Oxford University was the sixth-largest beneficiary of funding from fossil fuel companies out of all UK universities in 2022-23, according to an investigation by DeSmog, a climate-focused news site. Forty-four UK higher education institutions received a total of £40 million from oil and gas firms over the past year, of which Oxford received £1.2 million.
Out of the 32 contributing corporations, Shell, Malaysian state-owned Petronas and BP were the highest contributors, providing over 76% of the total funding to these institutions by fossil fuel companies. Oil and gas giants such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and Saudi Aramco were also involved in these philanthropic activities.
Oxford pledged to divest its endowment from fossil fuels in April 2020, but have maintained partnerships with oil and gas firms in order to fund research activities and scholarship programmes. For instance, two scholarships aimed at African postgraduate students studying at Saïd Business School and at St Antony’s College, respectively, were established in 2022, funded by Eni, the Italian multinational oil company.
A spokesperson for the University said: “Our partnerships with industry allow the University to apply its knowledge to real challenges of pressing global concern, with funding often going directly into research into climate-related issues and renewables. Philanthropic funding has been used to widen access to education and to fund scholarships, academic posts, and capital costs, while the proportion of research funding going into fossil fuel exploration and extraction has declined significantly over the last decade and the percentage going into renewables projects has increased.”
The average annual funding accepted by all UK universities from sources linked to fossil fuels seems to have increased in recent years: openDemocracy reported in December 2021 that in the four years since 2017, oil and gas firms had donated almost £90 million to UK higher education institutions, which, averaged would correspond to a much lower amount than was received in 2022-23.
Over the same four years, Oxford received an average of just under £2 million per year, a considerably higher figure than in 2022-23, suggesting that the University is reducing its reliance on funding from these sources.
The environmental activist group Just Stop Oil included the most recent numbers in a press release published last Tuesday after they took responsibility for spray painting the Radcliffe Camera.
The continued fossil fuels funding comes against the backdrop of a funding crisis in UK higher education: the loss of around £800 million a year in EU financial support due to Brexit, coupled with an extended period of high inflation, have led universities to be in an increasingly precarious financial position.
People often say that patience is a virtue, and I embraced this mantra (unintentionally) during my quest for a summer internship. Whilst many friends of mine had already submitted a dozen applications to the top consulting firms in the world by Christmas, here I was in late May contemplating whether to bolster my CV. My initial hesitation stemmed from not wanting to work over the summer. However, reality hit when I realised that I was not going to have a summer without the funds to sustain myself. With some assistance from the Oxford Careers Website and a stroke of luck, I secured just one internship opportunity – a golden ticket to a delightfully sweet summer.
I spent two and a half months as a Digital Media intern at Cocoa Runners, an independent sustainable chocolate company in London. While my peers in their crisp-ironed suits headed to towering office blocks down the road, I found myself swimming in chocolate. The company was undergoing a rebrand for its tenth anniversary, and I was tasked with organising their image library and updating product photos for their new website. As someone new to full-time work, this was an exciting venture for me.
At first, I fretted about my ability to fulfil the job requirements. Worries about my Photoshop skills – last exercised during my Graphic Art GCSE nearly five years prior – and using WordPress for the first time plagued me. It turned out that my apprehension was misplaced. Once I got started, I was pleasantly surprised that my eagerness to learn quickly overtook my editing prowess. With only three colleagues (one of whom worked remotely), I felt well-supported, and they showed a genuine interest in my life and degree. It didn’t hurt that the CEO was an Oxford alumnus! I remember my interview even resembling an Oxford tutorial.
During my time at Cocoa Runners, I delved into the significance of ethics and sustainability in the cocoa industry. I learned about the exploitation of cacao farming plantations by major chocolate corporations, involving child slave labour to produce cheap, mass-market confectionery. Although most of my tasks consisted of typical office work – spreadsheet management, copywriting, and setting up numerous chocolate-tasting events. What was unique to this job was my exposure to the dark history of chocolate. Most importantly, I discovered how I could contribute to supporting small independent businesses genuinely concerned about the cacao cooperatives they employed worldwide.
While unrelated to my degree in Italian and Linguistics, I was fortunate to be part of a company that guided me through my first work experience. They emphasised the importance of maintaining a work-life balance, a stark contrast to the academic world where work can seep into any hour of the day. For a few months, I enjoyed a stress-free lifestyle which boosted my productivity, knowing I had only eight hours a day to accomplish tasks.
To those debating doing an internship, I urge you to apply sooner rather than later. My last-minute luck was an exception I would not recommend. Unfortunately, internships in highly competitive fields often yield more rejections than offers (which I admit is not great for your self-esteem), so starting early is key. Don’t hesitate to explore opportunities outside your degree field; any workplace experience is invaluable and distinct from your academic journey. While I plan to stay in academia for a bit longer, I wholeheartedly cherished my summer internship.
An estimated 100 people gathered at the Clarendon Building Wednesday morning to protest Israel’s recent violence against Palestine and to urge Oxford University to “act against genocide”. The protesters then walked to Wellington Square, where University administrators have their offices.
