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Oxford malaria vaccine recommended for use by WHO

By
Fay Lorien
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Oxford malaria vaccine
Image Credit: bratislavskysamospravnykraj

An Oxford malaria vaccine has been recommended for use by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is the second of two malaria vaccines produced in the last two years. Oxford’s vaccine has been selected for a mass rollout because of its potential for cheap mass distribution.  

The first-ever malaria vaccine, which was approved by the WHO in 2021, represented a significant step towards lessening the impact of the disease. This second vaccine is easily deployable, requiring a smaller dose than its predecessor, and is manufactured at about half the cost. 

The WHO said the new R21 vaccine would be a “vital additional tool”. Each dose costs $2-4 (£1.65 to £3.30) and four doses are needed per person- about half the price of RTS,S.

The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, will make 100 million doses per year, with plans to increase to 200 million. The vaccine is set to help prevent half a million deaths per year.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, said in a press statement: “Demand for the [the first] vaccine far exceeds supply, so this second vaccine is a vital additional tool to protect more children faster, and to bring us closer to our vision of a malaria-free future.”

Due to constant mutation, malaria is hard to eliminate entirely. In 2021 96% of malaria deaths worldwide were in Africa. Recently the new vaccine has been approved for rollout in Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. 

Dr. Ghebreyesus said this was for him a moment of “great pleasure”. 

“I used to dream of the day we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now we have two”, he said.

Data that has been published online shows the R21 vaccine is 75% effective at preventing the disease in areas where malaria is a seasonal, but has not yet been through the usual process of scientific review.

Is Shakespeare’s Globe still Relevant?

By
Kiaya Phillips
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alt= a bust of William Shakespeare
Image Credits: William Shakespeare bust, courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust via. Unsplash

The Globe is certainly still one of the biggest and most recognisable names when it comes to theatres despite now being over 25 years old. It is renowned for its Shakespearean roots in drama and constant stream of productions every year. The Globe theatre is undoubtedly a household name for anyone with even the remotest interest in the dramatic arts. But with its almost exclusive adherence to traditional plays, primarily Shakespearean ones, is it still able to keep up with the times? When modern theatre is on the up, and people want to see pieces that are provoking and get people talking, is The Globe able to accommodate the ever changing needs of a modern audience? 

This summer, like many others, I went to see a few productions at The Globe with my father, a yearly bonding ritual we enjoy partaking in. This summer we saw two productions; ‘The Comedy of Errors’ and ‘As You Like It’. What always intrigues me when going into a production of a Shakespearean text, is how the director and actors are going to make their version “different”. Being an avid Shakespeare fan I can safely say I feel as though I have seen it all. I’ve seen very traditional versions that strongly adhere to the original speech and directions of the texts, and I have equally seen overly modernised interpretations that take a go at bringing Shakespeare into the 21st century. I have no particular preference for either but I always find that the plays that stick with me are the ones that bring a unique interpretation to the table. 

In this summer’s production of ‘The Comedy of Errors’ we can see directorial choices being made to bring a quirky take on the original comedic text. The production I saw was overtly camp and playful in style. They utilised the underlying innuendos of the original text and played on them using exaggerated physical movements and costume. Costume designer Paul Wills’ dynamic choices emphasise the overly dramatic take the director is embarking on with this text (I myself am particularly curious to know where the black and silver starred cowboy boots he uses are from…). In a review of the production by The Guardian they state that the ‘context remains relatively untouched yet the show feels contemporary’, further revealing that people are beginning to recognise the steps that The Globe is taking to bring its plays into this more modern dramatic space, whilst still paying homage to its Shakespearean roots. Moreover, the costume and set’s bright colour palette would incite the eye of any spectator, especially members of a younger demographic. The Globe is known for its audience participation and I do think this is an element that they utilise well to keep their productions interesting and relevant. It brings theatre into the outside space, breaking down that fourth wall between actor and audience member, a connection that is emphasised further with their classic in the round staging design and particularly their unique standing section.

Additionally, in this year’s production of ‘As You Like It’ I saw The Globe enter into a new more gender and racially inclusive space. The casting was deliberately gender neutral and diverse and the context of the text was made to be more fluid and open to wider interpretations. Director Ellen McDougall employs composer Michael Henry to integrate modern pop music into the production, adding some pizazz to the age-old classic and encouraging a hearty audience sing-along to Bruno Mars. The costumes in this production also take a more modern, untraditional, approach integrating traditional silhouettes and structures with layers of distressed ruffles and more modern accessories like neck chains and dangly earrings. The play could be viewed as pushing traditional limits too far, but I think it took a new approach and I enjoyed the gender neutral casting and felt that it did not interfere with my understanding of characters and their relationships in the slightest. I look forward to seeing more of this level of inclusivity and diversity in future Globe productions. 

