Monday, May 12, 2025
Blog Page 809

Blues edge out battling Dubliners

Peter Woodcock
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Blues edge out battling Dubliners

Oxford managed to hold their nerve in a bruising Tuesday night encounter down the Iffley Road, edging Trinity College Dublin 21-17.

After last week’s victory over BUCS Super Rugby champions Hartpury College, an expectant crowd hoped that the Blues could make things easier for themselves against the travelling Irish side.

Trinity were the better of the two sides from the kick-off, converting early pressure at the scrum into the first try of the game. Blindside flanker Dave St Leger bundled the ball over the line by the fringes of the ruck, before fly-half Tommy Whittle slotted the conversion with ease to put the men in white seven points ahead within the first five minutes. Oxford, however, were quick to respond, winning a penalty on the Trinity 22-metre line which was quickly taken, allowing winger Ed David to score in the corner a few phases later following some direct running from full-back Sam Edgerley.

Both teams settled into the game, tightening their defences as the increasingly heavily drizzle prevented an exhibition in fluid, running rugby. Trinity looked to move the ball quickly, but were thwarted by either the expectant Blues defence or their own handling ability. Despite this, Oxford were never really able to get on top, let down by their line-outs and just about kept in the battle for the scrum by the repeated infringements of the powerful Trinity pack. Blues skipper Conor Kearns – playing against his old university – held his nerve towards the conclusion of the first half, making a shot at goal to put Oxford one point clear as both teams went into the shed.

The teams returned, with Trinity once again the first team to respond to the whistle: outside centre Courtney driving over the line from short range after two minutes of near faultless play from the Irishmen. A relatively difficult conversion for the Trinity fly-half wasn’t made, preventing them from immediately building on their 12-8 lead. Oxford were able to regain the lead ten minutes later, sustaining pressure throughout the phases resulting in an unconverted try for winger Tom Stileman to put the Blues one point ahead.

The momentum was now with Oxford, forcing Trinity back into their own half with an excellent return punt from the kick-off, which developed into a penalty from the scrum, causing anger amongst the travelling technical staff and delight for the increasingly vocal Iffley crowd. This momentum helped the powerful Oxford openside flanker Roberto Talotti, who had been excellent throughout in both defence and attack, to dive in at the corner by the pavilion to conclude an equally patient and relentless passage of play for Oxford, extending the lead to six points.

Sensing that there was still no way through the middle for them, the Trinity scrum-half Angus Lloyd looked to put pressure on the Oxford back three with a number of well weighted kicks that had been utilised in the first half with no reward. An excellent chip into the Oxford 22 wasn’t properly dealt with, allowing winger Billy O’Hora to put the men in white back into the game as he touched down with 10 minutes to go. Captain Kearns, however, was able to punish the ill-discipline of the Trinity defensive line, putting three points on the board following a penalty for offside at the breakdown.

This set up an exciting final few minutes of rugby, with the Trinity attack testing the nerve of the Oxford line-up until five minutes past the 80, before a fumble in the midfield dropped gratefully into the hand of substitute Charlie Pozniak who punted the ball away to bring an explosive clash to its conclusion.

The Blues took many positives from this game, exhibiting patience in both defence and attack, soaking up the crashing midfield runs of the Trinity backs and recycling
the ball consistently. Whilst conditions weren’t flattering to the ability of the Trinity players, Oxford should be prepared to face teams who are able to keep hold of the ball for longer, as it was often through unforced errors that the efforts of the Irishmen were thwarted.

Those from The Other Place were comprehensively beaten by Trinity earlier this month,which, with some improvement in Oxford’s set piece and response to the high ball, bodes well in the hunt for glory at Twickenham.

The Harvey Weinstein scandal has shone the spotlight on Hollywood’s institutional sexism

Shivani Ananth
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The Harvey Weinstein scandal has shone the spotlight on Hollywood’s institutional sexism

The story of a millionaire movie mogul at the apex of Hollywood’s hierarchy, using his power to demean, demoralise, and degrade budding actresses is a plot too disturbing for even the most sordid horror film. It’s a tale which exposes the deep-running misogyny, exploitation, and oppression which runs through the veins of Hollywood.

