Friday, May 9, 2025
Blog Page 78

Over 170 Oxford faculty and staff sign statement of support for students’ pro-Palestine encampment

Emily Henson
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Over 170 Oxford faculty and staff sign statement of support for students’ pro-Palestine encampment

Over 170 faculty and staff at Oxford University have signed an open letter expressing their support for the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment. The statement calls for divestment from Israeli actions in Gaza and for support for Palestinian scholars, following the destruction of all universities in Gaza. 

The letter calls that the University produce details of its endowment, displaying investment in arms companies, or items such as warplanes. This is in the hope that “we can have an open discussion on this issue with all the facts in hand.”

They urge the Vice Chancellor to “unequivocally condemn the killing of over a hundred university professors and Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s educational institutions and archives.” All universities within Gaza have been destroyed since 7th October 2023, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. 

The group joins Oxford Action for Palestine in calling for University aid in the rebuilding of Palestinian universities. They also ask that the University create opportunities for “Palestinian scholars to access library resources and education support online so that they can continue their learning”.

The group “consider[s] our students’ demands entirely reasonable given the University of Oxford’s commitment to global leadership in education and to furthering educational opportunities internationally.” The students demands include, divesting in arms companies and those “complicit in Israeli genocide”, ending all banking with Barclays and boycotting all institutional relationships with Israeli institutions and those who are “complicit in Israeli genocide”. 

Robet Gildea, a history professor at Worcester, told Cherwell: “It is very moving to see that students around Oxford Action for Palestine have set up an encampment to press for peace, justice and freedom in Palestine and to require from the University the highest ethical standards. As someone who marched against the Vietnam War in 1968 I understand the difference that the global protest of youth can make, and I encourage other academics to support this movement.”

Faculty at other universities globally have joined in support with student protestors. At Columbia, staff formed a human barricade around the encampment. Some participated in protecting students out of fear that university autonomy and academic freedom are being removed in crackdowns on peaceful protests. 

The full statement can be read here.

Navigating being a baby adult

Flo Johnston
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Navigating being a baby adult

After complaining that the Easter hunt had gotten too hard this year, my parents were quick to decide that it had in fact been my last hunt as I was an “adult” and it was “getting a bit ridiculous now”. I took this news super well and felt like my childhood had just died. Not that I had ever truly believed in an Easter bunny, but I did believe that I would always remain a child in the eyes of my parents. Coming to the slow realisation that I am now an adult, and have been for two years, is a reality that most people face at university, yet I can’t help but wonder when the word ‘adult’ will be something I actually feel. Becoming mature and ‘adult-like’ overnight is not realistic, so instead, I’ve compiled a list of mini challenges to help me (and anyone else that also feels out of the adult loop) make the transition into the world of boredom that I imagine adulthood to be.

1.        Become Linked-tf-In

When I think of maturity, I think of a person who understands this app. I genuinely had never found anything so humbling in my entire life, especially when I was told that everyone could see that I’d been stalking them. Since then, I have wisened up slightly and no longer keep tabs on my enemies through this medium. Now I actually check my profile viewers, because obviously my flood of job offers are about to come through, and I feel like this is my grand entrance into the world of work.

2.        Stop drinking squadka

This is a really hard challenge to stick to, especially within the cost-of-living crisis that has made boujee cocktails a luxury of the past. However, I am well aware that a true adult would never be caught dead with a vodka, water, and drizzle of squash combo drank out of a bop cup with a straw. Part of my dream for adult life consists of a love for red wine and neat whisky, which I hope my tastebuds are going to magically start liking in the next couple of months. If not, I might just level up to a vodka, lime, and soda, because even that seems to have more of an air of superiority.

3.        Buy a trench coat and wear it with chest

The trench coat is the epitome of an adult wardrobe and, because of this, I obviously bought one when I came to Oxford in an attempt to not fall victim to the puffer coat epidemic. However, it quickly became apparent that wearing a trench coat is a mental battle which requires a level of confidence that I just don’t have. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the amount of Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Calls related jokes I have lived through has made me feel like a child playing dress-up. Therefore, the day that I feel comfortable enough to strut around the streets with my detective coat billowing behind me will most certainly be the day that I see myself as a confident, mature young adult.

4.        Stop using Snapchat as my main form of communication

I actually am unsure how this is going to come about; do we all have to collectively agree to make the sad shift to WhatsApp and Facebook or is this an individual decision? I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the CEOs of this world don’t send daily red snaps backwards and forwards for no real reason. Instead, I imagine they communicate through concise WhatsApp messages ending with “kind regards, Susan”. I don’t think I will cope well with this challenge, but I’m beginning to accept the impending doom of Snapchat. Let’s not mention TikTok – that’s a whole different sacrifice.

