Cherwell - 1st Week Michaelmas 2020 by Cherwell

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Vol.292 No.2 | 1st week

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Friday, 16th October 2020

100 YEARS

A century of independence since 1920

EXCLUSIVE: PRELIMS FAVOUR PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS Rachel Muir

On average between 2015 and 2019, physics was the only major subject in which a higher proportion of ex-state school students received a distinction in their preliminary examinations than ex-independent school students. By finals, state school students came out on top in the majority of subjects. An investigation into the attainment of ex-state school students, which includes both state comprehensive and state grammar, and ex-independent school students at Oxford has shown that between the academic years 2014-15 and 2018-19, independent school students got a higher proportion of distinction grades in 14 of the 15 largest subjects at preliminary

examinations. The only exception is physics, in which an average of 16.8% of ex-independent school students received distinction grades per year compared to 23.1% of ex-state school students. In contrast, history and chemistry are the subjects with the biggest divide between state and independent school attainment, with an average of 37.4% of independent school students receiving a distinction in history prelims compared to 26.4% of state school students across the past 5 years, whilst the figures for chemistry are 38.8% and 28.6% respectively. The history faculty did not comment on whether they are doing anything to address the fact that the proportion of state school students receiving distinctions at

prelims has been consistently lower than the proportion of independent school students for every year of the past five years. Despite the stark attainment gap at prelims, by finals ex-state school students got a higher proportion of firsts in 8 of the 15 subjects. While these were predominately STEM subjects, the eight also included geography and modern languages. Whilst it is good news that the distribution of firsts between exstate and ex-independent school students is equivalent at finals, the importance of prelims both psychologically and materially means that the disadvantage state school students face cannot be ignored. This investigation calls into question the awarding of monetary prizes for performance in prelims. Whilst prizes are meant to solely

reward students based on academic ability, it is clear that they are more likely to be awarded to those who come from more affluent backgrounds. These prizes are far from insignificant, with some colleges awarding over £300 per year. There are also colleges which give further financial benefits to their Scholars, such as St. Hughs, whose Scholars, alongside a £200 scholarship per year, also get several nights free vacation residence annually. Keble gives its Scholars “two free meals a week in Hall during term” alongside £200 off their battels per year. Along with monetary prizes, a distinction in prelims enables you to wear a coveted Scholar’s Gown. The psychological implications of such a tradition has been called into question many times before, but the student body voted to

retain it in an OUSU vote in 2017. However, in light of the above analysis, it seems strange that a student body who voted to retain subfusc in 2015 because of it being a mark of equality, would be happy to also keep Scholar’s Gowns which are demonstrated here to be a mark of inequality. A spokesperson from the Student Union said: “If students want to bring the issue to the student council this year, we’d be more than happy to have another vote on the issue.” Sofia Henderson, the co-chair of Class Act, a Student Union campaign which supports and represents students from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds at Oxford, says: “The fact that students from state school Continued on page 7

A centenary of full University membership for women at Oxford Ellen Hendry, Jade Calder

Oxford has launched a campaign to recognise the centenary anniversary of women at the University. On the 7th of October 1920, Oxford began giving full membership to the University to women. While women had studied at the University before, they had been denied degrees. To mark this, the University is running the Women Making History Centenary campaign. It will aim to mark some of the movements and achievements of women that have

helped Oxford become a university with more degrees awarded to women than men. Amongst other events, the University has announced an app providing a walking tour of Oxford with points of interest from the past century’s changes, an online collection of documents illuminating campaigns for female admissions, and an online event to uncover the contribution of women to Geography at Oxford. Many colleges are also holding celebrations. Mansfield is marking the 40th anniversary of

female admittance to the college with a museum-quality exhibition, along with an oral history project to record the experiences of their first female cohort. The first female justice and President of the Supreme Court, Baroness Brenda Hale, will give a public talk on 20th November. The Hilary Rodham Clinton Chair of Women’s History has also been created to mark the centenary. It is to be given to Professor Brenda E. Stevenson, whose research focuses on race Continued on page 2

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020

2 | News

WHAT’S INSIDE LEADER The creative industries are not a hobby

NEWS Racial equality coalition launched

History of Science Museum reopens

INVESTIGATION: Prelims privilege private school students

Cherwell News: Good news around Oxford

COMMENT Freshers’s Week: Pandemic Edition Society Spotlight: Oxford Forum for Questioning Extremism

10 11

FEATURES Oxford’s Eyesores: Brutalism’s place among the Dreaming Spires

SPORT Women’s Cricket Varsity shoes the Tabs

t has been another poor week for the government PR machine, and this time it is the arts that have once again taken the hit. Many working across theatre and music have spoken out against a government sponsored advert depicting a dancer, which patronisingly suggests that her vocational future may lie in cyber - “she just doesn’t know it yet”. Whilst the ad is part of a long-standing campaign, it simply rehashes the idea that jobs in the arts are economically unproductive and therefore unviable. Only last week, Rishi Sunak admitted in an interview with ITV that not everyone “can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis”. The Chancellor’s words have been heavily criticised, and for many workers in the creative industries, they feel that the government’s message is loud and clear: your job does not matter. At a surface level, the government’s level of hypocrisy is almost laughable. Many on social media have been quick to point out the significant number of creative jobs which would have been required to produce the tone-deaf ad in the first place. Even despite Oliver Dowden’s rapid efforts to distance himself from the campaign, it is worrying that in this period of job insecurity the government has

Continued from Page 1 and gender. This position will enable “outstanding, pioneering research, and [will transform] how the subject is taught and studied at Oxford.” Professor Stevenson told Cherwell: “I hope to provide diversity to the curriculum as well as support programs and projects that will embrace, expand and inspire meaningful research on women in the past and in contemporary societies. The Vice-Chancellor said the appointment “will lead to the education of generations of historians who will ensure that women are never again written out of history.” Regarding this appointment and the wider University campaign, the SU VP Women, Alex Foley, said: “The Covid-19 crisis has thrown the existing disparities in our society into stark relief. The asymmetries in the amount of unpaid labour women are expected to perform has become increasingly apparent, particularly mature students with caring responsibility or student parents. The global events of the past few months have also demonstrated the long road we have to how to achieve racial justice. “I’ve been extremely pleased to witness the way the Women’s Centenary Group has maintained an intersectional perspective and tried to highlight the persisting barriers to full gender equality in high education for trans women and women of colour.” In 2019, women comprised half of all undergraduate students, and the number of incoming female undergraduates (53%) exceeded the male intake for the first time.

adopted such a cynical message forget the tedious debate where towards the future of arts and right-wing headlines and Tory culture. The ‘get a real job’ tone MPs wailed over the so-called ignores the very real successes cancellation of the imperialist of the creative industries before anthem ‘Land of Hope and Glothe pandemic hit. In previous ry’ from the BBC proms. In voicyears the cultural sector has ing his support for the a contributed over £10 billion to nthem over twitter, Boris the UK economy according to Johnson knowingly stoked the figures by Arts Council Engculture wars fire to distract us, land. In 2018, the live music inat least for a few days, from the dustry alone generated £5.2 bilfailures of his own government. lion in income towards the How can the cultural sector reBritish economy, and provided main viable if it is only invested employment to over 190,000 in when the government uses it people. as a smokescreen? Regardless of the significant The value and success of the financial value of the Arts, the arts deserve to be celebrated, but government’s suggestion is that more than that they deserve workers in this field ‘retrain’ , comprehensive financial backwhich positions the sector as an ing. Recently, some assistance afterthought, or even an inconhas been given in the form of a venience, £257 million in its fusecurity ture emTHE ‘GET A REAL JOB’ TONE package to ploy ment creative inpolicies. It IGNORES THE VERY REAL dustries, is almost with more impossible SUCCESSES OF THE CREATIVE than 1,300 to imagine venues and a similar organisaINDUSTRIES a d v e r t tions rew h e r e c e i v i n g bankers were asked to retrain much needed funding. Accordrest assured those jobs are proing to the Music Venues Trust, tected. It also takes a special over 90% of grassroots venues type of hypocrisy to undermine who applied to the government the significance of work done in support scheme received finanthe Arts when culture has been cial support. However, by reitersuch an important part of the ating their warning that not eveConservative’s messaging over ryone can expect to survive this the past few months. Who can crisis, any sense of relief seems

Leader THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ARE NOT A HOBBY ISABELLA COLLETTA slightly muted. This is a welcome move, but the government’s financial aid does not provide for the large number of freelance workers who make a significant contribution to the sector, who are also far more likely to have missed out on support grants. Various industry bodies, including the Incorporated Society of Musicians, have called for specific assistance for a more targeted freelance performers support scheme. Whilst the Department for Culture, Media and Sport claim that providing funding to venues will generate further job opportunities, it is not clear how successful this will be. Since the recent announcement of a 3 Tier lockdown system, it seems that the opening date so many theatres and music venues desperately need will be pushed back even further. Smaller, local venues will inevitably bear the brunt of the delayed

opening, and with no new income coming in for the foreseeable future, job security in the arts will be even more fragile. Now that the immediate future of the arts is looking more desperate, the government must provide the sector with clearer assurances: how will they be protected against closures, and how will the valuable work of freelancers be safeguarded for the future? The creative industries have proven their value time and time again. If they are to survive, the government must stop its campaign of undermining the socalled viability of the arts and actually provide them with assistance so that they can maintain their long term security. As we look towards what will make up our new normal, there is a risk that without full support, the cultural landscape of the future will be one which has been stripped of its talent.

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Cherwell

Keble students boycott hall food over rise in prices Millie Wood

Undergraduate students at Keble College have launched a campaign to lower the cost of hall meals. They claim that the price of a standard dinner meal has almost doubled since last year, rising from £3.80 to £6.75 and that two-course dinners have been made mandatory. Some of those affected by the rise have written an open letter detailing their concerns and asking fellow students to boycott hall food until College administration agrees to reduce food prices to what they had been previously, as well as giving students the option to opt out of extras such as desserts. The open letter has so far been signed by over 100 students. It says that meal prices advertised are lower than reality, which “put many students at a disadvantage and has put a burden on those students who have budgeted in accordance with the cheaper food prices advertised.”

Keble has agreed to remove dessert from the compulsory meal, reducing the price to £4.75. The college has agreed to discuss further with the JCR about prices. Individual student rooms at Keble do not have cooking facilities, which makes hall a primary food option. Keble College told Cherwell that “the suggestion that we have materially increased food prices is simply wrong”. They stated that the average cost of a lunch in 2019/2020 was £4.00, and the average cost of a three-course dinner was £7.80. They continued: “Students also have access to our café in the H B Allen Centre where freshly made Paninis are £2.40, Baguettes £2.50 and Pizza Margherita, 12” is £5.00, with extra toppings at £0.40p.” Theo Sergiou, a second year PPE student at Keble, told Cherwell that the boycott is a ‘financial necessity” and says that Oxford alumni are getting in touch with their support. The

STUDENTS

Coalition of socities to work for racial equality in Oxford Mark Robins

Student societies have joined a citywide coalition to support the rights of marginalised people in Oxford. The Oxford Coalition of Black Communities and Communities of Colour has been founded this Black History Month to support ethnic minority and working-class groups in Oxford. Backed by NGOs and trade unionists, the Coalition will begin with a community-led “Manifesto for the City” to drive policy change in Oxford. A statement from the Coalition said it is “committed to the self-determination of Black and minority ethnic communities, as well as securing the rights of all marginalised people in our city.” It added: “Our Coalition will use its collective energy and resources to drive practical and policy measures towards a city that works to empower every single one of its workers and residents.” The Oxford University Labour Club, Africa Society, and Feminist Society have backed the Coalition, joining local groups such as Black Lives Matter Oxford. Campaigners founded the initiative after recognising the need to sustain anti-racist collective organisations which arose after the death of George Floyd. They were also spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, which, the Coalition says, revealed “stark racial inequalities… globally and within UK society”. The Coalition advocates “bottom-up” action to pursue its aims, citing reform after the death of Stephen Lawrence as a successful example of “pressure from below”. A spokesperson told Cherwell: “The Coalition aims to practically foster greater solidarity, unity of purpose and action amongst different grass-

roots organisations and community groups who have a shared goal around achieving race equality and promoting social justice in Oxford. “To this end, the Coalition aims to function as a grass-roots activist information bureau and network sharing ideas, and facilitating solidarity building amongst a range of community groups and local campaigns which can thereby help coordinate joint action around shared goals, aims, and objectives” The Coalition says that decision making bodies such as the Oxford City Council have not done enough to support Black and minority ethnic communities. “Actions speak louder than words,” said the Coalition. “Take the issue of racism in the workplace - report after report - not least the government’s own Race Disparity Audit highlights how Black and minority ethnic workers are subject to disproportionate rates of disciplinaries, are overrepresented in lower grade positions and under-represented in the top/ senior posts within the occupational hierarchy. There is next to no Black and minority ethnic representation within the executive boards of most of Oxford’s key public institutions.” “Currently as a result of pressure from below all our major institutions are announcing anti-racist charters and race equality action plans. The obvious danger here is that without sustained pressure from the grass-roots demanding greater accountability to local communities what we get left with is rhetorical ethics, tokenism and symbolic representation. A spokesperson for the Oxford City Council told Cherwell: “We welcome the launch of Oxford Coalition of Black Communities and Communities of Colour, and look forward to their contribution to supporting Oxford’s communities.”

boycott is planned to continue until Monday. Sergiou said: “If the local independent kebab house can survive COVID without burdening students, college should have no reason to rely on their students to relieve them of their difficulties...We do not think college is doing this on purpose, nor do I believe they are conscious of their exclusion, however, this doesn’t change the effect it is having.” He said the college explained the price increase with the JCR’s request last year to source food more sustainably. Keble College told Cherwell: “The Covid crisis has meant we’ve had to change radically the way we prepare and deliver meals in order to protect staff and students. This has involved significant additional costs which are not reflected in meal charges. On top of this, food costs are continuing to rise. The global pandemic has impacted demand, supply and pricing across many

commodities. “Costs have been affected by, among other factors: Turbulent currencies, Product shortages, High price increases, Labour shortages, Weather conditions (a very hot and dry summer globally, impacting on harvests), Avian flu (pushing prices on poultry and egg, when flocks have to be culled), Salmon anaemia, and African Swine Fever in pigs from

News | 3 COLLEGE

Germany (Europe’s largest pork producer).” Keble also directed Cherwell to a “recent report” by The Tab which praises Keble’s food provisions to quarantining students, based on a students’ TikToks of her meal deliveries. The student compliments her roast chicken and cheesecake. Image credit: David Iliff/ Wikimedia Commons

UNIVERSITY

University testing service reports 61 Covid-19 cases in Freshers’ Week David Tritsch

Oxford University’s testing service has confirmed 61 positive tests for Covid-19 in Freshers’ Week (3-9 October). This brings the total number of positive tests since August 20 to 91. In total, there have been 1631 tests since the introduction of the service by the University. In August, the University launched its Covid-19 testing service for all staff and students. A whitepaper published by the University states that after a booking is made, “the individual gets a timed appointment and is swabbed by a healthcare worker in the pod.” However, several students told Cherwell that they had to self-swab when getting tested. One student said: “The person working there does their best to explain it to you, but especially with the nasal swab everyone has a natural reaction not to do the swab properly because it is quite unpleasant. It is also easy to ‘go the wrong way’ and not reach the back of your throat with the nasal swab.” While the University’s whitepaper notes that “[testing] may also be conducted via self-swabbing or supervised self-swabbing”, it reports a false negative rate (the probability that a test shows negative when a patient has the virus) “possibly of the order of 20%” due to incorrect technique used for swabbing and low viral load in asymptomatic patients. The University’s testing Status and Response website states that the figures released do not include positive test results received outside of the University testing service. It notes further that “due to the time interval

between a test being done and the result becoming available, it is expected that there will be a mismatch between actual results and those confirmed to us on any given day”. Current University guidance is that students and staff should not get tested unless they have been asked to or they display symptoms of Covid-19. The University’s whitepaper states that “one of the challenges the University faces is staff and students with no Covid-19 symptoms asking for tests unnecessarily”. In contrast, the University of Cambridge, whose collegiate system mirrors that of Oxford, have set up a testing pod in the city for symptomatic cases, but have recently announced they will test all asymptomatic students in colleges. The numbers this week follow Oxford Brookes University, which has been back since September, confirming 98 positive tests in the week leading up to October 2. Oxford Brookes University said “the majority” of those cases had been “traced back to social gatherings”. In a statement sent to councillors seen by the BBC, the University said it had issued about 150 fixed penalties to students “for breaches within halls of residences” since 12 September. This week, several colleges have reported social gatherings of students that violated government and university guidance. St. Catherine’s College recently announced it would introduce body cameras for Junior Deans and porters to wear in order to record criminal behaviour - although this decision has now been retracted. Several other colleges have cancelled events or

closed JCRs. On Thursday, Balliol College’s JCR committee cancelled events in the JCR during Freshers’ Week. In a post to the JCR’s Facebook group, Balliol’s JCR Vice President said: “It is impossible for us to enforce the regulations as we have been told we have to by certain members of college staff.” On the same day, Keble College’s Decanal team sent an email to all students, reminding them of “the absolute necessity of following the simple rules on social distancing and Covid policy in College”. An email that was sent out to all Magdalen College students, stressed “just how lenient Magdalen are currently being relative to other colleges,” but also noted that “there is significant pressure from the central University to tighten our regulations, and limit interaction far more”. Magdalen and Brasenose are currently the only colleges to allow guests into College. The University has implemented a four-stage response, depending on how wide the spread of Covid-19 is. The current status is Stage 2, which allows the University to operate “in line with social distancing restrictions with as full a student cohort as possible on site”, with teaching and assessment taking place “with the optimum combination of in-person teaching and online learning”. A Stage 3 response would imply “no public access to the University or College buildings”. “on-site activity permitted where it cannot be undertaken remotely” and “gatherings for staff and students only permitted where essential for teaching and assessment to take place”.