A tale which fundamentally undermines and destabilises an industry which is meant to be a beacon of progressivism and tolerance. Since the New York Times broke their investigation exposing years of sexual harassment and abuse cases perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein, many actresses have bravely spoken out about their experiences of the former film titan.

The hashtag ‘#MeToo’ has been trending on social media platforms – an overt, powerful expression of solidarity, courage and defiance against such predators. The story has led to an outpouring of women (and men) speaking out against the patriarchy and the frequent cases of sexism in the film industry, as well as opening a much-needed dialogue about the dangerous power structures which exist in Hollywood. However, whilst I applaud the heated debate and discussion this exposé has generated, as well as how it has galvanised and empowered women across every industry to share their stories, I can’t help but feel slightly desensitised by it all.

It feels like a narrative too frequently reworked and retold. The film industry has been tainted by scandals such as this, whether through Roman Polanski being charged for having sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 or accusations of Woody Allen molesting his adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Whilst many have of course condemned both film-makers, they have also been commended by the industry, with Polanski even receiving an Oscar for his 2003 fi lm ‘The Pianist’.

The scandals appear to live exclusively within short-term memory. This is an industry that is becoming more politicised each day, turning into a platform where high-profile stars use their fame and influence to push for social and political change. That’s perhaps why seeing their occasional acceptance, indifference and compliance towards this type of behaviour feels worthy of scrutiny. The glossy and polished George Clooney voiced his disgust at Weinstein’s actions, but admitted that it was a widely known fact that “Harvey’s a dog”. That, in itself, is part of the problem that has enabled men like Weinstein to brazenly and unapologetically mistreat women without having to suffer any consequences.

To accept misogyny as being a type of banter, as “Harvey just being Harvey” not only validates their behaviour – giving them a sense of invincibility and immunity – but is also why so many women are petrified to speak out against such misconduct, for fear their accounts would be ignored and dismissed. It creates a culture of shame and invalidation for victims, and allows an environment of intimidation to fester under the surface.

The industry has displayed a universal disbelief regarding Weinstein – a response that can’t help but feel tinged with insincerity, especially when looking at how many used the whispers of Weinstein’s indecent behaviour as a punchline for their monologues. Seth McFarlane once said in an award show that “you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein”. Whilst acclaimed series 30 Rock made light of the situation, with Jane Krakowski’s character Jenna Maroney remarking how she “turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions”.

As horrifying as this whole episode has been, this was one component of the story that I simply could not comprehend. For an industry to make light of sexual abuse and predatory behaviour, and for those jokes to remain unnoticed and unchallenged is a shocking reminder of how far we still need to go in terms of gender equality. The passivity and in some cases silence displayed by Hollywood, reflects a common attitude in other spheres of life, in which to avoid confrontation and to avoid awkwardness we allow ourselves to become unconscious enablers of such behaviour.

The Harvey Weinstein scandal is indicative of a much bigger problem, a problem that permeates through most of society. But despite the sheer volume of cases similar to his – whether they be instances of misogyny when waiting in a Bridge queue, or damning recordings from the President of the United States – it seems that the tide is beginning to turn. We are able to use the tools at our disposal.

We can debate on Twitter and, yes, we can write articles, to illuminate an endemic issue and finally take action to cleanse a system that has been infected with years of mistreatment and abuse. Whilst there is a collective feeling of sadness regarding recent events, there is also one of rage, a rage that I know can be channeled into stamping out such reprehensible behaviour and inspiring people across every walk of life to probe, challenge and fundamentally change the way women are treated in society

Oxford Council to demolish 30-year-old homeless shelter

Henry Straughan
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Oxford Council to demolish 30-year-old homeless shelter

The homeless shelter Lucy Faithfull House will be demolished by the end of the year, threatening to deepen Oxford’s homelessness crisis.

The council’s decision to bulldoze the building comes despite support for the reopening of the shelter, including a petition signed over 3000 times.

Lucy Faithfull House shut in February 2016 after Oxfordshire County Council withdrew its annual £500,000 funding. The shelter provided help to those with complex needs or substance misuse issues for 30 years and had beds for 61 people.

