing not all of it will be in the final edit, but it is worthwhile if you are invested in your project.

Talking to a wide range of people led me to believe that no view of homelessness is unilateral. I don’t think it’s important to want my viewers to understand homelessness in a certain way. I care more about how they treat and understand homeless people.

Changing people’s perspectives can be so much easier than we make it out to be. It starts with simple compassion. Smile at people you see on the street, and soon enough they will smile back. Have conversations with rough sleepers that you see.

I also spoke to many organisations in my quest to understand homelessness. Each organisation stood out for different reasons. They were unified in their dedication to helping rough sleepers. Here are a few practical ways for students to help such organisations. The Oxford Homeless Project (based in Cowley) are always looking for volunteers, and so is The Oxford SU campaign, On Your Doorstep. Join their Facebook group, attend their meetings; they’re very understanding for you to simply help out whenever you can. Any help is better than nothing!”

While charity work can sometimes be seen to have a selfish element to it, Nabeela pointed out that she is not promoting this project to portray herself as a ‘good person’. We both agree that ‘the best acts of charity are those done in secret’. However, homelessness is not a problem that can be solved singlehandedly.  We can only solve this issue if we work together and raise awareness. So, why not buy that Big Issue for once?

Nabeela Zaman’s film Pray it Doesn’t Rain is available on Youtube now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV_5reA1HVY&t=1378s

 

 

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