4 | News UNIVERSITY

Oxford University launches ‘The Vaccination Game’ Abigail Howe

Researchers at Oxford University have launched ‘The Vaccination Game’, a free online role-playing game where players need to distribute a virtual vaccine, aiming to limit the spread of a pandemic based upon influenza. Created by researchers at the University’s MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, in collaboration with Goldsmiths, ‘The Vaccination Game’ will allow players to understand how vaccines work on a worldwide scale. Players are given limited doses of vaccines each week and then choose who to vaccinate in the 99 cities available within the game, with the aim of maximum effectiveness and minimised deaths. At the end of the game, the player receives a report noting how many lives were saved by the vaccine. The idea was originally conceived by Professor Drakesmith

and colleagues in their roles as part of a research network focusing on immunising babies and mothers to fight infections in low and middle income countries. They began to develop the game after receiving funding from the IMPRINT research network. “We originally had the idea of the game and began developing it back in 2019, with influenza as our example disease. Then Covid-19 struck, and the ideas behind the game are obviously much more relevant,” said Professor Drakesmith, who is based at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. Rather than providing a wholly realistic simulation, the role-playing game is intended to educate. “Our game isn’t intended as a modelling or simlation tool, or meant to predict real-world scenarios”, Professor Drakesmith said. “Instead, we hope it’s educational, as it illustrates how vaccines can work on a global scale, and shows

CITY

Oxford City Council proposes Thames ‘bathing area’ to reduce sewage waste Matthew Schaffel

Oxford City Council has given its support to proposals asking for a section of the Thames in Oxford to be designated as a ‘bathing area’. The move is an attempt to combat the disposal of raw sewage in the river by Thames Water. The proposals, supported by 4,000 people via petition, aims to make this stretch of river the first in England to receive this status. However, the status does currently apply to 600 beaches and lakes. As part of the measures the river will be subjected to a strict testing regime which will make sure it is reaching public health requirements. Currently Thames Water, during periods of heavy rainfall, dumps raw sewage into the river when its treatment works are unable to cope with the capacity of sewage produced. As of last year four sewage treatment works in Oxford were responsible for spillages of rare sewage into the river more than 170 times, for what accounts for 82 days, according to data from the End Sewage Pollution campaign, using figures from the Guardian and Rivers Trust. Linda Smith, a local Labour councillor who tabled the motion at the Council, said to Cherwell: “It is currently legal for Thames Water to dump raw, untreated sewage into the river at times of heavy rainfall when treatment works are overwhelmed. Additionally the Environment Agency has had its funding slashed since 2010 and been forced to reduce its staff numbers, which has reduced its capacity to enforce regulations so pollution incidents have increased while the number of prosecutions have fallen. “The City Council is calling on Thames Water to provide real-time data of where and when sewage

works are overflowing so that residents will know about the risks of taking to the river to swim or participate in water sports. We’re also calling on Thames Water to upgrade its sewage treatment works so they are fit for the 21st century. “The City Council will now work on making an application for Designated Bathing Water Status for a stretch of the Thames in Oxford. Designation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would mean improved monitoring of water quality and better protection for the river from pollution. It will ensure Oxford residents have access to the information they need to be properly informed about the risks of enjoying our beautiful river Isis.” A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “We work hard to minimise storm discharges, while also looking at how we can improve the system for the future, including reducing groundwater infiltration and increasing capacity. We’ve also invested heavily in monitoring equipment to understand how frequently spills occur and help us plan improvements. “We fully appreciate just how well loved these waterways are and why people want to use them for recreation, however they should be mindful that sewage discharges aren’t the only sources of pollutants. Animal faeces from livestock and wildlife, along with run off from farms and roads, also contribute to the hazards. Sewage discharges only happen when there is no alternative. The system is designed to naturally overflow to prevent flooding inside and outside homes. Similar to how the overflow on a sink or bathtub works. The discharges are also heavily diluted by rainwater.”

that precisely how a vaccine is deployed across populations can be crucial to its effectiveness.” The Group Leader of the Analysis, Visualisation and Informatics group, Steve Taylor, said: “You can replay the game multiple times to improve strategy and save more lives – it is possible to do very well!” Professor Drakesmith continued: “We hope players find The Vaccination Game interesting, useful, and fun to play.” Image credit: Fredrick Tendong/ Unsplash

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020 CITY

History of Science Museum re-opens Roheena Buckland

Oxford´s History of Science Museum has re-opened, heralded by an Islamic metalwork exhibition. The focus of the display has been themed to highlight the intersections between different cultures and countries throughout history. The exhibition will be on display from 9th October to 10th January, incorporating a mixture of artifacts both from the Museum itself and ten “precious and rare” artifacts as part of a tour from The Courtauld that has visited Cornwall, Bradford, Oxford, and Bath. The display has been split into three themed elements: Migration of objects, people and ideas from borders with China to Mediterranean; Trade between the Islamic world and Europe; Mutual influences between Islamic culture and European culture. As the website says, the exhibition contains pieces of “stunning

court fashion and intriguing astrolabes”, “beautiful bowls and candlesticks”, spanning six centuries of Islamic artisanship. The exhibition also involved volunteers from the History of Science Museum Multaka-Oxford team. While the pandemic and limited space prevents physical involvement in the exhibition, in the online version objects belonging to members of the team with descriptions written by them are included. In an interview with Cherwell, Dr Federica Gigante, curator of the exhibition, commented that what she wanted to show was the idea that “we are indebted to other countries for what we have today, as much as they are to us, because we have always shared”. To book, the museum has tickets available online by timeslot in order to maintain social distancing, while a one-way system has been put in place.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Oxford vaccine trials paused in the USA Charlie Hancock

Combined phase II/III trials for a potential vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute to protect against COVID-19 may be continuing in the UK, but they remain paused in the United States. Global trials of the vaccine were halted after a British participant developed symptoms of transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder which causes the spinal cord to become inflamed and damages the myelin layer which protects nerve cell fibres. Although trials theUnited Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil were resumed throughout September, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory body has halted trials in the United States until they are satisfied the participant’s adverse reaction was not caused by the vaccine. Dr Anthony Fauci, the prominent immunologist advising the White House Coronavirus Taskforce, described the interruption as “unfortunate” but emphasised that it is not unusual for vaccine trials to be halted. “It’s really one of the safety valves that you have on clinical trials such as this”, he told CBS on 9 September. Although investigating potential side-effects is an established part of the vaccine development process, there are concerns that if the FDA does not allow the trial to continue, it could reduce the data available to scientists to judge the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. Most new drugs and vaccines go through three phases of testing before they are made available to patients. Some national regulatory bodies, including the FDA, may demand additional rounds of testing. Phase III trials involve

thousands of patients to provide a large sample size for scientists to determine how effective the vaccine is, but also if there are any side effects or groups of people who cannot receive the vaccine safely. The Oxford vaccine requires two injections to be given at 28 day intervals. While 18,000 participants across the UK, Brazil and South Africa are on track to receive their second dose, 30,000 American participants may miss theirs or at least have it delayed unless the FDA allows the trial to continue soon. It is not clear what the implications of this delay would be. Eleanor Riley, Professor of Immunology at the University of Edinburgh told The Times that delivering the second dose a longer interval after the first than 28 days may leader to better outcomes. “However, changing the interval halfway through a trial can be problematic”, she added. If the American cohort of participants are not vaccinated according to the determined schedule, they may have to be excluded from the overall analysis of data.

The SARS-Cov-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is covered with club-shaped spike proteins which it uses to infect human cells and hijack them to produce more viruses. Spike proteins are also recognised by the body’s immune system, causing it to produce antibodies to combat the infection. The Oxford vaccine uses a harmless adenovirus to introduce a sequence of DNA into a human cell, causing it to make the spike proteins which cause an immune reaction. It is hoped that this method will allow the body to develop immunity to SARS-Cov-2, without causing a vaccinated individual to become unwell or contagious. Ideally that this will allow people with pre-existing conditions to receive the vaccine and reduce the risk of patients developing side-effects. If the vaccine passes its phase III trials and is found to be both safe and effective, it could allow countries around the world to lift restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. Image credit: Bermix Studio/ Unsplash

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Cherwell

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UNIVERSITY

Investigation: Prelims inequality Rachel Muir

Continued from Page 1 backgrounds find it difficult to attain the same marks as their more privileged peers at the end of first year means that all the awarding of monetary prizes, room ballot privileges and Scholar’s Gowns does is entrench class divisions in Oxford further”. The 93% Club, a recently established society which aims to make state-educated students feel more at home within Oxford, takes a different approach to Scholar’s Gowns, saying: “We are not looking to tear down our traditions, but instead build up from them. A future in which state educated students flaunt the Scholar’s gown in higher proportions is entirely possible, as long as we continue to make the effort to include them and help reveal the talent they have, in full.” Prelim examination results do not just have short term impacts but can influence the course of a student’s post-university career, with many applying to jobs and graduate schemes before they have received their final degree result. Therefore, for many subjects the only official University examination which will be seen by the prospective employer when they apply will be their preliminary examination result. This makes it all the more important for the Univer-

News | 7

Cherwell News GOOD NEWS AROUND OXFORD Christ Church in top 500 world places to visit

sity to make a conscious effort to combat the inequality. Sofia Henderson says: “Oxford must work harder to ensure that these students are not left behind, and that they are given the encouragement, resources and flexibility that they need to settle into the academic environment at Oxford and achieve the grades they deserve.” The 93% Club suggests that a greater attempt by some tutors to acknowledge “the ‘cultural capital’ that a classical education provides” would be a “step in the right direction”. They also express concern about the potential for coronavirus to worsen the divide between state and independently educated students for future cohorts of students arriving in Oxford. They say: “We would expect that those who have missed teaching

are given sufficient pre-reading, resources, and study skills advice upon entering the University. Otherwise, we fear that the gap between the best and worst educated diverges further.” Tucker Drew, the Access and Academic Affairs representative for the Oxford Student Union said: “We’re supporting the Centre for Teaching and Learning in their development of new study skill platforms for incoming students. I also plan to lobby this year for the implementation of a clearer set of academic expectations for new students. Students should not have to rely on their older peers to tell them what’s expected in Oxford work or how to write a tutorial essay, that information should come from the tutors and departments themselves.” A spokesperson from the University of Oxford said: “The University is committed to ensuring all students can succeed at Oxford regardless of their backgrounds, and we have set out ambitious plans for reducing attainment gaps between different groups of students in our Access and Participation Plan. Programs such as the recently launched Opportunity Oxford are specifically designed to ease the burden of transition to Oxford for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, from the very start of their time at university.” “There is still some evidence

Scriptum shop launches mental health initiative Scriptum writing shop has announced a new mental health initiative. Founder of the store, Azeem Zakria, started the scheme following his own battle with depression. He is now working with the local church St Michael at the North Gate to set up a weekly mental health support group for men in Oxford. He told Cherwell that he was looking to help those “less fortunate than himself” and hoped that the scheme will allow him to achieve “a balance between the store having a certain ambience and a safe space during the Coronavirus pandemic”. A spokesperson for Scriptum said: “We have been fundraising with our Good Place Notebook for a while now, and have just made a donation of £1,200 to Oxfordshire Mind.” The first meeting will be on 19th October. Those interested are encouraged to email. of disparities by the end of their first year of study. However, attainment gaps reduce as students get closer to graduation, which indicates that the University’s approach to levelling out prior educational disparities is working over time. We continue to focus on this area to ensure that all students can thrive throughout their time at Oxford.”

Christ Church College is now 314th among the world’s top 500 global destinations, as ranked by the Lonely Planet Ultimate Travel List 2. The decision will not be too surprising to anyone familiar with its magnificent architecture and association with both Alice in Wonderland and the Harry Potter series. For anyone in need of holiday, Christ Church features among 33 other UK destinations, an increase from the original 2015 list’s 24 with locations like the Lake District and Giant’s Causeway securing top spots. While COVID-19 means many of these destinations are unlikely to see an increase in visitors for some time, it’s clear that Christ Church students will continue dodging tourists on their way to tutorials for a long time to come. Written by: Grace Bartlett Image credit: Toby Ord

Having acknowledged the attainment gap at the end of the first year of studies, it would seem odd that the University is happy to maintain a system which rewards that gap via the Scholar’s Gown and monetary prizes. The University has a long way to go in addressing this issue, which has shown no sign of improving in the past five years.

Students frustrated by Bodleian Libaries system Abigail Howe, Joe Hyland Deeson

Students returning to Oxford have found the system put in place over the summer by the Bodleian Libraries increasingly impractical. With library slots often not available for three days or more in advance, issues were exacerbated on Friday of 0th Week when the History Faculty Library at the Radcliffe Camera cancelled its Click and Collect service due to an inability to “cope with term-time demand”. Although the Radcliffe Camera is the site of the History Faculty Library, students of all disciplines have been allowed to book slots. The Bodleian Libraries have advised students not to book multiple slots in a week, but there is no restriction on doing this. Many of the Bodleian Libraries are also still open to those who are not residents of the University, including the Radcliffe

Camera and the Bodleian Old Library. History students have been frustrated by the lack of priority given to them by their subject library. Grace Beckwith, a third year who, like many historians, would generally use the Faculty Library several times a week, told Cherwell: “So far the current booking system is making my life quite a bit harder. I need to access a lot of texts that are only available in the Rad Cam. I tried to order some books via the Click and Collect service, but the History Faculty have cancelled the service. It just seems chaotic. It would be useful to have some sort of priority system.” Furthermore, the potential lack of provision of central university libraries presents a wide range of accessibility problems. Speaking to Cherwell, Leo Gillard, Secretary of DisCam, said: “The limits to more flexible library

use will undeniably have an adverse impact on disabled students. The highly restricted number of spaces available for studying and browsing libraries is a particular difficulty, as well as allowing non-disabled students to use disability-related equipment. Additionally, for students with variable conditions booking library slots in advance is much more difficult.” Other issues are presented for students from a working class background. Sofia Henderson, Co-Chair of the SU Class Act campaign, told Cherwell: “The University and Oxford colleges must make sure that all students have access to a comfortable working environment and to the texts that they need. In many cases, students have been forced to order books themselves. While some may be lucky to go to colleges which provide academic or book grants, many students will be left

behind.” While college libraries can, in some cases, fulfil the gap left by a lack of access to central facilities, this varies. Even where there is a good provision of books, many college libraries a require booking in advance while some, such as Merton’s, have not reopened at all. A Bodleian Libraries spokesperson said: “The Bodleian Libraries aim to offer as many physical reader spaces as is possible in Michaelmas Term, given the constraints of physical distancing as dictated by Public Health England and University guidance, especially the requirement to maintain 2m physical distancing. This means that we will be able to accommodate 80% of our usual capacity during Michaelmas Term”. The spokesperson explained that the 80% figure was reached through patterns of usage from previous years rather than assuming maximum ca-

UNIVERSITY

pacity. In the Upper Bodleian, just one in four desks are available. They continued: “Our Space Finding app is just getting ready to launch and this will enable readers to book slots across the library in a much easier way, including slots to just browse and borrow as well as booking study space. “During the booking process, Readers can request any extra provision including a standing desk through the ‘Other Information’ text box on the booking page, allocated to registered Readers with access needs on a first-come, first-serve basis. We have responded to feedback and made this easier to book spaces such as these over the summer. Each blirary has a disability contact who can help facilitiate and provide more infrmation about a specific library site. Their contact details can be found on each library page on the university Access Guide.”

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

8 | News

Oxford University Professor Wins Nobel Prize Priyadarshini Chatterjee The Nobel Prize in Physics this year was shared by Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez. Roger Penrose, an emeritus fellow of Wadham College, received the award for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity. Genzel and Ghez received the award for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy. Andrea Ghez has also received an honorary degree from Oxford in 2019. We have known about the existence of black holes since the end of the 18th century. Black holes form when a star collapses and exerts a strong gravitational pull, capturing anything passing by, even light. Penrose’s work explains the mathematics behind the process of black hole formation and hence proved that this process occurs naturally. The Nobel Prize committee said that he used “ingen-

ious mathematical methods” in his proof that black holes are a direct consequence of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Penrose had always been interested in mathematics. Born into a scientific family, Penrose told BBC Radio 2’s The Life Scientific programme in 2016: “I was good at maths, but I didn’t necessarily do very well in my tests.” Having done his PhD under the mathematician John A Todd at the University of Cambridge, he devised the Penrose triangle which is an “impossible object” – one that could be drawn but not reproduced in reality. In 1965, interested in applying his mathematical interest to the field of physics, he published a groundbreaking paper that contradicted Einstein’s idea that black holes “do not exist in physical reality”. Later, he worked with Stephen Hawking to develop this idea further. Sir Roger explained: “People

were very sceptical at the time, it took a long time before black holes were accepted... their importance is, I think, only partially appreciated.” Professor Roger Penrose, said: “It is a huge honour to receive this Prize. In 1964 the existence of Black Holes was not properly appreciated. Since then they have become of increased importance in our understanding of the Universe and I believe this could increase in unexpected ways in the future.” Penrose has also contributed to the field in other areas. For example, his quasi-periodic tiling which have a 5-fold symmetry which is a crystallographically forbidden symmetry. This can be found in the Mathematical Institute in Oxford. Oxford University has a long history of receiving the Nobel Prize in physics, with Erwin Schrödinger being the first recipient in 1933. Since then seven others have received the Nobel Prize in Physics while working at Oxford.

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief | Maya Misra

Joe Hyland Deeson | Editor-in-Chief

e were lucky enough last night to be invited to appear among a panel of students representing various sectors of student journalism at Oxford, in a livestream run by our sister publication. Those people who were unlucky enough to have tutorials or social events with me during lockdown are well aware of my internet issues at home, issues that I somehow seem to have brought with me to Oxford. But the Zoom acoustics of robot-Joe aside, the panel highlighted to us our good fortune to be in an environment that is able to champion all of these creative voices. We are always grateful to harness the talents of our wonderful creative team and contributors groups. It is a humbling experience to edit a newspaper every week filled with such high quality work. It is often presumed that there is an intense rivalry between competing papers at Oxford. This has certainly been true on occasion, but as each group answered questions on what they felt that their own unique identity to be, it became more and more clear that all of us had carved an important niche within the

University, and reminded me us all how lucky we are to be involved in overseeing the newspapers and blogs which serve to hold it to account. It is a great shame that the Oxford Student will not be publishing in print this term; we welcome the return of this in the new year. They can always be relied on to challenge us to be better. We hope that you enjoy our second edition, and that you are tempted to write. It starts with a Sports Short, a small illustration, coming to a News meeting, but the opportunities to get more and more involved come thick and fast. I wish I could go back and tell the first year version of myself to get involved sooner. I didn’t write my first article until the summer vacation of second year. I went from writing about football to..well, I’m still writing about football actually, but I’ve also attempted to do a lot more. Once I even wrote about rugby. So, to all Freshers reading this: write that first article, get involved with how things work, and apply to join the team at the end of this term. Especially if you’re one for a good cliché: You’ve got nothing to lose!

won’t go so far as to say I’m the only STEM student to ever edit Cherwell, but I can’t think of any in recent history. As it happens, it’s the perfect term for a biochemist to be a journalist. My degree has never been more relevant, and world events have never been so useful as essay fodder. Enjoying both journalism and science, I spend a fair amount of time on the science section of media outlets, or on sites like ScienceAlert (if you ever want understandable articles on breakthrough discoveries, I’d recommend it). Overall, ‘newsworthy’ science falls into one of two categories: the disastrous and the unfathomable. The former is what you’d expect of the news cycle: a virus is running rampant, countless species are going extinct, drugs are getting pricier. The latter category, however, is unique for news sites. While news can inform, entertain, or anger, it rarely evokes wonder. But when scientists announced some strange chemicals on Venus and considered the possibility, however slim, of life on the planet, wonder is the natural reaction. Likewise, as recognized by the

recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry, it’s nothing short of incredible that we’re gaining the ability to cure disease by gene editing. Scientific discovery will never cease to astonish the human mind. It resets our perspectives: human troubles seem small when you consider the odds of alien life or the magnitude of evolution. It might be comforting, or it might induce existential anxiety, but whatever the case, it shakes up the routine of our thoughts, and we all need a bit of that. Often, the best of science is what happens before us every day, without our noticing. When I look down a microscope and see the intricacies of life, and when I understand the body I take for granted is just as unfathomable as deep space, I am reminded that the fact of my existence alone is pretty miraculous. It’s the same feeling you get when hiking through the woods, in harmony with yourself and your surroundings, or when laughing with group of friends and simply enjoying being. It’s a feeling worth pursuing, whether through nature, or people, or the science section of the news.

Cherwell

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CUL

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Vol.292 No.2 | 1st Week

CHER

CulCher | Friday, 16th October 2020

CONTENTS CULCHER page 2 | The art of confinement and claustrophobia page 3 | Mariana Castillo Deball Review THE SOURCE page 4-5 | Legacy and belief BOOKS page 6 | Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half STAGE page 7 | The ‘New World’ Playlist FASHION page 8-9 | A restricted freedom MUSIC page 10 | In conversation with Lyzby FILM page 11 | Unconventional theatre in the time of COVID LIFE page 12-13 | From my window: an international student in quarantine page 14 | Broken locks and Facebook ‘vigilantes’ FOOD page 15 | Eating in Oxford: A Fresher’s Guide PROFILES page 16 | In conversation with Honne

COVER ARTIST ANVEE BHUTANI I took this photo on the first day of March this year. As the season was changing from winter to spring, my friend and I were walking back to college after having a warm mug of hot chocolate in the centre of town. As we walked back on Catte Street, I happened to catch the sun peaking out and creating a rainbow over the Bridge of Sighs amidst all the rain, and I knew I had to stop to take a picture. Little did I know this would be one of my very last times roaming the streets of Oxford for a long time. As the pandemic began to change things globally, I was soon on a one-way flight back to California without the faintest idea when I would be able to return. This image, for me, captured the calm before the storm. Whenever I look at this photo it transports me back to matriculation and the beauty and magic of this city. In our first week here, we all came in as wide-eyed freshers, dressed up in subfusc and filed into the Sheldonian to be immersed in the tradition of Oxford. We stood alongside our new friends and posed for pictures right in front of this historic Bridge.

SOMEBODY SAVE ME!

