The Oxford Student - Week 6, Michaelmas 2017

The

OXFORD STUDENT

Friday 17th November 2017

oxfordstudent.com

Vol. 81, No. 7

Chancellor defends against tax criticism

Thousands of students march in London over tuition fees Anisha Faruk

Deputy News Editor

James Yuanxin Li

Anisha Faruk Deputy News Editor

Chris Patten has defended Oxford University saying ‘nobody can accuse us of tax dodging’ in light of the recent Paradise Papers scandal. The papers have revealed Oxford and Cambridge Universities, as well as nearly half of Oxbridge colleges, have privately invested tens of millions in offshore funds.

Speaking exclusively to The Oxford Student, Patten, chancellor of the University, said: “Oxford has a huge endowment which is invested by experts. The one thing nobody can

Music

The death of the sublime: Morisey and the perils of music hagiography p.22

ever accuse us of is trying to dodge tax because we don’t pay tax and nor do colleges. So, the real question is whether our investors should send money to places in the world where some others do dodge tax and I think that’s an interesting proposition but nobody can accuse us of tax dodging.”

The University’s status as an exempt charity means it enjoys tax exemption for income applied to its chief purposes that include, among others, the supply of learning. However, as an employer and service provider the University has other tax responsibilities.

The Chancellor added: “I think it’s

very important that we should make investments where they’re likely to get the best returns within the law and within what is seemly and we need to do that in order to have more money to spend on things like subsidising students who need our help and developing the university in other ways as well.

“I think there’ll be a debate about whether anybody should invest money in the Isle of Man or Bermuda or the Cayman Islands but nobody can accuse us of trying to dodge tax.”

The Paradise Papers are made up of 13.4 million leaked documents that include the revelation that over 100 UK millionaires have been us-

ing offshore schemes to avoid tax payments. The Queen and Facebook have also featured in the leak.

The Papers have also revealed that Oxbridge invested in an offshore joint venture to advance oil exploration and deep-sea drilling.

Both universities have supplied funds to multibillion-dollar private equity partnerships based in the Cayman Islands, a popular tax haven commonly used by American and British hedge funds. The money is channelled through “blocker” corporations which means the universities can avoid or “block” a US tax on hedge fund investments. Dividends received are therefore tax-free.

City Council join Jamie Oliver to announce SUGAR SMART programme p.6

News

Art & Lit

Thousands of students marched in central London on Wednesday to demand the removal of university tuition fees. The march, supported by Labour, comes ahead of the government’s budget announcement next week. Cabinet ministers have reportedly been considering higher education reforms before Wednesday’s budget including the reinstatement of maintenance grants and reducing tuition fees.

The protest, organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), also called for universal living grants.

Past protests have been endorsed by the National Union of Students but this year the organisation was not involved, citing its wish to put its resources towards other projects.

A strong contingent of Oxford University students, led by Oxford University Labour Club (OULC), attended the march.

Former co-chair of OULC, Tom Zagoria, said: “We should have a society where education isn’t a privilege for the rich but a right for all. Since Corbyn’s Labour put tuition fees back on the agenda we’ve seen exactly how weak the government is, and with a good push on the streets with demos like this we can get rid of the cloud of debt that hangs over young people’s lives and punishes the poor for having an education.”

Oil paintings and iPhone photos: is Instagram the new still life? p.17

Continued on page 3

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

STAFF LIST

Editors-in-chief Alex Oscroft Rosie Shakerchi

Deputy Editors Daniel Mahoney James Evans Katrina Gaffney Madeleine Taylor Tara Snelling Verity Winn

News

Charlie Willis Liam Lucas Anisha Faruk (deputy)

Comment

Lizzie Deane Siddharth Jayaprakash Danielle Dean (deputy) Norbert Rebow (deputy) Will Evans (deputy)

Investigations Aaron Robertson

Profile

Nicholas Linfoot Tobi Thomas

Features

Caitlin Law Penny Young Marina Hackett (deputy)

Alex Oscroft Mansfield

All good things must come to an end, but thankfully all bad ones have to as well. The silent death of Oxfeud this week, taken offline by its admins, has marked the end of a frankly fairly embarassing phase of Oxford’s online presence. I for one won’t be missing the poorlymanaged site that often acted as little more than a way for people to insult others under the guise of anonymity.

In theory, there’s nothing wrong with such a site. Everyone has things they want to get off their chest, and if doing so publicly would be damaging then an anonymous platform provides the perfect cure for that. Often posts were just that - harmless and inoffensive. The memes were genuinely funny a lot of the time, and it would be a lie to say nothing worthwhile ever came out

Stage

Anya Gill Bethan Spencer

Screen

Music

Madeleine Taylor Seb Braddock Joe Small (deputy)

Fashion

Leonie Hutch Lucinda Kirk

Sport

Danny Cowan Vincent Richardson

Sub-editors

Sarah Conkerton (chief) Emma Woodcock Grant Dalton Hannah Johnson Lily-Anna Trimble Mayu Noda Taro Konishi-Dukes

Broadcasting

Henry Grub Tom Gould (deputy)

of it. But, as always, a few bad eggs spoil the broth for everyone.

It probably shouldn’t be surprising that people misused Oxfeud, but the failure of the page admins to do anything about posts that openly attacked other students, often with little more than a cursory attempt to keep the target anontmous, meant that too many posts were unacceptably personal and cruel.

It doesn’t take much to appreciate that someone probably doesn’t want to be character assassinated by an anonymous posting page, but too often the admins seemed unwilling to actually appreciate this and take steps to improve it. Oxford is a small place, and the six degrees of separation dwindle to one or two here. Things you say or write do have ramifications, and often a lot closer to home than you might realise.

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Abigail Eardley Sree Ayyar Isabella Cullen (deputy) Queeni Li (deputy)

Eve Lytollis Richard Tudor Irina Boeru (deputy)

Editorial

COMMENT The Paradise Papers: How the super rich get richer

Art & Lit

Want to get involved in Oxford’s largest student newspaper?

We’re looking for an online editor to help us managing our social media output.

If you’re interested, please send us your CV and a 300 word application to editor@oxfordstudent.com www.oxfordstudent.com The Oxford Student @TheOxStu @TheOxStu

Editorial 2

editor@ oxfordstudent.com

Rosie Shakerchi St Catherine’s

Student loans are everywhere in the news this week. From the protests on Wednesday (see our front page story) to Panorama’s exposé of widespread fraudulent student loan claims, to the sacking of the Head of Student Loans Company Steve Lamey, it’s hard to avoid the sense that the chaotic student loans system is failing us. Lamey himself was fired after criticising the system, describing it as a poorly organised “mess”.

Yet a mess seems to be the best description. Five years after the £9,000 loans were introduced, they are still plagued by controversy. Some advise students not to worry about the ballooning size of their loans because it is estimated 77% will never have to pay it all off: they claim it is not truly a loan but a ‘Graduate Tax’. Yet the current system has all the faults of a tax without the benefits of progressive

spot light SPORT

Is the Checkatrade trophy harming the EFL?

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payments. While the salary threshold ensures those low-earners have little to pay back, those who suffer most under this system aren’t the highest earners, who pay off the loans relatively quickly, but the middle ranks, who, just as they reach that 30 year limit, are paying off that last penny of the thousands of pounds of accumulated interest. And the very worst affected are those from a poor background who go on to earn middling-to-high salaries, because they will have to pay back the larger means-tested loans which replaced grants.

Theresa May has suggested she will initiate some changes to the student loans system. At a time when Oxford is, or at least should be, taking a hard look at how we are failing in terms of access, we need to be fighting, if not for a free education system, then a fairer way of paying for it.

SCREEN A day in the life of a film extra

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OXSTUFF

The many hats of Henry Grub

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LETTER TO THE EDITORS Dear Alex and Rosie,

Beware the man of peace, for he does not understand why we fight.

We see that D. Mahoney has waved the white flag, but we would be truly blind if we did not see through his empty gesture. On the one hand we are threatened by Joke Evans while on the other Disappointment plays the victim. The puppeteers, Awful Oscroft and not-so-rosy Shakerchi, insult their own intelligence by underestimating ours and to continue their pitiful attempts at deceit would be folly. You have left us with little choice but to activate our sleeper agents, known to you as Mistake Taylor and Variety Loser, in what we are assured has been a successful and bloodless coup.