5.        Complete a half-marathon

Pretty self-explanatory really. I don’t know one mature friend who hasn’t become a runner overnight and casually signed up for this major life commitment. This is the pinnacle of dedication and precisely what adulthood is all about: mundane routines and a love for boring activities.

This brings me to the end of my whistle-stop tour of adulthood. I know there’s definitely more to adulting than these trivial challenges but I hope that they will ease us into this terrifying, yet exciting experience. Good luck!

‘Women in STEM’ – empowerment or disempowerment?

Éilis Mathur
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‘Women in STEM’ – empowerment or disempowerment?

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘woman in STEM’; the term is now so well-known that it has left its textbook definition behind and become a sort of half-ironic, half-genuine, inside joke. I’ll use it to comfort my biologist friend through her multiple hour-long lab sessions, I’ll even use it to refer to myself after I submit my latest linguistics essay (I know, not a real STEM degree). But even in these more ironic uses, the label ‘woman in STEM’ still carries connotations of merit and success. It’s supposed to be a tool of empowerment: a reminder to women that even though STEM fields are often places of discrimination, they can overcome these difficulties. But more and more I’m beginning to realise that this is not the case at all. In fact, all the term ‘women in STEM’ does is disempower. 

It is true that STEM fields are not usually welcoming environments for women. Not only are women grossly underrepresented, but even once the door is opened, obstacles persist: stereotypes, gender-biased assessment, and psychological pressure – to name just a few. We really should be looking for any possible way to rectify this. This is where the label ‘woman in STEM’ comes in – it offers women validation for their ability and accomplishments within this environment.

The idea of ‘women in STEM’ tends to encourage people to only view the work of women in STEM fields through a gendered lens, a perception with which the work of men is never tinged. More and more female scientists are expressing their desire for their work to be valued in its own right and without this seemingly ineradicable gendered dimension. Friends of mine who study STEM degrees tell me about feeling as if they cannot shake off this aspect of their identity in their study. The term ‘woman in STEM’ doesn’t encourage them but serves as a constant reminder of the difficulties they face. From male-dominated lecture halls to a lack of women role models in STEM, they are already painfully aware of this. And this tendency to focus on the hardships of women in STEM doesn’t end even when you reach high-levels of success. Attending an all-girls school, I was frequently told about successful STEM women, such as Ada Lovelace and Katherine Johnson, during my school education. But these stories always seemed to focus on the obstacles they had to overcome to accomplish anything rather than on the accomplishments themselves. The stories I heard about successful men never did. 

Empowering women in STEM, but not women in humanities, is also undeniably problematic. While the success of an individual is not the absence of one’s own, the encouragement of women in STEM fields has led to an inherently sexist depreciation of the work of women in the humanities. The term connotes a sense of superiority which unavoidably implies superiority over humanities. The binary distinction between STEM and the humanities is deeply embedded at all levels of education. They are pitted against each other; every student has to pick a side. I have experienced this distinction most acutely within my family. Both of my parents are doctors, while my sister and I have opted to pursue humanities;although lighthearted, there is a sense of competition. It usually comes out during typical familial arguments over board games, as both pairs assert their area of expertise to be superior. While meant in jest, it does show how deep this fight between STEM and humanities goes. 

More often than not, STEM comes out victorious. STEM degrees are widely considered to be more valuable and employable, and as I’m reaching the end of the second year of my humanities degree, I’m experiencing first-hand the worry of ‘what on earth am I going to do with a languages degree?’ I used to see this fear as a reasonable one, and while there is some validity to it – STEM careers are typically some of the highest-earning – the difference is not quite so drastic as it’s often made out to be. After all, the success of STEM students does not equate to the failure of the humanities students. Statistics showing that the proportion of STEM graduates who secured a job within a year of graduation is only 1% higher than the proportion of those with humanities degrees prove this. So if STEM and humanities are of equal value, why does STEM always win? Granted several factors play a role, but it is no coincidence that the career path deemed less important is that which is female-dominated. I would argue that if it were STEM fields that tended to attract more women than men, the roles would be reserved. 

‘Women in STEM’ may just be a group of words with good intentions behind it,but in reality, the label does not empower women in those fields or in any others. Rather, it bolsters a set of damaging and inhibiting notions for women in STEM fields, all while undermining the work of women in the humanities. Perhaps it is time to stop viewing the term as a feminist force, and instead start seeing it as a tool of disempowerment. 

Outside OX1: Oxford’s other neighbourhoods

Reuben Meadows
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Outside OX1: Oxford’s other neighbourhoods

It is often said that Oxford consists of just three streets: the High Street, Cornmarket, and Broad Street. The first is the city’s beating highway, host to the Exam Schools and cafés like JCT (arguably of equal importance). Down Cornmarket, look out for the guy belting any number of musical hits. This street contains the right amount of random town shops (see Greggs, Pret, McDonald’s) to make it seem like any other city centre, until an Oxford puffer saying “yah my summer in Rome was just like the Aeneid” slaps you in the face. Broad Street – well, that’s the place Emma Watson almost ran me over in her car.

