Cherwell - 5th week Trinity 2021

CATS the musical: through the years

THE SOU

RC E

CULCHER

Cherwell Independent since 1920

5th week Friday, 28th May 2021 cherwell.org Vol.292 No.4

“FINANCIAL CHALLENGES:” INSIDE THE ORIEL COLLEGE COMMISSION REPORT Matilda Gettins

The independent commission on Oriel College’s association with Cecil Rhodes released its 144-page report at the end of last week. It expressed support for the June 2020 desire expressed

by Oriel College to “remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes” located on the High Street, as well as containing “recommendations concerning educational equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)”.

Since the report’s publication, Oriel college has released that due to “regulatory and financial challenges” it will not remove the statue, and will instead focus on EDI measures.

The report outlines some of the different views expressed concerning the Cecil Rhodes statue as well as a plaque located on No.6 Edward Street, which it obtained by collecting submissions from 1447 sources. Of the 83 student

submissions, 62 supported moving the statue. Of the 338 alumni submissions, only 95 supported moving the statue. The report notes that among the “younger alumni consulted” there was a “more widespread view that the memorials should be removed”.

Of the 982 members of the general public who submitted their views, 996 were opposed to moving the statue. The report notes that almost 500 of these submissions were made within two days in March 2021, following an appeal to its supporters by the organisation Save Our Statues.

The report also summarizes some of the main arguments made in submissions for and against the removal of the statue. Arguments in favor include: “Rhodes was contentious in his own day, let alone today. The statue, when it was erected, reflected one side of an argument, not both.” Other

arguments included “retaining memorials that symbolise colonialism and racial discrimination perpertuates such ideologies today,” and “BME students, staff, citizens of Oxford … should not have to walk past symbols of racism that they find offensive and that commemorate those who oppressed their ancestors”.

Arguments against included: “Removing the memorials would reduce understanding of their context,” “we should judge historic figures by the standards of their own time, nor ours,” and “removing the memorials distracts attention from the real issues which need to be addressed”.

A further objection, made by Oriel college itself, is that as the statue is located on a Grade II* building, “[any] changes to the building – including the addition of a permanent information board to explain the history and

context, removal or replacement of the statue … would require planning consent”.

This means that if the College were to decide to remove the statue, it would need the consent of two bodies: Oxford City Council, and Historic England. The Leader of the City Council, Councillor Susan Brown has welcomed Oriel’s commitment to removing that statue in the past and said: “It would be better for the statue to be placed in a museum, such as the Ashmolean or the Museum of Oxford, to ensure this noteworthy piece of the story of our city isn’t lost to history.” Historic England, however, has adopted the Government’s emerging policy of ‘retain and explain’. In a case of disagreement between the Oxford City Council and Historic England, the Communities Secretary would have the final say.

Continued on Page 2

EAS SPENT UP TO £250,000 EMPLOYING STAFF TO KEEP UP WITH UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND Daisy Aitchison

Oxford University’s Early Alert Service spent between £200,000 and £250,000 employing external staff because existing employees were unable to keep up with demand in Michaelmas Term.

Both Thornbury Nursing Services and NHS Professionals provided staff for the service as it came under pressure at the start of Michaelmas Term 2020. A total of thirteen staff from Thornbury were employed, with NHS Professionals

providing an additional eleven.

In response, the University said that the Early Alert Service was sufficiently prepared to meet the demand for tests in Michaelmas Term and was ready to respond were a similar surge in cases to happen again, with resources “available and ready to deploy at short notice”.

Regarding the cost of employing the external staff, the Early Alert Service said: “A number of avenues were explored for staffing the testing pods in Michaelmas Term and indeed we are hugely grateful for the input from just over 50 medical students who trained and covered some shifts.

Nursing staff were in extreme

demand last year due to the demands of COVID on both clinical service and clinical research infrastructure so the University had to use agency staff to ensure our University could remain operating and students, staff and the local community could remain safe from Covid.

“Highly responsible student practice around Covid meant that over half of Oxford Colleges had no active cases by the end of Michaelmas term and that we detected no evidence of student to staff or student to community transmission.”

Earlier in the year, Cherwell revealed that the university’s Early Alert Service had failed to call all students who had tested posi-

tive for coronavirus because of a shortage of staff. There were also concerns that students were not given adequate medical advice and were instead relying on individuals without healthcare training.

At the time, the Early Alert Service said they believed that the system was “excellent” and that “colleges and departments have indicated that they have found, and continue to find, the speed of testing and the support offered by the Result Liaison Team to be invaluable”.

The Early Alert Service came under pressure in October of 2020 owing to an increased demand for coronavirus tests.

Continued on Page 3

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

2 | News

WHAT’S INSIDE LEADER I’m fine!!!

NEWS Protest marks one year since murder of George Floyd Societies condemn Oriel’s decision not to remove Rhodes statue LGBT Society responds to Oxmatch ‘homophobic’ question COMMENT Syria: what is the international community’s long term plan?

Fukushima: should we reconsider nuclear power?

2

3 5 6

8 9

LIFE How to find the ‘good’ in ‘goodbye’: breaking up and moving on

11

FOOD Cherwell and the chocolate factory

14

FEATURES The other Chinas

17

SPORT The mundane drama of the Monaco Gran Prix

19

“H

ow are you?” Oh God, here we go. I mean, I’m fine.

Don’t get me wrong, everything is pretty damn good. Current count of broken bones is zero, the sexiest man alive just won Eurovision (cleared of drug charges, too!), and I have a sneaking suspicion the sun is coming out. Nothing, I repeat, nothing, is majorly wrong. And yet, I’m not sure I have the theatrical capacity to properly pull off a sunny “Really well!” without sounding completely disingenuous. Maybe it’s just my voice: years of hanging up posters reading “I’m not a psychopath, I’m a highly functioning sociopath: do your research”, will do that to a boy just as his voice begins to break. Maybe it would be awkward if I lied and jumped for joy with sheer elation at the state of my inner universe then found out you’re grieving for your dead aunt or something.

In all actuality, though, it’s probably more that I’m doing alright, but that’s by no means to say that I’m doing great, right?

That answer, of course, would be catastrophic. Suddenly the air pressure in the room drops and everyone thinks there’s something pathological going on. “Are you okay?” Yes, I literally just told you I’m fine, everything is a-okay, now can we please move on so I can make a joke about being tired and you’ll laugh and say “same” and then you’ll realise I actually am, in fact, not suffering from anything other than a two-essay week and a bad case of being aired by a kind-of ugly man on hinge who I will definitely double-text after this conversation then spend the rest of the day being annoyed that I’m stressed about it. Like I say: all is well with the world.

When I went to counselling in Year 10

Continued from page 1 Concerning monuments, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has said: “We cannot – and should not – now try to edit or censor our past”.

The second main objection raised by Oriel college are the “financial challenges” placed by the statue’s removal. In his will, Cecil Rhodes left around 100,000 - worth around 12 million in today’s value - to Oriel college, making up “less than 2% of the value of his estate”. However, nearly all of this money has since been spent.

The financial argument arises not from the original benefaction, but from the “total cost of removal” and from the worry that the “College will lose potential future benefactions if it moves/ removes the Rhodes memorials”.

(potentially the anecdote you want to hear least at a party), the lady told me, when I said I was “doing fine, thanks, how about you?”, that “fine” stood for “Fucked up, Insecure, Not okay, and Exhausted.”

I’m not sure if she was trying to talk her way into keeping me on as a client, but I was there for exam stress, not to be told I’m Fucked Up and Insecure. I’m literally doing fine, thank you for asking. Please

health than basically any Self Care infographic on my news feed. There are literally So Many Things, and to ignore the kind of annoying ones in

“Being fine doesn’t make you Not

However, the report notes that, should the College not remove the memorials, it may also “fail to attract funding from potential donors who would not wish their donation to be associated with Rhodes’ legacy”. The report adds “A statue of Rhodes was not a requirement of the will or of any subsequent negotiation concerning the endowment.”

Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) was a “prominent figure in the history of British colonialism”, whose “career was controversial [even] during his own lifetime”.

Amongst other positions, he was Prime Minister of Cape Colony, where he made and supported “a number of important decisions [and developments] that intensified racial segregation”. These included a “labour tax for African people only”, a “segregated local

government system”, and the beginnings of “coercive compounds for black workers”.

Rhodes was a “deeply committed British imperialist” and convinced of “racial superiority”.

In an 1894 speech to Parliament he stated: “If the whites maintain their position as the supreme race, the day may come when we shall be thankful that we have the natives with us in their proper position”.

Substantial campaigning against the statue and calls for EDI measures at Oriel College began in Michaelmas Term 2015.

This period of campaigning, run in large part by ‘Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford’, was inspired by successful demonstrations against a statue of Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town. In November of that 2015, Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford presented a petition to Oriel College, demanding the movement or removal of the statue as “a welcome first step in the University’s attempt to redress the ways in which it has been an active beneficiary of empire.”

In Summer 2020, protests against the Rhodes statue resurged, “[leading] the College to issue a statement in support of racial justice and educational inclusion”. Oriel JCR and MCR carried motions to remove the statue from its current location, and, at the time, the Governing Body of Oriel also expressed its desire to see the statue moved or removed.

Image Credit: Front, Michael Day / CC BY-NC 2.0, left, Desmond Bowles / CC BY-SA 2.0

Leader I’M FINE, OKAY?! JUST LET ME BE FINE! BEN JUREIDINI

the name of not being a same time. Robyn didn’t write ‘Dancing bit awkward over coffee on my Own’ in the Year of Our Lord 2013 Okay, it could just mean that the Right not only limits the con- for us to pretend we can’t go clubbing versation (I really, really (soon, soon), have a great time, and be Person didn’t reply to your Instagram don’t want to hear about upset about something whilst doing so. your Vac Scheme), but The Calum Scott version – you know, the story and now it’s a Whole Thing” ingrains in us a fear of slow boring, Ed Sheeran one – ruins the feeling average. Feeling whole point of the song because that man average just means is very much not bopping whilst he cries help me not pass out during my non-calyou’re having a day; not A Day, but just a in the corner. Crying in the corner playculator maths GCSE. I’m not sure what day. Time is passing and I’m feeling 6/10. ing your piano is completely valid, but so the anxiety is when someone doesn’t tell I’m glad we as a society have collectiveis dancing to the Vengaboys in Park End you that life is literally-the-best-it’s-evly agreed to move on from toxic positiviand not feeling elated about it. Likewise, er-been-for-me-right-now. There’s alty, but can we please stop equating replygiving yourself some Scheduled Sad Time, ways something going wrong/stressing ing “Oh, you know” when someone asks where you listen to sad music and look you out/not replying to my sexy-yet-aphow you are with needing a brochure on out a window on to St. Giles doesn’t mean proachable banter on tinder, and pretendBenzodiazepines. It helps no one, espeyou can’t get up and go to Plush aftering it isn’t suggests that feeling miwards. Normalise listening to norly unhappy about it isn’t normal.

‘Achilles Come Down’ without worUnhappy doesn’t immediately “Crying in the corner playing your rying about someone walking in on mean clinically depressed, it just you. As per literally always, Taylor means I’m not actively thrilled right piano is completely valid, but so is Swift said it best: “I might be okay now. Being fine doesn’t make you but I’m not fine at all.” She’d just Not Okay, it could just mean that the dancing to the Vengaboys in Park broken up with Jake Gyllenhaal, so Right Person didn’t reply to your Infair enough to not be fine, but the stagram story and now it’s a Whole End and not feeling elated about it.” whole point is that she’s not parThing (yes, Cherwell, I’m being ticularly happy, but she’s living her ghosted right now, what about it?). life any way: she’ll be okay and she That girl who WokeUpInTheMornincially when things really are bad. We need knows it. I don’t know about you, but I’m ThinkinAboutSoManyThings did more to stop acting as if feeling A Bit Sad means feeling okay, pretty decent, not all that for realistic presentations of mental you can’t actively enjoy things at the bad, and fine. How about you?

News | 3 UNION

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

“Everyone’s Invited” founder Soma Sara speaks at the Oxford Union Flora Dyson

CW: Rape and assault Soma Sara, the founder of the viral Instagram account and website Everyone’s Invited, spoke at the Oxford Union on Wednesday 17th May. The campaign posts testimonies from sexual assault survivors and focuses on UK educational institutions, aiming to “eradicate rape culture” in the UK. It shot to fame after the death of Sarah Everard in March 2021 and has received over 16,000 testimonies since its beginning in June 2020. Sara argues Everyone’s Invited is the catalyst for government efforts to tackle sexual assault, sparking an Ofsted review into misogyny within schools.

Soma Sara, 22, stepped up to the Oxford Union podium with a resolute air of courage and dignity, despite this talk being her first in-person public event. Her focus was rape culture, defining

UNIVERSITY Continued from page 1 Minutes from the University’s COVID-19 bronze planning group state that “as of 17 October, due to an increase in positive cases, EAS Results Liaison Team (RLT) did not have capacity to make phone calls to the individual students testing positive. Emails notifying the index case and the SPOCs continue, but the RLT does not phone the index case unless they receive an email request from the SPOC. “Colleges were concerned that SPOCs, who are not medical professionals, were having to advise students. The Group noted that the issue was being reviewed (as were the wider issues of EAS capacity).”

Later in the month the same group noted that “the service has staffing challenges in a number of areas, currently having a reliance on external temporary agencies to supply nursing staff. A range of options are being considered for the service and requirements for recruitment are being developed.

“It was noted that the role of the Results Liaison Team (RLT) needed further clarification, in terms of what the University required from the team.

“The testing service has been successful and the increased demand for the service has placed strain on resources. Work was ongoing to identify the right candidates to resource the service.”

In Trinity Term the university’s testing service has been expanded to include twice weekly asymptomatic testing for students who wish to book a slot. The tests are available at University Club on Mansfield Road, St Luke’s Chapel in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter and the Richard Doll Building on the O l d Road C a mpus.

it as a “systemic social problem” surrounding “power, gender, and entitlement”. Sara declared that “we are all complicit in rape culture… Yes - I am complicit in rape culture. Yes - you are complicit in rape culture”. When asked by Cherwell how we could tackle our own internalised misogyny and attitudes towards rape culture, Sara encouraged the audience to read testimonies and repeatedly “check yourself”.

Sara addressed issues surrounding the phrase “rape culture”: some believe it is too extreme, over-emphasising misogynistic attitudes within society. Sara argued the phrase is as thoughtprovoking as it is realistic, proven by the onslaught of testimonies Everyone’s Invited has received.

Sara feels it is “uplifting” and cathartic to see so many survivors come forward and speak about their experiences, stressing intersectionality when considering

survivor testimonies. Similarly, she stated that survivors are not exclusively female - Sara said male survivors face greater stigmatisation when revealing their experiences, made easier by the platform’s anonymity.

Sara went on to say that she believes that the social media platform acts as a safe-space for sexual assault survivors: “a place for people to freely share without the fear of shame or judgement”.

It seeks to eradicate a culture of victim-blaming which plagues society and ostracises sexual assault surviviors. However, when asked about the perils of social media by an audience member, Sara admitted that it is in fact a “double-edged sword”. Social media, she said, has an ability to negatively exacerbate issues, used to circulate unsolicited images and increasing access to pornography.

She also emphasised the need

for courage when speaking about experiences of sexual assault and calling out rape culture. Sara revealed her own experiences of harassment and assault, a topic she rarely touches on. Sara revealed that she had glass bottles thrown at her after shouting back at cat-callers at the age of 17. Sara encouraged the audience to become “active bystanders,” which involves safe and effective intervention to make disapproval of rape culture-encouraging behavoiurs clear. She believes such “little moments of bravery” help address a toxic culture of misogyny, rather than demonise perpetrators of such misogyny in an effort to distance Everyone’s Invited from “cancel culture”.

When asked about the future of Everyone’s Invited by the host, Sara stressed a move from focussing on specific institutions such as schools and universities, to targeting the wider culture of

misogyny. Everyone’s Invited has recently stopped naming the schools of sexual assault perpetrators, though it continues to name universities. It received a disproportionate demographic of testimonies from private schools which Soma Sara believes does not reflect the endemic nature of UK rape culture.

She did, however, argue that the initial naming of schools on the platform was attentiongrabbing, which forced government action on the issue. Sara also believes it helped more sexual assault surviviors to come forward about their experiences as they were able to relate to those already posted. She argued that this naming decreased stigmatisation which often makes survivors feel invalidated.

A full video of the speech and Q&A segment will be uploaded to the Oxford Union’s YouTube page.

UNIVERSITY

Protest marks one year since murder of George Floyd and calls for removal of of Cecil Rhodes Matilda Gettins

On the 25th May at 17:30, around 250 protestors demanded anti-racist measures from the government and the University. The protest marked the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and criticised Oriel College’s decision not to take down the High Street Statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes.

The protest began at Bonn Square, with a speaker criticising the UK government’s denial of the institutional racism. He said “What happened to George Floyd has happened in the UK,” with protesters holding up signs saying #UKisNotInnocent. George Floyd was a Black man murdered by a White Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. His murder led to the wider spread of the BLM movement, sparking a global wave of

anti-racist and police-divestment demonstrations.

Individuals came forth and read out the names of UK victims of police brutality. The crowd then shouted the names as an act of remembrance, known as #SayTheirName. The protestors took the knee in solidarity, and raised their fists into the air.

A speaker from Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford addressed the crowd next.

Referring to the statue of Cecil Rhodes, she said: “The statue is still standing. Shame on you, Oriel College.” Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford’s main campaign against the statue began in 2015, following successful ‘Rhodes must Fall’ protests in Cape Town 2020. Protests resurged with the BlackLivesMatter movement in Summer 2020, leading Oriel College to express its desire to see the statue removed.

However, after an independent commission suggested the statue be removed, the college has chosen not to take down the statue owing to “regulatory and financial challenges”.

The protestors then marched towards Oriel College itself, shouting “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace”.

Oxford citizen Shaloma said: “As a black female in the UK, I am very aware of racism even if it’s sometimes very

under the table. I want to see my black women and sisters freed. And I think we’re the generation that will make it happen.”

Once arrived in front of Oriel College, the protestors assembled on the pavement opposite the college, and chanted “Rhodes was a racist” and “De-de-decolonize / Oriel is full of lies”. Oxford student Wallerand Bazin said: “The statue is a symbol of the University’s support of colonialism. History is a construct, and the University must decide what it wants to keep. Keeping the statue is an act of discursive violence, and an act of violence against those who have been protesting against it for years.”

Student Eve Devillers highlighted that it was important to be a “white ally” and that not just Oriel, but the University must be held accountable.

Two minutes before the end, the protestors stood in the road in front

of Oriel College, chanting “Rhodes must fall / Rhodes must fall / Rhodes must fall”. To end the protest, the organisers called for a minute of silence. The protestors reassembled on the pavement opposite the Rhodes statue, with their fists in the air as an act of remembrance and defiance.

Oriel College Oxford has been contacted for comment.

Image Credits: Matilda Gettins

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021 STUDENTS

4 | News RESEARCH

Oxford University to host G7 health summit Charlie Hancock

Oxford University will host a crucial health summit between the G7 nations on 3-4 June. Health ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US will meet to discuss global health policies and actions.

India, South Korea, South Africa, and Australia will also attend as guests.

Attendees will discuss issues concerning antibiotic resistance, clinical trials, and global health security against future pandemics.

Digital health – the intersection of technology, healthcare, and personalised treatments – will also be on the agenda. The discussions will inform future discussions at the G7 Leaders’ Summit on 11-13 June.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Louise Richardson, said: “Oxford University is honoured to host the G7 Health Ministers. This past year

has demonstrated just how much can be accomplished when universities, business and government work together to advance global health. We hope that in the course of this meeting insights and information will be shared, ideas generated, and lasting partnerships forged. In particular, we hope that as a result of this meeting plans will be developed to ensure that we are never again caught unprepared for a pandemic.”

The G7 nations account for two thirds of the global pharmaceutical market. In addition, the Oxford/ AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer vaccines were developed in the UK, US, and Germany respectively.

Matt Hancock, Secretary of Health and Social Care, said: “Oxford is the birthplace of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and at the heart of British life science. Oxford is a perfect location to stage pivotal meetings on how the world readies itself to combat future

health threats.

“We should not underestimate how far dreadful viruses can reach and the devastating impact they can have. … Collectively we can build back better from this virus.”

A ministerial working dinner on 3 June will also be attended by representatives from the life sciences industry. They will discuss the themes of the Prime Minister’s ‘Pandemic Preparedness Partnership’ between the public and private sectors.

Oxford City Council Leader, Councillor Susan Brown, said: “Oxford is proud to host this international gathering of ministers and life science leaders, to plan a global approach to ending the COVID-19 pandemic ... There is a real opportunity for those gathered to step up international support for the vaccination programmes still only in their early stages in many developing countries, particularly in Africa.”

Marquee installed in University Parks Flora Dyson

The University of Oxford announced that a purpose-built marquee has been set up in University Parks to safely host outdoor events this term and into the Long Vacation.

The marquee is open and free to book for students as well as departments. It can be booked for social events through the respective department or division via the Estates Services. It will be available until early July.

The marquee has capacity for 30 students, in line with government guidance. It will be open-sided and accessible, with toilets nearby.

Student event organisers may bring their own food and drink or pay to have it provided by the University catering company.

The marquee plans are the latest part of the Love Oxford campaign which is delivered in partnership with Oxford SU and the University. Love Oxford provides a hub

for events organised across the collegiate University including by students, as well as in the community.

Ben Farmer, VP Charities and Community at Oxford SU said: “Throughout our planning for this year we’ve highlighted the importance of spaces for students to run events and socialise and we’re pleased the University have recognised this in providing the marquee. We’d like to thank staff across the University especially in Estates Services for helping to make it all happen.”

“We know student clubs and societies have had a tough time over the past year and we’re committed to working with the collegiate University to ensure student-led groups get the support they need. We’ll continue to represent students on these issues on key committees like the Student Experience group to ensure students get the best possible support.”

ADVERTISEMENT

PhD in Management Call for applications 2022 intake Curious about interesting business questions and data, and the creation of new knowledge?

Keen to pursue research that is relevant and rooted in the real world; thus, having a significant impact?

Explore an exciting career in business academia.

Pursue the INSEAD PhD in Management.

Regardless of background and level of research or work experience, prospects who are keen on pursuing an inspiring and prestigious career in business academia are welcome to apply to any of the eight areas of specialisation: Accounting, Decision Sciences, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour, Strategy, and Technology and Operations Management.

The PhD Programme is open to all undergraduate students in their final year, masters students, new alumni or research fellows. All admitted students study in either Singapore or France and receive full funding* for the first five years of full-time studies. *bit.ly/insead-phd-financing

Applications for the September 2022 intake starts in the early Fall of this year.

Scan the QR code to learn more or register to our recruitment events on bit.ly/insead-phd-events

bit.ly/insead-phd

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

Report outlines ongoing sustainability efforts across colleges Flora Dyson

A report by the Conference of Colleges has been published about existing college sustainability.

The report details sustainability efforts in Oxford colleges and aims to use its evidence “to collectively and individually set meaningful targets for reducing environmental impact”. It also has the ambition to “make Oxford a truly environmentally sustainable city”.

The report details the “quiet revolution [which] has been occurring in the colleges and PPHs with the implemen tation of numerous actions and activities to make them more env i r onmentally sustain

able”. Oxford colleges set their own environmental targets as they are a “semi-independent entity” from the central university.

Within the 494 actions made by the 44 colleges, energy saving initiatives were the most common, made by 95% of colleges.

Energy saving actions include draught proofing and insulation improvements, put in place by 21 colleges. Energy efficient designs were adopted by 5 colleges. These 5 colleges, including Hertford and St Peter’s College, are adopting or have adopted Passivhaus buildings which provide “a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling.”