Labour councillor Mike Rowley told Cherwell: “We looked at what could be done with Lucy Faithfull House pending demolition; it could not be made safe in time for winter and the homelessness providers in Oxford told us they do not have capacity to run it.

“We are working with seven City Centre Churches to provide extra space on rotation over the winter, which should be open every night during the winter months. This can be staffed by the existing providers as it is much more manageable.”

However, David Thomas, leader of the Green Group on Oxford City Council told Cherwell: “The decision to close Lucy Faithfull House at a time of significant underspend in homeless funding by Labour is going to force many people to be spending this winter out on the streets in sub zero temperature. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“Under Labour’s own rules [the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol] rough sleepers can spend two nights out in sub zero temperatures before being entitled to emergency accommodation.”

The Green Party also pointed out that the decision will mean a purpose built homeless hostel, which could be made available for emergency accommodation, will lie empty during the winter. This would mean that dozens of men and women would be forced to sleep in freezing temperatures on Oxford’s streets.

Rowley contested the claims made by the Greens, telling Cherwell: “All the beds at Lucy Faithfull House were replaced when it closed, in various locations around the City.

“There is not therefore any lack of beds – in fact we are planning to provide 167 against an assessed need of 150, plus 10 in the “sit-up” service at O’Hanlon House, 10 provided by the City Centre Churches over the winter, and emergency bad-weather provision at the existing hostel.”

Jeevan Ravindran, head of Oxford SU’s ‘On Your Doorstep’ campaign, told Cherwell: “We wish the council would engage in more open dialogue with homelessness activism groups and not simply dismiss their proposals.

“It would have been great to see Lucy Faithfull house used as a temporary shelter during the winter, or at least to have examined the possibility of this.

“It’s shocking to see how much homelessness in Oxford has increased just over the summer months, and to think of all those people sleeping on the streets in the height of winter is just devastating. Funding needs to be found somewhere to help them and increase winter provision, and only the council can do that.”

The Green Party further explained to Cherwell that, athough Labour claimed they didn’t have the money to keep the shelter open, last year the council underspent the homeless budget by £400,000.

Labour said that the underspend was a deliberate move to provide extra funding for this year to respond to the closure of Simon House which, along with another shelter Julian Housing, is set to be decommissioned in April 2018.

The Greens claim that Labour have now reneged on this promise and refused to make the £400,000 available.

The Green Party added that Oxford University and its colleges have failed to offer up any premises for the homeless over the winter.

The council intends to replace the shelter with flats built by the Council’s own building company. However, only 50% of the flats will be affordable housing.

Green Party representative Tim Eden told Cherwell: “Yet again this year, the Labour-led council has shown its complete distain for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“From slapping fines on piles of belongings in July, to Cllr. John Tanner (Lab. Littlemore) branding homeless people a ‘disgrace’, to PSPOs widespread across the city centre, the Council show that they just want the ‘homeless issue’ banished from Oxford.

“Recently, the council have reiterated a policy that housing will be given to all locally connected homeless persons if the temperature drops below 0°c three nights in a row.

“This is whilst reiterating that they will sell Lucy Faithfull House without any permanent plans to replace the shelter, just to expensively hire out rooms ad hoc, and presumably shipping others off to other areas with one way train tickets.”

Hertford for the Homeless (H4H), also highlighted the failure by the authorities to take action to solve the homelessness crisis, commenting: “H4H understands that the LF hostel closed when the County council re-commissioned their homeless support services, and that severe cuts to homeless budgets would make it impossible to keep LF open as well as the services commissioned to replace them.

“The fact remains that there is a visible terrible problem with homelessness in Oxford which clearly shows there is not enough affordable accommodation with support to help people recover from homelessness and to address the often complex issues that lead to their situation to prevent the ‘revolving door’ of homelessness.

“We are also aware that welfare reforms have led to an increase in homeless families as well as in single homeless people in Oxford as in the rest of the UK. If it is possible that the LF hostel building could safely be used to provide much needed winter services to homeless people, it seems mad to demolish it before spring and H4H would hope to see a commitment from the authority to quickly using the LF site to develop affordable social housing for individuals and families who need it.”

The Mooch ignites fresh Union protests

Mustafa Ahmed
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The Mooch ignites fresh Union protests

Protesters gathered outside the Oxford Union as Donald Trump’s former communications manager, Anthony Scaramucci, arrived to speak on Monday night.