But beyond these iconic streets, what other spaces does Oxford have to offer its students? We often talk about this city as being tiny – at least the zillionth Londoner you’ve befriended does – but when we begin to look beyond the walls of its sandy-stoned colleges, there is so much more to it than the Rad Cam and Christ Church Meadows.

Take Cowley. This sprawling neighbourhood east of the Cherwell is perhaps best understood through the following distinction.

Shallow Cowley – the stomping ground of fiercely proud Hilda’s students – requires knowledge of three main roads. St Clement’s is what most people know as ‘that street taken to watch the fireworks in South Parks every year,’ which produces enough congestion to rival queues into a Taylor Swift concert. If I can tempt you to move beyond an annual visit, it contains Oxford’s best Greek food (The Greek Takeaway). The second is Cowley Road. It contains Oxford’s best café (Peloton’s banana bread is to die for) and leads to the city’s best pubs (redacted to avoid overcrowding). Our Tesco’s may not have a tescalator but the opportunity to bump into fellow Cowley-dwellers fills my heart with joy. Apparently, Jacob Elordi has tutes on Iffley Road – ask Emerald Fennell. There’s the Sport Centre too, if you know anything about deadlifts and protein powder. Cowley is a lifestyle, so expect its OX4 residents to strangely defend it til their last breath.

Deep Cowley. Officially known as Temple Cowley, the most financially savvy of students flock here for Lidl, with many a bargain to be found. On the long journey out here you may even stumble across Oxford’s illusive third Spoons! The Oxfam superstore is around the corner for all you Depop-trawling, Y2K-chasing fashionistas (although I applaud your sustainable choice, intentional or otherwise).

New Hinksey. Venturing on past the city’s forgettable third Tesco, over Folly Bridge and a barrage of Hertford accommodation you arrive in Hinksey. Most come here for the park that hosts Hinksey’s lake. A green and blue oasis, its grassy banks fill with the easy laughter of students during Trinity’s hottest days. While rumours of nefarious substances circulate (amongst students and waters), a Hinksey swim is an iconic Oxford activity that is worth ticking off your bucket-list. Go on. Take the plunge!

Headington. It comes in three varieties: Hill, New, and Quarry (I bet you didn’t know that, why would you?). Really only seen by most university students through the window of the Oxtube or the ambulance to A&E, its an integral part of the city, yet so rarely discussed. I’ve got nothing against Brookes – just the steep hill you have to climb to get there. No. Just no.

Head past the station and you enter Botley. While most arrive at this side of town only to zoom away via train, that would be, well, understandable. A nice suburb, its use has so far been limited to a chaotic trip to Curry’s PC world to replace a laptop that was actually broken (although my tutor thinks this happens to me a lot). There’s a Waitrose too. Someone once told me its mature cheddar is the cheapest in the city.

Summertown. Oxford’s Hampstead? You may aspire to live here, but you’ll never find a job that pays well enough in the city to do so. Still desperate for its leafy, red-brick charm? Then consider yourself signed up for 20 years of consultant hell in the big city, where answering important questions with simply more meaningless questions will furnish you with enough money to move in. For now, it makes for a wonderful stroll. 

Lastly, there’s Jericho – the jewel of the city! Come for a picnic in Port Meadow, sunny break in Wellington Square, or a bite to eat in one of its many fantastic restaurants. And I really do mean a bite. I really can’t afford much more. Stretching Jericho’s geographical limits, it includes the delights of Little Clarendon Street. And if you ever need to submit a Right to Work form – the University Offices. Although God knows any wage you’d get paid wouldn’t be enough to live there. 

And that completes my Oxford round-up. Inevitably caught up in tired recommendations, cynicism and just the right amount of appreciation for this dynamic city, I can only hope this has spurred some interest in going beyond the confines of the High Street. Some friends take convincing just to go to the Rad Cam, but bursting the bubble of OX1 centrism is the best cure for a city that soon becomes so unbelievably dull.

A guide to Gloucester Green

Amanda Li
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A guide to Gloucester Green

No city is complete without a fresh food market. Oxford’s is the area next to Gloucester Green bus station, hosting the Gloucester Green Market Wednesdays through Saturdays. Students flock to it during the day for a fun outing, food, and a browse through the vintage clothing stalls or jewellery booths. Gloucester Green’s food stalls offer cuisines from all over the world. You’ll be sure to see something new every week, all selling a good meal for less than £10. I have personally spent too much of my time (and arguably, my money as well) at the food stalls when I’m sick of cooking and don’t want to eat in hall. So, for the uninitiated, here is my beginner’s guide to Gloucester Green. I’ll take you through some of my favorite stalls, based on cuisine, plus my produce guide.