30 colleges reported undertaking energy saving initiatives w h ic h include “replacing traditional incandescent lighting with LED equivalents or low energy lightb u l b s ”.

Wadham “recently changed all lights

to LEDs in the main Library, including desk lights. The lights automatically dim when there is no activity in some area[s].” The chief challenge for completing such energy saving initiatives was “expense associated with implementing these higher environmental standards.”

The report details Oxford colleges’ use of renewable energy sources. Both Christ Church and Wolfson College made use of Air Source Heat Pumps. The report states that their high cost was offset by the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which provides government payment for 20 years. Solar panels were reported to be in the process of being installed, or are being installed by 9 colleges. LMH and Somerville both use solar panels to preheat student blocks.

Efficiency controlling energy use was also a subject of the report.

It details the use of Building Management Systems (BMS) by 13 colleges which manage boiler performance. Furthermore, smart TRVs which control the heating of empty rooms are used by 6 colleges. Heating controls also improve thermal efficiency. One college reported an 18% reduction in gas usage after installing heating controls.

Colleges are reported to have used behavioural tactics to improve their environmental sustainability. Audits have been used by across 6 colleges: Merton college is reported to have “used the services of a specialist energy surveyor to audit the college estate in terms of carbon, natural capital and biodiversity.” St John’s took part in the government’s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme which is reported to have helped reduce the college’s carbon footprint.

Carbon footprint reduction is detailed in the report’s investigation of adaptation to green transport. 10 colleges, including Keble, University College and Oriel, disposed of or replaced vans in favour of electric transport. Some colleges have installed charging points for electric vehicles.

The report details efforts to maintain and create biodiversity within Oxford college environments. Wadham College “installed two British National Standard bee hives in 2019. The starter colonies came from a bee farm in Warwickshire and the bees are wonderful for pollinating the flowers.” Christchurch college created a wildlife corridor for small animals, including badgers, to utilise.

News | 5 UNIVERSITY

Plant-based diversity has been ensured by 8 colleges who have begun planting native species and wildflower gardens. These include Jesus College’s action to wild parts of their gardens and avoiding grass cutting. 6 colleges have taken part in “greening” areas. St Edmund Hall created a green wall “which offer[s] both visual improvements and habitats for insects”, though maintaining these environments is reported to be challenging. Recycling amongst Oxford colleges is widely reported in an effort to “minimise waste being incinerated off-site”.

Food sourcing initiatives have also been undertaken by a variety of colleges. Among others, LMH and Keble are Fairtrade accredited. A herb garden is also being grown at St Hugh’s for the college kitchen. Fourteen colleges are reportedly reducing their meat consumption, taking part in ‘Meat-free Mondays’. The report states “most colleges have had a positive reception to these [meat-reducing] initiatives, with members regarding the changes as healthy and facilitatory of a flexitarian diet. Others have been met with resistance, with pushback from staff and students on restricting choice.”

Societies condemn Oriel’s decision not to remove Cecil Rhodes statue Flora Dyson

Several societies have condemned Oriel College’s decision not to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes, in spite of recommendations from an independent commission.

The campaign leading the movement, Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, stated that the statue is a “visual marker of the priorities of this institution. It offers a clear public reflection of who the University of Oxford was designed to serve and who it was designed to exploit. By stalling the decision process then refusing to remove it, Oriel College has chosen to reinscribe that violent colonial vision onto our community - locally, nationally, and internationally.”

Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford have called for three criteria to be met

by Oriel College: “transparency in correspondence”, “transparency in cost analysis”, and to “maintain their prior commitment to removing the monuments”.

Oxford Stand Up To Racism published a statement saying “the decision by Oriel college to keep the statue of white supremacist Cecil Rhodes in place on the college building overlooking the High Street is yet another example of the attempt to deny the

demands of the Black Lives Matter movement… Students will be joining the protest [on] Tuesday 25th May to protest Oriel’s decision and to raise the demand that Rhodes Must Fall.”

The Oxford Student Union said: “We are disappointed to hear that Oriel’s Governing Body will not be removing the Rhodes statue due to the regulatory and financial challenges involved in the process.

Dismantling systemic racism in Oxford is one of the greatest challenges this university community has faced, but we believe this is no excuse for inaction… Cecil Rhodes is a symbol of colonialism, white supremacy, and racism, all of which have no place in Oriel College, nor any other part of this University.”

They also detailed their action going forward. The Student Union “are in contact with the JCR and MCR at Oriel College and look forward to working with student campaigners on this issue. We ask the Governing Body to reconsider its decision, and listen to the voices of the Oriel students, the students of this University, and the citizens of Oxford as illustrated in the report’s recommendations and proceed with the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes.”

Leader of Oxford City Council, Councillor Susan Brown, stated: “I am personally deeply disappointed that Oriel College have chosen today to backtrack on their previous decision to remove the Rhodes statue and ignore the views of the commission on this crucial part of their work. For people in our city this was the most important action that Oriel College could have taken to show an acknowledgement of the discrimination of the past and they have failed to act.

“Whilst it is good news that they are accepting the other recommendations of the commission to address the legacy of colonialism, I fear that these measures will not be enough to inspire confidence without this important symbolic step. The legacy of thinkers like Rhodes still extends long tentacles into our society and it is well past time for all institutions to tackle the difficult issues of colonialism and discrimination.”

A spokesperson for Oxford City Council said “We note the college’s decision not to remove the statue, but we are ready to progress any planning issues should they revise this decision. While the government’s new policies on historic monuments gives the Secretary

of State for Communities a final say in any planning approval to remove historic statues and favours ‘retain and explain’, it also says each case will be considered on its merits and exceptions can be made.”

Oriel College defended their decision to maintain the statue’s place, saying: “The Governing Body has carefully considered the

STUDENTS

regulatory and financial challenges, including the expected time frame for removal, which could run into years with no certainty of outcome, together with the total cost of removal.”

OULC and OUCA has been contacted for comment. Oriel College declined to give further statement.

Image credit: Matilda Gettins

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021 UNIVERSITY

6 | News

LGBTQ+ Society responds to OxMatch ‘homophobic’ question Matt Schaffel

Oxford’s LGBTQ+ Society has issued a statement in response to the recent OxMatch ‘homophobic’ question controversy. This centred around a question on the OxMatch questionnaire which asked applicants to rate out of five whether ‘I would be okay if my children were gay’.

The statement by the society on their Facebook page said that “In response to backlash regarding this, OxMatch released two public statements (that have since been deleted) where they attempted to justify the inclusion of the question.

While we can empathise with their professed intention to identify homophobic users and to prevent them from being paired with LGBTQ+ people, the execution of this intention was poor, with there being other, more appropriate, alternatives that protect LGBTQ+ users.”

The statement highlights some of the issues that the society felt were raised by the question.

This included the wording of the statement being “unnecessarily emotive”, failing to recognise the “weight and trauma” felt by many in the LGBTQ+ community from the process of coming out. The Society also highlighted that Anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes manifest in a number of ways, while the question was aimed only at catching traditional ‘homophobia’. This would miss those who

wouldn’t accept their child being part of the LGBTQ+ community, which the question grouped under the term ‘gay’.

The LGBTQ+ Society committee said that they “reached out to OxMatch at the end of last week (the week beginning 3rd May), asking them to remove the question and introduce new measures and/ or questions that would serve the same purpose in a more considered manner.”

The Society mentioned that they “would like to assure everybody that we were not simply asking for this question to be removed outright with no alternative, as this would have been detrimental to the safety of LGBTQ+ users of the service. Our intention throughout the process was to work constructively with OxMatch to find alternatives that were both more sensitive to LGBTQ+ issues, and more effective in achieving the goal of protecting users from homophobia.”

Oxford LGBTQ+ Society noted that, along with the SU LGBTQ+ Campaign, they had offered to help to work with providers on future Oxford-based projects to help avoid similar incidents from occurring.

They said that their emails to OxMatch, sent on the 8th May with a follow up on 12th May, were yet to receive a reply at the time they posted the statement.

Cherwell can confirm that OxMatch responded to these emails later on the 12th May, after the

POLITICS

Student Unions could face fines over free speech Beth Ranasinghe

Universities in England could face fines if they fail to protect free speech on campus under tougher legislation set to be introduced.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill was among the proposed changes in the Queen’s Speech and aims to “strengthen freedom of speech and academic freedom” at universities,. Visiting speakers, academics or students could seek compensation if they suffer loss from a breach of a university’s free speech obligations.

Under the new legislation, new freedom of speech and academic duties would be placed on universities and, for the first time, on student unions.

Individuals would be granted a right to seek compensation through the courts if the freedom of speech duties of an institution or student union had been breached.

The Office for Students would hold the power to impose fines on institutions if they breached the rules.

Among the proposals, there is also an appointed “free speech champion” whose role would be to examine potential infringements of duties, for example, the no-platforming of speakers or the dismissal of academics.

The aim of such legislation is to ensure that university staff feel safe to put forward controversial or

unpopular views, without being at risk of losing their jobs.

A spokeswoman for Universities UK (UUK) told the BBC: “Universities are (rightly) already legally required to have a code of practice on free speech and to update this regularly. It is important that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is proportionate by focusing on the small number of incidents, while not duplicating existing legislation and creating unnecessary bureaucracy for universities which could have unintended consequences.”

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Head of the University and College Union, Jo Grady said: “There are serious threats to freedom of speech and academic freedom from campus, but they come from the government and university managers, not staff and students. Widespread precarious employment strips academics of the ability to speak and research freely and curtails chances for career development.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson contended that it was a basic human right “to be able to express ourselves freely and take part in rigorous debate”.

“Our legal system allows us to articulate views which others may disagree with as long as they don’t meet the threshold of hate speech or inciting violence - this must be defended, nowhere more so than within our world-renowned universities.”

statement had been posted.

Finally, the Society’s statement reads: “Our biggest concern that has arisen from our correspondence with OxMatch is not the original oversights they have made, but their unwillingness to consider the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people and inability to actively engage when problems are raised.

We don’t doubt that OxMatch is experienced in questionnaire and algorithm design, as they have pointed out to us, but such experience does not remove the potential of making a mistake through ignorance and a lack of awareness of LGBTQ+ issues.

During our correspondence, their tone has been both defensive and accusatory towards us, showing no willingness to listen and learn from their failings.

“We do not wish to villainize OxMatch, but we do wish to hold them accountable, especially when they have a selfdeclared commitment to welfare and inclusivity.

They have a responsibility to do better, and cannot rely on the excuses that in the past they’ve “not received a single complaint about this question” or that “the same question was used in other surveys

without complaints” These reasons do not absolve them of their wrongdoing in the present.

“We once again implore OxMatch to remove the question in favour of more appropriate measures that have been devised in consultation with LGBTQ+ people and to publicly apologise for the mishandling of this situation.

These actions are the best way for OxMatch to truly affirm their commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusivity.”

In response to this, a spokesperson for OxMatch stated: “The specific question was put in due to previous

complaints about individuals matching with those holding homophobic views. The question was designed to filter out homophobic individuals. We had not received a single complaint about this question before it was mentioned publicly despite thousands of students doing the survey.

The same question was used in other non-affiliated surveys that ran in Oxford and elsewhere before without complaints.

“We have always sought to make OxMatch as inclusive as possible and welcome any suggestions about how to do that.”

Oxford study analyses Twitter habits of Chinese diplomats Christopher Collins

A joint study by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Associated Press (AP) has examined the way in which Chinese diplomats use social media to promote the country’s vision.

According to the study, PRC diplomats made 201,382 tweets – an average of 778 per day over a ninemonth period from 9th June 2020 to 23rd February 2021. These posts received almost seven million likes, one million comments, and 1.3 million retweets. Diplomats made 34,041 Facebook posts over this period.

The report claims that China has “significantly expanded its online public diplomacy efforts” and adds that “the PRC makes use of both state-controlled media outlets and over 270 diplomatic accounts on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to amplify the PRC’s perspective on global affairs and current events.”

The investigators discovered that only one in eight Chinese diplomatic Twitter accounts were labelled as such, and contend that there is a network of unidentified accounts amplifying the diplomats’ message. In the UK, the study looked at thousands of tweets by (thenAmbassador) Liu Xiaoming and the official account of the embassy in London. The Oxford team identified 62 accounts, representing 44% of

the ambassador’s retweets and 30% of the embassy’s, as forming a coordinated group of supporters.

The research found that “nearly a third” of these accounts “were created within minutes of each other on just five days and the vast majority only amplify and engage with the P R C ’ s diplomats to

the UK, but no other PRC diplomats.”

The OII report states, “In a world where social media platforms have been increasingly influential in global communications, our study has identified another area where powerful actors systematically exploit the facilities provided by these platforms. Our study provides extensive evidence for where and how a powerful state actor like the

RESEARCH

PRC may be able to create an illusion of inflated influence over global discourse.”

Marcel Schliebs, lead Oxford researcher, said his findings reveal “the actions and reach of China’s digital publicity campaigning” and “can help us develop a better understanding and response to China’s increasingly assertive global facing propaganda strategy.” Schliebs called for greater co-operation with social media platforms and added that “every day social media users can also contribute by carefully checking what information they are consuming or amplifying while using these platforms.”

The report comes alongside a rise in the spread of disinformation through online platforms in a number of countries, including

by Western politicians. The OII clarified that “as our report uses open source data, we are not able to attribute this coordinated operation to any state or non-state actor.”

Commenting on the findings, the Chinese embassy in London defended China’s right to express its opinions online. A diplomatic source told the Associated Press: “If it is against the rules of social media to retweet the Chinese embassy’s tweets, then shouldn’t these rules be more applicable to retweets of malicious rumours, smears and false information against China? We hope relevant companies will not adopt double standards.”

7 | Editorial

EDITORIAL

Abigail Howe | Editor-in-Chief

I

have brainstormed about five potential editorial topics so far for this week: why Damiano David is the only person getting me through fifth week (and I now want to fly to Italy immediately), how I never thought I’d have to explain the Spiderman meme to my parents (but then Dominic Cummings provided the perfect opportunity), why Taylor Swift is definitely releasing some kind of new music on 4th June, Liverpool still managing to come third in the Premier League despite an absolutely appalling season … The list is somewhat ridiculous.

Part of me is tempted to follow one of my predecessors and quote the song lyrics that are getting me through the term (although nothing can replicate the euphoria of hearing ‘UK Hun’ for the first time – if only we’d sent them to Eurovision), but I’m pretty sure I’d end up with a cease and desist from Olivia Rodrigo. “God, it’s brutal out here” – a reflection on teen stardom or me finishing an essay simply to start work on my next?

Still, it’s fifth week. Exhaustion and burnout are natural; it’s no wonder I can’t muster up 400 words of irrelevant and pretentious rambling.

The fifth week blues have become as

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

Editor-in-Chief | Trudy Ross

G

uess what - it’s my birthday! And I’m entering the ever-so-exciting era of my 20s. While I’m aware this won’t be of great interest to most of you, I’m going to gatekeep this space as my own private musing territory; seeing as the list of people reading is likely limited to my mother, and on the odd occasion, a mate who wants to embarrass me with a dramatic reading of my editorial, I don’t think it’ll cause too much harm.

So, when entering a new period of your life, it’s always good to do a little reflection. What went wrong last time? Even forgetting about the whole thing of wearing shorts with tights and eyeshadow up to my eyebrows and whatnot, I’m sure there’s been quite a bit I could have done better. I’ve decided that my main aim for my twenties, and something I’d recommend to all whatever age you are, is to work on my internal biases. We all have biases and prejudices, whoever we are, and I staunchly believe that working to interrogate them is always going to be a lot more helpful than insisting “I’m not a judgemental person!” and leaving it at that.

Overcoming my own internalised misogyny and homophobia was what allowed me to come to the realisation that I myself was queer and liked girls - and I can’t stress how freeing that was. But the work obviously can’t stop there.

inevitable a part of the ‘Oxford experience’ as regular essay crises, regret after a kebab on a night out or being hacked (let the record state that I am not a Union member – and watch my Facebook messages dry up). It makes sense. Stress is always present to some extent during every term. Work tends to pile up and the vacation still feels like an awfully long way away. It’s no wonder that many of us are overcome with stress, exhaustion or even boredom. Fifth week blues give us an avenue to acknowledge this and build a sense of community. Sometimes, though, the result can seem like group hysteria, suggesting that we are all destined to be down. When you’re warned as a fresher to dread this week, the prophecy can become self-fulfilling. It’s important to focus on how you feel – rather than the communal sense of panic which seeps out from college libraries and households alike – and look after yourself.

At a time when I essentially resemble one of the Bodleian’s screaming gargoyles and feel more broken than the Tescalator, I’m looking forward to a bar of Dairy Milk, a night off with friends, and seizing any opportunity to explain why Taylor Swift truly is the greatest artist of our generation.

One internal prejudice I’ve been grappling with lately - and interestingly I think it’s a prejudice that only recently formed - is actually one against men.

To those of you who know me this won’t be a massive shocker. I like to make a few jokes and go on the odd rant. I’ll tell pretty much any woman eanywhere that that guy just isn’t worth her time - and the fact I’m on the slightly misandristleaning threads of Tiktok probably doesn’t help a whole lot. Lately, I’ve been wondering how healthy or prductive this is. In a society where men very often aren’t given the tools to express their emotions in the same way women are,where they aren’t taught to prioritise female pleasure or, in some cases, respect women as human beings in their own right, I sometimes find it difficult not to feel a certain level of resentment towards them. There are so many men in my life that I love and respect as individuals, and yet the idea of men as a collective often incites an eye-roll a little irritation. But I don’t want to retain this prejudice. Mostly because I don’t think it’s useful, and because what I hate isn’t actually men at all - it’s the systems and expectations in our society which cause oppression for both genders. So, there you have it. I’m pledging not to cancel men.

Don’t worry though - the patriarchy is still very much on my black list!

GET INVOLVED

Follow us:

Get in touch: cherwelleditor@gmail.com

Facebook - Cherwell

cherwellnews@gmail.com Twitter - @cherwell_online cherwellinvestigations@gmail.com Instagram - @cherwelloxford

cherwellcomment@gmail.com culturecherwell@gmail.com

Spotify - @cherwellmusic

lifestylecherwell@gmail.com sportcherwell@gmail.com

Cherwell Trinity 2021

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Abigail Howe and Trudy Ross cherwelleditor@gmail.com DEPUTY EDITORS Sasha Mills, Irene Zhang, Ben Jureidini, Fred Waine, Bailey Kavanagh, Matthew Prudham NEWS EDITORS Charlie Hancock, Matthew Schaffel, Jill Cushen Flora Dyson, Matilda Gettins cherwellnews@gmail.com INVESTIGATIONS EDITORS Ellen Hendry, Max Mutkin, Daisy Aitchison

Estelle Atkinson COMMENT EDITORS Fonie Mitsopoulou, Antonio Pattori, Sofia Cotterill Joe Stonor SCIENCE + TECH EDITORS Chloe Ridsdill Smith, Anthony Shorrocks CULTURE EDITORS Lily Sheldon, Ellie-Jai Williams Flavia Velasquez Cotini THE SOURCE EDITORS Leah Stein, Matilda HoustonBrown, Grace Spencer

MUSIC EDITORS Jane Keenleyside, Cecilia Wilkins Dulanto Charlie Taylor

FASHION EDITORS Agatha Gwincisha, Josephine Illingworth-Law Rachel Jung

FILM EDITORS Jonathan Tevendale, Jack Benjamin, Katie Kirkpatrick

LIFE EDITORS Rochelle Moss, Anneka Pink Clementine Scott, Nevena Skobic

BOOKS EDITORS Maebh Howell, Sofie Jones, Ella McNeill

FOOD EDITORS Shreya Banerjee, Agata Hodur Scarlett Haig

STAGE EDITORS James Newbery, Poppy Atkinson Gibson Hari Bravery

PROFILE EDITORS Will Foxton, Issy KenneyHerbert, Prakrit Prasad

FEATURES EDITORS Lily Kershaw, Izzy Merriman Thomas Coyle, Vlad Popescu SPORT EDITORS Mauricio Alencar Ariana Rubio, Matthew Cogan PUZZLES EDITOR Will Whitten CREATIVE TEAM Aleksandra Pluta, Alessia Daniel, Ella Markham, Emma Hewlett, Gbenga Chesterman, Heidi Fang, Jemima Sinclair, Justin Lim, Kaite Joy Sanchez, Liv Fugger, Lizzie Daly, Luci

Mullen, Mia Clement, Niamh McBratney, Rachel Jung, Sasha LaCômbe, Zoe Rhoades.

Want to write for Cherwell?

Visit www.cherwell.org/write For all advertising enquiries, contact OSPL at advertising@ ospl.org Cherwell is published by Oxford Student Publications Ltd. A list of OSPL staff can be found at www.ospl.org.

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

8

comment

SYRIA: WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S LONG TERM PLAN? CARTELL CHEEMA ARGUES FOR MORE GLOBAL COMPASSION TOWARDS THE WAR-TORN STATE. CW: references to violence and sexual assault yria is a country filled with history. It’s a middle-eastern land with rich cultural diversity, from the ruins of Palmyra to the network of towns, fortresses and panoply of ‘lost cities’ that pepper the ubiquitous sun-kissed dunes. Multitudinous peoples have formed part of the rich tapestry of historical Syria.

However, behind this topographical mirage of magnificence lurks a state devestated by a decade-long civil war, and bled by a malign regime headed by a dictator, Bashar alAssad, obstinate in his desire to retain power at any expense. The expense has been grave, and, as always, has been paid by the people.

Assad’s iron fist and cruel totalitarianism, facilitated by the insouciant Russian state’s pillaring of his power, symbolise an unholy alliance that is a fundamental threat to the core values of freedom, moral decency, and the international rules-based order. This article seeks to deconstruct the evil barbarism that plagues Syria, as well as the inadequate current global approach to Syria, whilst outlining the need for a concerted international effort to liberate the Syrian people from Assad’s blood-soaked tyranny.

The heart-wrenching plight of Syrians at Assad’s hands is emblematic of the acute threat that he poses to the basic values of freedom. Just last month, the international chemical weapons watchdog (the investigative arm of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) provided a heart-rending insight into how the state machinery systematically represses the vulnerable. It said that it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that the elite Syria Tiger Forces Corp of the Syrian Air Force was responsible for a chlorine bomb that was dropped on a town in the rebel-controlled Idlib region in 2018, which killed 12 people. A United Nations report indicated that the Assad regime was also responsible for a bomb that was discharged on the Iqra School in the Aleppo Countryside in 2013 (one of a litany of schools bombed

by Assad), killing 11 civilians, most of whom were children. Such rapid aerial assaults by the army on its own people are now lamentably common in Syria, and have been since the start of the civil war.

This is the reality on the ground in Syria despite the use of these types of weapons (chemical and incendiary) on civilian populations being illegal under humanitarian international law. But should we really be surprised? Such human rights abuses and flagrant international rule-breaking is Assad’s and his allies’ modus operandi.

Millions of refugees are afraid to return to Syria because of the Mukhabarat, or secret police, which systematically torture, rape, kidnap, and kill innocent civilians for simply voicing an opinion that

S

may be construed as dissent, or for even for merely be suspected of harbouring anti-Assad sentiment.

The impact of one man’s rapaciousness on Syria itself makes for a sobering read. As a result of Russian and Syrian air strikes and incessant artillery bombardment of cities (such as Aleppo and Homs), homes, infrastructure, and over 800 medical facilities have been reduced to rubble. Most of the more than half a million people killed have been civilians, murdered by barrel bombs and ballistic missiles, famine, sieges, and nerve gas. Not to mention the fact that the UN estimates that more than 6 million people have become refugees outside of the country’s border and another 6.7 million people internally displaced. Syrian economic output has fallen at least two-thirds since the war began which has created an impoverishment crisis. Its currency has lost 80% of its value and the UN estimates that more than 80% of the population has fallen below the poverty line with around 12.4

sanctions (in homage to the late Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky) seek to target global individuals and organisations abusing human rights. In relation to Syria, UK asset freezes and travel bans to the UK were instituted for six Syrians, including the foreign minister Faisal Miqdad, Assad media adviser Luna al-Shibl, and financier to Assad, Yasser Ibrahim. Coupled with that, the UK have adopted a justly polemical rhetoric on the international stage with the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, sniping that “the Assad regime has subjected the Syrian people to a decade of brutality for the temerity of demanding peaceful reform.”

