Having found several litres of vodka, gin, and a curious assortment of liqueurs stashed away in the basement of their house, and identifying a Facebook page established by the former economy minister and French Presidential Hopeful Emmanuel Macron with which he has invited 577 people to the family home on 11 and 18 June, Macron’s parents have confronted their son about this apparent contradiction in his promises to “not have a Party.” The former businessman has since replied that he keeps true to his renunciation of Partying in 2009 (after three solid years of liberté, égalité, and rock and roll), and that this gathering of people with alcohol—and “maybe just a few joints, yes”—was ‘definitely, definitely not a Party.’
“Will there be 577 people hanging out, with fast music to which one could conceivably dance? Yes. Will some of those people be indulging in the odd drink here or there? Yes,” Macron is reported to have responded to his parents. “But this is not a Party,” he continued, “I simply want to show that I’m capable, if necessary, of controlling a large group of people who want to do the same things I want to do.”
Emmanuel Macron’s parents have been suspicious of their son’s commitment against Parties since 2012, when he began hanging around with “that chap who’s always up to no good—you know, the one, the one no one likes”, seemingly referring to French President Francois Hollande “constantly returning home late smelling like cigarettes, cheap booze, and a stagnant economy”.
Francois Hollande is reported to be very excited about Macron’s “definitely not a Party,” and intends to ditch Manuel Valls’ party to attend it, wondering when he will receive his invitation.
Emmanuel Macron told Cherwell that there was “no way in a thousand hells” he would invite the unpopular President to his Party—that was definitely not a Party—and suggested that Hollande might in fact be more comfortable staying at home with a hot mug of cocoa, not dragging his not-Party to the murky depths of a four per cent approval rate (a figure he noted was better than only one other leader of a democratic country, who was themselves recently impeached).
Asked about whether he was concerned that Valls’ Party may limit the attendance of his own not-Party, Macron responded “You mean Le Pen’s? Or Fillon’s?” shrugged, and left.
Giuseppe di Lampedusa wrote little in his lifetime. A short story, a brief memoir, the first chapter to an unfinished novel, several essays on literature. The work which has kept his name alive since his death in 1957, aged sixty, is The Leopard, first published in Italy in 1958 as Il Gattopardo. It became the largest selling Italian novel in history and is often named as one of the finest historical works ever written.
Yet this slim volume, a brief work compared to the portentous span of War and Peace or Buddenbrooks, is not meant to be easily digested and moved on from. Rather, it is a work of serious fiction, a reflection on Sicilian society during the Risorgimento, the period of Italian reunification during the eighteen-sixties. Lampedusa, a Sicilian aristocrat himself, whose grandparents lived through the momentous changes he describes with great intellectual clarity.
The protagonist is Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, who sees his position under threat by the social upheaval of political revolution and seeks to assure his family’s place in the new order my marrying his nephew Tancredi to Angelica, the daughter of the bourgeois but wealthy Don Calogero. In doing so, he breaks with aristocratic tradition, purposefully arranging a marriage between two different classes, because, as he explains in perhaps the most famous line in the novel, “everything needs to change, so everything can stay the same.”
Lampedusa’s Prince is an amateur astronomer and refuses a seat in the newly-created Senate: he understands that his time has passed, that it is for the new generation of Tancredi and Angelica to take the reins of power. It’s a meditation on the transition of power from one class to another, written with a great degree of self-awareness; Lampedusa, in modernist fashion, enjoys playing the omniscient narrator, informing the reader as he describes an opulent palace that it will later be destroyed during the Second World War.
Archibald Colquhoun’s English translation from 1960 perfectly serves the novel, creating a parallel to the original’s sensitive, poetic language: looking up at Venus, Don Fabrizio wonders, ‘When would she decide to give him an appointment less ephemeral, far from stumps and blood, in her own region of perennial certitude?’, a wonderful image of longing for escape from the transience of worldly duties.
Lamepdusa has a few stylistic slips as befits a début novelist; when the Prince refers to “some German Jew whose name I can’t remember,” the allusion to Karl Marx is heavy-handed, the kind of trap historical novels fall into by trying to flatter the reader’s superior knowledge.
For the most part though, The Leopard is free from such slips; indeed, the beauty of the prose is commensurate to its structure, where the ball intended to mark Angelica’s entrance into elite society is preceded by the family priest, Pirrone, who visits his home village and arranges a marriage between his sister and the peasant who has made her pregnant. The sense of control in the highly ordered society of Sicily translates downwards from the aristocracy to the proletariat.
