Friday 4th March 2022
HT22, No. 4
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Interviews with the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, and student and survivor Ahmad Nawaz
Anonymous Student Accuses University of Cover-Ups
Image Credits: Andrew Wang and Jason Chau
by Jason CHAU Deputy Editor
I
n a report by the Oxford Mail, a student who has asked to remain anonymous has accused the University of creating a ‘culture of cover-ups’ when handling misconduct reports and called for the complaints process to be externally regulated.
Defiance and Determination
as Thousands Attend Ukraine Protest in Oxford
Jason CHAU and Andrew WANG Deputy Editor
Editor-in-Chief
The student claimed that after she filed a complaint raising concerns about the way the history faculty was run, she was ‘bullied, smeared, and defamed’ by a member of the humanities faculty staff who had a ‘legal duty of care’ towards students...
“
It is a complete waste of time and energy – it is only meant to quash your complaint, shut you up and whitewash the institution
”
Read more on page 6
Read more on page 3
Three Undergraduates Travel to, and Escape, Besieged Ukraine
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by Alex FOSTER
T
Editor-in-Chief
Russia Vladimir Putin. This is the first time a major power has invaded a European neighbour since World War Two.
“It’s true we did travel against the advice of the government, and we take full responsibility for that... Read more on page 4
Illustration: Jonas Muschalski
Alexander Beard on how Modern Marxism should deal with alienation and oppression
hree undergraduate students at the University of Oxford travelled to the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv, on Wednesday afternoon this week. Less than twenty-four hours later the city, and country itself, was invaded by an aggressive force of Russian troops, commanded by the President of
2 | Editorial
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
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I
’ve still got a brilliant news article about a massive puddle outside college coming up. But for the most part, my time editing The Oxford Student is over. It’s been a role that’s never failed to surprise. From the pre-term Benet’s bonanza, to three kids hopping over to Ukraine, to at least seventy-three pieces about Timothee Chalamet, every moment of my editorship has surprised me. Have I learnt from it? Not sure, but my Mastermind specialist subject is sure to be this godforsaken Willy Wonka film coming out soon, for certain. It’s also had a tendency to stress me out to no end– but what job wouldn’t? The number of oddnumbered week breakdowns I’ve had at Wednesday midnight in the clinical light of the Student Union are moments only saved by the eclectic camaraderie of Deputy Editors, Bella Italia Deliveroos, and of course my fellow Editor-in-Chief Andrew Wang. Really, we couldn’t have put out half the stuff we’ve written this term without his incredible eye for detail, design, and the masterful art of understatement he possesses. I’m in his debt as a journalist and as a person, even if I could never say it to his
We are always looking for enthusiastic students to be members of our Creative Team!!! Join our illustrator group on Facebook to get create content for the OxStu!
From the Editors face. Being part of The OxStu, writing out my feelings, both satirical and serious, has got me through some weird times. I only survived the Accursed Online Hilary™ by roasting covid policies and Magdalen as a Love Island outpost. I only survived the personal trials of this Hilary by getting how I felt down in print, and I was frankly humbled by the response to that, the first time I’ve been truly honest with myself in public. Add to that a final three shortlisting for the Geddes student journalism prize, however, and I’d say in spite of everything that’s gone down it’s been a successful term. From a lowly Deputy Section Editor of OxYou (STILL the best bit of the paper) I guess I’ve come pretty far. But papers change, and so must I. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. OxStu, I let you go.
Alex Foster,
St John’s College
I
have spent the entirety of my time thus far at Oxford with almost no friends. Perhaps it was due to COVID, or due to being an international student, or whatever, but I was not prepared for the crushing loneliness I felt for the first year and a half of University. I spent the bulk of my time hunched over my desk grinding out work or calling friends from home, desperately clinging on to the rapidly dwindling number of people in my life. I don’t think this experience is that uncommon, either - everyone from TikTok to my mom told me that Uni would be a whirlwind of work hard play hard, of rowdy friends and core memories. The friends I make in Uni are the ones that stick with me for a lifetime, they said. No one had warned me about such profound, crippling, and (rather shamefully) nearly fatal alienation. This term, however, things have been much better, in large part due to this paper. It sounds quite trivial, but despite failing to set up social events for our team as I had originally hoped, even the nights spent laying in with the rest of my team gave me a sense of belonging that I had never previously felt. As I sit here in my room, frantically proofing this edition before we send it off to print, I already find myself melancholic. I could go on forever about
how proud I am of my team for pulling off one of our best terms yet against all odds, or about how it was an honor to work alongside someone as original and reliable as Alex, who constantly surprised me by always knowing the inside scopp on everything (he is, after all, the Editor-in-Chief of the OxStu). That would be the standard final-edition editorial. But at the risk of seeming selfcentered, what meant the most to me was not the work we did, but the moments in between. I know I will miss the hectic nights laying-in with my staff, the strange conversations over Dominos and infinite Pepsi, the conscious choices to procrastinate and fuck around. After all, it is a special joy even to have friends worth putting off work for, a joy that I never really appreciated enough. I wrote in our second-edition editorial that I hope I will look back and find my memory of this time sufficiently bittersweet. I hope this isn’t the end of this chapter in my life just yet, but in case it is, I would like to say to the one and only Alex, my dear DepEds, and our best Editors: you’ve made my memories here more bittersweet than I could have ever hoped, and I cannot thank you enough. And hence with love,
Andrew Wang, St Benet’s Hall
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
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Defiance and Determination as Thousands Attend Oxford Ukraine Protest
Andrew WANG and Jason CHAU Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor
H
undreds of students, staff, and Oxford residents gathered Sunday afternoon at the Radcliffe Camera to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine and express solidarity for the Ukrainian people, as well as Ukrainian students. The event, organized by the Oxford University Ukrainian Society, saw numerous Ukrainian speakers detail how they and their families’ lives have been affected by the invasion, and call upon the Oxford community to act. Protesters held signs featuring slogans such as the defiant “Russian Warship, go f**k yourself,” and chanted “F*ck Putin, stop the war,” and “Slava Ukraini.”
to support Ukraine, pass statements condemning Russia’s invasion, and fly the Ukrainian flag. Other speakers at the protest included representatives form Oxford University’s Polish, Syria, Czech and Slovak Society, Georgian Society, as well as individuals from other countries affected by
war, such as Afghanistan. Many protesters criticized NATO members for failing to do enough to prevent the invasion, while others warned that sanctions alone would be insufficient, arguing that more “decisive action” must be taken. One speaker, whose family remains in Kyiv and whose father had
There was little talk of refugee policies as speakers chose to focus on efforts to resist and repel the Russian invasion, from sharing stories and lauding the determination of the Ukrainian people to disseminating ways for people to help. Protesters called for donations to relevant efforts, attend rallies, and write to Mps (detailed advice can be found on the Ukrainian Society’s Facebook page). Student Sasha Mills urged all JCR/MCR committees to approve funding and resources
joined the civilian resistance, was audibly emotional as he recalled their resolve in a recent conversation. Another speaker recounted his brother’s experience waking up to a missile striking nearby. The tone of the protest was solemn but fiercely determined, as one student sum-
marized in an address directly to Ukrainians: “Thank you for your bravery. It has been inspiring for everyone in the world.” The Ukrainian Society is holding further events in the coming weeks, including a donation drive for Ukraine at Common Ground.
Common Rooms Vote on Motion
Supporting Ukraine Jason CHAU Deputy Editor
A
n emergency action motion draft has been sent to several colleges asking JCRs and MCRs to express support for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine. The draft, obtained by the Oxford Student, is asking all common rooms to table the emergency action motion that contains a statement explicitly recognising the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as ‘unjustified and untenable’ and the sovereignty of Ukraine as a nation, standing in solidarity with the country. The statement also criticised the UK government’s support to Ukraine as ‘insufficient’ and condemned its decision to not
fully waive visa requirements for Ukrainians and acknowledges that both students and staff members in Oxford have been “deeply affected by the crisis and the ongoing fighting”. “There are an estimated 18,000 Ukrainian citizens in the UK as of last year, and the Eastern European diaspora are an important part of the population in both Oxford and the rest of the country“, according to the draft motion. The emergency action motion also notes that the common rooms “must lend [their] support to Ukrainians and members of the Eastern European diaspora in Oxford that have been hit by the crisis”, but also added that “we also stand in solidarity with
Russian staff and students, whom we recognise are not responsible for the crisis at hand and may be experiencing fear of ostracization and discrimination”. In addition, common rooms should “lobby the college administration to fly a Ukrainian flag above the college“, “donate £100 to the ‘Oxford in support of Ukraine’ fundraiser to raise money for the British Red Cross who are providing essential humanitarian support”, and “raise awareness amongst JCR members of demonstrations taking place in the city”. The ‘Oxford in support of Ukraine’ fundraiser can be found on the Ukrainian Society’s Facebook.
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
4 | News
Three undergraduates travel to, and escape, besieged Ukraine Alex FOSTER Editor-in-Chief
..., but we have followed their second advice which was registering your presence in Ukraine if you decide to stay”. An intial – now deleted – tweet from one of the students involved said that “looking back at it, it may not have been the wisest decision”. During the Wednesday prior to the invasion Instagram stories posted by a student at St John’s showed footage of a square in Kyiv, as well as a video of a restaurant view. Another student was pictured in this video smoking from a shisha pipe. A Twitter thread posted on Thursday afternoon by one of the students involved conversely said “yesterday we met with Ukrainian people for the documentary”, which was one focused “on conflict resolution and self-determination”. “Looking back at it, it may not have been the wisest decision” At dawn on Thursday morning Russia’s invasion began by land, sea, and air. The previously quoted Instagram stories were deleted and replaced by a story picturing a map of the country with various symbols added, including mushroom clouds and planes. A cap-
tion to the story stated “Our flight, which was supposed to be today morning [sic], was cancelled. We’re safe for now and we are on our way away from Kyiv”. A similar, albeit contradictory, post on Twitter by the same student stated that “we are leaving independently via our planned route”. The three students are not using an evacuation service. Nevertheless a Twitter comment to this thread argued that the escape from Ukraine, and journey in general, displaced “entitled behaviour” and suggested the three students had “now taken away escape routes from people who may have needed it”. One of the students reaffirmed in a statement to The Oxford Student that “the trip was already planned for days. We did not use a single evacuation service or in anyway [sic] take another person’s place”.
heck are Oxford students going to Ukraine? [Why are they] fancying themselves jr (junior) reporters? [Why are they] throwing themselves into the middle of an active warzone?”. Another comment suggested the students were “incredibly narcissistic”, and that their actions “undermine[d] the gravity of the situation”. Having arrived safely in Ro-
mania, the students told The Oxford Student that “It’s true we did travel against the advice of the government, and we take full responsibility for that. But we have followed their second advice which was registering your presence in Ukraine if you decide to stay.” They added that “some of the backlash was quite abusive and does not help anyone. Every time I tried to concentrate on our plans, I get a
notification of a new insult”. The student finished with this: “there’s people who’ve been checking up on us and are lifting our spirits up. Those people are absolute angels and I honestly have so much love for them. I’m truly thankful that they’re in my life.”. The students currently find themselves safe in Romania. Bloomberg
“Some of the backlash was quite abusive and does not help anyone. Every time I tried to concentrate on our plans, I get a notification of a new insult”. Criticism of the three students’ trip to Ukraine in spite of the government guidance has been fierce. Twitter posts on Thursday asked, “Why the
Waterstones Acquires Oxford Institution Blackwell’s Jason CHAU Deputy Editor
W
aterstones has announced it has acquired Blackwell’s, a longstanding Oxford institution and the country’s largest independent bookseller. This marks the end of its 143 years of family ownership, but it will continue to trade under its current brand. Some have lamented the sale, according to the Guardian, seeing it as ‘an regrettable end to…a cherished independent and academic bookseller” and a further sign of the UK’s bookselling industry’s contraction. With the new ownership, it will fall under the same corporate umbrella as Foyles and US bookseller Barnes & Noble.
The outgoing owner from the family Toby Blackwell said finding new owners had been “an extraordinary challenge”, referring to its now-abandoned plan to pass the business to its employees. He also justified the sale to Waterstone by praising the book chain’s successful purchase of Foyles, which demonstrated its understanding of “the advantages and benefits of holding diverse iconic bookselling brands in their portfolio”, adding that “[Waterstone] is not just as a buyer of the business, but as the right buyer at the right time.” Blackwell’s chief executive, David Prescott, also added that acquisition is a matter of survival, saying that it “ensures the future” of the bookstore, in a time when brick and mortar bookstores
are fighting for dominance with online rivals such as Amazon. UK book sale has been rising continuously, with Waterstones, with its 291 bookstores across the UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands being the dominant player in the sector. The sale has been criticised by Green party peer Natalie Bennett, who said the move was another example of “[the] homogenisation of our economy” and that “giant companies dominating their sector is the story of our times”. Commenting on the sale, James Daunt, Waterstones’ managing director, called Blackwell’s one of the “most illustrious names in bookselling, a legacy for which we have the utmost respect.” Portraying the acquisition as a
move to protect physical bookshops, he added, “we greatly look forward to working alongside the booksellers at Blackwell’s as we secure the future of these won-
derful bookshops and preserve academic bookselling in so many towns and campuses across the UK.” Soham Banerjee via Flickr
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
News | 5
Oxford University received £1.6m+ in fossil fuel funds in 2020-21
User: John via Wikimeida
Jessica KAYE News Editor
O
xford University received at least £1.6 million in funding from fossil fuel firms in 2020-21, new findings from Oxford Climate Justice Campaign (OCJC) reveal. This funding adds to the more than £19 million the University accepted between 2015-20, and the £100 million it received from INEOS in January 2021. This funding undermines both the University’s 2020 commitment to divest from fossil fuels, and its 2035 net-zero commitment. BP, Shell, Mitsubishi and Eni SpA together donated between £1.6-1.7 million in the form of research funding and donations to the Saïd Business School, between 1st August 2020-31st July 2021. Notably, Eni SpA donated over £500,000 to The Saïd Business School Centre for Corporate Responsibility. The Saïd Business School also hosted the Oxford Citizen Climate Assembly and claims to be bringing ‘relevant insights… into the COP26 process’.
However, there were no donations present from long-time donor Exxon-Mobil, who gave £6.9 million to the University between 2015-2020, making them the largest fossil fuel donor. In the response to the Freedom of Information request submitted by OCJC, the University declared it had received between £10,000-£49,000 from BP for Undergraduate STEM scholarships and between £10,000-£49,000 for research funding into ‘LSPI and Calcium’. It was not willing to disclose the exact amount donated by BP as they said doing so would be likely to ‘prejudice the commercial interests’ of BP and the University. In May 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that there can be no new fossil fuel developments if the world is to reach net zero by 2050. In October of that year, seventy prominent climate scientists from Oxford called on the UK government to end new oil and gas projects. The companies funding new oil and gas projects
are the same companies Oxford continues to receive funding from. Matilda Gettins, member of Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, said: “It is disgraceful that the University is still accepting money from the fossil fuel industry. Behind a facade of ‘low-carbon’ and ‘climate’ promises, these companies continue to choke our atmosphere and launch new fossil fuel projects. By accepting their money, Oxford is helping BP, Shell and co conduct greenwashing, and make their destruction of people’s livelihoods and the planet socially acceptable. The University of Oxford must cut all its ties to this extractive industry.” Fergus Green, Climate Justice Campaigns coordinator at People & Planet, said: “The University of Oxford has tried hard to avoid scrutiny over its relationships with the fossil fuel industry, but this fantastic report from Oxford Climate Justice Campaign lays them bare. We all
know that the big polluters aren’t spending this money for nothing, and it is shameful that the University continues to prop up the companies most responsible for the climate and ecological crisis. It must agree to the demands of students and sever all ties with the fossil fuel industry now.”
Bill McKibben, leader of the climate campaign group 350.org. said: “It’s past time for our great educational institutions to break all ties with the industry that is ensuring their graduates won’t live the lives they’re preparing for.”