I also think that The Globe ensures that their productions remain accessible to the masses by offering £10-15 tickets for the standing section of the theatre. Though it isn’t exactly enjoyable to stand for some of the lengthier Shakespearean plays (I don’t think I could exactly “enjoy” standing for three hours watching a dense play like Hamlet!), it does give the option for people to come and see a production for a fraction of the price of what the seated tickets often go for. This means young thespians are given access to these world class productions without much financial sacrifice.  

On The Globe’s website they say that they ‘celebrate Shakespeare’s transformative impact on the world by conducting a radical theatrical experiment.’ They are seemingly striving to create this new identity for themselves by offering alternative productions that aren’t Shakespeare and encouraging their actresses and directors to make radical and progressive choices ‘to collide old and new’ to form something revolutionary.  

Though I think that The Globe is trying to keep themselves relevant there are definitely advances they could make to ensure this even further. I feel like they are slowly beginning to push against the boundaries of traditional texts, but it’s time to break those walls down and venture into something new and profound. I think by integrating newer modern plays into their repertoire they would generate new traction to the theatre and give back to the community by allowing up and coming practitioners a bigger setting to show their productions on. Despite this idea, I do have a lot of respect for the Globe and its productions, and I will undoubtedly continue to visit their theatre and enjoy their shows for many years to come. 

Oxford centre with mystery £10M donor and family links to autocratic ruler silent on regime’s imprisonment of LSE academic

By
Suzanne Antelme
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Artwork by Yuan-Yuan Foo

The Oxford Nizami Ganjavi Centre (ONGC) is funded by an anonymous £10 million donation and has on its board the sister-in-law of President Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s autocratic ruler. The makeup of the centre’s board and the University’s refusal to identify the donor have drawn criticism from academics concerned about the preservation of academic freedom.

This comes amidst the ongoing imprisonment of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, an LSE academic and government critic arrested in Azerbaijan this summer on charges condemned as false and politically motivated.

Neither the University nor the centre have reacted to Dr Gubad’s predicament. His family are calling for this silence to be broken.

The centre

According to its website, the Oxford Nizami Ganjavi Centre was established in 2019 to study the “history, languages and cultures of Azerbaijan, the Caucasus and Central Asia”. The centre offers visiting fellowships and funding for graduate students, and supports Azerbaijani language instruction at Oxford. It is funded by an anonymous £10 million endowment “given in recognition of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus [BFSAC] in 2018”.

On the centre’s board sits Nargiz Pashayeva, the sister-in-law of President Ilham Aliyev, the autocratic ruler of Azerbaijan. Her sister, Mehriban Aliyeva, is Azerbaijan’s First Lady and first ever ‘Vice President’, the second highest constitutional office in the country to which her husband appointed her immediately after creating it in 2017.

Freedom House characterises Azerbaijan as an authoritarian regime, with power “heavily concentrated in the hands of Ilham Aliyev … and his extended family. Corruption is rampant, and the formal political opposition has been weakened by years of persecution.”

Dr Tena Prelec, Assistant Professor at the University of Rijeka and a former Research Fellow at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations, told Cherwell: “[Pashayeva’s] connections with the Azerbaijani ruling elite could not be stronger. It has been proven that hundreds of millions of pounds linked to the Azerbaijani elite have been laundered through UK real estate (the Azerbaijani Laundromat); while attempts by Azerbaijan to influence political decisions through bribery have also been established beyond doubt (the so-called ‘caviar diplomacy’ scandal at the Council of Europe). For those reasons alone, Pashayeva’s involvement in an Oxford research centre warrants particular care and attention.”

In addition to being on the ONGC’s board, Nargiz Pashayeva played a key role in setting up the centre. She is credited with establishing collaboration with the University back in 2014 in the form of the ‘Nizami Ganjavi Programme’, a five-year research programme worth £1 million with similar research aims. She also “facilitated” the creation of the ONGC itself in her role as chair of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus (BFSAC). 

Given its focus on cultural studies, the centre appears non-political. However, in a letter to the Foreign Secretary in 2020 urging the UK to take a more pro-Azerbaijan approach regarding conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Lord Malcolm Bruce described the ONGC as an “important symbol of inclusiveness promoted by Azerbaijan today”. Lord Bruce is a member of the UK House of Lords and was also the British co-founder of BFSAC, the charity chaired by Pashayeva and recognized by the ONGC’s mystery £10 million donor. BFSAC closed down in October 2022.

Lord Bruce told Cherwell he “supported the establishment of the [ONGC] as a non-political, academic and cultural centre for promoting interest in the Caucasus and central Asian region”, noting that “the donation enabling the foundation of the centre was subject to and approved through Oxford University due diligence”. 

Regarding the contents of his 2020 letter, he pointed to UN criticism of Armenia’s actions at the time and emphasised that his “only interest was and remains in securing a long-term settlement and improvement in Azerbaijan-Armenia relations”, adding that he has “been critical of the regime in Azerbaijan and the lack of free and fair elections”.