However, the Magnitsky-style sanctions, as valuable and coercive as they are, seem unlikely to protect civilians on the ground who are enveloped by privation, suffering, and “THE MAGNITSKY- STYLE abuse; and the SANCTIONS SEEM UNLIKELY upper-echelons were TO PROTECT CIVILIANS ON targeted already under some form THE GROUND.” of restrictive international million Syrians “food insecure”, sanction. It also seems to have which is an increase of 4.5 million achieved very little in deterring people in the last year alone and Assad, and arguably, the the highest number ever recorded. stringency of the The global response has been Caesar Act actuated tepid at best. It is true that the US the demise of the has consistently taken decisive Syrian currency action. For example, the Obama and therefore administration backed the Syrian exacerbated the rebels by attacking the Islamic impoverishment State. The Trump administration crisis on the launched a missile attack against ground as Syrian Assad in 2017 in retaliation for yet simply can no longer another regime chemical attack. And afford basic foodstuffs like bread. just a month into office, the Biden Notwithstanding that, the repeated administration launched a rocket US military interventions from the attack as well against facilities in sky seem to be distant and lacking in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said substantive success, whilst costing are used by Iranian-backed militia. innocent lives in the process and Moreover, a new round of US leaving many Syrians too frightened sanctions against Assad’s regime, to roam the streets. For me, there and those who aid it, came into force appears to be no real concerted just last year. The Caesar Act 2020 strategy or game-plan from the punishes all those who in any way West, vis-à-vis Syria, when there aid the Assads, their government, ought to be, given how acute the army and institutions, their support crisis has now become after 10 years. networks and allies, or their business The main focus of the West in interests. The Act’s main external relation to Syria appears to be on the targets are Russia and Iran, the management of the refugee crisis Assad regime’s external patrons, stemming from there as opposed to and the Iran-backed paramilitaries tackling the causes of the refugee that spearhead its strike forces: crisis, which is tantamount to Lebanon’s Hizbollah and Iraqi Shia treating the symptoms, not the cause. militia. The overarching rationale For example, some EU countries for such targeting these groups has have recently, and arbitrarily, been to isolate Assad from vital tightened their criteria for asylum, strategic and military partners in resulting in more asylum seekers order to ameliorate the impact being granted subsidiary protection of his armed forces domestically. instead of refugee protection. Indeed Similarly, the UK imposed its first this is not isolated but indicative sanctions against Syria since leaving of an alarming trend across EU the EU through its new Global countries that are implementing Human Rights Sanction Regime; policies designed to discourage and these so-called ‘Magnitsky-style’ deter people from seeking asylum

in their countries by stripping commitment, as an international away the benefits. However, alas, community, to end the conflict such policies are fatally flawed by and help rebuild Syria with united myopia; it is axiomatic that this will endeavour, resources, time, and not address the underlying cause of treasure; it is the morally noble why people are coming, nor does it thing to do. It would alleviate the resemble a long-term solution to the Syrian people of their suffering, refugee crisis despite a resolution allow Syrians to build futures for being in the international interest. themselves at home in lieu of As an international community, making the perilous journeys across we must recognise that the reason migrant routes or being exploited by that millions of Syrians are escaping people smugglers, and allow Syria to their countries to come to the West be a bastion of hope and freedom in is because they have no choice but the Middle East. But it would also be to leave. We must imagine a world beneficial for the world as it would where we feel too frightened to wake mitigate the influx of migrants at up in the morning; insecure going to borders (often a politically vexed work or school; and denumbed with issue in the West), deliver a more angst in our everyday environments stable and peaceful Middle East because of the reality that we may thus reducing the risks of vacuums be killed for wanting basic of power being filled by terrorists freedoms. Syria and Russia preying on the vulnerable, which together have committed more often than not culminates in a the cardinal sin of latticework of terror groups forming, stripping Syrians of the and fomenting attacks globally. ability to live. These What is clear is that the current citizens are haunted by approach is not working, and we have the omnipresent realities a moral obligation to ramp up our of life in Syria: of dead efforts. The practical form of a longfriends and relatives, blood, term plan is complex and multiand war. In Syria, people exist, but faceted. What it cannot include is they do not live.

It is because of that harrowing “THE ONLY SOLUTION TO fact that ASSUAGE THE REFUGEE they leave.

The UN as a CRISIS AND BESTOW HOPE tool of change is looking AND JUSTICE TO SYRIANS IS A i n c r e a s i n g l y LONG -TERM POLITICAL PEACE.” vacuous in relation to Syria.

As Russia is a permanent member simply more sanctions, or greater of the UN Security Council, it has humanitarian aid alone (although exercised its veto repeatedly (14 these do play their part). We, as an times since the beginning of the war international community, must in Syria, as of March 2020) to block champion the values that we believe diplomatic efforts of accountability. in, freedom and justice, and never That includes vetoing, alongside in good conscience passively allow China, a resolution supported by 65 nations of people to capitulate to countries and the rest of the security tyranny. In the words oft-attributed council that would have referred to the late great parliamentarian, war crimes committed in Syria to Sir Edmund Burke, ‘the only thing the International Criminal Court. necessary for the triumph of evil The only solution to assuage the is for good men to do nothing’. We refugee crisis and bestow hope and must do much more than nothing. justice to Syrians is a long-term political peace settlement in Syria, Image Credits: (top right) Chaoyue where people are once more able to Pan via Flickr/ LicenseL CC BY-NCregain the ability to live. Working ND 2.0; (centre) Beshr Abdulhadi concertedly and formulating a longvia Flickr/ License: CC BY 2.0. term plan with broad bipartisan

9

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

F U K U S H I M A: S H O U L D W E R E CO N S I D E R N U C L E A R P OW E R?

ZIJIAN WEI ARGUES THAT ENVIRONMENTAL LESSONS NEEDS TO BE LEARNED FROM JAPAN’S NUCLEAR DISASTER.

O

n 13th April, the Japanese government approved the decision to discharge radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi site into the Pacific Ocean over the next two years. The announcement came after March marked ten years since the most powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami recorded in the country, which led to the disastrous INES Level 7 nuclear accident at the site. The decision proved to be controversial and immediately attracted critical voices and concerns from both Japan and nations and organisations around the world.

The 2011 earthquake led to a triplemeltdown of the plant’s reactor cores. To maintain the stability of the reactor, cooling water has been constantly drawn into the plant and, when mixed with rainwater and underground water collected in the plant, became contaminated by radioactive material. Large amounts of water were released into the ocean during the disaster, and in subsequent years more were released, both intentionally and due to leakages.

From March 2013, the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), implemented the use of a system known as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) developed by Toshiba, whereby water is collected and stored into a large number of containers to remove up to 62 types of radionuclides including caesium and strontium. However, the system cannot remove tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, from the contaminated water and the current controversy results from contrasting opinions concerning whether the treated ‘tritium water’ can be considered safe.

The 1061 containers with a total capacity of 1.37 million tonnes – enough water to fill 500 Olympic swimming pools – will reach their full capacity by autumn 2022. The

solution presented by TEPCO to the ‘unavoidable issue’, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga put it, was for the ‘tritium water’ to b e diluted to 1/40 of Japan’s national legal standard and 1/7 of WHO standard before being released into the Pacific Ocean. According to Japan’s regulatory officials, tritium is essentially harmless when consumed in small amounts.

However, scientists like Katsumi Shozugawa pointed out that longterm consequences of exposure to tritium, even in low doses, has not been fully investigated and cannot be predicted. Furthermore, in August 2018 reporter Ryuichi Kino revealed that the so-called ‘tritium water’ in fact does still contain a radioactive substances, Iodine-139, the amount of which exceeded the legal limit by over 60 times.

A survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun suggested that only 32% of the Japanese public approved the government’s decision. For the public, especially residents of Fukushima and nearby Miyagi and Ibaraki prefectures, the concept of fuhyo higai, meaning ‘damage from rumour’ or reputational damage, is of major concern. For the fishery and seafood industries, bans on products from Fukushima had only been lifted a year ago and a decade’s effort for products to regain public trust and re-establish a decent reputation would go to waste should the discharge become a reality. Many local fishermen and merchants expressed their ‘absolute opposition’ to the plan and ‘mistrust towards the nation and TEPCO’. Comments made by politicians such as Taro Aso, the Deputy Prime Minister who labelled tritium water as ‘drinkable’ further angered netizens. At the same time, attempts by the nation’s Reconstruction Agency to promote the ‘harmless’ nature of tritium and win public support through the use of an animated mascot largely backfired and the videos were swiftly

Wes Beckett on... Finals

pulled from air.

This backlash was not the first time that TEPCO came under public scrutiny. In July 2013, they first admitted that failure to contain the contaminated water had led to around 300 tons of wastewater pouring into the ocean each day.

By 2016, an ‘ice wall’ was built at a cost of JP¥35Bn to rein in excessive leakage, but as of February 2021, it was reported that water continues to leak from the reactors.

Neighbouring countries and organisations quickly expressed their dismay. Greenpeace called the decision a ‘breach of international maritime law’; Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council expressed ‘deep regrets’ while South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Japanese ambassador Koichi Aiboshi to protest. The most vociferous attacks yet came from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its spokesperson, Zhao Lijian urged Japan to reconsider the decision and remarked that ‘the sea is not Japan’s bin and the Pacific Ocean not its sewage system’. In contrast, the US provided support for the move, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanking Japan for its ‘transparent efforts’ in making the decision. Its climate envoy John Kerry said that the US ‘has confidence’ in Japan’s handling of the issue. The IAEA followed suit as its Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi welcomed Japan’s announcement and said that the Agency ‘stands ready to provide technical support’.

It is no coincidence that a USJapan summit took place in the same week following the announcement.

As The White House announced a ‘partnership for a new era’ with Japan, it was clearly determined to stand by its perhaps most important ally in the region, due to its economic power and geographical location.

It was possible due to US pressure that the South Korean government softened its tone, suggesting that

Seoul only wants ‘transparency and proof’ from the Japanese authorities, despite the still overwhelmingly negative public opinion.

It has been less than a century since Hahn and Strassmann discovered nuclear fission, but its power has already been profoundly utilised, with over 36 countries having operated around 18,500 cumulative years of commercial nuclear power. Recently the US government acknowledged its support for subsidies, in forms of tax credits, aimed at keeping open much of the country’s over 90 existing nuclear facilities open in order to meet its long-term climate goals under the Biden administration.

Neighbouring critics of Japan’s decision, namely China and South Korea are also seeking to expand their nuclear power industries in the near future. Supporters of nuclear energy argue that it is a clean and sustainable energy source and that deaths from nuclear energy-related accidents per unit of electricity are significantly lower than that of other sources. Others point to the regulations and safety measures introduced following the Fukushima disaster. Moreover, far from simply

providing jobs, nuclear power is still the most economic, efficient alternative to fossil fuel considered by many countries as pressure with regards to the reduction of greenhouse gas looms.

Yet, these at best justify the use of nuclear power as a shortterm, transitional method to achieve carbon neutrality and does not negate the impact and dangers of nuclear power, made clear by disasters like Chernobyl.

Radioactive particles from the 1986 disaster remain moving till this day and it would take another 44 years to fully decommission the reactors at the heart of the disaster. Likewise, the full impact of the disaster at Fukushima, apart from the atmospheric and oceanic discharge and the over 164,000 people evacuated from within a 230 square miles radius, remain hard to fully estimate and comprehend.

Faced with such uncertainties and the possibly irreversible changes to the natural world, over-reliance on nuclear energy can only be considered an unworthy and highly risky gamble.

Image Credits: IEAE via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

10

science & technology B I T CO I N, C L I M AT E C H A N G E A N D S O C I A L J U S T I C E MEZ BENMAAMAR OUTLINES THE PROBLEMS WITH CRYPTO MINING AND SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS.

T

he present plummeting of the price of Bitcoin has plunged cryptocurrency into what long-term investors fear is a bear market. And yet such volatile behaviour appears to be the norm in the erratic world of cryptocurrencies, with the vision of Bitcoin as a state-less, peer-to-peer transaction mechanism instead superseded by a speculative and energy-exhaustive digital asset, seemingly used for no more than the private pursuit of wealth creation.

To better understand the nuance of Bitcoin arguments an appreciation for the concept of security derived from proof of computational work at the heart of blockchain technology’s protocol is needed. As outlined in the whitepaper, after a fixed number of computational hashes (energyintensive mathematical hash functions) on the bitcoin network are solved, the number of bitcoins

which are afforded to the lucky miner is halved. With the network mining algorithm set with the target of generating a new block every 10 minutes, the difficulty of solving another hash is automatically adjusted, requiring additional computational power to mine new blocks. This ultimately encourages exhaustive energy use, with the added incentive to develop singular purpose mining hardware in our market-based economies.

What is more, it is becoming increasingly clear how the environmental costs of Bitcoin’s blockchain technology are being socialised for an increasingly concentrated group of large holders commonly referred to as ‘whales’ — investors who continue to own most of the digital asset. In fact, about 2% of the anonymous ownership accounts that can be tracked on the cryptocurrency’s blockchain control

95% of the digital asset.

In view of these significant environmental and social costs, the Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative (BCEI) was launched last month.

The BCEI whitepaper asserts that the cryptocurrency could instead accelerate the energy transition, claiming the Bitcoin network is capable of being leveraged as a unique buyer of clean energy. This instead posits the bitcoin mining apparatus as a flexible and interruptible load, which can reduce grid congestion through quickly reducing electricity demand within a variable response time. This concept may also function to drive down costs associated with operating battery storage and solar farms: if the energy system is coupled with mining hardware, the system could assess whether it is more profitable to store energy in the battery or to mine bitcoin based on trailing profitability levels.

With missions already rebounding from 2020’s pandemic supply and demand shocks and last week’s IEA net-zero 2050 roadmap further reiterating the immense emissions reduction potential from behaviour

T I A N G O N G - 3: C H I N A’S N E W E S T F RO N T I E R

TECH TIDBITS

change, policymakers should deeply question the rationality of remaining complicit regarding the regulation of future energy-intensive, proof-ofwork blockchain technologies.

Read the full article at cherwell.org.

SCIENCE SNIPPETS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA’S NEW ORBITAL STATION IS SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE NEXT SPACE RACE, PREDICTS HARRY

Microsoft will retire Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022.

Image credit: bnpositive / CC BY-SA 2.0

The hackers behind the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline in the South East of the US reportedly received $90 million in bitcoin before shutting down.

The price of Bitcoin has crashed to a low of $31,179, meaning it has more than halved since its mid-April peak of $64,829. Most other cryptocurrencies have crashed along with it.

O

n April 29th this year, the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) successfully launched the Tianhe core module of their planned Tiangong-3 space station. This is not the first space station that China has launched, following the successful operational lives of Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. However, Tiangong-3 will be their first third generation modular space station. Third generation space stations, like the ISS, are modular in design and assembled on orbit, as well as being capable of resupply and much longer missions than second generation stations.

CMSA has already agreed projects and payloads with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), showing their desire for international cooperation. This is set to disrupt the relative monopoly the International Space Station has over all members of the international community, who could not afford a space station of their own on projects in microgravity. The new station will enable China to do just this.

In this new era of worsening relations with the West, the Russians are increasingly leaning towards China as their new partner in space.

They have signed an agreement to explore the moon with the Chinese, whilst foregoing the American Artemis program to return to the moon.

They have also pulled out of the ISS, with plans to stop supporting ISS modules by 2025. This departure was accompanied by a plan for a new Russian station, but the glory days

CHAPMAN. of the Russian space agency (ROSCOSMOS) are behind them, and the likelihood of this coming to fruition is up for debate. The new station may even be constructed of retrofitted modules originally intended for the ISS, and Russia has a history of decade long delays for station modules. The timing of this move was also very close to the Chinese station launch, and was accompanied by some discussion around the ROSCOSMOS collaborating on the new Chinese station.

Despite this, the new station was launched to a 42° inclination, putting the station out of reach for any Russian launch site, the most equatorial of which is Baikonur Cosmodrome, at 45°N. This means all launches to the station will have to come from Chinese stations, barring American or western cooperation (this may have contributed to the partial walkback on ROSCOSMOS leaving the ISS). This is similar to China’s proposed crewed lunar program, which has planned international cooperation, but has also been suggested should be performed independently. Both of these programs suggest the same approach by China, of international cooperation, but guided by and with permission from China.

This is all a direct challenge to American leadership in space exploration, the US having dominated every aspect of space, from uncrewed interplanetary missions to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) operations ever since the later days of the Apollo program. This may even be the st-

arting pistol for the next space race.

NASA and ROSCOSMOS have seen huge budget reductions from their peaks, with NASA falling from nearly five percent of the American federal budget to just half a percent.

Both agencies have also fallen into ruts in their activities, with NASA being trapped in an endless loop of senate mandated redesigns, and ROSCOSMOS stuck flying essentially the same Soyuz vehicles designed in the 1960s. China’s space agency has an expanding budget and is relatively insulated from political decisions, giving it the perfect background for ambitious programs. The surge of China in space may even form new motivation which to drive the United States’ increasing divided political elite together to pursue space exploration. The current US administration has already used opposition to China to justify policymaking, one of the few similarities it shares with the previous administration.

Both China’s new station and their lunar program speak to their great ambitions in space. They may even provoke the US into a new space race, for better or for worse. They also both signal how China sees the future of cooperation in space, under Chinese leadership. This is similar to how the ISS has operated in regard to the US and Russia and the other ISS partners, but the US is increasingly not the hegemonic global power. In a world of ever-increasing Chinese dominance, it is clear that the skies are no limit.

Read the full article at cherwell.org.

An Oxford study of 25,000 participants has found that even moderate alcohol consumption may reduce grey matter density in the brain.

A study by Science Advances has found that the COVID-19 lockdowns have led to 95,000 fewer air pollution-related deaths around the world.

Lyrics of popular songs have become increasingly simple over time, finds new study analyzing six decades of popular music in the US.

CUL CHER

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Vol.294 No.4| 5th Week

CulCher | Friday, 28th May 2021

2

CONTENTS CULCHER

page 2 | Learning to love bilingual literature page 3 | Oxford’s finest cultural spaces

THE SOURCE

page 4-5 | The Source x Industry

MUSIC

page 6 | Hyperpop: the newest teen fad

FILM

page 7 | Submarine: a study in soundtrack

BOOKS

page 8 | Poetry’s favourite season through the ages

STAGE page 9 | Between the curtain

FASHION

page 10-11 | Girl in Bed

COVER ARTIST LIV FUGGER Hey! I’m Liv and I’m a second year studying English Language and Literature at Christ Church.

I’ve always loved art, but I only properly got back into it during the first lockdown.

I love experimenting with different shapes and textures, as well as illustrating and graphic design.

This is a piece I did a while ago at the very start of last summer. It was just starting to get a bit sunnier, and I thought I would try to capture that sort of random scattering that sun rays undergo when they pierce through windows. It was my first time using gouache paint, and I was so excited as it’s apparently the type of paint that Matisse used for his cut outs! I’m really happy with how the yellow colour turned out, as it is just so vibrant and happy.

I originally composed the image as a triptych with the two outer images being the same but at slightly different angles. I hoped that this would prove an interesting experience for the eye when viewing it, as it would be able to discern a similarity, and yet also a difference.

I’ve been a member of the Cherwell creative team for almost a year now, and I’ve absolutely loved it. I’m constantly astounded by the creativity and brilliance of the other student artists, and I get so excited whenever I see their work! I would definitely recommend joining if you’re thinking about it!

“JE NE COMPRENDS PAS”

LEARNING TO LOVE BILINGUAL LITERATURE BY ALEXANDRA MCLANAGHAN

M

y first experience of reading a bilingual novel was both painful and involuntary. It was that heady World Cup summer of 2018 – the likes of which we can now only dream of – and I’d spent most of it enjoying the sunshine and recovering from my A-levels. Yet as the calendar turned to September, there was an undeniable nip of autumn in the air, and with it, a nagging reminder of the untouched reading lists that my college had emailed me when my offer was confirmed. I applied to study English at Oxford because I’ve always loved reading, but this long list of weighty Victorian novels filled me with dread. I eventually managed to narrow it down to two that definitely needed reading and, daunted by Middlemarch’s 880 pages, I decided to begin with Charlotte Brontë’s Villette. I coped well enough with it initially, but as I progressed I was struck by just how much of the novel was actually in French, a language which one year of lessons at secondary school left me ill-equipped to understand.

If I had been worried about Oxford’s reputation as an elitist institution before, then this was more than enough to deepen my concerns. After all, I had applied to study English Literature, and it seemed unfair to expect, as standard, a knowledge of an entirely different language. Where I had wanted to engage in the reading, I felt cruelly alienated from the text, an alienation which was made more profound because it seemed predicated on an assumption that all undergraduates would understand French. Rather than try and puzzle out these indecipherable passages, I began to skip right past them, joking that this way I would be able to finish the novel much more quickly. All the same, my lack of comprehension left me with a creeping feeling of inferiority.

However, the cultural boundaries created by the deployment of multiple languages in a novel can use their potential to enact cultural differences without being exclusionary. This potential first revealed itself to me in a most unexpected place – the crime fiction of Agatha Christie. Christie’s Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, frequently speaks French in the novels, and phrases that would be substantially unintelligible to non-French speakers are left untranslated, yet Christie’s novels have never been considered elitist or exclusionary because

of their bilingualism. On the contrary, her readership is famously so wide that her novels have outsold all books other than the Bible and Shakespeare. Poirot’s use of French in the novels also has an important stylistic function, as the characters within Christie’s novels make uncomfortable cultural assumptions about him based on the fact that he is a French speaker, and employs a kind of bilingual ‘Franglais’.

His polite response to assumptions that he is French becomes almost a catchphrase – “Non monsieur, I am Belgian” – which in itself perfectly displays his dual English-Belgian identity. Language cements Poirot’s status as an outsider. A bilingual refugee, Poirot’s upper-class English suspects tend to dismiss him simply as “that foreigner”, a short-sightedness, which ultimately allows Poirot to gain the upper hand and triumphantly unmask the murderer.

In more recent literature, novelists have taken the sensitive yet powerful implications of language further, diversifying our perspective on what constitutes foreign languages and bilingualism. This shines through particularly in Czech novelist Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Whilst Kundera encompasses a variety of European languages, he also explores more abstract concepts of language.

Thus, a musical quotation from Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 in F, printed in the book as sheet music, strikes a perfect chord between two characters and gives them a fleeting moment of complete mutual understanding.

Indeed, Kundera’s construction of identity is deeply rooted in his character’s personal experiences of language. We see this most clearly in the ‘Short Dictionar[ies] of Misunderstood Words’ that Kundera offers as biographical explanations for his characters’ different perspectives. One of the words, ‘cemetery’, drives an invisible wedge between lovers Franz and Sabina. For Franz, we learn cemeteries are simply an “ugly dump of stones and bones”, yet Sabina feels drawn towards them as an oasis of natural beauty, as well as a locus of her homesickness for Czechoslovakia. Here, ‘translation’ is no longer between two distinct languages, but within one, as Kundera exposes how deeply language is rooted in identity, and identity in language.

It may come as no surprise that the last

bilingual novel I read, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterful Americanah, yielded a completely different response to my first.