Oxford Pushes Zero Carbon Transport Network Jason CHAU Deputy Editor
O
xford City Council, in conjunction with the Oxfordshire County Council, has announced plans to create a ‘sustainable and reliable’ zero carbon transport system in the city, introducing a citywide workplace parking levy, traffic filters, an expansion of the zero-emission zone (ZEZ) beyond the currently designated pilot area and improved public transport and cycle routes. The plans are scheduled to be implemented between 2023 and 2023, with consultation on these new proposals taking place in late summer 2022 when the City Council will gather suggestions and feedback from businesses, hospitals, schools and transport providers. With the addition of the Zero Carbon Network, the city aims to “chang[e] the way people travel in and around Oxford” and “help reduce air pollution [and] create healthy communities.” Councillor Tom Hayes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon
Oxford at the City Council, highlighted the urgency of the proposals, declaring that “Our air must be cleaner to protect our health. Our energy must be cleaner to protect our futures.” Noting the need to strike a balance between “tackling air pollution and [the] climate crisis” and making citizens can “move swiftly and simply from A to B”, the Councillor argued that the new proposals will be a fix to this problem and allow the public to “enjoy the best possible health and transportation, and to look to the future with hope.” Specifically, new policies under the proposal include extending the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) to cover employers across the city, with the funds raised by the levy going to the improvement of public transportation. The city will also set up six traffic filters in city centre to reduce traffic congestion and prioritise movement by cyclists and pedestrians, which will be complemented by the decision to extend the ZEZ to cover the entire city centre, encompassing the University as seen in the map above.
Currently, transport emissions account for 17% of greenhouse gas emissions in Oxford, according to data from the City Council. For the city to create a full zero carbon transport network by 2040, Oxford will need to reduce 30% vehicular transport use and substantially increase cycling, walking, homeworking and car-sharing. Commenting on the announcement, Councillor Duncan Enright from Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The climate emergency and inequalities across the county and city mean Oxford needs a more sustainable and reliable transport system for everyone.” The Councillor also praised Oxford’s status as a leader in environmental awareness and innovation, adding “we want to make walking, cycling and using public transport the first choice for people. The new plans will not only help us move towards a progressive transport network in the city, but they will also improve the quality of all our lives.”
The funding for these new initiatives will come from various sources, with the County Council actively applying for grants from the government through a zero emissions transport cities bid, according to its press release. Funding applications to the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) have already been submitted in an effort to add more than 150 new electric buses to Oxford’s transport
network. The applications are still pending approval. While the two councils have recognized that certain exemptions to the schemes will be allowed in specific circumstances, more details on its application and the implementation of the schemes in general are still in development. The councils also expect to host a series of webinars for the public to explain the proposals at a later date.
6 | News
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
“Pay My Fees and Keep Quiet”: Anonymous Student Accuses University of Cover-Ups Frustrated by the episode, the student told the Oxford Mail that the complaint process was ‘completely unfit for purpose’ as Oxford has allowed an environment where ‘cronyism’ is preferred and staffs protecting each other from accountability to flourish.
Jason CHAU Deputy Editor
I
n a report by the Oxford Mail, a student who has asked to remain anonymous has accused the University of creating a ‘culture of cover-ups’ when handling misconduct reports and called for the complaints pro-
cess to be externally regulated. The student claimed that after she filed a complaint raising concerns about the way the history faculty was run, she was ‘bullied, smeared, and defamed’ by a member of the humanities faculty staff who had a ‘legal duty of care’ towards students. According to the student,
she then threatened the faculty member with a cease-and-desist letter, but the University reprimanded her with the possibility of disciplinary action if she did not go through the formal complaint process, which ultimately took up to 10 months instead of the ‘no more than two’ as previously promised.
“It is a complete waste of time and energy – it is only meant to quash your complaint, shut you up and whitewash the institution,” said the student, who referred to herself as “the idiot [here] to pay my fees and keep quiet” and added, “It is a culture of cover-ups, it’s all in the Twilight Zone.” However, the student hoped that going public with her experience may help others who are not as comfortable in speaking out and lead to external regulation of the complaints process as she claimed “internal regulation is non-existent” right now. Responding to the allegations, a spokesperson of the University said a ‘detailed investigation’ by a senior member of staff independent of the Department in question concluded that ‘none of the
student’s allegations should be upheld’. While it cannot give further comments on the confidential circumstances of an individual student’s case, the University affirmed that it has treated all allegations of harassment or other student complaints seriously and in line with a rigorous and transparent process that is “publicised to students”. The University also assured that student representatives are “consulted on University decisions about policies and procedures” that affect the student body. Oxford City Councillor Shaista Aziz, a national campaigner on equalities and women’s rights, also spoke to the Oxford Mail, arguing that the University need to ‘implement clear accountability structure for complaints across all colleges’ The student’s experience as reported contradicts with Oxford’s pledge to investigates complaints fairly and openly so her complaint should be “investigated thoroughly without any outside interference”, said Aziz, adding in complaints processes, “power imbalances must be acknowledged.”
Oxford Russian Club criticized for silence on Ukraine Invasion Andrew WANG Editor-in-Chief
F
ollowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war, some members of the University have noted with disappointment that the Oxford Russian Club has not issued any official statement on Ukraine, and have criticized The Russian Club’ choice of wording in referring to the invasion in recent public communications. The Russian invasion, which marks the first time a major power has invaded a European neighbour since World War Two, began on Thursday morning and has pushed into the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Health Minister Viktor Liashko reported that hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed and over a thousand wounded. Hundreds of thousands have fled the invasion and experts are predicting one of the worst refugee crises in recent history.
When contacted about their silence on these events, the Oxford Russian Club replied: “The Russian Club is not making a comment on the ongoing situation and finds it inappropriate to do so, or to be asked to do so.” The Oxford Russian Club is an explicitly apolitical organisation and has maintained political non-alignment since Hilary term of 1951, their “sole aim being the promotion of Russian culture and language within the University, and the fostering of ties between our members and Russia,” as they state on their official website. This has not dissuaded criticism of the Club, however, with members of the University expressing disappointment at the Club’s failure to meet a humanitarian rather than political responsibility. As one student wrote on Facebook, “if the Oxford Russian Club decides to stay silent today and not to speak up while their country is
invading another country – when will they ever?” Protests against the Russian invasion have been ongoing in Moscow and across Russia. Protesters have also gathered to show solidarity with Ukraine in the rest of the world, including in Oxford. Members of the University expressed disappointment at the Club’s failure to meet a humanitarian rather than political responsibility. The Oxford Russian Club has also been criticized for downplaying the war in Ukraine in an announcement that it is putting together an emergency speaker panel. In a post on Facebook, for example, the Russian Club wrote: “Following recent events in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet republics, we are trying to put together an emergency specialist speaker panel (format would be panel discussion and audience Q&As) to discuss the
unfolding situation as well as the response by the international community.” Some took issue with the Club’s reference to Ukraine as
a ‘post-Soviet republic’ and reference to the war as only ‘recent events’ or ‘the unfolding situation.’ Kyivcity.gov.ua
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
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Editors: Shiraz Vapiwala, Peter Denton Deputy Editor: Jonah Poulard comment@oxfordstudent.com
????!? via Unsplash
THE NEVER ENDING WAR R
oad bridge. On it, a truck, a tank, an armoured car; the iconography of war. Ten to fifteen Russian soldiers stand behind the tank. Gunshots. The Russians engage the enemy; the camera shakes. The Associated Press correspondent is fortunate to get footage this close. AP always gets the best footage in conflict zones.
This isn’t from Ukraine in 2022. The Associated Press got this from South Ossetia in 2008.
Amelia Potocka
president, Yanukovych. Ukrainian MPs got chucked out to the streets on wheelbarrows. Yanukovych himself fled from the anger of the masses to Belarus, then Russia. His last gift to Ukraine, as he was running to leave everything behind, was to request assistance from Putin in quelling the uprising. In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and took over Sevastopol.
A month after the birth of my mother, my grandparents saw tanks ride into the streets of the Understanding Russian ag- city nearest to us. Russian tanks. gression is impossible without The Russian government was understandopposed to the ing the history idea that Poland My family has first- would have trade of violence the Russian Federahand experience of unions. When a tion has engaged of the Polish Russian aggression. third in since its very population unconception in ionised against 1991. Ukraine is Russian will, not its first major war – just the their government supported the first that borders NATO territory. soldiers who shoved the budding, This storm has been long brewing. flowering civil society into the dirt. When I was thirteen, I remember distinctly the footage of the Maidan. What started as a protest against Ukraine vetoing access to the EU, transformed into a flame that engulfed the capital and its
My great-grandmother’s experience was much more visceral. She and her mother were given fifteen minutes to pack before the train took them far into the east: sent to Siberia. No crime was commit-
ted by my twelve year old great abrupt pauses. In 1992, Russia ingrandmother, other than being in vaded Georgia under the guise of the wrong country at the wrong ‘stabilisation;’ that was just the betime. After the war, she and her ginning. Chechnya, Moldova, Caumother came casus followed. back on the last Governments of train scheduled On the western side of Kazakhstan and to leave Siberia. Europe’s border with Belarus, instead Her mother died Russia, we breathed of dealing with a year after, from internal undiseases she a sigh of relief. Maybe rest, submitted caught in what Mr Putin and his men to Russia. The was an icy priswill stop here after world watched. on: a frozen conall. What a foolish The world, my centration camp. country inthought. cluded, watched This is the part as Maidan of the story that eludes western turned into the occupation of commentators – this visceral ex- Crimea and the war in Donbass. perience of persistent Russian No one can afford to attack the imperialism. For my family, the world’s largest nuclear power. only surprise was when the Russian advance of 2014 abruptly What is currently occurring did stopped. Something stopped them not strike me until I spoke to my – the ferociousness of Ukrainian friends from Eastern Europe at a resistance? The threats of war? social event. I have family near the border between Poland and On the western side of Europe’s Ukraine, but a friend of mine was border with Russia, we breathed hit even closer. Their family lives a sigh of relief. Maybe Mr Putin in the very country Russia laid its and his men will stop here af- hungry maw upon. They told me a ter all. What a foolish thought. story of a frantic evacuation, a race against time to reach the border The Russian government is before the Russians reached them. not interested in the business of No planes, no buses, blocked roads:
a country swallowed up by chaos.
Russia controls the Chernobyl disaster zone, which means they have a corridor to plunge deeper into Ukraine. Any attack, sabotage or shooting in or around the region will endanger the whole of humanity’s survival. But doing nothing virtually seals Ukraine’s fate.
When I think about the situation in Ukraine, what comes to mind is a famous poem. Allow me to alter it slightly. First they came for Abkhazia, but no one stopped them – Russia was the largest nuclear power. Then, they came to carve up Moldova, but no one stopped them – Russia was the largest nuclear power. Then, they invaded Crimea, but no one stopped them – Russia was the largest nuclear power. And when they carve deep into Ukraine, they are still the largest nuclear power.
Who will stop them when they come for us?
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022 On Wednesday evening I clambered out of Notting Hill Gate tube station and walked three hundred metres to the Russian Embassy. In front of the grand Victorian townhouse was a forest of blue and yellow flags. Chants cut through the night. It was cold and dark, but hundreds of people had turned out to protest.
They either waved the Ukrainian flag or wore it, and many carried signs: ‘HANDS OFF UKRAINE’, ‘PUTIN IS A KILLER’, ‘STOP PUTIN’S TERRORISM’, ‘MORE SANCTIONS’, ‘RUSSIANS, STOP THE MADMAN LEADING YOU TO HELL’. Some were pithier: ‘PUTIN KILL YOURSELF’.
A loudspeaker blared folk music and the Ukrainians present – they must have been more than half the crowd – joined in with the words. Notting Hill echoed with the sound. Behind a spiked fence and a neatly trimmed hedge, the Russian flag swung gently in the breeze. There were protestors of every age. Despite the sirens of war that ring out on the continent, the Ukrainians I spoke to were hopeful, defiant. This was not a sombre occasion. Each passing car or bus that honked in support was greeted by a roar. The protesters maintained a steady stream of chants: “Ukraine is not Russia!” and there was a favourite: “PUTIN! Hands off Ukraine! PUTIN, Hands
off Ukraine!”
There did not appear to be much bitterness, only national pride. The protestors did not direct their chants at the Russian embassy. Instead, they split themselves across the road, and the two sides of the crowd cheered each other on. Rather than throwing their words against a darkened and unresponsive building, they could see each other’s faces, and a patch of London made momentarily Ukraine.
For the seven decades that Ukraine was a part of the USSR, displaying the Ukrainian flag was a crime, punishable as ‘anti-Soviet propaganda’. By celebrating their national identity, Ukrainians are exercising a right which their grandparents did not possess. It was only 31 years ago that Ukraine became independent. Now itsit’s people may have their right to selfdetermination stripped from them once again. This was the night of the 23rd and so all the conversations were still couched in terms of ‘if’ and ‘when’ and ‘will he?’. Everything was speculative, conditional. We didn’t know it, but in less than 10 hours Putin would thrust Ukraine onto the frontline of a new reality. Will he? He has. Amidst competing accounts of the fighting, it’s very difficult to get a clear picture of how the invasion
Comment | 9
Pride and Protest Outside The Russian Embassy
is developing. But this is certain: Putin is the aggressor. He justified his ‘special military operation’ with a plan to ‘de-nazify’ his smaller neighbour. There’s madness in this rhetoric. Ukraine is led by an elected Jewish President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is Putin who has launched an unprovoked assault, his forces lunging towards Kyiv. Who is behaving more like a Nazi? For us – outside of Ukraine – it’s difficult not to feel powerless. Especially when events seem to swing so heavily on the whim of a single person, the Russian President. But there was no hopelessness among the protestors on Wednesday. When I asked the protest organiser, Natalya Ravayua, what more she thought the UK government could be doing to deter Putin, she was very clear: “Sanctions. Sanctions on the 40 to 50 oligarchs in London. Freeze their assets. Freeze the Russian banks, and go after their [the Oligarchs’] children’s money, their wives, their mistresses.”
She was confident in the resolve of Ukrainians. “They will resist”,
she said, “because it is their land, [but if Putin invades] it will be the end of Russia, it will have invaded too many places.” Moments before I spoke to Ravayua I had asked another protestor – a burly middle-aged man – what he made of Putin. “Arsehole”, was all he said.
I had expected Ravayua to give the same answer. If my country was being attacked by a superpower, I’m sure it’s the sort of blunt response I would have given. But instead she offered Putin measured, sage advice: “Invest in your own people. Why are you spending all these resources on war? The Russian people, all 145 million of them, they cannot want this.”
No rage, or wild calls for vengeance. It was an astonishingly mature response. It reflects the fact that Ukrainians possess little ill feeling towards Russians in general, only towards the man who has brought war to their country. Anti-war protests in Moscow and St Petersburg – held despite the
Oliver Buckingham
threat of a police crackdown – suggest that many Russians feel the same.
Mounting casualties are likely to reinforce that anti-war sentiment. Precise numbers are difficult to discern, but 48 hours after the invasion began, hundreds are certainly already dead, perhaps thousands. Ukraine’s people are standing between Europe’s democracies and a rampaging dictator. It needs every ounce of support the West can give it. This is one of those periodic moments when a generation finds that it must reaffirm the values of sovereignty and national selfdetermination. It is very important that Putin ultimately loses.
The final act of the protestors gathered on Wednesday night was to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. Putting their hands to their chests, the crowd belted out the song. It was hard not to be moved. The voice of an embattled nation in the chilly London air. ????!? via Flickr
10 | Comment
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
A Modern Marxism
Is a Humanist One Alexander Beard
“
Above all, one must be human.” Had the author of these words not been assassinated, her body dumped unceremoniously in a Berlin canal, we might remember the cause to which she dedicated her short life ever so slightly differently. Rosa Luxemburg belongs to a pantheon of socialist thinkers in whose work can be found a potent critique of the kind of autocracy characteristic of the Eastern Bloc. She rubs intellectual shoulders with the likes of Antonio Gramsci, Jean-Paul Sartre, Franz Fanon, C.L.R. James and Karl Marx himself. Theirs is a revolutionary politics inflected, crucially, with humanism.