The demonstration was the second major one in Oxford since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October and Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Since then at least 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza, in addition to 1,400 in Israel. The “emergency protest” was called following the explosion of a hospital in Gaza last night.
Leaders of the protest said Israel has committed war crimes against Palestinians “with the support of the UK government and the complicity of Oxford University”. They circulated a petition urging the University to “Act Against Genocide” with demands to condemn Israel’s “war crimes” against Palestine; ensure preservation of free speech on campus; and “[i]mmediately sever all financial ties to all arms manufacturers and Israel-based companies complicit in the destruction of Gaza”. They directed their demands at Oxford Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey and other administrators.
The petition further stated: “A Freedom of Information request sent by the Action on Armed Violence found that Oxford is in the top 5 universities in the UK to accept arms funding (2013-2021) from companies found by Amnesty International to fail to ‘demonstrate adequate human rights due diligence’, including Cobham and Lockheed Martin which… are known to have contributed to weaponry that was used to bombarded Gaza.”
One student also told Cherwell: “These companies benefit from destruction and warfare and their profits have skyrocketed over the latest onslaught of war crimes in Gaza”, adding that “we must refuse complicity in the business of war and demonstrate that we value human life and human rights more so than we do money.”
Oxford’s Israel Society have since also issued a statement, writing: “Less than two weeks ago, Hamas perpetuated one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in history,” stating that “it is the duty of the world to see Hamas removed” and that “Israel unfortunately must take this task upon itself.”
They further claimed that “Hamas is using the people of Gaza as human shields. Under the laws of armed conflict, civilian infrastructure used for military purposes are legal targets, and their destruction is not a war crime. It has been well established, beyond reasonable doubt, that Hamas use civilian infrastructure and resources for military purposes.”
Additionally, they claimed that “[a]n aspect of the Hamas disinformation campaign has been the re-framing of Israeli attempts to save civilians as illegal or even genocidal.” They added: “We pray for the safety of civilians, in Israel and in Gaza” and “a swift and just end to this conflict.”
A Jewish student at Oxford approached for comment said they were “initially sympathetic to the Israeli cause” but due to Israeli actions of the last week have become “significantly less so.”
The University also told Cherwell: “Oxford University’s primary focus is the health and well-being of staff and students impacted by the terrible events in Israel and Gaza, and it has written directly to those affected to offer welfare and other types of support. Both the University and its colleges are working to ensure all members of our community are supported as much as possible, and we will continue to respond as appropriate as the situation develops.”
A Cherwell investigation has found that international student fees have doubled from 2018 to 2023, rising from nearly twice the home fee to around four times as much. A big part of the increase can be attributed to the large hike from 2018 to 2019, when average fees rose by 54% in one year.
The University did not comment on the reason for the sudden spike, however the 2019 fees were paid three months before Brexit occurred, which eventually led to EU students being dropped from special consideration in 2021.
How does the university determine tuition?
A recent Cherwell Freedom of Information request revealed the process behind how tuition fees are calculated. The University stated: “Fees for overseas students are agreed through a longstanding process involving stakeholders at all levels of the institution.”
The overarching Planning and Resource Allocation Committee (PRAC) determines the initial rate rise before the departments make adjustments and the Joint Fees and Student Support Advisory Group (JFSSAG) approves these changes and presents it back to the PRAC. The factors considered by the committees include “inflation (CPI), projected cost increases, application numbers, impact on scholarships, and competitor benchmarking,” according to the university.
Although the University assures that “[s]tudent representatives are involved at all stages of the process and there are student members of both JFSSAG and PRAC”, the PRAC is a 20 person committee with a very wide jurisdiction and the only student representative on it is the SU President.
Furthermore, while the JFSSAG has 2 student representatives (the Education & Access officers for Undergraduates and Postgraduates respectively) among its 11 members, there are no explicit provisions made for the representation of international students, whose fees are the ones up for negotiation.
Fee increases
While home fees have remained constant, the rate of international fee increases have outpaced inflation in every year since 2019 except 2022, contributing to the growing gap between home and international student fees. Despite the pound’s loss of value in the aftermath of the Truss ministry, the cost of tuition has continued to grow in dollar terms too, rising from $44k in 2021 to $46k in 2023.
Another aspect of the price increases has been the convergence of fees for STEM and humanities subjects. While STEM fees were 30% higher than humanities degrees in 2016, this premium dropped to 14% in 2022. Philosophy, Psychology and Linguistics, for example, has increased by 42% from £31k in 2022 to £44k in 2023.
Change in international student demographics
International students have an important role to play in any global university. At Oxford, they made up 46% as of December 2022, which included 23% of undergraduates. Currently, they make up a total of one third of all students and around 21% of undergraduates.
Prior to Brexit, EU students paid the same as home students, however under the new system they pay the same as all other international students. The impact of these changes has been stark, with the proportion of EU students falling from 8.2% in 2018 to 3.8% in 2022.