Here, high school sweethearts Ifemelu and Obinze‘s shared Igbo language offers up a delicious world of intimacy, which if anything, is enhanced by an exclusion from their linguistic union. However, Adichie is also inviting us to participate in the novel through both languages, and it is worth noting that although Americanah is Adichie’s third novel, it is the first in which she uses Igbo words and phrases without providing a translation. Part of the joy of reading Americanah is in its profound meditations on identity and belonging which are created by the novel’s bilingualism.

Adichie raises the stakes for her inclusion of Igbo by portraying its suppression, such as when Ifemelu’s Aunty, Uju, chastises Ifemelu for speaking Igbo with her young son because “two languages will confuse him”. When Ifemelu argues that they had spoken both Igbo and English growing up, Uju puts her down flatly – “This is America. It’s different”.

After three years of studying English Literature, my perspective on the purpose and the effect of bilingual literature has shifted enormously. In fact, if I’d been more attentive to the course syllabus when I was applying, I might have realised that the literature of the British Isles has never been a monolingual entity, hence the incorporation of Middle Irish, Medieval Welsh and Old Norse (which I have been fortunate enough to study) as options within Oxford’s English Literature degree. I now realise that ‘English’ literature and identity are like vast jigsaws of different languages, which have all left their mark on the English language as it is today. As I approach the end of my degree, I see now that, rather than exclusionary, bilingual literature allows for highly specific and culturally vital expressions of identity, which themselves are all too often excluded from the literary canon. My best advice to anyone thinking of exploring bilingual literature is to be excited, not daunted at the challenge it presents the reader, and if all else fails, in the words of Roald Dahl’s Matilda: “Don’t worry about the bits you don’t understand. Sit back and allow them to wash around you, like music”. Maybe it’s time I gave Villette another go...

Friday, 28th May 2021 | CulCher

3

IT’S (NOT) ALL TRUE: MANK AND THE ORSON WELLES LEGACY

A

t the 93rd Academy Awards, held in Los Angeles last month, no film had received more nominations than David Fincher’s Mank. The film, a biopic of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his first draft of the screenplay of Citizen Kane, is certainly admirable in its intentions of highlighting the efforts of an unsung legend of Classical Hollywood. It’s also admirable in its attempt to shed light on MGM Studios’ shady involvement in the failure of Upton Sinclair’s 1934 California gubernatorial bid. What’s less admirable is how Fincher chooses to depict the director and co-writer of Kane, Orson Welles. Mank relies on widely held but longdisproven ideas about Welles as a tyrant, an arrogant brat, and most importantly to its plot, a credit thief.

Mank is based in part on critic Pauline Kael’s infamous 1971 essay, Raising Kane.

That is to say, it’s based on Kael’s patently false assertion that Welles had next to no part in the writing of the film’s screenplay, the authorship of which (according to Kael) belongs solely to Mankiewicz. Raising Kane has been decried, debunked and discredited by writers from all corners of criticism and academia (most notably by Peter Bogdanovich and Welles himself in the essay-cuminterview The Kane Mutiny). But whilst Kael’s reputation remained practically unscathed by this backlash, Welles’ was near-irreparably damaged. Whether wittingly or not, Kael, and now Fincher, have contributed to a negative and false image of Welles that essentially vindicates the Hollywood studio system for its persistent mistreatment and eventual exiling of one of the American cinema’s greatest

BY FRANK MILLIGAN

artists.

In 1939, Orson Welles, at the time only 23 years old but already hailed as a prodigy for his innovative work in theatre and radio, signed a contract with RKO Pictures for two films. In an unprecedented move for a novice filmmaker, they granted him the right to final cut - total creative control. It was a move that paid off artistically for Welles, but one that backfired commercially. Kane, the first of these films, was acclaimed upon release and is now rightly regarded as one of the great masterworks of the 20th century. But its radical approach to film style and narrative structure left some audiences who were accustomed to more conventional melodramas of the time alienated, and the film failed to break even at the box office. Consequently, Welles’ contract for his next film, 1942’s The Magnificent Ambersons, was changed, revoking his final cut privileges and rendering him essentially an employee of the studio. After mixed reactions from test audiences - a minority of whom proclaimed it the greatest film they’d ever seen, a majority of whom were upset by its unapologetically elegiac and languorous tone - RKO, in Welles’ absence, cut around an hour of footage and added in an incongruously upbeat ending.

RKO’s attempts to make the film more palatable to general audiences instead resulted in a work plagued by unexplained narrative ellipses and persistent tonal dissonance that unsurprisingly flopped at the box office. In one of the greatest artistic tragedies in film history, the missing footage was lost. Welles’ original cut of The Magnificent Ambersons will likely never be seen.

Eventually, Welles was left with no choice

but to move to Europe in the 1950s and finance his films independently, which he continued to do until his death in 1985. The overwhelming view of Welles in the public eye became that of a washed-up former wunderkind, crushed by his own ego in his persistent clashes with studio executives, and now reduced to starring in champagne adverts and Transformers cartoons in order to make ends meet.

This view of Welles’ career is one that places the blame on him, rather than on the studios who butchered his films and all but blacklisted him for subsequent projects. It implies that the ‘decline’ in Welles’ stature was his own fault for being an independent artist who wanted to make art on his terms, tacitly supporting a system and a view of filmmaking that assigns more importance to capital than it does to artistic excellence. When, in Mank’s final moments, Tom Burke’s Orson Welles attempts to bribe Gary Oldman’s Mankiewicz with $10,000 to not take credit for the Kane script (one of many erroneous claims made in Kael’s essay) and subsequently has a violent tantrum when this offer is refused, we see Welles the charlatan, Welles the egomaniac, Welles who brought it all on himself. Given how scathing so much of Mank is in its critique of historical corporate Hollywood practices, it’s ironic that it should buy into this self-destructive image of Welles - a man who could serve as the posterboy for industry-induced martyrdom. And in a time where the power of the artist in the film industry seems more precarious than ever, it’s worrying to see these ideas about one so fiercely independent reinforced.

OXFORD’S FINEST CULTURAL SPACES OUR CULCHER EDITORS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR FAVOURITE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS...

Oxford Martyrs Monument It is wild to think that our preferred spot to drunkenly consume a Solomon’s at 3AM is a stone monument which was erected in order to commemorate the Oxford martyrs. At a cross section between Cornmarket, St Johns and St Giles Cathedral, the monument memorialises three protestants who were tried in the 16th century for their heretical beliefs.

Yet it was designed nearly three hundred years later; fearful of the Anglo-Catholic influence in the Catholic Church, reverend Charles Golightly wanted to erect the monument in order to reinstate the Protestant stance of the University. Currently, it serves as the ideal seat for waiting for a friend who is shopping at Tesco’s or the best spot for a first date – the ideal combination of history and elevation as you stumble over awkward conversation, meanwhile knowing that there is the highest chance of bumping into someone, if you need a way out… Lily Sheldon.

Al-Andulas Tapas bar Many of my warmest memories of Oxford, from spontaneous dinners with friends, to birthday celebrations and cosy family reunions, have taken place at this rustic,

tile-floored, warmly lit restaurant. It is easy to miss, slotted between other charming shops along Little Clarendon Street, yet their mouth-watering gambas al ajillo, shrimp served sizzling on a metal slate, lives on in my memory as the genuine stuff of dreams.

We strategically made our way through their menu in a remarkable group effort, always sharing different dishes from their extensive tapas selection. Going out for a meal with one’s loved ones to mark an occasion – or even to make a big deal of an otherwise mundane Thursday evening – is something I missed this past year, so I look forward to facing again the delicious challenge of making it through one of Al-Andalus’ generous paella portions.

Flavia Velasquez Cotini.

Truck Record Store For any Oxonian who wants to enjoy good music in its best form (bar live), a visit to the good people at Truck Records is the only option. The welcoming journey down the vibrant Cowley Road has become something of a pilgrimage for me and my mates, as we make our regular trip to retrieve some sonic sustenance for a turntable-side communion back at College. The hip-hop, world, and new

release crates are particularly excellent, but Truck are more than likely to stock any decent album you’re after on CD or vinyl. Fred Waine.

The Jolly Farmers Looking for cheap pints and excellent vibes?

The Jolly Farmers’ pub is your new best friend. Tucked away on Paradise Street (aptly named) near Westgate, The Jolly Farmers is everything you’d expect from an idyllic Oxford pub. There’s the cozy tables by the fire, the eclectic mix of people, and, of course, the historical significance. Built in the 1580s, the pub is situated within a Grade II listed building – and one of the walls inside is an original remnant of Oxford’s old city walls. But the pub is home to a different kind of history, too: it is Oxford’s oldest, and only, LGBTQ+ pub. The pub is cleverly advertised as a queer space in both senses of the word, encouraging LGBTQ+ customers to embrace their sexuality, but also warmly encouraging the wider community to celebrate their ‘oddness’. The pub therefore fosters a sense of a community by encouraging you to be your authentic self, whatever that may mean to you. Ellie-Jai Williams.

Image credit: David Iliff / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

CULCHER EDITORIAL “New buildings”, writes documentarian Jonathan Meades in his 2012 book Museum Without Walls, “are simple.

New places are not.” After all, places – spaces viewed in light of their collective topographic, historical, artistic, cultural, personal, and social importance (“is ‘vibe’ too crude to be a synonym?”

I ask myself) – do not spring up out of nowhere.

From the unassuming heterogeneity of Belgian suburbia (Further Abroad, 1994), to the odd, oft-misunderstood prefab settlements that adorn the West Midlands stretch of the river Severn (Severn Heaven, 1990), to the Hammersmith Ark’s giddy, self-indulgent verticality (Get High, 1994), Meades’ work, both in print and on screen, dives deep into the tightly-bound relation between the spaces in which different groups of humans set root and the shared identities and values of these communities.

So-called ‘Place’ is a subject I’ve learnt a lot about since opening up last year’s Christmas stocking to find a DVD compilation of some of Meades’ finest TV documentaries (I’m crossing my fingers that a physical copy of Museum Without Walls finds its way into Santa’s sack next time around); through his combination of self-aware verbosity, erudite (and, every so often, puerile) humour, and Blues Brother getup, the Wiltshire-born critic instructs his viewer to see through modern-day architectural totalitarianism and, by focussing on somewhere’s sense of Place rather than, for example, its location or spatiality, recognise the weird and wonderful role of local meaning in our living spaces.

“If we want to understand the physical environment we should not ask architects about it,” writes Meades dryly.

“After all, if we want to understand charcuterie we don’t seek the opinion of pigs.”

After returning to Uni at the start of term after months away, I’d like to think that, thanks to Meades’ teachings, I’ve begun to pay more attention to Place. I’ve tried to stop judging my surroundings based on their functionality and, instead, take them at face value (why study in a library and not a park, bedroom, or quadrangle?).

Fortunately, my own college, Keble, is already loaded with aesthetic – and emotional – significance for me: the long covered walkways leading out onto wide open spaces (what anticipation – what payoff!); the resplendent, south-facing chapel which becomes an even deeper hue of gold in the late afternoon sun; the chimneyed rooftops of Liddon’s western hem, which perfectly border the trees and evening skyline beyond. Indeed, the college’s brickwork and flowerbeds and turf and intermittent scaffolding hold different meanings for each of us. These unique perceptions are what come together to give Keble its sense of Place, something – akin to a JCR committee – that we each share, contribute to and gain from in equal measure.

I think we can all benefit from taking time to consider what makes a good place feel so special – stop worrying about when your ‘Browse and Borrow’ session is going to end, and just drink it all in.

- Fred Waine

4

CulCher | Friday, 28th May 2021

S E O H U RC E T X

Mythology Rachel Jung on this walk I self-mythologise.

I know what I look like from space: a grain of sand in a yellow coat a figure drawn in chalk, crawling through time

I want the rain to fall on me forever thick as snail slime how I will glitter on the way back!

running through blurs of oilseed “it looks like a storm is blowing in” her voice at the end of our phone call sings through the rustles of the trees, through the jumbles of knots and snags.

last time I was here I thought I was dying: the pain in my chest felt the size of the moon now the beginnings of bluebells push green heads through the soil and everything is nearly-new Credits: Pencil drawings: Rosa Bonnin Pen drawing: Millie Dean Lewis Sculpture: Ashley Cluer Cutouts: Ellie Thompson

Friday, 28th May 2021 | CulCher

5

Collage a blank slate:

Amy Evans

I stick on vibrant hues, attach soft texturestissue, felt, fabricand pour on glitter glue.

ideas take shape, forced into forms by being wrapped in tape, covered in paint, and decorated with foil.

with scraps and shreds I tear, stick, cut, rearrange.

I stop when my eyes blur,

Anatomy Annabel Stock

and I can only see swirling colours.

Show me your bones.

I want to see them luminous white under

no sooner has the glue dried

translucent skin stretched over them

than I decide

tightly like a drum.

I am not satisfied.

Let me run my fingers along the vertebrae, the tips dip into hollows between each exquisite drupelet

slowly,

as you arch

I peel off each gaudy mask,

your lissom torso you become something

leaving the paper bare,

extra-terrestrial, grotesque and heavenly

but crumpled.

in equal measure snaking your pelvic bones jutted against

I fold it carefully,

the skin like the hilts of furtive weapons

and put it away,

as I strum the bulging ribs

where it waits,

of this reptilian instrument

sandwiched between sequins

and slip my fingers along the protruding

and metallic paints

collar which seems so close to breaking

to be transformed

the skin I wonder if it might be kinder if I just

into art once more.

cut it free.

Submit your creative writing to The Source at: cherwelleditor@gmail.com

CulCher | Friday, 28th May 2021

6

music PLAYLIST NEW RELEASES For our fourth TT21 issue, our editors select their favourite fresh tracks.

HYPERPOP: THE NEWEST TEEN FAD OR POP MUSIC’S SAVIOUR?

Connor Connolly analyses the latest trending subgenre.

T WHAT’S THE OCCASION? Brockhampton Jane Keenleyside Image credit: Nicolas Padovani / CC BY 2.0

JOHN L black midi Charlie Taylor Image credit: Festival Sideways, Helsinki / CC BY 2.0

THE OUTSIDE Twenty One Pilots Matthew Prudham Image credit: GigPictures/ CC BY 2.0

here was a musician that seemed to answer the question about music’s future. The future is glossy latex, easily packaged and sold. The future is a product. This musician was SOPHIE, whose untimely death occurred just as the genre she helped to pioneer was gaining traction. With the release of her debut single ‘Bipp’ in 2013, the sound that lay the foundation of what would become hyperpop was established.

At the same time, a record label that would become closely associated with SOPHIE and the bubblegum bass subgenre was created. PC Music was founded by A.G. Cook in 2015, the same year SOPHIE released her debut compilation album, Product, which had the same emphasis on striking a balance between synthetic, cleanly produced and bouncy dance-pop songs and a darker, more abrasive edge. Both Cook and SOPHIE would go on to produce for Charli XCX, whose 2016 Vroom Vroom EP proved a watershed for the emergent genre, bringing it its first taste of commercial success. So, what brought about this success? The appeal of hyperpop can be boiled down to three main factors: irony, diversity, and overstimulation.

The first and perhaps most important aspect of the genre is its sense of irony and self-awareness. This has been present in the genre from the start, with SOPHIE’s early work being a good example. The cheery female voice exclaiming ‘Latex gloves, smack so hard, PVC, gets me hard’ on the 2015 single ‘HARD’, accompanied by sparkly synth melodies and distorted percussion provides a juxtaposition that’d produce discomfort in any casual listener. But it is this juxtaposition that characterises the genre: bright, happy elements of club hits mixed with a subversive sly irony that comes with introducing darker lyrical and aesthetic elements.

Taking cues largely from the godawful meme genre of nightcore, 100 Gecs, pits simple (or patently nonsensical) lyrics to a

CHASE ATLANTIC: BEAUTY IN

Poppy Atkinson Gibson reviews the latest release from the Australian band

B

eauty in Death is the third studio album from the Australian alternative R&B band and production trio from Cairns, Australia. The group consists of lead vocalist Mitchel Cave, guitarist and vocalist Christian Anthony, guitarist, saxophonist, and backing vocalist Clinton Cave.

Their newest album is the cherry on top of what is already an excellent discography with continuous themes and creative influences resulting in a smooth and flowing album arc.

It’s difficult to describe Chase Atlantic’s style. Think punk pop meets alternative R&B meets moody trap soul, whatever genre they do occupy the subjects of their songs will always strike a chord in one way or another. Beauty in Death, as with their other work, focuses on highs and lows of substance abuse, depression, loneliness, and heartache and it’s almost certain at least one of these will be familiar to you.

Having seen them on tour in a gloomy,

backstreet Bristol club complete with sticky floors, crowded mosh pit and chaotic staging, their newest album didn’t disappoint on the vibe. The album artwork is punky and weird, setting the tone for their songs and their general aesthetic.

Imagine drugfuelled joy riding down dark, twisting country lanes as dawn approaches before crashing into an unmade double bed, the room bestrewn with old dishes, overflowing ashtrays and dog-eared posters. Euphoric exhaustion sets in and you drift off to sleep in the arms of the other half of your dysfunctional relationship. As someone not really living the life Chase Atlantic croon about, I find their music excellently diverting and transportive into another kind of life that I’ve only experienced in films and books.

Unlike previous albums, specifically their self titled debut album and

myriad of schizophrenic constantly changing beats. This self-awareness at their own ridiculousness is key to their appeal; vocalist Laura Les’ pitch shifted rant at the start of money machine, compares arms to cigarettes, laments inadequate truck size and uses the term “piss baby” as an insult. On the other hand, some of their lyrics are so plain and earnest that they can’t help but evoke pathos. The simple sentiments of Laura Les putting unconditional trust in her lover in the aptly titled ‘xXXi_wud_nvrstøp_ÜXXx ‘are contrasted with an abrasive, glitchy breakdown right afterwards. In essence, hyperpop recognises pop music’s inherently ridiculous nature. A good demonstration of this is ‘It’s Okay To Cry’, the opening track from SOPHIE’s 2018 album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-insides. A tender ballad about being honest with one’s feelings, it boasts glossy and surprisingly typical production, only to be followed by a track about being whipped whilst role-playing as a pony. On any standard pop album this would be career ending, but it fits in with hyperpop’s rejection of watered-down sentiments in order to maximise commercial appeal. As a result, SOPHIE does not have to make compromises in her subject matter.

100 Gecs also play into another important subsequent Phases, the energy is less mosh pit, head banging and more vulnerable.

There’s talk of heart ache and relationships crumbling. With this newest album you certainly get the feeling the band are writing from the mirky depths of real heartbreak rather than prematurely ended flings. There is a sense of desperation and loneliness with the single ‘Molly’ which hops on the bandwagon of their practice of female titled songs including ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Cassie’. ‘Molly’ is both an ode to a girl and the drug and you come away feeling hooked on the chorus but pitying the boys

THE ENERGY IS LESS MOSH PIT

AND HEAD BANGING, INSTEAD MORE VULNERABLE.

for their chemical reliance.

‘Call Me Back’ is a triumph and is perhaps the most vulnerable the band has ever been, I found myself invested in the storyline of the lyrics picturing myself at a phone booth waiting on the end of a line for a call that just won’t come. The saxophone solos continued to be the icing on the cake, tipping you over the edge and making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

part of hyperpop’s appeal: its diversity. Their 2019 debut 1000 Gecs is 23 minutes long and has 10 songs, but maybe spans twice as many genres. Another example of this is the work of hyperpop-adjacents and meme sensations Drain Gang. The output of their three primary members, Bladee, Ecco2k, and Thaiboy Digital was initially distinct. Ecco2k took a softer, poppier direction, while the other two operated within the cloud rap and trap subgenres.

More recently however, their projects have slickly blended together into a detached, melancholy fusion of hip hop, pop, dance music and r&b. Bladee’s increased use of singing on tracks like ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ shows this, and Thaiboy’s work as superstar alter ego DJ Billybool. Perhaps the most extreme case of diversity is A.G. Cook’s album 7G, spanning 49 songs, and ranging from touching guitar ballads to ear-meltingly twitchy drum ‘n’ bass. Clearly, hyperpop is more of a philosophy than a definitive “sound”, that often incorporates maximalist aesthetics.

What’s hyperpop’s future? As with any subversive musical movement, its aesthetics will be co-opted by major labels, but losing the irony and intellect that made it so distinctive in the first place.

Artwork: Aleksandra Pluta There were some unfortunate additions as with any album. Their single ‘Out on the Roof’ was a disappointment and I felt didn’t fit in well with the other songs. In the build up the album release I didn’t hold too much hope, fearing that a lockdown produced album might be somewhat of a train wreck with too many clashing styles and experimentation. Instead, lending it to be more so a vanity project sound than a catalogue of art. ‘Please Stand By’ featuring De’wayne and Xavier Mayne was an unwelcome addition, jarring and out of place with the low fi vibe of the rest of the album. The three voices simply didn’t mix and coming almost slap bang in the middle of the track list made it an obstacle rather than an extra.

The title seems a little pompous and perhaps more appropriate for their earlier work which seemed to look drug related and mis-adventurous death squarely in the eye. This time around there’s a sense that there’s more to lose and there is, in fact, no beauty in it. Overall, Chase Atlantic’s Beauty in Death is an excellent album and I look forward to when they will be able to tour again.

Image credit: Alani Cruz via Flickr/ License: CC BY-ND 2.0

7

Friday, 28th May 2021 | CulCher

film

SUBMARINE: A STUDY IN SOUNDTRACK Rachel Jung dives into soundtracks, Submarine, and The Story of Tracy Beaker.

S

ubmarine, the directorial debut from comedian Richard Ayoade, turned ten years old this year, but the hold its soundtrack has on cinematic music is just as strong as ever. The soundtrack is comprised of six original songs written and performed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, who brings his signature philosophising and eclectic lyrics. Together with the film’s cinematography, these songs idealise the mundane as the protagonist, Oliver, makes himself the romantic hero of his own story.

There is nothing as intrinsically teenage as the awkward first relationship, something which is encapsulated in all its toe-curling glory in Submarine. The film follows Oliver (played by Craig Roberts of ‘who stole my Maroon 5 CD?’ fame in The Story of Tracy Beaker) as he navigates his relationship with his classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige). Nothing is done by halves in this film, including the emotional intensity; when you’re watching, you feel at all times like you’re stuck in Oliver’s head, forced to hear all of his fifteen-year-old-boy thoughts and schemes. The soundtrack follows all of this perfectly, letting Oliver’s state of mind bleed through into the

lyrics, which is the key to what makes Turner’s music so powerful and so fitting to the film.

The film begins with a panning shot of Oliver’s bedroom, a visual reflection of the character we will soon be introduced to, and the ever-quotable opening lines: “Most people think of themselves as individuals, that there’s no one on the planet like them…” It is here that the soundtrack starts, with a snippet of ‘Stuck on the Puzzle’ – one of, in my opinion, the best songs from the admittedly very short soundtrack (it is not even twenty minutes long, the perfect length for a ‘Main Character Walk’ round Uni Parks). As soon as the music begins, we know that we are in for a ride; this is not just any teenage boy, but a teenage boy on a mission to romanticise every element of his life and cast himself as the lead in his own movie.

The mix of often-misplaced confidence and half-concealed insecurity that Oliver’s character brings is caught with eagle-eyed precision in the first full song to play, ‘Hiding Tonight’. The track provides the background music to a Skins-esque montage of Oliver and Jordana setting off fire-crackers and burning things on the beach, which is itself undermined by the way Oliver chooses to

sum up their relationship so far: “two weeks of atavistic love making, humiliating teachers and bullying the weak”. This sequence makes you squirm in all the ways a teen romance film from the early 2010s should.

It is the contrast between the heartfelt and the cringeworthy that makes the film so watchable and its soundtrack so listenable.

When Oliver and Jordana sit and look out at the ocean together, this cliché romantic scene is subverted by the way she keeps shrugging off his arm – there is still a lingering sense of that teenage awkwardness. The song that plays, ‘Glass in the Park’, explores the hugeness of this moment, as the two work out where they stand in relation to one another.