The Art of Confinement and Claustrophobia

erhaps the most famous room in all of literature is the ‘red room’ in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. A dark, deserted corner of the family home, it symbolises Jane’s imprisonment and makes her faint in terror. What is it about being trapped by four walls that inspires this fear? This question has become even more relevant now that people are being confined and isolated. Students flooding into halls not only have to cope with being separated from their family, but also the anxiety that can come with quarantining. Art allows us to deconstruct this experience of claustrophobia. For Jane, it is not just an enclosed space that causes fear, it is that she cannot find a way to escape. When overwhelmed by her panic, she tries to flee only to be denied freedom. Unlike other artforms which show us how enclosure looks from the outside, Brontë is able to use the novel to expose the interiority of this experience. She allows us to feel the fear of her character in that moment: her “heart beat thick” whilst her “head grew hot”, her body tightening and coiling until she faints. Brontë does not try to rationalise this fear. Instead, she forces the reader to feel that terror too. This art is designed to make you uncomfortable. Although we may be experiencing discomfort ourselves because of Covid-19, it is not the first time that mankind has felt trapped. Confinement and claustrophobia have a long and uncomfortable history that many artists have strived to capture. The American poet Lucille Clifton uses language to express the terror felt by those trapped in slave ships during the height of

the slave trade. Conditions on board were appalling. People were packed together below deck, the space so cramped they were forced to crouch. In the poem ‘slaveships’, Clifton describes it as being “loaded like spoons” into the belly of a ship, and forced to lie ‘in the sweat and stink/ of our own breathing’. Clifton forces us to face the reality of these conditions and makes the modern reader realise the horror of this kind of confinement. Whilst words can describe claustrophobia, they cannot make people experience it for themselves. For that, we must turn to buildings. In the heart of Berlin, two buildings stand side by side. One stretches across the roadside, pale beige in the sunlight with a bright roof and grand doorway, welcoming visitors from around the world. The other is thin, grey and severe. Instead of windows, large slashes bisect its walls revealing small sections of the dark interior. Together they are known as The Jewish Museum. This second building was designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind as a physical monument to the struggles of the Jewish people. Inside, the corridor splinters into three underground routes, each with a different story. It is the first that closes in on you, the walls coming closer and closer, until you reach the Holocaust Tower. This is an oppressive room which lets only the smallest slither of sunlight break through the concrete. Whilst it is representative of many things, first and foremost it recalls the claustrophobic conditions endured by prisoners in concentration camps, and the dreaded gas chambers countless were forced into. This

BY EMILY BROUGHTON room is designed to inspire the feelings of oppression, anxiety and terror that many victims of the Holocaust experienced. Even so, there is more to claustrophobia than space- it is also about how the body can be constrained. Just as Libeskind explores the shrinking of space, Nicholas Evans depicts the constriction of bodies. Not only a self-taught artist; Evans also became a miner at the age of thirteen. He and many other workers laboured in mines which, at times, were no higher than 75 centimetres. His painting ‘Claustrophobia’ focuses on these enclosed spaces, but rather than drawing attention to the encroaching walls, he emphasises the bodies of the labourers. In it, he depicts a mass of people bent and twisted so that they are almost lying on top of one another. Their forms are compressed by imperceptible surroundings so that all you can see is their faceless bodies. There is no escape in this painting, not even walls, only trapped people. In these artworks the feeling of claustrophobia comes from an inability to break free. They are designed to make us feel trapped, even afraid, to help us understand traumatic experiences. In the same way, modern day artists are working to immortalise the impact of Covid with photographers capturing the empty streets and children writing stories for the NHS. Our freedom may be limited by four walls in these trying times, but it is not gone. Like Jane who eventually finds her liberty; we, at least, know that the world outside is still waiting for us. Image by Francesco Ungaro

Friday, 16th October 2020 | CulCher

MARIANA CASTILLO DEBALL: BETWEEN MAKING AND KNOWING SOMETHING BY BY MEGAN STEVENSON

don’t know what it is about large open spaces and whitewashed walls, but that’s all I need for the stress of a looming term to melt away into a cool calmness… and where better meets these criteria than our very own Modern Art Oxford? Newly reopened and debuting Mariana Castillo Deball’s expansive and quietly thought-provoking Between Making and Knowing Something. Deball, an artist born in Mexico and living in Berlin, creates site specific art installations. Earlier this year she visited the Pitt Rivers Museum, and created an installation with the aims of revealing how museum collections can conceal some histories, and making those which have been obscured visible again. The installation itself was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Ceramics and textiles hang by rope from ceiling to floor, with additional ceramics placed on the floor of the room. In this way you are free to walk around, beneath, and between the pieces, surrounding yourself in art. Deball too has surrounded her art with the influences and creations of others. Deball’s ceramics reference the designs and techniques of pottery made by We’wha (1849-96). These ceramics are painted in earthy colours, some representational, and others abstract in decoration. They were the kind of work I wanted to walk around and see from all angles, attempting to understand the simultaneously unusual and familiar shapes they were. The only other

thing I wish I could have done would be pick them up, feeling their weight. We’wha was an Ihamana (a male-bodied person taking on the social and ceremonial roles usually performed by women) in the Zuni, a Native American Pueblo people. Many pieces created by We’wha are housed in the Smithsonian and were only recently attributed to her. However, Deball brings We’wha’s story to us through her exhibition as we can see work directly inspired by We’wha and attribute her name to it. It is this attribution of source that becomes a running theme throughout the exhibition. In emphasising the practises behind the installation’s existence, Deball encourages the viewer to also consider the processes behind the creation of other museum exhibitions, where objects often exist completely removed from prior context and influence inside a glass cabinet. Nineteenth century museum cases containing photographs and other archival ethnographic material are positioned in the final gallery rooms. However there is also something unexpected. Behind the two glass cabinets with their artefacts is a wall plastered with modern newspaper pages, all published in Michoacán. These papers, showing images of protests, Trump, and other recent news stories, are a stark contrast to the exhibition’s focus on early anthropological work, dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What I liked even more was that there was no immediately clear explanation as

WHAT’S ON

to why the newspapers were on the wall. They made me stop and really look and think. The cabinets in front of the newspaper wall contain fieldwork photography by anthropologist Elsie McDougall and parts of wooden backstrap looms, the traditional type of loom used to make textiles such as those hanging in the first gallery. The traditional weaving processes captured in these photographs and the recently made textiles in the first gallery link local practices from the past to now. They provide a continuity of method and material in a country which has in other ways experienced huge upheaval and change over the last century. The newspaper print, on the other hands, reminds us just how different Mexico is in 2020 to the country Elsie McDougall studied. The wall with newspapers places the traditions of Mexico in their contemporary context, reminding us that traditional, local practices are deeply embedded in contemporary context, rather than ‘frozen in time’ as mementos of the past. I eventually found out that the newspapers plastered on the wall were wrapped around the textiles in the first gallery for their transport to the UK. It felt like such a beautiful gesture to include them in the exhibition, these remnants of an exchange across the world. Traditionally woven rebozo, commissioned by an artist to be shown in Oxford, wrapped in the politics of today.

CULCHER EDITORIAL Bubbling (Adjective): containing bubbles or making a bubbling sound For some reason, I thought the word bubbling would have less significance in my life; a word reserved to describe kids’ toys, hot baths, and overcooked pasta. But alas, here we all are – bubbling. Except, as playful as it sounds, the word bubble has taken on some rather sinister connotations - those of being detached or trapped, floating in a strange and fragile un-reality. That’s the thing about a bubble, you quickly come to forget about everything outside of it. It becomes an echo-chamber for ideas, experiences, and opinions – isolated from the reality that lies just beyond its prismatic walls. However, literature, music, art, and film all allow us to reach outside of our own bubbles, communicating ideas to people we may never meet or even see. To consume culture is to invite the wider world in, introducing viewpoints, ideas, and experiences beyond what we, and those around us, would normally be exposed to. Culture challenges our little bubbles, breaking the seal and injecting something new, fresh, and inspiring into the mix. In short, culture expands our worldview. So now, as the people we interact with shrinks from acquaintances, to neighbours, to no more than 6, we need the arts more than ever. We need to invite other people to share their experiences with us. Without them our views become insular, unchallenged, and stale. We risk our entire world becoming the opinions of the same 6 people who, most likely, aren’t that different from us. Clearly then, rather than being told to retrain, art workers should be supported, thanked, and valued. Journalists may report on important news, and medical researchers may find a vaccine to COVID, but arts workers are keeping us sane. They are the ones who make sure that in a time when social bubbling threatens to narrow our worldview down to a little pinprick, we can still allow other people’s experiences in, and remember the outside world- beyond the bubble. Lewis Campbell-Smith

show. There’s no need to sign up, just click going on Facebook and practise your profiteroles! Black Theatre Symposium 22nd October 10:00-16:00 The Great Student Bake Off 17th October 15:00-22:00 Fancy yourself Oxford’s answer to Mary Berry? Are your meringues particularly magnificent? Head on over to the Great Student Bake Off marquee to see if you have what it takes to be crowned Oxford’s star baker, or just sit back and enjoy the

Hosted by Kuumba Nia Arts in association with The North Wall Arts Centre, this live symposium promises “a day of insights, discussion, sharing, creativity, performance, and networking”, exploring the integration of the black community into British theatre. Tickets are free from www.thenorthwall.com

Electoral Interference Panel Discussion 23rd October 19:00-20:00 The Oxford Forum for Questioning ‘Extremism’ host Anthony Scaramucci, Will Lewis, David Shimer, and Johnathan Eyal in this online event discussing the threat of interference in the upcoming US election. Members can attend for free, and others can buy tickets a week before the event.

CulCher | Friday, 16th October 2020

E C R U O THE S

Petrichor Rachel Jung

Inspiration and influence permeate this week’s Source, with themes of light, guidance and belief.

in a quiet hollow on the far side of this field rain patters through the leaves like twinkling glass; white sky snow globe dome. a thousand translucent serpents of smoke, charmed by wind’s invisible hand, curl upwards from the chimneys at the wood’s edge. archaeologist - the mud of the path is wet,

The Lord is a Warrior Tom McGrath

the grey stones shards of bone: fragments, cold and clear. I crouch, a child by a rock pool, to see branches reflected in a puddle. spider-web, wind-whisper, opalescent: tracing silver snail slithers with my finger

A beating wall on left and right, Of bitter water fixed up high, White foam blocked all from sight, Except the outstretched hand of Their prophet, the Israelite. For Pharaoh’s honour swiftly rode My husband to this strangest war, Who by unnatural cause became Consumed and flayed alive ‘till raw. God has sent His mighty strength, And crushes soldiers left and right, Red blood flows all the Red Sea’s length – My husband flows. Sleep tight, sleep tight. Now, God’s people are soon to flee, Into the wilderness and coarser sands He takes them, they at last are free, But I, loyal servant, loving wife, What is God’s plan for me?

over white cathedrals; the fat bulbs of mushroom caps, pale fossils by my feet. I walk a hundred years forward and another hundred years back.

Friday, 16th October 2020 | CulCher

A Letter To Those Whom My Light Will Guide, In Honour of Those Whose Light Has Guided Me Pax Butchart First, I will say close your eyes.

As othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; have guided me.

Lock them tight shut and look at the phosphenes

Do not discount the possibility

That whir and dance in the darkness.

That the very people whose light brightens your path,

Colour and noise are within you.

Might be those for whom you gleam

Next, I will remind you

As a wayfinder.

You are not wrong.

It is not always a hierarchy or a chronology.

You are not too much,

Sometimes it is two lamps burning

Or too little.

Across a dim and silent street,

What you are, is complicated.

And where the lights cross,

And I love you for that,

There is home. So grasp my hand,

Because you are complicated,

The candle flames of my fingers,

Because you are raw, and soft, and broken.

Let the sun blaze out from your palm.

Yes even you, and your scarred hands,

There is light in your voice and your soul

Your shaking heartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bloodrush

And your hope, even when you cannot see it.

And your endless glorious failures.

You are only blinded by its brightness.

I will not stop my faith in you.

Honour your light, as you honour mine.

I will bathe you in goldglow like a searchlight,

For where there is light, the darkness cannot come in,

Illuminating roiling oceans and the safe path

Though it beats and howls at the window.

To shore.

And the hollow pools inside you

Yes, you can grow beyond this.

Where the dark has made a home,

You will and you must.

Will not vanish with time. They are part of you,

You do not have to sit in this alone,

A backdrop, a contrast to make the light

You can open a window

Burn more wild and true.

To let out the noxious brown fog

I name you lux aeterna, in defiance of our transience.

Of your anger. You can pull up a chair,

I call myself leoht ecelic, laughing at my end.

To relieve the pressure

Beacons in the night, reaching for one another,

On your suppliant knees.

Until we are absorbed into the greater daylight

Also, I will tell you to remember that

That comes, as rest, on the wings of the morning-birds,

Your light will guide others,

In the song of the cold dawn rain.

As mine guides you.

Illustrations by: Charlotte Bunney and Rachel Jung Submit your creative writing to The Source at: cherwelleditor@gmail.com

CulCher | Friday, 16th October 2020

BOOKS

IDENTITY AND IDENTICALITY IN THE VANISHING HALF TALLULAH GRIFFITH EXPLORES THE COMPLEXITY OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND COMMON IDENTITY IN BRIT BENNETT’S TIMELY NOVEL

s a child, it seemed as though ‘growing up’ were a linear journey with a stable destination in adulthood; for many, getting older only makes it increasingly less clear whether we’ve arrived at that final destination. Brit Bennett’s second novel takes growth as its central theme, grappling with what it means to change yourself in search of a fixed identity. Centring on identical twins Stella and Desiree Vignes, who come to pursue radically different racial identities, Bennett’s timely The Vanishing Half (2020) asks not only how much we know about others, but how consistently we really know ourselves. Abandoning her family in ‘Mallard’—an unmapped town in the 1950s Jim Crow South—and suppressing her black origins, Stella utterly reimagines her own life. What follows is an elegantly realised Sliding Doors storyline, where the identical twins—one ‘black’, one ‘white’—exemplify the troubled natures of common and individual identity. Leaving Mallard, Stella Vignes flies the nest, uprooting her life and casting off former ties as she ‘passes’ as white. In fleshing out Stella, Bennett uses the notion of ‘passing’ as a rich symbolic terrain. To pass is to change hands, to exceed a limit, to get through an exam, or to approve. Possessing an affinity for learning and an aptitude for maths, Stella achieves better grades at school than her sister. Her love for maths persists into her new life, providing both a common thread linking her back to the skin she shed in Mallard, and an explanation for the cold rationality of her highly calculated adoption of a white

persona. Stella’s deep-seated desire for white privilege is rooted in a childhood trauma: the memory of her father’s lynching at the mercy of a white mob. To pass is the stamp of success, denoting a kind of legitimacy: to be white is to exert control over life, and when Stella becomes a white woman, the black life she ends is her own By Bennett’s reckoning, the many and various meanings of ‘passing’ are far from confined to racial limits: the sophistication of Bennett’s novel lies in her location of Stella’s alter ego among other renovations of self. Reese, a trans man besotted with Desiree’s daughter, Jude, also works to shake off his former self. Passing disrupts not only racial labels, but any notion of true identity. We might recall Stella, and her love of maths. If Stella is the ‘vanishing half’, we might question: half of what? Are there mathematical terms that could describe how we identify? Numerically speaking, am I one, whole, complete? In Bennett’s lucid prose, identity comes with overlapping parts, self and other intermixed. Barry, a minor character connected to Reese in LA, conceives of his drag alter ego like a lover, thinking about her endlessly and buying her trinkets. Stella and Desiree are each not quite half, not quite whole. As ‘identical’ loses all meaning, identity also falls apart. How can we pin down identity, after all, if we aren’t identical even to ourselves? Bennett uses her fiction to point to a whole realm of others. What is race, gender, and identity, if not legal, social, and individual fiction? Appropriately, Stella hails from a

place which is not quite real; her hometown, Mallard, stages this sense of indeterminate origins and unclear boundaries from the outset. In one sense, the town seems to lie off the radar because of its radical initiative for black government. “White people couldn’t believe it even existed.” In this, Mallard, “named after the ring-necked duck” presents an agitated community, a place for those victimised by white supremacy: sitting ducks with necks lassoed. There is something similar in Moby Dick, where the Polynesian Queequeg’s homeland is unimaginable to white society because “It is not down in any map.” On the other hand, colourist hierarchies remain very much in effect in Mallard—the mulatto town founder prized light skin, intending that each generation be lighter than the last. This place so unimaginable for its African American self-sufficiency is not beyond the grasp of white nationalism. But Bennett’s Mallard allows us to think on all places as fictions, all societal norms as made-up. Neither black nor white, Stella’s origin can’t quite be mapped because it goes against America’s dominant story of race. Racial identity, Bennett seems to say, is a fabrication, and an important one at that. The key strength of Bennett’s writing is its rich use of colour imagery, through

which the complexities of identity are carefully rendered. Stella’s whiteness becomes shorthand for all kinds of erasures; wiping the slate clean and capitalising on the invisibility of whiteness as a racial category. African American characters find they can best express themselves during a blackout, away, perhaps, from the imposition of whiteness. Photography, art, and theatre dominate large portions of the novel, signposting the performance of identity. Stella’s first foray into the world of racial passing comes when she visits the local gallery, flouting segregationist restrictions. There, she studies the “fuzzy Impressionists”, those paintings so deceptive in their colouring. From afar, the daubs blurs into recognisable forms; up close they separate into many and varied pigments. Their colouring, like Stella’s, depends on who is looking, from what angle, and how closely they scrutinise the detail. Deeply personal and loosely metaphysical questions weave through Bennett’s effortlessly rich prose. Tender and thought-provoking, The Vanishing Half offers a reflection on whether a person can choose who they are. In a world where Stella and Desiree represent black and white, Bennett embraces the grey area of personal, racial, and gendered identity.

“BENNETT EMBRACES THE GREY AREA OF PERSONAL, RACIAL AND GENDERED IDENTITY”

Cherwell Recommends: Feminist Fiction

E IG H T W E E K S, E IG H T G E N R E S O F L I T E R AT U R E. T H E B O OK S E DI T OR S O F F E R U P T H E I R T OP F E M I N I S T F IC T ION R ECOM M E N DAT ION S.

iction provides a unique lens to explore the gendered nature of power, relationships and of literature itself. Indeed, female narratives have traditionally been side-lined. We are all too familiar with character development being devoted entirely to complex male figures, at the expense of any move beyond the basic archetypes of the female victim or femme fatale. Each of this week’s recommendations demonstrate that female voices are far more nuanced and diverse than fiction has traditionally led us to believe. From Greek myth to fantasy to political fiction, these novels subvert what have been typically viewed as ‘masculine’ genres to prove that female narratives cannot be filed into a single category. Storytelling, when it amplifies diverse female voices and embraces the full complexity of what it means to be a woman, acts as a powerful gesture against the silence of his-story.

my mum I need counselling she’d ship me over to Kampala in a cargo barrel,” to workplace discrimination, Carty-Williams shows the

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams Eve, Books Editor An accessible political fiction, Queenie explores what it means to be a young, Black British woman navigating the complexities of love, sex and female friendships. A flawed and relatable narrator, Queenie’s search for her own self-identity against the crippling forces of casual racism and sexism is both deeply unsettling and darkly comic. The brilliance of Carty-Williams’ writing is in the way she uses humour to provide important meditations on modern British society. From cultural stigma surrounding mental health, “if I told

The Power by Naomi Alderman Cora, Books Editor The Power is a chilling work of speculative fiction based upon a tantalising premise: what would happen if the traditional power structures operating between men and women were suddenly inverted? Naomi Alderman charts the dawn of this new matriarchal society, in which women all over the world wake up one day to find that they have the ability to release powerful and devastating electrical currents from their fingertips. Alderman faced criticism from commentators who lamented her bleak depiction of a

impact that systemic prejudice has on those who meet at the intersections of class, race and gender, “the trauma is too heavy for us to bear.” Black female voices are multi-faceted and diverse; Queenie’s is a powerful assertion of her identity against the forces that seek to silence it.

world run by women: how could women possibly inflict upon men the same forms of oppression that we have suffered for millennia? This is a book that will make you want to argue, but those who deny its feminist credentials miss the point. As Lord Acton observed: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Little Women by Louise May Alcott Devanshika, Deputy Books Editor Googling ‘Is Little Women feminist’ leads some very contradictory top search results. A Vulture article-- which “regrets to inform” us that the novel isn’t feminist-- claims that many “readers aren’t remembering Little Women the book at all, but rather Little Women the feeling”. In response, I’d like to ask what’s so wrong with reading a book just for the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives you? Besides, Little Women will give you that and so much more. At its core, its message is that girls don’t need to fit into boxes; that they can be spunky, independent tomboys, snobbish girly-girls and more without fully conforming to one

gendered stereotype. If you ask me, that’s pretty feminist. Circe by Madeline Miller Eve, Books Editor A feminist take on Greek mythology, Miller puts the side-lined heroine Circe centre stage: demonstrating that female narratives are far more nuanced than storytelling often leads us to believe. Realising that her role in life is to cater for the men around her, Circe subverts

the expectations of a hero-dominated society to carve out her own tale. The result is a powerful exploration of the gendered nature of power and the mistrust that influential women have inspired throughout history. Circe may well be ‘just’ a myth, but Miller provides very real insights into the obstacles women will encounter in their lives. From defending herself against the men that seek to bend her to their will, navigating single motherhood and finding solace in love, Circe is a celebration of the tenacity of the female spirit. Illustrations: Sasha LaCombe