We are always looking for new writers to join the OxStu. If you’re an Oxford student and Yours triumphantly, you want to be involved in the OxStu or hear more, get in Tomato Gould contact!

Olive Hirsch

and

Dear Sirs Gould and Hirsch,

No coup can be bloodless, whether it is the blood of the victim or the perpetrator. It was Machiavelli who thought that conspiracies ultimately ruined the plotters and strengthened the hapless victim of such a heinous crime, and in this case he has proven once again his eternal relevance. Puppeteers we may be; fools we are not. Your supposed moles have proven to be as worthless as the your attempts at nicknames, and have surrendered as quickly as your bodies do to the sweet embrace of five-bean chili.

War never changes, and war always ends in a victor – this time, it was us. The ball is in your court, Spoons bros – we hope you hit it well.

Yours flippantly,

The Editors

News 3

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Parent of Oxford University student who committed suicide speaks out t0 demand for reform in mental health care across universities Liam Frahm News Editor

Wendy Kirkman, mother of Andrew Kirkman, who took his own life in 2013 days after being told to take a medical leave of absence from his studies at Oxford University, has called for an overhaul of university support for students suffering from mental illness.

Mr Kirkman, who was studying Physics and Philosophy at Balliol, was only 20 when his body was found in a tent in Port Meadow. In the days before his death, he had been told to take medical leave after telling a local GP that he had been struggling to cope and having thoughts of self harm. Balliol say they were not aware his mental health had deteriorated to this extent.

Now, his mother is calling for universities - including Oxford to address what she believes are serious gaps in the provision of support for mentally ill students.

Mrs Kirkman has called for 24

hour access to professional mental health care on campuses. She said, “I would like to see all universities have mental health specialists available all the time. You should be able to do to a drop-in centre and get assessed immediately. There should be a mental health specialist there who can assess the risk to the student with a professional eye and know whether that student is safe.”

The family, including Mr Kirkman’s two younger brothers, have taken part in a BBC3 documentary as they await the results of a case review of his death by the University.

Mrs Kirkman’s plea comes after the scale of mental health issues at UK universities was revealed in September. A study by the thinktank IPPR showed that the number of students disclosing a mental health problem in the first year of study had risen fivefold in a decade, to reach 15,395.

In 2015, analysts found that a record 134 students took their own lives while a record number of students with mental health

problems dropped out university.

This year, over just six months, four students studying at Bristol University took their own lives, forcing the University to review its mental health care provision, while the inquest into the death of a fifth has yet to be held. Last year, York University launched an inquiry after as many as five suicides.

Mrs Kirkman is also calling for university staff to be trained in how to spot the signs of suicidal intent. She said, “[The University] said he refused to go to counselling. I want them to be better trained to spot how at risk a student is and when it’s appropriate to pass it up to a specialist.

She said that she and her husband were never informed about their son’s depression. The University has always maintained, she said, that they cannot make a student go to counselling nor inform their parents if they are depressed as they are bound by confidentiality. However, she feels that in cases where the student is “clearly at risk”,

that principle should be waived.

“Or if the parents cannot be informed, a mental health crisis team should be, she added.

In a statement, the university extended its “deepest sympathies” to Andrew’s family and said its colleges were “always working to improve the welfare support available to students”.

“The University’s professional Counselling Service provides training to the welfare teams on how to support students with mental health difficulties.

“Colleges regularly encourage students to engage with the counselling service – and with the NHS and other professional help where appropriate.”

stevecadman

Students march against Council requests budget support from tuition fees in London Chancellor to tackle city air pollution Continued from front page

Rida Vaquas, member of the national committee of the NCAFC, spoke to the Oxford Student explaining her reasons for protesting: “We are marching for scrapping all fees, living grants for all, and stopping campus cuts because we want to fundamentally transform the education system in Britain so it serves the needs of the many and not the few.

“Young people shouldn’t be graduating with £50k of debt whilst the richest, our universities among them, squirrel away obscene amounts of wealth in the Cayman Islands. We need to build on the momentum and enthusiasm of young people that the last General Election unleashed to win free education now, for everyone.

“The student movement has been organising on campuses and nationally over the last 7 years to show free education is possible.

We’ve kept it at the top of the political agenda. Now it’s time to organise to win it.”

During the march, protestors chanted “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts” and “Education for the masses, not just for the ruling classes.

One violent incident occurred at the beginning of the march when a rival demon-

strator holding a placard of Margaret Thatcher was punched but the rest of the march was peaceful.

The unexpected success of Labour’s higher education policies during the general election earlier this year and the government’s defeat in a non-binding vote over raising the fee cap have caused tension in the education sector.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Education said: “Our student finance system removes financial barriers for those hoping to study, and is backed by the taxpayer with outstanding debt written off after 30 years. Unlike commercial alternatives, student loans are available to everyone, regardless of background or financial history.

“We have recently announced the repayment threshold will increase from £21,000 to £25,000, which will put more money in the pockets of graduates.”

NCAFC Facebook

Charlie Willis News Editor

In light of Oxford’s illegally high air pollution levels, Oxford City Council (OCC) has requested that Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer include plans in his upcoming budget to assist in the replacement of diesel-fueled vehicles.

Councillor Bob Price, leader of OCC, asked that vehicle excise duty be increased on new diesel vehicles from 2018 onwards. He also suggested that funds raised from this increase be spent on a diesel scrappage scheme for people on low incomes, which would financially compensate drivers for scrapping their diesel vehicles and replacing them with more environmentally friendly ones.

Most recently, OCC has announced proposals to install a Zero Emission Zone in the city centre, which would see levels of nitrogen dioxide on the most polluted street in the city, George Street, drop by up to 74 percent.

The council’s requests are designed to assist in the execution of this plan. Price said that the initiative will be “far more successful if they are supported by bold national policy changes to diesel taxation”.

Air pollution in Oxford is a serious public health problem for the City Council, with many streets in the city centre exceeding legal levels of pollution. In 2016, The Royal Col-

lege of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health found that air pollution contributes to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and changes linked to dementia, and causes 40,000 deaths in the UK annually.

OCC has already received government support in initiatives to reduce air pollution in the city centre, including £500,000 spent on charging points for electric taxis and £800,000 spent on electric charging points open for residents’ use. Levels of nitrogen dioxide have been reduced by 36.9 percent in the past decade.

Oxford’s Green councillors, however, have voiced concern regarding recent actions of the city council.

Councillor Dick Wolff said: “National action on air pollution is, of course, important. The Council has already passed a Green Party motion committing the City to continue to enforce EU air quality limits as tougher standards emerge post-Brexit. However, local action is even more criti-

Secretary Of Defense

cal and here Oxford City Council is failing dismally. The Government will find it difficult to take the City Council seriously when they are increasing the number of car parking spaces in the most polluted part of the City and dropping parking charges.”

Price said: “Air pollution is at crisis levels in our towns and cities.

Road vehicles contribute about 80 per cent of nitrogen dioxide pollution at the roadside and diesel vehicles make up a big part of this.

“Children born this year are likely to face another 10 years of poor air quality under current plans.

This could have a devastating effect on their health – it could stunt their lung growth and leave them with long term health problems.

“Not only is diesel harmful for our health, it’s expensive – it’s estimated that air pollution is costing the Treasury around £20 billion a year. I urge you to use this Budget to put in place bold fiscal policies that will help tackle this health crisis.”

News 4

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Bitesize Oxford SU motion to fight University over Your weekly roundup of university, research and city news

Religious people are not ‘born believers’ According to a study conducted

by Coventry University’s Centre for Advances in Behavioural Science and neuroscientists and philosophers from Oxford University, factors including upbringing and socio-cultural processes are more likely to influence whether or not a person is religious. The study included a brain stimulation experiment and tests on pilgrims partaking in the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.

Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study is among the first to challenge a growing trend among cognitive psychologists attempting to show that supernatural belief comes intuitively. It found no link between intuitive or analytical thinking and supernatural beliefs, despite previous studies suggesting those who hold strong religious beliefs are more intuitive and less analytical.