Turner takes this sense of scale to its furthest point by talking about outer space: “paraselene woman, I’m your man on the moon”. He captures the way that when you’re a teenager, everything feels enormous until you look back at it a few years later – for Oliver, the events of the film are ground-breaking, filtered through a subjective, first-person worldview, but as the viewer we know that this isn’t all there is.

No exploration of the Submarine soundtrack can be considered complete until we talk about ‘Piledriver Waltz’, the song so mesmerising it was reworked into a track on the Arctic Monkeys’ own 2011 album, Suck It and See. With lines such as “you look like you’ve been for breakfast at the heartbreak hotel” and “if you’re gonna try and walk on water / make sure you wear your comfortable shoes”, Turner takes us into his own nonsense world, where everything can mean a million different things. There is no better way of summing up what it’s like to be inside a teenager’s brain, stepping into the shoes of an adult but bringing all your adolescent anxieties with you. This is what gives Submarine its magic.

Image Credits : wirestock via FreePik.

MUST SEE NEW RELEASES

INSIDE Bo Burnham’s newest comedy special premiers globally on Netflix, available May 30th.

Image Credits: jeneli_ / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

TO STREAM

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA Surprisingly good.

CLASSIC

SAW You can watch Spiral: From the Book of Saw if you want, but we can’t condone that kind of behaviour.

Image Credits: Minnesota Historical Society / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

TRAGIC FEMALE FRIENDSHIP IN THE PURSUIT OF LOVE Rosa Chalfen dissects the Freudian dynamics of Emily Mortimer’s adaptation.

E

mily Mortimer’s new series The Pursuit of Love was the latest glitzy TV show to hit screens last weekend, in a blur of sex, cigarettes and Andrew Scott surrounded by rainbow coloured pigeons. Adapted from Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel, the show follows best friends Linda Radlett (Lily James) and Fanny Logan (Emily Beecham) as they try to find love and satisfaction in 1930s Britain. The story itself isn’t an especially original one – indeed, the trope of the dowdy, intellectual best friend and her attractive, unstable counterpart has become so hackneyed in popular culture that it produces an immediate sense of déjà vu. In everything from Little Women to My Brilliant Friend, Ladybird to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, women are offered a pretty clear choice: do you want to be sexy, or clever? Do you want to be stimulated, or happy? According to Mortimer, you can’t have both.

Mortimer’s series plays on Freud’s famous Madonna-whore complex, in which men can only desire a sexual partner who has been degraded (the whore), while they cannot desire the respected partner (the Madonna). Naomi Woolf later argued that

the trope not only prevails in modern culture, but has gotten worse since the sexual revolution, as women contend with the worst aspects of each stereotype. The Pursuit of Love poses the question: what happens when the whore and the Madonna become friends?

The answer is one poignantly staged at the centre of the series, which focuses closely on Linda and Fanny’s friendship.

From sweetly domestic scenes in which the girls bathe together (friendship bordering on the erotic in the way that all popular depictions of women doing anything together often do) to Fanny’s quest across war-torn Europe to find Linda, their love for each other teeters on the obsessive.

The advantages and disadvantages of each girl’s life are pretty clear: Linda’s chaotic love life leaves her with a string of divorces and a traumatised daughter, whereas Fanny’s dull, domestic bliss is undercut by a constant feeling of dissatisfaction that means she can never truly be happy. “Why did I stay behind with the unadventurous ones?” she implores of her disinterested husband. He can’t answer.

The series is a comedy in the way all feminist comedies are: funny, but with

a disturbing undertone of relatability that leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

Even the idyllic Cotswolds setting of the show’s ending, as Emily Beecham drinks tea surrounded by gambling children, can’t disguise the unnecessary tragedy (spoiler alert) of Linda’s death. As Fanny’s Aunt Emily (played by Annabel Mullion) tellingly muses in the episode’s last minute, ‘Let’s hope that these boys granddaughters can be more than just a Bolter or a Sticker, a Linda or a Fanny, but can decide who they are’. The series can only acknowledge its real tragedy right at the end, tentatively imagining a world where female friendships aren’t divided into these two inevitable tropes – where both whore and Madonna get to live happily ever after.

I’m not sure it’s a vision that’s come true.

In The Pursuit of Love’s literary equivalent, Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet sets a similarly intense female friendship in late 20th century Naples. Elena is nervous, intelligent, insecure; Lila is beautiful, savage and unstable. Have we heard this story before? Although Ferrante’s characters are nowhere near as two-dimensional as Mitford’s, the same trope plays out

again and again. Through a combination of war, gang violence and bad decisions, Lila transforms from a character around which the entire world seems to revolve to erratic old woman whose narrative tragically peters out. Mitford, Ferrante and Mortimer are all telling us the same thing: the intensity which makes us fall in love with these characters is impossible to maintain, and their extreme femininity can only lead to death or tragedy.

The Pursuit of Love demonstrates once again, not only the centrality of female friendship in film, literature and life, but the double edged sword that is being a woman. In the oppressive pre-war society of Mitford’s world, the distinction between ‘a Linda or a Fanny’, a whore or a Madonna, is strict enough to destroy the lives of the women that it hopes to enclose. Although we might hope that modern society is one in which women have a more fluid identity, unencumbered by such black and white stereotypes, this trope’s prevalence across contemporary culture acts as a constant reminder of these tragic dynamics.

Emily Mortimer’s The Pursuit of Love is available on BBC iPlayer.

CulCher | Friday 28th May 2021

8

books POETRY’S FAVOURITE SEASON THROUGH THE AGES

“W

Krystalia Karamihou examines the representation of spring in poetry.

han that Aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of March hath perced to the roote” is how Chaucer famously begins his Canterbury Tales. The most beloved of seasons for many, when the world experiences botanical rebirth after the cold grey tones of winter, spring has been extolled in poetry perhaps more than any other season. Since antiquity, poets have associated spring with growth and celebration making their poems are a joy to read this time of year.

The beauty of poetic diction has the potential to revitalise the diminished novelty that sometimes stems from an over-familiarisation with our surroundings, something we have all experienced in the last year. Wordsworth briefly touches this poetic power in his “Preface to Lyrical Ballads,” published in 1802. Although his main aim in this introduction was to explain why he wrote poetry in simple diction, he also declares that, in writing about situations from common life, he wished to “throw over them a certain colouring of imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way.” In this spirit, I would like to examine a few poets who do just this, allowing us all to fully see and embrace spring in all of its sun-dappled glory.

The refined simplicity of Ancient Greek lyric poetry lends itself well to this, particularly, in the carefree poem “Spring” by Anacreon, one of the Nine Lyric Poets. With strong elements of synesthesia, Anacreon invites readers to envision themselves strolling down a meadow, feeling the breeze that carries nature’s fragrant smells while a pretty girl whose heart is under Cypris’ influence (Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty) lies with them. Anacreon does not allude to any other thoughts or emotions that could intrude into this experience; it is as it is. Not a melancholy escape, not an opportunity for existential thinking, but a pleasant stroll that holds value in and of itself:

Cypris wholly hath possest.

Virgil, in his Georgics, focuses on the resurrection of nature witnessed during this season.

Those familiar with canonical Western literature are aware that poets often referenced ancient Greco-Roman deities without, of course, believing in those deities themselves. It was rather a form of decorum due to neoclassical conventions. To me, the beauty of classical poetry lies in how those ancient people understood the union of the “natural” with the “divine”; a worldview largely lost in our present times. In Georgics, the union of the rain with the earth carries heavy ancient polytheistic undertones, serving to praise the gods for their life-giving powers: Spring it is that clothes the glades and forests with leaves, in spring the soil swells and carves the vital seed.

Then does Heaven, sovereign father, descend in fruitful showers into the womb of his joyful consort and, mightily mingling with her mighty frame, gives life to every embryo within. (...) the bounteous earth prepares to give birth, and the meadows ungirdle to the Zephyr’s balmy breeze; the tender moisture avails for all.

Going to the distant realm of the Mayans, the poem “Flower Song” with its rich earthly diction refers to the Flower Ceremony, a ritual designed to keep or bring back a lover. Naked maidens danced under the moonlight while throwing flowers into the water, believing it would turn into a love potion. The song was found in the book of the Songs of Dzitbalché, which contains most of the ancient Mayan lyric poetry that has survived: We have brought plumeria flowers, chucum blossoms, dog jasmines; we have the copal, the low cane vine, the land tortoise shell, new quartz, chalk and cotton thread…

Already, already we are in the heart of the woods, at the edge of the pool in the stone to await the rising of the lovely smoking star over the forest.

Take off your clothes, let down your hair, become as you were when you arrived here on earth, virgins, maidens.

No discussion on spring poetry can omit Chaucer’s ”General Prologue” to the Canterbury Tales,

which introduces a group of pilgrims as they set out for Canterbury. The beginning of the Prologue follows the tradition of reverdie, a medieval French dancing song genre originating with the troubadours, that welcomed the arrival of spring. Chaucer pens: When in April the sweet showers fall That pierce March’s drought to the root and all And bathed every vein in liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has with his sweet breath, Filled again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and leaves, and the young sun His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run.

With their closeness to nature, the Romantic poets have utilised spring imagery as few others have. Some focused on the relationship of man and nature, while others on their emotional response to nature’s vastness, the so-called Sublime. Some of my favourite lines from Romantic spring poetry are the following from Keat’s poem “I Stood tiptoe Upon a Little Hill”. This was the first poem I read by Keats years ago, when I happened to look through the pages of a poetry collection at my university’s library. Although the diction is somewhat exaggerated by today’s standards, it gives a refreshing and colourful tone about nature: Open afresh your round of starry folds, Ye ardent marigolds!

Dry up the moisture from your golden lids, For great Apollo bids That in these days your praises should be sung On many harps, which he has lately strung; And when again your dewiness he kisses, Tell him, I have you in my world of blisses: So haply when I rove in some far vale, His mighty voice may come upon the gale.

Such excerpts exemplify humans’ evolving perception of and relationship to spring and nature throughout time. What each reader may gain from reading spring poetry, and poetry in general for that matter, is a highly subjective experience, whether that is reading simply for fun, to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of poetic language, to let the lines stir their sensations, or to ponder over a deeper meaning.

Pleasant ‘tis abroad to stray Thro’ the meadow deep in hay, Where soft zephyrs, breathing low, Odorous sweets around us throw: Pleasant, where the gadding vine Weaves a safe shade, to recline With some dainty girl whose breast

CHERWELL RECOMMENDS

I

t’s every Oxford student’s favourite time of the season: 5th week blues. Whether or not the melancholies are a self-fulfilling myth, there is certainly something to be said about the drudgery of a mid-term day. In Trinity the frustration seems especially great, as many count down the days with anxiety until the dreaded exams.

What better relief from the stresses of academia than... more reading? Believe us when we say that books offer the perfect escape.

Reading livens up the creative mind like none else, and the scent of a familiar story carries particular allure after a tiring day at the library.

There is just something about that book you’ve owned since age 14. 5th week is the ideal time for some comfort reads, best enjoyed with a beverage of your choice while sinking into a soft sofa at dusk. Or take advantage of reopening and bring light reads to the café, reliving tales while people-watching.

Below, the Books editors have listed the

books they find themselves returning to in difficult times. These texts have accompanied us through crises and celebrations. We mark time and our lives with stories; which ones have given you comfort over the years?

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin Maebh, Books Editor When I’m struggling with dense university reading, I find comfort in Maupin’s Tales of the City series. First published in 1978, this first chapter introduces Mary Ann Singleton who impulsively decides to move to San Francisco after going there on holiday. She meets an eclectic range of people, from the mysterious landlord Anna Madrigal, to the friendly, but eccentric, Michael Tolliver, with a whole swathe of people in-between. The plot is fast-paced, moving from romance, to mystery story, to the downright satirical, never dwelling too long on any particular person or event. Yet, despite the brevity of the plot, Maupin creates some really

lovable characters, and re-reading this book feels as if I am coming home, ready to experience 1970s San Francisco all over again.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman Sofie, Books Editor I came across Rachmen’s debut novel several summers ago at a bookstore and finished it about 12 hours later. The Imperfectionists centers on the staff of an English-language newspaper in Rome, and each chapter follows a different staffer as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their professional and personal lives. The characters are off-beat and tremendously entertaining, finding themselves in sticky situations and often stumbling to imperfect (hence the name) resolutions. Its setting in Rome makes the novel all the more enjoyable, providing the perfect backdrop to all of the editors’ shenanigans. It is a lovely escape from studying or rainy English afternoons, a true pick-me-up in novel form.

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace Irene, Deputy Editor Admittedly, David Foster Wallace is an unexpected choice for comfort reads. Consider the Lobster, a collection of essays, instead examines underexplored corners of American life. But whenever I feel overwhelmed by the uncertainties of our world, Wallace draws me back and creates a literary space for serious thinking that does not take itself too seriously.

He sees genuine wonder and utter asburdity in everything from adult video conventions to talk radio and national trauma. His is an almost nostalgic mid-2000s world of John McCain and lobster festivals, reminding us that no matter how strange the world seems, it always stretches farther than our wildest imagination.

Consider the Lobster certainly bears re-reading: its analyses are often complex, and Wallace deconstructs the form of the literary essay itself.

It’s a cliché, but every time I return there are new finds and unexpected ideas.

Friday, 28th May 2021 | CulCher

9

stage

BETWEEN CURTAIN FALL AND RISE Will Neill talks to Glydnebourne’s Managing Director, Sarah Hopwood, about their post-lockdown season.

G

lyndebourne is one of the largest opera houses in the south of England, hosting thousands of guests and holding numerous performances across the summer. Like other theatres, Glyndebourne has struggled through the recent COVID crisis, with state support for the arts has been minimal. I spoke to Sarah Hopwood, the Managing Director at Glyndebourne, to ask how it has coped throughout the last year.

What are the ways that Glyndebourne has been able to financially survive through the COVID crisis?

Glyndebourne is completely unique in the arts, it is the third biggest opera company in the UK and is completely privately funded. In 2001, when foot and mouth disease hit UK, there were risks it couldn’t open. We had reserves of less than £8m, if Glyndebourne closed then there were chances it could never open again.

From 2001 onwards, we built reserves to protect from future crises.

Our annual festival had to be cancelled last year, because we went into lockdown.

All seasonal and freelance contracts were cancelled, and seventy per cent of staff were put on furlough. We had sold 85% of tickets for the festival, we had raised £16m over the summer, and had to ask all ticket buyers to donate to our COVID emergency fund. We wanted to make sure that everyone, anyone who was now not getting any income, would receive a good will payment.

Forty-five percent of those who bought tickets paid to the COVID appeal: £4.5m was raised.

Everyone whose contacts were cancelled had payments, but we still had to cut costs were cut wherever we could.

Our Autumn tour had to be cancelled. It wasn’t financially viable for theatres to be opened. At this point, we had moved onto stage four of Oliver Dowden’s (culture secretary) road map, and so there could only be limited audiences.

When we were looking at annual membership renewal in September for following year - amazingly, there were no members who wanted to cancel their

membership. We had not announced any plans for what was happening the following year in terms of events, but there was still no drop off. There is just extraordinary membership support, and this helped massively with cash flow over the winter.

How did Glyndebourne prepare for the re-opening this summer?

The schedule opened on 20th May through to the end of August, with an assumed 50% audience capacity. If all social distancing measures are eliminated from 21st June, we will go on sale, as soon as we know for sure. We will release extra capacity until the end of the season. The upside? No increase in costs.

We put a contingency plan in place,; normally tickets would go on sale for a Festival in 2021 in December 2020.

This couldn’t happen because there were so many unknowns. If social distancing measures will still in place, would there be an audience? Who would rehearse?

There would normally be six rehearsing productions at one time, only one was cancelled.

For the ‘Magic Flute’, there was no way could be done socially distanced.

The number of performers was reduced from seventy-six to sixty, this includes four full scale production and one semi.

Box office capacity, by reducing number of performances, was reduced 1200 to 600.

The profit from the box office reduced by £11m, a very sig nif icant financial hit. We had r e d u c e d orchestration, which also reduces scale.

This in turn reduces the need for costumes.

We looked at every angle to reduce costs but still managed to put out performances they are proud of.

Everyone involved in production are in different bubbles: two performance companies working at one time. I am not allowed into rehearsal room. The minibuses are colour coded and there are different

loos, and different meal times. This is all a logistical nightmare, but despite this we went on sale on the fourteenth of March are completely sold out. People trust us.

Have you found ways to keep the communal spirit alive at Glyndebourne - and to keep connected with regular attendees and supporters?

One of the good things to come out of COVID was this sense of community. We took a view from the 4th March 2020 - the executive directors team of ten - that we should start daily meetings. We continued to do that every weekday, the ten of us have shared every single big decision, we have all boosted each other and shared the load. We trusted the staff, took them into our confidence and shared out plans and thinking. It was horrible news for everyone, but at least our communications have improved over the years. The staff have been flexible, willing and supportive, and proud to be at Glyndebourne.

Most staff are furloughed or working at home, living on their own or with poor broadband, or raising children. We face the same challenges that every business faces, and we had to gear up for home working. We immediately implemented a live company webinar, with the recordings going out to everyone. Gus Christie (Executive Chairman of Glyndebourne since 2000), myself and the artistic directions gave a very honest update every fortnight. We constantly recognised that nobody has chosen the position they found themselves in. We trained mental health first aiders online to support people if they were struggling, and to help them get the appropriate support.

We were mindful to support our staff throughout all of this, with live webinars to

donors and members, having an artist or a pianist during, and keeping in touch with people who were loyal. Most of our donors said, “keep the money, we trust you and we know you need this for the future’.

What options are Glyndebourne taking virtually this summer? And is there a demand for virtual performances to continue?

‘Glyndebourne at Home’ (a Lockdown online streaming service) had 850,000 views, significantly more tickets than could be sold in a year. We are looking at launching a Glyndebourne on demand streaming service: a proper membership scheme.. We have sold one hundred per cent of our tickets this summer, we have a lot of overseas ticket buyers, so it is great we can reach out with digital tickets and concerts.

What ways are there that people can help institutions like Glyndebourne?

Any particular charitable appeals?

Glyndebourne operates as a charity, but this is a tricky question. Many arts institutions are charities and have launched their own appeals. Glyndebourne is using its reserves, we could have made the decision to not put on a festival, but we didn’t. We took a conscious decision to train our skills and staff and put on performances, eating into money we had retained for the future.

How we pitch that, we have to be very sensitive. Donors look at Glyndebourne and they say we are fine we have reserves.

But we need to rebuild those reserves. All the arts charities are challenged, we are all fishing in the same pool, the story we need to tell will be different.

Image Credits: Oast House Archive/ CC BYSA 2.0; morebyless via Flickr/CC BY 2.0.

REVIEWS Checking Out/Orange Script Productions

W

illiam Heath knows how to write dialogue. In Checking Out, he evokes a middle aged shop worker, an elderly widow, and a closeted young gay police officer that all speak like real people you would overhear on the street.The play grapples with themes of grief, friendship, and sexuality in a way that, while sometimes slightly too slow-paced, leaves a lasting effect.

Checking Out is a play-meets-short-film that centres around the relationship between Julie (Vicky Stone), a woman in her forties, and Elsie (Leah Aspden), a recently widowed octogenarian. Julie takes pity on Elsie when her husband Jim passes, but soon becomes caught up in the older woman’s life as details of Elsie and Jim’s past begin to spill out. As this happens, we meet – through flashbacks to the 1960s – Eddie (Nathaniel Jones), a police officer who knew Jim when he was young.

All three cast members give highly skilled performances: playing an age significantly

different to your own is notoriously difficult, but the age gaps between the actors and their characters never interfere with the story.

Stone and Jones both have some real moments of emotional poignancy, and with the toughest role Aspden manages to make Elsie not only sympathetic but three-dimensional. It’s a shame that some of the lines are lost due to the volume issues, but when filming during a pandemic these issues are to be expected.

The show’s best quality is undoubtedly the way it manages to tap into universal thoughts and feelings, and profound truths, without sounding laboured. When Julie, in her opening monologue, says “Just imagine, being that loved”, it feels like a natural conclusion to her train of thought, and a satisfying pay-off.

The sheer volume of dialogue becomes in this way both a great strength and a kind of weakness: it’s necessary to make the key moments of the plot and the stand-out lines feel deserved, but at times the number of seemingly unrelated anecdotes can tend to bury the more powerful moments.

The concept of the show is undoubtedly original, and the dynamics between the

characters are unexpected and well thoughtthrough. While it initially feels like the play takes a little while to get going, its slow-burn nature makes the reveals of the connections between characters all the more intriguing.

The format of the play doesn’t always present it in its best light – the monologue style means we never get to see these interpersonal relationships play out. An intriguing feature of the piece, though, is the moments where the characters break the fourth wall, such as when Elsie says that having heard everyone else’s perspectives, it’s time for us to hear her story for ourselves. This stylistic feature felt reminiscent of monologue favourites Fleabag and Chewing Gum, but wasn’t quite fleshed-out enough to contribute to the piece. Other interesting touches include shots of a clock that turns at times faster than normal, at times backwards: once again this is intriguing and shows a lot of thought, but doesn’t quite feel like a polished idea.

The play’s middle section truly highlights the skill and promise of the team behind it. It is at this point that the narrative really picks up, and the writing flourishes. While the opening

monologue is great at establishing character, Eddie’s monologue has a clear plot to it that unfolds to us as he speaks, and Jones performs it with the right mix of vulnerability and charm. This is where the heart of the play lies.

Considering the play was shot during the pandemic, it does well at creating a believable world. Sets include a corner shop and a 1960s alleyway, and all are convincing. Special commendation must also go to hair, makeup, and costume designer Isabel Dernedde, as these aspects add a lot to the characters, and the total transformation of Leah Aspden into an eighty-something is hugely impressive.

While Checking Out may not be fully polished, it shows a great deal of promise and heart. Every performance is excellent, and the writing delves into human feeling in a way that shows great emotional intelligence and an understanding of how we express ourselves.

In an era of separation, it is a show that not only reminds us what it’s like to be together, but does so in a way that doesn’t shy away from the heartache and lack of resolution that can come from even our closest relationships.

By Katie Kirkpatrick

10

CulCher | Friday, 28th May 2021

fashion

Model: Josie Illingworth Law

Girl On Stairs

Friday, 28th May 2021 | CulCher

11

modeled by:

hciwjdoqjdo

Photographer: Agata Gwincinska

Girl In Bed

11

Life | Friday, 28th May 2021

life

How to find the ‘good’ in ‘goodbye’: moving on and breaking Izzy Merriman advises readers on post-breakup selfconfidence, and how to dress for yourself, everytime.

W

e choose who we trust. Sometimes, we just pick wrong. We kiss the wrong people, hold the wrong hands. When you realise you aren’t being respected and your feelings are being overlooked or (worse) stomped on, an ending quickly becomes inevitable. But what do you do when you feel it? That sinking feeling in your gut — the instant something precarious falls apart?

In an age of emphasis-on-thecasual dating, situationships and shifting circumstances, the credits can roll with barely a second’s notice. AlmostMaybes become Def initely-nots in the time it takes for a head to turn or a mind to change.

Things can end before t h e y ’ v e technically even begun.

Often, this amounts to little more than a polite parting of ways, but where feelings are involved, it’s inevitably more complicated.

So, how do you say ‘goodbye’ with your head held high?

Endings like these often boil down to a power struggle. Do you quit biting your tongue and say everything you want to, consequences be damned? Or, do you make peace with your silence for the sake of an easy life? Do you message first (a claim for the moral high ground) or do you refrain

(the above-it-all approach)? Or, is it weak to declare a truce, and petty to hold out for the sake of it?