The protest, which was organised by a coalition from the Oxford Revolutionary Socialists, Oxford SU Woman’s Campaign, the Climate Justice Campaign, the LGBTQ Campaign, and the Oxford Migrant Society, amassed a crowd of around 10 protesters.

They gathered outside the Union whilst members queued up outside to listen to the talk. Among their chants were “Fuck Trump, Fuck the KKK, Fuck the Racist USA” and “Oxford Union, shame on you”.

Chants continued once the talk had started, with protesters shouting “Get up, walk out”. Their chants could be heard from inside the Union chamber.

Scaramucci was notoriously fired from the Trump Administration only ten days after being announced as the President’s Communications Director.

Taisie Tsikas, a spokesperson for the organisers of the protest, said in a statement: “In regards to whether Scaramucci is himself a fascist, it barely matters.

“In fighting fascism, we must also oppose ourselves to those who ally with the forces of fascism, which Scaramucci has unambiguously done by serving in Trump’s racist and authoritarian regime”.

Oliver Eagleton, studying English at Wadham and originally from Boston, was protesting outside the Union. He told Cherwell: “Scaramucci does not deserve a platform with the Union – he is an irrelevant nuisance and not a politician or experienced in political life.

“The Union is clearly doing this purely for the sake of controversy”.

Alexander Wallis, who was queuing to hear Scaramucci speak, said: “I think this protest is a bit of an exaggeration – the Union is a bastion of free speech and anyone should be able to speak.

“He does offer some political insights and I think it’s much better hear what he has to say and disagree with it, than to stop him from speaking”.

This is not the first incident of a protest against platforming outside of the Union.

In November 2016, protesters opposed the Union’s decision to allow Donald Trump’s former Campaign Manager, Corey Lewandowski to speak, on allegations of sexism, Islamophobia, and racism.

Many of the same chants were used then as on Monday night.

The Oxford Union Society refused to comment.

Eggseter College cracks world record

Nick Brown
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Eggseter College cracks world record

Exeter College broke a Guinness World Record last week by having the most people ever to simultaneously dip toast soldiers in eggs.

The record was cracked in the hall at Exeter at 8.30am last Friday. 183 people, including staff, fellows and some students, sat down to jointly dip more soliders in eggs than ever before.

The attempt beat a previous record of 178. All participants had two toasted soldiers, which they had to dip twice each in the soft boiled eggs before eating them.

Dr Barnaby Taylor, the college’s sub-rector, counted down to the dunking, which was overseen by officials from the Guinness Book of World Records.

The event was organised with the British Egg Industry Council to celebrate British Egg Week and World Egg day, which fell on Friday 13 October.

A representative of the BEIC told Cherwell: “We wanted to commemorate the occasion in a very British location, so where better than Oxford University.

“We selected Exeter college, in part for the stunning dining room and helpful staff who were willing to accommodate us, but also for the opportunity for another egg pun – Eggseter!”

Exeter first-year Harry Anderton said: “It was strange how precise it had to be.”

Another Exeter student, Kate McDermott, commented: “After struggling with the Norrington for a fair few years, this is exactly the kind of formal recognition the College deserves. Floreat Eggson.”

Love Oxland: ‘I was surprised when Fred turned on a puppy and aggressively kicked it’

Cherwell Life
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Love Oxland: ‘I was surprised when Fred turned on a puppy and aggressively kicked it’

Izzy Agerbak

Second Year, PPE

Worcester

Naïve young Izzy expected a wholesome afternoon in the pub, sipping on cider, with good chat flowing. Alas, this was not the case. After a pleasant greeting and a few minutes chatting, I was taken by surprise when my date turned on a puppy and aggressively kicked it. Obviously, I was horrified (should have called the RSPCA on reflection). After this, I started feeling a bit weird about the vibes and began downing drinks to numb the trauma. To end a nightmarish afternoon, I expelled the contents of my stomach all over my date, who had to call paramedics, although honestly I was just glad that it cut short my conversation with Mr Animal-Beater.

What was your first impression?

Smiley but a teensy bit vanilla

Personality?