One of the neglected legacies of “really existing socialism” and its ugly collapse was its erasure in the public consciousness of anticapitalism as a potentially emancipatory and libertarian force. If the architects of Soviet communism could ultimately count themselves among history’s losers, then an even more marginal fate awaited those who criticised their project from the left, in defence of the libertarian socialist tradition. These Marxist critics of capital-C Communism were the losers’ losers. Their legacy was betrothed to those twenty-first century leftists
with the sorry task of protesting, to barely concealed sniggers, that the Soviet model “wasn’t real communism”.
that produced them. The stultifying conditions of profit-driven corporate discipline and creativity-thwarting consumer culture would be consigned to their rightBut they are right. Any such ful place in the dustbin of history, ‘socialism’ as represses human and the lion’s share of the world’s agency and dictates human ex- population would no longer be perience surrencondemned to ders its claim to Capitalism operates the engine room Marxism, an inof its economy, on the premise that the objects of a tellectual tradithe vast majority tion whose honsystem they had est expression no part in chooswake up in the has always been It would be morning with the ing. a humanist one. a process by single-minded ‘Men make their which the colown history, but intention of making lective liberated not in circumthe individual, profits stances of their and therefore own choosing’, an essentially wrote its founding father (albeit in humanist one. slightly more words) in the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon. Capitalism operates on the premBy historicizing capitalism – dis- ise that the vast majority wake secting the conditions in which up in the morning with the sinit came about and the ideology gle-minded intention of making which sustains it – he envisaged profits we will never see for the the circumstances in which the benefit of people we will likely ‘objects’ of the historical process never meet. The most immediate (to use Fanon’s phrase) can be- compensation is the opportunity come its subjects. to invest in an array of products the very same people convince Consider the case for socialist us we need, at the expense of the revolution: a democratic upheav- planet that sustains us. It draws al following which resources are arbitrary lines between popuheld in common by the collective lations, and its justifying creed
condemns as idle those with the historical misfortune of sitting at the bottom of its pile, offering no safety net for those whom it deprives of the most basic human dignities. It distorts our perception of self-worth, of human relationships, and of time. And it is therefore deconstructed most effectively by reference to a concept which falls in the intersection between humanism and Marxism: alienation.
it, we will have to decide what it is we mean by ‘Marxism’ as an analytical tool, and by ‘socialism’ as a political project.
It is my view that any modern Marxism should be a humanist one. It should identify alienation and oppression as the necessary outcome of the governance of human beings by an inhuman structure, sustained by a small class of people rendered indifferent to suffering by virtue of their enormous Marx is once again rearing his wealth. In doing so, it would proproverbial head, vide the means as he does at any of understanding time of capitalist Any modern Marxism not merely the crisis. The evi- should be a humanist economic reladence suggests at the one. It should identify tionship that ever greatroot of capitalalienation and er numbers of ist exploitation, oppression as the young people debut its conquest fine themselves of all spheres necessary outcome in opposition to human existof the governance of of the system that ence. Its solution human beings by an would be the regoverns their inhuman structure. assertion of hulives: as socialists, Marxists, man agency over or even commuthe historical nists. But the label “Marxist” has process. And far from exhuming in the past given the illusion of the corpse of Soviet Communism, consistency to movements and its political corollary would promthinkers that have often radically ise something genuinely emandisagreed. As soon as the diagnosis cipatory. One must, after all, be of capitalism’s problems makes human! possible a movement to overthrow
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022 Are we heading towards WW3? Global nuclear war? Unlikely, but we are likely to witness the advent of a new global order after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Comment | 11
A New Global Order
sition in 2022 anyway and now the situation has worsened due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, spewed a cacophony of untruths in his address to the nation on the The crisis in Ukraine is part of a 21st of February. He proclaimed series of troubling developments that all former members of the Their objective should be simple. contributing to the threat posed USSR belong to Russia and that The west must ensure that by the to the west by authoritarian pow- includes Ukraine, as it was created end of this decade China and Rusers such as Rusby Lenin. Putin’s sia are not the new power brokers sia and China. show in a new world order. So the west Europe is particularly actions 2022 may be a that the west must change. vulnerable due to turning point in isn’t viewed with the structure of its lack of unity and the same respect The west will find its strength in the global order strategic coherence. as it once was unity of action. Immediately, NATO and the decline in and authoritar- should aim to set the minimum the west’s influian powers feel benchmark of defence spending ence over the world looks set to that they can exploit a west that at 3% instead of 2%. The four accelerate for the worse. Today, is in decline and overwhelmed by key powers of NATO, the United the USA faces suffocating political division. States, UK, Germany and France partisanship with nearly half the should commit further troops to country not recognising the sitChina, believing this too, is defend NATO’s eastern border ting president as legitimate and threatening Taiwan with offen- from Russia. Heavy sanctions political divisions are likely to be sive military action. It seems clear must be placed on Russia, such exacerbated by a Republican vic- to many that it as freezing the tory in the midterms. won’t be too long assets of This should all be a foreign before they make Russia’s major The UK is outside of the EU and a major incursion massive wake-up call banks, oligarchs for the west and its its relations with major European in Taiwanese and prohibitpowers such as France and Ger- sovereign ter- leading international ing its access to many are more strained than ever. ritory to bring Ukraine, institutions, the EU and Swift. Taiwan under if it is not ocGermany’s politicians are still the banner of NATO, that they must cupied, should forge a new course. continue to be divided over the decommission- the PRC. Jinping ing of the Nord Stream 2 pipe- will be watching heavily armed line, which makes Germany even how events unwith defensive more dependent on Russian gas fold in Ukraine and if the west’s and offensive weaponry to further imports. We also have an increas- response is weak and disunited, slow the Russian advance. The EU ingly assertive China that is now that is likely to embolden him to and Britain must improve their economically and militarily rival- launch military action against Tai- relations significantly to maintain ling the United States. wan and be more assertive on the a stable Europe that can counter international stage. Russian aggression. On the other The west was not in a good poside of the world, the United States
The Ukraine-Russia Crisis must coordinate more closely with Pacific allies such as Australia, Japan and South Korea to confront the rise of China.
Sam Kenny
statements by Xi Jinping on his One China policy and breaches of Taiwanese airspace.
India is also a key player. It is the most powerful non-aligned They will continue with their excountry in the world and while pansionist and imperialist geopothey have a tense rivalry with litical strategies and erode westChina, they have cordial relations ern power unless action is taken. with Russia, Sometimes the only so they could action powers such potentially act Authoritarian powers, as Russia and China as a mediator understand is force. such as Russia and in this criChina, only back down The west must sis. India will soon overtake when a nation stands set a new course China in poputo ensure that it up to them. lation size, as maintains its posiwell as the tive influence in the United Kingdom in economic size. world. We must do this for the When this is combined with its sake of the values and ideals that status as a nuclear power, it be- we hold to be too valuable to lose. comes imperative that the west Liberal democracy, the rule of law builds a close alliance with India. and fundamental freedoms, such The west must unite in order to as freedom of speech, assembly prevent the formation of an axis and religion and are under sigof Russia, India and China. nificant threat if we do not fight for them. Nations and peoples the Finally, on the issue of Taiwan, world over are far better off with the USA must be unambiguous the values upheld by the west than with China in stating that any in- with the ideals of states like Russia cursion in Taiwan would be met and China. with American military aid. China has been inching ever closer to an incursion, testing the USA’s comUS National Archives mitment to defending Taiwan with
12 | Identity
Editors: Aarthee Parimelalaghan, Yii-Jen Deng, Madeleine Hopper Deputy Editor: Dania Kamal Aryf identity@oxfordstudent.com
Identity
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Who’s A Real Refugee?
“To put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from Ukraine... They’re Christian, they’re white, they’re very similar.”
Image credits @arwaib via Twitter
Matt Holland reflects on Western media’s hypocrisy and double standards regarding refugees.
I
woke up this morning to the news that the EU was planning on allowing free access for Ukrainian refugees into any EU country, in line with the Schengen Agreement, which allows free access for citizens to move between different member states. Estimates by the UN suggest that between 4-7 million men, women and children are expected to flee Ukraine as a result of the conflict, whilst around 200,000 Ukrainians have already made their way into bordering nations. This level of sympathy and kindness to those fleeing conflict and tyranny should be seen as the bare minimum for tolerant nations, and a level that is rarely matched in other conflicts.
Doubtless, you would argue that, firstly, Ukraine is a European nation which borders multiple EU nations, secondly, it’s being invaded by a prominent enemy of the West, and finally that we are currently witnessing the initial shock of this conflict which will doubtless increase emotional attachment to the issue of refugees. In that case, intolerance towards them is likely to increase as time
passes and different member states become exhausted by their intake of refugees, but somehow I doubt this will be the case. After all, where was even an initial level of sympathy at the start of the conflict in Syria? Where is this level of sympathy at all for the many conflicts that challenge the peace of our “the West’s world?
natural inclination to see Russia as a natural enemy as a hangover of the Cold War era, and also because as a westernised and predominantly White nation, Ukraine allows us to associate ourselves with their plight. In a cynical sense, one could also see a similar level of regard in other global conflicts where the West is to flex its pocapacity able sition as a global for sympathy force, whilst extends as far as police Or is it an unwhat seems to be including situations lacking in these situwritten rule that where the West the West should ations is any kind of stands to gain only care about regard or care for the something or is in refugees who are disrefugees fleeing some way involved placed as a result of Western counin the conflict.” any conflict. Western tries, or about conflicts within the West? If this is history, and certainly British histhe case, then surely our level of care tory, is littered with examples of shouldn’t extend to creating refugees conflicts that occurred outside the in non-western nations by involving West’s sphere of influence or where ourselves in random conflicts around the West intervened for selfish reathe world. sons, in which the issue of refugees is so often ignored. As I suspect, the West’s capacity for sympathy extends as far as including My hope is that this conflict allows situations where the West stands to us as Western nations to reflect upon gain something or is in some way in- our capacity for tolerance regarding volved in the conflict. With Ukraine, refugees. If we can show sympathy our sympathy exists in part due to a to Ukrainian refugees, if we can shed
a tear for the countless millions who will be displaced as a result of Russian aggression and a failure of diplomacy, and if we can show solidarity with the Ukrainian people whose nationhood is in contention, then surely we can display a similar care for those suffering in the numerous conflicts in Asia and the Middle East. If Britain itself can alter its refugee policies in this emergency and if its politicians can call for offering a safe haven for those fleeing conflict in Ukraine, then I hope that its politicians will learn from this and rise to
the occasion in other conflicts. Gone, hopefully, shall be an otherness which characterises the nature of
refugees in the imagination of the West, the expectations of these people to assimilate themselves as if they are migrants, and an intolerance which suggests that young men should stay behind and risk their lives in a completely random war of aggression.
If Britain itself can alter its refugee policies in this emergency and if its politicians can call for offering a safe haven for those fleeing conflict in Ukraine, then I hope that its politicians will learn from this and rise to the occasion in other conflicts.
Identity | 13
The Oxford Student | Friday, 4th March 2022
Ekushe February:
Celebrating International Mother Language
Anisah Qausher writes about her complex relationship with her mother tongue. And when old words die out on the tongue, New melodies break forth from the heart. And where the old tracks are lost, New country is revealed with its wonders
[O Mother, words from your lips like nectar to my ear: If sadness, casts a gloom on your face, my eyes O Mother, my eyes fill with tears. My Golden Bengal, I love you] - from the Bengali National Anthem
T
he 21st of February is the anniversary of the day the people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) fought for recognition of the Bangla language. Even now, in the wake of all that is happening, it’s difficult to imagine a world where it is rebellious to speak the language you grew up with - perhaps the only language you have ever known. But that’s what occurred in Bangladesh in 1952, where to speak was to speak against. From an outsider perspective, it is a reminder of great injustice as well as great courage; from an insider perspective, it is a reminder of the importance of my mother tongue. Although Bangla is my mother tongue, I stopped speaking it for a while when I was younger because I didn’t grow up in my motherland. Though it was primarily the language my mum spoke to me, since she
understood Dutch (my first language), it didn’t seem necessary for me to keep speaking Bangla. But Mandela was right when he said that speaking to someone in their own language is to speak to their heart rather than their head. When I began speaking Bangla again, my conversations with my mother transformed; instead of speaking to her in words diluted by translation, we were now communicating with our hearts. It also created a truer bond with my extended family, as a show of respect and appreciation. I felt like the least I could do for a mother who worked so hard and a family who loved me so much, was to speak to them in their native mother language.
But it isn’t just your quality of communication, which is improved when you speak a different language, it’s also the quantity of communication. Speaking words of humour, words of anger, or words of
love in in Bangla so different to speaking to them in English, and many multilingual people attest to the fact that this diversity of use is true for all languages. And maybe it can be frustrating when a joke doesn’t quite translate across languages, or when you have the perfect word of phrase in one language, but it doesn’t exist in the other. But none of that matters when considering that the name Maggie reduced my family into tears of laughter because it’s a grave insult in Bangla. Or the fact that I can get away with calling my mum aloo vorta (mash potatoes) but if I insult her in English my life is over. There is something so powerful about the fact that the sacrifice of millions of people all those years ago are the reason I get to call my mother “Amu” One’s mother tongue is an insight to their past, their present, and their future. The
phrases they use, their accents, their vocabulary they are all a testament of where they have come from, and the meanings of the words they say speak to the people they are now, even as the impact of those meanings have the power to influence what will happen later. All those ideas speak to an incredibly complex individual identity and even more com-
plex community. Although I might speak Bangla fluently, I don’t speak it like a native and that bothered until I read this poem by Rabindranath Tagore and I encourage everyone who doesn’t feel as connected with their mother language to do the same:
Features 14 | Features
Fibromyalgia
and Disability at Oxford
was actually getting a diagnosis for something at all. xford is a city of opportuAbout halfway through my GCnity, though a place that SEs I lost my ability to write as comes with its own chal- a tendon in my left arm became lenges, being disabled. My journey inflamed due to constant writing, to Oxford hasn’t been the easiest and at the time I had to fight with and I am very thankful for the sup- my school for the ability to word port I have received, but unfortu- process so I could still complete nately, there are still fundamental my exams. I then had the summer areas where more focus is needed. to rest and relax, with the expectaOxford is on the path to being a tion everything would be ‘normal’ more inclusive university, but again by September. there are still big steps to take. The pain never went through; For context, I have fibromyalgia I still couldn’t write. My left arm which is an often not well-under- generally felt on fire. I began going stood condition. It is far more com- to university open days, and dismon in women than men, and it is ability support staff were dismissusually diagnosed in people much ive at best, because I had nothing older than myself. to show for my Fibromyalgia is pain. In June different for every2019, I was put body – in my case, I on a waiting list am unable to write, One of the biggest to be seen by a I can’t lift heavy challenges was specialist – as things, I have conactually getting physiotherapy stant fatigue, and I had done notha diagnosis for ing to cure my have variable mobility among other something at all. pain, and scans symptoms. Some had shown my days it is entirely tendon had reunnoticeable and covered, yet, I I am like I was bewas still in pain. fore I developed symptoms, and I pushed my doctors repeatedly other days I am barely able to get to provide some form of supout of bed due to crippling pain port or preliminary diagnosis and severe fatigue. I push through as I knew I would need reasonas best I can and the flexibility in able adjustments for the History my university lifestyle allows me Aptitude Test when applying to to structure my commitments best Oxford. The university accepted to minimise my pain, but it is very within 12 hours a preliminary much something ever-present I diagnosis of hypermobility, and can never truly be in control of. were incredibly understanding. One of the biggest challenges Similarly, on the UNIQ summer
Daniel Dipper
O
school programme, a few months before I officially applied, I had my own laptop which I informed the programme of, but they ensured to provide a laptop for the entire week and were on hand daily to make sure I could access all the content. Part of the reason I applied here was because at the time, Oxford truly felt like one of the places which cared about my disability and about giving me an opportunity, even though I did not yet have a clear medical diagnosis then. Fibromyalgia is different for everybody – in my case, I am unable to write, I can’t lift heavy things, I have constant fatigue, and I have variable mobility among other symptoms. In December 2019 after informing the doctors I had an Oxford interview, they finally got me to see a consultant who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia – a condition I had then never heard of before. Having seen a doctor just days before because of fatigue and migraines, the consultant was able to piece together that I likely had this condition, that was often unable to be picked up by blood tests or any other usual form of diagnosis. He asked about my sleep (I can sleep for forever but generally feel like I haven’t slept at all), if I had migraines (very regularly), if I had unexplained pains (in winter my right hip always feels out of joint, making it difficult to walk properly) and they gave me a brochure. Since then, the doctors have
The Oxford Student | Friday 4 March 2022 Editors: Anna Davidson, Marietta Kosma (Deputy) Deputy Editors: Jason Chau, Will Neill features@oxfordstudent.com
provided no support whatsoever, cation as barrier-free as possible, and I learn new things all the time and there are still steps to take about how to manage my condi- on that. tion best. Eating at the right times Giving access to lecture recordto stop my joints freezing is just ings can also be a lifeline for disaone of many examples of how I bled people – I personally have have learnt to manage. variable mobility so I can’t always Yet, in many respects, coming 100% make it to an in-person lecto university has been liberating. ture.With teaching starting to go The vast majority in-person, it in of people are very some respects, supportive of my felt like a Part of the reason has disability, and ulstep back for me I applied here timately the big– I totally support was because at in-person teachgest hurdle of being diagnosed has the time, Oxford ing, as long as it been crossed. The accessible. Intruly felt like one is Disability Advisoaccessible visual ry Service helped of the places which aids are not able cared about my to be downloaded put together a comprehensive so I can use my disability Student Support screen reader Polan, offering me technology, and far more support than I was previ- the insistence that some handouts ously given in my poorly-funded can only be given out in-person on state school. I get rest breaks in physical paper are just some of exams to allow me to maintain the challenges I have faced. It took my focus, the teaching I receive me over two months to get some is scheduled to maximise my en- accessible lecture handouts that ergy, and locations of teaching are work with my screen reader techselected to not stretch my limited nology and involved me speaking mobility. to at least three members of staff There is still some awareness- in addition to two lecturers. Some raising to do – I don’t always feel of these staff members were uncomfortable asking for an exten- fortunately quite dismissive of my sion (which my Student Support concerns, or did not even get back Plan highly recommends due to to me at all. I am pleased that the my disability) from all tutors, and issue has now been resolved, but not everyone fully understands the accessibility in education and enwide-reaching impacts my condi- suring the inclusion of all learners tion has. It may just be the ‘pain- shouldn’t be a fight – ultimately it ful arm thing’ but it also means I is a fundamental right. struggle to sleep properly, at any Giving access to lecture recordpoint my mobility could become ings can also be a lifeline for disaseverely restricted, and I can’t bled people – I personally have engage in normal variable mobility tasks like helping so I can’t always move boxes as Accessibility in 100% make it to others can. The education and an in-person lecsmall things frusture; However, ensuring the trate you when it took a friendly inclusion of all lecturer being you just can’t do them anymore, learners shouldn’t surprised when even though you I asked them if be a fight know you need to I could record a sit out for the sake ultimately it is a lecture for this of your contribu- fundamental right. provision to tion to the wider be shared with project. other disabled Sometimes I feel there is too students. It turned out that the much burden placed on me to Faculty was already recording the have to explain myself or to ask for lecture, yet, they had just chosen what I need. For example, accessi- not to share it unless you could ble handouts from lectures should prove you were isolating due to be a standard provision across all Coronavirus – and not taking into departments, and I shouldn’t have account a multitude of other barto explain to the same staff every riers that students may face with year the impacts of my disabil- in-person teaching. ity as it is in my Student Support I have faced quite the journey Plan, and records should be kept. from finally being diagnosed after Ultimately we should make edu- an 18-month wait, and now facing
The Oxford Student | Friday 4 March 2022
Oxford Uni v. Oxford Brookes
... multiple barriers from accommodation, to lectures, to accessible learning materials. I am sharing my story because I hope it helps people reflect on what they can do – whether it is learning more about fibromyalgia and other disabilities, challenging inaccessible education, or simply just looking out for disabled peers. We are just people like anyone else, but there is still a huge step to be taken within society, staff members, colleges and faculties, to ensure that we are fully included. I am not asking for teaching to be done directly online, but accessible handouts or recording of lectures are reasonable requests that can make a massive difference. I also hope we will get to a stage where everyone feels comfortable to declare their disability or share their challenges with their tutors, which again, is something I, unfortunately, don’t think many feel comfortable doing just yet. Some of these challenges may be trivial, but they gradually add up in the long term, which can make it even more frustrating and isolating. Listen to disabled students. Work with us, and celebrate us; But please don’t place on us the burden of ensuring everything is accessible. Fighting for accessibility should be a constant, collaborative effort for everyone, whether disabled or not. Disabled people can and want to bring new perspectives and challenge preconceptions, as long as you give us the opportunity.