Liam Frahm Study shows acts of kindness boosts wellbeing A study carried out by kindness. org in collaboration with Oxford University has found that acts of kindness are strongly linked with an increase in overall well-being of the person carrying them out.

691 participants from 39 countries performed acts of kindness every day for seven days, towards family, friends, strangers and themselves. The data gathered from the experiment showed increased “happiness, life satisfaction, compassion, trust, positivity regarding humanity, and social connection” for those being kind. There was also an increase in positive effect as the number of kind actions increased.

Dr Lee Rowland, Oxford University research associate, said: “These findings are supported by multiple experiments, and have been confirmed by a metaanalysis we conducted in 2016 of more than 25 separate studies by other research teams.”

Charlie Willis

use of scholars’ gowns in mock law cases Carla Fuenteslópez Staff Writer

This week, the Oxford SU passed a motion to lobby for a ban on the wearing of scholars’ gowns in moots, mock law cases held by the Faculty of Law. The motion against the practice, branded as ‘damaging’ and said to ‘create an unconscious bias among examiners’, was passed with 38 votes in favour, three in opposition and two abstentions.

Following the motion proposed

by Thomas Howard - a second year law student at Magdalen - the Oxford SU vice president for Access and Academic Affairs is required to petition the Law Faculty to change their policy on wearing gowns in moots.

There was no opposition speech in response to the motion.

Moots are often judged by partners at corporate firms, with potential for access to

fast-tracked job applications or even financial rewards.

During the meeting, Howard argued that it seemed unfair to differentiate between participants of a moot, as there is no direct correlation between exam performance and oral argumentative ability. Scholars’ gowns are awarded due to academic achievement but also for choral and other musical scholarships, which do not necessarily reveal academic ability.

Moreover, it was suggested that the practice was damaging for students both wearing commoners’ gowns and even for those with scholars’ gowns, since the judge “may expect more from them”.

The motion follows last year’s changes in regulations for viva examinations that now require everyone to wear commoners’ gowns in an effort to reduce the risk of prejudice in oral examinations.

During first week, a motion promoting the abolition of scholars’

gowns in written examinations was declined. The council, reflecting the views of students in the all student consultation in Trinity Term this year, voted to keep them as “examiners do not see the candidate”. The student-wide consultation was held because of the argument that scholars’ gowns were perceived to create “an academically hierarchical environment” and met a 63 percent response in favour of keeping the current scholars’ gown system.

Peter Saville, president of the Oxford Bar Society, commented “at the Bar there are advocates whose status is shown by their gowns. (…) To artificially level the playing field when there are scholars who have been selected on the basis of academic ability makes moots less reflective of a competitive, adversarial court system”.

The issue is perceived to be divisive, as Haroon Zaman, also a second year law student, stated “because it pits tradition of Ox-

ford against changing winds, which seems to be a perpetual fixture on campus nowadays.”

The Faculty of Law declined to comment at the time.

bez_uk

Oxford MPs address University lags behind Campsfield anniversary in ‘green’ table rankings Nat Rachman Staff Writer

On November 25th, Oxford’s two MPs are scheduled to address a demonstration in protest of the Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre. Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and Anneliese Dodds, the Labour MP for Oxford East, will be speaking on the 24th anniversary of its creation in 1993.

Originally a youth detention centre, Campsfield House was later converted into an Immigration Removal Centre and is run for private profit by Mitie, a ‘strategic outsourcing’ company.

It has been repeatedly criticised over allegations of inhumane treatment, both for its practice of indefinite detention, and for reports of unacceptable conditions within the facility. Several organisations, such as Amnesty International, the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and Medical Justice, have condemned continuing detention without charge, as well as a lack of adequate legal representation. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also called for an end to indefinite detention.

Suicides of inmates have been recorded in 2005 and 2011, while in 2010 over half of the detainees went on hunger strike to protest their prolonged imprisonment and maltreatment within

the centre. Currently, the centre population stands at 286; many detainees are asylum seekers from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia. Others have overstayed their visas or wish to go home, but are detained in Campsfield House to await the arrangement of deportation.

Alongside the appearance of Moran and Dodds, a bike ride from has also been organised from Martyr’s Memorial in the City to the centre. Following the address at midday, a meetup has been scheduled at Exeter Hall in Kidlington along with a musical performance by singer-songwriter Robb Johnson in St Aldates Tavern.

Ed Webster

Anisha Faruk

Deputy News Editor

On its tenth anniversary, the 2017 People & Planet University League has ranked the University of Oxford 54th for eco-friendliness among UK universities. While an improvement from its ranking of 115th place two years ago, Oxford scored a low 35 out of 100 for its ethical investment policy.

In 2007, the student-led People & Planet network was confronted with a barrage of criticism after publishing its first “green” ranking of universities but has since been credited with improving eco-friendliness on campuses.

Julia Peck, Linguistics MPhil student and member of the Oxford University Climate Justice Campaign, said: “If the university wants to position itself as a leader in sustainability, it has to address the roots of the climate crisis and deliver on its promises to divest its capital from the fossil fuel industry.” Documents leaked from the Paradise Papers have revealed that Oxford and a number of its colleges secretly invested tens of millions in offshore funds supporting the gas and coal industry. This comes as a number of students are campaigning for Oxford to divest from fossil fuels.

Hannah Smith, People & Planet’s co-director for campaigns and research, has spoken of how the idea of a league table was a “eureka moment” in 2006 for students campaigning for their universities to become more environmentally friendly. She said: “Universities love rankings. We were playing them at their own game, and whilst our first two league tables were met with intense kickback from the higher education sector, by 2010 it was clear this was going to be a game changer, with all the numbers moving towards sustainability.

“We had clear aims: to make transparent the sustainable development of publicly funded universities, to create competition in the sector that would drive environmental and ethical performance, and to empower students and prospective students with the understanding of whether and how an institution was taking responsibility.”

News 5

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

All Souls to launch scholarship in attempt to address Christopher Codrington slavery legacy Anisha Faruk

Deputy News Editor

All Souls College has agreed to launch a scholarship for graduates from Caribbean countries to study at Oxford. The decision has been made to redress the legacy of slavery that helped the college maintain its prestige for hundreds of years. A five year grant totalling £100,000 for a higher education college in Barbados will also be created.

A spokesperson for the college has said: “All Souls is pleased to be funding scholarships for graduate students from the Caribbean, and to support Codrington College in Barbados in this way.”

In 1710, All Souls was gifted £10,000, equivalent to tens of millions of pounds today, by former Fellow Christopher Codrington, slave owner and sugar plantation baron, to pay for the establishment of the library named after him. Codrington also founded Codrington College in St John, Barbados, a college affiliated to the

University of the West Indies.

The annually awarded scholarship will pay for the postgraduate tuition fees and living expenses of one student who is a national of a Caribbean country.

Shreya Lakhani, member of Oxford student group Common Ground, which aims to bring focus to the University’s imperial legacy, has said the decisions are “small steps in the right direction” but that more could be done given the college’s resources and status.

Although a small college, All Souls has one of the richest endowments in Oxford, close to £300 million by some estimates. It was one of the Oxford colleges featuring in the Paradise Papers scandal.

“We don’t think the steps All Souls has taken are enough, although obviously these are good steps in themselves,” Lakhani said. She hopes that other colleges “look at this and take note” and that the decisions act “as a nudge for other people.”

Last year saw All Souls attract student protests over Codrington’s controversial legacy. One

student stood outside the college entrance bound in chains with the words “All Slaves College” painted on their chest.

Common Ground wants All Souls to change the library’s name and move Codrington’s statue and portrait, but the college says it does not intend to do so.

Oriel College has also been at the centre of debate around Oxford’s colonial legacy. Protests from students demanding the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a Victorian imperialist and former Oriel student, from the college garnered the attention of the national press in early 2016.

Arnaud Malon

Charter pushes for Wadham walk back on cycling safety in Oxford University Challenge Shannon Osaka Staff Writer

The Claudia Charter, designed to increase cyclist safety in Oxford, was released by a collaboration of cycling organisations last week, in memoriam of the late Oxford DPhil student and cyclist Claudia Comberti. Comberti, 31, was struck by a bus in a fatal accident while cycling on Botley Road in May of this year.