Through a healthy amount of trial, error and observation, I can confidently say I’ve arrived at a fairly obvious (and yet, ground-breaking) conclusion: it’s completely up to you. But as long as you’re worrying about the other half of the equation, you’ve got the wrong idea.

Take the whole ‘post-breakup glow-up’ culture. It might be superficially satisfying, but it’s hardly a healthy mindset if your sole focus is on how it’ll make them, rather than

“So, how do you say ‘goodbye’ with your head held high?” y o u , feel. It’s fun to feel smug about looking dropdead gorgeous when you go to say goodbye, but it can quickly backfire into you feeling daft about the effort you put in in the hope they’d notice. Similarly, wearing your hair up because they like it down, or eyeliner because they prefer you without, puts all the power in their hands — and for what? Just wear what you want.

That might mean reclaiming a look you abandoned once you

realised they didn’t like it, or wearing that outfit you love almost as much as they do, but wear what you want in spite of their opinion, rather than to spite them.

My Timberlands are my superlative combat boots.

When I’m going into battle, it’s nice to do it while looking them dead in the eyes (or scrutinising their hairline) and with a swish in my step. That doesn’t mean I don’t still sometimes get a twinge of satisfaction when I remember my ex’s preference for ‘natural’ makeup as I’m sweeping on a darker lipstick he hated, but now I’m learning to make sure I pick my wardrobe with me in mind. Every. Damn. Time. It’s just an added bonus that the confidence that comes with wearing what you love is the best kind of ‘revenge sexy’ there is.

But my least favourite aspect of an ending, even worse than the wardrobe-worrying, is the race to begin again. Why does it seem like an embarrassing admittal of defeat to say you’re happily single?

I love the quiet thrill of knowing I haven’t met that person yet, but it could be today, or tomorrow, and in the meantime I’ve got friends who feel like family and that’s more than enough to make me happy. But faced with an ending, I often find myself immediately wishing for a new beginning.

Wanting a fitter, funnier someone to flaunt shamelessly in the face of the fool who passed at the chance to be with a catch like me.

It’s a bit gross though. The fact that I find myself looking for a weapon to wield after an ending feels distinctly un-feminist. This

walk with a really good coffee.

We should cut the nonsense about how we’re half of a whole until we find our Other. Because I definitely don’t feel that way.

I never really feel like myself through another person’s eyes; I’d never choose to describe myself as ‘sweet’, I’m a whole lot less collected than I can convince people I am, and I don’t want to factor a man into my makeup routine.

I’m genuinely content in my own company, and I’m not going to give that up just to prove a point.

What would happen if we all just focused on ourselves after an ending? Reconcile if you’re sick of fighting, be pissed if you aren’t ready to forgive, decide yourself that ‘enough is enough’ if it’s too much grief to keep ‘talking about it’ every five minutes. It won’t always be an ending that you want, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it mean something.

Make no apologies about how you choose to heal and, perhaps most importantly, change your mind and your tactics anytime you want. Let them think what they like — as long as you know your own mind, that’s all that matters.

You don’t have to explain yourself or worry about being constantly consistent, and you don’t have to be seen to have the upper hand. As long as your main concern is yourself, you’ll have it.

Because sometimes, there’s nothing left to do but write your own ending.

“Your dates deserve to be treated like human beings, not hand grenades.” intimidating generally seems to rely on finding the ‘perfect’ person, upholding patriarchal preferences and placing your self-worth in someone else’s approval. If you’re a straight woman, this relies on the assumption that your ex is more likely to either respect or feel undermined by you if you find a Better Man than if you’re successful and happy without someone new by your side. This, I have to raise an unimpressed eyebrow at. Your dates deserve to be treated like human beings, not hand grenades. And why spend the time and energy dating someone new if you aren’t doing it for you?

Whenever my love life takes a turn for the disappointing, I realise I’ve never felt the same happiness holding a hand or giving into a kiss than when I catch myself mid-laugh with my favourite people, finishing a knitting project or on a long

12

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Life

Louis First Year St. John’s Chemistry

Rachel Second Year Magdalen Law

Cherpse

What were you hoping for from the date?

Good conversation, a kindred spirit, a fun experience First impressions?

Very friendly, good sense of humour, polite.

What did you talk about?

Our subjects, life at Oxford, music, politics, food, the lot.

What were you hoping for from the date?

An opportunity to meet and chat to someone new!

Wining and dining ... without the wine?

First impressions?

Cool aesthetic, very relaxed.

What did you talk about?

Uni during covid, extracurriculars, the vibes at Soloman’s, a little politics.

Best thing about the other person?

Sense of humour.

Best thing about the other person?

They kept the conversation going despite my awkwardness.

What was the most embarrassing moment?

Asking about my wine that never arrived.

“we never saw that glass of wine...”

Describe the date in 3 words: Funny, sweet, affable.

Is a second date on the cards?

As friends.

What was the most embarrassing moment?

They paid for a drink but the waiters never brought it.

Soon after it was the end of our slot and we never saw that glass of wine. Felt so bad that I didn’t speak up!

Describe the date in 3 words: Fun, chill, cosy.

Is a second date on the cards?

Who knows...

Horoscopes...

LEO 23 July - 22 August At the midpoint of term, your dating life is probably (hopefully) getting a little spicy. We only have four weeks until we all disperse to opposite ends of the country and indeed the world, it’s time to tell that rogue Tinder match how you really feel — a confession of your true feelings is overdue.

TAURUS

20 April - 20 May

ARIES 21 March- 19 April Aries, we’ve never been so happy to see you. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rescue the vibe of fifth week from the clutches of doom, gloom and British weather. The stars recommend ABBA all night long.

LIBRA 23 Sept - 22 Oct Regrettably, we’re approaching hacking season, and we know how much those incessant fauxfriendly Facebook messages fill you with rage.

However, try to ignore the wannabe politicos — responding to them with snarky comments doesn’t help anyone.

Taurus, we know how tough fifth week can be. But our astronomers foresee that the good will overpower the bad and the ugly if only you focus on yourself. Surround yourself with good vibes and a treat from G&Ds.

SCORPIO 23 Oct - 21 Nov Exams are looming, Scorpio, but whether it’s Prelims or Finals, try and remember not to overdo it.

Your work will shine through even if you don’t pull six all-nighters per week in the library.

GEMINI 21 May- 20 June Gemini, we know it’s fifth week, but rein in the pettiness. Replying ‘Good for you’ may work for Olivia Rodrigo, but it’ll only enrage your housemates. Take the moral high ground and be the peacemaker.

CAPRICORN 22 Dec - 19 Jan

SAGITTARIUS 22 Nov - 21 Dec Right Sag, it’s halfway through term and the social butterfly you’ve been for the first four weeks has flown almost as far as St Hughs! Perhaps it’s time to spend a few evenings with your college pals, and let them know you love them as much as you love the social scene.

It seems you’ve had fifth week blues a week early, Capricorn, so let’s make the final part of week 5 the best it can be. We know Trinity term can be tough, so make sure you take it easy on yourself. This fifth week give yourself some time to relax and enjoy the beauty of Oxford, you’re going to need it as your second half of term is looking to be WILD.

CANCER 21 June - 22 July

If you find yourself feeling a bit crabby this week, don’t worry Cancer. The crab reigns supreme in your astrological chart, so embrace it. On an unrelated note, neither the stars nor Cherwell can be held liable for loss of friends.

AQUARIUS

VIRGO 23 August - 22 Sept We know it seems like the rain is non-stop at the moment but don’t let this dampen your spirits! The city of dreaming spires may be slightly less dreamy when it’s wet but there’s still lots to do to keep your Trinity spirits high: head to the Ashmolean, explore the covered market, or find a new favourite café.

PISCES 19 Feb - 20 March

20 Jan - 18 Feb You can get lost in your thoughts sometimes, Aquarius – you’re a dreamer, after all. But remember to enjoy the moment whilst it’s happening too – don’t let life flit by! Catch the river at sunrise and the spires at midnight! For one thing, your photos are better than anyone else’s.

You’ve made it over the mid-point of term now, Pisces, so set aside some time for reflection. Analyse your budget, tick off the term’s bucket list and set new goals. Your stars are lucky, so whether it’s trampling Merton in Croquet cuppers, going on a new walk or trying your best in exams, carpe diem!

13

Life | Friday, 28th May 2021

A NOT-SO-DEFINITIVE Hannah LIBRARY RANKING Goode

I

won’t lie, I’m not really one for libraries; I usually spend the majority of my time wondering if the person sat behind me is judging me for being on my phone.

Nevertheless, going to the library has provided some much needed structure and variety to my day.

Duke Humphrey’s – 9/10 Pros: -It is beautiful – If it’s good enough for Harry Potter, it’s good enough for me. Prepare to spend the first 15 minutes just looking around you.

Cons: -If you are not sat on the Bodleian booking system at 07.57am a week in advance, good luck getting a seat!

-It’s a faff; don’t forget to bring a pound for the locker!

-No water allowed in the library.

SSL – 7/10 Pros: -It has private study rooms if you really need to get in the zone.

-Major school library vibes; I can’t explain it but it’s not an intimidating space to work in.

Cons: -Not very central, but on a sunny day the walk can be lovely and contribute to your daily step count.

Rad Cam – 7/10 Pros: -Amazing location, the walk up the ‘members only’ path past all the tourists will give you an ego boost for days.

-Beautiful: did you even go to the Upper Rad Cam if you haven’t posted a picture on your story?

Cons: -It gets draughty, so bring a jumper.

-If you’re a Rad Cam virgin, don’t book the Gladstone link and expect to be in the main building. You will be severely disappointed.

Like I said, I don’t like libraries, and maybe you don’t either! Here are some alternatives that don’t require booking a slot.

Your room – 7/10 Pros: -You can work in your pjs (not strictly acceptable in the Old Bod).

-You’re probably less than 5 metres away from your bed.

Cons: -Likely you will become a hermit.

-Zero peer pressure: high levels of self-motivation necessary.

ChCh meadows – 6/10 Pros: -Sitting on a picnic blanket reading Ovid RADIATES main character energy.

Cons: -Obviously no plugs, you are limited by the battery life of your laptop.

-Loads and loads of bugs.

A coffee shop – 7/10 Pros: -Close to baked goods and coffee at all times (fiscally, perhaps, a con).

-A happy middle-ground between your room and the library.

Cons: -Not all coffee shops are created equal, so trial and error will be necessary. The Caffè Nero on high street for example has awful WiFi, and the music in Taylor’s is overwhelmingly chirpy.

Cherwell check-in: Dr. Rebecca Watson For this edition of Cherwell check-in, we heard from Dr. Rebecca Watson about how best to cope with post-fifth-week burnout.

T

he tiredness, burnout and demotivation that students feel around 5th week can be overwhelming even in normal times, let alone in times of crisis. How can we overcome this hurdle?

When you feel tired and unmotivated it can be really hard to get going, but it is important to do something, even if you might not feel like it.

Don’t wait until you feel motivated or energised to get started – feeling motivated, happy or satisfied often comes later. Once you get started with an activity, it is also much easier to keep going.

Start with a small step. Think about what action you can take right now in the direction of what is important to you, or what you want to achieve. By breaking things down into small simple steps, it can help make a task seem more manageable. Taking that first simple step can also help reinforce the idea that you cando something, even if you don’t want to.

W h e n f e e l i n g over whelmed by feelings or emotions, it can be helpful to try to ‘get out o f your own head’. Rather t h a n focusing on your own thoughts and feelings when doing an activity, instead focus on the here and now, and on the activity you are doing.

Communication and advice is key to solving problems. Who can students talk to when they are experiencing burnout?

Consider reaching out to trusted family, friends, colleagues, tutors, or helplines/mental health support organisations. Try not to feel embarrassed or be put off by what other people say if they don’t get it quite right straight away. People might be unsure of what to say, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to help. You can ask your GP, and they can tell you what mental health support options are available. More information support (and other useful resources) can be found on the ‘Every Mind Matters’ webpage.

Introducing...

Cher Brilliant Don’t just do it Cherwell – do it Cher

Brilliantly.

“Any girls out there that don’t wear makeup at all? it makes me feel insecure because others do and are so good at it but I cba learning to do it and it’s another expense I don’t really need, but how do I stop feeling self conscious about it?”

You’ve chanced upon the right aunt. Remember that makeup is a fashion choice: wear it if you like it, and don’t if you do not – like heels, cycling shorts or neon. Never let anyone make you feel otherwise. Oui, mascara can be a daytime staple, and red lippie and a smoky eye timeless classics for a night out, but your natural beauty is powerful too. Remember that the only opinion that really matters about how you look is your own. If you like your natural look, why should anyone else tell you otherwise? Cher out.

“I don’t have any friends who would so much as put me at the same priority as their other friends, much less put me first. I can’t talk to anyone and I’ve no idea where to find new friends.”

Oh my darling! I am sending all my love. Friendships are tough and I promise you’re not alone. Take it from me: there are many people who are full of bravado, but just as lonely as you are on the inside! Aunty Cher recommends speaking to your friends about how you’re feeling; they may not realise that you feel this way! Perhaps you seem like Oxford’s very own Serena van der Woodsen.

Try to strengthen the friendships you have now by making an extra effort – ask them for coffee, make them feel appreciated. Yet, stop not here. Think: where would my future friends hang out? Go to these groups or societies; it could be in college cuppers’ teams, newspapers (the Cherwell MT21 team?) or perhaps college choir, but whatever it is you’ll be bound to find like-minded individuals.

Artwork by Zoe Rhoades Questions used with permission from Oxfess 3.

John Evelyn:

Et tu Brute? It has been a Fortnight of Long Knives since John Evelyn last wrote, and most of thse knives can still be found between the shoulder blades of various committee members…or perhaps ex Committee Members…

The promise of one contested and dramatic Union election this term was clearly not enough for our bloodthirsty hacks. The Union first decided to stray from the Path, although John Evelyn hears rumours that he jumped before he could be pushed. Apparently, a significant proportion of committee had been convinced that a different Path needed to be taken, leaving the Late Etonian to warn his dear friend of the Coup against him. The outcome was thus more of a Coup de Grace than a Coup d’etat: less dramatic but perhaps more merciful. The Union has embarked on a new Path with the Binned Etonian…John Evelyn is becoming increasingly worried that he will have to come up with a new name for the Binned Etonian who seems determined to crawl out of the bin.

All of this took place in a meeting with well over a hundred members present. If John Evelyn was less cynical, he would be delighted about the increased interest from ordinary members but alas he fears there are other factors at play. Otto von Barrowmark, not-another-Westminster, The (St)art of Warr, and He was on Standing Committee?

Are reputedly all running for the same position. In a battle of cronyism versus patronage, John Evelyn already hears of machinations and front-stabbings, the likes of which would make even Machiavelli quake. Perhaps that’s why The (St) art of Warr and the Binned Etonian were so keen on Machiavelli for their Open Debate, the first proper return of voters to the chamber. No wonder the hacks were out in force.

The OX2 Commuter and the Presidential Stereotype have been notably quiet recently; perhaps they are focusing on their slates and contemplating their fates. Only a fortnight to go…

Eternal love, John Evelyn xxx

Life | Friday, 28th May 2021

14

food

CHERWELL AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

The Food Editors explore Oxford’s newest chocolate shop

O

xford’s high street has recently and mood. had a colourful new addition: Within the diverse range Montezuma’s Montezuma’s. Montezuma’s offers, there are some spectacular highis a small chain of chocolate lights. The ‘Butter Nutter’ is Montezuma’s shops that began 21 years ago response to a Reese’s peanut butter cup. selling hand-made chocolates An offering tailored to those with a sweet in Brighton. Since their foundation they tooth, the bar brings smooth milk chocohave expanded considerably and their late encompassing a soft peanut centre. range of chocolates has grown to match: Served to us as an accompaniment with from pistachio cherry to chilli and lime, Iberico ham and strong Oxford Isis cheese, and everything in between, the list the ‘Black Forest’ bar brings freeze of flavour combinations alone is dried cherries encompassed in impressive. We were treated to a 70% dark cocoa. With cherries foodie’s tour of Oxford in order that provide a distinct sweetto see the chocolates at their “COLOURFUL A ND ness and dark chocolate to very best. balance the saltiness of saENTICING WITH The newly opened little voury accompaniments, the shop by Carfax Tower is bar provides a satisfaction H A ND PAINTED beautiful: colourful and to sweet cravings without enticing with hand painted SIGNS GUIDING YOU the need for inclusion of signs guiding you through- a caramel or toffee. The real THROUGH ” refreshing move away from the stand outs are Montezuma’s minimalist design. But it’s the truffles. In particular, the ‘Sun- us decadent hot chocolate, perfectly fitchocolate that’s the real deal, a wall rise’ truffle brings a joyous experi- ting for the theme of the day. The Market holding a multitude of ‘chocolate libraries’ ence to those typically opposed to the Cellar Door, a wine shop and small bar, greet you as you enter and delicious offertraditional chocolate-orange flavour way. laid out indulgent hams and cheeses. ings tempt you to a truffle selection bar, Moving away from the artificiality of most Gloucester Green needs no introduction, refillable jars of cocoa goodness, and bags orange flavourings, the dark chocolate but it is truly striking that chocolate can of imperfect yet totally tasty castaway orange truffle centre provokes memories complement even garlic chilli chicken. chocolates which Montezuma’s offer to of Christmas warmth and home comfort. And finally, Skogen Kitchen, the King Edreduce food waste. Truly the perfect little Unseen in mainstream chocolate is Mon- ward Street cafe now selling 100 devilishly spot to spend the remnants of a dwindling tezuma’s ‘Absolute Black’ range, which moreish cinnamon buns a day. Here we student loan. brings an affordable yet unique were treated to both the sweetest Foremost however, Montezuma’s has a experience. In undoubtedly the American Idol truffle- and “THE DA RK unique offering: they are the first chocorichest -Absolute Black- ofmarmite fashion, the 100% late company in the UK to make every cocoa bar may lack the ferings of the day. Whilst CHOCOL ATE piece of packaging on every product either sweetness of a traditional both went down a treat, OR A NGE CENTRE recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable. dark bar but hits heavy the Absolute Black They also ensure that all of their ingrediwith rich notes that leave definitely split opinions PROVOK ES MEMORIES OF ents are sourced ethically, ensuring prodyou satisfied after one between the food ediucts contain no palm oil, and selecting square. Acting almost as a CHRISTM AS WA RMTH tors. suppliers with strict rules against slavery Upon the end of the palate cleanser, it’s imposA ND HOME and forced labour. Montezuma’s have an sible to get closer to raw tour, we were left full of COMFORT ” extensive range of vegan chocolate too, cocoa than this. delight, but with bellies including chocolate made with vegan milk Accompanying the founders borderline too full. It is safe to alternatives – a must-try for those who eat through Oxford, a couple of ex-lawyers say that there are already a plethora of plant-based people or are lactose intolerturned chocolatiers after falling in fabulous places to explore in our city ant and just choose to ignore it. For anyone love with chocolate on a trip to South and, undoubtedly, Montezuma’s ethically seeking to escape often lacklustre superAmerica, we learned that chocolate focused business will fit comfortably into market chocolate, and in search of a more can truly be paired with anything. Oxford’s roster of independent food spots sustainable alternative, Montezuma’s has Beginning at the Covered Market, and dedicated owners. a distinctive ability to cater to every taste Photo credit: Shreya Banerjee Columbia Coffee Roasters brought

BACK TO NORMAL, TIME FOR FORMAL

F

By Shreya Banerjee or many colleges, formals are finally back on the menu. Whether that means donning your gown for the first time in a year, or a more relaxed opportunity to enjoy hall food without plastic screens muting any hopes of a conversation, the return to inside dining has been much awaited by many. For many freshers, this term offers the prospect of their first formals ever - and with it, the promise of a normal student experience, though it may well feel overdue.

So, although some college chefs have kept us entertained over lockdowns with Instagram posts and student-friendly recipes, their time has come to shine and plate up Masterchefworthy creations for halls filled with hungry students who have been eagerly waiting for their chance to be a food critic.

Last Friday, I attended my college’s first formal of Trinity and was overwhelmed with nostalgia as I filed into the hall with the 49 other lucky ticket holders. I felt as though I’d won a golden ticket, though I’d have to wait until dessert for a taste

of dreamy chocolate. The familiar sight of candlesticks sitting side by side with the cheapest bottles of Pinot Grigio made me grin from ear to ear; after a long stretch of unfulfilling student experience, going back to normal is like clouds parting to reveal sunshine. Even given the variance in hall food prices, it does feel like a real privilege that a hallmark of the Oxford experience is a three-course meal for about a fiver – impossible to forget as I marvelled at the starter of whipped goats cheese, beetroot, and pickled fennel salad, served with the wellloved bread and butter and a slice of toasted ciabatta.

For mains, the omnivores among us were served a slow cooked lamb shank, tender enough to slide off the bone, while vegetarians such as myself received an eggplant steak with a scored king oyster mushroom.

I particularly loved the use of mushroom on the aubergine, it lent an umami earthiness and slightly beefy flavour to the otherwise wholly vegetable based dish. Served with crushed new potatoes, seasonal veg and herby jus, both of these options were re-

ally popular – the food lived up to the high standards we had set for our first formal back in college. Each dish had an almost identical vegan counterpart, so rejoice vegans, at the end of boring salads and fruit plates!

As someone with a certified sweet tooth, I’d been looking forward to the dessert from the moment I walked into the hall – although I cook a fair amount of my own food, the precision and luxury of formal hall desserts remain firmly out of my territory, and always feel like a real treat. We were served a blackcurrant and raspberry chocolate bar, filled with mousse, alongside a scoop of fresh raspberry sorbet. The perfect combination of sweetness and tartness rounded off my first formal of Trinity term and reminded me of all the good yet to come, despite the sour bits of the pandemic we’re all keen to leave behind.

All in all, my first formal of 2021 was a great experience, leaving me feeling grateful to have been back in hall surrounded by friends, and far from the desk at which I ate most of my meals during virtual Trinity.

The menu was thoughtfully curated, mak-

recipe

Blended Boozy Iced Tea A cocktail to cheers the incoming sun serves 3-4 Ingredients 200ml vodka 2 bags of breakfast tea, preferably Yorkshire 2 limes, juiced 2 heaped tbsp of honey A bunch of mint Ice

Instructions Brew the bags of breakfast tea, leave to steep for ten minutes and then leave to cool for a few hours.

In a blender, place the vodka, 125ml of the tea, honey, a good handful of mint, the lime juice, and 200g of ice.

Blend until a slushy texture forms, this may require more ice, and taste for sweetness.

Pour into a tall glass with a straw and garnish with a few more sprigs of mint.

Easily made virgin by subbing vodka for Sicilian lemonade or another still alternative.

ing use of seasonal and local produce, and it was clear that the vegetarian and vegan alternatives were given just as much consideration. I’ll definitely be trying to grab a ticket for the next formal at my college - and I’d recommend you do the same!

Read the full article at cherwell.org Photo credit: Shreya Banerjee

17

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

features

THE OTHER CHINAS

I

f you ever have two hours to spare and find yourself so inclined, try watching the Chinese revolutionary epic The East is Red (1965) . Its tasteless Maoism aside, the piece turns out to be rather a endearing history of Chinese communism - from its birth at the collapse of Qing power in 1911, to its victory in the Civil War in 1949.

Artistically, the film is particularly well done. Lively and memorable musical numbers flow from act to act, all the while complimented by dazzling costume and set design. From peasants to guerillas, from student demonstrators to socialist heroines: The East is Red treats the audience to the spectacle of a beautiful, opulent and resurgent China. A socialist China, singular and indivisible, as in antiquity as today.

Watch it twice and you might very well find yourself a Maoist.