Features | 15
Brotherly Rivalry or a mark of Inherent Elitism?
Joe Sharp
Oxford Brookes University he relationship between Ox- was founded as Oxford Polytechford Brookes and University nic. Whereas universities were of Oxford focused on more has been an of‘academic’ subten overlooked jects - pursuing dynamic within for Going to Oxford knowledge the city, but reits own sake, polBrookes isn’t a mains a controytechnics were way of going to founded to deversial one. It has been argued velop skills more Oxford by the that the lack of suited to back door - it is directly discussion surthe workplace. quite a separate Brookes was one rounding this institution relationship beof the very best, trays the strucuntil the governtural elitism that ment decided to pervades the scrap this distinc11th century institution. tion, with all polytechnics becoming universities. Typical Tories. Is this assumption wrong? The University of Oxford is the Through the very differoldest university in the English- ent stereotypes of the two instispeaking world and the world’s tutions their true relationship is second-oldest university in con- underscored. Oxford and Oxford tinuous operation. The univer- Brookes aren’t really rivals, besity’s alumni decorate the lists of yond the realm of sport - they historical national figures right have quite different goals as inacross the globe. The University stitutions, and their strengths are has been the nucleus for continued quite different. Going to Oxford advancements in the humanities Brookes isn’t a way of going to and sciences - exemplified most the University of Oxford by the recently by its role in developing back door - it is a quite separate the AstraZeneca vaccine, and has institution and in my experience, been extensively lauded for this students of Oxford Brookes are work. Meanwhile, Oxford Brookes, proud to study there, and have no has been disparaged by some ‘Uni interest in pretending to study at of’ students as simply the ‘younger the University of Oxford. sibling down the road’, out of sight and out of mind. A ‘mere polytechIndeed, our ‘rivalry’ has nic’. no grounds to be symbolised by a simple ‘posh or not’ divide. An
T
article in The Guardian from only two years ago suggests that Oxford Brookes is doing far worse than University of Oxford on state school admissions, while figures published by the Higher Education Statistics agency similarly reveal that Brookes admitted a higher proportion of privately educated undergraduates than most other UK universities.
out of control, rich kids who sit below a lofty ‘Uni of greatness’, University of Oxford students are equally portrayed as weird, boring and nerdy freaks who wouldn’t know a night out if it slapped them in the face. As my time in Oxford has progressed I’ve come to exponentially appreciate our Brookes brothers. Going out in Oxford is not amazing, let’s not kid ourselves the cultural hubs of Plush, Atik, Though the confusion between Bridge and Bully are no Berghains. the two from Alas, they don’t people outside even come close the UK can freto the heights of Ultimately we quently infurisay, the Cardiff ate University Uni Student Unneed Brookes of Oxford stuion club. Howwe need a rival dents, myself inthrough to rally against, ever, cluded, dubiety our partnership and thus make us with Brookes on is not grounds for genuine dis- and our collective the dance floor a missal. Brookes experiences better. common ground is our partner, has been found. we need them. We both have an equal stake Now some might read this in making Oxford’s nightlife the and claim I’m being naive - seeking best it can, and being honest - our to draw a commonality, or bond, Brookes companions certainly that doesn’t exist. Just let each be carry the load on this mission. to their own they might argue, we can laugh at them and they can Ultimately we need Brookes laugh at us with our more neeky - we need a rival to rally against, tendencies. Let the Cowley vs Cen- and thus make us and our coltral divide stand! Indeed, a young lective experiences better. They fresher Joe would have likely ral- are our Spurs, our Dr Pepper, our lied around this notion. That was Reebok, our Canada. They are not until I went clubbing in Oxford. our bitter Cambridge enemies, but rather a sibling-like rival whose Just as Brookes students differences allow us both to excel.. are often unfairly stereotyped as
Motacilla via Wikimedia Commons
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
16 | Columns
Anvee’s Corner
with Anvee Bhutani
Miss Take’s O
G
ood morning class and welcome back to another lessom with the teacher of your dreams, the one and only Miss Take. Before we begin, I would just like to announce that I have once again been awarded ‘Ofsted’s sexiest teacher alive’, and I am honoured and humbled to receive such an accolade. Thank you to all those who voted and thank you to the Ofsted awards committee who agreed to meet with me the night before they decided who won. What a lovely group to wake up to. Anyhow children, last time we learned how to love ourselves (but more importantly how to love me more). I hope you have been putting my teachings into practice, for it is now time to move onto the next step, learning how to love others. In my illustrious career as a teacher, I have loved many people in many different ways. My students continue to inspire me with their unending support and devotion to their favourite teacher, and I enjoy the mutual respect and love we share. On the other hand, I also enjoy the intimate physical connection I have with Ofsted. Thus, we can observe different forms of love. We shall begin first with the non-romantic love, the love that sustains us when we hit a wall in this bizarre turn of events that we deem to be life. We often rely on our closest friends. We know they are there, we know them as well as we know ourselves, and they know how many times you have woken up in the bed of a lover whose name isn’t even on the tip of your tongue, it’s barely at the back of your throat. Cherish these individuals, but do also remember the impact you can have on those you are not so close with. On certain days, a ‘how are you Miss Take?’, a friendly joke or even a smile across the street can be the difference between feeling stronger or wanting to go home and eat four trifles while watching Love Actually, despite the fact it’s June. Your power over somebody’s day, even in the smallest of ways, is a responsibility that I expect my students to remember, and act accordingly. So
Lessons
next time you walk into my classroom, give me a smile, a wave, and a diamond ring. It could make all the difference. Now on to the more sensational, and at times all-consuming, romantic and sexual love. Being the most beautiful woman on this and several other planets, I have garnered enough experience to make a nun cry. But I don’t want to do that again. Intimacy with another (or several others) is a beautiful thing. We love to touch, to be touched, and to feel a moment of connection that transcends what can be said with words. However students, this is where my most important lesson of ‘love who you are (but love me more)’ comes into play. Show yourself some love and check in with your mental state. Why are you sleeping with this person? Do you accept the potential consequences? Have you at least trimmed? Once you are confident, the lesson of today is to learn to love others, so do try and make sure they are in a similar state of mind. Once this has happened, go to town on each other please. Sexual love may or may not develop romantically. If this happens class, then to love your partner(s) is to enjoy the drop of bliss that is each second you spend together. Do not allow yourself to get wrapped up in what’s to come, where you may have already made missteps (a potential drag name if anyone wants it), or how you think you should be acting. Relax. Time apart is good because it makes time together better. Do not lose sight of who you are, or what you want out of life; your relationship enriches, it should not overtake. Now class, Miss Take rarely permits a man to stay in her life past 8:30am (because that’s when she takes her Uber helicopter to school) so please do as I say, don’t do who I do. On that note, it’s the end of this week’s lesson! If you have any questions, my office is open from 2:59pm until 3pm on Wednesdays. I’ll leave you, as ever, with my most important lesson: love who you are, but love me more.
Marketisation, casualisation, and how higher
education has gone so wrong
ver the last few years, university staff across the country have taken part in strikes over the issues of pension cuts, casualisation of work, falling pay, increasing workload, and inequality - namely the gender, race and disability pay gaps which persist in the sector. As students, paying hefty fees and already facing so much disruption to our teaching due the pandemic, it may be tempting to see teaching strikes as against our best interest. But we and our tutors are fighting the same fight: one against creeping marketisation and the erosion of our ability to control our own educational experience. As students, I think that we should do everything we can to support staff strikes and stand in solidarity. Behold - marketisation, casualisation, and how higher education has gone so wrong.
What is Marketisation?
Marketisation is used to refer to a trend in education policy from the 1980s where schools were encouraged to compete against each other and act more like private businesses rather than institutions under the control of local government.
In the early summer of 2010, a decision was taken by an inner cabinet of the incoming Tory-led coalition government that has revolutionized higher education in England and Wales (though not in Scotland). Framed as part of a wider dismantling of public services in the name of ‘austerity’, the decision was to almost totally remove public funding for university teaching and replace it with high student fees backed by income-contingent loans, with the intention of creating a ‘market’ in higher education.The cap on student numbers has been removed, encouraging universities to maximise their income by admitting greatly increased undergraduate numbers.
The result has been a change in the character and above all the ethos of universities. Universities are now forced to regard each other as competitors in the same market, where their flourishing will be dependent on the accuracy with which they pitch their products to appeal to their particular niche of consumers. Staff-student ratios have declined dramatically, and the chances of students being known by the academic staff in a department are often remote. The huge increase in numbers taking any particular course in a given university has fundamentally altered the educational experience. At the same time, students are being encouraged to ask whether they are getting ‘value for money’ from their courses. In addition, much of the increased income which the fees and higher student numbers bring to universities is now being lavished on amenities and facilities, such as swish student residences, which are marginal to the main intellectual and educational functions of universities.
What is Casualisation
Casualisation is the transformation of a workforce from one employed chiefly on permanent contracts to one engaged on a short-term or casual basis. It was found that 42% of academic staff on casual contracts struggled to pay household bills, while many will have found longterm financial commitments, such as buying a house, difficult. Staff on casual contracts have even reported having to rely on foodbanks and facing insecure housing situations. This is exploitation, and the financial precarity and job insecurity teaching staff face directly impacts the teaching and support they are able to provide us. The biggest organisation that takes on the issue of
casualisation head-on is UCU, the main trade union for university academic and academic support staff. As a trade union they work in the interests of staff, fighting for their rights in the workplace. Anyone who is engaged in academic or academic support work can join UCU, and Oxford University acknowledges UCU as the trade union for these staff. Postgraduate students that teach can join UCU (for free) and can use the benefits of this membership in the same way as a non-student member of staff. UCU fights for all their members and acknowledges the unique struggles to different staff members. It is important to remember that whilst Oxford University acknowledges UCU as the trade union, the colleges do not. If you are hired solely by a college, and not the university, your workplace does not recognise the trade union. This means that whilst you can become a member, you may be vulnerable to disciplinary action if you were to take part in strikes for example.
Higher Education Movement
Oxford SU has historically remained and continues to stay connected with the UCU movement. For future potential strikes with UCU, Oxford SU has default policy and action of solidarity as per a student council motion passed in HT18 and updated in TT19 which includes actions such as releasing a statement in full support of the UCU strike action, encouraging students not to cross picket lines and email all graduate students to encourage membership of UCU. However, I think to move forward on this issue, we have to work collectively as a student movement. If we all want to see a radically different education, and we want to build a movement that can win it then we have to lean on national organisations like NUS to help us. It’s only together that we can begin to forge community, educate each other and to experience the education we want to see in the world.
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Columns | 17
snmuloCColumns
He gave me the run-around I had finished my play, directed by the famous, gorgeous, lusciously coiffed Alex Foster (I would like to clarify that no bribery was involved in the writing of this article) and I was knackered. Taking the play down involved carrying a large piece of wood to a bin quite far away and forcing it in and then jumping up and down on it for a bit whilst ensuring that the initials on our college puffers were not on display. It was a long night and all I wanted was my bed. But alas! My bed was yet further away. Instead I was reminded of a date I had been putting off for some time.
We had organised to meet up last Trinity but I was busy an getting tremendously sunburnt as a ginger and tyring to perfect my punting so had essentially sacked him off…repeatedly. He had, it transpired, unmatched with me which I thought was a little harsh, and then we had rematched this term. He made a wise-crack about “actually meeting up this time” and I nervously laughed (over message) and agreed.
We decided on the Oxo Bar at 9 and I arrived at ready to quench my thirst at this rather boujee watering hole; an antelope approaching a pack of lions. The contents of the bar were aggressively cool and their heads pivoted when I walked in, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting nerdy prey who had dared to wander onto their patch. I messaged T---- that I had arrived but got nothing, I searched around the bar but there were so many flat caps, beanies, and mullets that I simply could not see.
I waited. I waited.
I eventually turned on my heel to trudge home, accepting that a cup of tea and a forgotten pack of chocolate digestives that I had found that morning, were possibly going to be the most exciting part of my evening. But then, in a flash and all of a sudden, out of the blue and totally unexpected. T----- messaged me. “oxo bar is full. shall we go somewhere else?” Auto caps was off. I’d only just noticed. This was a warning sign. “Ah yes I’ve just rocked up. It’s heaving. Where do you suggest?” “What about The Grapes?” “The Grapes?” I thought to myself. No self respecting student goes there. Nonetheless, I messaged back affirmative (I was now speaking only in military jargon and had taken on the mindset of mission impossible, or potentially Rambo, I was wearing quite a nice looking headband. I headed over.
The Grapes was also heaving. I opened the door which squeaked. All the middle aged men in the bar turned to look and grunted in my direction. Clearly the hippos of this savannah’s watering hole. The man of the hour was still nowhere to be found. Instead…. “I’ve given up, let’s meet at the Cowley Retreat”.
The Cowley Retreat is miles from me. It was raining, I was soggy and in my new furry little coat (shoutout to Mum for that excellent Xmas gift, I was now looking like every other rahhhhh girl
in Oxford complete with bashed about white airforce ones and flared trousers).