He helped me concoct the above tale, so obviously pretty darn witty

Any awkward moments?

Dog-kicking aside, we are very smooth, cool individuals, so really no awkwardness at all

 

Fred Dimbleby

Second Year, History

Keble

As I stood on the street outside the pub, smelling the acrid whiffs from many years of beer disposal, I wondered whether this was the right setting for romance. But de- spite some confusion about where we were meeting, I was quickly able to escape the stink. After buying beers, we went to one of the tables and rapidly broke through the strangeness of our Cherwell- sponsored love lives. We chatted about our upbringings, Oxford ste- reotypes, and even formulated an artificial date to put in the paper. Perhaps a more exciting date than the reality, but I am glad that we did not have to experience our fake date and instead had a lovely chat together.

What was your first impression?

I didn’t get stood up!

Personality?

Sweet, kind, with strong humour

Any awkward moments?

A sweaty mutual friend arriving at the end of the date and insisting on taking photos of us

Female college footballers “don’t need referees”

Ethan Croft
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Female college footballers “don’t need referees”

Oxford University Association Football Club (OUAFC) prioritises referees for mens’ college football matches over womens’, a leaked email has revealed.

In an email sent to college football team captains, OUAFC’s Sabbatical Officer stated that referees will be allocated to individual games by hierarchy. Both men’s JCR and MCR games are now given automatic preference over women’s matches.

Senior association official Louise Nolan, President of the OUAFC women’s committee, has downplayed the move, saying “women’s college football doesn’t need referees.”

Speaking on the policy, Nolan told Cherwell: “We don’t play at a level where we are aggressive and dishonest; we play for enjoyment and don’t need a professional person in an unbiased position making decisions which are disputable.”

The Association currently has a pool of around ten referees to choose from every week. It has been claimed that women’s matches are a lower priority because they are often played at the weekend, whereas men traditionally play on weekdays.

The OUAFC Sabbatical officer who sent the email, Omar Mohsen, told Cherwell: “I can only speculate as to why the current order of priority exists, but one reason for why men’s JCR matches are more likely to be assigned referees is that they are spread across the course of a week, whereas women’s matches all usually take place on Sundays.

“Encouragingly though, the weekend of the 28-29 of October will see the first time that a full division of women’s football will be professionally refereed.

“This is a step in the right direction, and hopefully a landmark moment in women’s football reaching equal status to men’s football in Oxford.”

The former captain of Worcester College women’s football club, Caitlin Kelly, said: “Luckily for us at Worcester the women’s football club is highly respected by the college community, and the mens’ teams.

“This means we are often able to find male players to voluntarily referee for us.

“However, we really should not have to rely on the goodwill of our friends to be able to run a football match that has an equal status to a mens’ match, and self-refereeing has occasionally caused disputes in match situations.”

The Social Secretary of the Hertford-Keble women’s football club (‘Hertble’), Annie Simm, told Cherwell: “It’s unbelievable that women’s firsts come so low down the pecking order for referees, and disgraceful that women’s football is generally categorised lower than the men’s.

“This is a wider issue of blatant discrimination. It’s what prevents new interest, and antiquated attitudes need to change.”

Why does Oxford need a zero-emission zone?

Cherwell
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Why does Oxford need a zero-emission zone?

Last week, Oxford City Council announced plans to enact the world’s first “zero-emission zone” (ZEZ) around Oxford city centre by 2020, hoping to further extend the region in coming years.

The proposals come as a response to the illegally high levels of toxic NO2 found in many of the UK’s most populated cities. Oxfordshire Air Quality (OAQ) highlights that “twice as many people currently suffer from asthma today, compared with 30 years ago,” with a Public Health England study also estimating that illegal levels of NO2 have contributed to 5.3% of all deaths for over-25s in the UK. The Committee of the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants clarifies that “it is not plausible to think of the figure of ‘attributable’ deaths as enumerating an actual group of people whose death is attributable to air pollution alone i.e. the victims of outdoor air pollution” – rather a contribution that accelerates existing illness as well as affecting a much larger demographic through generally reducing wellness and increasing susceptibility.

Continued inhalation of NO can cause inflammation in the lining of the lungs, leaving one susceptible to an array of respiratory diseases and eventually wearing down the lungs’ function.