The classic GG meal is the £6 dumplings from the Gyoza Oxford stand. They have both a vegetarian and chicken option, as well as baos, chicken skewers, tofu, and fried chicken. They have everything you could crave, plus some specials that make every day different. As a Hong Konger, I was excited to see a few stands selling traditional street food like egg waffles, as well as fried rice and chow mein. I always get salted fish, chicken, and egg fried rice, and am happy to have a place to get rice noodles from. Growing up with Korean food, the selection of Korean corn dogs and street snacks, as well as kimbap and bibimbap, was comforting. 

If you’re a big fan of Thai food, there’s a few pad thai stalls and others selling Thai curry. I personally recommend the green curry, and tofu pad thai is my go to order. For Nepali food, Momo King’s stand was where I had my first momo. Besides its amazing Too Good To Go bag with veggie and meat momo, they also make some great rice dishes. 

There is also many a place for Middle Eastern food, with places to get shawarma and wraps galore. The Syrian place is especially delicious, and the deals at many of the stalls rival those of Najar’s. One of the two Persian stands always has the ingredients out so you can watch the person making your food; I love the saffron Persian chicken wrap. I also am a big fan of the other Persian stand’s spicy vegetable stew. Though it may seem like they’re all selling the same wrap, each marinates the insides differently and uses different ingredients, which make each wrap taste totally different.

Honestly, though there’s less European representation in the market than Asian, what they do have is amazing. Every Wednesday, when I go to GG for my produce, I pass by a stall with French tarts and quiches and am constantly tempted to take a slice home. Though there’s no French food stall, there is one with Italian street food and pasta – and the arancini is good! The smell of barbecuing meat that emanates from the Greek gyro stall is almost as mouth-watering as the wraps themselves. One of my Hungarian friends loves the Hungarian stall, and I adore the goulash. 

GG has a few baked goods stands. One sells freshly baked bread and pastries, and there’s one dedicated solely to brownies— they’re absolutely delicious. There’s also a cookie stand, and their chocolate chip cookie goes well with a coffee from the little blue coffee truck. They have lots of unique flavors; there was pumpkin spice and apple cider in the autumn, and more seasonal ones for spring. The boba stall on Thursdays has some great flavors and a decent price to boot. 

Wednesday is market day, and you can find so many deals on fresh produce here. There are two stalls by the White Rabbit, with heaps of produce in baskets and boxes. Bring your own tote bag, because there’s minimal packaging. A basket of six avocados is typically £2, two boxes of raspberries are £2.50, and I once bought a bowl of 13 bananas for £1. They also have vegetables like broccolini, carrots, and pak choi for similar, if not cheaper, prices than the supermarkets. If you wanted to try some new recipes and foods but didn’t want to commit to a large portion, GG is your place! The two stalls also have herbs; I once bought a bag of six garlic heads for £1. The fishmonger sells fresh fish on ice, often fileted, and it’s around the same price as the often sold-out fish at Tesco and Sainsbury’s. 

Outside of the food, there’s so much to see at Gloucester Green. It makes for a great day out or date, and gives you a chance to try cuisines you may not have tried yet. Go on Wednesday or Thursday for fewer people, but there’s more variety on Saturdays. Happy market day! 

Life without sport: Let’s talk injuries

Rebecca Pearson
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Life without sport: Let’s talk injuries

As Roland Garros looms, an increasing number of reports claim that Rafael Nadal is facing a steady amount of injury ‘limitations‘. At 37 years old, the ‘King of Clay’ is tackling questions and fears surrounding his body’s capacity to continue playing tennis. In a similar state of precarity, a week ago, Andy Murray was spotted on his Instagram returning to the tennis court, newly-recovered from two damaged ligaments in his left ankle. Tennis is known for being high-impact on the body, catalysing the discussion around whether both Nadal and Murray are nearing their retirement from the sport. Yet, their defiance against their own physical clocks and injury risks actually exposes something else: a fear of life without sport. 

Student-athletes also know this fear all too well and, yet, it is scarcely discussed. When hours of tireless travelling, training, and competing becomes your daily norm, one awkward slip, crunch, or click can send life into disarray. 

Speaking to an OULTC member about their experience of sports injury, it presents a brutal reality: 

“It’s hard to realise how much our bodies are relied upon to get through life: walking to the shops, joining social events, getting books from libraries… When this is all taken away, and you can’t even play the sport that you grew up loving, nothing’s much fun. You then feel so crazy about it happening to you in the first place – one moment you’re fine, and the next you feel a pop and your tendon has partially ruptured.” 