Lord Bruce was formerly the Council of Europe’s Rapporteur for Political Prisoners from 2003-2005, and is noted in ESI’s ‘Caviar Diplomacy’ report as having taken a relatively critical stance towards the Azerbaijani regime. 

The funding

When asked about the identity of the anonymous donor, Oxford University told Cherwell: “The University will not disclose the name of the donor; the terms of the gift are such that the donor wanted to be anonymous, and the University is respecting that agreement. 

“All major prospective donors are carefully considered by the University’s Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding under the University’s guidelines for acceptance. The committee, which includes independent, external representatives, has robust and rigorous guidelines regarding the acceptance of donations and research funding.”

A University spokesperson previously told Times Higher Education that the donation “does not come from a government”. 

When Cherwell prompted the University to clarify what scope is given to the term ‘government’ in this statement, the University re-emphasised the expertise of its donations review committee, adding that the committee “was made aware of the donor of this gift, who was considered and approved through our usual due diligence process”.

Dr. Prelec emphasised to Cherwell that “it is not enough for the public to know that the donor was not a governmental entity. In many countries … much of the political economy rests on an exchange of favours between businesspeople and the rulers.

“In order to be able to conduct business and prosper, individuals hoping to do business in or with Azerbaijan often donate hefty sums to philanthropic activities that are used to enhance Azerbaijan’s image in the world. Alex Dukalskis has called this money-fuelled burnishing of a country’s reputation ‘authoritarian image management’.”

In an Azernews article from early 2017, Pashayeva is quoted saying she “would like to thank Mr Iskandar Khalilov for his first financial support of the Oxford Nizami Ganjavi Centre”. 

Iskandar Khalilov (name sometimes spelt as Iskander or Iskender) is an Azerbaijani businessman. He is the founder of ISR Holdings, which describes itself as “one of the largest [structures] in the private sector of Azerbaijan”. He also appears to have been on the board of directors for Russian state oil company Slavneft, and according to Azerbaijani state media has been Vice President for Russian multinational energy corporation LUKOIL Oil Company. In 2016, Khalilov was amongst those awarded by the Azerbaijani President for services to the development of the Azerbaijani diaspora. 

When asked to clarify what financial contribution from Khalilov was being referred to, the University declined to comment further. This reply came in a new email thread with ‘confidential’ added to the subject line in all caps. 

In response to Cherwell’s Freedom of Information request asking for details on any donations received by Khalilov, the University would neither confirm nor deny whether it held this information. The University argued that exemptions protecting personal data and commercial interest applied, and said it “would not be appropriate for the University to provide information which could lead to donors … being identified by a process of elimination”.

Dr John Heathershaw, Professor of International Relations at Exeter University and founding member of the Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group, told Cherwell: “It was a serious error of judgement by Oxford’s gift committee to agree to an anonymous £10 million donation … In the US it would have been illegal to accept such a high donation anonymously and in the UK it is certainly unethical.

“While confidentiality in small donations is reasonable, it is never admissible in large donations, especially with respect to regions and topics where there are credible risks of reputation laundering and authoritarian influencing.” 

The silence

Neither the University nor the ONGC have responded to the arrest and ongoing detention of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, a UK-based Azerbaijani academic, democracy advocate and regime critic.

Dr Gubad, a Senior Visiting Fellow at LSE, was arrested in late July while visiting family in Baku. He was charged initially with selling counterfeit money and then with distributing religious extremist materials. Human Rights Watch has dismissed these charges as “false” and “politically motivated”, and demands his immediate release. Dr Gubad is reportedly being denied medical attention in prison and his family have expressed concern about the impact on his health.

Tomila Lankina, LSE Professor of International Relations, has been working closely with the campaign to secure Dr Gubad’s release. Speaking to Cherwell, she questioned the ONGC’s silence on the matter: “The question is, where is their voice? I would have thought a centre at one of the most prestigious institutions would have done something by now, because they have much better connections than everyone else…

“If they have someone close to the regime [Pashayeva], one would think they would use those channels to secure the release of a man who’s health conditions have deteriorated since imprisonment and on whose behalf there has been a huge campaign.”

Lankina said she found the anonymity of the ONGC’s donor combined with the identity of its board members “deeply troubling”.

Zhala Bayramova, Dr Gubad’s daughter, told Cherwell regarding the ONGC’s silence that “at the very least” she would like to see a statement from the centre and the University expressing their concern.

She added, “If they cannot even muster a Twitter statement, which is a minimal gesture of endorsement and support without significant binding power, it raises serious doubts about their commitment, especially when they are meant to be guardians of scholars.”

Regarding the anonymous funding, Zhala emphasised that “it is imperative for universities to prioritise transparency”, as anonymity can “obscure the nature of donations and their impact on university policies and decision-making processes”. 