The film’s main flaw is that in spite of its compelling storytelling it is, nonetheless, propaganda - very good propaganda but propaganda all the same. The throng of dancing, rosy cheeked peasants obscures behind it the looming threat of Maoist famines and land reform. And the chorus of gallant socialist intellectuals sits uneasily

with the legacy of Communist crackdowns on free expression, particularly salient in the case of China. Disappointing as it may be, China is not exclusively peopled by gorgeous, musical, Communist superpeople.

That all said, the film is still useful in as much as it shows China as it might like to be. The ideal of a Communist country rather than a biography of one.

This idealised history becomes particularly interesting, and particularly relevant, in its portrayal of China’s roughly one hundred million strong national minority population.

Appearing for the first time at the film’s grand finale: first Mongol, then Uighurs, then Tibetans, then Koreans and many more rush in a blaze of colour onto the stage.

Each sings or dances in turn, extolling the virtues of their Chinese liberators, of Communism and of the Chairman. Where the Han Chinese may have cried, shouted or laughed on stage, these nationalities are uniquely happy - their contentment resolute and their loyalty absolute.

If any part of the film is propaganda it is this. The rosy cheeks, the smiling Uighurs, the rejoicing Tibetans: all obscures behind it a

long and uncomfortable history of national hostilities in China.

Speaking around the time of the film’s release, Mao himself is said to have remarked ‘the relations with the minority ethnicities are far from normal’ .

But to many outside of China, and perhaps to many in it, the bigger picture of China’s national and ethnic diversity is often lost against the backdrop of intense media focus on one region alone, or a patchy understanding of Chinese history and demographics.

Mixing up the Tibetans with the Tajiks or the Mongols with the Manchus may well be easy - but doing so leaves one open to critical misunderstandings.

China is host to 55 officially recognized minority nationalities, and so to cover them all would be exhausting and unnecessary, but the aim of this article is to focus on the three flashpoints of Chinese ‘pacification’; Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. The first two are internationally infamous for their human rights abuses, and the third appears to be going down a worryingly similar path, perhaps a warning of what other Ethnic Autonomous Regions might become if cards are played poorly.

Just what are these ‘Other

PATRICK DUGGAN Chinas’ - what is their historical relationship to China, why are they so infamous, and what future do they have in an increasingly nationalistic county?

Xinjiang, the first flashpoint, is to a large extent the elephant in the room. The creatively named Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region sits at China’s western extreme and is home to roughly 12 million Turkic Uighurs: 12 million people ethnically, linguistically and historically separate from the Han Chinese .

With an extensive cultural patrimony and fairly substantial history of independence (more recently following two rebellions against China in 1933 and 1944), their subservience to Qing authority prior to its collapse in 1911 was only guaranteed in part by a complete ban on Han settlement in the area.

However interesting ancient history may be (we’d be here forever), current tensions largely trace their roots back to the Soviet invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan: a move which persuaded Beijing of the need for a strong Han core in China’s far west to defend against Soviet-sponsored Islamic separatism. Although as early as the 70s land reform proj-

ects and mass migration had made the region ‘unsteady’ according to Deng Xiaoping - the heightened settlement efforts and increased suspicion of native Uighurs seen during the Afghan war was the turning point .

Sporadic fighting between fringe Jihadist groups and the PLA culminated in the 1990 Baren Township incident: when a shooting broke out between the PLA and Turkistan Islamic Party (Jihadists) ostensibly over Han migration and forced abortions on Uighur women. Despite PLA victory - officially arresting 7500 ‘ethnic splittists’ - the conflict sparked off a series of attacks lead by Jihadist cells all across the province and the country .

Sensing danger, Beijing struck back with a force entirely disproportionate to the danger: all Uighurs were now under suspicion of extremism. This was to ignore the general unpopularity of Islamic militant groups among Uyghurs - who survived only on Soviet aid and arms from China’s own Mujahideen training facilities on the Sino-Afghan border.

Regardless, fears of Islamic separatism and Xinjiang’s centrality in China’s ‘Belt and Road’ (announced in 2013) combined to

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

give Beijing ample reason to begin in the image of Mount Everest, munist land-reform efforts in the other fronts. The use of faulty his‘de-extremification’ . buttressed by bronze statues of the ceded territories, Tibetan militias tory is as much at work in China’s It is this ‘de-extremification’ province’s Chinese ‘liberators’. rose up against Chinese rule . By claims in Tibet and India as it is in which has garnered international Directly to its right stands a gar- 1959 fighting had spread as far as the South China sea. Change does infamy - a policy which came into ishly gargantuan billboard. Plas- Lhasa - the ensuing bombardment not appear on the horizon. full effect in 2016. The camps are tered with the faces of Communist of the city by the PLA causing the Finally, in China’s windswept the best-known symbols of this Premiers and peppered with party Dalai Lama and his cabinet to flee north lies a region and a people policy: as many as 3 million have insignia upon a field of bright red where they now operate a Govern- for a long while little spoken been detained (¼ of all Uighurs), - it stands in flanking solidarity ment in exile in India . about in Western media. The Inner forced to write regular confessions, with the concrete tower to its side.

It was only in 1962 that the re- Mongolia Autonomous Region, sing the praises of the party, and Its countless pairs of eyes and volt was finally put down, by which where ethnic Mongols constitute renounce Islam. Less well known stage 80,000 Tibetans lay dead and around 20% of the population, has is the forced sterilisations: in some 6000 monasteries recently emerged as a new point of 2018 Xinjiang saw 80% “China’s lay in ruin - a decade conflict - one which may develop of the country’s IUD later only 6 were into a situation in the vein of Tibet implants despite government seems not to want any operational. That and Xinjiang. accounting for 1.8% being said, tenWhereas the Tibetan and Uighur of the population more Uighurs being born” sions never died homelands were ruled off and on (jumping from 2.5% beaway — the flare up by Chinese powers, Mongols and fore the pacification program in 2008 which saw current Han Chinese have co-existed within 2014) - the birthrate has acXinjiang chief Chen Quanguo ap- in the same political entity since cordingly dropped by 42%. China’s massive, serene faces stare down pointed to head Tibet being one in the conquest of China by Kublai government seems not to want any at passers-by, reminding them of a long line of many flareups .

Khan ended in 1279. Before the more Uighurs being born . who’s who. It’s not for nothing that Since the beginning of the ‘paci- conquest (this time of Chinese by And yet undercover journalists the Tibetan Government in Exile fication’ campaign in Tibet (and Mongols), Northern Chinese states and Uighur refugees have cited a has described it as ‘a daily remind- indeed well before that), accusa- regarded their nomadic neighbours whole host more of human rights er of the humiliation of the Tibet- tions of human rights violations with mixed suspicion and fear violations. Arbitrary detention an people’ . Although to a point, have abounded. Aside from extra- evidenced in part by the border on suspicion of extremism (over the display looks like a checkmate judicial detentions and curtailing of Inner Mongolia and the rest of ‘crimes’ such as giving up smoking ­— two great civilisational chess the freedom of movement and China running almost parallel with or low alcohol consumption), pieces cornering another — Potala speech of locals, the government the Great Wall . prohibitions on public worship for Square also speaks to a fundamen- has attempted to simultaneously Outer Mongolia, a now indepenunder-18s, bans on the teaching tal Chinese anxiety over their own control and stamp out Tibetan dent state sandwiched between of Uyghur and on Islamic names. position in Tibet. These exaggerat- Buddhism (by demanding the Dalai Russia and China, only exists Intrusive surveillance, a given in ed statements of power may be an Lama’s reincarnation must ‘comply as such because of the anarchy China, is particularly pervasive attempt to convince themselves as with Chinese law’ ) as well heavily which gripped the collapsing Qing in Xinjiang with biometric data, much as their Tibetan compatriots regulate the teaching and use of Dynasty around 1911 - as well as phone spyware and even manda- that ultimate power rests with the Tibetan language . an overeager Imperial Russia who tory quartering of officials in the Beijing.

There have also been increased was more than happy to cleave out homes of Uighurs common .

This peculiar anxiety is informed reports of torture and sterilisa- Outer Mongolia and plant it in its Xinjiang may well be the most in large part by Tibetan history: a tion (as with Xinjiang) as well as own sphere of influence . extreme example of Chinese history with as much to do with forced relocations. The latter has Having been a rather politically governmental heavy-handedness, as without China. Indeed, upon increased recently, coinciding with unremarkable region for so long, but it is by no means the only one. its reconquest by the Chinese in an expansion in mining operations and one with a sizeable Han The example of Xinjiang, cultural 1951, the Tibetan government was on the grassy Tibetan highlands: a majority, ethnic Mongols bucked and religious animosity spun out forced to concede to the Chinese move which has seen people forced the trend by participating en of control, may act as a worrying occupiers that Tibet had, since into growing settlements around masse in public demonstrations indication of what other regions antiquity, constituted merely a Lhasa. Recently, reports emerged against suggested amendments to with significant minorities (or sim- part of a larger Chinese nation — a from Driru county where 30 villag- the provincial curriculum. Such ply dissident Hans) may undergo if claim not entirely factual . In fact, ers were detained on suspicion of changes would have threatened cards are played wrong. according to China’s weaponised sharing information with foreign the position of Mongolian as a Almost two thousand miles brand of anti-history, Tibet’s media over the arrest of a village language of instruction in local south of Xinjiang’s capital at legacy of independence is mere leader protesting a mining Ürümqi is the capital city of the Ti- anomaly ­— a divergence from the project around a sabetan Autonomous Region - Lhasa. natural order. cred mountain.

“Shocked by the At the city’s heart stands the maThe reconquest itself (The Things don’t jestically imposing Potala Palace Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, its of- look set to scale of the protests, the Chinese - the great white and vermillion ficial name) was completed in 1951 change much. winter fortress complex which for after what were genuinely gracious On the one struck back” hundreds of years was the seat of peace terms offered by the Chinese hand, the strategic the Dalai Lamas. From its lofty (similar to the Sino-British Joint power which dominion peaks it appears to cascade down Declaration of 1984). Under this over Tibet grants to Beijing is ‘Red Hill’, flanked by stone snow deal, Tibetan authority persisted simply too great. Not only does the schools, consigning it most lions and pagodas, into the streets virtually unaltered as it had been province occupy the commanding likely to the position of a foreign of the capital. prior to the invasion, but ultimate heights overlooking India, but most language.

We begin at the Potala Palace, sovereignty was ceded to Beijing. of Asia’s rivers have their source ‘The goal is very clear:’ explains for many representing Tibet lain Arguably Chinese rule may have in the Tibetan Plateau, allowing a New York based Mongolian huin stone and tiber, because of what been an improvement upon rule China’s government to threaten man rights activist, ‘to completely you see looking down from the by the Lamas (as it may have been the Ganges, Indus and Mekong remove Mongolian from educaPalace, facing Potala Square. At the for a while in Xinjiang) . Slavery river deltas simultaneously with tional institutions’ by replacing square’s southern flank, rising up was abolished, the monopoly of damming or development. it with Mandarin in Literature, in challenge to the Palace complex the monasteries was broken, and Increased international pressure Politics and Morality, and History to its south, stands ‘The Monu- women’s rights were improved. means that any let up by Beijing on education. The danger of public ment to the Peaceful Liberation of Peace persisted in the region un- the status of Tibet would simulta- protest in China, and hence their Tibet’: a hulking concrete tower til 1956 when, in response to Com- neously undermine its position on scarcity (that we know of) speaks

18

to a widespread anxiety among China’s Mongols that their identity is being erased. The same activist noted at how, unlike Uighurs and Tibetans, Mongols may often be physically indistinguishable from the Han (as for instance a Russian and German), and how language is a refuge of national identity .

Shocked by the scale of the protests, and probably embarrassed by the foreign media attention, the Chinese state struck back. Bainu, the only Mongol-language social media platform, was taken offline as protests reached their peak . Reports indicate that the Chinese police placed bounties on the heads of ‘troublemakers’ and arrested many more — among other groups, families would often attend protests at their local school leading to predictably unpleasant repercussions for all ages: some reports detail the police locking students in their schools as parents protest outside .

As protests simmered down, the provincial authorities authorised the distribution of signs to be draped outside Mongol-majority schools: ‘Speak Mandarin together, walk into prosperity together’ — the implication being speaking Mongol and ‘prosperity’ were incompatible. Speaking out against this and other crackdowns by the state, Hu Baolong, a human rights lawyer, was arrested on the charge of ‘leaking state secrets overseas’.

This appears to be heading, at least for the Mongol fifth of the population, into potentially dangerous territory. The same bill which curtailed the use of Mongolian in favour of Mandarin was also introduced in other regions where the latter was not the sole language of education.

And so these are some of the ‘Other Chinas’ — Chinese, but not quite. The threats they face are clear and present — and it isn’t immediately clear that manoeuvring around them is an option. I want to state reiterate that the case of the Mongols, Tibetans and Uighurs, but particularly the latter two, isn’t necessarily a warning for what the rest of China’s minorities will face. In many cases, one of the 55 groups is either too small, in too insignificant a region or historically close enough culturally to China for Beijing to bother. In other cases, the opposite will happen.

In any case, China is too big to be ignored and, save a decoupling, an informed relationship is crucial for the time being. For those who pay close attention, only time will tell what they’ll see.

Artwork by Aleksandra Pluta

15

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

profiles

JELLICLE CATS COME ONE, COME ALL chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer to extraordinary, full-dress rehearsal, I can was like to work with Lynne. Kerry Ellis, who be reborn again, it’s a musical that should remember thinking…well this is either played Grizabella in the London revival, not work. And yet, it does. going to be the most mega success or people vividly recalls a one-on-one rehearsal with The fourth longest-running show on are going to laugh everybody off the stage.”

Lynne onstage at the Palladium: Broadway, sixth in the West End, winner “It was a huge challenge for everyone. I “To see it through her eyes was just of the Olivier and Tony awards for Best mean the whole idea of grownups dressing amazing. And to get her take on it and how Musical, and having grossed roughly $3.5 up like pussycats and coming out and talking she moved her body and why she moved her billion since its opening in 1981, its success to other grownups dressed like pussycats body, it was just beautiful and I’ll treasure is undeniable. It has certainly made good was very new territory for everyone…”, says that moment.” on the bombast of its tagline – Now and David Hersey, the show’s lighting designer, For Peter Land, Lynne’s husband, it was arry Francis was six years old when Forever.

“It was the first time England had ever seeing the show’s opening number, he saw CATS for the first time.

And now, as the show celebrates its 40th done a proper, full-out dance ‘Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats’: “I was obsessed with it,” he tells anniversary, I am asking the questions musical because it was always “When I first saw ‘Jellicle me, “and I watched it pretty much many have asked before me: Why is CATS assumed that only Americans Cats’, I burst into tears every day. I would even try and dress up “To be able so popular?

What is its legacy?

And why on could do that.” very early on because as a cat…As a dancer, it really inspired me earth did they include the cat-orgy?

The Brits pulled it off.

I realised I was in the to sit and watch it, because it was such a mix of ballet and CATS was composed by Andrew Lloyd And with the show’s presence of a great, a great jazz and tap and everything. [Watching and just enjoy it for Webber, with lyrics adapted from T. S. unprecedented success in craftswoman.” the show] you don’t feel like you have Eliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s the West End, any actor “She was an to train in ballet or whatever, you what it is, you don’t Book of Practical Cats. It was worth their salt wanted extraordinary lady. want to do everything. I think originally conceived as a song in on the Broadway have to be too serious To be a woman in that that was something which cycle; however, the discovery of production. position, she was made of was inspiring to a lot of about it to be some of Eliot’s unpublished Betty Buckley tells stern stuff. She didn’t take dancers.” poems, which had greater me about how she was any prisoners, but she was New York Times honest.”

“I remember a cat dramatic potential, made eventually cast as Grizabella in always such a lady about it,” journalist Kyle Lloyd Webber consider the Broadway show, for which she says Phyllida Crowley-Smith, who on stage pointing at Buchanan was a similar turning this song cycle went on to win a Tony. After an initial played Victoria in the original London age when he saw the me - me, this ten year into a full-blown rejection – she was told she radiated too cast and in the 1998 film. show for the first musical. And so with much health for the role – she nonetheless Lynne imbued Eliot’s somewhat twee time. It was, however, old - and saying ‘he doesn’t Trevor Nunn’s direction, was certain they’d be back. “I had this very poems with a sensuality. At the end of Act 1, a different experience.

Cameron Macintosh powerful feeling that the part was mine,” for example, the cats break-out into dance, believe in a Jellicle cat!’ I “It was just so weird producing and Gillian she tells me. performing the iconic Jellicle Ball routine. and unsettling,” he could feel the audience Lynne’s choreography, Six months later they invited her to a callIt’s a remarkable feat of athleticism, the laughs, “I remember a Lloyd Webber decided to back, this time on stage at the Wintergarden complicated routine lasting well over cat on stage pointing at turn on me, and I’d done take the show to the theatre.

She was asked to sing ten minutes. It also features a solo from me - me, this ten year old West End. ‘Memory’ repeatedly, each Victoria, a cat on the verge of adulthood, nothing wrong!”

- and saying ‘he doesn’t While Lloyd time Nunn directing her discovering herself and experiencing the believe in a Jellicle cat!’ I Webber had to act more hopeless. sensuality of touch for the first time. She “The whole could feel the audience turn faith in the idea, After her third attempt, dances with Admetus, one of the male cats, on me, and I’d done nothing experience was like not everyone shared Buckley went to the in a slow and sensuous pas de deux. The wrong! I’ll never forget that cat his conviction. edge of the stage to rest of the tribe follows suit, culminating in pointing at me…” living art.”

Elaine Paige, who speak to him. what many have termed the infamous “cat Everyone remembers the first time they replaced Judi Dench as “Mr Nunn, I know orgy scene”. watched CATS: the good, the bad, the Grizabella after you’ve auditioned everyone “I think it was probably something far bizarrely erotic. she snapped her Achilles who’s conceivably right for this more cerebral than that,” says CrowleyThe show itself is a tendon during rehearsals only part and, of my peer group of singing Smith, “but it’s certainly driven by animal contradiction. days before opening, recalls the actresses, I know everyone who can do this. instinct. Gillie was a very sensual lady. She Centring uncertainty she felt watching And of all those people, there’s a lot of was very witty, very naughty. She very much around an the first dress rehearsal: people who can do this part as well as I can, believed in physical expression and she was all-star, “I remember sitting there but no one can do it better,” she told him, not afraid to be sensual and I think that, as feline Battle thinking…

‘Oh my god…

“And it’s my turn.” a woman in her position, especially at that Royale, with what have I let myself in Her agent called her that same day, telling time, she was very bold. She put things out each cat for? What is this?’ I’d never her she’d been offered the role. there and I don’t think she minded whether presenting seen anything like it before.

For Buckley, it was the rehearsal process of she shocked people. But the thing is, Gillie their life It was a true spectacle.

CATS that made it so unique.

She describes was an incredibly intelligent lady and she through I can remember “a very intimate bonding experience”, wouldn’t do it for a cheap reason.” song and sitting there “weeks and weeks of improvisational work”, Every movement she choreographed in d a n c e , not knowing trying to establish the dynamic of the tribe.

CATS was grounded in an understanding of hoping what any “The whole experience was like living character and, well, cats. She understood to be of it was art,” she tells me. their movements, their mannerisms, their about.

The essence of CATS, Buckley explains, foibles. She even held mandatory cat school When lies in “the consciousness of the ensemble”. to help her cast impersonate their feline I saw Watching the show, I understand what she friends better. She was a choreographer, of t h i s means. The Jellicle tribe is a complicated course, but more than anything she was a network of interrelationships. Part of director. And a spectacular one at that. the allure of the show is watching these If Lynne’s choreography is the body of relationships unfold on stage. The minor CATS, then ‘Memory’ is its heart. The show’s roles do not have a dedicated song or even a iconic 11 o’clock ballad, performed by solo in some cases, and yet you feel as if you Grizabella the Glamour Cat, is undoubtedly know them. It’s a testament to the power of its most recognisable tune and is frequently dance as a means of expression and to the hailed as one of the greatest songs in the choreography of the late Gillian Lynne. history of musical theatre.

All the performers I speak to credit the Paige’s original doubts concerning the show’s success to her creativity and skill. production were assuaged when she heard “Gillian Lynne’s work in the show Memory. is the show,” says Ken Page, who “Whether [CATS] was going to work as a played Old Deuteronomy in both the piece or fail was almost immaterial to me original Broadway production and the because I knew I would get to sing that 1998 film, “It is the narrative, it is the wonderful tune, and that’s what mattered story. I always thought of CATS as an most to me,” she tells me. opera in dance because the plot, the Grizabella is only a featured role in storytelling, [it’s] all in movement. the piece. She appears onstage for less Other than the lyrics of the poems, it’s than 15 minutes. But her presence is felt all about movement. All relationships throughout, as she provides moments of are told in movement. In [Lynne’s] sobriety in this otherwise joy-fuelled romp choreography, she really invented a of a musical. vocabulary that was specific to CATS.” Her backstory is mainly left unsaid, Everyone I speak to remembers what it though we get the impression Grizabella

William Foxton chats to those involved with CATS over the years to discover what makes the musical with nine lives so successful.

H

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

16

previously abandoned the tribe to pursue renowned musician André Rieu, “like a a life of glamour. Now, with her beauty famous aria, which also works outside fading and her happiness but a memory, she the context of an opera. This song has repeatedly tries to return to the tribe, but is the kind of beauty that brings tears to my refused. She has become a cautionary tale eyes and the eyes of my audience. It is all for the younger cats, less they fall victim to about emotions, it is sad, passionate, full the same hubris. Memory is her final plea to of desire and it ends hopeful – ‘Look, a new the tribe to forgive her past and understand day has begun!’ No matter who you are and her present. where you live, ‘Memory’ is a song that will For Mamie Parris, who played Grizabella go straight to your heart and music that in the recent Broadway revival, ‘Memory’ goes straight to your heart never needs any occurs in the “in-between place that I think explanation, nor context.” many people who have suffered have been Another musician to take on the iconic in, where you want to give up, but there’s song is acclaimed singer-songwriter Judy a part of you that knows if you can just Collins. “It calls to your voice, it calls to make it through that night… it may be the your abilities,” she explains, “it’s like being same tomorrow, but it offers a chance that dropped in on by a good friend, or somebody it may not. It’s that fine line that you tread that’s going to become a good friend, and between feeling absolutely hopeless and you take one look at them and you say… ‘I having that small bit of hope.” could get along with you’” The stakes in ‘Memory’ are high, for There are many ways of performing Grizabella, but also for the actor ‘Memory’. Joana Ampil, who is currently performing it. touring as Grizabella, chooses to go “The thing with ‘Memory’ all out with the song: is that everyone’s waiting “Absolutely give everything.

“You have for it,” Ellis tells me, “it For me, it works if this is my doesn’t come until the final plea. I’m going to give to watch it as a end of Act 2. So there’s everything I’ve got. Either believer, because then you can take it…or I’m just this pressure, this expectation. People are to die in one corner.” you appreciate things going waiting for that final For Broadway veteran Liz belt on ‘Touch me’. You Callaway, though, it’s about in a whole new can’t mess it up. You’ve holding back: light.” got to deliver.”

“If I see someone cry on stage, “It pulls the very best out of often I’m not moved. But when I see you because it demands no less,” someone who wants to cry, but doesn’t, says Beverley Knight, who took over the role even though deep down that’s what they from Ellis. feel, that’s what moves me more. It’s having Upon its release, Memory was a hit, both that dignity and letting the audience feel.” within CATS, but also outside the show.

Everyone has their favourite rendition Paige went to number 6 on the UK singles of the song. For Adam Feldman, Time Out chart in the summer of 1981. Since then, it’s New York theatre editor and critic, it’s been covered by a number of singers, such Broadway’s first Grizabella, Betty Buckley. as Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow and “She had this muscle memory of the Céline Dion. song,” he tells me, “She would sing it in “It’s a masterpiece in itself,” says worldconcerts and she would just be in that

weird Grizabella space. She’d lift a paw and the spectacle, you have to approach it with the tears would stream down her face an open mind, to break from ingrained for what must have been the scepticism and preconceived ideas 4000th time.” of what musical theatre should Vocally, Buckley is be.