I trudged over to Cowley, it was, I can only imagine, akin to the Trail of Tears or the Long March except there probably would be a pint waiting for me at the end rather than an execution… I hoped.
I rocked up to, you guessed it, another pub teeming this time, with overjoyed Brookes student. I wasn’t sure what they had to be overjoyed about. The mullets and parka green gillets were beginning to look like a band of woodland creatures out of Wind in the Willows, ready to defend fox hunting and side with Nigel Farage at the drop of a flat cap. I was barged out of the way by a Tilly, a Milly, a Lilly and an Arabella.
I forced my way through, like the runt of the litter trying desperately to suckle at its mother’s teat, and found my date, already seated with two drinks (double parked, ambitious), scrolling through Tinder. I was not confident.
I ordered my drink and we chatted away. There wasn’t much to say really and I had just completed a marathon so wasn’t really on top form. My witty banterous remarks were somewhat limited and wheezed out of me. Despite the yoga I was intermittently doing, I was not yet at the Usain Bolt standard of fitness. He went to get another round of drinks at which point his friend slipped into his seat and started bombarding me with questions. I had arrived for a date and was now going through the SAS interrogation training., Luckily for me,
I’ve watched every series of SAS: Who Dares Wins so I know all the tricks of the trade (MI5 please hire me!).
After dodging some strange questions like “do you ever rewear socks?” and “if you were a type of potato, what type would you be?”. I went for mashed for those of you who are interested. Eventually T---- returned with the drinks and I was saved from the strange little man who in soft half light of the pub, sat stop a wooden stool, resembled Rumpelstiltskin from Shrek…. As soon as T---- sat down he asked why I was still on Tinder, he noticed I’d been on there a while. Ouch. It was the equivalent of being told I had reached my expiry date. I was about to be that pint of milk you pour over your shreddies only to find out its lumpy and sour. I asked him the same right back. He then took my hand, patted it a few times and said he’d suffered the most egregious heartbreak at 17 (for context he was now 23), and had yet to find love again. He stared off into the middle distance, I followed his eyeline but realised it was just settling on a fire extinguisher. Luckily, based on the conversation I wasn’t going to be needing to use that anytime soon.
I replied that I understood, these things are hard, they take time. I quoted from all the Instagram manifestation pages I could think of until the well ran dry. I was out of ideas. My hand was getting quite sweaty and he wasn’t letting go. He then turned to me, looked me dead in the eyes and said “I
with Poppy Atkinson Gibson really do think you could be the one though, want to head back to mine?” Love Actually had not really prepared me for this, I at least expected some hand written signs, a boombox, and for him to rock up at my door in the wee small hours.
I declined saying I had to get up early. His hand tightened. I had been caught. The prey was trapped in the clutches of the predator. What to do in this situation? Bear Grylls had taught me nothing, now was not an appropriate time to drink my own wee. I had reached the end of the line.
I claimed I had cold sores and wouldn’t want to pass them on, he seemed unfazed. I said I’d recently had mumps and might still be infectious, he chuckled and looked at me endearingly. And then a thought struck me. Possibly a little too far but it was all I had. I told him I had an undisclosed STI. His eyebrows shot up to the sky faster than Bezos’ penis shaped rocket and his mouth dropped faster than Russian oil prices. I had hit the jackpot. I chuckled nervously and then ran out into the dark, drizzling, and damp night. It welcomed me like an embrace, the wind tickled my ear whispering seductively about the piping hot cup of tea and slightly melted choccy biscuits that were awaiting me at home. “I shall renounce men”, I internally declared to myself knowing full well that I’d be back swiping and posting Oxloves like a fiend when I needed a break from dissertation writing. You can take a horse to water...
18 | Profile Editor: Will Neill, Jessica Kaye profile@oxfordstudent.com
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
In Conversation
with Husam Zomlot , The Palestinian Ambassador To the UK ranks of the organization before becoming Head of Mission to the United States, a post he held until being expelled from the country by the Trump Administration in 2018. It was at that point that he was relocated to London.
Sam Zia speaks with the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, about the future relations between the West and Palestine.
A
wise man (and fellow History & Politics student) once said that “the Israel/ Palestine conflict explodes every seven years or so. Missiles are fired, civilians killed, and ceasefires eventually drawn up. Aside from these episodes, it has become almost a fact of life in the Middle East, ignored and accepted as the unfortunate consequence of an intractable conflict” Yet in truth, the conflict should be far from intractable. While extremist positions linger on both sides, mainstream opinion in both countries is not as polarized as some would suggest. Both the PLO (the body which is internationally recognized as the Palestinian authority) and the state of Israel at least notionally recognize that two states must exist, that a future
state of Palestine must control the vast majority if not all of the West Bank (Jordan valley excluded) and Gaza, and that the legitimacy of the state of Israel must be accepted. It is the role of Jerusalem which has dogged negotiations for over half a century, with both sides claiming sovereignty over the city and demanding that it act as their capital. I’ve been fascinated by the Israel/Palestine conflict for years, and, following the recent publication of Amnesty International’s report into the conflict (it provoked controversy by stating what some would regard as the obvious; namely, that Israel operates a system of apartheid which brutally discriminates against Palestinians, I was able to speak to Ambassador Husam Zomlot, who is the PLO’s Head of Mission to the
Palmissionuk
United Kingdom.
Zomlot was “buoyed” by the report, which he believes will focus minds on Israeli transgressions of international law. He posits that it will help him pursue his three main objectives as ambassador: (a) UK recognition of the state of Palestine, (b) more forceful UK criticism of [Israeli] violations of international law, and (c) buildup of international momentum to pressure Israel which might follow on from action from the UK government. He tells me he has “hope for the younger generation” in the West; polling suggests that younger people in both the US and UK are far more inclined to harbor pro-Palestine sympathies than their older counterparts.
Kelsey
Zomlot has an unconventional but highly impressive biography. Originally from Gaza (making him a considerable asset in the quiver of the PLO, which lost control of the strip in 2006), he grew up in a refugee camp before studying International Relations at SOAS. After graduating, he climbed the
Given his past experience in the US, I began by asking the ambassador about the Abraham Accords, which saw the United States orchestrate the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries (including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait). I posit that the episode was surely a failure of leadership on the part of the PLO and a disaster for the Palestinian cause. He seems to concede the latter, saying “we need more, not fewer, incentives for Israel”, but not the former, asserting that the fundamentals of the conflict remain the same. Looking from the outside, however, is hard not to wonder which friends Palestine has left in the international community; if Saudi Arabia were to normalize relations with the Jewish state (as many suspect it will in the coming years) Israel would have succeeded in isolating and marginalizing the PLO as a fringe organization in an Arab world which sees it as expandable. Despite the historic role of the US in attempting to forge peace between the two sides, Zomlot is skeptical that the country can act as a balanced and good-faith mediator in future negotiations. I posit that, at least for a time (particularly under the Presidencies of George H. W. Bush and Bill
“
Clinton), the US came closer than any other foreign power to forging peace between the two sides, and was capable of arbitrating. Zomlot, however, rejects this, stating that Trump “took the veil off” of a bipartisan US policy agenda whose overt pro-Israel nature made mediation impossible. “The US has always used carrots rather than sticks when dealing with Israel” he tells me, and the Trump presidency only formalized and publicized a policy that had long been in effect. It is hard not to agree with Zomlot regarding the overt bias of the United States since at least the George W Bush Presidency, and President Biden, having promised to reopen the PLO’s mission in DC and resume aid to the state of Palestine is “different only by words”. His actions remain largely to be seen, and his unequivocal support for Israel during last spring’s unrest between the two sides is not promising. But what of the PLO? Surely it has a responsibility for the catastrophically bad realities of everyday life in Gaza and the West Bank.“Was it not, in retrospect, a fatal error of judgement to reject Bill Clinton’s entreaties for peace, which would have seen joint sovereignty over the Haram-el-Sharif and a shared capital in Jerusalem. Zomlot rejects this assertion on the basis of the intricacies of these proposals; he repeats the PLO position that Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state (without shared sovereignty) and asserts that a demilitarized Palestinian state “assumes that we are the aggres-
Trump “took the veil off” of a bipartisan US policy agenda whose overt pro-Israel nature made meditation impossible.
Profile | 19
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Profile
-sors when in reality Palestine is the victim of aggression and Israel has the fourth strongest military on earth”. One cannot disagree with these remarks, but they miss the crucial reality that Israel has the most to gain and Palestine the most to lose from a perpetuation of the status quo. One can only assume that these claims are repeated as a starting point for negotiations rather than a red line, although Arafat’s rejection of the Clinton/Barak offer might lead to tempered optimism on this front. And Zomlot’s labeling of the recent ouster of Benjamin Netanyahu and inauguration of a new, more moderate Israeli government as a mere change in “personalities” and not “policies on the ground” does not bode well for the chances of an imminent peace agreement.
Finally, we discuss Hamas. Does its control of the Gaza strip not put Israel in an impossible situation, having to negotiate with an entity which has pledged to destroy it? Zomlot makes a reasonable observation in stating that Israeli policies of discrimination and oppression began long before Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2006. Hamas’s increasing popularity (it may well win any future Palestinian election) is increasingly seen as an inevitable consequence of the PLO’s supposed failure to govern effectively (62% of Palestinians were in favor of the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas according to a September 2019 poll). A Saudi prince is once said to have declared: “The Palestinian cause is a just cause, but its advocates are failures. The Israeli cause is unjust, but its advocates have proven to be successful”. But is this assertion not ultimately a rejection of the reality that the PLO, despite its failings, is in a no-win position. If it takes a more conciliatory approach towards Israel, cooperating on anti-terrorism initiatives and making concessions in peace negotiations, it will inevitably be accused by Hamas and others of being in cahoots with the oppressor. If, on the other hand, it takes a more hardline approach in order to politically marginalize its competition to the right, it faces the brutal reality of an increasingly right-wing Israeli political landscape which refuses to compromise. Until the international community, America included, incentivizes both sides with carrots and sticks to compromise on the future of Jerusalem, we may well see another cascade of violence in six and a half years. And that only ever benefits one side of this brutal, bloody conflict.
The Story Of Ahmad Nawaz Alex Foster
Editor-in-Chief
I found out he was killed in that attack”. Haris Nawaz, Ahmad’s younger brother by only a year, was shot by the Taliban in that same auditorium.
“It’s something I can never actually forget”. The 16th of December 2014 was supposed to be a normal day for Ahmad Nawaz. Going to school with his brother Haris in Peshawar, a north-western city in Pakistan, there was no reason to suspect that the school day of the 16th was going to be any different. It was just another part of Ahmad’s life. It was routine, normal.
What “started as a normal day” saw terrorists enter the school auditorium where he, his brother and his friends were watching an assembly, and immediately start “shooting people down”. This was no hostage situation but a full massacre. Ahmad tells me of the bodies piled around the doors, the friends lying face down next to him. They were dead, and Ahmad realised it was his turn next. A
“You know there are moments in life where you think that it can’t get worse? For me, it was the day I found out about Haris. Not the day of the attack, but two weeks later. That was that moment. You’re fighting for your life, your family is in pieces, and your brother is dead. It’s the lowest moment of your life – it couldn’t get worse, I thought”. A month later and Ahmad has been flown to a hospital in Birmingham in the UK for treatment to save his left arm. “There’s English people speaking to me in English only” – Ahmad knew none of the language at the time – “you’re moved to the UK with your par-
understand the pain.”
“But that moment I got it. I clicked. I understood. It had happened to me. That was the moment where my life had two choices – I can forget about this all and try to be happy, or I can do something to ensure people don’t have to go through the pain my parents and I did.”
Ahmad now raises the question of radicalisation. How do these kids end up doing stuff like this? How can they not understand what they make other people go through. Ahmad realised his mission: youth empowerment. “The best way to stop these children getting radicalised is to go around and speak to others about my story. If you gain the courage to speak to them, to get on their level, maybe they’ll finally understand. That was my job. It was something
That was that moment. You’re fighting for your life, your family is in pieces, and your brother is dead. It’s the lowest moment of your life – it couldn’t get worse, I thought Also routine and normal growing up in Peshawar were the terrorist attacks. Born in the city to parents who had lived there all their lives, Ahmad tells me bomb blasts and attacks were simply “part of our lifestyle”. Tragedies weaved their way into the school days and nights – you would hear, he says, of explosions miles away in the city, or of a friend’s dad who died in an attack the day before. “It happens around you, sure, but until it happens to you, you don’t take it seriously. You grow up with it, it’s part of your life, you know?”.
The 16th of December 2014 was the day it happened to Ahmad.
gunman pointed a rifle at his head but missed, shooting him in his left arm instead. “Survival instinct kicked in” and Ahmad played dead. He may have survived the attack, and around him were those who weren’t so lucky.
On the phone with me on a Friday afternoon what strikes me most about Ahmad is the extraordinary calm in his voice as he recounts the day’s events and moves onto his time in hospital. Waking up in a bed the day after the attack his first thought is his brother. “Where’s Haris?”, Ahmad asks his parents. They evade, saying that he’s “just fine”, that “he’s in a different hospital”. “Two weeks later
ents and your brother. You know no one, no culture, no language. You’re suffocated: what the hell is going on?” It was the effect on his parents that upset Ahmad the most; they “were broken, in pieces”, but “acted as if it’s all fine”.
The time he spent in the hospitals hasn’t left him. “God, I saw a lot of pain”, he tells me. But it got him thinking – “what can I do to make sure other people don’t have to go through this stuff?”. He laughs for a second. “What a cliche, but all that stuff makes you feel the pain of others for once. The news doesn’t usually affect you. An attack in Syria, four families lost; it’s other people and you don’t
I had to do.” So he went around schools talking about his experience on that fateful day. “It’s about empowering other people to do this stuff too”.
An issue is that children in Peshawar and similar regions are illiterate – “they can easily get indoctrinated into becoming terrorists”. To that end, Ahmad set up his ‘Empowerment Project’. Syrian refugees had fled into Lebanon, and camps provided food and shelter but no education. Fundraising in the UK Ahmad managed to build a school near the Syrian border to give these children the learning they needed. He set up further provisions for the north-western...
20 | Profile
... regions of Pakistan, too: “it’s selfsustaining at this point. Three hundred kids and counting!”.
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Back in the UK Ahmad got enlisted by the government to speak to schools and encourage counterterrorism and antiradicalisation efforts, leading the ‘Action Counters Terrorism’ campaign. In 2015, less than a year after the attack, he was invited to the House of Lords to speak about his efforts. A few years ago he was given a Princess Diana legacy award for his impact speaking to schools across the nation. There are further, equally impressive awards and events Ahmad’s got – it’s a pretty stacked LinkedIn CV, it must be said – but he told me the peak was when he was personally invited by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to deliver the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Estoril Conference. Meeting Nobel prize laureates and other public figures, it was a moment where Ahmad could, for once, look back on what he had accomplished. “From the hospital bed to here, that was a moment of “I’ve come so far””.
It’s a inspiring rise in just five years, bouncing back from a terrorist attack that left him injured, his brother dead and his family shattered, to speaking to children and Nobel laureates alike about his experiences. Studying Philosophy and Theology at Lady Margaret Hall – the same college where Malala Yousafzai went – Ahmad’s intention on graduating is to go back to Pakistan and continue his work. “There’s always more change to enact, more people to empower. There’s a whole lot of living I have left to do”. Ahmad’s enthusiasm in spite of everything he’s been through is remarkable. He has to wrap up the call to go write a tutorial essay; even people like him have to write 2,000 words on quantitative easing by 5pm tomorrow. “I hope my brother can look down and be proud of what I’ve achieved over the years. It’s all for him and my family”. The phone call ends, but Ahmad’s calls for change and youth empowerment continue. Above right: Ahmad pictured with Haris (right) and his other brother.
Below right: Ahmad and Malala Yousafzai, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
“From the hospital bed to here, that was a moment of ‘I’ve come so far’”
Friday 4th March 2022 | The Oxford Student
Green | 21
Green ‘Historic’ UNEP
Editors: George Mackay, Kellie Tran Deputy Editor: Elias Formaggia green@oxfordstudent.com
commitment:
To save the environment, target plastic production, not consumption Andrew Wang Editor-in-Chief
Over-reliance on Russia and the transition to renewable energy
Presidential Press and Information Office
George Mackay and Elias Formaggia Section Editors
I
n the waking hours of Thursday morning, Russia launched a full scale invasion of its neighbouring country Ukraine using troops that had become increasingly concentrated along the countries’ border. What soon followed were reports of explosions in a number of Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv, and the chilling sounds of air raid sirens were heard across northern and eastern Ukraine.