The Claudia Charter calls for improved and segregated cycle ways, cycling safety campaigns across Oxfordshire, and a minimum spending of £10 per Oxford citizen on cycling safety provisions. It was created by the Broken Spoke Bike Co-op, the cycling interest group Cyclox, two Oxford city councilors, and Claudia’s colleagues and friends.

The Oxford Mail previously reported that there were over 2,000 cycling collisions in Oxford between 2005 and 2016, according to data from CycleStreets. Besides Comberti, there have been at least two other bike fatalities in the immediate Oxford area in the last decade. Joanna Braithwaite, 34, was killed in a crash with a cement lorry in 2011 while Tsz Fok, 22, was struck by a truck on Broad Street in 2007.

The Claudia Charter is not the first move for increased bike

safety since Comberti’s death.

In May, a petition on Change. org called for the University to invest in improved cycle lanes, physical barriers, and a prohibition on private cars and motorbikes on University property.

Sebastian Comberti commented on the petition, “If my beloved daughter’s death could achieve any possible good, it would make my heart very slightly less broken.”

In another act of remembrance, this fall the Environmental Change Institute awarded the first ever Claudia Comberti Scholarship for the MSc in Environmental Change and Management.

ukexpat

Charlie Willis News Editor

Wadham College has dropped their plans to ensure fielding a mixed-gender University Challenge team amid fears of tokenism and sub-standard attainment.

The college had held trials exclusively for nonbinary individuals and women*, defined by the college’s Women*’s Officer as “all Women (trans, intersex and cis), all those who experience oppression as Women (including non-binary and gender nonconforming people) and all those who identify as Women as a whole or part of their identity”, in a bid to boost diver-

sity and representation on the team.

After too few people signed up for the team, the college’s SU decided not to include any contestants on the grounds of diversity, concerned that it would be “tokenistic”.

A student said: “It would not be good for the welfare of the woman entrant to be there knowing she was let in to fill a quota.”

Another said: “[Although] we’d like to have a representative team... it would be embarrassing and maybe tokenistic that the team was not selected on a meritocratic basis if this affects performance.”

Concern was also expressed that substandard performance would put “unfair pressure on the woman”, if selected based on reasons other than ability.

Wadham social secretaries, Greg Ritchie and Vita Bax, said: “To be honest it wasn’t entirely unexpected that we didn’t have many female applicants. It’s a bit like snooker and darts: quizzing tends to attract more males.

“As Wadham SU agreed, putting a woman who isn’t of the necessary standard on the team is not fair on other contestants or the wider movement for gender equality in University Challenge.”

Ritchie added that the SU maintained: “putting a woman forward who was not of the necessary standard would be unfair on the women, other contestants and the movement for gender equality on University Challenge as a whole.”

Biotech firm Hemogenyx links up with Oxford University to transform treatment of blood cancers Hemogenyx, a biotech company pioneering blood cancer treatments is to unveil a tie-up with Oxford University this week, a month after listing on the London Stock Exchange. The firm is developing antibodies to fight leukaemia and lymphoma, which it hopes will eliminate the need for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The treatments will only target affected cells, meaning that more patients will be able to undergo bone marrow transplants, required in recurring cases of blood diseases.

The firm’s link-up with Oxford University will test if the process makes blood cells healthy.

Hemogenyx chief Dr Vladislav Sandler said the partnership could ‘completely transform’ the treatment of blood cancers.

Hemogenyx shareholders include Cornell University, in New York State, where Sandler developed the pioneering technology. The £10 million startup is headquartered in London but its labs are based in New York.

Liam Frahm Ketones hailed as “fourth macronutrient” Human performance startup HVMN alongside Oxford University have developed a new ketone-based drink which promises a boost to sports performance despite containing no fat, carbohydrates or protein.

The calories in the drink come from ketones, molecules which the body releases during fatloss caused by a lack of carbohydrates.

Most people access this through a ketogenic diet, in which one artificially cuts carbohydrates out of their diet.

Experiments run by the team propose that a combination of ketones, which provide energy independently of carbohydrates, at the same time as carbohydrates themselves, would create a “stacking effect” of energy provision.

The ketone levels in those who have drunk the ketone drink after an hour are similar to those in people who have fasted for seven days.

Elite cyclists given the ketone drink cycled 400m further on average in 30 minutes than those given drinks high in either fat or carbohydrates.

Charlie Willis

News 6

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Oxford City Council join forces to announce SUGAR SMART programme to reduce sugar consumption Carla Fuenteslópez Staff Writer

Oxford City Council, along with the Jamie Oliver Foundation, Good Food Oxford and local Oxford organisations, have joined forces to reduce sugar consumption in Oxford.

Tackling high sugar consumption and encouraging individuals to eat nutritious food and exercise regularly will help lead healthier and happier lives.

Obesity increases the risk of developing even more diseases.

People who are obese are 3 times more likely to develop colon cancer; 5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes; and more than 2.5 times more likely to develop high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. Moreover, it is an expensive problem. In 2014-2015, overweight and obesity-related ill-health cost £6.1 billion to the NHS. In 2015, 63 percent of adults and nearly a third (28 percent)

of children aged 2-15 in England were classed as overweight (a body mass index greater than 25) or obese (BMI >30). In Oxford, 1 out of every 5 children in Year 6 (at the end of Primary School) is classified as obese.

SUGAR SMART is a campaign of Jamie Oliver and the charity Sustain. It aims to reduce sugar consumption by getting people to think about how much sugar they are consuming, and educating individuals, communities and businesses on the healthier choices that are available. Current SUGAR SMART cities include Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Glasgow and Brighton.

Anyone - councils, schools, restaurants, independent companies - can pledge to become SUGAR SMART. Businesses that have pledged to become SUGAR SMART commit to promote free tap water, adopt a traffic light sticker system on canteen/café drinks menus, make 80% of drinks offered sugar free, make

healthier options more visible, and introduce a 10p sugar tax on sales of sugary drinks in canteens/cafes that will be destined to a children’s health fund.

In Oxford, the City Council will be signing a Local Authority Declaration that explores measures such as: limiting the advertising of sugary drinks on council-managed noticeboards and within its Leisure Centres; supporting the availability of free tap water in such centres and other sites; and encouraging local business to sign up to become Sugar Smart Businesses.

The scheme, launched with ‘The Great Sugar Debate’ on 11 November at the Oxford United FC home match, received £5,000 (granted to Good Food Oxford) from Sustainable Food Cities and will be matched by key partners through in-kind officer time.

Additionally, a public consultation, which aims “to gain an insight into people’s views and understanding surround-

ing sugar consumption in Oxford”, can be completed online.

Looking ahead, SUGAR SMART

Oxford will host university debates and offer informative school assemblies in the New Year.

Helen.S.Cooper

Scandic Hotels

Final £2.8m Museum of Oxford comes top of PwC’s Good Growth Index for second year in a row Oxford plans revealed Liam Frahm News Editor

Oxford has been named as the top city for economic well-being in PwC’s annual “Good Growth for Cities” index for the second year in succession. The index measures the performance of UK’s main cities against a range of indicators of economic success and wellbeing, based on the views of the public and business, including employment, health, income, skills, housing affordability, owner occupation, transport, environmental factors, income inequality and new business start-ups.

The 2017 report highlights Oxford’s “continued strong performance” and “confirms that the city has maintained a wellbalanced and fast growing economy” and highlights the city’s

Photoglob Zürich

weaknesses in the high cost of housing and lack of investment in transport infrastructure.

John Hawksworth, Chief Economist, PWC said: “If cities are to sustain the strong performance of recent years, this puts a priority on delivering place based growth which is inclusive and addresses key supply side constraints, particularly infrastructure.”

Councillor Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council, said: “These results are very pleasing. They reflect the dynamism of the local economy and the steady creation of new jobs in recent years. They are also a tribute to the excellence of our local health services. It is interesting to note that there is evidence of greater equality in income distribution. The City Council and our colleagues in the County Council and the Growth Board remain focused on tackling those areas where Ox-

ford continues to lag – on the availability of affordable housing and need for greater investment in infrastructure. Our creation of a 2050 vision for Oxford will help ensure we can all continue to us to make the right choices to create the sort of city that people are happy with.”