NO2 is formed once the nitrogen and oxygen in the air react under the high temperature inside an internal combustion engine. NO2 can decompose to NO, more commonly known as “laughing gas”, once it leaves the engine and interacts with sunlight.

The European Union set a legal limit for emissions each – levels must not exceed 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) of NO2 at on average. As of June 2017, of the 70 locations where Oxford City Council monitor levels of air pollution, 17 lie over the EU’s legal limit.

High Street, the area targeted for the first stages of the ZEZ plans, had an average of 47 µg/m3. St Clements Street was the worst offender with NO2 levels at 61 µg/m3, though this was a decrease from 85 µg/m3 just five years ago.

Oxford’s council have said that the ZEZ would ban “petrol and diesel cars, taxis, light commercial vehicles and busses”, with hopes to “cut the nitrogen dioxide level in Oxford city centre’s most polluted street, George Street, by 74% by 2035.”

Levels of NO2 have been steadily declining due to the development of better catalytic converters, and the steady rise of electric cars – with levels about a quarter of what they were in 1970. However, many urban areas in the UK still lie far above the 40 µg/m3 limit. In 2016, government monitoring stations found that about 40% of local authorities breached the legal limit. This prompted the government to introduce an immediate implementation fund worth £255 million “to address poor air quality in the shortest time possible.” This implementation fund is also partly responsible for funding Oxford City Council’s efforts.

The introduction of a zero-emission zone in Oxford is a bold initiative that serves as an example to other cities. On balance, Oxford has the resources and geography to enact a ZEZ with the least amount of significant adverse effects.

Air quality affects us every day. Hopefully, taking quick and decisive steps to combat air pollution can lead the way to tackle similar issues such as global warming, whose effects are considered less immediate and seem far removed from our everyday experience.

You can find the current levels of air pollution in Oxford here.

Investigation launched into Union president’s alleged rule breach

Jack Hunter and Felix Pope
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Investigation launched into Union president’s alleged rule breach

A formal investigation has been launched into the allegedly illegitimate decision by Oxford Union President Chris Zabilowicz to expand the Union’s Standing Committee.

A Senior Disciplinary Committee (SDC) – the Union’s second-highest disciplinary body – is to be convened within the next several weeks to investigate claims that Zabilowicz breached Union rules by allowing two unelected members to be appointed to senior committee positions.

Due to changes brought in under the presidency of Michael Li, the Standing Committee was set to increase from five to seven members, with an amendment stipulating that the new rule would take effect following the Michaelmas Term 2017 elections.

After becoming President, Zabilowicz passed an interpretative ruling bringing forward the expansion to the close of Trinity term, which allowed Kaleem Hawa and Grace Joel to be appointed to the committee, the latter of whom had previously failed in her attempt to be elected.

In an official notice issued at the time justifying the decision Zabilowicz stated: “Although the second schedule states that the first election affected will be that in Michaelmas Term 2017, it also states that the Rules change shall ‘take effect immediately’… I have therefore decided to issue a binding Ruling that this Rules change is now in effect… There should now be seven Elected members of the Standing Committee.”

A subsequent notice calling for applicants for the position was displayed on the Union board during 9th Week of Trinity for four days, before an Emergency Committee Meeting lasting just six minutes on 26 June saw Hawa and Joel appointed to the Committee by its existing members, including Zabilowicz and other senior officers.

Cherwell spoke to several influential figures within the Union who claimed that a process is now underway to assemble those eligible to sit on the SDC which will scrutinise Zabilowicz’s ruling.

As soon as a date is agreed upon, former Union officials – at least one of whom is supposed to be a qualified lawyer – will assemble to hear the case.

The dates on which the hearings will occur will be decided by the SDC members themselves, but constitutionally must take place within 28 days of the official summons.

The decision to appoint two unelected members is reportedly highly likely to be struck down, with Hawa and Joel to then be removed from the Standing Committee, according to numerous sources within the Union.

Allegedly, Zabilowicz is unlikely to face further disciplinary proceedings himself as it will be near impossible to prove that any rule breach was committed intentionally.

Under the terms of the Union rules, the SDC can then elect to expand the scope of their inquiry to consider any other possible rule breach, an option that Cherwell understands is a distinct possibility.