Research in sports psychology emphasises that a ‘strong athletic identity could have certain benefits, such as sport commitment and motivation’, aiding confidence and organisation, ‘but that strong and exclusive athletic identity could be detrimental to athlete well-being at times of injury, de-selection, and career termination’ (Eubank et al., 2020). Psychological highs and lows are anticipated, yet unpredictable, and without proper access to sports physiotherapy, injuries can become increasingly long-term, with niggles lingering. 

Speaking with a psychologist, sport’s psychological attraction lies in its ability to offer a unique opportunity for mental concentration and escape: 

“You’re focusing on that specific moment: the ball coming towards you. Sport fosters an opportunity for connection with other team members and training partners, whilst simultaneously taking the emphasis away from competitive social interactions.” 

While student sport has different demands to its professional equivalent, the psychological attachment and enjoyment to sport is comparable. For many athletes who begin training or are involved in sport before the age of ten, being abruptly forced out of such a familiar environment later in life can feel devastating. Sport is deeply intertwined with a drive to succeed and perform at your own highest level. With so much motivation and dedication being driven towards sports performance, it is no surprise that student and professional athletes struggle when a break is forced upon them. 

Increasingly, sports psychology is addressing sports injuries in more than just a physical sense, tending to the psychological disturbances that occur with any major changes in daily life. Stress management techniques are seen as important contributors to positive outcomes in the injury rehabilitation phase. Progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises are considered significant factors in managing the stress and emotional fallout as a result of an injury event, and ‘[a] significant portion of rehabilitation involves establishing and adjusting goals’ that are flexible and aim to prevent frustration (Büttner et al., 2024). Prolonged absence from sports can also be alleviated through focused visualisation that engages multiple senses, imagining movements and exercises from sports or competition scenarios to re-engage with certain aspects of a sport that, for the moment, you might not be able to take part in. Yet, whether you’ve been involved in sport’s thrills for three years or 30, being forced to quit is a competitor’s worst nightmare. 

Injury and, for professional athletes, cheeky retirement questions, have unsurprisingly elicited spiky responses in the media. A flurry of headlines conflict. Andy Murray airs his frustration that ‘no one is listening’ to him after stating that he is prepared to end his tennis career this summer. Meanwhile, Tim Henman encourages him to shut out the critics that say his time is already up, declaring that ‘[t]here’s plenty of time to be retired’. Between the demands of the body, age, and a life without the same intensity of sporting engagement, injuries most certainly provoke a fear of change and life without sport. However, there is, of course, more to life than sport (whether we like it or not). Finding alternative approaches to being involved in sport, enjoying new hobbies, and looking forward to all of the things that are still possible, are all proactive methods to ride out sports injuries or mourn the loss of playing sport altogether. It is clear that the saying that ‘athletes die twice’ needs a new approach. Whether the end of sport comes via professional retirement, injury, or both, there is always a period of mourning but, importantly, there is always a period of re-finding.

Who are Trump and Biden speaking to?

Roy Shinar Cohen
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Who are Trump and Biden speaking to?

Many of us love American politics. We flock to see American politicians and leaders when they speak in Oxford, discuss elections and issues passionately around dinner tables, and casually mention that we read The New York Times as often as possible. Yet, we do all of that from our ivory tower of ‘across the pond’. Usually, when we discuss these issues and criticise politicians for their latest policy or statement, we completely forget that they are not aimed at us. To better understand them, I think we should ask ourselves who they are speaking to.

The United States is highly polarised. In his acclaimed book Why We’re Polarized, the journalist Ezra Klein discusses the causes and consequences of polarisation. Klein writes that Americans became “more consistent in the party we [Americans] vote for not because we came to like our party more – indeed we’ve come to like the parties we vote for less – but because we came to dislike the opposing party more”. This has been a core part of the growing divide in American society. As the Pew Research Center found, in the two decades before 2014 the ideological overlap between Democrats and Republicans shrunk substantially and the parties became more ideologically consistent and ‘pure’. Although they have not published another report about polarisation recently, there is reason to believe the trends they described continued or even accelerated in the decade since 2014.

So, just over six months away from the second Trump-Biden election, the public is nearly perfectly divided. In a new study published earlier this month, the Pew Research Center analysed the political coalitions in the United States. According to them, American voters are split between Democrats and Republicans, the former leading with 49% to the latter’s 48% of voters. However, within these voter blocks the differences are substantial. Although both parties became more diverse in recent decades, there are significant differences between Democratic and Republican voters. The Republican coalition consists of 79% White voters, 9% Hispanic voters, and 12% voters who are Black, Asian or belonging to other racial groups. In comparison, the Democratic voter coalition is made up of 56% White voters, 16% Hispanic voters, 18% Black voters, 6% Asian voters, and 4% belonging to other racial groups. As former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi said during a speech at Oxford Speaks this April: “Our [Democrats’] diversity is our strength”.