Similarly, Dr Heathershaw noted that “given Oxford’s secrecy [about the donor], it is not appropriate for the sister-in-law of the President of Azerbaijan to sit on the board of ONGC…. While there is little doubt that any direct attempts to limit academic freedom would be challenged by other members of the [ONGC] board, we know that research activities are influenced in more subtle ways including who is likely to apply to fellowship positions and what they propose if there is a perception of preference to a particular regime.”

The University told Cherwell: “The [ONGC’s] Board comprises seven members, five of whom are Oxford University academics and two of whom were nominated by [BFSAC]. Each member serves a three-year term which is extendable for one further term, and the Board reports to the University’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies….

“All research projects and researchers at Oxford University have absolute freedom of academic enquiry without influence from donors or donations. The [ONGC] follows these principles and academic decisions about their research agenda and outputs are made entirely independently of the Board, donors or any political interests in Azerbaijan.”

Emin Bayramli, one of Dr Gubad’s sons, expressed concern that the ONGC, as a space the Azerbaijani community in Oxford is likely to rely on, is not fit for purpose: “It’s essential for individuals living abroad, many of whom have relocated … to have impartial and secure spaces… As someone living in exile, I would not feel secure seeking support from a centre [whose board] is closely related to a dictator”. 

Adding that “[i]t is crucial for institutions to demonstrate their commitment to academic freedom and the protection of scholars, and issuing a statement is a minimal but necessary step in that direction”, Emin called for the ONGC and the University to do so. 

The ONGC and Nargiz Pashayeva have been approached for comment. Cherwell has also tried to reach Iskandar Khalilov through ISR Holdings.

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts’: A Lament on Girlhood

By
Holly Errington
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alt= Olivia Rodrigo's Guts World Tour logo
Image Credits: CC BY SA 4.0 By Olivia Rodrigo, via. Wikimedia Commons

In light of the immense success of her debut album Sour, Rodrigo’s latest project, Guts, emerges as a compelling narrative continuation. This sophomore release is a simultaneous confession of growth and weakness, venturing into the edgier realm of pop-rock and exploring the complex emotions surrounding moving forwards after a significant relationship. The album masterfully captures the challenges of this transitional phase of growing up, such as social incompetence, embarrasing levels of jealousy, and repressed feminine rage, making it a resonant musical journey for those experiencing the perils of girlhood. 

When the album cover for this new body of work was released, a simple image of Rodrigo against a purple background, many fans were skeptical. Her Instagram comments were flooded with people claiming that sticking to such a similar aesthetic to her previous album, which also featured the singer against a purple background, would lead to a boring piece of art. In light of its release, these comments have become startlingly ironic, as the album explores themes of perfectionism and the overwhelming pressure put on Rodrigo to continue improving and changing as she grows older. This sparks the question, do we put too much pressure on young artists to constantly reinvent themselves for our entertainment? Has art become more about consumption than self expression? 

It is unbelievably difficult to write about the experience of girlhood without being accused of being too cliché. Girlhood is often dismissed as uninteresting by those who haven’t lived it, and the quick dismissal of art about girlhood reveals an intriguing paradox: women frequently find resonance and enjoyment in songs written by men about men, while men seem to lack a similar inclination to connect with art centered around the female experience.

Guts dances between raw pain and playfulness with ease. The opening track all-american bitch establishes this dynamic from the get-go, with wistful verses weaved in-between a chorus reminiscent of Avril Lavigne’s classic alternative hits. Rodrigo sweetly sings ‘I’ve got sun in my motherfucking pocket’ to encapsulate the feeling that one must always be performing easygoingness in order to not be seen as rude or overly emotional by men. Contrast this with the bridge of the song being, in Rodrigo’s own words, ‘literally just me screaming’, and we have a complex exploration of the pent up anger that, as described by Margaret Atwood, being ‘a woman with a man inside watching a woman’ creates. 

The hit single vampire further revels in spite, with the use of mournful piano creating a sense of macabre dread that comes to a dramatic crescendo in the line ‘You can’t love anyone ‘cause that would mean you had a heart’. A similar spite curses through the holy trinity of this album: get him back!, love is embarrassing and the grudge. Three songs that showcase the best of Rodrigo’s writing talent by mixing witty lyrics, intense relatability and a revival of the 2000s pop genre.  

get him back! is a grungy pop song that reads like a scrawled journal entry, endearingly immature in a way that Rodrigo frequently crafts so well. love is embarrassing is another dance-worthy tune that uses specific occurrences from her own relationships with stars such as Joshua Bassett, Zack Bia and Adam Faze as stepping stones to communicate a common experience. the grudge takes Rodrigo back to her roots – a slow piano ballad about resentment and holding onto the past, simple yet powerful.