Friday, 16th October 2020 | CulCher

STAGE

UNCONVENTIONAL THEATRE IN THE TIME OF COVID Emily Broughton praises a Shakespeare troupe’s imaginative response to current restrictions.

ows and rows of velvet covered chairs sit still, waiting to be filled. The curtain is pulled closed and dormant, without so much as a breeze to ruffle its pleats. Thus the stage is empty. This is what many indoor theatres look like now that Covid -19 restrictions have closed them down. Actors and staging companies are struggling to find work because of the government’s limitations. Just like everyone else, their daily routine has been disrupted and their plans for the future put on pause. But, although the pandemic means that traditional indoor performances cannot take place in the near future, it has also given companies the opportunity to experiment with more unconventional staging, especially in outdoor productions. Of course, this is not the first time that actors have been forced to find a new way and a new place to perform. In Shakespeare’s time, the final outbreak of the bubonic plague in London meant that all public theatres were closed between 1593 and 1594. Faced with the closure of theatres, many troupes of players would have returned to the life they led before public playhouses had been built. That is, they would have loaded wagons with their props and costumes and set out on the road, stopping and staging plays wherever they could. This is exactly how a presentday troupe called The Handlebards have staged their Shakespearean productions during lockdown. These actors cycle around the world, carrying all of their props and costumes on the back of their bikes, and stop in iconic locations to perform their productions. In September of 2020 they arrived at the Rockbourne Roman Villa in Fordingbridge ready to stage a compelling new interpretation of Romeo

“

and Juliet. This 400-year-old play had to be reimagined to be performed in our strange and brave new world. Although The Handlebards are used to working outdoors (even putting on a production of Macbeth in its imagined location of Dunsinane Hill) they still had to alter Shakespeare’s tragedy to conform to the government’s guidelines. One of the challenges they faced was the limitations on how many people from different households could meet. As with many theatre companies, this meant that rehearsals could not take place during lockdown. However, as their artistic Directors Paul Moss and Tom Dixon explained in a press release, three members of the company lived in a single household allowing them to put on a ‘three-hander version of Romeo and Juliet’. Unfortunately, this meant that certain scenes from the play, and even entire characters, had to be cut. But they persisted and managed to turn this drawback into a creative opportunity. In order to differentiate between the many characters that each actor played , they rapidly changed costumes and even accents; this resulted in a hilarious production with some actors playing two characters in the same scene, forcing them to have ridiculous conversations with themselves. The comedy ironically reaches its peak at the most tragic point in the play, the moment when Romeo and Juliet kill themselves, with both actors having to leave the stage to change costume (but not before asking the audience to imagine the starcrossed lovers in a heap on the floor). This comedy tinged with tragedy, induced by lockdown, completely transforms the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. At the very end of their performance the actors thanked the audience and gently asked people to donate what they

They managed to turn a drawback into a creative opportunity.

could to the other actors in their troupe who could not work under the current restrictions. This encapsulates the supportive spirit that lockdown has brought out in people; we need to keep finding new ways to be creative and new ways to support each other in these trying times.

Although unconventional, this production was irreverent, charming and side-splittingly funny. The Handlebards did not allow the pandemic to ruin their year and neither should we. Image credit: https://www.f lickr.com/ photos/hagdorned/20915755921/in/ photostream

REVIEWS/SHORTS

Grosvenor Park’s The Comedy of Errors Review Faced with strict restrictions, Alex Clifton of Chester’s Grosvenor Park managed to rise to the challenge of zoom-rehearsing and creating a fast paced and surprisingly polished socially distanced performance of The Comedy of Errors. The play’s plot hinges around two sets of twins, Antipholus ofEphesus and Antipholus of Syracuse and two Dromios, whose estrangement results in a day of confusion, mistaken identity, accidental jailing, and more. Naturally, all is resolved in the final scene when the siblings appear onstage together. As with almost every Shakespeare comedy, the exaggerated slapstick could be a little repetitive; fearful that their audience might not understand Shakespearian language, directors often resort to non-stop physical comedy to try to guarantee laughs. However, the direction had to be a little more imaginative with a socially distanced cast. The Comedy of Errors is full of fight scenes

as both Dromios repeatedly become the victims of their masters, the politics of which can be uncomfortable for the audience. This was alleviated by wild kicks and punches at a two metre distance, accompanied by well-timed bashing of pots and pans, which meant that the fight scenes became not only more entertaining but felt far less uneasily violent. The casting of two sets of identical twins for the main characters (Danielle and Nicole Bird and Lowriand Mari Izzard) was a surprisingly poignant reminder of the strange times we live in. At the end of the production, the reunited sets of twins were able to hug each other and leave the stage holding hands, as members of the same family and household. Shakespeare’s emphasis on familial bonds seems particularly appropriate these days, when no one really knows when theatre, or in fact life, will return to normal. Until that does happen, scenes like these will hold even more significance for audiences eager to see their own families again. - Felicity Hudson

CulCher | Friday, 16th October 2020

FASHION A restricted freedom Beauty is in the eye of the cosmetic industry. Bombarded with relentless advertisements depicting false and doctored images and, in turn, reinforcing unattainable ideals, we become unsuspecting casualties of this game of carrot and stick. Keeping the carrot dangling are the fluctuating trends frequently and subtly altering the societal perception of perfection and perpetuating not only the damaging sense of unattainability but also the vicious cycle of the industry’s game, as we throw more money in its direction to meet these goals. We become enslaved by its ever-changing standards and thereby generate the perpetual demand for the industry’s products. The transience of this industry however exposes it as a fickle construct; one which capitalises on insecurities. We are chasing an elusive perfection. The constant social pressure to conform to these ideals meanwhile can increasingly distort and damage self-esteem and true self-expression. The impulse to compare oneself to often falsified images of the ‘beauty’ of others is fostered from such a young age and extends beyond the beauty industry. The film industry has equally played its own part, with an abundance of films (Grease, Clueless, The Breakfast Club, and Mean Girls to name but a few) which depict the transformation of the socially outcast ‘ugly duckling’ who undergoes a ‘glowup’ and metamorphosizes into the ‘beautiful swan’. We watch as she’s stripped of her glasses, spots, ‘unfashionable’ clothes and hairstyle and given a full-face makeover before being thrown into a ‘fashionable’ and often sexually suggestive outfit; thereby suddenly finding herself inundated with positive male attention and finally being accepted by society, achieving personal happiness and success.

When image pressure becomes torturous.

Photos: Agata Gwincinska Words: Beth Davies

The distressing air of the photos represents the damaging and sometimes even torturous demands of beauty standards, which have existed throughout history. In the Victorian era, such was the quest for ‘perfect’ snow-white skin, that some women would bathe in poisons such as arsenic to try to achieve this. Equally, their desire for the cinched hourglass figure, which would win them a husband, led some to follow a tapeworm diet and many to wear corsets that were so tight they often deformed their skeletons, causing lifelong pain and irreparable damage. Today, even though education and science have luckily done away with some of these more dangerous beauty myths, many people still put their bodies and health at risk in the pursuit of their perceived notion of ‘beauty’; be it through plastic surgery, collagen implants, extreme diets or even the wearing of heels which has been proved to increase the risk of osteoarthritis. Moreover, these unattainable and westernised beauty

Friday, 16th October 2020 | CulCher

The social media era However, social media is more aware than ever before of the need for realistic beauty standards and inclusion, with a multitude of movements which aim to challenge the beauty industry. Whilst social media is one of the key mediums through which these unhealthy beauty standards are promoted, it is also through social media that these new healthy movements are rising; movements whose aspirations are to strive for a society where the definition of `beauty` goes beyond binary gender representation, youth, colour, weight and more. Yet, there still lacks meaningful representation. We should actively engage with these movements and all strive to normalise and celebrate beauty in all its forms.

Expression underpinned by suppression Attempting to depict the restricted freedom of beauty in contemporary society, the bright bag over the head works as a symbol of the suffocating nature of beauty standards and intends to portray the deceptive perception we have that our image is an expression of our liberation, individuality and ultimately our sense of self ; the standards have been subconsciously internalised and we are blind to the possibility that this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;freedomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has borders. Whilst the eccentric clothing of the models suggests the opportunity for self-expression, the bag challenges this freedom: is it in fact, an expression underpinned by suppression?

CulCher | Friday, 16th October 2020

MUSIC

PLAYLIST “MEMORIES OF BOPS PAST”

I FEEL LOVE Donna Summer 1977

EVERYTIME WE TOUCH Cascada 2005

NUMBER 1 Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz 2009 Full playlist on Spotify by our Editor-in-Chief, Joe Hyland Deeson

OXFORD ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: IN CONVERSATION WITH LZYBY Pippa Barlow sits down for a chat with upcoming Oxford based artist LZYBY about his influences, his queerness, and promoting as a new artist following lockdown.

merging from the depths of lockdown, Oxford-based singer LZYBY (George Cobb) has made light work of spelling ‘Lazy Boy’, and even lighter work of establishing a name for himself. Not only did his debut single, ‘When the Rain Stops’, land him an interview on BBC Oxford, ‘Frustration’ has featured on articles with slightly more relevance than this one, and he’s got a sixtrack EP dropping later this month. I get the ball rolling with a few icebreakers. Slightly surprised to see him take this times melancholic. seriously, I follow suit, asking how this all “Basically, I’m a huge fan of Kelsey Lu. came about. Was LZYBY born in lockdown, She performs live with her cello and I or bred by it? always thought that was so cool. Then I “I’d say lockdown gave me the time and thought, hang on, I play the violin? […] It’s space to pursue it. I mean, everything’s nice to be able to record a live instrument. that’s being going on this year has been...” You can get that similar degree of emotion he proceeds with caution, “…pretty dreadand sort of rawness playing an instrument ful. But as a silver lining, it did suddenly live as you can singing live.” give heaps of time. I’d always wondered, We talk about his upcoming gig at the what if I taught myself to produce music? […] Moustache Bar in Dalston this November. But it was one of those things I thought I’d While he’s not sure it will definitely go never actually pursue.” ahead, he says I ask how, as a self- “I DISCOVERED SO MANY PER- it’s an exciting taught producer, his crea- SONAL QUIRKS THAT I HAD starting point. tive process has developed BEEN EMBARASSED ABOUT. I I’m reminded since those early lockdown THINK I LEARNT TO EMBRACE of the constant days. uncertainty we’re THEM AND EXPRESS THOSE “I think that I have simfacing at the moQUALITIES.” plified things more. When ment, and ask I first started, I went quite over the top what are the biggest challenges that he’s with it […] but it got very complicated and it faced starting out as an artist in a panmade it sound worse. […] I ’d keep thinking demic. I’ve got to use entirely new instruments “Performing is one of the big things. otherwise people will notice, and it would University would’ve been a really great be less original. But actually, finding your way to ease myself in and get comfortable sound and binding all your songs together performing. I could have performed at is having those similar building blocks, student-run societies and small venues in but using them in different ways.” Oxford where all of my friends could’ve LZYBY’s soon-to-be released songs come […] Whereas right now it’s as if I’m feature powerful and intricately layered doing this all on my own, almost in secret violin arrangements. They are coming to in my bedroom. Then one day suddenly it’s shape LZYBY’s sound, bringing an atmoslike, oh god, now I’ve got to perform it all.” pheric moodiness that’s beautiful, yet at The conversation moves on to his up-

SIX OF THE BEST: ANGRY ALBUMS

Matthew Prudham, Mia Gainsford and Alec Holt get angry with this week’s selections.

1.AIM – M.I.A. (2016)

M.I.A.’s AIM strikes an interesting balance between anger and empathy. The thrust of the album is its exploration of the refugee experience in songs like ‘Jump in’ and ‘Ali r u ok?’ The opening track ‘Borders’, repeatedly asking, “What’s up with that?”, sets the album’s tone, rightly questioning the inequalities and political inaction which continue to exacerbate the crisis. As highlighted in her autobiographical documentary Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (2018), M.I.A. is a popstar with a purpose; her lyrics are polemical, but productive. AIM is not a rant, but a rally. Mia Gainsford

2.NEGRO – Pink Siifu (2020)

Few albums lay such violent onslaught upon the senses as NEGRO. 20 bile-spatted blitzes

paint a portrait of modern white supremacist America through the screamed vocalisations of contempt for a police force which refuses to address its racial prejudices. One might be tempted to label the work prescient in the wake of this summer’s BLM protests, but all NEGRO proves is that righteous fury has been in order for decades now. Alec Holt

3.Sheezus – Lily Allen (2014)

As its title suggests, this album’s anger is targeted at the patriarchy as Allen attempts to reconcile the female identity in the digital age. ‘Hard out Here’ epitomises Allen’s feminist agenda, whilst ‘URL Badman’ and ‘Sliver Spoon’ deliver personal accounts of misogyny and harassment in the music industry, setting the record straight on stories distorted by the media. ‘Insincerely Yours’ is a bouncy indict-

ment at the superficiality of celebrity culture, full of Allen’s acerbic wit. Mia Gainsford

4.Songs of Praise – Shame (2018)

A perfect marriage of Britpoppy guitars and post-punk vocals arrives in the South London quintet’s debut LP. The opener ‘Dust on Trial’ puns on religious promise and confession, ‘Gold Hole’ satirises sugar daddies, and ‘The Lick’ is nearpsychopathic in combining stalkers and music streaming. The album’s standout track, ‘One Rizla’, delivers a crunching piece of rhetoric during its personal manifesto: “You can choose to hate my words, but do I give a fuck?” I imagine that applies to music critics, too. Matthew Prudham

Pleasures – Joy 5.Unknown Division (1979)

Ian Curtis’ epilepsy diagnosis retrospectively pushes the themes of isolation, loneliness and introvertism in his lyrics. Yet the record’s darkness doesn’t explode into riotous punk, but pervades with subdued angst in Peter Hook’s lumbering basslines, Bernard

coming EP and the inspiration behind it. “It was all written when I was 21, that time of your life where most people are becoming adults […] When you’re crossing that line, you’re faced with all these questions of, like, What do I want to do? What do I want to be? Who do I want to be?” He adds there’s definitely an uplifting side to it. “I learnt a lot about myself through writing this EP. I discovered so many personal quirks that I had either not been aware of before or had been embarrassed about. I think I learnt to embrace them and express those qualities.” I ask about the role that queerness plays in his music, knowing George to be openly gay since I met him. “I definitely want to embrace a lot of queer culture into my music. It’s something that I’m trying to embrace more into me as a person. Again, it’s one of those things that I almost feel l turned a blind eye to.” We discuss how coming out early brings with it with a different kind of cost. “There’s a small print: you can come out and it can be fine, but don’t be too gay”, he adds jokingly. But I realise that LZYBY clearly means something far more to George than just the music: it’s an unashamed exploration and celebration of all aspects of his identity. Read the full interview at cherwell.org Sumner’s tingling guitar riffs and Curtis’ sardonic vocals – in no small part due to Martin Hannett’s superb production. Even in the album’s ‘lighter’ moments such as the classic ‘Shadowplay’ and the dance-punk ‘Interzone’, there’s distance and despair in “Tryna find a way to get out” or Let[ting] them use you for their own ends”. Matthew Prudham

6.Zombie – Fela Kuti (1977)

Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti’s 1977 album is a jabbing critique of the contemporary Nigerian government’s military forces but serves as a timeless attack on any who mindlessly follow orders. “Zombie no go unless you tell am to go / Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop”, he taunts over one of the more irresistible grooves he laid down in his career. The government was so incensed that they sent 1,000 soldiers to destroy Fela’s commune, killing his mother and beating him in the process. Alec Holt Read the full article at cherwell.org Image of M.I.A. by Interscope Records

Friday, 16th October 2020 | CulCher

FILM

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS? THE RISE OF THE LESBIAN PERIOD DRAMA

MUST SEE IN THEATRES

Recently, lesbian period dramas have garnered critical acclaim. But how well do they represent our own, contemporary lesbian love stories? Natalie Vriend discusses

ate Winslet catches Saoirse Ronan’s eye in the mirror, watching in the light of an oil lamp as she takes her corset off. Later, Ronan looks down at their held hands, petticoat layers concealing their secret. They kiss in an empty courtyard, cheeks flushing, a stolen moment of romance. These scenes are from the recently released trailer for Ammonite, a new addition to the wealth of lesbian period dramas that have suddenly occupied our screens. From Portrait of a Lady on Fire to The Favourite, filmmakers have discovered a formula that garners both overwhelming critical acclaim and mass mainstream reverence, and are keen to make the most of its success. Amidst the luscious backdrops and swathes of silk, the dark days of women pillow-fighting for the straight man’s satisfaction seem miles away. After years of shunning and oversexualisation in films, lesbians are at long last seeing their names in big, shining lights. At first glance, this development seems only good news. The sapphic community has begged for on-screen representation for decades and these recent explorations of romances between women in the past, whether fictionalised or historical accounts, have allowed for the unearthing of an often forgotten or erased truth: a woman’s love for other

women is in no way new or strange. The retelling of lesbian history through these films is undoubtedly a victory for the LGBTQ community – but improvements must still be made. While plenty of antiquated tales have been re-established, significantly fewer contemporary lesbian love stories have gained any real traction in popular culture. Lesbians exist, but only, it seems, if they have no access to electricity or are burdened by the weight of a crown on their head. Yes, I’ll admit I enjoy watching the yearning gazes, the soft touches of the hand, the gentle undoing of corsets as much as the next person, but I can’t really relate to it. The genre’s time period instils a solemnity, silence takes the place of friendship and laughter. In Portrait of a Lady on Fire, the women constantly maintain a certain reticence, only switching from the French “vous” to the informal “tu” when speaking to each other in the very final scene. While the formality may come with the genre, it is nevertheless alien to many of us today. Suitors are not hosted in stately mansions by family members, people do not meet at grand ballroom dances in powdered wigs, and lesbians are not merely damsels in distress. Contemporary representation is needed, it can mean the difference between young women knowing their attraction is real and valid, and

“Because I’m his daughter” Lily Down traces depictions of father/daughter relationships in film, finding it an underexplored dynamic.

y stepdad is my best friend. He made me fall in love with reading when I was six. He homeschooled me when I was ten. He has been there for me as long as I can remember. We talk about everything from relationships to politics, from food to our place in the world. I can tell him anything, and he will always listen. When I describe my equally loving relationship with my mother, I have many cinematic and television parallels, from Mrs March to Lorelai Gilmore. But I can never find a father-daughter relationship that explains how my stepdad and I are just as close. Sofia Coppola is tackling this rarelyexplored relationship in On the Rocks, in which Laura and her father Felix try to find out if Laura’s husband is having an affair.