Yet, is Pelosi right in stating that Democrats are more diverse? Diving further into Pew’s data it appears so. The voter groups who predominantly support the Republican party are White evangelical Protestants; people living in rural areas; White men; and White voters without a college degree. On the other hand, the voter groups who mostly support the Democratic party are women with a college degree; religiously unaffiliated voters; voters living in urban areas; and the majority of Hispanic, Black, and Asian voters. Additionally, it should not surprise you to know that two in three young voters (18-24) align with Democrats while the majority of older voters (65 and older) identify with Republicans. These differences really are quite stark.

To put it bluntly to anyone reading, you are most likely not in either Trump or Biden’s mind when they speak. Both parties’ efforts will be aimed, mainly, at mobilising specific voter groups they identified as increasing their chances of winning. This includes making sure they remain loyal to the party, as well as go out to vote. Accordingly, the parties will focus on messaging (speeches, social media posts, and policy announcements) that will resonate with their expected electorate. Democrats will want to make sure young, urban, college-educated, non-religious, female, and racially diverse voters are excited about Biden (or terrified of Trump). For Republicans, almost the exact opposite is true: they will try to reach old, rural, religious, White, not-college-educated voters.

It is important to remember that most voters do not like Biden or Trump and were hoping for different candidates than what they now have. According to FiveThirtyEight’s analysis, approximately 56% of voters disapprove of President Biden. Furthermore, 538 found that at no point since leaving office did the majority of Americans have a favourable view of Trump. Today, approximately 53% of Americans hold unfavourable views of Trump. Here we should remember what Ezra Klein pointed out: voters do not like their own party; voters hate the other party. For this reason, we are seeing substantial campaigning not on the merit of the candidate but on the faults (or ‘HUGE RISKS’) of the other.

So, according to the data, if you were in the United States it is more likely that Biden’s messaging would be directed at you. But, as you are in the United Kingdom, you are, by and large, uninteresting to them (unless you are American, of course). Nevertheless, we should keep in mind, when reading about American politics, who the candidates are trying to convince (or scare) in order to win. That is, in most cases, the reason why they are saying what they are saying.

Pro-Palestine protesters establish encampment demanding University action

Emily Henson
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Pro-Palestine protesters establish encampment demanding University action

An encampment has been constructed in Oxford in protest of Israeli action in Palestine and calling for the University to “end complicity with genocide”. Students, faculty, and staff have gathered to demand that the University reveal and divest funding into Israel and arms companies, as well as boycott all institutional connections with Israeli universities. 

Positioned in front of the Pitt Rivers Museum, the encampment was established early Monday morning and is in coordination with a similar protest in Cambridge. It has been organised by the newly founded Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P). 

In a joint statement with Cambridge for Palestine (C4P), OA4P told Cherwell: “we refuse to accept our universities’ complicity in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people – and we refuse to stand by while they justify Israel’s campaign of mass slaughter, starvation, and displacement.”

The encampment in Oxford comes after a string of similar movements at other universities across the world, including Yale, Harvard and UCLA, where 132 were arrested and rubber bullets used against the students. 

A student participating told Cherwell: “It’s not even 10am and we’ve already had dozens of people join us in the building of a beautiful community in our Liberated Zone, and more people stream in from the street with each passing hour. It’s an honour to stand alongside people who care so deeply for Palestinian Liberation and demand that the genocide in Gaza must end.

“Our university is complicit in Israel’s genocide, occupation and apartheid – and as a coalition of students, staff and faculty we say no more [emphasis added by student]. After seven months of overwhelming support for Palestine on campus, we call on [the Administration] to take action that’s long overdue.”

The group has made seven demands of the University, primarily relating to the assets and investments held. They demand a disclosure of all University assets and a divestiture of all holdings in arms companies and companies “complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation of Palestine”.  

OA4P has said: “Oxbridge’s profits cannot continue to climb at the expense of Palestinian lives, and their reputations must no longer be built on the white-washing of Israeli crimes. Today we join the university students, faculty, and staff across the globe who refuse to continue business as usual while our institutions profit from genocide.”

It is also demanded that the University and its subsidiaries end all banking with Barclays. This comes after a protest in January outside the Oxford branch in protest organised by the Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign. 

A boycott of institutional relationships with Israeli universities has also been demanded. This consists of the ending of exchange programs, joint projects and conferences. They also demand  that the Univerisity “end research, career, and procurement partnerships with companies and institutions that are complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, or occupation.” 