Rodrigo’s use of humour in this album is refreshing. Lines such as ‘And I told my friends I was asleep / But I never said where or in whose sheets’ from the hit single bad idea right? drip with the mischievous self-derision of a teenage girl convincing herself that she is behaving badly ‘for the plot’ rather than because of her attachment issues. Furthermore, hearing her audibly grin when she announces ‘maybe I could fix him’ certainly made me grin along with her.

One thing that would’ve really made this album shine is a collaboration. Conan Gray, Rodrigo’s close friend, is an obvious contender. Sharing a song such as making the bed with Gray could’ve been an incredible opportunity to make an understated song trapped in the middle of the album stand out, rather than simply being another sad, yet admittedly still catchy, ballad.

The final track, teenage dream, is nothing like its counterpart by Katy Perry. The simultaneously hopeful yet sorrowful lyric ‘Got your whole life ahead of you, you’re only nineteen’ is placed in our ears like a prayer, but is shortly followed by an apology for not enjoying what is supposed to be an age of simplicity and joy. This is certainly an anxiety-inducing ending, sure to make many nineteen year olds shed a tear. 

Overall, Guts is a fun album that successfully attempts to rekindle 2000s nostalgia whilst also being an exploration of intense pain. It will be interesting to see how Rodrigo’s career develops over time, after all this is only her second album, and her tasteful use of self aware sarcasm adds a modern flare to this genre reboot that puts her at the forefront of a new yet familiar wave of music. 

Dippy diplodocus court case dropped against Oxford Just Stop Oil activist

By
Victor Cheung
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Image Credit: Just Stop Oil

A court case against Daniel Knorr, a 21 year old biochemistry student at Oxford University, has been dropped. Apprehended last Tuesday for vandalising the Radcliffe Camera, Knorr was arrested in April for conspiracy to cause criminal damage to the Dippy exhibit in Coventry.

Dippy, described as “the nation’s favourite dinosaur” is a beloved plaster-of-paris Diplodocus replica that was donated to the London Museum of Natural History in 1905. Recently, it has been on a tour of the nation’s museums, with its current tenure at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry set to continue until 2025. 

Representing Just Stop Oil, the activists breached security, revealed message-bearing t-shirts before being arrested. On 6 October, whilst in court at the Warwickshire Justice Centre for a pre-trial hearing, Knorr and Victoria, 67, from Leamington Spa, were informed that the case had been dropped on the grounds that the prosecution could not find sufficient evidence. 

Just Stop Oil is a British environmental activism group, which uses civil disobedience, direct action, vandalism and traffic obstruction. The group aims to commit the government to ending all new licensing and production of fossil fuels. 

Following the case’s dismissal, Knorr said that “any prosecution of nonviolent demonstrators is a waste of time and money.” 

He also levelled criticism at the British judicial system, saying: “people are dying every day, and the courts are more concerned with being good bureaucrats than they are with saving lives.

 “It’s time for those in positions of power to accept their responsibility and pick a side – the side of life.”

Knorr was previously convicted for aggravated trespass, after throwing orange powder onto the pitch at a test match at Lord’s, along with two other Just Stop Oil activists. 

Representing a species that fell victim to mass extinction, Dippy was a crucial symbol in the protestors’ plea. Knorr said, “the dinosaurs had no choice about extinction but we do!”

The case’s dismissal comes as the UK government announced more than 100 new north sea oil and gas licences in July, something that the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, described as “moral and economic madness.”

A Very Short Guide to Art Gallery Dates

By
Kelsey Moriarty
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alt= a couple on a date sitting in front of a wall of paintings in an art gallery
Image Credit: Robert Couse-Baker, via. PxHere

There are a million better ways to spend an afternoon than moping around a largely windowless building with a complete stranger and an inability to remember where the exit is. Despite this, art gallery dates remain oddly popular, with couples week on week traipsing to galleries. Art is in many ways a sort of stepping stone to deep and meaningful connection. Gallery dates are not without their difficulties but we here at Cherwell have some advice on how to handle art gallery dates, from how to look at the art, how to talk about it – and when to leave.

Looking at the art is the bulk of the work. Take a minute to take in the painting. When you look at it, what do you notice? How do you feel? Simply allowing a piece of art wash over you can open up so many observations, which will in turn provide you with something to talk about. It may be something completely trivial – maybe you think someone’s face is painted in a weird way, or that you want a particular piece on your bedroom wall – but any connection with the art is a good one. Art is supposed to produce a reaction – just let it do its work. 

Ultimately, the aim of an art gallery date is to foster a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere where both you and your date can appreciate and learn from the art together. Asking open-ended questions is the best way to start conversation. Each piece can be a conversation starter, offering a window into the other person’s feelings and perspective on things. Begin by sharing your initial impressions and feelings about a particular piece, and maybe venture into asking questions about specific details of the painting. Avoid technical jargon and instead focus on emotion and personal connection to the work. 