Impact on the University’s accessibility and diversity
The fee rises have changed the composition of the international student cohort, and therefore the entire student population. This is due to the large financial challenges that now face prospective international students, particularly those from developing nations.
SU President Danial Hussain told Cherwell: “The recent rises in tuition fees limits Oxford’s international student body to mostly wealthy individuals, undermining the university’s commitment to academic excellence and accessibility.”
This is in contrast to the wide-ranging changes to admissions criteria that have been made over the last couple years to make Oxford more accessible for UK students, which have led to a significant increase in the proportion of state schooled students as well as people from underprivileged backgrounds and communities.
A second-year law student, Nanditha Dileep, expressed her frustration at the inaccessibility of the university: ”The ‘world’s best university’ is only restricted to the economically privileged, or that if anyone from a background that isn’t financially privileged dares to pursue their academic dreams, they’re saddled with student debt and loans as a price for their ambition.”
“After getting into Oxford, I started mentoring other students who wanted to do the same. These students come from families that scrape up every penny to send their children abroad for a better life. However, despite being extraordinarily academically gifted, many choose to apply to other universities instead of Oxford, in order to make it affordable.
“Other students choose to do cheaper courses when they’d much rather be doing other ones because international students’ fees differ by the subject.”
Impact on students
The University states that they undertake “a detailed review of fee rates to ensure that these remain competitive”, enabling them “to continue to deliver world-leading teaching, research and a wide range of student support services against a backdrop of increasing financial pressures.” However, fee rises have made the “Oxford dream” significantly more challenging to attain for international students.
A second-year Biomedical Sciences student from Germany told Cherwell: “Personally, I have had to resort to hours and hours of research, culminating in only barely scraping together enough funds from three different foundations across different countries to support my studies.
“I also have to renew these annually, which makes me anxious about the ability to progress through my course.”
He also addressed the difficulty faced by international students from underprivileged backgrounds to attain funding, adding: “Compared to for example Ivy league universities in the US, Oxford offers no form of financial aid and only little support to a very tiny amount of international students from a selection of countries. Although some students, e.g. from HK, may be able to access governmental funds, others, especially from EU countries, are neither eligible for support from the UK, Oxford nor their home country.”
“Working for Project Access, a non-profit supporting underprivileged international students applying to top universities in the world, it has been disappointing to see how many were discouraged to apply to Oxford due to financial hardship. Ever since Brexit, the number of EU students and thus diversity amongst the student body have also dropped. Diversity should be valued and is an integral part of the uni experience.”
Oxford’s international dilemma: national champion or global leader?
How to consider international students and their fees is a dilemma that results from the university’s two interlocking missions. On the one hand is the role of the university as a “national champion” that exports its quality education, all the while utilising the profits made from international students to subsidise home fees and fund scholarship programs for UK students from underprivileged backgrounds.
The other goal is to reinforce the university’s world renowned reputation for its research, education and alumni. On how to achieve this, the SU President said: “For Oxford to maintain its status as a globally leading educational institution, it must focus on admitting the most qualified applicants, irrespective of their ability to pay.”
It is likely that this dilemma will persist well into the future, at least as long as it continues to be both globally renowned for its research, and central in shaping Britain’s future generations.
It started with a whining. A soft, barely discernible purring every time we flushed the toilet or turned the taps. “Character”, we called it. This house was built in the 1920s after all, and didn’t we move out of college precisely because we hated living in soulless institutional newbuilds? Didn’t we want to live somewhere with a mind of its own?
After a while, we noticed that the soft gurgling noise coming from the shower drain every time we used the toilet was accompanied by an eddy of water bubbling out onto the shower floor. A little quirk, we thought. It’s probably just getting used to us. When we realised what was coming out of the shower looked suspiciously like what was going into the toilet, the regurgitations became harder to defend. Still, we knew it would only be a temporary issue, probably relating to the new bathroom that had been put in downstairs over the summer, which had delayed our move-in date by two months. A quick email to the letting agent and all would be resolved, we were sure.
Two days later, a plumber, professionally known as “The Drain Doctor”, was shaking his head at our new bathroom. His diagnosis? “Piss poor” – delivered without a trace of irony (I suppose once you’ve been in the drain game for a few years the puns start to lose their potency). This came after the agent’s first two attempts at solving our problem, which took the form of a mysterious cleaner who poured bleach down the drain, and a silent builder who bailed ten buckets of water out of our garden. We decided it was time for a good old strongly-worded email in the hope that we might be taken a bit more seriously. After a heated housemate discussion over whether “squelching underfoot” was a technical term, the email was sent, and we were told an appointment with the Doctor had been arranged.