The pair struggle seeing eye to eye; Felix is an ageing womaniser, while Laura is a young writer and mother. Their relationship is one that feels familiar in film and in life; a father and daughter who don’t really understand each other. But they are on the same team. Maybe this says something about family, who we don’t choose, but who back us up all the same, even if we don’t always get along. In Your Name, a body-swap romance about Japanese teenagers Mitsuha and Taki, the fraught relationship between Mitsuha and her absent father, Mayor Miyamizu, is understated, but integral. Like Laura and Felix, they have different worldviews; Mitsuha belongs more to her grandmother’s traditional Japan, while her father is caught up in small-town politics. But it is only through their bond and Miyamizu finally listening to his daughter, that their town Itomori, can be saved. In teen classic Clueless, Cher and her father have a charming relationship. Their bickering is a fun game. He’s impressed with her when she argues her way from a C+ to an A, saying that he “couldn’t be happier than

thinking it’s just a myth created for the male gaze. If a sapphic viewer finds themself thinking: “My attraction to women looks nothing like that and never will,” the film can hardly be considered real representation. It might be good cinema, but it’s not what we crave. Would it really be so difficult to make a few cringey romcoms about two women falling in love? Or a high-speed car chase led by lesbians? The severe lack of variation suggests society is too scared to confront the existence of the modern lesbian. The women in these period dramas are ‘safe’ to watch: they live and love centuries away from us. Their once-revolutionary actions would hardly be considered norm-shattering now, a little handholding here, a kiss on the cheek there – watching these films makes an audience feel comfortably progressive while posing absolutely no threat to the current status quo. Viewers have no need to confront the fires of homophobia and discrimination raging on around them. The message is that lesbians can be accepted as long as they cannot be interacted with, as long as they do not disturb straight familiarity. There are certainly examples, such as The Handmaiden, which excellently combat many important issues, but these are exceptions. If lesbians are reduced to delicate relics from the past, bearing little relation to today’s issues, can we really say that these films have benefited the LGBTQ community all that much? The battle is not yet over – women should be allowed to kiss on screen without ballgowns and petticoats weighing them down. It’s about time that sapphic women get to really see themselves on screen and it’s about time we get a happy, modern lesbian blockbuster. To Ronan and Winslet: I see your romantic paradise in 1840s England and raise you a cheesy romcom with at least one phone and a semi-stable internet connection. Read the full article online at cherwell.org. Images: Flickr / Gandalfs Gallery if they were based on real grades.” While he has raised her to be determined, driven, and independent, he has also raised her in a bubble of privilege which she does not begin to poke her head out of until nearly the end of the film. But, as in On the Rocks, it is still her father she turns to when it comes to matters of the heart. This feels closer to me and my stepdad; we argue a lot, but at the core of our relationship, is love. Love is what Life Itself is all about. Dylan, orphaned as a baby, is raised by her grandfather, Irwin. While Irwin is an old man, and my stepdad is in his mid-thirties, it is still this relationship I feel comes closest to ours. Irwin wants to make Dylan happy in spite of all the losses she suffers. That’s what parents are meant to do; protect you from the world, and prepare you for it. Maybe we see this in On the Rocks, too. When Felix tells Laura that it’s “nature” for men to have affairs, he is trying to explain the world to her. But Irwin is not preparing Dylan for the pain of cheating

SAINT MAUD

This A24 produced psychological horror is Rose Glass’ debut film. It’s poised balance between satire and pure terror will leave you eager for her next.

TO STREAM

MANIAC

Cary Joji Fukunaga directs an alternatingly cutting, touching, surreal, and witty vision of a dystopian clinical trial for a radical new antidepressant.

CLASSIC

ENTER THE DRAGON

Enter The Dragon is not only an iconic, energetic, and esquisitely choreographed action film, but also a powerful affirmation of Chinese identity in the face of British colonial rule. Image credits: Flixr / Chong Jit Leong

husbands, he’s trying to give her hope in spite of grief. The film explores the profundity of this unconventional father-daughter relationship, and shows us that the powerful love between parent and child is not reserved for the nuclear family, but is broader than that, and more beautiful because of it. In each of these films, I can see an aspect of my relationship with my stepdad. In On the Rocks, I see his weirdness, and the way he has my back. In Clueless, I see our playful bickering. In Your Name, I see the way he trusts me. In Life Itself, I see his determination to protect me, and to love me. These films explore a relationship which is often confusing. The relationships are imperfect, but this is what makes them true to life; rather than an idealised, Hallmark-movie version of father-daughter bonds, these films show messy, but real love. Read the full article online at cherwell. org. Image: Linnaea Mallette

Life | Friday, 16th October 2020

LIFE

FROM MY WINDOW: THE EXPERIENCE OF AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IN QUARANTINE AMRITA SHENOY

t’s warm outside, and the day pulls along quietly as light streams in through my window and illuminates the pages I’m reading with care, over and over again. “This time I’m at Oxford. I need to read well. I need to read more” I tell myself, when I hear a familiar knock on the door: “Food” announces the kind voice outside. I open the door to find a brown paper bag near my feet and the knocker—clad in black and masked, hurrying several metres apart. The knocks of my college’s housekeeping staff

delivering and announcing the meals of the day are the closest I come to having any company in the flesh during isolation. But I’m not complaining. The quiet of my room, the wide swathes of natural light that spread across my carpet, the sometimes still and sometimes rustling greenery outside my window; all are radical yet welcome departures from my home in Mumbai. I lay down my brown food bag on the massive table and take out its contents, wincing at the name on the sandwich pack- “Vegan coronation chickpea”. On the day I had arrived in college, heaving and tugging all 23 kilograms of

my suitcases across the narrow, pebbled paths of the campus, the same sandwich had been rather succulent and delectable to my Indian tastebuds. But that was the first day of it. Today is the third. The phone buzzes. A WhatsApp message from another isolating student. He’s having trouble “keeping up with the food”. I reply that I’m too; they’re everywhere, the brown food bags---on the table, inhabiting the bookshelf, on top of the shoe rack, peeping from the bin— the proportions are humongous, and we’re all wasting a lot of food, we complain on the WhatsApp groups. But it’s tricky business supplying food to isolating students, and it’s better to be supplied in excess than being deprived, we all also agree. Someone’s accumulated apples in double digits, while another isolater puts up a picture of her army of glittering, unopened water bottles neatly queued on her grey carpet. I have myself, for contingency’s sake, collected several colourful packets of chips with nomenclature so varied, I’m amazed. There are the blue ones that say ‘Anglesey Sea Salt’, the yellow ‘Lye Cross Cheddar &

Onion’ and then, the rather zany ‘Burrow Hill Cider Vinegar & Sea Salt’ in green. “Those are not chips, those are crisps” the MCR social representative tells us confused international students over a Zoom meet. Up until now, I have never thought much of group meets on Zoom, having seen them as nothing but 40-45 minutes of

worse, you have things to say too, all the time, but they just won’t come out of your mouth, and the singular, golden chance to speak, once gone, is gone forever. But the Zoom meets with my college’s MCR are so different. They have been doing these twice a week since August now, and I cannot help but admire the unwavering commitment and consistency. “This time I’m at Oxford. I need to put myself out there and connect” I tell myself. So my colourful packets of potato chips, are not chips, but strictly crisps, I learn in the second MCR zoom call I attend. Well, what then, are chips? “They are big and chunky and come with..” “--fish” I complete him; after all, every foreigner to Britain has heard of Fish and Chips at least once. “So chips are fries” I conclude, to which he says no, since fries are long, limp stalks of fried potato, unlike the firm, fat chips. All of a sudden, these distinctions of the potato kingdom, between crisps, chips and fries become crystal clear and fascinating to me—“I have to

“I WAKE UP, I EAT, I READ, THEN EAT, EAT SOME MORE AND SLEEP.” the most attractive, confident or powerful personalities dominating the conversation, while their nervous, shy, awkward, subordinate, or quiet counterparts look on. It is one thing to feel drained of all energy listening to people deliver endless monologues, but appearing to listen is equally draining--you have to make sure you’re there, that your face is not devoid of polite expression and that, for sheer courtesy’s sake, you linger on and soak in conversations that don’t involve or concern you in any way. Or

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Life write this down” I say, reaching out for my pocketbook. We all laugh at this. I feel something thawing and loosening in my chest. I’m beginning to speak in the Zoom calls. And beginning to speak a lot. And sometimes a smile or laugh appears on my face without prior permission of the overthinker sitting upstairs. For once, I feel listened to, answered, addressed and above all, unafraid and relaxed around people. On the afternoon of the 9th day, I look down from my room window, but no voice calls out saying “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair”. Besides, there isn’t much hair to let down now. The morning had begun with the shoddy trimming of my then-waist length hair, followed by the discovery of too much chopped away on one side, and then, more frantic chopping in order to make both sides even— the deed was done in less than ten minutes. Isolation, impulse and scissors are a quite the combination. But the regret is short-lived, as I look at the facemasks, beanie, winter coat, scarf and all other paraphernalia of the pandemic that will shield

“HOW MUCH COULD ONE BEGIN TO LOVE A PLACE FROM THE VANTAGE OF A WINDOW?” me from this year and the climate of this land. Nobody will really see me this year, I marvel. But my thoughts are interrupted, as I’m excited by the swift emergence of movement in front of me. Rapunzel’s prince is here—

eight legged, and determined to complete the laborious crawl up the other side of my (thankfully closed) window. A spider and a haircut. Such are the ‘events’ of this day. I wake up, I eat, I read, then eat, eat some more and sleep. Then I wake up, I eat, I read, eat, eat some more and sleep. And then, I wake up once more, I eat once again, I read again, eat again, eat some more once more, and then sleep once again. Thus pass my days, unless, in soft moments when the texts of my reading list are done for the day or boldly deferred, I talk to friends and family on video calls. Or when, in the gaps between the morning alarm and the college’s sumptuous croissants for breakfast, I have long baths that I know will not be so post isolation, when life gets busy in the ways it gets busy. In other moments I steal with myself, when the sun makes my face unusually pink, taking several consecutive selfies. I look out of the window a lot, sometimes in longing, at distant picknickers in the sprawling college lawns. Or sometimes at the cherry-red tree tops that the light transforms into an unbelievable fluorescent. On other days, just let my gaze linger for while on the sky, with its clouds in making. How much could one begin to love a place from the vantage of a window? And then, how much could one love it, if one got to step outside? When isolation ends, I tell myself “This time I’m at Oxford. I need to be a responsible adult” and bravely carry 14-days’ worth of laundry in my makeshift laundry bag: the big plastic bag that my duvet had come in. I catch sight of the household kitchen, and a sudden wave of realisation hits me—Good lord, I have to cook!

cherpse Kaylin Chong St Catz Biology

You can’t spell quarantine without U R A QT ;)

How were you feeling before the date? A bit nervous all things considered but still quite excited.

Katie Kessler Pembroke Japanese How were you feeling before the date? Quite chilled out and looking forward to it. First impressions? Someone who appreciates walking through botanical gardens as a date activity is my kind of person.

First impressions? She was very friendly - talkative and bubbly. Did it meet up to your expectations? Given the circumstances, yes! What was the highlight? I think the best part was just talking to someone new and studying something very different to what I’m doing.

Did it meet up to your expectations? Absolutely! I don’t really do a lot of dates, so I didn’t have high expectations or anything to really measure it against, but just as an outing it was very pleasant to walk around the parks and get to know each other. The conversation flowed and she seems really nice. It’s a shame we had to cut it quite short, but that’s the price of doing a blind date right before collections.

“I HAD FILLED OUT THE FORM WRONG...”

What was the most embarrassing moment? The most embarrassing part was before the date even happened! I had filled out the form wrong indicating I was interested in women instead of men but hadn’t realised. So it came quite as a surprise when I got the email about my date Katie who I was supposed to meet within an hour Describe the date in 3 words: Chill nature walk. Is a second date on the cards? While perhaps it wasn’t a date either of us had expected, would definitely be down to hang out again as mates!

What was the highlight? Those pitcher plants really stole the show. What was the most embarrassing moment? There was a slight mix-up regarding our respective gender preferences, though I don’t think either one of us was too embarrassed by that. It was a lot less stressful to have it just be a friend-date anyway. Describe the date in 3 words: Biology = false humanity? Is a second date on the cards? I’d be happy to chat and hang out in a platonic fashion again, for sure!

HOROSCOPE

VIRGO

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

21 March- 19 April

20 April - 20 May

21 May- 20 June

21 June - 22 July

23 July - 22 August

23 August - 22 Sept

If you go to a college named after a Judeo-Christian figure, your perfect match can be found at a similar college, otherwise, avoid these colleges at all costs!

Avoid romance this week. You will be led on by someone who either goes to one of the Turl Street colleges or Wadham.

As you get kicked out of yet another library for not booking your time slot properly, your eyes will meet a mysterious stranger. Build up the courage to speak to them.

Damn, who knew one person could be so sexy? Keep that self-confidence up and your head held high, you are incredible.

What if our hands touched on the tescolator? Haha, jk… unless??

Unfortunately, if someone keeps asking you to reschedule a date, maybe they don’t want to go. You deserve someone who’s more open than that

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

23 Sept - 22 Oct

23 Oct - 21 Nov

22 Nov - 21 Dec

22 Dec - 19 Jan

20 Jan - 18 Feb

19 Feb - 20 March

We all know you want to avoid drama, but there’s a difference between starting drama and trying to live. You’ve had a crush on them for months, now’s the time to act.

This may seem to be against your better judgement, but maybe let your guard down a bit? They’re really sweet, why not give them a chance?

Seriously, I can’t believe that you thought I was still into you!? Will you finally believe me if I put it in the Horoscopes?

Fresher’s week may be over, but sharks still abound in Oxford’s waters! Be wary of overly keen second years.

Stop trying to play it “cool”, your enthusiasm is cute, and anyone worth your time will like it.

Please resist all temptation to speak to that person. You know who I’m talking about. Just because you had a “thing” in Hilary, doesn’t mean you should make that mistake again.

Life | Friday, 16th October 2020

BROKEN LOCKS AND FACEBOOK ‘VIGILANTES’

Libraries

hether you’re looking for a cosy study environment or you actually need to borrow a book - with more than 30 libraries to choose from, your first term is a great opportunity to go library hopping and find your favourite spot. You can book a slot at one of the university libraries online here: https://tickets.ox.ac.uk/webstore/shop/ viewItems.aspx?cg=BODBL&c=RRBODBL

The Bodleian

With more than 12 million items, the only books you can’t find in the Bodleian are the ones yet to be written. It’s also home to the Duke Humphrey’s Library, which was used as the Hogwarts library in all of the Harry Potter films.

What I learnt from losing my bike in Oxford Lizzie Harvey

ycling at Oxford is a way of life. From angrily swerving around tourists, clattering around cobblestones, to dodging buses down the high street, bikes provide a quick and easy way of navigating the roads of Oxford and are used by over a third of its residents every week. Cycling’s popularity has its darker sides, however. Last year saw nearly 2,000 bikes stolen in Oxford alone, and the easing of lockdown has led to a surge of bike thefts, partially in response to rising demand from commuters seeking to avoid public transport during the pandemic. After years of happily cycling around my hometown Cambridge, I unfortunately joined the long, long list of people who have had their bikes stolen. After that sinking feeling of realising my bike was gone, my immediate reaction was to angrily walk home, dragging the broken lock behind me while making several emotional posts on social media, before eventually filing a police report. While the police did nothing other than register my bike as missing, throughout the whole process I stumbled across several good pieces of advice that made me wish I had done things a little bit differently. Most stolen bikes will have several bits of identifying information that may help you be reunited with it. Taking a photo when you buy the bike and whenever you make changes to it will allow you to give a clear description to the police (and your friends!) if it does get stolen. In particular, having a record of the serial number on your bike and registering it with www.bikeregister.com is key, as it will tell potential buyers that the bike has been stolen. Also, knowing the make, type and frame size of your bike will help narrow down searches, especially online and on sites such as www.findthatbike. com which compile all bike listings across the internet. Investing in a high-quality lock and always parking in a public area is key, and you can find information on the quality of bike locks on www.soldsecure.com. Bikes are often stolen in order to be resold, so giving your bike distinctive markings may make it harder for thieves to sell, reducing the chance it will get stolen in the

first place. Painting, stickers and scratchings can be a fun way of personalising your ride, as well as keeping it safe. I for one took to carving my name in runes onto the bike frame and adding a rather fetching college sticker, available at all good porters’ lodges. There are also pricier measures that might help mitigate against and prevent bike loss. From fitting in GPS trackers, to getting insurance, these measures might be worthwhile for owners of more expensive models, such as electric and racing bikes, which are both harder to replace and more of a target for thieves, thought they’re less applicable for keeping a £50 uni bike safe. Although the chances of finding a stolen bike again are slim, it isn’t impossible. Certainly in Cambridge, where around 4,000 bikes are stolen annually, the police simply don’t have the resources to investigate every single theft, so while it’s important to register your bike as stolen, they probably won’t be able to return it to you. Effective action, therefore, is often done by the community and this increasingly taking the form of local Facebook groups where users post photos and share information about stolen bikes, known thieves and questionable sellers. One such group for the Cambridge region has over 4,500 members and sees multiple posts daily, all of which are monitored by the admins, self-proclaimed ‘vigilantes’ of bike theft. The group is able to recover around 50 bikes a year through monitoring online ads and checking their local area for bikes that have been abandoned, causing a ripple of celebration every time a bike is returned. The posts create a pattern of bike theft hotspots, as well as a ‘database’ of stolen bikes that the community can access, meaning people can match a stolen bike quickly with its owner. Sadly, no such group exists for the Oxford area, In the meantime, we should be mindful of the security of our bikes, buy secondhand bikes responsibly and report questionable listings to the nonemergency police number. There’s no such thing as a free lunch and there definitely isn’t a bike for sale for £50 that isn’t either broken or stolen.

Highlight: flexing your Bod card to walk past the tourists when you enter

The Rad Cam

We’re all guilty of it: nothing screams “I go to Oxford” more than plastering your Instagram feed with Rad Cam pictures for the next three years. Apart from dusty history books and squeaky desks, it’s known for being a true Oxlove hotspot. So put on your best turtle neck and get there early to find a good spot!

Highlight: subtle eye contact flirting

This is where you’ll get the most and the least work done. Most college libraries are open 24/7 – perfect conditions for a caffeine-fuelled all-nighter – but you’ll end up spending a lot of that time chatting with your mates. Just beware of grumpy finalists come examseason…

College Library

Highlight: shushing others to assert dominance

The Taylorian

The Taylor Institution Libaray being the languages library, don’t be surprised if everyone in here is fitter than you. Its study rooms are graced by chandeliers and pretty paintings, so if the aesthetic makes or breaks your study sessions, this is your place to go.

Highlight: curating your perfect studying playlist studying optional

The Sackler

The equivalent to getting detention at school. Little to no natural light and an architecture that reminds you why neoclassicalism was a mistake. If you spend any more time than necessary in here, you might morph into a Classics student with curtains and tortoise shell glasses. But you’ll probably also get a first, so…

Highlight: the cries for help on the toilet walls Read the full text in Keep Off The Grass, Cherwell’s freshers guide, available to read online at www.issuu.com/cherwellonline Illustration by Anja Segmüller

JOHN EVELYN

ohn Evelyn is delighted to report a hush has descended upon Frewin Court over the last couple of weeks. In fact, almost too much of a hush; have the hacks of Oxford come to some sort of understanding in these Unprecedented days, or is John Evelyn just as irrelevant as he fears? Certainly The Late Etonian is a major contributor to the recent quiet, with his recent attempts at hacking becoming a little too personal. As he lives out his 14 days for his sins, maybe it’s a chance to reflect on where his loyalties lie; John Evelyn was surprised to hear slate-breaking news not from that side of Frewin, but from sources close to Definitely Not An Aussie. Perhaps, as the odds seem to change on the likely winner of this term’s election, there has been a recent narrowing in the eternal Brasenose split? Certainly it

wouldn’t be the first time The Runner Up had switched allegiances to what they thought was the winning colours, although history would contend that Definitely Not An Aussie may see his support as something of a poison chalice. That said, John Evelyn could hardly blame The Runner Up for his change of heart, with the heart ruling over head in recent developments in The Late Etonian’s slate. Some suspect that, in this election at least, the Librarian candidate wishes she could swap places with the newly anointed ‘co-campaign manager’. More bad news for The Runner Up seems to have emerged in a form of competition that definitely doesn’t know when to quit. John Evelyn is told that the Overcompensating Seccie Loser is going to try his hand at elected politics once more; he can only feel sorrow at the fact that, after

years of competition between losers who could actually win, Hilary’s election is looking like a run-off between two certified losers. One can only hope that another return to the electoral forefront may be in stock for our favorite wizard. John Evelyn leaves you with news that, further up St Giles, Ed Balls has been duly elected The People’s Champion - quite whom those people are we are left to wonder; and that after a long absence, The Chief Gimp has finally returned to doing what they do best: gimping, in committee form. Yours in Trust, John Evelyn P.S. Find yourself mentioned here and want to complain? Or don’t, and want to complain about that? For more gossip and regularly updated Frewin chat, follow John Evelyn on instagram @CherlyJEvelyn

Life | Friday, 16th October 2020

FOOD SOCIETY EATS: ITALY

Maria Tucci sheds light on the regional nature of Italian cuisine, and explores the often overlooked dishes of the countryside.