War has broken out between the two countries, leaving external powers deciding on how best to respond to the situation. This event is of undoubted historic significance: Germany has reversed its long standing practice of not sending weapons to conflict zones in supplying Ukraine with arms, and Switzerland, notorious for its neutrality in politics and finance, has joined EU economic sanctions on Russia. The consequences of this conflict will be numerous and long-lasting, leaving very few sectors untouched. Recent news from Germany has indicated that the country is seriously reconsidering its stance on energy independence; the conflict appears to have reignited the age old discussion surrounding energy sovereignty.
The Vice Chancellor of Germany and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, has voiced his opinions on how Putin’s attack
on Ukraine will push European nations away from their reliance on Russia for gas, oil and coal, and towards a more renewable future in the west. Approximately half of Germany’s natural gas and coal is currently from Russia, in addition to about a third of the nation’s oil. Reliance like this is known to be risky, but it wasn’t too long ago that the German government publicly endorsed Russia as a reliable provider of non-renewable energy sources, with their recent support
“People see that it is not only a climaterelated issue, but a safety or security-related issue right now”
for the new Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline going through the Baltic Sea. Although this was contested at the time by Poland, the US and Ukraine, it was only with the increasing conflicts last week that Germany ceased the project - a decision which was praised by Kyiv and Washington.
With spikes in energy prices and supplies from Russia being shut off, renewable energy provided Germany a blanket on which to fall back on, with high winds in February providing plenty of wind power. As well as renewable energy providing a backup in times of conflict or energy shortage, this situation could foreshadow a future trend towards greater energy independence and a growing market for renewable energy for
nations like Germany, possibly allowing a more hastened transition into a greener world. As Habeck pointed out to the AP office last week, the interrelatedness of conflict and climate is becoming increasingly explicit: For the moment, it is looking like Germany is leaning towards getting their liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from Qatar, with any shortages in the near future being backed up by gas from other European countries. Although LNG is a fossil fuel, it has the potential to push the energy transition that the European Commission is currently aiming at, as it represents the cleanest fossil fuel that could allow us to feasibly push back against global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The speed at which these decisions have been made highlight how it is often only when we see political and economic incentives coalesce with those of climate that significant change is likely to manifest. Germany’s ongoing Energiewende is unlikely to slow as we see political uncertainty rise; energy independence is a sure way to hedge your bets against any uncertainty and disruption that can arise in the complex networks of energy supply and import. Whether this shift in attitude will be echoed by other European nations is still yet to be seen, but hopefully we will continue to see further commitments to renewable energy across the Continent.
tion, marking a turning point in the policy on fighting plast’s a common trend now tic pollution. Inger Anderson, to meme the performative the executive director, called inefficacy of switching to the commitment “the most paper or metal straws, but the significant environmental fact is that plastic waste is in- multilateral deal since the deed one of the worst threats Paris accord.” In addition to to the health of groundbreakour climate and As much as consum- ing changes ourselves. That ers can try to boycott such as adplastic waste heavy plastic use, dressing plastic is the bane of the fact is that we waste as a genecosystems eral environeverywhere is will never have more mental rather power than corpowell-known– than marine for example, rations who control ecological isplastic makes both pricing and pro- sue, and recogup 80% of manizing the role duction costs. rine debris. of traditionally However, the low-income consequences of plastic pollu- and societally shunned wastetion have become increasingly pickers, the proposed agreedire, as toxic microplastics are ment would target plastic now in practically everything production. we ingest, and have even been found in newborn children. Plastic production, already The exact health effects of at nearly 350 million tonnes microplastics is still the sub- in 2017 alone, is set to double ject of ongoing research, but by 2040.Firkin via Openclipart they are certainly negative– And as researchers found, for ex- consumers’ options are inample, that microplastics in- creasingly limited to either crease the toxicity of organic plastics or less-affordable pollutants by a factor of 10. sustainable options, it’s no wonder that it’s so difficult Over 175 countries in the for our societies to de-plasticUN Environment Programme ize. As much as consumers can committed to developing try to boycott heavy plastic a legally binding use, the fact is that we will agreenever have more power than ment on corporations who control reducboth pricing and ing production costs. plasThe UNEP’s protic posed agreement polwould be a malujor step forward in changing that. It is not often that intergovernmental bodies can agree on anything legally binding, but such agreements are absolutely necessary to protect our climate.
I
j4p4n via Openclipart
Pink On the LGBTQ+ Community in Ukraine 22 | Pink
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Editors: Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (deputy); Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson, Beth Jones (section) oxstu.pink@gmail.com
Agatha Gutierrez Echenique Section Editor
R
ussia launched an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Aside from the devastating effects of the ongoing fullscale war, this invasion itself has also had severely deleterious effects for the Ukrainian public, including the LGBTQ+ community. Putin’s regime has been historically violently anti-LGBTQ+, and still is. In 2013, Putin’s regime passed a so-called “Gay Propaganda Law.” This law endangered Russia’s LGBTQ+ population by. Putin signed the law into effect, claiming it would reinstitute so-called “traditional values.” The law has effectively impeded access to important resources for members of the LGBTQ+ in Russia – specifically, access to information via websites, television, press, and radio has been severely limited. Furthermore, teachers, therapists, and counselors have been unable to provide the necessary support to LGBTQ+ young adults out of fear of
political retribution, leading to a mental health crisis amidst the queer populace of Russia.
The extent of Putin’s institutional crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community is tremendous – and his denial of human rights to the LGBTQ+ community does not appear to be limited to Russia. In fact, an anonymous US whistleblower indicated that Putin has drafted a so-called ‘kill list’ to be implemented after the completion of the invasion of Ukraine when they spoke to “Foreign Policy.” In other words, Putin and his regime have plans for post-invasion arrests and assassinations. This ‘kill list’ targets members of the Ukrainian populace that, in Putin and his regime’s perception, pose a threat to Russia’s actions. Included in that kill list are various LGBTQ+ activists.
White House National security adviser, Jake Sullivan, suggested that the invasion will become increasingly violent and brutal because it is not
a conventional conflict – insofar as it is not dyadic class between two equally equipped forces. Sullivan emphasised that the war will be“waged by Russia on the Ukrainian people to repress them, to crush them, to harm them. And that is what we laid out in detail for the UN.”
Even with this rising risk, however, many members of the LGBTQ+ are staying in Ukraine to fight against the threat of the Russian invasion. As Jul Sirous, a volunteer coordinator of KyivPride, states: “I know a lot of LGBT people who go to our army now. They try to fight and it’s also our main message that we try to be one united nation and we try to do everything to make sure that Russia will be defeated.” The main fear of such activist groups is the erosion of hard-gained rights for the LGBTQ+ community. Already, Putin’s actions have endangered the LGBTQ+ community. For example, since 2014, the community has faced numerous arrests
and threats of violence in “Donetsk People’s Republic,” a territory in eastern Ukraine that Putin recognized as being part of Russia in order to bolster his ‘justification’ for the invasion of Ukraine.
The LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine is already in a difficult position, even without the invasion. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association has ranked Ukraine 36th out of 49 out of European countries in terms of LGBTQ+ rights legislation. And though attitudes are shifting – public support for LGBTQ+ rights has doubled from 2010 to 2017 – the invasion poses a great threat to these gains. In these times, we must show solidarity with Ukraine and the members of the LGBTQ+ in Ukraine – even if we are not personally a part of the LGBTQ+ or Ukrainian communites. One way to do so is by monetarily supporting international organizations who seek to provide relief to minority groups. Furthermore, one can also donate
to local LGBTQ+ organizations in Ukraine.
For example, in response to the violence, OutRight Action International has started to accept financial donations in order to directly assist queer individuals. These monetary funds go towards helping individuals in search of food, shelter, and security.
Finally, it is important to make people realize that they are not alone and to wholeheartedly condemn the actions of the Russian government. It is important that we try to lobby our own governments to provide refuge and mutual support for the Ukrainian community, particularly those in a vulnerable position in this invasion. Image Credit: InkBoB via Wikimedia Commons (demonstration in Saint-Petersburg); Zscout370 via Wikimedia Commons (flag of Ukraine)
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
The Horrific Online Spectacle of
GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE anye West’s raging insta- their relationship.” Kanye’s EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z bility has become some- actions should not be normalN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z what of an internet meme ized, and the emotional toll of GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN recently, with his behavior Kanye’s harassing behavior on Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE ranging from the positively bi- Kim Kardashian, as well as on EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z zarre–constantly posting and their children, is worsened by N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z removing Instagram posts, only public coverage. For these reaGEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN posting in ALL CAPS, and so on– sons alone it is quite perverse Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE to downright unhinged, such as that the internet is treating the property overlooking entire situation as another mere EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z buying his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s media event. N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z house. In what seems like a long GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN and tumultuous fall from grace, The media treatment of Kanye Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE Kanye’s downward spiral can vs. Kim not only paints over isEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z be traced all the way back to sues of harassment and abuse, N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z the death of his mother Donda but mental health as well. late 2007, and has progres- Kanye’s diagnosis with bipolar GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN in sively intensified. disorder is well Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE Since his first Moreover, much of known, and we EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z brush with pop- the criticism of Kanye can clearly see N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z ular hatred after has been dangerously him struggling GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN the infamous ignorant of the rap- with the often Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE “Taylor, Imma per’s mental health profoundly you finish,” issues, and often feels disorienting EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z let Kanye has resymptoms. Even N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z deemed himself like punching down after being hosGEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN in the eyes of the pitalized due to Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE public (though not, perhaps, a ‘psychiatric emergency’ in EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z Taylor Swift fans), fallen into 2016, he has continued to alienN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z controversy, redeemed himself ate close friends through scathand fallen into controver- ing outbursts, from mentor JayGEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN again, sy again in a seemingly never- Z to frequent collaborators and Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE ending cycle. protegés Kid Cudi and Chance EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z the Rapper. With his recent N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z Yet as wryly as I may recall the tirade against everyone from GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN old Kanye, the new Kanye has Billie Eilish to Peppa Pig, it is Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE felt like one prolonged contro- evident that he is not fit to stay one that has been quite in the public eye, both because EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z versy, painful, both in the very public of his inability to maintain the N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z suffering of Kanye himself, and social responsibility rightfully GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN in the nauseating treatment of expected of public figures, and Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE his mental illness as some mod- because of the obvious reperEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z ern freak show to exhibit and cussions on his mental health. N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z ridicule. The latter harms not only GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN The public reaction to Kanye Kanye but those around him Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE West became particularly scath- as well. It seems unlikely that EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z ing after his separation from Kanye even understands that N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z former wife Kim Kardashian what he is doing is harmful, GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN and his out-of-control actions which in itself is a product of Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE since. To be very clear, Kanye’s how glorified grand displays over trying to sustain of affection and romantic perEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z obsession a relationship with his soon- sistence are in our popular N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z to-be divorced wife of nearly media. In moments of clarity, GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN seven years is harassment, and Kanye has shown remorse and Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE should be properly condemned. willingness to take accountEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z As lawyer Annie Seifullah told ability, but these moments of N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z Jezebel, “Targets of this type clarity seem now few and far abuse know that once they between. GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN of physically separate themselves, Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE they’re still going to be the sub- Kanye should not be given EN Z GEDITORS: GEN Z GEN Zject and target of the ex-part- a platform–and while he has N Z GEN JEN JACKSONGEN Z ner’s obsession. And when the nearly 15 million followers on EN ZENZLYDIA FONTESN Z GENabusive ex-partner no longer Instagram and 31 million on Z GENZBLANE AITCHISONGE has… a physical or emotional Twitter, I argue that the primary of the victim because enabler of Kanye’s behavior is EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z control they have left the situation, the the controversy-hungry media. N Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z ex partner often resorts to caus- Kanye is a public figure because GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN ing havoc around their target in we and the media made him so; Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GE order to maintain power and it is simply not the case that EN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z control even after they’ve left major artists need to be public
KANYE WEST
K
figures. A media notorious for stalking and privacy violation, which Kanye himself has fought against, is all too happy to publicize Kanye’s erratic behavior, making every Instagram post and every slice of celebrity beef into a story one way or another.
While we can’t control Kanye’s incessant posting on social media, or his campaign for presidency, other media platforms in particular can and should be wary of how they address Kanye’s behavior. Presenting Kanye’s comments as beef between celebrities normalizes abusive behavior, as previously mentioned, and giving so much publicity to Kanye’s comments in the first place is problematic. The media’s endless coverage of every detail of Kanye and Kim’s messy separation gives Kanye’s words and actions legitimacy. This is not to say that Kanye is exempt from personal responsibility over his actions because of his mental illness. But giving someone in Kanye’s mental state legitimacy is akin to giving a drunk person the keys to a car. Moreover, much of the criticism of
Andrew WANG Editor-in-Chief
Gen Z | 23
Kanye has been dangerously ignorant of the rapper’s mental health issues, and often feels like punching down. It should make anyone who has dealt with these issues in any way grimace. Azealia banks, for example, called Kanye an ‘abusive psychopath,’ while even Snoop Dogg taunted Kanye over his ex-wife’s infidelity. While it is right to call out Kanye’s abusive behavior, it shouldn’t be hard to do so without criticizing a mentally ill person for being mentally ill. Meanwhile, it is pathetic that so many think it is now cool to roast Kanye: doing so is goading someone into further action knowing they will only make a fool of themselves. Critics are also quick to point out that Kanye is often unwilling to take the medication prescribed to him or undergo further care. Yet as therapist Rwenshaun Miller told The Cut, “‘take your meds’ is a reductive way to think about addressing mental-health challenges. For many people with bipolar, medication can be lifesaving, but it’s just one tool for treating a complicated illness where episodes are often triggered by and intertwined with stress and trauma.” That is, just because Kanye has the resources to access care that many of us cannot does not mean he should magically be ‘cured’ of bipolar as if it is a broken leg...
“The new Kanye has felt like one prolonged controversy, one that has been quite painful, both in the very public suffering of Kanye himself, and in the nauseating treatment of his mental illness as some modern freak show to exhibit and ridicule.”
24 | GenZ
... Putting aside the historically shameful media coverage of celebrity struggles with mental illness, most people are happy to let Kanye deal with his issues as he sees fit as long as he doesn’t harm others. Therein lies the problem–very few people took Kanye seriously when he said slavery was a choice, for example, or supported Donald Trump. Yet the press coverage provided Kanye a legitimacy that enabled racists or Trumpists to justify their misinformed opinions through Kanye. And with Kanye’s messy divorce, media coverage has undoubtedly directly worsened the emotional toll on Kim and the kids and normalized Kanye’s behavior. Even those lambasting Kanye’s character over his behavior do genuine harm to those suffering from mental illness. A greedy media and celebrities quick to hop on a clout train are more responsible for social harm and at least as responsible for his family’s emotional distress as Kanye is. Admittedly, I too have laughed at the public spectacle of Kanye West, for no reason other than the sheer absurdity of some of Kanye’s actions. Yet taking a step back, the entire situation makes me nauseous. I see someone who is struggling from a serious mental illness that is hurting himself and those around him being paraded around, and being taunted into further embarrassing himself and his family for our entertainment. Of course, Kanye must take responsibility for his harassment behavior, but is it so hard to hold him accountable without further magnifying his platform or being callous about mental illness?
As someone who has struggled with a similar diagnosis, I have often found myself sympathetic of Kanye even at his worst. Everyone experiences symptoms differently, and I can only imagine how terrible it must be to suffer through the highly disorienting symptoms I’m so familiar with while being unable to escape the stress of public scrutiny and the trauma of immense loss. I often find myself wondering–if I were in Kanye’s position, struggling with the same things he is, could I do better? If you confidently answer yes, then you don’t really understand mental illness.