The Doctor’s diagnostic approach and recommendations were drip-fed to me through the house group-chat whilst I was at work, beginning with the tantalising fact that I wouldn’t be able to put my bike away in the garden as it is currently a pit of open sewage. During the full debrief I received when I got home, it transpired that this was because the builders who were in over the summer had decided to cover the drainage trench in the garden with a sheet of plywood and a layer of gravel rather than filling it in. This meant that on any occasion which we had used the garden in the last two weeks we could have come to a particularly sticky end. The Doctor was able to successfully perform some emergency surgery on the bathroom, but prescribed at least another month of building work to get the garden back to its former self. The letting agent informed us that this is not their responsibility, but the landlord’s, who, it turns out, lives in California, so isn’t what you’d call the hands-on type. As of now, our garden resembles a crime scene – only with red spray paint outlining a sewage dump rather than a dead body.
Much like new parents, the house is all my housemates and I can talk about – so much so that I am considering imposing a ‘no house talk’ rule during meals. Just like those couples who think they’re the first people in the world to have a baby, I’m probably documenting something that has happened in some iteration to every first-time tenant, especially if they’re renting as a student. I’m not even particularly trying to offer any advice: as far as I’m concerned, we did everything by the book, taking over a contract from friends who lived in the house before and had absolutely no issues with the house or the landlord.
The message, if any, that I’m trying to deliver to anyone who is considering moving out of college or is about to move into their house, is that it’s not your fault. You can do everything right, you can do all your research, you can show the house all the love and care it deserves (one of my housemates has recently taken to stroking the boiler every time he passes in case it’s feeling neglected), and your beloved house can still turn around and throw it back in your face.
Oh well. They say the first few months are the hardest. How long does the toilet toilet training stage usually take?
At the meeting point of the Austrian, Swiss, and German borders lies the historic old German town of Lindau. The entirety of the old town is separated from the ‘mainland’, a tiny island of about 70 hectares on Lake Constance (or ‘Bodensee’ in German). Though this part of the city is only home to about 2800 people, the historic island attracts many visitors. Restaurants line the lake-side promenade and the town offers incomparably stunning architecture; a giant stone lion opposite a lighthouse, and plenty of historic towers and churches. Most shops are small business operated.
If you were to visit the island now, there is one man you wouldn’t be able to escape: Andy Warhol. His face in black and white on yellow background adorns posters in nearly every shop window and one of the local bookshops has a whole display of different biographies and prints centering the artist. When you enter the island by crossing the bridge you are greeted by large banners sporting the artist’s name. 100 pieces by Andy Warhol are being displayed here until late October, all thanks to a small art museum close to the island’s train station.
For the unacquainted, an exhibition of this scale at the simply named ‘Kunstmuseum Lindau’ (Art-Museum Lindau) may be quite surprising; a town of that size becoming a temporary home to world-famous and priceless pieces of art? In fact, showcasing big names such as Andy Warhol has been common practice since 2011. In 2013, the museum was first able to show select pieces by Picasso. In the summer of 2021, an exhibition of the works of Mark Shargal attracted around 50.000 visitors, so the expectations for this year’s exhibition to measure up are quite high.
How does a Warhol exhibition of this magnitude come to be for such a small museum? A member of staff was able to give some insider knowledge. It all started with last year’s exhibit which showed a wide-ranging collection of works on the theme of nature by such artists as Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Gauguin, and two pieces by Warhol. Establishing private collection connections was instrumental. Indeed, most of the exhibitions at the museum are put together in collaboration with private collectors. In this case, however, a connection to the Andy Warhol Foundation had to be made as well. The most expensive affair in this case, according to the member of staff, was the insurance.
I was able to visit the exhibition twice, once with and once without an audio guide. The tour using a guide lasts about 38 minutes, giving insight on select pieces including context and background of the artworks, Warhol’s life, and a few explorations of pop art as a movement. Screens around the space offer additional information in both English and German accompanied by videos of Warhol.
Though personally, I’m usually not the biggest fan of audio guides, I think in this instance they are very much necessary. Otherwise, the walkthrough might be over quite quickly (there is only so much time you can spend on just staring at ten prints of Marilyn Monroe). Because Warhol’s art is heavily based on and inspired by pop culture it benefits from some background information.
Image Courtesy of Fay Ferster
Most of the pieces shown are Warhols originals produced in the ‘Factory’ using his silk-screen printing technique. Subjects include: Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Queen Elizabeth II, and Mick Jagger. What interested me much more than his icon-status prints, however, were two series of much lesser-known pieces. The first is a series of coloured illustrations on paper, titled ‘25 Cats Named Sam’. These illustrations came to be when Warhol was working as a children’s illustrator and was living with his mother with (you guessed it!) twenty-five cats all named Sam. The paintings are vibrant and childlike and give off a certain authenticity, though not in the style we associate with the artist today.
An even more unavowed series of sketches is displayed just on the opposite wall. They are part of a sketchbook from 1955 titled ‘House of Hearts’. The pieces are currently privately owned and prints and photographs of them are incredibly hard to find, even on the internet. This fact might have intrigued me the most, along with the intimate nature of the sketches. The main subject is a man with wavy hair dressed in an elegant suit. The series shows him in different positions, tenderly blowing kisses or fanning himself with a large feathery fan. Warhol’s art has reached such notoriety and icon status that lesser-known works and collections such as the two described above seem much more intriguing than Marilyn Monroe or the Campbell’s soup cans.