Of course, there comes a point in every art gallery date where you notice that one or both of you is walking a little slower. Yawning, perhaps. Or, more obviously, looking around for an exit. That’s when you make arrangements to leave. Find a natural break point, such as the end of a room or section, and get out. Most galleries and museums have a café, and this is a great place to decompress, share your thoughts, and congratulate yourselves – you just about managed to survive the gallery date.

Are you taking the mick? The secret world of student satire 

By
Silvia Andreoletti
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Alt = "Illustration of bespectacled man peering over student satire publication."
Artwork by Amelia Dovell

Oxford’s main student publications are so ubiquitously publicised, they’re impossible to miss. The juiciest of newspapers, however, are shrouded in secrecy. Their existence is ominously revealed to first-years during Freshers’ Week, with no mention of them online and an exclusive readership. 

College publications usually focus on only the life of that college (or, less charitably, its gossip). They often satirise its members which, to the unknowing eye, could seem cruel. But, these papers are overwhelmingly beloved – even by those bearing the brunt of the mockery – and are viewed as an integral part of college culture. Just what is it that keeps readers coming back for more?

Alt = "The Phoenix, The 40th edition 'special', Letters from the editors"
The Phoenix will mysteriously appear mid-term in pidges and the college bar.

To begin, New College’s The Phoenix is the most scandalous of the lot. Its copies (exclusively print) will mysteriously appear mid-term in pidges and the college bar. The Phoenix names and shames its subjects, for anything as mild as sharking to as serious as mis-spelling Atik in the freshers’ group chat. The romantic entanglements borne of the most recent bop are no longer confined to the Plush smoking area but are forever remembered in the ION (eye-on) section. Omnipresent spies observe rowing mishaps and housemate drama, JCR elections and crewdate sconces left to be recorded for posterity by the authors’ scathing pens. 

Other colleges tone down the mockery or omit the gossip sections altogether, but the large majority have at least one section, mostly respecting anonymity, devoted to humorous comment on college affairs. Worcester’s Woosta Source, Lincoln’s The Imp and other more serious-looking publications still devote some space to humorous commentary of college pets’ antics or JCR meeting fiascos. The Oxymoron takes it one step further, devoting its entire publication to satire and humour centred on Oxford life.

The mockery flirts with insult but never crosses the line to meanness, however, and is clearly affectionate in even its most cutting forms. Even tales about mild JCR embezzlement, blatant Freshers’ rep sharking, and one girl’s (actually successful) quest to get with every member of a bloodline don’t make The Phoenix any real enemies. Phoenix editors ask college members before each edition if anyone would like to be omitted from it or consulted before print, but according to former editor Lewis Fisher, only about 30 people opt for this each time, less than a tenth of the college’s undergraduates. The Phoenix is almost universally  beloved by the college, and gets generous funding from the JCR each term. Perhaps this is only because the Oxford college system, with insular communities in enclosed spaces and a work-hard, play-hard attitude, is the perfect breeding ground for gossip, and people are eager to sink their teeth into the new batch of information on the various embarrassing shenanigans of their fellow students. 

Alt = "Zac dressed for the occasion in jeans and a jacket I can only assume he stole from Amelia Earhart. Afraid of dating a man who dressed like a female pilot, or worse...me, I was relieved to hear that Zac agreed to the date purely to be mean. He continued to share a list of preprepared insults, revealing he had as little faith in the outcome of this date as I. He also can't have been that chuffed with me as he revealed he was willing to waver his zero drug policy and "express mail magic mushrooms, so {he could} astral project into a universe where this conversation is interesting"...."
An anecdote from The Broadsheet. Words by Issie Dover.

But gossip proves time and time again to be a means of bonding. This is especially the case in larger colleges whose “college spirit” might wane; gossip magazines become a way to foster college unity and bring people closer together. Contents of gossip magazines become topics of conversations at college bars and bops, the communal embarrassment of being called out on the college paper (or relief at being left out) makes it easier to strike up conversation and connect with other college members.

This sense of camaraderie appears in many of Oxford’s silliest traditions: “shoeys”, sconcing and Oxfess likewise use embarrassment, mockery, and gossip to bring students, from sports teams to lecture halls, closer together. Sharing one common joke, or collectively poking fun at a well-known institution or person can actually be a good thing.

Trinity’s termly online magazine, The Broadsheet, takes self-satire to another level: there is mercy for no-one, with union hacks, finalists, and unwitting freshers all coming under the searingly funny spotlight of the authors. Articles mocking a certain prolific union member’s academic achievements or a staircase’s strange night-time activities join outrageously funny recountings of blind dates between a feminist anarchist and a clueless Etonian. 

Alt = "The Phoenix's words of advice for Valentine's Day in Welfare Corner"
The Phoenix’s caring words in Welfare Corner.

One particularly, let’s say, observant contribution to The Broadsheet records the  rundown of fresher staircases. Authors “commend the wine fanatic for her humanitarian work in furthering international relations and the impressive scholarly research one classicist put into ranking every first year girl in college on looks.”