Sumptuously written, it pays repeated readings and doesn’t seem to have aged a day since its publication, remaining one of the greatest Italian novels, enduring to this day.
Obama succeeded on most fronts and Americans will miss him with Trump as president
Theo Davies-Lewis
They say a picture speaks a thousand words.
“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period,” asserted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. The crowd of people that actually turned out for Trump’s inauguration was nowhere near the numbers that Barack Obama amassed for his inauguration back in 2009. Clearly, not all Americans—particularly the political establishment in Washington—are pleased with their new Commander-in- Chief.
But Obama himself is often derided by the public, and Trump has even called him “the worst president, maybe in the history of our country.” This is simply not the case. During his honeymoon period after the inauguration, Republicans were worried about whether they would ever be able to stop Obama’s Democrats. By the end of his tenure as president, they certainly had done that, and much more.
Obama’s legacy is already being dismantled by Trump’s administration. His accomplishments in job growth, offering affordable healthcare, attempting to administer gun control, combating climate change and tackling terrorism must not be underestimated. Obama was not only a good president, he was a great one.
The best place to begin when assessing Obama’s legacy is what most presidents are remembered for: jobs. Bill Clinton created 23 million, while Ronald Reagan added 16 million jobs to the American market. For Obama, it wasn’t as easy to stimulate job growth. He took office during the most difficult economic period since the Great Depression. With that considered, Obama’s record is staggering. Since employment bottomed in 2010, almost 16 million jobs have been added to the economy. December 2016 also marked the 75th straight month of payroll gains—an all-time record.
The unemployment rate was 10 per cent in 2009, and has since fallen to 4.7 per cent: an unbelievable achievement. The grand total for Obama’s two terms, after figuring in the severe job losses of 2009 is 10.5 million jobs. Even Obama’s critics acknowledge that wages are rising, and Obama’s economic competence is responsible.
On the other hand, one of Trump’s biggest strengths during the presidential campaign was attacking Obama’s record on violence and law and order. Yet, do not be too quick to place the blame entirely on Obama for the social problems in the country. Congress and the Senate have been against him, and even then, he has been able to make some positive steps in implementing background checks for gun ownership.
In addition, Obamacare is also set to be dismantled by Trump. ObamaCare offers subsidies to low and middle income Americans to aid them in obtaining affordable quality health insurance and also does things like expand Medicaid to almost 20 million more Americans. How can we write this off? In the UK, we may take our NHS for granted, but Obama has made significant strides to alter how the health system works in the US as a whole, and emphasise the importance of affordable care for all.
While it may not be a large concern to many of Trump’s administration, Obama has also succeeded in combating climate change. During his time in office, Obama preserved 260 million acres for future generations (more than any of his predecessors), signed the Paris Agreement alongside 195 nations to reduce climate pollution, and his Clean Power Plan was the first ever national limit on carbon pollution from its largest source. In essence, Obama has led the way in fighting climate change, which is quickly becoming a non-issue in Trump’s America.
Whatever Americans think of Obama, he has certainly improved their relations with the world. Before his inauguration, the US had lost one war in the Gulf and was losing another in Afghanistan. In a poll of 19 countries, two thirds had a negative view of America. Obama dealt with bin Laden, the world’s most dangerous terrorist. He has withdrawn troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, we are facing huge problems with the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, but Obama can hardly be blamed for the failures of the Bush and Blair years.
Overall, Obama’s record is admirable. He has, like any president, not achieved all that he wanted to. Like many leaders, perhaps history will be far kinder to him. We will see how Trump will attempt to essentially destroy his achievements. Issues like climate change and affordable healthcare are of no importance to him, and the US will soon be left wishing that presidents were not restricted to two terms, so that they really could Make America Great Again.
No:
The reality of President Trump has created a myth about the administration of President Obama
Felix Pope
Obama’s presidency, bookended by the neoconservatism of Bush and the neofascism of Trump, was always destined to be viewed through decidedly rose-tinted glasses. Young and charismatic, he was the harbinger of a new post-racial America, one in which hope would replace fear, love would trump hate, and changing demographics would forever consign the GOP to history.