The guided tour ends on a sombre note, briefly describing Warhol’s personal struggles with his shyness and identity. Although I was largely satisfied with the narration and context given, I was missing some exploration of the art scene which Warhol inspired and fostered (Basquiat, Haring, the Velvet Underground, etc). Nonetheless, I find this exhibition well put together and accessible, and would recommend even if you’re not a diehard pop-art fan.
The museum is worth keeping an eye out for future projects of this scale – I am sure there are many more to come. As a former local, I would naturally recommend a visit to the island if you ever find yourself in around – Lindau has so much to offer.
Celine Song’s moving debut ‘Past Lives’, the most recent release for distributor and producer A24, is being showered with critical acclaim, but this sort of praise is nothing new for the studio. We’ve all seen it — the flashing white and RGB animated logo that characterises one of the most rapidly-rising studios of this century, and which has now formed a distinct brand, and spawned a dedicated cult following.
The studio was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, with a name lifted from the Italian A24 motorway that Katz was driving along when he decided to found the company. Such a name seems fitting: the A24 motorway crosses hilly and mountainous terrain, forcing it to employ several daring and unorthodox civil engineering solutions, mirroring the novel storytelling techniques employed by A24’s own films. Whilst these have no singular common characteristic, tending to span diverse genres, settings and plots, still many recognise elements of their films that make them distinctly ‘A24’.
Since their inception, A24 films have risen almost exponentially into the public consciousness, producing and distributing landmarks of contemporary cinema like ‘Lady Bird’, ‘Ex Machina’, ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Hereditary’.
It would be far-fetched to state that these films have anything remotely in common, but they are alike in their unique tone and voice. Perhaps the film that best encapsulates the studio’s philosophy is ‘Swiss Army Man’. This film, by the same directors as ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, centres on a relationship between a castaway and a farting corpse. Most distributors were hesitant to pick it up, but A24 leapt at it. It seems that they saw in ‘Swiss Army Man’ something that traditional studios did not – that its bizarre gimmick and strange humour wasn’t a turn-off, but in the age of the internet, was a unique selling point that could market the film. They believed that the film’s unique voice and storytelling would stand out, especially in a world of increasingly risk-averse mainstream studio releases.
The reason this comes through so distinctly is the fact the company works almost exclusively with writer-directors and pride themselves on being creator-driven. Thus, their films often feel intensely personal and hand-crafted, with edges that haven’t been worn down by multiple redrafts from different writers and studio interference. Through their fundamental loyalty to filmmaker vision, A24’s films, in all their differences, are often characterised by their focus on character relationships and dynamics, bringing out the best and worst human qualities and allowing a post-watch self-reflection.
‘Past Lives’ is a striking example of these personal films, marked by an individual ‘authorial voice’. Through its references to migrant experience shaping the protagonist’s sense of identity, ‘Past Lives’ feels deeply personal to Celine Song herself, just as the autobiographical elements of nostalgia, grief and loss do to director Charlotte Wells in the A24-distributed ‘Aftersun’. This focus on human emotion is also evident within ‘The Lighthouse’, which explores mental deterioration induced by insanity and isolation, and within ‘Hereditary’, which explores grief and anguish. Perhaps most notably, this is demonstrated through ‘Moonlight’, which achieved A24’s first Academy Award in the infamous envelope mixup of 2017. The film follows the protagonist through his internal, interpersonal and societal conflicts of grief, race, masculinity, identity and sexuality, giving a voice to underrepresented voices in cinema, as many other A24’s films similarly do. Though these films are vastly different in both their settings and narratives, they all offer audiences a fresh, personal perspective, and the fact that A24’s films consistently achieve this is a feat achieved by few other studios.
Image Courtesy of A24 Studios
We can’t say that every A24 film has been critically raved about, but they have certainly had their fair share of success. Perhaps a more cynical person would say that A24’s unexpected popularity lies not in their unique obsession with ‘authorial voice’, but with their tactical marketing strategies, utilising social media to appeal to a young demographic, like their ‘Ex Machina’ ad campaign that saw the creation of a Tinder account for the AI antagonist Ava.
Regardless, A24 is no longer simply the flashing logo that appears on-screen but rather has established an entire brand with its own identity of film, one that allows contemporary cinema viewers to recognise their work even without such a logo. The future of cinema is exciting, and I have little doubt that this inquisitive and innovative studio will be at the forefront of that.
Three months ago, American pop-punk band Fall Out Boy released an updated version of Billy Joel’s 1980s Top Hit, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’. For those who were neither around in the 80s, nor are fans of Alternative Indie playlists, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ is a dizzying commentary of rapid-fire lists of people, events, and cultural flagstones from the mid-20th century to the late 1980s. Fall Out Boy’s version continues this trend from the late 80s to the present day. Consider it a modern chronicle, edition two. Both versions reference not only a series of isolated historical moments, but a continuous narrative that we are all acutely aware of. Fall Out Boy’s ‘Trump impeached twice’ is Joel’s ‘Richard Nixon’s back again.’ So, what does this revised version suggest about the message of human continuity?