The report comes as the Council attempts to deal with illegal levels of air pollution in the City. Councillor John Tanner, said: “Toxic and illegal air pollution in the city centre is damaging the health of Oxford’s residents. A step change is urgently needed.” The Council is also tackling an increase in homelessness and rough sleeping.

Councillor Mike Rowley, Board Member for Housing said: ““The Council is working with homelessness organisations to ensure that [...] additional bed spaces will be available as part of our severe weather emergency protocol.”

Charlie Willis News Editor

Plans to redevelop the Museum of Oxford costing £2.8mil have been revealed by Oxford City Council, tripling the size of the museum and aiming “to create an award-winning museum and heritage events space in the centre of Oxford”.

The new museum will “tell the often-overlooked story of Oxford, its people and its communities through exhibits, objects and new oral histories”.

To create the new space, the Old Museum, which closed in 2011, will be redeveloped and incorporated into the Museum of Oxford. The number of exhibits will increase from 286 to 750, over 450 of which have never before been displayed.

The museum will feature two new galleries showcasing “state-of-the-art, interactive exhibits”, as well as Museum Makers, an exhibit where schoolchildren and communities will be able to handle pieces.

The building is being redeveloped in light of building surveys last year which found asbestos and damp in the Old Museum’s basement. The town hall, a Grade II listed building, also needs restoration and preservation work performed.

Public reception of the previous museum was also mixed, with more than 75,000 visitors to the museum each year, but

with residents saying that it was too small. The new museum is projected to be opened in 2020.

The city council is to discuss increasing their contribution from £315,000 to £926,654.

The council is also going to submit an application for a grant of £1,634,710 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and plans to raise £451,000 through fundraising.

Councillor Dee Sinclair, Board Mumber for Culture and Communities, said: “The new Museum of Oxford will give a voice to the stories of the individuals, communities and businesses that have built our culturally-diverse city.

“A lot of work has been happening behind the scenes to get us to this point, including winning charity status for the development trust, consultation with the public and the detailed building survey.

“We are now ready to push on with this exciting project, which will celebrate the rich, fascinating and world-famous history of our city and its people.”

Mike Peel

Week 7 – oxfordsu.org/thisgirlcan #oxbridgegirlscan

#OXBRIDGE GIRLS CAN

A week of free activities organized by Oxford SU and the Sports Federation to encourage more women to get involved in sport.

For more details, visit www.oxfordsu.org/thisgirlcan

MONDAY 20th NOV

WEDNESDAY 22nd NOV

THURSDAY 23rd NOV

10:30 – 11:30am YOGA CLASS / Sweaty Betty Studio, 108 High Street

7:30 – 8:00am MORNING RUN / Radcliffe Camera 12:00 – 1:00pm ZUMBA / If�ley Road Sports Hall

10:30am – 11:30am ATALANTAS BRUNCH (MEMBERS ONLY) / George Street Social

4:00 – 6:00pm WOMEN’S RUGBY TASTER SESSION / If�ley Road Pitches 5:00 – 5:30pm EVENING RUN / Meet at the Radcliffe Camera 8:00 – 9:00pm FEMALE ELITE ATHLETE NUTRITION TALK / Wolfson College

TUESDAY 21st NOV 10:30am – 1pm BADMINTON “DROP IN AND PLAY” SESSION / If�ley Road Sports Centre 3:15pm – 4:15pm WOMEN’S LACROSSE TASTER SESSION / If�ley Road Lacrosse Pitches 5:00 – 5:45pm SPIN CLASS / If�ley Road Sports Centre GLD Stud

12:00 – 1:00pm MIXED DOG WALK / Meet at Keble Gate / University Parks 12:00pm TENNIS vs University of Leicester / If�ley Road Tennis Courts 1:00pm BADMINTON vs University of Bath / If�ley Road Sports Hall 2:00pm RUGBY UNION vs University of Gloucestershire / Marston Sports Ground 2:45pm LACROSSE vs University of Bath / Uni Parks 4:00pm NETBALL vs University of Birmingham / If�ley Road Sports Hall 6:00pm BASKETBALL vs University of Hertfordshire / If�ley Road Sports Hall 6:30 – 7:00pm STRETCH AND RELAX CLASS / St John’s College / Kendrew Events Room

5:00 – 5:45pm BOX FIT CLASS / If�ley Road Sports Centre, GLD Studio 6:00 – 7:30pm WOMEN’S ONLY SWIMMING / Rosenblatt Pool

FRIDAY 24th NOV 7:30 – 8:00am MIXED TRIATHLON CLUB TASTER SESSION / Meet at the Radcliffe Camera / Followed by Brunch in a college 10:30am – 2pm BADMINTON “DROP IN AND PLAY” SESSION / If�ley Road Sports Centre 6:00 – 7:30pm CHEERLEADING TASTER SESSION / If�ley Road Centre Sports Hall

SATURDAY 24th NOV 1:00pm – 3:00pm “GET INVOLVED” AWARENESS RAISING / Radcliffe Camera 7:00 – 10:00pm END OF WEEK CELEBRATION / Lady Margaret Hall, Monson Room

COMMENT

Comment 8

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Paradise Papers: how our tax evasion laws help the rich get richer While the super-rich find tax loopholes, the poorest are penalised for errors on tax forms Hal Churchman Staff Writer

The recent leak of the Paradise Papers – 13 million documents relating to the financial affairs of some of the world’s wealthiest people and corporations – is but another reminder of the distorting effect of wealth on our legal system and politics. Among the many varied figures alleged to have been involved in tax avoidance schemes are the Duke of Westminster, the Barclay brothers (who own The Daily Telegraph), Lewis Hamilton and Jacob Rees-Mogg MP. Even the Queen has been implicated, with the Duchy of Lancaster estate apparently having invested money offshore as well as in BrightHouse, a rent-to-own retailer which has been accused of exploiting the poor and disabled with its exploitative interest rates.

In the spotlight, too, are the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, both of which appear to have avoided tax via offshore havens.

Some will point out that these kinds of activities are legal. That is true. It is also no defence, as their legality is precisely the problem.

Moreover, they are legal merely by omission – these individuals and companies make use of loopholes, unintended gaps in the law.

To know where the loopholes are, and to exploit them effectively, requires an enormous amount of time, money and effort on the part of the law and accountancy firms employed by such wealthy individuals and corporations. Sometimes, though, it requires rather less time and effort – because, coincidentally, many of the private firms advising the government on financial regulations and tax laws also happen to advise many of the

wealthy individuals seeking loopholes. But their services are always expensive, so only ever available to the fantastically well off.

Some will point out that these kinds of activities are legal.

That is true. It is also no defence, as their legality is precisely the problem Somehow there exist people who think any of this is remotely defensible. If you can find the loopholes, they say, or can employ the people to find the loopholes for you, why shouldn’t you be able to avoid paying tax? There is something nauseating about this kind of argument, resembling the pride with which Donald Trump explained away his suspicious tax arrangements during last year’s presidential campaign. When accused in his first debate with Hillary Clinton of having avoided paying any income tax over a two-year period, he replied: “That makes me smart.”

Trump, though, is not a smart man, and that’s part of the problem. You don’t have to be smart; you just have to be rich (which is certainly no guarantee of intelligence). Most of us, sadly, will work on a pay-as-you-earn basis, so the opportunity of squirreling away money in tax havens is not open to us. We will just have to put up with the awful reality of paying for the public services we use.

It might be argued that the wealthier members of our society are far less reliant on public ser-

RoadTripWarrior

vices, and as such needn’t give up such a large share of their wealth.

They are more likely to send their children to private schools, for instance, or to have private healthcare. Given the choice, then, they have the right to do what they wish with their money. But this argument rests on a simplistic understanding of the means by which wealth is accrued and of the way economies function. The wealth of large business owners, for instance, is overwhelmingly generated by that business’ employees. The owners are reliant on the work of those lower down, whose continued employment is in turn dependent on state-funded services like hospitals, social care, transport, and education.

Still there are those who will object; the wealthiest in our society are the ones who create and maintain employment – they are the ones who organise people into workforces and ensure their smooth and efficient functioning. And the effort needed to run a large multinational corporation shouldn’t be diminished, they say – it can be extremely stressful and require a great deal of personal sacrifice. Whether or not the stress of running a large company and being paid millions of pounds a

Flickr: Sonja

to and dependent upon the whole.