To read the glowing hagiographies churned out in the last few weeks by liberals on both sides of the Atlantic you might even think that he’d succeeded. He expanded the healthcare rolls, supported gay marriage, and prevented the economy from total collapse in the wake of ‘08.
But the fact that these were his greatest achievements is, in fact, his worst condemnation. His victories were modest, technocratic and limited in scope and vision, at a moment when seismic change was possible. The popular support and emotion the Obama campaign had generated was immense—if there was ever a moment to reshape American society, to disavow militarism, overturn unrestrained free market capitalism, and to genuinely achieve ‘change we can believe in’ it was then.
But the moment was lost, in part thanks to unprecedented Republican obstructionism, in part thanks to the fallout from the global economic crisis, but more so because of Obama’s own choices. The rightward shift was evident early, as Rahm Emanuel was appointed Chief of Staff. Emanuel, an ex-investment banker and political hack, would later repeatedly attempt to convince the President to massively scale down Obamacare.
His Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, was an ex corporate exec seeking to slash government debt. He kept Bush’s Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who pushed for the surge in troop numbers in Afghanistan, a policy directly contrary to Obama’s pledges on the campaign trail. At every level the Obama administration was staffed by the representatives of corporate America, Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. The policies they helped enact varied from those that were a moderate betrayal of Obama’s promises to those that were distinctly right wing.
Witness the unparalleled expansion of drone warfare and the security state. The CIA now has the ability to strike and kill anyone on the planet at any time, largely with legal immunity and largely classified and therefore hidden from public view. The unrelenting attacks and inevitable civilian casualties have only served to further radicalise the Middle East, turning those who ought to be our allies against us. These powers will now be handed over to President Trump.
Having argued passionately against the Patriot Act and in favour of civil liberties during his campaign, one might have expected Obama to restrain the NSA’s intrusion into our communications data. In reality, he only sought to extend it. His administration expanded the NSA’s power to share data with other agencies, granted immunity to telecommunications companies that aided Bush in spying on Americans, and by 2010 was collecting 1.7 billion emails, phone calls, and other communications.
Ironically, a volume of data that great would most likely have hindered the intelligence agencies by increasing the haystack in which they searched for a needle. Left-wingers are rightly outraged by Trump’s promise to deport three million undocumented immigrants, but seem to forget that Obama deported 2.4 million himself from 2009 to 2014.
He opposed gay marriage until it became politically expedient to support it. He intervened in Libya without committing to any program of nation building afterward, turning it into a failed state and a breeding ground for ISIS. He backed TPP and TTIP, two free trade treaties that would have driven down standards on worker’s rights and further eroded America’s manufacturing base. Even his much vaunted health care reforms were based upon plans drawn up by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, and had previously been implemented by Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts.
The inescapable truth is that for all the rhetoric, for all the campaign trail pledges, Obama is little more than a moderate Republican, and would be seen as such had the right in America not veered so sharply away from the main- stream. After eight years of electoral failures under Obama’s leadership, the Presidency, the Senate, the House, 70 per cent of state legislatures, more than 60 per cent of state governors, and (soon enough) the Supreme Court will be in Republican hands.
In the coming weeks and months the small good Obama has achieved will be dismantled, piece by piece, by Donald Trump, and little will remain of his legacy other than the bitter reminder that even the most inspiring of politicians can fail. Judged by the standards set out in his initial Presidential run, by the heady optimism of 2008, Obama has utterly and comprehensively failed in his quest for change.
It’s 1st week, which means a flurry of ‘catchup’ conversations on the staircase as you haul your life’s possessions into your college room. These chats inevitably revolve around three key topics: holidays (New Year gossip), Collections (think you can out-fail me?) and, a last resort, the weather (the ultimate awkward-conversation classic). But if there is one thing I could change about Oxford, it would genuinely be the weather.
Having just returned to Oxford from holidays at home in Sydney, it’s all been a bit of a shock. The grey skies, 4pm sunsets, and fussing over gloves, scarves, and beanies, simply cannot compare with a month spent drinking watermelon mojitos in a bikini at Bondi.
Checking my phone every morning brings a wave of melancholy as I jealously scroll through beach snaps of my tanned friends or snapchats emblazoned with “38 degrees *heart-eye emoji face*”.
I’ve resorted to eating ice cream and drinking tropical cocktails at sub-zero temperatures just to maintain the illusion of summer as I face each week’s weather forecast.