Human Continuity
In psychological theory, human continuity is the ability to continue in the same manner indefinitely. Gestalt theory speaks of the undisrupted creation of continuous patterns connected to objects. ‘Objects’ in this context refer to both political and social issues. That is not to say that society is stagnant, but rather that it is interconnected to historical events in a cyclical manner, and that change is a complex and multifaceted process.
Political Relevance
In both Joel’s and Fall Out Boy’s versions there is a reach of political relevance. In Joel’s version, the song delivers a quick-fire run-down of major events, including the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. Through its quick, and sometimes witty, delivery covering over forty years, there is a sense of continuous narrative, rather than a suggestion that these events are isolated moments, as modern media would sometimes have us believe.
Fall Out Boy’s version of the song updates the reference and commentary to include events from the 80s to the present day, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the rise of terrorism. The commentary of these modern events becomes a part of the same narrative that Joel covered, and stresses that society continues to grapple with many of the same issues, only this time in a new shape.
Social Themes
Perhaps the most notable theme in both versions is the persistence of social unrest. In Joel’s version, the song touches on the struggle for racial equality, including references such as ‘Little Rock (Nine, 1957)’ and ‘Ole Miss’ (a public research university in Oxford, Mississippi, where violent protests began over the admission of James Meredith, the first African American student to enrol at the school), as well as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Malcom X.
Although Fall Out Boy’s cover updated the list of events to include more recent social issues, similar themes of social inequality and public unrest continue to be recorded. The cover addresses the Black Lives Matter movement and the struggle against racial discrimination, as well as the ongoing fight for the LGBTQIA+ communities. The repetition of themes over the course of the song reminds us that many of the new issues we face today are deeply rooted in our culture and history. Granted, that is no excuse, but there is a powerful message in this narrative. Recurrence of these issues over the decades creates a sense of shared frustration and disillusionment that transcends historical and cultural differences.
The Message of Human Continuity
It is cyclical. It is a reminder that humans have been fighting metaphorical, and sometimes literal, fires for decades. It is a shower of political bullets, a rapid-fire of social injustices, and a three minute and thirty five second melody that remembers conflict as the result of resource scarcity, ideological indifferences, and power imbalances. In spite of all the chaos, the lyrics express a message of hope that transpires across time – eight decades to be exact. While society may be slow to change, there is a shared experience in our troubles that brings us together across different eras and generations. Each verse continues this narrative and reminds us that neither Baby Boomers, nor Generation Z, nor any generations in between, are independently responsible for the world’s problems. In the words of Billy Joel, ‘It was always burning since the world’s been turning.’
Image credit: Drew de F Fawkes // CC-BY-20 via Wikimedia Commons
Image Credits: Edouard Hue and Tristan Surtel, via. Wikimedia Commons
Liberated from the constraints of school uniforms and dress codes, University is a wonderful time of fashion freedom. But this bewildering independence can be a source of anxiety for many, sometimes even prompting a regression into their three-year-old self (think jorts, hair ribbons and Peter Pan collars). Never fear! We’ve put together a practical guide of the unwritten Oxford dress code that covers all the bases head-to-toe, from staying warm this winter to surviving a walk of shame with style.
The Everyday Oxford Dress Code
Shoes
Being at Oxford inevitably involves a lot of walking. Alongside a pair of comfy trainers – over which the Adidas Samba currently reigns supreme – Docs are another Oxford staple. But if you’re planning to break in a nice new pair this term, pack some thick socks or prepare for them to become your red-raw Achilles’ heel (Wonder Balsam is also truly wonder-FULL for softening the leather). Any such chunky, platform or biker boots will also help lift you another inch away from the grime of the Atik cheese floor. When it comes to fancy footwear, however, the impulse can be to prioritise fashion over functionality- but tread this line carefully, especially if you’re clip-clopping over the Radcam cobblestones in cowboy boots. Oxford roads can be a perilous territory for the weak-ankled and uncoordinated, so we recommend you wave goodbye to ballet flats and stilettos. And if in doubt, just default to the trustworthy, versatile, stylish Croc (check out @crocsford for inspiration).
Image courtesy of Katie Saunders
Scarves
Essential to surviving Oxford in the colder months, sporting a chunky fluffy scarf will prevent you from shivering in pub gardens and college libraries alike. Material matters too, so make sure to find something made with wool or cashmere. A preferred staple for both students and tutors here seems to be the striped cashmere scarf, but please avoid being so obsessed with it to the point that you will wear it to Bridge, because you will lose it, and a year later, you will see someone in Pret wearing it.
Although skinny scarves might be fashionable and very à la 2000s, you will regret abandoning thicker options as November rolls around. Overall, a good scarf adds flair to an outfit, and can be easily complemented by other winter accessories like hats and gloves.