It would be nice to believe that all of this is borne out of a simple, innocent unawareness of just how much our lives are dependent on state-funded services. It is perhaps easy to forget that the maintenance of the roads we use, the quality of our food and water, and the law and order we expect are all the result of people paying their taxes;

The wider point here is that wealthy people and corporations simply could not thrive unless there was a network of state-funded infrastructure to support their enterprises no matter how much effort they exerted year is comparable to that of trying to support a family on a low-paid job is a discussion for another day.

For now, just consider the fact that Apple – the world’s largest company and one whose tax affairs are documented in the Paradise Papers – has in the past been forced to acknowledge the unusually high suicide rates at factories where iPhones are assembled in China, as well as the use of child labour.

The wider point here though is that wealthy people and corporations simply could not thrive unless there was a network of statefunded infrastructure already there to support their enterprises, no matter how much effort they exerted or what degree of skill they showed in marshalling their workforce. Defenders of tax avoidance are seemingly blind to the reality of how our society is structured. They cannot see, or refuse to see, how the part is connected

so much of the case for tax avoidance is centred around the belief that the twenty, forty, or forty-five percent of one’s income simply disappears, never to be seen again.

So why do rich companies and individuals feel the need to hoard such vast sums of money? It is important to look beyond the example of the UK in order to really appreciate the appropriate level of moral outrage. Take a moment to consider the following. Eight men – eight – own as much wealth as the entire bottom half of the world’s population – around 3.6 billion people. Suppose – and bear with me here – you were to represent the average wealth of these men as the distance between London and New York City, which is around 3,500 miles. On this scale, the line representing the average wealth of the bottom half would be just over one centimetre long.

Those eight men are each, on average, 450 million times wealthier than the average member of that bottom half. And the richest one percent are wealthier than the other ninety-nine percent combined.

The story in the UK is better but still pitiful. Levels of income inequality in the UK are now as bad as they were in the 1920s, and are worsening rapidly. The wealthiest ten percent of UK households have 1,154 times the wealth of the poorest ten percent. And unsurprisingly there is substantial evidence that inequality in the UK is drastically affecting life expectancy and wellbeing. While the super-rich find loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of tax, the poorest in our country are penalised simply for making errors on tax forms. There are more than five times as many government employees investigating benefit fraud and error than there are investigating tax evasion, despite tax evasion being responsible for over three times as much lost revenue.

These facts simply cannot be comprehended without an understanding of the way in which wealthy individuals and corporations influence the political and legal structures of our society, how they shape public opinion, and encourage ignorance and apathy. As Oxford’s own Professor Danny Dorling says, despite their “unimaginable privilege”, those with wealth “tend to view even the mildest redistribution of wealth as a mortal threat and mobilise energetically to prevent it.” Tax evasion is unethical in the extreme, but it is hard to see how any meaningful change will come about while the wealthy are still pulling the strings.

Comment 9

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

In defence of Lord Patten: why ‘no-platforming’ and safe spaces miss the point Iona Rangeley-Wilson Staff Writer

“If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought”– or so wrote George Orwell in his essay ‘Politics and the English Language’. Language, and most especially political language, is powerful and aware of it. All speech and writing is created with the intention to influence: propaganda and advertisements invade one’s mind with ready-made thoughts, and politicians attempt to convert us to their own beliefs with carefully structured wording. How can we protect the vulnerable from the corrupting power of words?

At what point does freedom of speech limit freedom in actuality?

If, in 1933, Hitler had been prevented from making his speeches, perhaps the German people would not have been so swayed by his charisma, and he would never have come to power; the same can be said of Mussolini a decade earlier. Unacceptable views were voiced, and the consequences were terrible.

But what about Martin Luther King? What about Emily Davison and Emmeline Pankhurst?

What about when hopeful, radical views are expressed for the first time and the consequences are moral and liberating?

The problem with safe spaces is that, as much as they may try

to filter the good from the bad, because the democratic views of society are forever developing, they can only ever be indiscriminate. If unconventional views go unvoiced, society cannot progress. It won’t improve and it won’t devolve: there will be no Fascists, but there will be no suffragettes either.

The problem with safe spaces: because the democratic views of society are forever developing, they can only ever be indiscriminate

Lord Patten was right to condemn no-platforming and safe spaces as “fundamentally offensive”. No-one is omniscient or infallible, and so no-one has the knowledge or should have the power to silence certain views and to promote others. Universities should encourage atmospheres of debate and learning. The best way of strengthening one’s own views is to have them contested. Rather than attempting to shut down the views of an anti-abortion society at St John’s, WomCam protestors should have been lis-

tening to their opposed opinions –“incorrect” as they may have been – and enlightening themselves on why so many others are convinced by the “wrong” side.

What so many “liberals” in our generation fail to understand is that you do not convert people by silencing them. You convert people by understanding them, empathising with them and offering a superior alternative. Donald Trump was not elected President last year because the American electorate was evil or stupid or wanted the worst for themselves and their country. He was elected democratically by people with very real concerns who felt that they had not been properly represented by traditional politics.

If anything, the dismissal of contested views leads to polarisation and exacerbates problems.

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty remains an excellent model for freedom of discussion. “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, ifhe had the power, would be justified insilencing mankind.” Silencing opposition assumes infallibility. Debate, however, allows opposing sides to reconsider and improve their arguments; and if, indeed, there came a time when a certain opinion was known to be entirely correct, it should still be contested to avoid being reduced

to dogma. As Mill also writes, “There is the greatest difference between presuming an opinion to be true, because, with every opportunity for contesting it, it has not been refuted, and assuming its truth for the purpose of not permitting its refutation.”

University is a place for widening horizons, for not only learning what is correct and incorrect but for discovering what other people believe, how the world works and how we can change it for the better. A blinkered view, no matter what good intentions it carries, helps no-one. Assuming that the students of Oxford University are so weak-minded as to not be able to filter good and bad views themselves is of-

fensive, a prime example of an if-we-want-your-opinion-we’llgive-it-to-you type attitude. If a terrorist were to speak at the Oxford Union, it would be a fascinating study into the rise of Islamic extremism, and a useful exercise into investigating how such people can be re-converted.

Yes, history has revealed that freedom of speech can be dangerous, but its elimination is more dangerous still. An institution of learning should feel free to promote certain views, but not to the point of discrimination against other views, and in fact an understanding of all views is essential to the understanding of any. No human is infallible, and safe spaces ignore this basic fact.

James Yuanxin Li

The red poppy: a failure of commemoration that stifles debate and resolution Verity Winn Deputy Editor

It is that time of year again. November brings a cluster of days marked out for remembrance, with All Souls Day and Bonfire night, but none have become so charged as Remembrance Sunday and in particular the parade of poppies it brings forth.

The red poppy has drawn substantial criticism in recent times, with concerns raised about potential militaristic connotations, and the ‘poppy police’ in workplaces, schools, and the media. Its symbolism has become a spear to rattle in contemporary debates about nationalism, and inevitably, it is in this context that it has become so charged. From its beginning in 1921, the poppy appeal has now grown a culture of its own. Spin-off poppy merch is touted in most supermarkets, and even the poor cookie monster was obliged to wear one on The One Show lest viewers be horrified by his flagrant disregard for convention. Much of this smacks more than a little of virtue-signaling.

However robust these arguments are, they unfailingly fall flat in the face of the pervasive idea that wearing a poppy is necessary to show re-

spect and gratitude for those killed serving their country in conflicts.

This is a dangerous misconception in our national culture; the poppy, and its attendant memorial services and monuments, singularly fail to respect the memory of those who were killed. Rather, they are the beginning and end of a non-existent conversation about the trag-

ceptance of the events of the World Wars, and a statement that there is nothing critical to be said about them at all. It is difficult to argue that unthinking acceptance of such conflicts is an appropriate, genuine way to remember and respect those who were conscripted into them, some of which might not have subscribed to the jingoism of the time.

