Letter from the Editor

Dear Spirit readers,

Issue 15 has arrived! The number 15 feels significant somehow. With this academic year flying by, I’ve found myself reflecting on my time at the Spirit. Having been involved for the past 10 issues of the Spirit, I’m wholeheartedly appreciative of the space that we as students have created for our voices to be amplified. As always, I’m grateful to all the wonderful people who put in the time and effort to make this issue one of my favourites to date.

At the dawn of this new year, I hope the coming months will be kinder to you all. And with the arrival of 2021, many changes have come. Firstly, SOAS has a new Director, Adam Habib - you can read my interview with him on the front cover, and watch a clip of the interview itself on our Instagram. Next, we have a number of new additions to our team: I’m happy to welcome Elizabeth Edwards as Culture Editor, and Deniz Demirag and Lara Gibbs as Social Media Co-ordinators. All three are regular contributors to the Spirit, so I’m excited for what they will bring to the team.

This issue we’re thrilled to announce the return of our podcast in collaboration with SOAS Radio. You can ‘That’s the Spirit’ over on SOAS Radio’s SoundCloud. For

this episode, myself and the Co-Editors, Louisa and Basit, were joined by Fakhriya (National News Editor) and Ella (Features Editor) for a fasinating discussion on all the highlights from Issue 15.

This issue’s packed with some amazing content, and is actually our longest issue of this year. In SOAS news, we have a really helpful breakdown of the updated No Detriment policy. If you’re unsure how the updated policy works be sure to check it out - I know I will! We also have an article highlighting the amazing work done by our friends over at the Paul Robeson zine, which is made for and by people of colour, and an update on SOAS alumnus, Karim Ennarah’s, notorious detainment.

National News is packed with a huge range of articles: everything from eugenics to Brexit to the effects of Covid- 19 on the UK. Over in International News, we have coverage of the farmer protests in India, the Ugandan election and the worrying state of our climate.

An article I’m particularly intrigued by is an insightful Opinion piece by Maxine Betteridge-Moes on the UK aid industry’s focus on money over impact. We also have a reflection on Arab Spring a decade on.

In Features you’ll find another installment of our regular segment, Humans of SOAS - this time with Economics professor, Costas Lapavitsas, and his interesting views on Brexit. You can also have a look at Deniz Demirag’s photo journal detailing her aunt’s experience with life and divorce, a fascinating creative submission and a fun piece on online dating during the pandemic.

In culture, you can read all about the myth of the postracial society represented in Netflix’s Bridgerton. We also have a couple different takes on how the pandemic has affected the arts - both in film and the fashion industry.

Over in Sports and Societies we have an article on the future of Messi’s career, as well as a fascinating take on women’s surfing by our very own Frances Howe.

As always, we love to hear your comments and thoughts – please reach out to us on social media @soasspirit or by email to get involved in the discussion, or if you’d like to join us for next issue!

Maliha Shoaib, Managing Editor