The Union rulebook states further that any accused party and any member of Standing Committee holds the right to appear before the SDC and present evidence, that no person is required to give evidence that might incriminate themselves, and that no person can be convicted unless “the Committee is satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt”.

Oxford Union president Chris Zabilowicz said in a statement to Cherwell: “I appreciate the efforts of the Cherwell Editors to amend the significant number of errors in their lead article dated Friday 20th October.

“As their now amended article highlights, a Senior Disciplinary Committee will be convened simply to consider a ruling I made in Trinity 2017, and has no bearing on my position as President.

“I hope, now, the focus can return to fulfilling the potential this term at the Oxford Union has to be a positive and engaging one.”

An earlier version of this article published in Cherwell’s print edition (20/10/17) wrongly suggested that Oxford Union President Chris Zabilowicz was under investigation for “electoral malpractice”, that he was currently the defendant in this investigation, that he had “placed” the unelected officers onto the Union’s Standing Committee, and that he could be impeached directly as a result of the process. Cherwell would like to clarify that Zabilowicz is not as yet a defendant in the case, is not facing allegations of “electoral malpractice”, cannot face impeachment directly as a result of the process, and that the two unelected members of the committee were appointed by its existing members. We apologise for any confusion or upset caused.

Don’t separate black history from British shame

Naomi Packer
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Don’t separate black history from British shame

Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Barack Obama stood up and said: “Yes We Can.” For many, this remains the extent of their knowledge of black history. It is a narrative of persecution and vulnerability in which those of colour are presented as the victims of a largely untold story, filled with stock images and stock narratives.

The education system continues to laud our history as a tapestry of pioneers and war heroes whilst ignoring the seemingly undeniable fact that the victories of the British Empire were deeply embedded with a dark history of colonialism and slavery. In countries which have both caused and harboured similar atrocities, their historical narrative is marked by a deep and inescapable shame. They acknowledge the failings of the past, and look optimistically to the future, in the thorough knowledge that such events cannot repeat themselves.

Yet Britain’s curriculum remains in denial, and monumentally so. In my secondary school there was no option to study black history, and Black History Month was limited to a display board of the faces of Afro-Caribbean icons. Such efforts were acknowledged as a token gesture to the small number of black faces which walked the halls, rather than an attempt to educate the largely white student body. Black History Month holds value because the impact of black history pervades every aspect of our present society, totally inescapable no matter how much we try to disguise it. Over the past five years there has been a 49% increase in ethnic minority long-term youth unemployment, compared with a 2% fall in white youth unemployment.

The same report also found that black and Asian workers are more than twice as likely to be in insecure work. Figures tell us that black workers with degrees on average earn 23% less than white workers with degrees. Such statistics shatter the self-congratulatory rhetoric of ‘post-racial Britain’. Perhaps the reason our country still harbours racial divisions and insensitivies is because we are yet to confront our questionable history with any sufficient vigour.

British scholars will make a conscious effort to engage disparate voices, realising necessarily that their own narrative does not tell the whole story. There are of course figures within academia who acknowledge the euro-centrism of the current system, approaching prominent intellectual figures with a certain degree of scepticism. They understand that the position which such intellectual figures hold in the academic hierarchy has the potential to demonstrate how deeply racist ideology is rooted in our education system and an inherent colonial bias.

But this does not change the fact that the villains of British history in the large part hide in plain sight, and despite some valiant efforts, remain there, unexposed by our education system. In some cases, they are made to be the heroes. Just last year, the History faculty took steps to correct the disparity between prizes offered for European and African history. More still needs to be done, however – and not just in Oxford.

British history is clearly full of triumphs, tales of military strength and groundbreaking innovation. But it has had more than its fair share of gross miscarriages of justice. Part of the mark of an intelligent community is not to conceal our errors but to shove them into the light, warts and all. It is, if anything, to make British history more holistic and accurate. Black History Month has an important role in the British consciousness. It is affirming to those who are often overlooked, and educates those who, through no fault of their own, have been left largely oblivious to the complexity of black history. But it can be better. Instead of just championing our black heroes like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, we should take this opportunity to assess our own British villains.

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