The passivity poppies promote in public memory of the World Wars transforms conflicts from deliberate events... to vaguely unavoidable, tragic accidents that one need not look any closer at edy of international conflicts, and the mass death of the World Wars in particular. The passivity poppies promote in public memory of the World Wars transforms conflicts from deliberate events in which agency can be attributed and important lessons learned, to vaguely unavoidable, tragic accidents that one need not look any closer at – the public-memory version of ‘nothing to see here’. Without a public conversation about these events, the silence of the poppy amounts to ac-

The public are not necessarily to blame for the inappropriate commemoration of the World Wars.

Since the end of the First World War, remembrance of the war dead has been characterised by an inability to process and resolve what happened.

Considering the scale, nature, and ambiguous origin of the loss of life and normalcy, this is completely understandable. It is appropriate that a cenotaph, an empty tomb, was used to embody the sense of national bewilderment people felt in 1920. It is

tempting to view the repetitive, almost ritualistic vocabulary used on monuments and in remembrance ceremonies as attempts to bolster anxiety about events with sure entities, like the notions of worthy sacrifice, and service to king and country.

With this is mind, the morbid fascination British culture has with the Second World War in particular (the good, uncomplicated one) can be explained. If the public need not think too deeply about conflicts having bought a poppy, the graphic depiction of people dying in high-budget television dramas about the World Wars need not be challenged either, or have anything more to say about the events they depict than how nice their cinematography can be. This culture makes the release of Call of Duty: WW2 in the same week as Remembrance Sunday sensible.

For the cynical, it is evident that rehearsed, unthinking acts of commemoration serve the powers that be to great effect. If similar conflicts occur in future, the British public has not developed the robust dialogues about conscription, exploitation of the working class, and fighting on behalf of governments that it might have done through constructive, yet respectful, commemoration. Ignorance and confu-

sion also serve those who continue to benefit from the same systems of privilege, such as the arms trade, that contributed in large measure to death tolls. In the words of Irwin from The History Boys, “it’s not ‘lest we forget’, but ‘lest we remember’”.

As crucial as critical national debate is, an essential response to loss on such a scale is indeed respectful, personal commemoration. This can be better achieved without the red poppy. The white poppy, promoted by the ‘Peace Pledge Union’, serves the same end whilst sparking a conversation that need not be political.

Alternatively, there are an increasingly diverse range of projects for commemoration to engage with.

Last year’s ‘We’re Here Because We’re Here’ campaign commemorated the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by sending people dressed as soldiers to train stations across the UK to give people a sense of the reality of soldiers who fought, and handed out cards bearing the details of the real individuals they represented. Alternative attempts at commemoration, that foster debate and genuine understanding of the lived reality of the war dead, do far more to promote respectful commemoration than the enforced silence of the red poppy.

PROFILE

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Profile 10

Rosie Wardle

Lifting the lid on the multi-million dollar investors rehaping the animal rights scene Daniel Evans Staff Writer

It is currently estimated that over 56 billion animals are slaughtered every year for human consumption (excluding fish and sea creatures), leading to 32,000 million tons of CO2 emissions.

This equates to 14.5% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the combined exhaust emissions from all modes of transport. Additionally, if current research is to be believed, the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is increasing the antibiotic resistance seen in humans. It therefore seems plausible that in the nottoo-distant future this industry could have serious consequences for human health and wellbeing.

However, the problems related to animal agriculture do not seem to have captured the public’s imagination in the same way as, let’s say, renewable energy or electric cars. These prospective dangers are not only ignored by the majority of the public, but also, more significantly, by investors, who have consistently overlooked the financial risks of animal agriculture as well as the potential opportunity.

“Investors can be the real change in the food tech revolution” Fortunately, former Oxford student Rosie Wardle recognised one potential opportunity, and in December 2015, oversaw the launch of FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return), a unique initiative aimed at putting factory farming on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda. FAIRR has already achieved considerable success, so I decided to meet Rosie at her office in Oxford Street, London, to discuss both FAIRR, and the food tech revolution that the initiative is helping to nurture.

I began by asking Rosie how she initially became involved with the FAIRR. “I’ve always had a long-term

interest in animal rights. I grew up in Yorkshire and remember seeing the mounds of piled up animals from the 2001 foot-andmouth outbreak. I think it was from that point I developed an awareness of farmed animals and the processes behind the industry.” However, Rosie went on to study German and Linguistics at Oxford, before completing a Master’s in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute; her first career seemingly worlds away from the path that she is currently following. ‘I first went to work in art research and then to the Ben Uri Museum, but after learning more and more about industrial animal agriculture and the realities of it, I just wanted to figure out a way I could get involved as a career.” Rosie’s passion for animal rights and the skills she had gained from working in museum development did equip her with the abilities she required, although her involvement with FAIRR came about almost by chance. “I was lucky because as I was thinking of a career change into anything involving animal rights, and it just so happened that Jeremy Coller was thinking about doing something specific with his foundation, so I found out about the opportunity at the right time.” Jeremy Coller, a passionate vegetarian, whose private equity firm is responsible for managing over 21 billion dollars, launched the Jeremy Coller Foundation in 2002, with an emphasis on strategic grant making.

It was from this platform that FAIRR was launched in December 2015. “Jeremy is extremely passionate about animal rights, and with his support we’ve managed to achieve so much in such a short space of time.”

FAIRR was established as an initiative intended to brief investors and the wider investment community and then use the increased level of awareness to mobilise investors to tackle the issue of factory farming. I asked Rosie about FAIRR’s approach and how it had developed.

“FAIRR is unique in that its sole focus is on animal agriculture and identifying the risks and opportunities involved. Very early on the link with investors became apparent and we thought, how can we use the tools at our

disposal to influence a change?”

The influence that Jeremy Coller has had is evidently enormous.

“With his help we managed to get off to such a quick start.

Thanks to his influence and track record with investing it’s clear that if he says ‘I believe this to be a risk,’ then other investors will sit up and listen.”

FAIRR’s message has proved appealing to investors, and the initiative has already gained considerable momentum in a very short space of time. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of traction that we’ve achieved from very early on with the investment community. What we’ve managed to do with the FAIRR initiative is sign investors up to agree that the issues surrounding animal agriculture are financially material, and we now have a large investor network who manage around $4 trillion, including Aviva Investors, Cornerstone Capital and Robeco Asset Management.” This level of support represents a significant statement on the part of some of the world’s leading investors, and FAIRR has managed to achieve this in only two years. “Getting investors to consider this issue material is a big achievement.

The nature of involvement differs from investor to investor, but the intention is clear, some investors now completely screen

out factory farms, with others committing to improving practices. We want to be a broad church, getting as many investors involved and thinking about the issue as possible. We’ve achieved all this in such a short space of time and with a very small, but ever expanding, team.”

I asked Rosie if she thought there was a wilful ignorance regarding the subject of factory farming. “Well, possibly, but it is an incredibly complex and

FAIRR’s methodology is that the initiative not only highlights the risks involved in animal agriculture, but also helps to identify opportunities. “Investors can be the real change in the food tech revolution, for example, companies and investors need to diversify their protein supply chains.

Relying solely on animal proteins to feed the world now, and in the future, isn’t a resilient model.

Because of all of the potential impacts, making a shift now fu-

“It is an incredibly complex and multifaceted issue” multi-faceted issue, and before us, it seems like there was no one there to distil it for investors. We have to clearly identify risk and opportunity and make these issues material for them.” The effects of animal livestock production on global warming are also undeniable, and the problem is only increasing. “We need to address livestock to stay within the two degree limit, yet it seems to still be an unspoken issue.” Rosie admitted that over the next five years FAIRR would like to see intensive livestock farming recognised as a serious risk issue within the global investment community, similar to how investors have acknowledged the risks of fossil fuels. “We would also ideally like to be engaging with a broader group of global food companies to improve practices.

Now that we have more people on our team, we are looking to expand and build out our focus areas. We’d like to focus further on animal welfare and other high profile issues such as labour rights in the supply chain.”

What is fascinating about

ture-proofs their business and creates further opportunities for new products and companies.”