Image Courtesy of Katie Saunders
Coats
Many Freshers anticipate the unofficial rite of passage of purchasing a college puffer in their first term. The hype is certainly warranted given how practical they are, especially in the winter months. However, there are a plethora of outerwear styles that are just as warm but more stylish. Down is more insulating than the synthetic filling in college puffers so, all clichés aside, The North Face puffer and others like it are great alternatives when bought second-hand. The same rule goes for lavish lovers of the fur coat, which keep you classy and very cosy.
Long wool coats are also very common around Oxford as they can be styled casually during the day or dressed-up for formal events. Loved by farmers and academics equally, wax jackets like the Barbour are rather popular around town, and resist rain well. Thus they make up for what leather jackets lack, even if half the student population prefers the latter over the former. So unlimited in styles and colours, it is no wonder that every other person owns at least one. Workwear jackets are also designed with durability in mind, and like leather jackets they are suitable for all seasons. Search for brands like Carhartt and Dickies and you are sure to come across one.
Image Courtesy of Shaan Sidhu
Bags
It seems to go without saying that a good, practical bag is an Oxford essential. That’s probably why so many students bin their backpacks and succumb to the debilitating condition of Tote Bag Shoulder (or the luxury alternative, the Longchamp Lats). But if you do so, beware. It rains a lot here, and the flimsy sheath you nabbed from the Freshers’ fair is unlikely to keep your books dry. Not convinced? If you’re cycling in every day, a backpack is probably more ideal. If you’re feeling adventurous (or professional), use a satchel. If you want everyone to know how heavy your course load is, use a suitcase. And the most cursed option? The humble Tesco bag, with your unprotected laptop, pens and loose chewing gum rattling about the bottom. Environmentally conscious, cost-effective and unlikely to get stolen (although it may get binned).
Oxford Dress Code: What to Wear on a Night Out:
Oxford’s laid-back club culture is reflected in our outfits. The college puffer is an essential wear in the migration from college to Atik, since you probably care about it less than your rare vintage leather trench. You might even save £2 by skipping the cloakroom and taking a cheap jumper that you can just tie around your waist once you get inside. For footwear, some old trainers will do the trick, ideally with no mesh if you fear drink spillages. Clubs are also a great place to break in your Doc Martens.
Since venturing back into Bridge in broad daylight to dig through the lost and found just feels wrong, don’t wear anything you would be devastated to lose or damage. With the exception of the post-formal night out, nobody wears heels, nice dresses or suits. Leave any expensive or sentimental jewellery behind. The same goes for scarves and nice coats, even in the coldest months; either take a less precious alternative, or else rely on the tried-and-tested ‘liquid layers’ method (taking a couple of shots before speed walking across Oxford).
There are two kinds of Walk-of-Shame outfit:
Post-formal
The classier of walk of shame uniforms is of course last night’s black tie, with heels (or bowtie) in hand, sprinting across Oxford to a forgotten tutorial sans laptop, notepad or dignity.
Post-club
The luckier ones out there might get home in time for a frenzied outfit change, whereas the slightly less fortunate, having lost their cloakroom ticket, might have to borrow something from their new ‘friend’ and college tour provider. No shame involved though – the combination of a rugby shirt’s boyish charm with ultra-low waist jeans is peak Cornmarket Street-style.
Read our book section editors’ Michaelmas book recommendations: Rufus Jones on Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon, Ananya Parakh on Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer, and Zaynab Rashid on Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Rufus Jones: Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
The protagonist of this novel is an unlikely one: a 32-year-old man named Charlie Gordon with an IQ of 68. Seeking self-improvement, he attends reading and writing classes at a state institution, Beekman. His teacher Alice, kindly and solicitous, suggests he keep a diary. The novel comprises these diary entries.
Scientists at Beekman, after successful experiments on a mouse named Algernon, are looking for a human test subject for a surgical technique believed to increase intelligence. Recommended by Alice and clearly motivated himself, Charlie is chosen. The surgery is a success and Charlie’s IQ skyrockets. Though initially excited by his new-found adeptness, his acuity sheds light on painful events he was previously oblivious to unavoidable; for instance, those he thought his close friends were actually bullies, delightedly ridiculing him to his face.
The novel documents the wonder, fear and confusion with which Charlie comes to view the world and himself. The style and the content of the novel reflect his development as his writing improves. Though published in 1966, the subject of disability is treated with remarkable candour. Flowers for Algernon offers a stirring view of how the disabled are perceived and treated. It is one of the most moving novels I’ve read.
Image Credits: Flowers for Algernon, Oil on Canvas by Marshall P. Baron, via. Wikimedia Commons
Ananya Parakh: Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
It’s tough to find a place to start with Henry Miller, because he never starts at the beginning. He dives into an obscene piece of insight you’d think you could have had yourself but you never did. He describes himself as “hungry, homeless and happy”. The autobiographical nature of Tropic of Cancer reflects that. With nothing to lose, he has complete freedom to welcome anything that comes his way, he has no grounds for compromise or sacrifice, just complete freedom and independence for thought and belief. For literature.