talian cuisine is among the most puzzled; to you, it tasted and looked the misunderstood simply because of same. You search it up, find the Wikipedia its perception; the public domain of article, skim through it and realise that, in Italian foods such as pizza, pasta and, fact, it was not lasagne that you had, so it as the well-versed would add, risotto, is at would be senseless to call them that. Your most 33% of an average Italian’s diet. That friend’s defensiveness and indignant pride is, we might have pasta for lunch, but that’s may well be justified, especially considering about it. And even if it is more than that, the differences. since my grandmother would make pizza Now, imagine this same friend invites you as well on the odd weekend, it is still incorto his cousin’s wedding and, already full rect to bundle up all of us in this ‘pizza, from the six cold and six warm an“FOOD pasta, Mamma Mia!’ lifestyle - the tipasti served before the main prevalent image of our cuisine. course, you see a steaming IN ITA LY Food in Italy is particuplate of pasta approach IS PA RTICUL A RLY larly regional (italicized your table. It’s pasta on purpose). Rarely does al ragù and you give REGIONA L. THERE a family from Lazio enjoy yourself bonus points A RE EV EN DIFFERENCES for knowing the type some cannoli for dessert after dinner and, to be BET W EEN CITIES WITHIN of pasta, rigatoni. fair, I’m quite unsure if Then you hear them call ONE REGION!” even the Sicilians themselves li moccolotti de lo vatte. eat them as often as Buddy, the Your Duolingo Italian does Cake Boss, mentions them in his not seem to be of much help here show. Most people cook what their mothers because nothing rings a bell. Thankfully, have taught them, who were themselves your friend explains that it is technically ritaught by their grandmothers, and so on; gatoni with duck ragu, but its name is in the traditional dishes spanning decades, all of dialect of the Macerata province of Marche, which are individual to each region. There the region of which we previously supposed are even differences between cities within you were aware. I know... not only regional, one region! And there is beauty in all of but provincial dialects too?! this, in knowing that, although we might Dissecting the term, the li, de and lo are all theoretically be eating pasta, none of us in dialect, versions of the Italian masculine are having the same kind or, leastways, we articles i and il, and the preposition di, give them different names. while moccolotti is the pasta, and vatte Take a very well-known token of Italian the preparation of it. Vatte, derived from cuisine, the lasagne (or lasagna - the sinthe Italian word ‘battere’ meaning ‘to hit’, gular and less frequently used version in alludes to the history of this dish. It hints Italy, yet strangely more common amongst at the agricultural practice of hitting the foreigners). Say you visit your friend from grain, a traditional threshing method the Italian region of Marche. They invite making up the last stage of harvest - probyou for lunch and serve you lasagne. You’re ably the most joyful moments of finally excited to finally get to try the real deal; collecting the grain. A typical threshing homemade, nonna’s recipe lasagne ‘DOC’. day would begin at three in the morning You thank them, converse about Italian with coffee and homemade pastry and end food, compliment how great the lasagne with a long dinner featuring li moccolotti were, and then everything turns sour. “You de lo vatte. Women would prepare it in a didn’t eat lasagne, you had vincisgrassi! big cauldron, frying duck fat with carrot, Not only are lasagne typically an Emilia celery, and onion - the base for the ragu, Romagna dish, but they are miles away adding seasoned meats, tomato paste, and from our precious vincisgrassi. “In Marche, covering it with water, cooking it for two we don’t even put béchamel sauce in it and hours. Once the men were back from work, ours contains a variety of meats!” You’re the pasta would be prepared. Sometimes, it

would be added to the boiling ragu, letting yourself, why? While this dish might not it cook al dente in there, but as any angry mean much to (probably) any of us, it shines Italian would point out, the pasta would light upon crucial aspects of Italian cuisine mostly be cooked separately, and later and culture, on characteristics of it which go mixed with the ragu, finally topping the unnoticed. The mere fact that the dish dish with pecorino cheese. keeps its preparation in its I thought long and hard about name highlights an Italia “MOST whether I should even delve which foreigners don’t PEOPLE COOK W H AT into explaining the story beperceive; the Italia of hind this niche dish known, THEIR MOTHERS H AV E the countryside and at best, to approximately of agriculture. An 300,000 people, the popula- TAUGHT THEM, W HO W ERE Italia which holds tion of the Mac- e r a t a THEMSELV ES TAUGHT BY a myriad of recipes province, but even t h e r e , and traditions within mostly to families with a THEIR GR A NDMOTHERS,each of its regions that history of working in agriculture connects us to our origins. A ND SO ON.” who, for tradition, keep preparing An Italia of our nonni (and it with much love and dedication. bisnonni), whose lives were reliant Furthermore, it’s arguably not even too upon farming, the land, and its fruits to relevant in the topic of Italian cuisine; shape the food they prepared and the food if you happen to want to read into it and we prepare today. This proximity, the imwould just love to know more, unlike the mediate connection they had of land to vincisgrassi, this one doesn’t even have food - kept alive today through preparing its own Wikipedia article (if we keep such dishes - is a constant feature of rural taking that as the legitimising power of Italy regardless of what region you look foods). It’s known to few, trivial in nature, into, hence why telling the story of one and very unrelated to general food or the serves to illuminate many. Our beloved food traditions of Italy. Plus, it has little boot is not only Milan and Rome, it’s the to do with the Oxford Italian Society - it countryside surrounding them, too. Italian is not like they hold vincisgrassi taster cuisine is not only Bolognese and lasagne, sessions, or Moccolotti Mondays - so I it’s many (often unknown) recipes, too. ask myself, and you probably pondered to Image credit: Pxfuel

EATING IN OXFORD: A FRESHERS GUIDE Mia Sorenti and Elinor Davies share their favourite independent gems in Oxford’s City Centre. Gloucester Green Market Open Weds-Sat, Just off George Street A cosy collection of stalls serving street food from around the world, this open-air market will have something for everyone. Prices can get a little steep, but hunt down the giant bao buns and you can bag yourself lunch for £2. With a few picnic benches dotted around, this place is great for a more corona-safe lunch with a few friends; munch on something colourful and browse racks of vintage clothes and antique treasures while you’re at it. Covered Market Open everyday till 5pm, Market Street Similar to Gloucester Green (though less exposed to the elements), this is a great place to find a wide variety of tasty lunch options. Nestled amongst gift shops and

florists are some of the best places for affordable food in Ox. Alpha Bar serves up hefty takeaway salads for a fiver, or grab some pad thai for the same price at Sasi’s Thai. Najar’s Place Open everyday, St Giles Perched outside St John’s College, this tiny blue hut is the stuff of dreams. Generally around £3.50, these wraps will put your soggy Tesco meal deal to shame. A hefty, fluffy wrap stuffed with mezze fillings of your choice: falafel, halloumi, roasted cauliflower, packed with salad and drizzled with sauce before being toasted to a golden crisp. Easily a full meal and great value for money, these are guaranteed to keep you coming back. Alternative Tuck Shop (ATS) Open weekdays, Holywell Street At lunchtimes the queue is often down the street for ATS, and there’s good reason why. The range of fillings at this little

deli is out of this world, whether you’re vegan, veggie or otherwise. You’ll also be spoilt for choice for bread; bagels, olive ciabatta, baguettes and more. The guys working here are friendly and crazy efficient, so in no time you’ll be at the front of the queue and out the door with the best sandwich in Oxford for under a fiver. G&D’s Open everyday, Little Clarendon Street G&D’s was originally set up by an Oxford student in 1992, and still serves lush ice cream to this day. Open morning till late, this place is great for studying or swinging by en route back from the pub. The Nosebag Open everyday, St Michael’s street This little restaurant is tucked away upstairs and so very easily missed while walking down the street, but that is no reason not to seek it out. The portions are very generous for the price and there is a diverse variety of food that guarantees getting

something you fancy. The decor and service style (grab a tray and pay at the counter) is unassuming but it is a great place for a relaxed meal. Swoon Open till late, High Street This is easily the best ice cream in Oxford with an ever-changing array of flavours that features guest flavours that change on a weekly basis. Go during the winter and the Italian hot chocolate is thick, rich, and to die for. The Handlebar Open everyday, St Michael’s street From the outside, it appears to be a bike shop, but upstairs is an all-day brunch venue that will guarantee you coming back for more - I unashamedly went three times in one week. The coconut pancake stack with bacon comes particularly highly recommended. Read the full article online at cherwell.org

IN CONVERSATION WITH HONNE Sasha Mills chats with indie music group HONNE about their origins, influences, and the challenges of making new music in a pandemic.

Life | Friday, 16th October 2020

PROFILE

Japan but straight ho-nne by them), and together a lot more.” Even though they were unable to col comes from a word that can be roughly Still, the experience wasn’t completely laborate with musical artists, HONNE translated as ‘true feelings,’ shared only new to them; “James and I, we both play did collaborate with illustrator Holly with your closest companions. a lot of instruments ourselves anyway. [...] Warburton, whose colourful animations Anyone that’s listened to HONNE’s As James says, we can work separately. It’s and drawings go alongside all of the music. music can sense the immediate relevance not like one of us can only do one thing and, The duo have commissioned artists for of this, given the vulnerability that under you know, has to rely on the other person album artwork in the past, but have never pins everything that they produce; “We to make it work. So we’re quite lucky in that worked with them on this scale. The pair wanted to show that our music is truthful, we can be quite self-contained, and just had also commissioned Holly for the hen I met HONNE over Zoom, and it’s kind of us wearing our hearts on crack on and do things separately music video they’d been working they’d been up late the night our sleeves.” as well.” on that week; “She’s just ba before working on a new music Even though they’d been writing music Despite the adverse cir “We’re quite lucky sically been directing the video for an acoustic version for so long, the name was the last thing cumstances of production, whole thing [...], so she’s in that we can be quite of free love, one of the singles from their to fall into place. Throughout the years, the mixtape remains actually turned into this most recent mixtape, no song without you. they’d focused almost entirely on writ upbeat in sound. HONNE’s self-contained, and just really amazing person to For the week leading up to our call, they’d ing rather than having any kind of public work often blends mourn be so involved.” crack on and do things been working primarily on video shoots, persona. “We wanted to focus less on re ful breakup songs with While HONNE’s experi mostly because of lockdown; up until now, leasing music and marketing ourselves and hopeful melodies, and that separately as well” ence of the pandemic has filming in person was relatively impossi all that stuff. [...] I think it’s the pulse of is a trend that has carried been relatively positive for ble, so the duo seem to be making the most a lot of young bands, you end up focusing through to no song without you. the band, they highlighted the of the slight relax in measures, leading to less on music and more on trying to get “Our music historically has a posi difficulties that it has presented for quite a few yawns interspersed throughout successful, which is a bizarre problem, but tive note running through it, and whether less established artists, who rely on money the interview. i t ’ s definitely something that I think lockdown and covid had happened or not, I from small gigs to help them fund the From the release of their debut sin everyone has.” think this album would still have felt like a production process. gle Warm on a Cold Night in 2014, They had come up with a differ positive album. [...] It felt more poignant in The Music Venue Trust have reported a musical duo HONNE have seen ent name before, but switched a way, with everything that’s going on, to 27% drop in attendance at their UK venues, “I think me steady success. Still, it took to HONNE after James have some positive music coming out, and and given the ongoing restrictions, it may a while for them to get and James had always came across the word; “the to listen to something that was nice.” be a while before gig culture is able to there. Both of the boys meaning fit perfectly with One major change as a result of the resume. felt that we’re on a very described growing up all of the songs we’d already pandemic has been that the album doesn’t Still, the duo are hopeful that they will with musical aspirations; similar wavelength and written.” contain any contributing vocal artists, be able to tour before the end of next year, “I [was] kind of unhealth Although the word is which is unusual for the duo, who have and have already begun the process of understood each ily obsessed with starting Japanese, they noted its rel collaborated with the likes of Aminé and working on their next album. Despite the bands in school, even though evance to British culture, and the Tom Misch in the past. Since lockdown has physical restrictions in place, they think other” I was crap.” chronic reluctance to share one’s started to ease, however, they’ve begun to that the pandemic has had a somewhat Although their music concerns feelings ingrained in many of us. “I think produce with other artists again. On the liberating effect on the music industry romantic relationships, James and Andy’s it’s something we have in England as well, 2nd of October they released a new single, as a whole. Several artists have released story has its own air of romance; they de where people aren’t necessarily completely 1,000,000 X Better with up and coming art lockdown projects, including perhaps most scribe living almost parallel lives up until open about how they feel, and hide be notably Charli XCX’s How I’m Feeling Now. ist Griff, and are currently working on mu the end of their teenage years, and both hind a facade.” The flip side of HONNE is sic with singer-songwriter Maisie Peters. “I think [the pandemic] made me realise lived in the South West. ‘tatamae,’ that which is shared publicly; HONNE described these musical collabo that people love to hear new music. And I “It was funny that we were so close but HONNE’s label, an offshoot of Atlantic rations as an essential part of their think bands always wait, like sometimes hadn’t met, but were basically growing up records, takes its name from this. process. years, just like we need all the right songs. doing the same thing, playing guitar, be “We felt like our music was our “You can end up writing Everything has to be completely perfect. “We wanted to ing in bands.” honne, so our true feelings, something that you never And we can’t have any breathing space on Within a week of meeting during Fresh and then tatamae record show that our music is would’ve done because albums anymore.” ers they were working on music together; ings was our public outlet it gives you a different The duo cite a combination of internal truthful, and it’s kind of perspective. And [...] if and label pressures to produce hits, and “I think me and James had always felt that - so maybe not quite the we’re on a very similar wavelength and same as the Japanese us wearing our hearts on you’re writing like a love said that the pandemic has allowed them to understood each other, and had a similar meaning, but it’s our own song, then it gives you experiment more without those confines. our sleeves” passion towards music.” little take of it.” the opportunity to put a Before we ended our call, I wanted to Rather than the traditional Freshers In July, HONNE released no different perspective within know what HONNE had been listening to party experience, they recounted booking song without you, their first mix the song.” Duets of this kind can be through the pan demic. r e he a r s a l rooms together, “It tape; all of their previous releases have found across their work, in songs such as Some of the m o r e w a s probably more, taken the form of either EPs or full albums, Location Unknown and Someone that Loves w e l l - k n o w n names men tioned rather than going out and this release is perhaps the least heav You, which both tell separate sides of a love they a n d getting drunk, ily produced in terms of sound. The duo story through multiple vocals. included girl in red more, should we go and saw this as an opportunity to return to I was curious to hear about the duo’s and Bombay Bic ycle book a rehearsal room?” their roots. James dream collaborations, and was surprised Club, and both Given that they both “We grew up playing guitars, so that when they cited mostly classical and in and Andy enjoy a t tended a specialist was both of our first instruments. [...] strument-based artists, although perhaps classic soul, music univer Apart from a few crazy guitar solos, we’ve I shouldn’t have been given their level of the kind of sity, maybe never really used guitars much in our technical ability. things “our this was the music;” on this record, guitar features When they started out, they saw James p a r e n t s norm. heavily on almost every track. The Beatles Bay as their main inspiration, and they used to put For a and psychedelia were both cited as central recounted producing what they described on around while they influences for the mixtape, and its produc as effectively remixes of his sound. the house.” were “do tion process began on a writing trip in LA, “I don’t think we’d probably exist with ing vari where they wrote no song without you, the out James Bay, because we’re inspired You can ous bits mixtape’s titular single. Then, coronavirus by his keyboard sounds and production, listen to and bobs, happened, and with half of the mixtape particularly at the beginning. I think, HONN E’s but noth still unfinished, the duo began to work basically, we took the James Bay keyboard n e w ing really remotely. sound and made James Bay pop, right at mixtape went any “Some of the songs like la la la that’s the very beginning.” no song w h e r e . ” how it goes were written just completely in They also cite the music they grew up without Eventually, lockdown. Andy sent over a song that was on as a central inspiration, “Andy has you and in 2014, pretty much just guitar and vocals fully sisters who used to listen to Destiny’s their single after almost recorded and a stripped back, kind of beat. child and all of that stuff. A lot of the 90’s 1,0 0 0,0 0 0 6 years of And then I kind of just produced on top. So R’n’B, I think, has infiltrated our music X Better w o r k i n g it was kind of back doing it how we’d done without us realising how much influence on all streaming t o g e t h e r , it in the olden days, where we would not it had on us.” they became be in the same room together and would platforms. Now, they’d love to work with Kiefer HONNE. just kind of work on our own bit separately. Shackelford, a jazz pianist, and Ólafur Ar The name So it’s still fun, but a very different experi nalds, an Icelanic multi-instrumentalist, is Japanese ence to how we’d been, because we’d just both of whom I’d admittedly never heard P h o t o ( pr onou nced got a studio together just before lockdown. of, but are supposedly well-known in the Credit: Tim hoh-ne in And this whole year we’d decided to write “geeky, technical side” of music. Toda

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020

9 CARTOON

Wes Beckett On... his next job in cyber

Comment

THE COMING A-PORK-ALYPSE JENNIFER ZHOU REVEALS THE SURPRISING IMPACT OF THE COVID -19 PANDEMIC ON FARM ANIMALS

n early April, an Iowan farmer, Al Van Beek faced the hardest decision of his life. For months on end, the COVID-19 pandemic had been ravaging the meat industry: disrupting supply chains, closing processing facilities, and singlehandedly causing the closure 40% of America’s pork plants. Nearly 8,000 pigs were crammed onto Van Beek’s farm—and now they had nowhere to go. Faced with mounting pressure, Van Beek made a desperate choice. Abortion injections were given to all pregnant sows on his farm; their dead babies, meanwhile, were composted for fertilizer. Van Beek’s dilemma is just one example of the nightmarish crisis facing farmers across the world. Over the past few months, recurring outbreaks of disease have combined with the general economic downturn to produce a disaster unprecedented in the history of the industry. Demand is dropping. Slaughterhouses are shutting down. Farmers are left stranded, every day, with a backlog of animals numbering in the millions. Official organizations (like the USA’s Department of Agriculture and the UK’s Compassion in World Farming) have responded

in the only way they know how: by issuing directives on the “depopulation” and “euthanasia” of animals. These titles are deliberately bland. “Depopulation”, after all, doesn’t sound so different from the routine killing that maintains the day-today supply of our supermarkets. But behind the unassuming names lurks a slaughter of nearly unimaginable scale. Around 70, 000 pigs and 60,

for this type of death. There’s nothing humane about heat strangulation—and there’s something troubling, in fact, about our willingness to hide behind sanitized labels. After all, aren’t humans mostly to blame for the emergent crisis? Our rapaciously carnivorous diet creates an incentive for mass production, forcing most farmers to boost productivity by using breeds with unnaturally fast growth rates and keeping animals in intensive confinement. The meat industry operates to maximum capacity, at maximum speed, with the maximum number of livestock—leaving farmers with no flexibility to hold animals longer than planned. This train of thought becomes even more disturbing when we remember that animals have nothing to do with the pandemic. Farm animals aren’t affected by COVID, nor do they transmit it; we can’t justify killing them in the same way that we justify, for instance, killing poultry during outbreaks of avian flu. The outbreaks at meat plants and slaughterhouses weren’t caused by animals, but by overcrowding, poor hygiene, and employers’ lack of concern for sanitation. In other words, we’re not killing animals because they’re sick; we’re killing

them because humans are. This article began by calling the meat industry a victim of the

place are a graphic illustration of how wrong the system has gone. With the economy in shambles and

“COVID crisis”—but perhaps that phrase is misleading. Our habits as consumers have pushed factories and farms to the breaking point, creating a culture where unclean workhouses and high-speed slaughter are treated as the norm. The conditions were already in place for disaster: we just needed an unexpected event like COVID to trigger it. The mass killings now taking

the vaccine still a distant prospect, there’s no telling when the animal killings will end—but once they do, we’ll need to make major reforms to the meat industry to make it more resilient against disaster. Hiding behind words like “euthanasia” and “depopulation” represents a gross denial of guilt. The first step to ending the animal apocalypse may be recognising our own culpability.

THE MASS KILLINGS NOW TAKING PLACE ARE A GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION OF HOW WRONG THE SYSTEM HAS GONE 000 chickens are killed each day because of lack of space and workers. To maximise efficiency, farmers are depopulating using a method known as heat strangulation: after cooping hundreds of animals in a barn, a switch is flipped to turn off the airflow and increase the heat. Birds and pigs, trapped en masse in what is essentially a livestock oven, die over a period of hours from a combination of heat stress and suffocation. “Euthanasia” is a gross misnomer

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Cherwell

COMMENT

FRESHERS’ WEEK: PANDEMIC EDITION

CHERWELL TALKS TO 2020 FRESHERS ABOUT AN UNUSUAL FIRST WEEK AT UNIVERSIT Y

rom virtual Freshers’ Fair to socialising in sixes, Cherwell wanted to know if first years felt as if they had truly had the Freshers’ Week experience, despite the restrictions. The Comment team spoke to four freshers about their experiences of a very different kind of Freshers’ Week. Balancing online and in-person Ariana Rubio College parents, sub fusc, Bod card – the onslaught of Oxford jargon was only slightly less daunting than the uncertain prospect of a socially distant freshers’ week. Much like the rest of 2020, freshers’ week defied my expectations. Adapted to the rule of six, LMH organised excursions to G&Ds, local pubs and the Ashmolean museum.