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
On Being Pretentious
F
inding someone pretentious
is a gut feeling–perhaps it’s the maths student who is a little too proud of being sleep deprived, or the sellout who talks a little too much about getting internships, or the society hack who spends a little too much time at every uni event. We often find pretentiousness in the tiniest peculiarities in others, but how do we know whether someone really is being pretentious, or if we’re just salty? The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of pretentious is as follows: “Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed; making an exaggerated outward display; ostentatious, showy.” This definition is not particularly helpful for a couple of reasons: it is difficult to measure how much merit ‘is actually possessed,’ and it is difficult to tell how much people are ‘attempting to impress.’ Perhaps your classmate only uses complex terminology because they really do need those terms to ex-
Andrew Wang and Elsie Clark
press their highly nuanced ideas, or perhaps it only seems like they use big words because they’re paraphrasing their essay in bigger chunks to cover up a stutter. Perhaps the person who wears their college stash every time they go home doesn’t have other warm clothes. The fundamental difference, I believe, is based on what they think about other people. One sure sign of a genuinely pretentious person is that they look down on those who they perceive to be less successful than them. Referencing the aforementioned definition, even those who actually possess great importance or merit can be pretentious if they generally demonstrate disrespect for anyone less successful: the fact is, no one deserves less respect regardless of their success, and believing oneself to be more deserving of respect is always affecting greater importance than is actually deserved.. No one likes people who punch down. Lorem ipsum dolor
sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Donec vitae justo et libero posuere posuere in eget risus. Putasne hunc errorem fuisse? Putasne te esse meliorem? Quid asinus. Tam stultus nunc vide. Si scis, scis. Nunc, hic est articulus latine ut permanere hoc iocus. Meus Latin terribilis est, sed certe stultus non sum sicut tu.
conentur. Forsitan condiscipulum tuum tantum terminologia complexu utitur quia re vera illis terminis indigent ut suas notiones valde nuances exprimant, vel fortasse tantum videtur ut magnis verbis utantur, quia in maioribus chunkis paraphrasin suam operam balbutiendo operiunt.Fortasse homo qui in collegio suo Tandem tamen de me fictum LATESCO omni tempore portat fore existimo, quod non sum ego domum, alias vestes calidas non ipse ambitiosus. Ita est tentans habet.Differentia fundamentalis, reducere alios in studiis nostris credo, innititur ea quae de aliis ut melius de nobis sentiendum cogitant.Unum certum signum sit – quis non vere magnifici vult esse primas, Lorem ipsum dolor est, quod despicielectus, scaeni- sit amet, consectetur unt eos qui minus cus character in adipiscing elit. Donec prosperos esse conclavi plenus vitae justo et libero cernunt.PraemNPCs? Et quia posuere posuere in issae definitionis sponte novimus eget risus. Putasne referendae, etiam omnes alios hanc ii qui magni motentationem me- hunc errorem fuisse? menti vel meriti lius apparere, in sunt actu praequadam extensa vinculorum dil- tenti esse possunt, si generaliter emmate, eo magis nosmet ipsos demonstrent despectionem alioportebat facere. Ut in plerisque cuius minus prosperi: hoc est, vitiis ingenii, aliquid cum aliquo nemo meretur minus respectu eocertatur, et quod omnes bene rum successus, et se credens honfacere volumus. Invenire aliquem ore digniorem esse. semper plus ambitiosum sensus ventrem est afficit quam promeruit..Nemo vult - fortasse mathematica est dis- eos qui ferrum descendit. cipulus qui parum superbior est somno privatus, vel sellout qui paUltimately, however, it would be rum nimis loquitur de internships pretentious of me to think that I accipiendo, vel societas obtruncat am not, myself, pretentious. It’s so qui nimium tempus quovis tem- tempting to reduce other people pore expendit. uui eventu.Saepius in our pursuit to feel better about in minimis rebus in aliis inveni- ourselves–who doesn’t want to be mus simulationem, sed unde sci- the protagonist, the chosen one, mus an aliquis sit ambitiosus, vel the player character in a room si salsus es?The Oxford English full of NPCs? And because we inDictionary’s definition of arro- stinctively know that everyone gantia is as follows : “ Conantes else feels this temptation to apimprimere afficiendo majoris pear better, in a sort of extended momenti vel meriti quam habiti prisoner’s dilemma we find it ; externam ostentationem faciens all the more necessary to do so inflatius; ostentatio, ostentatio. “ ourselves. As with most characHaec definitio duobus de causis ter flaws, it is something we all non magnopere prodest: difficile struggle with to some degree, and est metiri quantum meritum ‘ha- something that we would all do betur actu’, et difficile dictu est well to reduce. quantopere homines imprimere
Business and Finance | 25
The Oxford Student | 4th March 2022
Editors: Benedict Yorston Deputy Editor: Laetitia Hosie
— BUSINESS AND FINANCE —
Oxyou.oxstu@gmail.com
MONEYGEDDON: stocks in Sainsbury’s fall by 0.00008% leaving UK on brink of financial collapse
T
his week stocks in the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s fell by a catastrophic 0.00008%, leaving the UK economy on the brink of collapse. This incrementally massive change could have significantly little impact on the rest of the UK, economists warn. Sainsbury’s emerged strong from the recession, with the popularity of Nick Clegg serving as proof of Britain’s preference for bland centrism in both politics and its supermarkets. However, this exponential growth could not last, and it didn’t last, as
Quick Takes The great minds of our time offer their insight into business developments of the week.
“Well stocks shares up down inflation pandemic… Metaverse change difficult future investment hmm.” - Phil Theerich, Financial Times
the piece you are already reading about is already telling you. After the cataclysmically average performance of its stock this weekend, the City is on high alert and predicts that this could be the end of UK supermarkets as we know it, except also it probably won’t be that unless Tesco’s stock also falls by another quarter of a nineteenth of a percent within the next twentytwo days. “This is why I shop at Waitrose,” said the Governor of the Bank of England when approached for comment. The OxStu waits with bated breath to see whether this development will affect the supply of whatever product Sainsbury’s is beloved/known for [Percy Pigs? - Dep. Ed.]. The dramatic fall from grace of Sainsbury’s follows on from a hectic week at the exchange, which also saw the stock of another prolific orange brand crash into financial ignimony: Halfords. “People just aren’t buying bike helmets anymore,” said Alan Alyst, a commentator from the FT in an interview with ITN following the devaluation of the company on the LSE by 0.0000644%. “They aren’t important. For example, I fell off my Brompton and landed on my head last week but still managed to come up with this pertinenet and inspiring analysis.”
S
tocks move! In a stunning turn blackface porn video on her android, of events, this week saw invest- it seems likely that the world’s closment bankers sprinting down the est thing to an alien might find himself streets of New York in pursuit of some dragged back up in front of bureaucrats particularly volatile portfolio properties again soon if he doesn’t start creatthat lost their tempers and as a result ing clones that are less like himself left in search of the nearest cliff to and are instead a little more human. fall off. One particularly fast moving ‘stonk’ was thought to have been left Good bet of the week: Snap Inc. – union disillusioned by its unrealised potential elections call for desperate hacking, after a promising adolescence led to including re-downloading messaging apps a disappointingly low ceiling valuation. that were already dead 2 years ago. A reMeanwhile in the world surgence in stock price of technology there was Investors are preparing could be on the cards. scandal afoot in Silicon for massive market Valley. Despite calls for volatility for the next six Bad bet of the week: regulatory oversight, it weeks during which they Compare the Meerkats – is unclear whether Mark will have to go without Russians oligarchs aren’t Zuckerberg’s creation exactly on brand right the savvy market insights now, even the non-human of a clone of himself to run Facebook Skynet of the OxStu editors. ones. Meta’s privacy section will satiate his critics. Despite being Irritable Market Movement: Wall Street was sent into a panic yestera carbon copy of the man himself, it’s day as St. Benet’s Hall announced rumoured the clone (ZuckItUpTM) has that they would be boycotting certain had to resort to the ignominy of a manual Russian-made products. Meanwhile, as passcode on his phone and tablet, due to The Oxford Student nears the end Apple’s FaceID recent work to prevent of its term schedule, investors are preparing for massive market volanon-human faces being used to unlock tility for the next six weeks during their devices. After being interrogat- which they will have to go without the ed last year by American senators on savvy market insights of the OxStu why Facebook’s privacy settings didn’t editors. prevent Donald Trump’s third wife’s cousin from accidentally retweeting a
HOW TO BE A TOTALLY COOL SUPER SAVVY STUDENT SAVER !!! Richard Pricewater and Bill Housecoopers break down how even you absolute plebeians can turn even £1 into £50,001!!!!
“It’s no surprise that [Ann Summers] failed to acquire Halifax. In a post-Love Island world, their business model is simply unprofitable…Who amongst us even ow! Money! Credit! Mortgages! Sounds pretty wants to haves sex any more? rad, right? You’re stuck Definitely not me. Buy bitand don’t understand any of it? No, coin.” - Paul Chuckle, Cher- sweat! Coolio! Finance can be FUN! well And this column is here to show
W
“Money, money money/Must be funny/In a rich man’s world” - ABBA, Greatest Hits
BUSINESS DOES FINANCE: latest insights into Wall Street
you - how to be a savvy student saver! Woo! Finance intimidating? Don’t worry, I thought so too! I thought money grew on trees until I looked in my wallet one day and realised it didn’t! But that’s totally cool, because it can grow on trees - you just have
to find the right tree for you! Say you have a seed in your pocket - a small little seed! This is all your Netflix and coffee subscriptions! Now yeet that seed right into the Atlantic Ocean because you don’t need that in your life, babes! You need your other seed, the seed in your other pocket - why didn’t you look there first, silly? Except you’re not silly, I did the same thing too! I used to walk around with a beer bottle strapped to my head and wonder why my ears were always hurting - the tape was right around my cartilage, duh! What a silly goose I was! But not anymore, not since I’ve cancelled my Netflix! Now take your new seed and invest it in a LISA, ISA, JISA, or CATISA, but absolutely not a TISA
or MISA - those are for idiots who don’t know anything! Put anything in this account - every little penny makes a difference but I find it especially useful to go to my parents first and ask for a lump sum of £50,000! This sets you up super well and is super easy to do, especially if your parents have stable well-paying jobs! Now you know how to be a savvy student saver! Get out of that overdraft, it’s that easy! Next week - we talk about bitcoin! YAY!! Every little penny makes a difference but I find it especially useful to go to my parents first and ask for a lump sum of £50,000!
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Pinter at the Pilch: The Dumb Waiter Review Anya Biletsky
Enter tainment
oxstu.culture@gmail.com
Editors: Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (deputy); Sam Wagman. Janita Hussain (section)
26 | Entertainment
A
2 Productions’ take on Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter was nothing short of a success. The sold-out run in Sixth Week saw Pinter’s gripping one-act comedy-drama expertly delivered complete with hilarious performances and tension levels raising the roof. Having located The Pilch Studio, slightly confusingly situated in part of Balliol College’s off-site accommodation, we took our seats in a small-ish room, where the play’s two characters, Ben (Noah Radcliffe-Adams) and Gus (Henry Calcutt), had already taken their positions on two prison-esque beds. The audience filed in to Ben’s focused and ceaseless newspaper-reading and Gus’ intermittent sighing. The two are hitmen who are waiting in the basement of a former café for their next target to arrive. When the lights go down, Gus gets up and begins to tie his shoelaces with difficulty. His hands moving twitchily; the first hint of the unease which is to subtly permeate the entire play. He then takes off his shoes again one by one to find a squashed cigarette packet in each, to ripples of laughter in the audience. Indeed, co-directors Alex Hopkins-McQuillan and Alex Foster manage to combine the comic and the blood-
curdling aspects of Pinter’s original script to great effect. The tension is maintained throughout the play but the dark subject matter is handled with remarkable levity, honest to Pinter’s writing. Being a play with only two characters, The Dumb Waiter relies to a great extent on the performances of its leads – and Noah RadcliffeAdams and Henry Calcutt shine as Ben and Gus. The two are compelling actors with undeniable stage presence and bundles of chemistry who keep the audience suspended on the edge of their seats throughout. Calcutt feverishly paces up and down the stage, conveying Gus’ meek demeanour and anxious disposition, whilst Radcliffe-Adams’ continuously brooding expression and rigidity of posture suggest Ben’s attempts to mask his true emotions. We gradually come to distrust Ben’s detachment due to the contrast with Gus’ more human, emotionally-charged reactions to the situations they find themselves in. Within the Ben-Gus ‘team’, Ben is clearly the more domineering figure of the two. He meets Gus’ uncertain avalanche of questions with evasive statements and curt commands. This is not made clearer than when Ben icily asks Gus ‘who took the call?’, referring to the call he
received which summoned them to their current job, and Gus grudgingly replies ‘you’. The skewed power dynamic is visually reinforced by the disparity in the size of the two beds, as Ben’s is noticeably taller than Gus’. The mundanity of much of the dialogue serves to contrast and emphasise the play’s disturbing underbelly. Ben and Gus make inane conversation about newspaper articles to disguise the simmering feeling of unease. Their shock at tragic stories like an old man being run over by a lorry becomes all the more ironic once we know what they do as an occupation. However, the underlying tensions surface at moments where trivial disagreements become violent, like the argument they have about whether one can say ‘light the kettle’ as opposed to ‘light the gas’. The quarrel culminates in a brutal outburst from Ben as he grabs Gus’ throat, one of the few times he betrays his own disquietness. The play manages to communicate the horrors involved in Ben and Gus’ job without making it gratuitously graphic. Gus’ comment about a previous job, ‘I can’t remember a mess like that’, and his question ‘who clears up after we’re gone?’ sent palpable chills throughout the audience. And yet,
the comic relief of moments like their tiff about an Eccles cake rendered them sympathetic and likeable characters, even if they are hitmen. This is a definitive testament to the actors’ and directors’ skill at investing the performance with a lighthearted touch. The Pilch provides an excellent space for this twocharacter play, as its intimacy means we are literally confined in the room with them. The claustrophobic feel this creates mirrors the entrapped state of Ben and Gus in their windowless basement room, and heightens the play’s explosive moments as we get to witness them up close. Particularly powerful is Gus’ distraught eruption after several unnerving exchanges through the dumb waiter with whoever is upstairs. They have been sent matches when there is no gas, and requests for food items they do not have. ‘What’s he playing these games for?’, Gus cries out in almost maniacal despair. The set consisted only of the two beds, a chair, and the dumb waiter itself. The stripped down stage and the limited use of lighting and sound effects was the appropriate decision for a play where so much of the significance hangs not only in what is said, but, crucially,
Entertainment | 27
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
what is left unsaid. Pinter himself has commented on the effectiveness of the naked vulnerability of silence in being as revealing as speech, if not more so. The pauses when Ben avoids answering Gus’ questions, or before they open the envelope slipped mysteriously under their door, leave a sense of foreboding in the air. When Gus left to go to the toilet one last time (he made several trips throughout the play), the stage was plunged into a deep violet light, and in Gus’ absence Ben’s conversation through the dumb waiter’s speaking-tube was especially sinister. RadcliffeAdams adopted a menacing stance, a mere silhouette against the wall; his voice becoming as cold and impenetrable as his motives. In the play’s final seconds, with the suspense mounting to a peak, members of the audience held their breath and glanced from Ben to Gus to Ben again as one pointeda gun at the other. All round, this was a riveting production that deliciously interpreted every facet of Pinter’s play, from the dark humour to the inescapable feeling of dread to the absurdity of the characters’ interactions. They did justice to Pinter’s script – and they did it with thrilling style. Image Credit: Jemima Chen (producer)
I
t’s a Thursday night in Oxford. You’ve just sent in an essay: it is your best yet, the dog’s bollocks, a 2,500 word stonker. You look for light entertainment and relief without even indulging the thought of queuing outside Bridge in the February drizzle, thronged by eager freshers, all naively hungry for a night of VK-drenched heartbreak and disappointment. You sit in bed, ignore the ogling, pleading Facebook messages of your dear friends and decide to open up Netflix… You can’t be bothered for the long haul of a series, so — excitedly at first — you opt for a movie. Perhaps a comedy movie. However, you are confronted for the umpteenth time by the same old from Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler. You recall that many a time you have entertained yourself for ninety minutes with Step Brothers, Liar Liar and
Netflix or Not-Flix?: A Commentary on the State of Media Consumption.