“It’s now its own incredible. Her belt “If you give yourself over is impeccable and I to it, it’s magical. But you history. Everything else have feel as though I could to give into it. you lose myself in her can’t watch it as a sceptic. is a footnote.” vibrato, but it’s her You have to watch it as a interpretation of the believer, because then you song that deserves the most appreciate things in a whole praise. Buckley’s Grizabella is new light,” says Parris. stoic and steely. Her desperation never Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that verges on the pathetic. This is a Grizabella CATS has become a legend in the musical who has lost everything, apart from her theatre world and beyond. dignity.

“It’s now its own history,” Ken Page tells “It still worked because she was playing it me, “everything else is a footnote.” very held back,” Feldman tells me.

And how does it feel to be a footnote in There are different ways of appreciating CATS’ history?

CATS. For some, the show raises compelling “Being part of the original company of questions about exclusion and acceptance, CATS was one of the greatest gifts of my all the while presenting an optimistic life,” says Buckley, “Working with Trevor message about the power of forgiveness.

Nunn and Gillian Lynne, the whole team “It’s a lesson of self-exploration. Do you were amazing master artists in musical ever ask, when you’re watching it, why theatre.” these cats are acting in this way, especially “It’s pretty special really,” says Paige, towards Grizabella? And if you ask yourself “For me, to have the opportunity to be why, do you think it’s a reason that you the first to be able to sing [Memory]…it’s don’t know? Do you fall into a gullible become my signature song. I really am very state where you just go along with what fortunate indeed in that respect. It was an these cats are telling you or do you want extraordinary piece. We almost certainly to know more? I think that speaks to how haven’t seen anything quite as amazing or we behave as humans toward other people. as magical since. We have seen other major It’s ironic that it’s about cats because it’s an musicals, but there’s been nothing quite as exploration of humanity,” says Parris. unusual as CATS…” For others, it’s pure entertainment value.

CATS is coming to a theatre near you, now “I think it’s just a bit bonkers really,” says and perhaps forever. Currently playing in Steven McRae, who played Skimbleshanks North America, Japan and South Korea, and in the 2019 film version, “To be able to sit with renewed hopes for an international and watch it, and just enjoy it for what it is, tour, it has not yet begun to outlive its nine you don’t have to be too serious about it to lives. be honest.”

To fully appreciate CATS is to take a leap Read the full piece online at cherwell.org. of faith. Whether you want to apply grand Image credit: Matthew Murphy. themes to the piece or simply appreciate

Student Profiles: Ellie Redpath Issy Kenney-Herbert speaks to Ellie Redpath about mental health activism, setting up the Women’s Campaign at Oxford SU, and Reclaim Your Story.

F

aceTiming Ellie, I’m aware I’m getting a glimpse into one of the most famous student rooms in Oxford. Having been featured in The Tab and the Oxford Mail, as well as having over 22,000 likes on Twitter, Ellie’s room went viral earlier this term - I can confirm that the fairy lights and ivy cascading down the walls makes for a gorgeous aesthetic.

Aside from having an eye for interior design, Ellie has been an incredibly involved journalist and student activist in her three years so far doing Classics at Oxford. Having started as a JCR Welfare Rep for Magdalen College, she has gone on to create the All in Your Head magazine, allowing a space for discussions for mental health, as well as re-starting and chairing Woman’s Campaign. She has lobbied colleges, the university more widely and spoken out for what she believes needs to change in Oxford.

I start the interview by asking about how she became so invested in mental health activism at university: “I’d say what really started me off was doing welfare at my college – that was the first position I took on since arriving in Oxford. In my first year, I wasn’t really involved in other extracurricular stuff, but after doing welfare, I realised that there is a lot of work that needs to be done in Oxford and so much ends up resting on JCR welfare reps who often aren’t equipped to deal with it all.”

Ellie further elaborates on the disparities she noticed in that position: “We don’t particularly talk about how marginalised people go through mental health

issues, and how we know discrimination can impact upon mental health. I’d say that’s what really inspired me to create a space to talk about that, and use that to lobby the university to actually take that into account, diversity the counselling service and actually commit itself to making Oxford a better place for everyone.’

I ask further about the process behind starting up Women’s Campaign at the Student Union again.

Ellie excitedly gushes about her experience with campaigns, “I was on Disabilities Campaign before the pandemic, and when lockdown started, I just really got into writing and also student activism beyond welfare - Women’s Campaign had faded by this point and I just felt it was a really important voice. Of course, It Happens Here does some amazing work regarding sexual assault, yet I thought it was really important that there be a fully intersectional feminist branch of the Student Union to deal with issues beyond this. So, I got in touch with Alex Foley and submitted a motion to set it up again. Honestly, I have been blown away by the engagement and I’m just so happy with how it’s going.”

“What is the one thing you feel you have learnt being involved in student activism at Oxford?” Ellie pauses and then reflects, “I guess the one thing that comes to mind is that change is a lot harder to make than you originally think it is going to be – which isn’t the most inspiring thing for me to say.” She smiles before continuing, “but often, being at Oxford, the university has very entrenched views about how things are supposed to be brought about. Like just a couple of months ago, I sent an email to the Ambassador at my college asking for some lights in this very dark area of college and he told me it would take seven years to make this happen!

I think you get involved and you think oh wow this is

going to take work, but it also makes it more rewarding in a way because you know that change is necessary and you’re the one who is actually working to make that happen.’

She excitedly adds on – “this is especially true with Reclaim your Story Oxford”.

Reclaim Your Story Oxford is Ellie’s latest project, calling on people to submit testimonies of street harassment in public spaces in Oxford. When asking about where the project originated, Ellie goes on to say that it started with the death of Sarah Evarard earlier this year that “just brought this outpouring of grief among women and people who are affected by misogyny who have been afraid when walking out late at night.” She goes on to reflect on the stories that are similar, that have not gotten the attention or press coverage they deserve due to other forms of inequality and oppression, and that growing sense “that something had to be done.”

I begin to ask if students want to get involved, and Ellie just brightens up with the biggest smile and saying ‘honestly, just message in and say hey, I’d like to help – my inbox is very open!’ She talks also about hoping to spread the word to students through JCRs and social media in the hopes that everyone who wants to take part in All in Your Head, Woman’s Campaign and Reclaim Your Story can.

Read the full piece online at cherwell.org.

Image credit: Ellie Redpath

19

sport Josh Taylor

T

Friday, 28th May 2021 | Cherwell

‘Faked’ crashes and TV clangers: The mundane drama of the Monaco Grand Prix

he Monaco Grand Prix, famed for its extravagant spectacle with super yachts and the Crown Prince’s live orchestra, is rarely accommodating of competitive, elbows-out racing. Indeed, in the purest form of the term ‘racing’, this Grand Prix was so profoundly boring that not even the safety car needed to make an appearance (having appeared in 9 of the last 10 outings at Monaco). However, Formula One is rarely ever an example of ‘racing’ in its purest form: the race weekend as a whole, far from being mundane, was instead quite spectacular.

Trudging along for most of last season, Mattia Binotto’s Ferrari team finally look close to being some semblance of their former selves. After Free Practice on Thursday, there were even some whispers of a podium finish this weekend. By qualifying, those whispers had become shouts: Charles Leclerc, born and raised in Monaco, was poised to take pole position with a few minutes of qualifying to spare. tyre conservation ability, managed to go as that for 1st. want: a tennis player’s opinion on how the Thus began the drama of the weekend. from 8th to 4th by eking out the dregs of adFor a race that is often penned in as a borrace went, instead of Max Verstappen’s.

During everyone’s final qualifying lap vantage left in his softs, before finally pitting ing one, there was a fair share of controversy Hopefully, this does not become part of a attempt, Leclerc shunted his car into one to hards after most of his rivals. Hamilton, and drama this weekend, even if there was worrying trend, though it currently seems to of the many crash barriers that enclose the who was already losing valuable points to next to no overtaking or side-by-side racing. be heading that way. Maybe the director will narrow Monaco streets, preventing his teamVerstappen before Vettel and Perez overtook Indeed, the only bit of side by side racing that get the sack in the fortnight between now and mate, Sainz, and Red Bull’s Verstappen, from him, spent much of the race fuming at the actually occurred, we didn’t get to see. The Baku. If not, he needs to pull himself up by completing laps which could have taken pole strategy call from his engineers. live coverage of races this year has been, it the bootstraps. I understand that we might from the Monegasque.

He had far less reason to be unhappy, has to be said, sub-par, but things seemed get the odd camera angle that’s a bit late at We have seen similar incidents in Monaco however, than his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, especially atrocious this weekend. capturing the drama; the sport happens in qualifying before, the tight walls and meanwho, until a wheel-nut was stripped during During qualifying, we were regularly given the hundreds of km/h and we can’t predict dering streets making it easy to fake a crash, a pitstop (making it physically impossible to on-boards of drivers during cooldowns or when a driver is going to crash or lock up. But but, as the violent impact of Leclerc’s crash remove the tyre), was running in 2nd. Not out-laps, meaning it somehow came to be a when you have the only, singular example of showed, this was anything but deliberate. In only did this force Bottas’ retirement from rare luxury to see one of the twenty drivers side-by-side driving in the entire race and Formula One, the replacement of certain car the race, it meant that Mercedes, by the end actually pushing the car to its limits on a you make the deliberate, conscious choice parts between qualifying and the race results of the race, had lost the lead in both the drivtimed lap. I dread to think how difficult it was to cut away from that because some bloke in a 5-place grid penalty. The gear box is one ers’ and constructors’ championships. to follow for someone new to Formula One: in 14th is getting his tyres changed, your of this parts, and Leclerc’s crash certainly Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who admitted in “How can Norris be in 5th? We’ve just seen competency as director has to be questioned. looked significant enough to potentially warpost-race interviews that he felt a lot of preshim trundling along at 100km/h, 4 seconds That aside, this year’s Monaco Grand rant a replacement. sure to win points after his teammate’s withbelow his fastest time.”

Prix was about as interesting as they come, Before his warm-up lap on race day, Ferrari drawal, was now promoted to second, and his If it was mildly irritating during qualifying, more so for the events that happened in were cautiously optimistic that the gear box former teammate at McLaren, Lando Norris, it became exasperatingly annoying during the pit lane, off the track, and, in Charles’ was fine; after his warm-up lap, they were completed the podium for 3rd. Sainz and Northe race itself: Vettel and Ocon’s side-by-side Leclerc’s case, in the crash barrier, than for regretting not having checked other parts of ris’ bromance made for some heart-warming battle, the only one of the race, was cut away more conventional racing reasons. It was the car. Some issue on the left-hand from to watch some inconsequential a timely weekend for Red Bull who will be side of the car (the side which was pitstop by some car that was not even in relishing the opportunity they now have to not slammed into a wall) prevented “I DREAD TO THINK HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO FOLLOW the points. When we then got a replay extend their lead as, in two weeks’ time, we Leclerc from starting the race. of the battle, the director chose to cut race in Baku, another favourite for Christian This meant Max Verstappen was FOR NEW FANS: ‘HOW CAN NORRIS BE IN 5TH? WE’VE away at the exact same moment, to Horner’s team, and another circuit where now on pole and, given the extreme see another inconsequential pitstop by Mercedes’ difficulties are likely to continue. difficulty of overtaking at Monaco, JUST SEEN HIM TRUNDLING ALONG AT 100KM/H!’” another inconsequential car that was The competition for the drivers on track to win the full 25 points for not even in the points. and constructors’ chamthe drivers’ championship. Lewis Later, when Max Verpionships is, finally, Hamilton, his main rival, had struggled all post-race antics and the general youth of this stappen crossed the line, starting to heat weekend with tyre grip, and uncharacteristipodium (Lando would be a finalist if he were we had a nauseous up. cally qualified in 7th, starting in 6th after at Oxford) made for an incredibly wholesome jump cut to a close Leclerc’s withdrawal. and encouraging finish to the race weekend. up of Carlos After the first few laps, it was Monaco’s Red Bull, finishing 1st and 4th whilst their Sainz’s face for monotonous business as usual, a parade of title rivals only had one finisher in 6th, can no explainable the cars weaving their way round chicanes walk away from Monaco with a real sense of reason. And, and famous landmarks, utterly powerless to achievement: it is the first time since 1991 to top it all do anything if they were faster than the car that a Honda powered car has led the drivoff (though in front. If anything were to change the runers’ championship, and the first time in the this one ning order, it was to be the pitstops and team turbo-hybrid era that Red Bull have led the is not the strategy, not ‘actual’ racing. constructors’ standings. fault of Change the running order those pitstops Many fans will have greeted this result the TV ON MAY 28TH 1967, ENGLISHMAN SIR did, however, as Hamilton, furious behind with a sigh of relief. A strong start for the director the far slower Alpha Tauri of Gasly, pit early, Mercedes team, in spite of their car’s evident in fairFRANCIS CHICHESTER COMPLETED seeking to undercut the cars ahead. The pace disadvantage, had thrown into question ness), problem with this strategy, it turned out, is the possibility of a genuine battle for the D a v id that the hard tyres Hamilton would change title this season. It would seem that, after C o u l THE FIRST SOLO RACE AROUND THE to were not immediately capable of holding this weekend, such a battle has never looked t h a r d the pace his rivals were on with softs. As he more likely. No doubt, there is plenty more thought it WORLD WITH ONLY A SINGLE PORT OF took a few laps to get his hards up to speed, drama to come this year, but the streets of appr opr iother drivers could put the pedal to the floor Baku, where we race next, have historically ate to inCALL, SYDNEY. in an effort to gain a second or two on the favoured Red Bull more than they have Merterview Serreigning world champion. Gasly maintained cedes. ena Williams, his lead, exiting his pitstop a second in front Whatever happens in the coming weeks, it there as a guest Main of Hamilton. Aston Martin kept Vettel out seems that this season will finally provide a of Aston Martin, ima ge: on softs for even longer, timing their pitstop nail-bitingly close race for both the drivers during Verstappen’s United Autosalmost perfectly, landing him in 5th place, and constructors’ championships, with the first post-race victory ports / CC BY-SA ahead of Gasly and Hamilton, having started constructors’ battle for 3rd between Ferrari interview. Because that’s 2.0. OTD image: in 9th. Red Bull’s Perez, well-known for his and McLaren shaping up to be just as exciting what the Formula One fans NH53 / CC BY 2.0.

ON THIS DAY

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

20

CLASH OF TITANS

— AND LOGAN PAUL?

Ariana Rubio

E

arlier this month, Tyson Fury and Joshua Anthony agreed to participate in a historic fight to take place on the 14th of August in Saudi Arabia.

The boxing world exploded in reaction to this news, eagerly anticipating the face-off between the two British heavyweights.

Joshua, 31, has garnered an impressive array of titles in both his amateur and professional careers — the boxing star turned professional in 2014 at the age of twenty four.

These include an Olympic Gold Medal from the 2012 London Olympics, the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016 and the WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO titles since December 2019. Of his twenty five career fights, he has won twenty four and lost only one. The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America named his fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, from which he emerged victorious, Fight of the Year.

Tyson Fury’s career is equally dazzling.

Nicknamed ‘Gypsy King’ and ‘The Furious One’, a number of sporting organisations including ESP ranked him the world’s best active heavyweight as of December 2020.

Fury is a two-time world heavyweight champion, and currently holds the WBC and Ring magazine titles. Standing at six feet nine inches (206 cm), he towers over Joshua’s six feet six inches (198 cm). Impressively, he has won thirty of his thirty-one career fights and drawn one.

Given the respective weights of their reputations, the boxing world responded to the announcement of the fight with much media coverage and speculation as to who would be crowned the British heavyweight king. Only days after the fight was confirmed, however, Fury pulled out. Deontay Wilder

called for an arbitration hearing as to whether he had a right to face Fury for a third time. The American professional boxer, who held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, is known for his knockout-out-to-win percentage, which is currently 98% with forty one out of forty two wins as knock outs. He has lost and drawn only one match each. Wilder has faced Fury twice before, with the first (in December 2018) ending in a draw and a highly anticipated rematch (in February 2020) in a loss for the American. This victory led Fury to clinch the WBC heavyweight title.

Casting Joshua and Fury’s plans for a clash later this summer into disarray, Wilder recently announced that he would be enforcing Fury’s contractual obligation to face him for

a third time. They are expected to fight on the 24th of July in Las Vegas, although this has not yet been confirmed. Both Joshua and Fury are reportedly upset by this, with boxing promoter Bob Arum predicting that Fury will ‘take out his frustration and anger on Wilder’ and will ‘knock Wilder out quicker than he did last time’. Joshua, for his part, has been ordered to defend his WBO heavyweight title against Oleksandr Usyk in light of the unravelling of his plans with Fury. Negotiations for the long-awaited fight between Fury and Joshua are expected to resume in the Autumn.

If both Fury and Joshua win their respective rights, it is possible that their long-awaited clash could take place towards the end of this year or early 2022.

In a very different sphere of influence, another tussle is taking place on the same plane. Logan Paul, YouTube Influencer and internet personality, is to take on seasoned professional boxer Floyd Mayweather on the 6th of June in Miami. Throughout his almost twenty year career from 1996 to 2015, Mayweather won fifteen major world titles and retired undefeated, with a total of fifty wins.

The Boxing Writers Association of America named Mayweather ‘Fighter of the Decade’ for the 2010s. Paul, in contrast, is a twentysix year old social media celebrity who is most known for the controversial stunts that he pulls for views. He currently has over 22.9 million subscribers and 5.71 billion views on YouTube. Many hold that the fight is simply one of these stunts intended to increase his media presence, and lament the degradation of the sport of boxing.

Mayweather, also, is not without stakes in the game. Nicknamed ‘Money’, the boxer has participated in the four biggest-selling pay-per-view events in boxing history. When asked about the potential revenue of the fight, Mayweather said that while he could make £25 million from any fight, this special fight could earn him £72 million. Opinions on this match — or ‘mismatch’, more accurately — are divided. Some hold the old adage that any publicity is good publicity, choosing to believe that Paul’s presence will broaden the cultural reach of the sport. Others, however, argue that this could take the sport’s history of artificial spectacles to an unacceptable extreme. Either way, fans will doubtless flock to watch both Joshua and Fury’s eventual clash and Mayweather and Paul’s more imminent fight, and millions will watch on the television to see who emerges victorious from the ring.

Image credit: James Prime / CC BY 3.0.

S P O R T S

S H O R T S

WOMEN WIN BUT MEN LOSE IN HOCKEY VARSITY

OUAFC STUN BROOKES IN VARSITY WHITEWASH Matthew Cogan

Matthew Cogan

Sunday 16th May saw the return of Varsity hockey. The Men’s and Women’s Blues teams both faced off against their Cambridge rivals at Southgate Hockey Club.

The day started with an incredibly tight affair in the Women’s match. Oxford were able to perfect a set piece routine from a short corner at the very end of the first quarter to get what would turn out to be the deciding goal of the game. In the remaining three quarters Oxford were able to keep a dangerous Cambridge attack at bay, before seeing the game out comfortably in the final quarter with some brilliant tactics.

After such a well fought victory, it was

the turn of the Men’s team. After going behind very early in the first quarter to a scrappy Cambridge goal, they fought back brilliantly to level the scores right at the end of the third quarter after another brilliant short corner. Both teams had chances to win it, but at the end of regulation time it was 1-1, taking the game to shuffles to decide a winner. The shuffles turned out to be nail biting watching for both teams, with Cambridge eventually coming out 5-4 victors. This was a great return for varsity hockey, with two incredibly tight games and a victory apiece for both universities at the end of the day.

Image credit: Ian Wood / CC BY-NC-ND

The last week saw the return of OUAFC to action against the classic rivals, Oxford Brookes. There were 5 games played across both the Men’s and Women’s teams and a remarkable 5 victories for the dark blues.

These ranged from a stellar 6-0 victory for the Broncos over Brookes 4s, to a closely contested 1-1 between the Colts and Brookes 3s, in which the Colts were able to hold their nerve and triumph in a penalty shootout.

There were also great performances from both the Men’s and Women’s Blues teams who beat their Brookes counterparts 3-1 and 3-0 respectively. This was all topped off by a 2-0 victory by the Centaurs over

Brookes 2s, creating an aggregate score of 15-3 across all of the games in favour of OUAFC. This can only be described as an outstanding performance by all of those involved in the teams, firmly making sure that Oxford remains dark blue this term.

Focus will now of course turn to the familiar foe of the light blue of Cambridge, who will be travelling over to Oxford to play the Blues varsity matches on 26th June. However, with such a resounding victory over their closest neighbours in the last week, spirits will be high and the Oxford teams will go into these games in fine form.

Image courtesy of OUAFC.

Cherwell | Friday, 28th May 2021

21

puzzles

Mega Quiz Edition Round 3 – Geography 11. What is the capital of Mongolia?

12. Which nation is the largest landlocked nation in the world?

13. What is the highest point in the USA? 14. Which nation has the shortest coastline in the world?

15. Which two nations share the longest boarder in the world? Image credit: Nick Farnhill via

To make up for the lack of a quiz in the last edition and, as I very much wanted to write a long quiz, here is an extra long quiz for you all to enjoy.

Flickr/License: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Also, congratulations to Rhea Suribhatla for submitting the correct Suduko answers from the Week 3 edition!

Image credit: PadreDelElToro via Wikimedia/License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Happy Puzzling! W. A. Whitten Round 1 – History 1. Who did Alfred the Great defeat in 878 at the Battle of Edington?

2. Who was king of Palmyra between 220 – 267?

3. The French and Indian War is the American name of what cinflict?

4. Who was the first Han Emperor of China?

5. What was the longest siege in history?

Round 2 – Science and Nature 6. Roughly what percentage of the Earth’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon?

7. Chalk is made from the fossils

Image credit: Ernesto Rodriguez via pixabay

Round 4 – Movies and TV 16. Which actor has received the most Oscar nominations with 21?

17. What show aired between 1980 and 1982, starring Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne?

18. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor acted alongside George Segal in the 1966 adaption of which play by Edward Albee?

19. Which American TV show is seeing a reunion special on HBO max?

20. Which American film was the US film to feature a toilet flushing?

Round 5 – Sports 21. How many modern Olympics have there been?

22. Who was the 2020 table tennis world champion?

23. In the NFL, how many footballs must the home team provide the referee for each game?

24. What nation is home to the world’s largest bowling alley?

25. Who won the Tour De France in 2016?

Round 6 – Oxford 26. Which college did Captain Hook (yes, from Peter Pan) supposedly attend after leaving Eton?

27. Which College never synchronised its time with GMT and the rest of the UK, remaining five minutes out of sync?

28. How many Prime Ministers has Oxford produced?

29. What does the name Oxford mean?

30. Why was Oxford not bombed in World War Two?

of what dead creatures?

8. How long does it take for

Fortingall Yew found, believed to be the oldest tree in the United Kingdom?

25. Chris Froome 26. Balliol 27. Christ Church (are you surprised?)

28. 27 29. A river ford for oxen 30. Hitler wished to use it as the British capital, once conquered.

10. In what county is the

17. Yes Minister 18. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf 19. Friends 20. Psycho 21. 28 22. Andrew Baggaley 23. 36 24. Japan

for being the longest snake?

License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

9. Reticulated Python 10. Perthshire 11. Ulaanbaatar 12. Kazakhstan 13. The peak of Denali, Alaska 14. Monaco 15. Canada and the US 16. Meryl Streep

9. What species holds the record

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Guthrum 2. Odaenathus 3. The Seven Years War 4. Gaozu 5. Siege of Candia (22 years) 6. 20% 7. Plankton 8. 29 Years

Saturn to orbit the Sun?

Image credit: arbyreed via Flickr/