While unable to acquaint myself with the Oxford club scene, quality conversation over drinks in the college bar or snacks in the JCR were welcome alternatives. Personally, I found that playing tennis, cycling

and running were also great ways to meet fellow freshers. The effective organisation of the online freshers’ fair enabled me to visit every ‘stall’, which I imagine would have been difficult in person. LMH complemented the Student Union fair with a physical fair for college clubs and societies. This balance between virtual and physical activities worked well, and the effort put into preserving the traditional ‘fresher experience’ was heartening. Going into freshers’ week, my main worry was that I would spend most of my time in my room, by myself, staring at a screen. Instead, I made friends, joined clubs and began to familiarise myself with the city. While I wish that interaction between households and colleges were easier, this week has demonstrated that a vibrant social life is possible within the parameters of distancing, and I am hopeful for the term ahead. Feeling like part of the tradition Wang Luk Having come here from Hong Kong, where we have more stringent COVID restrictions, it was still surprising to see people in the college quad without masks on, yet health and safety became the last thing on my mind when we headed into the dining hall. In that historic and dramatic space, full of candles and wine, we suddenly realized that we were really here, in Oxford, about to have

our first formal dinner with the principal, and when we stood as the principal said Grace in Latin, there was a collection of sidelong glances—this is really happening, isn’t it? For the purpose of social distancing, we’d been divided into two groups to have separate dinners on separate nights, but apart from that detail (and the fact that the meals came in bento boxes) it was everything I’d expected. There was some confusion as the dining staff found that many more people needed vegetarian and vegan meals, but soon everyone dug in, fell into eager conversation, and got appropriately sloshed. The evening ended with the principal’s speech about how we would join the ranks of illustrious Hertford alumni, but I had the clear sense that we’d all be graduating into a very different world. The rule of six: every cloud has a silver lining Yihang Fang This year’s Freshers’ Week may have been quiet and uneventful, but 2020’s unique situation did not stop us from making meaningful friendships. At Mansfield College, only six people were allowed in the JCR following along with the government’s rule, but the college found ways to create social events despite this. One evening, we walked out to find the “Keep off the grass” sign on the

quad replaced with one telling us to “Keep on the grass”, providing a nice outdoor backdrop for households to socialise (at a distance) instead. The

JCR also has a Nintendo Switch and board games for freshers, presenting an opportunity for more personal, albeit quieter, social activities — even if it was not what we were expecting. In fact, the household groupings, although predetermined, allowed us to develop stronger group bonds. Being made to sit together for every meal can have meaningful effects, especially if you end up getting to know the people living closest to you on a far deeper level. The pandemic may have upturned our way of living, but we can still find ways to circumvent some of the constraints we face — and ultimately, this is the spirit we should have as we begin what is sure to be a challenging year ahead. An Introvert’s Perspective Monica T.

Freshers’ week at Wadham College was pleasantly quiet. Over the first two days, Wadham’s MCR committee held two events: an online movie night and a “A Day in the Life of a Graduate Student” presentation on Zoom. This afforded me lots of time to explore Oxford by myself. I spent the first two days trying all the café recommendations I received – some of my favourites are the drinks at Vaults & Gardens, the scones at The Grand Cafe, and the cupcakes at Jericho Café. The first in-person event happened the following day in a very calm, orderly fashion: students sat two metres apart, listened to the warden and officers’ give their introductions, then quietly left oneby-one. And so, I went about my day, visiting Oxford colleges before returning home to attend a few online social events. That alone was enough social interaction to keep me happy for a while. Though, it was nice to meet some of these individuals on the following day in our face-to-face welfare talks, which was the second and last in-person fresher event. The other activities for the remainder of freshers’ week were all online information sessions. Overall, there was a lot of peace and quiet throughout the week – something that I always appreciate and enjoy. Artwork by Lizzie Daly and Francesca Nava

REPORT THY NEIGHBOUR: WOULD YOU TURN A RULEBREAKER IN?

EMILY ROSINDELL REFLECTS ON AN UNCOMFORTABLE HISTORY OF “NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH”

he question of why we choose to adhere to the social contract and follow laws has been long asked. Do we feel morally obligated to? Or do we feel threatened by the risk of punishment? The question has plagued our society for years, being put by The New York Times, in 1964 as: “Does the individual have the right or perhaps the duty - to disobey the law when his mind, his conscience, or his religious faith tells him that the law is unjust?” On 14 September, MP Kit, the Minister for Crime and Policing, announced encouragement to the public to “report their neighbors for any suspected breaches of the new ‘rule of six’”. The ‘rule of six’ refers to new regulations that make it illegal to meet socially in groups of more than six indoors and outdoors in England and Scotland, and indoors in Wales. While members of the public have wondered if they are being called upon to make up for lack of enforcement, officials are calling for nation-wide camaraderie in keeping COVID-19 levels low. In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Martin Hewitt, the National Police Chief’s

Council’s chairman, stated that new restrictions “[rely] on all of us being responsible” when asked about Malthouse’s statements. What does this mean for the public? Will we peer out of our windows to call 101 on the old woman with seven family members visiting? Or will only illegal raves be closed down quickly with responsible actions from good civilians? A new emotional challenge in this pandemic will be combatting the cognitive dissonance of our moral compass. Those who feel morally obligated to follow restrictions may feel uncomfortable reporting their neighbours, while those following the rules for the betterment of the community may feel distressed by those with blatant disregard for the pandemic. It’s unclear whether the government wants to bring together communities to fight COVID-19 or are just making up for the difficulty in enforcing the restrictions. Asking the public to report neighbors is not a new tactic in emergency situations. Cuba’s model of social control relies strongly on the public. Cuban citizens have long been asked by

their government to report neighbors participating in any illegal activity in an attempt to curb black market trade. The threat of a possible report by neighbors creates a fear that reduces the amount of illegal activity publicly and visibly happening. Cuba’s model is somewhat reminiscent of Soviet social control due it’s threatening nature. However, the Cuban model is unique in that it produced an incentive to report suspicious activity and actions that seem criminal in the name of ‘contributions to society’. Cuba is not the only nation with a history of neighborhood watch though. Looking at the United States, we find another long held culture of reporting illegal activity amongst neighbors. American ‘neighborhood watch’ culture has been a prominent aspect of community living since the early 1960s. Shortly after the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York City, many civilian groups created local watch schedules to protect their residents from crime by liasing with the police. Seeing this response, the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA) created the National Neighborhood Watch Program in 1972 to

allow for a standardized structure to enhance legal enforcement. However the intensity of this program in America has directly contributed to gentrification of neighborhoods and stereotyping what a “dangerous” person may appear as. There are proven inadequacies when law enforcement is put into the hands of the people. Conversation around these inadequacies resurfaced in 2012 following the murder of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, after a neighborhood watch member deemed him to be suspicious through racial profiling. Essentially, neighborhood watch programs that are used long term in Cuba and the United States have shown to create communities that are hostile to one another. However, could this tactic work for a specific purpose, such as short term enforcement of COVID-19 regulations? We can look to South Africa, where there has been a long standing requirement to report others who may have serious and infectious diseases, including plague and anthrax. There are intense repercussions for not notifying healthcare providers of noticeable viruses, including up to 10 years in jail. This

rule has sparked a new conversation in South Africa around its effectiveness to battle pandemic situations, such as COVID-19. South African government officials report this rule to be effective in identifying cases in a short period of time. Could this method be the origin story of new government guidelines in the UK? Historically, this ‘report thy neighbour’ strategy seems to have been implemented in extremely partisan nations (like the US) suggesting a link between asking civilians to watch their neighbors and the creation of an adversarial environment. The British public, although at times divided, would most likely have little incentive to report neighbors they otherwise get on well with. COVID-19 cases are continually on the rise with business reopenings and movement as its catalyst. This new guideline to report neighbors with suspected cases is an attempt to push home the importance of following restrictions. Perhaps police are having difficulty enforcing new restrictions, so in turn civilians are called upon. While a facade of community engagement is created, divisions are only strengthened by turning on one another.

11 SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020

MISINFORMATION AND MANIPULATION CHERWELL TALKS TO ASMA WAHEED, MEMBER OF THE OXFORD FORUM FOR QUESTIONING ‘EXTREMISM’, AS SHE TALKS ABOUT WHAT HAS GONE WRONG IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET

n Phaedrus, Socrates warns against the latest invention of writing, fearing that this new tool could spell the destruction of the oral tradition of learning and communication. Certainly, Socrates understood the utility of writing in recording information and making it distributable, however he feared that humanity would become too reliant on this invention and would descend into engagement with the page, as opposed to one another. Perhaps Socrates’ forecast has not aged well with regards to writing. However, his overarching concern on the social impact of a new apparatus that changes our process of acquiring knowledge seems relevant now more than ever. Modern technological advances were intended to bring us closer together, giving us access to more information than ever before. Yet in today’s internet age, many of us

the algorithm behind this mechanism can be used for more sinister ends than one might immediately anticipate. Our online presence exists within an echo chamber. The algorithm used by Facebook and other platforms tailors news feeds specific to each account. By analysing our previous attention patterns, our news feeds predict what material we are most likely to engage with to maximise our time spent on its platform. For example, if you have already engaged with politically left-wing content, the algorithm will continue to reproduce similar material for you to consume. These companies are not primarily concerned with the accuracy of the information that is being disseminated, but more so with monetising your time spent on their service. This positive feedback loop of only seeing content that you are likely to engage with creates an echo chamber where outside opinions and views are blocked out. Not only does this harden one’s views without any effective counterbalance or credible fact-checking, but it often misrepresents the views of others, leading to hostility and distrust of those with differing opinions. But what users fail to realise is that no one person will see the exact same feed that they themselves will see. The media that we all consume on these applications are completely different. Due to social media, political leanings have become increasingly polarised, with the middle ground slowly dissipating and opposed groups less willing to engage each other in debate. Social media companies have been operating with little regulation and transparency until relatively recently. They have capitalised upon a new marketplace which trades on our personal and private experiences. This is made possible by the mass surveillance facilitated by cookies in people’s internet usage. Shoshana Zuboff coins the term ‘surveillance capitalism’, defining it as “…parasitic and self-referential. It revives Karl Marx’s old image of capitalism as a vampire that feeds on labour, but with an unexpected turn. Instead of labour, surveillance capitalism feeds on every aspect of every human’s experience.” Often without an individual intentionally consenting, our data has become a commodity that can be sold to the

highest bidder. The insidious results of what happens when our data is not protected, or even seen as private or personal, is exemplified by the Cambridge Analytica scandal during the 2016 Brexit vote and the US

Cambridge Analytica took advantage of the fact that these social media platforms did not have a fact checking service (however, Twitter has recently introduced one and Facebook is in the process of launching one) — the algorithm does not

election in the same year. The Vote Leave campaign supposedly laundered around £750,000 through the data company and a Canadian data company called AggregateIQ. This was done, via offshoots of the campaign such as BeLeave and Leave.EU, to intentionally release a barrage of targeted ads to those that Cambridge Analytica had identified as “persuadable”. These were ads of misinformation, used to sow fear and hatred of migrants and refugees to manipulate the electorate into favouring stricter border control. And it worked. These targeted ads swayed the small fraction of people needed to swing the vote to leave the EU. Similar tactics were used in the 2016 US Election: Cambridge Analytica illegally harvested

care what the users consume as long as the users spend a long time consuming. This mechanism was exploited to spread fake, sensationalist information to a consumerist population that barely bothers to fact check for themselves. Whether a fact checking service will be of any use is highly disputed —a study at Yale found that informing users to potential fake news was not effective with helping users to correctly identify fake news, with only a 3.7% improvement. Regardless, such platforms should take accountability in providing such a service, and consumers should take responsibility in confirming the news that they read. Political parties haven’t just been using social media to manipulate elections to their own benefit, but also to destabilise other countries. A more popular example of this is Putin’s Russia: the Russian government was able to exploit already existing political divides in order to cause chaos and spread more misinformation during the 2016 US election and Brexit, paying particular attention to racial divisions. In the countdown to the US election, they directly reached 30 million accounts. Through hacking Hillary Clinton’s emails and posting them online via Wikileaks into the public domain, the Russian government directly aided Trump in smearing her campaign. Russia’s Internet Re-

“ O U R D ATA H A S B E C O M E

A C O M M O D I T Y T H AT CAN BE SOLD TO THE H I G H E S T B I D D E R”

cannot help but feel disconnected, polarised and isolated. How is it that social media and our online presence has engulfed us in a sea of misunderstanding, with islands of truth few and far between? The answer seems to lie in the monetising of our digital presence and the manipulation of the consumer to profitable ends. Advertising is a central tenet of the capitalist model of consumerism. Motivating people to buy your product has been an essential part of business strategy since Edward Bernays pioneered public relations by integrating glamor into promotions. Billboards and television commercials have always been an arena for corporations to persuade large audiences to choose their commodity, however with handheld mobiles and personal social media accounts now, ads can be increasingly more tailored to the individual consumer. Search for a camera on Google, and you might see ads for a camera on Instagram the following day. In-built microphones can track conversations and background noise to build a profile of the consumer which social media platforms like Facebook have access to – a writer at Vice conducted an experiment to test this phenomenon in mid-2018 and showed that our conversations are being tracked. The existence of webpage cookies, which hold a significant amount of data specific to an individual user, are also undoubtedly important in tailoring ads to the individual. Such targeted ads might come across as innocent and even convenient, but

“CURRENTLY THE FUTURE LOOKS BLEAK: IF WE CONTINUE ON THIS PATH WHERE PERSONAL DATA AND PRIVACY ARE VALUABLE COMMODITIES” 87 million Facebook profiles in the US under the guise of academic research, and manipulated them through targeted ads to sway the vote in Donald Trump’s favour.

search Agency (IRA) also had some influence on the EU referendum: studies have shown that around 15 to 150 thousand Russia-affiliated Twitter bots collectively sent tweets regarding the Brexit vote in “an effort to spread disinformation and discord”; the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) calculated that these Twitter bots were responsible for 1.76% of the Leave vote share. Although the effectiveness of Russian i nter fer ence during the 2016 US election and Brexit is highly contested, this never t heless serves as undeniable proof of the ease and intention to manipulate a population’s voting patterns through u n r e g u l ate d social media platforms. Currently, the future looks bleak: if we continue on this path where personal data and privacy are valuable commodities, the already faltering notion of democracy will cease to exist. Society itself has become fractured and divided, to the extent that the middle ground is scarce, and compromise seems off the table. What can be gleaned by the abuse of social media and surveillance capitalism in manipulating our mindsets is that we must increase awareness of targeted advertisements, encourage consumers to question the accuracy of the content they receive and engage in discussions that need to be held. Strategies have to be constructed and implemented by governments to challenge the misinformation pandemic and restore some sense and trust into our democratic institution. The Oxford Forum for Questioning ‘Extremism’ (OFQE) will be hosting a panel discussion on the 23rd of October to discuss misinformation and electoral interference in view of the 2020 US Election. They will be hosting Anthony Scaramucci, Will Lewis, David Shimer and Dr Jonathan Eyal. You can find out more about the OFQE’s events and activity at www. OFQE.co.uk. Picture atrribution: WWW.SHOTCATALOG.COM

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Cherwell

FEATURES

OXFORD’S EYESORES: BRUTALISM’S PLACE AMONG THE DREAMING SPIRES CAITRIONA DOWDEN

or most, to think of Oxford is to think of its historic architecture, from the Anglo Saxon Tower of St. Michael and Christ Church’s twelfth century cathedral, to the neo-classical buildings of the Victorian era. The city centre has retained an unusually consistent aesthetic, largely thanks to the limestone favoured by centuries of architects. It has served as a backdrop for ‘Harry Potter’, ‘His Dark Materials’, and ‘Brideshead Revisited’; for a lot of prospective students, the idea of studying in ‘the Hogwarts Library’ (the Duke Humphrey’s) is no small part of the university’s appeal. But the dreaming spires are only one side of the story. They might dominate the skyline, along with the dome of the Radcliffe Camera and the Magdalen bell tower, but the concrete Denys Wilkinson building is just as striking, and many newer colleges are more evocative of Soviet apartment blocks than the courtyards and cloisters of a fictional wizarding school. Often, buildings that don’t conform to the city’s historical aesthetic are decried as ‘eye-

sores’. At best, they are treated as functional, but unfortunate. They rarely appear on prospectuses or postcards, with the oldest, most typically picturesque buildings tending to take centre stage. Most colleges have an ‘ugly’ quad built during the 1960s or 70s, tucked out of sight, and tourists are often unaware that the Bodleian Library complex includes the brutalist EFL as well as the Radcliffe Camera and Old Bod. For those who live in North Oxford, Margery Fry and Elizabeth Nuffield House (the concrete accommodation block overlooking Little Clarendon Street) is as much a part of their surroundings as Wellington Square or St. John’s College. Yet the description of the block on Somerville’s website is almost apologetic: ‘As for the architecture, well, it was the 1960’s, everyone was doing it!’. The city’s ‘eyesores’ are hardly the product of thoughtless design. St. Catherine’s College, opened in 1962, was the brainchild of Danish architect, Arne Jacobson. He designed not only the building, but the furniture, lampshades, and even the cutlery, guided by

the principle that everything should be both highly functional, and aesthetically pleasing. The result is a building that captures the spirit of an Oxford college in an innovative way, using modern materials and a more open plan layout than is typical of older institutions. The quad was designed so as to integrate the building with its environment, and the grounds were declared a Registered Garden in 1994. Jacobson’s decision to build a college without surrounding walls is indicative of the level of consideration that informed his design. According to the architect, when visiting the city, he noticed that the students’ gowns were often in tatters. When he asked why, they explained that they had to climb over the college walls when they came back late, and that the gowns were useful for covering the glass shards protruding from them. St. Catherine’s might not be as ostentatious as medieval colleges that teem with gargoyles and boast ornate facades, but it is certainly not antithetical to the principle that academic institutions ought to be aesthetically inspiring.