Although I still find frost exciting (Sydney’s average winter temperature is a frost-bite inducing 13 degrees), the prospect of a permanently temperate, say Mediterranean, climate does sound appealing. Think of all the benefits of Trinity Term—punting, Pimms, sitting on the quad—but all year long.
On a more serious note, there are numerous physical and psychological benefits associated with warmer weather and sunlight exposure, such as increased Vitamin D intake, exercise frequency and up-beat socialising. As a coxswain whose exercise now consists of shivering, despite wearing ten thermal layers, I would much prefer outdoor sunrise runs.
Ultimately, a perpetual summertime Oxford would simply be a more vibrant, active, and happier place. So as I face the long post-Christmas winter, collections and an Australia Day in the Northern Hemisphere, I believe we could all do with a little extra sunshine to brighten up our days.
Oxford has educated some of the giants of British history: Walter Raleigh, Margaret Thatcher and C.S. Lewis are just a few examples of alumni who will go down in history.
Yet, no matter how aware we are of the past heroes of our university, we now live in a world that often looks to the future, dominated by ‘new media’: the means of mass communication in the digital age. Nick D’Aloisio—the south Londoner who sold his app Summly to Yahoo for $30m when he was only 17-years-old—embodies this era. He also happens to be an undergraduate at Hertford College.
Googling D’Aloisio’s name will result in a variety of articles: you can learn about how he has launched apps in Las Vegas, or how he won the Apple Design Award in 2014. What has attracted this teenage tech supremo to go back to work, to study, and to learn more? “I’m not at Oxford for the degree”, he once insisted, “It’s more just environment, you’re meeting others, really intelligent people who have completely different interests.”
If you head to Hertford, and marvel in the history and architectural distinctiveness on show, exemplified by the famous Bridge of Sighs, you can comprehend what D’Aloisio says. Oxford has enabled him to explore the philosophical side of his work and shown his deep-rooted competitiveness. He could already be considered as one of those Oxford figures who have shaped the tech world, such as Tim Berners-Lee or Reid Hoffman.
D’Aloisio’s views of new media have also been influenced by recent events. He’s referenced how news initially reported on social media, such as Twitter, or through WikiLeaks and other user generated sources, can lead to the proliferation of ‘fake news’.
However, Oxford is itself leading in the development of New Media. As D’Aloisio has said before, it’s not simply the computing behind New Media that is important—but those classical disciplines on offer at Oxford too.
D’Aloisio believes that Oxford has shaped him and will continue to influence his career. New Media is always evolving, and one can almost imagine D’Aloisio’s next big idea coming from the hours spent in the Computer Science department, or in a brief break when reading about design (specifically, 1960s modernism) in his spare time in one of Oxford’s libraries. Speaking in a newspaper interview, he described how it was “refreshing” to take computer science here compared to somewhere like Stanford. “In Oxford, it is seen as very theoretical or mathematical, it’s not seen as entrepreneurial”, D’Aloisio added.
D’Aloisio wants to learn in an age which is always changing and does, to a large extent, revolve around money. He could have been snapped up by Stanford or MIT, but clearly the Oxford experience is what D’Aloisio is looking for: “In the [Silicon] Valley everyone cares about making money; at Oxford they’re the opposite.”
A man in his 30s has died in hospital having fallen from Magdalen Bridge into Cherwell river yesterday afternoon. It is currently unclear whether he is a university student.
Thames Valley Police said this morning that he had died a “short while” after being taken to hospital following a “fear of welfare incident”.
Police spokesman Jack Abell said: “The man was recovered from the river at about 4.30pm and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he died a short while later. His next of kin have been informed.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
The man was reportedly cycling along the bridge next to the Botanical Gardens when he fell. Police say he spent two hours in the water before being recovered.
According to the Oxford Mail, eyewitnesses heard the man scream as he fell.
A woman who jumped into the river in an attempt to save him was assisted from the water by firefighters, and is said to be fine.
Thames Valley Police Media Team said in a statement to Cherwell that they were called at 2:40pm and three fire engines, four ambulances and up to ten police cars attended the scene.
Rewley Road fire station manager Mr. Molloy told the Oxford Mail:”I arrived at the scene shortly after our fire crews.
“A woman had entered the river to try to rescue the man who had fallen in and she had been assisted from the water.She was very helpful in pinpointing the exact location at which the man had fallen in.