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar goes so far as to say that gossip is the human equivalent to grooming each other in that it allows individuals to maintain and strengthen their relationships: gossip enabled humanity to expand its tribes and make them more stable. Satirical college publications may serve the same function: perhaps that is why it is primarily larger colleges, where keeping up with gossip becomes impossible by first week, that have juiciest newspapers. 

Alt = "The ION section of The Phoenix"
Keep your eyes peeled for The Phoenix’s ION section.

The apparent obsession with self-satire and mockery, however, may seem odd or even cruel to outsiders. Some say this is fitting with Oxford students’ tendency towards humour and away from taking anything seriously to save their lives. Irony and sarcasm are at the heart of Oxford humour: Oxfess’ University-wide inside jokes (Nutkins the stuffed squirrel remains a character of Oxfess, and Oxford lore to this day) are a funny part of culture and a sort of Shibboleth, immediately bringing strangers who are “in the know” closer by virtue of the shared reference. Similarly, the silly arguments between housemates or borne of the gladiatorial room ballots, chronicled in meticulous detail by The Phoenix, surely helps all involved forget any grudges and have a laugh about the absurdity of it all.

No matter the type of college publication, whether it’s an innocent chronicle of the term’s events or a scathing rundown of the College’s most scandalous happenings, it is still a crucial and beloved part of college life. The unsung heroes are the writers and editors themselves (many of whom have been incredibly helpful in the writing of this article), who by poking fun at everything and everyone, often including themselves, bring communities closer together and make Oxford life just a tad more entertaining.

New College student greeted by “escort” in their room amidst hotel havoc

By
Jakub Trybull
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Cliffkinch is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

A student at New College was met with a “woman sitting on [their] bed in a lingerie robe” when they opened their room door at the Leonardo Royal hotel. The shock came as third-year New College students were re-housed an hour walk away from the centre following delayed building works. The College has responded to the incident by reducing rent by half and putting in place a night porter at the hotel.

Students were due to move into the New Gradel Quadrangles building on Mansfield Road at the start of this term. However, on 16 August they were informed by email that due to slow progress on site, it wouldn’t be ready on time and that they would be accommodated at the Leonardo Royal until 1 November. On 27 September, the College delayed the move-in again until Monday of ninth week.

Cherwell has exclusive access to first-hand accounts of the incident that occurred last Tuesday, when a third-year student moved into what was supposed to be a student-only corridor in the hotel. Instead of moving in, they claim the hotel offered them to wait until the woman, who had booked the room from 9-5, had left. 

According to the student, the hotel said it made a “human admin error” and gave the woman a student room by mistake. The hotel then offered two options: wait until five o’clock and have the room cleaned again, or move to a distant room.

Another student told Cherwell they saw a man walking down what was meant to be a student corridor, who then entered the room: “ten minutes after that as we walked out of [the neighbouring] room we could hear them having loud sex – and then 20 minutes later he left and we watched him leave the corridor.” They claimed to have seen three further people enter and leave the room. 

Another student reported to New College that after having brought this issue up to a staff member they seemed “unfazed” at the news and “implied” this was a regular occurrence. The hotel has denied this, telling Cherwell they do not condone such behaviour in their hotels and always aim to be accommodating and prioritise their guests’ best comfort.

The Leonardo Royal Hotel lies in North Oxford, just by the ring road and three miles from the main site. As compensation, students were offered free bus passes into central Oxford, and free breakfast and dinner, despite not having direct access to kitchen facilities anyway. 

Initially, they were to pay the same rent as they would have paid for the new Gradel suites, according to correspondence seen by Cherwell.

However, after a lengthy email and “profound apologies” from the College, the Home Bursar Gez Wells agreed to a rent reduction of £13.57 per day (50%) and put in place a College Night Porter at the hotel overnight. An email from a student to the College called for more to be done, arguing that the College’s response is “not even the bare minimum”.

In 2016, Exeter College had to move 86 students into hotel accommodation after construction delays to the Cohen building. Students did not pay any rent while staying in the same hotel, whilst having provisions for a common room and a College officer present seven days a week.

New College students shocked about the difference in their experience have been “discussing a battels strike as an idea to get College to listen,” according to an email seen by Cherwell.

New College told Cherwell: “The College was made aware of a situation occurring at the hotel during part of the check in process which was witnessed by one student and their parents.

“The College and hotel worked immediately and collectively to address the issue and have subsequently spoken to the student concerned. The matter was then closed and every precaution against a reoccurrence has been taken.”
Leonardo Hotel has responded, telling Cherwell: “The comfort and safety of all our guests are of paramount importance to us. We are fully investigating the allegations being made and sincerely apologise for any distress that this has caused.”