Demands relating to changes in University investment include adding an ethical restriction against investing in companies that are “complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation” and utilising an ethical investment review process to have decisions adhere to ‘justice-based guidelines’”. 

The group demands the University provides financial and material means to rebuild Palestinian universities, establish a long-term task force to recommend how best to rebuild the higher education sector in Gaza and allocate resources to support Palestinian students such as exchanges, joint projects and scholarship programmes. 

A University spokesperson said that they were aware of the demonstration, and stated that they “respect our students and staff members’ right to freedom of expression in the form of peaceful protests”, asking protestors to “do so with respect, courtesy and empathy.”

They further emphasised that the university’s primary focus was the health and safety of the community, and to ensure that any impact on work, research or exams are minimised: “As we have stressed in our student and staff communications there is no place for intolerance at the University of Oxford.”

The University also reiterated that the Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum remain open.

At 6pm, around 500 demonstrators attended a vigil held just outside the encampment. The aim of the vigil was to demonstrate solidarity with the healthcare and education workers of Gaza. The protesters say that their workplaces have been destroyed through Israeli bombardment.

Participants along the first rows at the vigil held placards with names of healthcare workers who have lost their lives as a result of the ongoing conflict. 

The first speakers, in scrubs, began by reading out the names of the deceased healthcare workers, of which there have been around 200, to an audience in silence. Later speakers spoke of the dismantlement of Palestinian civil society, with chants of “no justice no peace” from the audience.

Update, 12th May 2024:

On the evening of 11th May, a group of six men arrived at the encampment, shouting abusive and threatening remarks at the protesters – including “terrorist” and “I’ll f*cking kill you”. They also accused a Jewish student in the encampment of being a “fake Jew,” according to video footage, available on Instagram @madeleine_observes as of 11th May. The group of men also pushed several encampment members trying to block their advance.

A statement from the encampment also alleges that the men destroyed banners, used “xenophobic and transphobic slurs” as well as “antisemitic language” targeting Jewish students. The statement furthers: “We are thankful no one was hurt, but we remain enraged at the politically-motivated fearmongering that jeopardised the safety of our campers…

“The incident falls squarely on the shoulders of Prime Minister Sunak, University Administrators, and irresponsible media, who all spent the week weaponising antisemitism to demonise campus protesters. In a shallow act of desperation, they’ve placed us in danger to distract from the fact that they are aiding and abetting Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.”

‘Runfluencers’: Another commodified wellness trend?

Lara Foxon
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‘Runfluencers’: Another commodified wellness trend?

Running has long had bad PR. Hating running has been far from contentious, liking it reserved for the smug, self-congratulatory type. The consensus has seemed clear. Running is something marred by tedium, pain, and memories of the Beep Test. Looking at it like this, it is easy to see why running has been so unpopular.

And yet, miraculously, my Instagram is suddenly full of praise for it. Public opinion seems transformed. A quick search on Instagram shows that ‘#running’ racks up 93.2 million posts. It takes me less than a minute on Reels before I scroll past someone vlogging their long run, their get ready with me, their outfit of the day.  

Maybe I am in an echo chamber of my own making. I tell the algorithm I like to run and it rewards me with its steady churn of content. But, the fact that new ‘run clubs’ are springing up, and more people are taking on the mantle of ‘runfluencer’ suggests otherwise. 

More importantly, this apparent surge in popularity seems to have encouraged people to try running for themselves, on their own terms. Outside of being forced to run the school cross country, it seems that running can be likeable, enjoyable even. Seeing more people running  changed my own opinion of it. Like many, I started running during the first lockdown. I’m not sure I can remember exactly why I started, but the popularity of ‘Run 5 Donate 5 Nominate 5’ posts certainly made the prospect less daunting. Instagram often has a way of making you try something new by making that something less intimidating, or alien. 

Social media seems to be the medium, then, for running’s popularity. But what does this mean for its message? 

Tempting as it is to accept the latest trend as running’s long awaited reimagining, we need to ask how it is being presented. In short videos, is the simple answer. Peppered with all the hallmarks you would expect to see on Instagram. A running rucksack and a slicked back pony (extra points for a giant scrunchie) complement a nice outfit – preferably coupled with a pastel top and colourful trainers. All of which is best viewed through the inevitable 0.5x lens shot. It is curated, it is trendy. And it is no secret that to be big on Instagram, you need to be able to sell. Personal brand, salient message, and product alike must trade on their currency. Running, in this format, is the perfect saleable commodity. It links lifestyle to product. It sells a fully integrated package. 

I don’t think that this is the whole message, or what ‘running influencers’ explicitly set out to do. But formats like Reels trade on short clips, shorter attention spans, and the desire to Just. Keep. Scrolling. What is lost in such an endless medium is the detail. What is remembered is the gilt of the veneer.  