“There was quite a flow on the river with rain in recent days and the man had drifted downstream. The water was about 12 feet deep so it was certainly a challenging exercise.We searched methodically with a number of firefighters in the water trying to find the man.Once we had located him and taken him from the water Paramedics immediately started CPR.”
The music industry’s most loved video gaming pyromaniacs, better known as Arcade Fire, are back. Their new single, an anti-Trump anthem, feels like an attempt to do protest song by rote: the call/response vocals, the repetitive and defiant lyrics, the Mavis Staples feature—it’s all tailor made to be sung by the angry masses.
Sadly, the song lacks soul, perhaps in part because it sounds annoyingly similar to the hook from Kanye’s ‘Gold Digger’—ironic given West’s stance on President Trump. Arcade Fire must know this work is not their best: rumour has it this single does not feature on their next album. Praise be!
I think all good protest songs meet the ever worthwhile advice of Patches O’Houlihan from Dodgeball: “You gotta get angry, you gotta get mean!” Clearly the band hasn’t taken this on board: Win Butler sounds so earnest he’s in danger of becoming Chris Martin.
Look at ‘FDT’, look at ‘Alright’–protest songs succeed when they channel fury with a cause. In Dodgeball, Gordon is so incensed by seeing his estranged wife being seduced by David Hasselhoff , he furiously takes down the opposing team. If only Arcade Fire were able to muster up the same sort of anger on this track.
Ever wondered what Oxford students get up to on during a dark, cold and wet evening? Luckily, Cherwell Broadcasting has the answer. Shark Tales is back, with new host Sam Juniper meeting some of Oxford’s finest students.
This content is sponsored by Oxford Summer Courses.
What do you have planned this summer? Oxford Summer Courses is recruiting outstanding people to teach and look after international students on our 2017 summer programmes. We are an independent summer course provider seeking enthusiastic Student Helpers (ideal for undergraduates) and talented, well-qualified Tutors (graduate students and above) to deliver authentic, Oxford college based programmes for our biggest summer yet. We’re a great company to work with—take it from some of our 2016 employees.
Gauri Ang taught Medicine with us in 2016, after completing her DPhil in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford
Describe your experience with Oxford Summer Courses in 3 words.
Engaging, educational, inspirational.
Why did you choose to apply for one of our positions?
I have always enjoyed teaching, and Oxford Summer Courses provided a good way for me to teach a range of students of different backgrounds, nationalities, and age groups.
After attending interviews from different summer schools, what made me ultimately choose Oxford Summer Courses was that their claims for providing high quality lessons and experiences for students were genuine. They do not hire staff or plan their programme by simply opting for the most economical option available—this was very important to me, as I did not want to be teaching students who felt underwhelmed by their time in Oxford. Classrooms are also located in central Oxford, which makes it extremely convenient for tutors.
What was your favourite part of working with us?
Definitely the amount of engagement with other tutors. I was very impressed by the training sessions; opportunities for tutors to give talks; and social events organised for tutors and staff. You really do feel appreciated and part of a team if you get involved.
In particular, I really valued the opportunity to give a TED talk to the students. I had always wanted to brush up my skills on public speaking and science communication—so being able to give a talk to an audience of 60-80 people on a topic I felt passionate about was extremely rewarding.
What did you gain or learn from your experience?
Prior to working with Oxford Summer Courses, I had never realised how useful tutorials could be from a tutor’s perspective. Oxford Summer Courses is the only summer school to offer tutorials for older students. This was extremely useful for me as a tutor as it allowed my students to open up and ask me questions that they were hesitant to do so in class. I was then able to alter my teaching approach accordingly.
Oh, I also realised I actually like teaching younger students too! I was initially interested in only teaching older students but was invited to teach younger students as well. I was very glad I took up that opportunity, as they were truly fun to teach.
Would you recommend working for Oxford Summer Courses to a friend?
Of course, and I already have.
Every other summer school out there claims to be the best and it is hard to know which to go for. Prior to applying, I did not know anyone working for Oxford Summer Courses. I relied only on their website to gain information and was worried that they would not live up to their claims. But from my experience working for them, it has been a delight knowing that it really is what it says on the tin. I think Oxford Summer Courses is great for anyone with a passion for teaching and who does not settle for the bare minimum. You get to meet new people, challenge yourself, and gain new skills.