I read this book in bits. It was like a feast, that I had to take deep sighs to digest. Karl Shapiro, in his introduction to the 1961 edition said that it’s like poetry in a book written by a man that hates poetry. This could not have been more accurate. He rarely ever actually sticks to the subject, but that is the best part of the book. The corners and crevices of genius, almost scriptural, talk. Set in Paris in the 1930s, Tropic of Cancer is disgusting, pushing the boundaries of free speech in every way possible; misogyny, racism, violence and intoxication. You name it, and it’s a ‘trigger warning’ in the book. One of the longest standing banned books in the history of literature, for reasons that I understand, it is the best piece of literature I have ever read. It’s the perfect book to carry to a desert island with you, because while you’re hungry and homeless, you’ll also be happy.
Image Credits: Tropic of Cancer First Edition Cover, via. Flickr
Zainab Rashid: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini is a magical and beautifully poetic writer. Every review glorifying ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ is both correct and unable to do it justice. My heart was pounding throughout and I was nervous to turn the page because of what I feared would come next.
The story begins with Mariam, a young girl living in Afghanistan. Although she adores her father and cherishes his visits from the city, his ultimate rejection of her culminates in her marriage to Rasheed. And so, she is doomed at fifteen to live out the rest of her days with a cruel older man. With political conflict raging in the background, Laila is born and their paths cross in a shocking twist.
The story explores female life under Taliban rule, abusive relationships and family dynamics in an extremely empathetic way and centres on the personality, character and strength of both women. Hosseini’s writing and plot are captivating and the novel is intense, with themes of love, grief, sacrifice and hope threaded throughout. In short, it is absolutely heart wrenching.
The fire that still burns: the political relevance of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ and its message of human continuity
Three months ago, American pop-punk band Fall Out Boy released an updated version of Billy Joel’s 1980s Top Hit, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’. For those who were neither around in the 80s, nor are fans of Alternative Indie playlists, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ is a dizzying commentary of rapid-fire lists of people, events, and cultural flagstones from the mid-20th century to the late 1980s. Fall Out Boy’s version continues this trend from the late 80s to the present day. Consider it a modern chronicle, edition two. Both versions reference not only a series of isolated historical moments, but a continuous narrative that we are all acutely aware of. Fall Out Boy’s ‘Trump impeached twice’ is Joel’s ‘Richard Nixon’s back again.’ So, what does this revised version suggest about the message of human continuity?
Human Continuity
In psychological theory, human continuity is the ability to continue in the same manner indefinitely. Gestalt theory speaks of the undisrupted creation of continuous patterns connected to objects. ‘Objects’ in this context refer to both political and social issues. That is not to say that society is stagnant, but rather that it is interconnected to historical events in a cyclical manner, and that change is a complex and multifaceted process.
Political Relevance
In both Joel’s and Fall Out Boy’s versions there is a reach of political relevance. In Joel’s version, the song delivers a quick-fire run-down of major events, including the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. Through its quick, and sometimes witty, delivery covering over forty years, there is a sense of continuous narrative, rather than a suggestion that these events are isolated moments, as modern media would sometimes have us believe.
Fall Out Boy’s version of the song updates the reference and commentary to include events from the 80s to the present day, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the rise of terrorism. The commentary of these modern events becomes a part of the same narrative that Joel covered, and stresses that society continues to grapple with many of the same issues, only this time in a new shape.
Social Themes
Perhaps the most notable theme in both versions is the persistence of social unrest. In Joel’s version, the song touches on the struggle for racial equality, including references such as ‘Little Rock (Nine, 1957)’ and ‘Ole Miss’ (a public research university in Oxford, Mississippi, where violent protests began over the admission of James Meredith, the first African American student to enrol at the school), as well as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Malcom X.
Although Fall Out Boy’s cover updated the list of events to include more recent social issues, similar themes of social inequality and public unrest continue to be recorded. The cover addresses the Black Lives Matter movement and the struggle against racial discrimination, as well as the ongoing fight for the LGBTQIA+ communities. The repetition of themes over the course of the song reminds us that many of the new issues we face today are deeply rooted in our culture and history. Granted, that is no excuse, but there is a powerful message in this narrative. Recurrence of these issues over the decades creates a sense of shared frustration and disillusionment that transcends historical and cultural differences.
The Message of Human Continuity
It is cyclical. It is a reminder that humans have been fighting metaphorical, and sometimes literal, fires for decades. It is a shower of political bullets, a rapid-fire of social injustices, and a three minute and thirty five second melody that remembers conflict as the result of resource scarcity, ideological indifferences, and power imbalances. In spite of all the chaos, the lyrics express a message of hope that transpires across time – eight decades to be exact. While society may be slow to change, there is a shared experience in our troubles that brings us together across different eras and generations. Each verse continues this narrative and reminds us that neither Baby Boomers, nor Generation Z, nor any generations in between, are independently responsible for the world’s problems. In the words of Billy Joel, ‘It was always burning since the world’s been turning.’
Image credit: Drew de F Fawkes // CC-BY-20 via Wikimedia Commons