This gloss perfectly combines consumerism and fabled self-discipline. Buying these trainers, this look, that is what will realise your potential. It is attractive, alluring and seemingly simple. It sits snugly with the idea that, if you just muster enough willpower to condition yourself properly, you too can feel, can be, purified. Or, in less effusive terms, you too could vlog your run to work in the City. 

If that wasn’t enough, this is bedded in with a healthy dose of corporate opportunism. Run clubs are sponsored or hosted (and posted) by your favourite brands. You can try, then buy, those trainers. Be a part of the lifestyle, be a part of the brand. That is the fully integrated package. 

Perhaps it stretches a one minute video too far for me to pick it apart like this, how much can really be read into its subtext after all. But I think its seemingly innocuous nature makes it more important to recognise and critique. Running has never been apolitical, exempt from the social contexts it exists in. It is easier to see where this newfound popularity has come from when you consider the message this trend promotes. It leaves unquestioned the idea that we can all be perfectly self-governing individuals, untainted and uncompromised. Even in leisure, our self-discipline is productive, and conducive, to the never-ending consumption needed to perform it. 

None of this is what running is about, no matter its pretence. Of the many reasons to run, it doesn’t jump out  — it seems entirely separate from the atmosphere of any races I’ve ever ran. Gone is the uniform and colour scheme. Instead, the start line is awash with friends and family running together; charity and club vests; favourite t-shirts and trusty trainers. Marshalls volunteer and encourage, alongside supporters who make noise for those they love and those they have never met. This brightness, spontaneity, and community of running will long be its best advertisement. Better than any one minute long vlog or shameless sponsorship. And despite all my railing against self-discipline, I endlessly appreciate the fact it makes it easier for me to get to sleep (sorry Foucault).

New humanities faculty building celebrates construction landmark in ‘topping out’ ceremony

Adam Saxon
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New humanities faculty building celebrates construction landmark in ‘topping out’ ceremony

On Friday 3rd May, the University of Oxford celebrated the ’topping out’ of the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. The ceremony to mark the completion of the roof involved speeches from Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey and donor Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of the Blackstone Group, who has to date donated £185 million in support of the project. Musical acts clad in hard hats braved rainy conditions to perform on the roof, still a site of ongoing construction. 

Once completed, the Schwarzman Centre will bring together seven different faculties currently based around Oxford. It will be home to a 500-seat concert hall, a black box performance space, a new 140,000-book library, and the University’s new Ethics of AI institute. The centre will also facilitate  the Cultural Programme and a whole host of other projects and venues.

Tracey began the ceremony with a speech in which she praised the project and its progress so far. She highlighted the need to “support, nourish, and develop” the humanities into the future. The level of investment provided by Schwarzman comes in the face of cuts and closures to a growing number of humanities courses at universities across the country. 

Schwarzman also made a speech. Beginning by joking that the drizzly weather felt like February, he went on to praise the hard work of the construction workers who were “essential” for reaching the topping out stage. He also thanked former Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson for convincing him to donate to the project and spoke of how he in turn convinced her to take on the project “properly” and produce a building that pushes the boundaries of what is possible. 

The topping out ceremony itself involved a branch of the oldest tree in the University’s collection, an almost 400-year-old willow in the botanical gardens, which was attached to the final piece of roofing waiting to be moved into place. The use of the branch is an ancient tradition which aims to ward off “evil spirits” from the building.

Tracey, Schwarzman, and the CEO of the construction company, Laing O’Rourke, then signed the final slab of the roof ahead of it being moved into place. Members of the team from Laing O’Rourke and the University who have helped deliver the project up to this point were also invited to sign. 

Image Credit: John Cairns

Following the signings, guests were treated to rooftop music performances from the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra, saxophonist Soweto Kinch, and cabaret singer Meow Meow. The latter began her performance with a tongue-in-cheek statement against corruption and the pursuit of profit before reminding the audience that such concerns were “not what today is about.”

The performances were organised by the University’s recently launched Cultural Programme, which will hold a range of events around Oxford in the coming months while it prepares to use the completed building. 

While this ceremony celebrated the completion of the main body of the roof, the building has not yet reached its highest point. That moment will come within the next week when the giant dome is moved into place by a crane, having been assembled on the ground. The dome will be the ceiling of the central atrium, which will be known as the great hall. 

Head of the Humanities division, Professor Daniel Grimley, told Cherwell: “Celebrating topping out is a thrilling high point for the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, as we look forward to our opening in Autumn 2025. The Centre will be a beacon for the Arts and Humanities in Oxford, nationally, and beyond. We will welcome a diverse community of students, researchers, creative artists, policy makers, and members of the public, and offer an innovative and stimulating programme of events nourished by Oxford research.”

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