Christian Holland was a Student Helper with us in 2016, and is a 3rd year Trinity medic
Describe your experience with Oxford Summer Courses in 3 words.
Fun, varied, exciting
Why did you choose to apply for one of our positions?
I wanted to use part of my summer to get a job, and loved the idea of being able to stay in Oxford over the summer and enjoy the city without always having an essay due.
What was your favourite part of working with us?
Getting paid to play sports, watch films, go on day trips and eat out in restaurants every night. Teaching students how to play croquet, and taking trips to Bletchley Park, Kensington and Windsor Castle was a fantastic way to spend two weeks and didn’t feel like work at all. A particular highlight was the staff entry to the karaoke night after the first formal of the course…
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Beyond having a great time, it was really useful to be able to gain experience of working in a position of real responsibility. Looking after a group of 20 students from across the world, many of whom have never been away from home by themselves before, is a challenging task, but being able to say that you’ve done so looks great on a CV and lets you prove your reliability and responsibility to prospective employers.
Would you recommend working for Oxford Summer Courses to a friend?
Absolutely: it’s a fantastic job, I can’t think of any other way I could get paid for punting, eating out and generally having an all-round great time in Oxford over the summer!
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On Monday night approximately 2,500 people took to the streets of Oxford to protest President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, which bans refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The protesters began assembling at Carfax Tower at around 5.30pm this evening to take part in the march organised on Facebook by Oxford Stand Up to Racism, Oxford Momentum, and Oxford University Islamic Society. It was also supported by Oxford and District Trades Council and Oxfordshire UNISON Health Branch.
Students, residents and protesters marched from Cornmarket Street down the High Street to Magdalen Bridge and back again.
Protesters condemning Trump’s immigration ban march past Magdalen College Oxford pic.twitter.com/7bTHFnSabF
There were a number of chants during the march, including: “No Trump, no KKK, no fascists USA,” “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here,” and “Theresa May hear us shout, Muslims in, racists out”,
Those marching also held various homemade banners, with slogans such as “I hope Humpty Dumpty falls off his wall,” “Donald Trump makes me gag and not in a good way,”, “Feed him to the corgis” and the motto of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign “love trumps hate”.
A spokesperson for Oxford Stand up to Racism told Cherwell: “Tonight’s protest was an absolutely fantastic show of solidarity with migrants, Muslims and refugees; those affected by President Trump’s ban, and those who are being demonised by his racist rhetoric.
“The protest was also a show of defiance against politicians using racism as a political weapon to distract and divert people. The energy was incredible and there’s a strong sense of people going away to build for the national Stand Up To Racism demonstration on March 18.”
Third-year student Alex Shickell, who attended the protest, told Cherwell: “I went because coming from a family which has been shaped by displacements caused by war, dictatorships and autocracies, I sympathise with the Muslim cause and want my voice to be heard.
“I think Facebook activism helped to spread news of the event really fast, and there’s generally a strong anti-Trump sentiment amongst the student population.”
Pembroke undergraduate Imogen Runswick commented: “I think Oxford students speaking up shows that our generation won’t tolerate such nationalistic xenophobia.”
Alfie Steer of University College said: “I marched out of complete horror at Trumps Proto-fascistic program in the last 8 days. I hope that the campaign demonstrates our solidarity with the American people terrified by this as well as a clear message to Theresa May that her appeasement of Trump is totally unacceptable to the American people.”
St Peter’s student Isabella Rooney told Cherwell: “It was very well organised and really well attended, it was inspiring to see such a high turnout of young people, especially leading the chants and holding signs.”
Councillor Dan Iley-Williamson, who represents Holywell Ward for the Labour Party on Oxford City Council, said: ‘Tonight’s protest was a powerful rejection of division and hate. Donald Trump’s policy is not intended to make anyone safer. It is a cynical move aimed at stoking people’s worst fears and suspicions. Theresa May has chosen to go hand in hand with Trump – not just down the Whitehouse steps, but politically, by prioritising immigration policy instead of protecting people’s living standards and public services. Millions of people across Britain are making clear that they will not go along with her strategy of appeasement. The planned state visit by Donald Trump should be cancelled immediately.’
Oxford University Islamic Society, Oxford Stand up to Racism and Oxford momentum have been contacted for comment.
With additonal reporting from Lucy Enderby and Jack Hunter