Perhaps it is this contrast that makes Oxford’s concrete structures such a talking point, because they are hardly unique to the city. Across the UK, the need to repair damage caused by the Blitz gave rise to rapid rebuilding efforts during the 1950s, and concrete was a practical choice: cheap, relatively durable, and easily cast into shape. Brutalist structures are far more prevalent in areas that were more heavily bombed, such as London, Manchester, and Southampton. Their popularity declined from the mid-1970s onwards, with brutalism coming to be seen as a mark of poor taste. Concrete ages poorly, showing water damage and decay, and is often associated with the perceived deprivation and hardship of Soviet Europe. Certainly, brutalism often went hand in hand with socialist ideology, and proliferated in Yugoslavia, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and the USSR. It was considered a means of ensuring good living conditions for all at minimal cost. In the capitalist West, ‘communist’ has often been a sufficiently pejorative adjective to consign

the brutalist movement to the category of failed architectural experiments. Often these criticisms are misplaced, resting on the assumption that because brutalist buildings are functional, they are the result of austere pragmatism as opposed to more elaborate architectural styles that embody lofty ideals. But it is inaccurate to characterise the concrete landscapes of the 1950-80s as an elevation of the practical over the aesthetic. The intellectual climate that gave rise to brutalism was inherently utopian and ideological. The name itself is somewhat misleading, suggesting violent or austere connotations, when it is in fact derived from ‘béton brut’, a French term for raw concrete. It was coined by the critic Reyner Banham to describe the movement of modernist architects such as Le Corbusier and Alison and Peter Smithson, who sought to create simple buildings without unnecessary ornamentation, characterised by geometric shapes, sharp lines, and modular design. Functionalism was certainly a driving force;

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020

brutalist buildings first and foremost fulfilled their purpose. But brutalism also espoused positive values; central to the movement was the idea that buildings should honestly express their materials. This was a conscious rejection of styles considered bourgeoise and associated with earlier forms of government, in-keeping with the post-war emphasis on social welfare, cooperation, and equality. Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that brutalism is seeing a revival. There are 836k Instagram posts tagged ‘#brutalism’, and photography books such as Christopher Herwig’s ‘Soviet Bus Stops’ have garnered considerable attention. With the economic downturn of 2008, and the political disillusionment of young people in the wake of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the appeal of brutalist idealism is understandable. With growing appreciation for the buildings described by Prince Charles as ‘piles of concrete’ will Oxford’s ‘eyesores’ come to be seen as integral to its architectural wealth, rather than antithetical to it? Ought we to treat the Denys Wilkinson building and St. Catherine’s College as a celebrated chapter in Oxford’s aesthetic history, or as evidence of a period better forgotten? The challenge of how to build in a city so saturated with history is not a new one, and the brutalists of the 1960s were not the first to face criticism for altering Oxford’s urban landscape. The Oxford Movement emerged in the 19th century, amongst members of the Church of England whose ideology would eventually develop into Anglo-Catholicism, and made a decisive mark on Oxford’s skyline. It originated at Oriel College, where a group of young fellows including John Henry Newman and William Palmer attached themselves to the older John Keble. They advocated a revival of ‘catholic’ thought and practice, railing against the idea that state ought to have supremacy over the Church in ecclesiastical matters. This was accompanied by a renewed interest in medieval social structures and consequently, its architecture. In the Cambridge Camden Society’s journal, ‘The Ecclesiologist’, John Mason Neale argued that Churches should only be built in the Gothic style, because it reflected the religious priorities of striving for heaven through prayer, sacrament, and the Christian virtues. These ideas were influential, and gothic

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revivalism became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century. Pusey House Chapel and St. Barnabas Church exemplify the style, using modern materials to imitate the design of medieval churches. Perhaps the most ambitious attempt to express the Oxford Movement’s ideology through architecture is Keble College, built during the 1870s in memory of the eponymous churchman. Its architect, William Butterfield, was closely associated with the movement. In the words of William Whyte, his design sought ‘to make visible the dogmas and creeds of the Catholic Church’. The chapel is particularly impressive, with its high, vaulted ceiling evoking the twelfth and thirteenth century churches designed to inspire awe and elevate the soul. Whereas brutalism abhors unnecessary decoration, proponents of gothic architecture, such as Abbot Suger (1091-1151), believed that contemplating material beauty allowed the mind to ascend, and apprehend divine truths. However, Butterfield had more in common with his brutalist suc-

could attend, and the large dining hall was a reaction against the habits of aristocratic students who ate in their rooms, attended to by servants. Criticism partly arose from elitist opposition to that vision, and one wonders if similar attitudes are responsible for some of the 21st-century complaints about 1960s architecture. Both celebrating the Middle Ages and signalling reform, Keble College evoked both tradition and progress. This reflects a tension within academia itself. While scholarship seeks to further knowledge, institutions such as Oxford are often accused of being out of touch. The university has its roots in a curriculum that exalted the authority of early church fathers, ancient philosophers and mathematicians. Whilst a lot has changed since the Middle Ages, the debate about the role of the canon in academia is ongoing, and sometimes controversial, with students questioning the Western-centric reading lists that are often the default. The Theology faculty changed its name to ‘The Faculty of Theology and Religion’ in 2012, to reflect a more global approach, and there is ongoing discussion in the Philosophy Faculty as to whether an historical or conceptual approach ought to be taught. Students wear archaic academic garb (sub-fusc) to exams, but it has been gender neutral since 2012, again reflecting a reverence for tradition tempered by a desire to evolve with the times. Unlike the Oxford Movement and its architecture, brutalism does not attempt to reconcile those forces. Whilst Butterfield sought to enjoin medieval values with reforming ideals, brutalism u n apologetically looks f o r wards, celebrati n g

Brutalism unapologetically

looks forwards, celebrating the new and disregarding the old cessors than the elaborate décor of Keble College might suggest. Students have mocked the building for looking like a lasagne, because its redbrick exterior is punctuated by stripes of yellow and blue. This was a controversial choice at the time. Supposedly, when the new college was unveiled, it was so hated that students at St. John’s founded ‘The Destroy Keble Society’, with the aim of demolishing it one brick at a time. The material had partly been chosen because it was cheaper than stone, but Butterfield was also driven by idealism: Keble was admirable because it was honest, and truthful, a guiding principle of neo-Gothic architecture. Rather than adding an ornate façade, he had designed a building whose decorations were integral to its structure. The brick was self-ornamenting, and its beauty was not used to hide its structure. At the centre of gothic revivalism was a conflation of ethics and aesthetics characteristic of medieval thought: the truth of a building was inherently beautiful. The college also shared many of the social principles embodied by brutalist architecture: it was built as cheaply as possible so that those from poorer backgrounds

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the new and disregarding the old. It is sometimes associated with futurism, an early twentieth-century movement that emerged in Italy, although while brutalism is underpinned by socialist values,

architecture raises the question of whether it will ever be possible to design new buildings for Oxford without being accused of erecting yet another ‘eyesore’. Must architects simply imitate the aesthetic of the medieval university? The tension between tradition and progress is evident in many of the university’s newest buildings. The Blavatnik School of Government, designed by Herzog and Meuron and unveiled in 2016, was described by the RIBA as ‘a modern cathedral of learning’. Much as the Keble College chapel expresses religious ideals through its architecture, Blavatnik was designed to communicate a commitment to democracy and political progress. As the RIBI Journal surmises, ‘It’s about democracy, so it’s circular, political transparency, so it’s glass, and Oxford, so there’s stone’. Its glass exterior reflects the more typically ‘Oxford-esque’ University Press building opposite, while the almost futuristic structure is striking in itself. It both literally mirrors the historic university, and envisions its future. Whether new generations of residents deem it worthy to join the ranks of the Bodleian Library and Christ Church Cathedral, or dismiss it as a misguided blemish marring the university’s archaic beauty is yet to be seen. Ultimately, it is in-keeping with a city whose architecture embodies the ongoing tension between tradition and progress that is so often at the centre of academic institutions. It is a centuries-old question posed not only by the city’s students and academics, but by its streets and its skyline.

A celebrated chapter in Oxford’s history, or a period better forgotten? the latter came to ally itself with fascism. The futurists celebrated invention and progress, and favoured art and architecture that expressed movement. In his provocative 1909 Futurist Manifesto, F.T. Marinetti called for the destruction of everything old, including museums and libraries, in favour of industrial landscapes. Rather than seeking to build a lasting legacy, the futurists envisaged their successors following suit, destroying what had come before them in pursuit of progress. There was certainly a darker side to the movement’s idealism, with its celebration of violence and struggle as essential for development. Whilst the brutalists embraced these principles of progress, they emphasised the importance of humane social structures. In light of recent discourse surrounding the removal of statues celebrating Britain’s colonial past, and calls to acknowledge that so much of Oxford’s iconic architecture has profited from the oppression of the colonised, the appeal of a movement such as brutalism, that refuses to glorify its pred e ce s sors, is u n d e rstandable. T h e widespread disdain for both K e b l e College and the c i t y ’ s brutalist

Artwork by Rachel Jung

Friday, 16th October 2020 | Cherwell

SPORT

Bailey Kavanagh

Making Football Fun: Lessons from Carlos Kaiser

’d like to start with the story of Carlos Raposo. Raposo, or ‘Kaiser’, as he was better known, was one of Brazil’s most famous footballers for over 20 years and perhaps the most spectacular conman in the sport’s history. Despite his standing as a footballing superstar, he never appeared in a single competitive fixture. Kaiser couldn’t play football, and built a career spanning three decades off of a completely manufactured reputation. In his own words, he “wanted to be a footballer, but did not want to play football”. The con, at its simplest, involved befriending huge numbers of journalists, scouts and players during his extravagant partying, and then asking them to vouch for him whenever he needed a transfer. Naturally, he needed transfers often - if he’d ever actually kicked a ball, he would have been exposed as a fraud and unceremoniously kicked out of football for good. At every new club, after arriving to much fanfare, he would claim to be injured, out of match fitness, or not yet sharp enough to train with the ball. When his employers invariably got fed up, Kaiser would just have his friends in the media write a new series of fictional stories about him to get him re-hired, and the partying would continue. The lengths that the socalled “King of Rio” would go to to not play football only escalated as his renown grew. footballer, and Kaiser was the coolest of them conversations happen, about every single He paid youth team players to injure him all. element of the deal, each one to be rendered and supposedly bribed a doctor that one club I can’t be alone in thinking that it’s a irrelevant the second a ball is kicked. hired to cure him of his made up ailments. shame that the tale of ‘the greatest footballer I was watching the end of this summer’s In 1986, after a move to Europe, his new club to never play football’ has to be consigned to transfer window closely. I’m an Arsenal Gazélec Ajaccio arranged a training session in the history books - it’s just too much fun for supporter, and was anxious to see if longfront of fans to celebrate his arrival. Instead that. And yet, it is so obviously clear that it promised midfield reinforcements were actuof playing badly and ruining his image as one couldn’t happen today. The internet would ally going to show up. Late on deadline day, a of Brazil’s most exciting exports, Kaiser spent have hung Kaiser out to dry of course, but the friend sent me a link tracking a private plane the entire session kicking the ball into the issue to me seems to be more about how we that had left Madrid about an hour earlier. He stands and kissing the badge. as fans interact with our sports teams. We’re argued that this Athletico Madrid’s Thomas At Bangu, he was put on the bench. At 2-0 watching too closely. If anyone had taken the Partey was on the plane, and that this was down, Kaiser was sent to warm the final piece of evidence that we up. After 10 years, he was going needed before we could rest easy. (The to be made to play, and his life as a “IT WAS ABOUT BEING A COOL friend was wrong, the plane took a tellplayboy footballer would be over. His ing right-hand turn over Paris). relationships with the footballing FOOTBALLER, AND K AISER WAS I’m not trying to argue that anyone elite of Rio would collapse, he’d lose should care less, or even that they access to the exclusive clubs he so THE COOLEST OF THEM ALL” should spend less time thinking about loved, and the near constant drugfootball, but we might be thinking about fuelled womanising would end. This the wrong stuff. It’s great that fans get could not be allowed. He started a riot. Acting time to actually check, to hunt down his stats, excited about new signings, tracking planes upon the unseen ‘provocations’ of opposition to know everything about his career path, might just be unhelpful. It’s not that there’s fans, he jumped the fence, started fighting, playing style and footballing philosophy, he anything wrong with caring about the deand was shown a red card before he could wouldn’t have stood a chance. Kaiser was able tails, but I do wonder if anyone’s enjoyment come on. His contract was extended for six to exist not because he was pre-internet, but of football is in any way enhanced by knowing months and his salary doubled as a thank you because the footballing world didn’t sweat the name of your club’s goalkeeping coach. for defending the club’s honour. His entire the small stuff as much. More and more, we convince ourselves that career is shrouded in mystery. Kaiser would Think about what would happen today if the stuff around the game is just as interesttell you that he spent eight years in France, Kaiser signed for your club. First would come ing and worth caring about as the actual footbecoming a club legend at Ajaccio. Wikithe weeks of brilliantly click-baitey news ball. We speculate about sell-on and buy-back pedia tentatively claim that he “allegedly” articles. Someone would put a compilation clauses in player contracts. We worry about played there. The Ajaccio chairman does not of all his greatest moments to dubstep and the effect on the wage structure of a big new remember him ever showing up. The entire post it to Youtube Someone else would make signing. We pretend to all be statisticians, story feels like a period piece, set on the wona montage of all his worst moments, and use business consultants, and fitness experts to derful backdrop of Brazilian football culture it as evidence to argue that the club should show how much we care. It seems to me that of the 70s and 80s. Showmanship, pomp and fire the scouting department. There would be following a sport, and caring about as much spectacle stood above sporting talent as the dozens of Twitter threads about whether he as we do about the detail is like to sitting way keys to impressing the gatekeepers of Rio’s should be deployed in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Betoo close to the television. You can see every socialite class. It wasn’t so much about being fore anyone is actually photographed holding pixel, sure, but they’re individually meaninga good footballer, it was about being a cool the shirt, hundreds of thousands of small less, and the movie would just be prettier if

you moved back a bit and enjoyed watching them link up. I think that this problem extends beyond how we watch football, and into how the game is played. I was excited for the introduction of VAR, but understand now why there is so much disdain for every decision it makes. There is nothing pretty about a marginal offside call. Absolutely no-one is watching football to figure out whether your hair counts as a part of your body that can play a striker on-side. We spend an absurd amount of time talking about the intricacies of the hand-ball rule, and debating where arms begin and shoulders end, whether arm-pits are a part of the body, or just the gap between your arm and your shoulder. It’s there to stop people picking the ball up, or volleyballspiking it into the goal. Anyone who plays casual football understands that, and can tell intuitively when a foul is being committed. There is a natural sense of what is and isn’t a hand-ball, that seemed to largely work until now. On the pitch, somehow, football needs to relax. This season, I’m going to try to care about football just as much as before, but sweat the small stuff less. Hopefully, I’ll forget the name of the Arsenal CEO, and worry less about the club’s finances. I’ll try to watch games, to enjoy the sport, the pageantry and the showmanship before checking twitter to find out who is playing well. I’d like to think that if football as a whole left scouting to the scouts, and accounting to the accountants, and we all just switched off a little, another story as brilliant as Carlos Kaiser’s would come along. If there ever comes to be another fake footballer, I hope that none of us will be paying enough attention to notice him.

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Article in the Brazilian penal code about scammers

Slices of pizza once consumed by Kaiser in a restaurant

Age of Kaiser when he signed his first professional contract

Score when Kaiser was told to go on for Bangu

Cherwell | Friday, 16th October 2020

WOMEN’S CRICKET VARSITY 2020: THE SHOEING OF THE TABS Amy Hearn

reparing for a varsity match in the middle of a pandemic felt a bit like getting your first reading list in ‘remote’ Trinity and realising all of the books you needed were stuck in the Bodleian. There were problems upon problems and you’d not long solved one before it was replaced with another, like finding the book you’ve been looking for on JSTOR, logging in, and seeing ‘Your institution does not have access to this book’ sitting there smugly in red on your screen. It was ‘just another game of cricket’ played in a year where nothing, not even the eighth tutorial essay of term, was ‘just another’ anything. The pandemic had turned twelve games into one; it was the first and last game of the university season. We usually play two varsity matches against Cambridge (a T20 and a 50-over game) but with Trinity term online and the start of the cricket season indefinitely postponed by Boris’s national lockdown, ‘shoeing the Tabs’ at University Parks felt a long way away. When the lockdown was lifted, we were told there was a chance of playing against Cambridge, and by early August the game was official, which left us with four weeks’ preparation time. The first thing we had to do was decide whether we used the T20 or 50-over format for our post-lockdown varsity match. We don’t usually have any input on this; cricket loves its traditions, and the varsity formats stay the same year on year, as does our fixture list. But the pandemic threw tradition out of the window this year and the choice was ours to make. We got in touch with the ‘old enemy’ for some unprecedented collabora-

tion and decided on the shorter (T20) format, because despite the fact that Cambridge had played two friendlies (including one against the MCC), it was our first game as a team this season. But we had University Parks for a whole day, so we organised a second, ‘friendly’ T20 for the afternoon. For once, ‘shoeing the Tabs’ wasn’t the most important thing (that isn’t to say it wasn’t important, of course) about the varsity match; we wanted both teams to get as much out of the day as possible. It had been frustrating to have our season

S P O R T S

UP THE VILLA Ruby Potts

Three wins in a row, 2nd in the league, and with a game in hand, the boys in Claret and Blue are exceeding all expectations. As a lifelong Aston Villa fan, I had my doubts about their most recent fixture against Liverpool. Relegation survivors versus reigning champions, the 7-2 thriller that ensued shocked viewers: Liverpool conceding seven goals for the first time since 1963, Villa off to their best league start since 1962. The momentum Aston Villa have been carrying since the re-start is electric, defensively tight, presenting a real attacking threat. The record £28m signing of Ollie Watkins has already paid its dividends with his hattrick against Jurgen Klopp’s men. The arrival of Emi Martinez has helped Villa

postponed at the last minute, especially after a productive winter; like being told on Christmas Eve that Christmas Day was cancelled. 2019 was a successful season for us, and with an intake of talented freshers, we had set our sights even higher this year. From a personal point-of-view, it was a big season; as an English student, I had no exams in Trinity of my second year, so I was looking forward to the only exam-free cricket season of my time at Oxford. But despite the disappointment, organising the September varsity match gave us something to work towards, and the chance

to turn all the hours we’d spent training at Iffley into a big win. With the team spread across the country from Devon to Durham, it was impossible to organise a training session before the game, so we concentrated on playing and training at our local clubs, before meeting up in Oxford at the start of September. I won the toss, deciding to bat first, and Olivia Lee-Smith and Alex Travers put on 123 for the first wicket. Lee-Smith was dismissed for 38 by an impressive direct-hit, but Travers went on to make 70, and her straight drive down the ground to bring up her half-century was the shot of the day. Emily Wilkins (23), Maddy Ross (12), and Caitlin Deacock (6*) pushed on and we made 175/4 from our 20 overs, which we were happy with, especially on a cold, wet day. Maddy Ross and I opened the bowling, and despite hitting our lines and lengths the attacking field meant Cambridge were scoring quickly, so it was a relief when I took the first wicket in my second over! An impressive 4-over spell from Hannah Sirringhaus (2/12) helped us take control of the game, and Cambridge were 57-5 when the rain came in the fourteenth over, meaning we won on Duckworth-Lewis. The second T20 was cancelled, which was a wet and disappointing end to our only day of cricket in 2020, but despite the rain, the Tabs had been well and truly shoed. With no idea what the next year has in store for us, we’re concentrating on finding a safe way to train in Michaelmas and hoping 2021 will be a better year. It’s a difficult time to take over the captaincy, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

S H O R T S

LONDON MARATHON secure two clean sheets.The further arrivals of Ross Barkley, Matty Cash, and Bertrand Traore make Aston Villa definite victors of the transfer market. The fear of a Jack Grealish’s departure subsided with the captain signing a new 5-year deal. While Tyrone Mings further delighted with a 2024 contract extension. I do not want to get too excited too quickly; we are, after all, just three games in. The upcoming fixtures against Leicester, Leeds, and Southampton may diminish my optimism. However, being a Villa fan can often be frustrating: a string of heavy defeats, a star player’s departure, or fighting relegation. For the first time in a long time, Villa fans have something to boast about, so if you’ll excuse me, I would quite like to celebrate our perfect start to the season. (Image credit: Elliott Brown)

Jess Hinks

On Sunday 4th October, runners across the world participated in the postponed London Marathon. The course for the elite athletes consisted of 19.6 laps round St James’s Park, ending on The Mall. Non-elite athletes had to compete remotely but were able to log their progress on an app and see their ranking. Matt Humphreys, who suffers from quadriplegic dystonia, became the first person to finish a London marathon in a race runner (a supportive running frame). The eyes of the marathon world have been on the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge over the past few years. However, Kipchoge failed to make an impact in the men’s race and came eighth. Shura Kitata managed to beat

Vincent Kipchumba by just one second. The women’s favourite, Brigid Kosgei, had more success than her compatriot Kipchoge, winning the race for the second year in a row. In the women’s wheelchair race, Nikita den Boer won with a new personal best. David Weir lost out on a ninth title to Brent Lakatos in the men’s wheelchair race. However, there was still lots to celebrate for the British athletes. Ben Connor achieved the Olympic qualifying time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds so could be picked for Tokyo next year, especially as Mo Farah has stated an interest in returning to the track. It will be interesting to see what the Tokyo marathon has in store and what the British team can do.

Cherwell | Tuesday, 6th October 2020

FROM THE ARCHIVE

One hundred years ago, two Balliol students had the idea for an Oxford newspaper during the long vacation of 1920. In the century since, Cherwell continues to thrive, remaining entirely independent. Each week, we look back to an article from our extensive archive. Curated by Joe Hyland Deeson

“JUST WHAT YOU’D EXPECT - ONLY WORSE”: OXFORD BAR REVIEW 1985

The final rankings of the Cherwell Bar Guide, compiled in Michaelmas term of 1985 Vol. 183, No. 8, p.11 Exeter: “A big white sterilized blank” Vol. 183, No. 6, p.9

St. John’s: “We could drink this lot under the Norrington table” Vol. 183, No. 1, p.10

Oriel: “Just what you’d expect - only worse” Vol. 183, No. 3, p.11

St. Hugh’s: “Cool lighting, cool music, cool plants, where is everyone?” Vol. 183, No. 5, p.7

Mansfield: “The only place in Oxford where you can dance on the bar” Vol. 183, No. 7, p.10