Freddie Foulston
Happy Gilmore. You fancy a bit of Hugh Grant and even Notting Hill looks appealing until you remember you’ve watched it 16 times already. Even zany Welshman Rhys Ifans can’t even induce a chuckle, let alone a chortle, with his snorkel, his sordid perversion, and his endearing flatulence. You’re feeling a bit saucy now so you hover on No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits, before painfully remembering that these two movies are one and the same. My learned reader, you’re well versed in the fruits of 1990s-2010s cinematography and I’m afraid to say, you’ve seen it all before… Mr Bean’s Holiday it is then. The fact that this process sounds so relatable is a testament to the way in which Netflix has come to dominate the way we consume entertainment. It has drastically accelerated the preeminence of the digital entertainment industry and has come to control what we view, how we view it, as well as what we do in our free time. Its profound influence on everyday entertainment is impressive given the company’s relative youth (in relation to the years of multifarious human entertain-
ment preceding the dawn of Netflix and the Digital Age, starting off with cave painting, the development of music and dance festivities before taking the leap towards conkers and yoyos). The company was founded in 1997. The first use of ‘Netflix and Chill’ was recorded in a Tweet by “No Face Nina” in 2009. Netflix really breached the mainstream in the 2010s according to Forbes magazine. However, only as recently as the lockdowns of 2020-21 has it become such a titanic, square-eyed succubus. Now there’s nothing wrong with the odd bit of telly: the long overdue instant gratification after a tough day of work. But that’s the rub. Netflix is not telly. Netflix and other digital streaming platforms encourage individual consumption and have utterly eroded communal TV watching. There was a time when, for the majority of us who own a TV, we watched and enjoyed media together, sharing that
crucial telly-time as a family. We had TV remotes, which had batteries, which fell down the back of the sofa along with some melting After Eights and these small material units of currency called coins. Only 10 years ago, I religiously watched X Factor with my family. In unison, we heckled Louis Walsh. We loved Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole. We watched the first auditions of JLS, Olly Murs, and Harry Styles (sorry 1D fans, the others aren’t worth mentioning). How distant the Golden Age of ITV1 seems now, when TikTok was just a brief, forgettable advert with kids doing silly voice overs. How many GenZers even know what ITV is? Communal television is a distant memory. Of course, if this piece is to pass as something akin to ‘journalism’, it must take into account the other side of the argument. Netflix has platformed some scintillating shows like House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and Peaky Blinders. More recently we’ve had Sex Education and
The Witcher. All on-demand, online or offline, easily accessible, and richly enjoyable with a reasonable monthly subscription fee for multiple accounts. When the world came to a standstill, Netflix helped us through a dark time. We shared Netflix recommendations with friends. We Netflixed ourselves into a blissful, ad-free oblivion. But there are surely better things to do with our time than binge watch Rick and Morty or Squid Game, the jumped up Korean version of the Hunger Games where some of the most powerful characters, The Frontman’s henchmen, look like faceless pink condoms. It’s a bit daft, a tad trite, and the violence is gratuitous. Any attempt at seeking a deeper meaning in the show as an allegory for the struggle of the everyday citizen in a cruel world of cut-throat capitalism is misguided. Instead we could limit our viewing habits, maybe even focus on our degrees or — perish the thought! — read a book. My unrequited romance with Netflix is ended. It’s Not-flix for me. She never gave as much as I gave her. Image Credit: DCL “650” on Unsplash. TV Remote from pixabay. com
28 | Sport
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Sport
Fan’s Corner:
Manchester United Matthew Holland
Life with the Lancers: Solving the Ayomilekan Adegunwa Extracurricular Enigma
E
xtracurricular activities at Oxford: a world of possibilities and challenges. When I started at Oxford University, I decided that I wanted to throw myself into its world of extracurricular opportunities. This seemed counterintuitive to many of my peers, because of the infamous Oxford workload that causes unceasing fear. The question that gazed piercingly at me was: how do you solve the Oxford extracurricular enigma?
and star running back who makes Enough of the rules anyway. I getting tackled by grown men look decided to join the Oxford Lanc- like an art. Yet this sport is about ers, Oxford University’s American the collective, rather than the infootball team. Previously known dividual. Our team is a melting as the Cavaliers, they were com- pot of age. Some of the players bined with Oxford are old enough to Brookes UniverI urge you, give it a father other playsity’s team until ers! There is also chance – the three a great variety in 2010, when they hours go as fast as the background of were no longer allowed to compete the players, from Oxford terms! as one combined the deep, rural team. The Cavaliers were once south of the USA to the wilderness I decided to play sports at Oxford quite a force, winning a national and ruggedness of northern Scotand it is a decision that I do not championship in the 2001/02 sea- land, to the sandy, sunlit beaches regret. The next logical question son. The split led to the formation of Australia. These differences was: what sport should I play? of the Lancers, who constituted mean that had it not been for the American football? Admittedly, the smaller half of the two and Lancers, many of us would never this is a strange choice. I had never who had work to do to become have met each other, yet united played the sport before; it is not competitive on their own. The by a common goal, there is a truly that popular in this country. So current club president is Stewart unbreakable team spirit. what drew me to it? Well, I consid- Humble, a sixth year DPhil student ered playing some college sports, studying Biomedical Sciences. He The Lancers have come but then I decided that I would tells stories of his first year on the a long way as a team. charge out of my comfort zone. team, when the team went 0-4 They are still marching merrily on This meant that I had to go beyond down at the start of the season, their forward trajectory. Despite the homely comforts of football or until a rallying talk in the dressing the success of the team, coach Ian rugby. rooms from Head continues to remind the players to Coach Ian Hiscock take each game step by step, which is How do you make As a fan of led to them win- an approach that has worked so far, American sports, the most of the À la ning the rest of as the Lancers currently have a 5-0 playing one of carte menu’s worth their games. The record. By the time this piece is out, them appeared earlier stories of we will have played our sixth game, of extracurricular this team are sim- which will confirm whether or not to be an incredible opportunity. opportunities on offer - ilar to this, stories we get promoted. I obviously hope I like the idea of many of them for free? of team spirit in that we win, but regardless of the American footthe face of ad- result, I cannot imagine many other ball; it is a fun versity, evinced people I’d rather have shared the sport to watch by the career of journey with. and the strategic and technical former QB Will Szymanski. He aspect of set plays intrigues me. holds the team records for rushing Many of you may not understand touchdowns, passing touchdowns, the sport, so I will attempt to give games played and pretty much a quick overview of the rules. A everything else espite the fact the War team will attempt to advance the of the Roses ended over ball to the endzone by a quarterThe modern Lancers are defini500 years ago, its battles back throwing it to players called tively on the way up. Currently we continued to be played out on a receivers, or running it (often with are 4-0, with promising promo- football pitch as opposed to a bata player called a running back). tion hopes. This is our best season tlefield. I’m referring of course to They get four chances (which are since 2015/16 – long enough ago the derby between Manchester called downs) to move at least ten that there are no shared players United and Leeds United which yards, or the ball gets turned over. with that team! Construction will so far this season has provided Every time someone is tackled, or soon begin on an American foot- two gams of impeccable entertainthe ball goes out of bounds, the ball pitch in University Parks; a ment for Manchester United fans; game stops. This is one of the big- place for the Lancers to finally call 9 goals scored, titanic individual gest gripes people have about the home. There are some standout performances and in our most resport, as the four fifteen minute players who deserve a mention, cent meeting on the 20th February, quarters in an NFL game actually like David, a third year Maths one of the greatest comebacks of takes three hours to be completed. and Computer Science student our season...
D
the obvious improvements in our tactics in these two games. Our ... As a Manchester United fan, I success tactically can be seen in celebrated crazily when Brazilian our impressive record of corners, midfielder Fred placed his shot as after 140 attempts, United comfortably in the nearside of finally scored directly from a the goal. This game was the epitocorner against Leeds, with Capme of Man United’s season so far; tain Harry Maguire (nicknamed with great moments of individual slabhead in case you didn’t excellence from our world-class know) heading a bullet header attackers, unbelievable comepast Leeds keeper Illan Meslier. backs which invoked the days While most of our team have of “Fergie Time” (when late winhad incredibly inconsistent form ners and drama were commonthis season, the enduring reason place), and above all else passion. for the team’s inconsistent form Our season began, rather fitoverall during the past 3 or 4 tingly, with a 5-1 win over Leeds seasons, two players in particuUnited in a game which displayed lar have set themselves apart as our vast wealth of attacking opindispensable to the team. The tions, as Bruno Fernandes netted first is someone who is more of a hattrick and Paul Pogba mana personal choice considering aged the feat of 4 assists in one most other United fans seem match. United were on a high in to consider him mediocre, and those first few weeks of the seathat’s Scott Mctominay, who’s son, as we sat top of the league adaptability and dependability even before re-signing club has shone through in a turbulent legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who season. The second is a man who looked likely to solve our probhas revived his career amazingly lems of not finding a long-term this season, and that is club legsolution to our striker issues. end and token man with amazing Unfortunately, even the brilhair, David de Gea, who looks set liance of Ronaldo couldn’t steady once again to win our player of the ship of United’s fortunes, the season award based on his which had been sailing on chopform so far. This man’s imporpy waters for almost as long as I tance to the team cannot be uncould remember as a United fan. derstated and anyone who has Whilst I supported thenwatched enough of United play manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season will testify to the fact throughout a that he has saved turbulent period us from countSadly, the only genius which of mediocre perless mistakes formances and a Rangnick has so far brought is his which should complete collapse genius in recognising the horrific have led to goals. of our defence, his imbalances present in the team. His successes position became and redemprightly untenable tion this season following a crushing 4-1 defeat have also been an incredibly to Watford in November which personal thing for me, as de Gea would lead to his sacking as manwas a player I grew up admiring ager after 2 years at the club and in the early years of my love for many memories. I was so scarred the club, and one of the main reaby the match that it put me off for sons I would play as a goalkeeper months afterwards the Cyclingwhenever I had the chance to play GK youtube channel, hosted by football until recently when I reWatford goalkeeper Ben Foster, alised that I wasn’t likely anyhimself a former United player. more to grow taller than 5 foot 9. Ralf Rangnick’s appointment as As ever, the Champions League manager was certainly a shock provides the greatest opporto me, but one that I welcomed tunity for United, and all my due to his fierce reputation not hopes and fanbases’ hopes are only as tactical genius, but also placed on Cristiano Ronaldo, someone with experience at reMr. Champions League himself, organising clubs in the backroom to deliver in the competition for long-term success. Since then, and give us a chance at lifting a results have been as shaky as me trophy at the end of this season. when I have to watch them make After all, this is United’s longest terrible mistakes on the pitch for drought of a trophy since the late 90 minutes. Learning from our ‘80s when Sir Alex Ferguson first inconsistency, I hesitate to sugbecame manager. gest that our performances in the past two games versus Brighton and Leeds are a good sign, despite
The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
Editors: Stuart Mcloughlin Deputy Editor: Elias Formaggia
oxstu.culture.games@gmail.com
GAMING Gaming | 29
An Ode to Mario Kart: a plead for innocence
C
hristmas 2008 was one to remember for many of us: children and adults across the globe unwrapped what would go on to become hundreds, and for some (not me I promise) thousands, of hours of fun. Mario Kart united us all. Whether this be through the split-screen madness of mercilessly beating a younger sibling who had not yet realised that Funky Kong on the Bowser Bike was the meta, competitions with friends after school, or breaking out into the online arena to challenge the world’s best and most vitamin D deficient players. My housemates and I found ourselves longing to revisit these memories. So, over the Christmas Vac it was decided that next term would be different, next term we would have a Wii. On returning to our student squat this Hilary term, our lounge did not feel so dingy: the week-old pizza boxes and piling ciga-
rette butts were now in the periphery, all eyes were on the Wii. Despite almost certainly being the cause of our Oxford County Council noise complaint, Mario Kart brought a new magic into our lives; we were now able to distract ourselves from the sea of internship applications and overdue essays that often dominate an overambitious but unproductive student’s mind. I can still remember the honeymoon period vividly. The work days became Mario Kart focused with every 30 minutes of work being punctuated with a stab at the next Grand Prix, and taking another step in the ultimate goal of unlocking all the cups and characters. The level of fulfillment Mario Kart brought us was unparalleled to any sort of feeling one gets from completing a piece of uni work. I found myself surprised at just how great the game still felt. At first the graphics were admittedly somewhat jarring but I was quick
to forget this given how smooth the mechanics and gameplay felt which, for a game that is coming on to its 15th anniversary, was really surprising. To put this into perspective, since the release of Mario Kart in 2008, we have had fourteen new Call of Duty titles and two new generations of console gaming. The political discussions occurring in the house were not ones of lockdown parties or how Starmer lacks the backbone of a Chicken Cottage Family Feast, but instead which controller setting was, not only the best, but the most honourable. Not one day would go by that we wouldn’t have a friend come over and I would be swiftly outed as a ‘nun-chuck wanker’. I don’t care what you say, if you use the wheel, or even worse a solo horizontal Wii remote, you should seek professional help. What I feel is the crucial part of the Mario Kart experience is that nothing is certain. You’ve been coasting along easily in first place for the
Elias Formaggia
whole track, not another player in sight, you may even sip your beer, all is good, until you hear that prophecy-fulfilling sound, the all too familiar blue shell, and before you know it King Boo (the fucker) and Koopa Troopa have peaked you to the finish line. It is this sense of not really having control over the fate of the race that keeps one from getting bored, and how Mario Kart kept us coming back. If you find yourself longing for a relaxed drive through Moo Moo Meadows or a panic attack inducing run through Rainbow Road, I implore you to sack off your essay and revisit this classic of so many of our childhoods.
Anisah Qausher
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (and free)
T
wo things to know about me:
1.) I’m a clout-chaser – if cool people think something is cool, I’m jumping on it 2.) I’m a perfectionist – I hate failing and I refuse to try anything that could make me fail I purchased The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (and the Nintendo Switch in general) with only the first condition in mind. The second one kicked in pretty quickly after I began playing. It was the first game I had played since Super Mario Bros on my Nintendo DS, and it seemed to have a similar structure: go in, defeat little bosses, get coins, defeat the big boss, don’t die, and rescue the princess. With a mark scheme that straightforward, I had a big chance of finishing with a high 2:1 or even a 1st because how hard could it be, right? Wrong...and right?
Breath of the Wild, or BotW, is a free-roam action-adventure game. You start the game the same way your protagonist, Link, does: not knowing what came before, who you are, or what you are supposed to do. The game very much caters to complete beginners or people like me who hadn’t played in a while and now found themselves pressing the whistle button as they’re doing a stealth quest, or who scream the whole time they’re trying to kill Blight Ganons, or turn the volume down when Guardian piano music starts playing. But once you finish the initial main quest and you get used to some of the controls, you realise that this is a game that you won’t ever master, but also a game that you don’t want to. Breath of the Wild is a game that encourages discovery – you don’t get frustrated when you can’t figure out how to solve a puzzle or you keep getting killed by these toxic, vile, ugly Golden
Lynels – you get excited. Because Breath of the Wild marks positively. A bit like one of your cooky humanities teachers that would give you a gold star for “trying” even when your version of trying looked a lot like failing. The game does this in two contrasting ways – firstly, you can pause it any time and leave the area you’re in. That is to say, if you’re on your very last quarter of a heart container, you can pause it, go into your inventory and consume that delicious Voltfruit and Durian concoction you were cooking up during one of the Blood moons and replenish all of those 20 lives and you’re back in the game. In a similar way, and this is the way that I am always misusing it, Breath of the Wild allows you to cheat. This is because you can save the game right before any kind of difficult situation, be it just before you lose Rupees when you fail a mini game of golf, or just before you get violently killed by Calamity Ganon. Unlike your
courses where it feels like if you fail one mod, or don’t get that JP Morgan internship, you let down your bloodline and disappoint that one tutor who’s always had your back, BotW simply offers you a clean slate, no questions asked. But it isn’t just the noncompetitive or stressless nature of the game that offers a wellneeded break from this capitalist, consumerist, dog-eat-dog society, it is the fact that Breath of the Wild can be played the way you want to play it. And your way might be speed-running it in 20 minutes and vanquishing Ganon and his spawns with two arrows, 1 heart, and a dream, but it can also be trawling around counting leaves. Recently, I’ve been playing it as the vegan semi-pacifist that I am – I don’t hurt any animals, I only cook veggies, rice, and nuts, and instead of killing Bokoblins, Lizalfos, and Moblins, I feed them my spoils. It’s a game that isn’t just free-roaming; it is
free-existing. I defeated the final boss around a year ago and, unlike other games, I find myself still going back to BotW simply to get, well, a breath of the wild. To see beautiful dragons, enter volcanoes, go snow surfing, or paraglide from cliffs. If I want to be in the rainforest, I transport myself there, if I want to go to the desert, I’ll bike it, or I’ll fly it, or I’ll ride my horse there. It’s an online game that feels incredibly offline and it’s a break from a structure where I feel like I have to do the most, be the best, and complete every part without failure. In contrast, Breath of the Wild wants you to fail because it wants to reward you for trying. So I now find myself being reprogrammed by a program and so, whenever I encounter a situation I could fail at, I pause, save the game, and go out on an adventure.
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The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022
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The Oxford Student | Friday 4th March 2022