Extinction Rebellion protests outside University’s STEM Careers Fair

By
Jakub Trybull and Bintia Dennog
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Image credit: Bintia Dennog

Students alongside members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Oxford gathered outside the Examination Schools to protest the University’s invitation to Equinor to set-up at its STEM Careers Fair. Protesters see the invitation as an endorsement, saying that it goes against the University’s sustainability commitments and targets for Net Zero.

Equinor is a petroleum refining company which has recently been approved to operate in the controversial Rosebank oil field, the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, and could extract a projected 500 million barrels of oil equivalent over its lifetime. The operation of Rosebank itself sparked protests earlier this term and has faced wider criticism for being a U-turn on key climate policies. Protestors discovered that Equinor ‘withdrew’ from the event yesterday.

One protestor told Cherwell: “the University Career Service of Oxford University is still allowing fossil fuel corporations into his careers fairs, it should not be happening. Already half a dozen universities have stopped oil and gas corporations from trying to recruit in their careers fairs. This is actually in line with the United Nations, which says there should be no new oil, gas or coal installations made anywhere on the planet.”

Recently, Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment has unveiled research that indicates that wind and solar energy could fulfil energy demand 10-fold. Oxford University was also the sixth-largest beneficiary of funding from fossil fuel companies out of all UK universities in 2022-23, receiving £1.2 million.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

Ruby Finn, one of the organisers and student at Hertford College, told Cherwell: “It goes against all of Oxford’s research…Oxford publishes this and then on the other hand invites Equinor to the careers service.”

She added that “while we fully support anyone taking up whatever career that they choose, we thought by doing this the University was affiliating and endorsing Equinor”.

In response, the University told Cherwell: “’The Careers Service offers an impartial service which allows students to make informed choices about their futures through access to employers and professional networks.

“The Service is very concerned about the climate crisis and any employer wishing to advertise roles and opportunities on our systems are encouraged to answer a set of questions to allow students to find out more about their sustainability credentials.

“Students can easily access an organisation’s stance on the climate crisis, its plan on how it will achieve Net-Zero by 2050 and remain profitable, and other relevant credentials in sustainability.”

Equinor has been reached for comment.

Solar and wind energy could fulfill energy demand 10-fold, Oxford study finds

By
Jakub Trybull
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Charles Cook via Flicker /CC BY 2.0 DEED

Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment has unveiled research that indicates that wind and solar power could not only meet but vastly surpass the nation’s energy demands, providing a compelling pathway towards a greener, more sustainable future. 

The primary finding of the study asserts that wind and solar energy have the potential to generate a staggering 2,896 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually. Putting this into perspective, this amount is nearly ten times the current electricity demand, which stands at 299 TWh per year. Furthermore, these estimates have been made intentionally conservative whilst addressing concerns such as land use and the visual impact of renewable energy installations.

The lead author, Dr Brian O’Callaghan, stated in a press release that “this isn’t merely a technical question but a matter of ambition”. He argues that the UK should embrace renewables with the vigour seen in the United States, which offers generous incentives for renewable energy adoption, while simultaneously preparing the nation’s grid for the impending surge in renewable energy production.

Battcock Professor of Environmental Economics, Cameron Hepburn, finds a silver lining in what he has described as “an unfortunately poor set of policy announcements from the government this week”. Professor Hepburn identifies a glimmer of hope in the form of initiatives designed to accelerate renewable projects and with the policy brief asserting that renewable energy can play a leading role in Britain’s journey towards achieving net-zero emissions. It suggests that while nuclear power and other renewables may also have their role, it is entirely conceivable to power the entire nation using wind and solar energy alone.

Professor Hepburn, however, cautioned against relying solely on wind and solar to reduce emissions, pointing out that other measures, such as transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), can deliver substantial carbon savings.

The analysis in the report anticipates that offshore wind energy could serve as the backbone, contributing a substantial 73% (2,121 TWh/year) of the energy generated. Onshore wind, occupying a mere 0.07% of the country’s land, is projected to provide around 7% (206 TWh/year) of the energy. Utility-scale solar power is expected to make up about 19% (544 TWh/year) of the energy, with rooftop solar covering 8% of Great Britain’s roof area and contributing 25 TWh/year. This diversified approach ensures a well-balanced and more secure energy mix, which may aid both in environmental causes and reducing vulnerability to external economic shocks.

One significant challenge highlighted in the policy brief is the need for substantial grid upgrades to accommodate the surge in renewable energy. Scaling up energy storage is also a pressing task on the road to a sustainable energy future. However, the authors expressed confidence that these challenges can be overcome, particularly with the ongoing reduction in renewable energy costs.

The recent commitment by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to eliminate bureaucratic delays in renewable energy and storage projects could be seen as a promising sign of government support for this transformative transition. However, the Government was equally criticized for U-turning on other environmental policies and pushing back net-zero targets. Sunak was also criticized last week for claiming to have “scrapped” government measures that appear to have never existed.

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