In addition to supporting FAIRR, Jeremy Coller personally invests in 15 food technology companies, which include businesses creating lab-grown, or ‘clean’, meat. “It sounds like a pipe dream, but actually, although there are a lot of obstacles, companies like ‘Memphis Meats’ say they could have an affordable product on the market by 2021. They’ve recently raised 17 million dollars in investment and when you look at the investors involved, individuals like Bill Gates and Richard Branson, and existing large meat companies like Cargill, it seems that there is real confidence and that this is likely to be the future for our food.” Giving people another option, a product that doesn’t affect global temperatures and is safe and cheap to eat, is something that Rosie is passionate about too. “You can do as much as you like to raise awareness of the risk, but if there’s no alternative, then what can people do?”

Take the

e g d e l P e i g #Veg 2017

Come into Oxford SU and take your picture with our selfie banner, collect your badge, fill in the form and we’ll register your college & pledge

9.00 – 5:30 / 4 Worcester St #VeggiePledge2017 VeggiePledge

Features

Features 12

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

How Crazy Ex-Girlfriend made me proud of my heritage Gabrielle Bucaya discusses how the hit TV show combats stereotypes Gabrielle Bucaya Staff Writer

If you haven’t watched Crazy ExGirlfriend, you should.

It’s the type of comedic show that is unbelievably good at thinking outside the box. This series begins with Rebecca Bunch (portrayed by Rachel Bloom), a young and successful lawyer in her mid-twenties, who hated her life. Wondering if this is the happiest she could ever be, she runs into her ex-boyfriend from summer camp. She sees this as a sign to move on with her life, by literally moving to SoCal, where he lives. In turn, Rebecca starts a new life there with undeniably quirky characters who will pull at your heartstrings whilst she figures out who she is and how to win over her childhood sweetheart.

Fun fact? This entire series is also a comedy musical.

However, it’s not just the catchy tunes and shameless crude humor that has allowed for me to really, really like the show. One of the most important themes integrated into the plotline is focused on her love interest, Josh Chan (portrayed by Vincent Rodriguez III), and his ethnic background.

He is Filipino.

Now while that may not be a strikingly interesting fact at first, think about it: How often do we get an Asian male playing the lead role in a romantic comedy?

immigrants took on jobs as cleaners, nannies, and nurses. People ridiculed me about my race because of these factors, when there should not have been any form of discrimination in the first place. I think one

We have to take the time to remember that while we may have things in common, there are still so many wonderful things to learn about one another Josh Chan is a normal dude who works in retail at a tech shop. He grew up with supportive Filipino family, and he’s got a passion for dancing. In one particular episode, Rebecca is invited to share Thanksgiving with his family. Feeling excited about this invitation, she makes it a point to respect his upbringing by learning about the language, the food, and the lifestyle of his cultural background. How often do you see this?

Now, you may be wondering, why am I so attached to this idea? As you may have guessed, I have Filipino roots myself - and let me tell you, growing up was difficult because of it. Back home in Montreal, Canada, where I was born, a lot of Filipino

of the most shocking moments in my life was when I had told a friend from college about my ethnic background. Her response? “Oh, that’s cool, I have a Filipino.”

I. Have. A. Filipino.

That moment still resonates with me quite a bit, as I cannot fathom the amount of ignorance we have in this world. When I look at myself as a person, I truly believe that who I am is heavily influenced by my cultural upbringing. However, I am fully aware that whilst I value my own beliefs and traditions, it is absolutely important to learn about how other people were raised as well.

With a show like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend that can take charge and

CW

combat the discrimination, ignorance, and stereotypes, I have hope. Rebecca’s efforts to educate her viewers about Josh’s native background not only demonstrates a sign of respect to him and his family, but brings light to a culture that is often ignored in the Western World.

We have to take the time to remember that while we are all individually unique, and while we

may have things in common, there are still so many wonderful things to learn about one another. Education is key no matter where you are. Beyond the classroom, you can find voices and works of art that are willing to share new information about international cultures.

We have a whole world of new ideas, talent, and flavours to explore.

Look for them. Create them. Learn from them.

T2 is the ultimate tea lover’s paradise The Westgate Centre’s new tea shop impresses Sarah Conkerton and Rosie Shakerchi Sarah Conkerton and Rosie Shakerchi Chief Sub-Editor and Editor-in-Chief

T2 not only sells tea — it celebrates it. Walking into the new shop at the Westgate entrance, walls lined with vibrant, cheery boxes (yellow for bags, orange for loose leaf) seem to greet you with a smile, along with a table stacked with tiny bowls of leaves and a collection of pretty teaware.

Most will gravitate towards the free samples in the middle of the shop, where a selection of their most popular teas are lined up ready to go in jugs, but it’s also satisfying to wander round, sniffing different types and looking at all the boxes.

If you really love tea, T2 is an obvious haven. The selection of black teas is by no means lim-

ited to the usual range of breakfast, assam, or darjeeling: black teas fill up almost an entire wall, next to rows and rows of fruit tisanes, oolong, green and white teas. In vogue at the moment are their range of chai teas, which include the new Popcorn Chai and creamier, chocolatey flavours.

Their selection of teaware is also lovely: there are pretty teapots and ‘tea for one’ sets, mugs, teacups, and virtually anything else you can think of connected to the ceremony of making tea.

Its main downside is that it’s one of the pricier tea shops. Similar in price to Whittards, you would expect to pay more for a box of tea than you might in a supermarket, so for your daily English breakfast it’s perhaps better to stick to Tesco. Where T2 shines is in the newer, more interesting types of tea that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, and in the sense of ceremony it brings

to the tea-drinking experience.

Their colourful flasks are fitted with infusers for brewing on the go, and members of the T2 society can have theirs filled up for free on Fridays with any tea of their choosing.

Where T2 shines is in the newer, more interesting types of tea that you wouldn’t find anywhere else It’s a shame that T2 doesn’t have its own café, since it’d make a great place to chill and try out new teas (though they’ll brew up a sample of whatever you ask for in the shop). Paying for tea in a coffee shop can be painful, to say the least, since anyone can add hot water to a teabag — but at T2,

the tea is exciting and different enough for the experience to be worthwhile.

Don’t know what to buy?

Here are some reccomedations: For the traditional tea drinker: New York Breakfast, Sydney

Rosie Shakerchi

Breakfast, Orange Pekoe For the sweet tooth: Creme Brûlée, Oolong Chocolate Chai, Caramel Brownie For the adventurous: Apple Crumble, Pumping Pomegranate, Lemon Sorbet For self-care: Sleep Tight, Toasty Warm, Happy Days

Features 13

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Get lost in Laurie Lee’s journey around Spain As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is perfect escapism Caitlin Law

Featuers Editor

You may only associate Laurie Lee with his quintessentially English evocation of village life, Cider with Rosie. Yet Lee didn’t remain in his bucolic Gloucestershire forever, but instead packed his bags in 1934 at the age of 19 and impulsively went to Spain. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is the stunning novel that details Lee’s year-long journey around a country that would shortly descend into civil war.

Even more remarkably, Lee traverses the whole of Spain on foot.

The journey begins in Vigo, in the north, and ends up on the south coast. To get there, Lee simply walks and walks, often in blistering heat. Such a foolhardy plan may not appeal to most people, and yet there’s something exhilarating about taking to the road for the sake of it. There’s a real sense of freedom, of endless possibility.

A trip entirely on foot now seems unlikely, and a modern version would surely involve a lot more motorways and Airbnb bookings.

The less sentimentalised view of Spain seems to tie-in with Lee’s growing maturity as he explores the country, which lends the novel a poignant coming-of-age aspect The journey is remarkable first and foremost for its highly impetuous nature. Lee’s only reason for going to Spain is that he can say ‘Can I have a glass of water, please?’ in Spanish. Beyond that there’s simply a desire to escape drab, depression-era England.

Once there, Lee busks to earn his keep, and often lodges with kindly locals who take pity on a strange Englishman with broken Spanish.

The sense of escapism is heightened by the notion of a journey that modernisation has made nearly impossible.

Lee describes his early attempts at poetry in the beginning of the novel, and sure enough the writing is suffused with a breathtaking lyricism. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is as much about the way Lee describes the places he visits, as the places themselves. The town of Vallado-

lid is not simply ‘dusty and old’ but ‘a dark square city hard as its syllables - a shut box, full of the pious dust and preserved breath of its dead’. In another beautiful passage, Lee claims ‘The borders of consciousness are anxious enough, raw and desperate places; we shouldn’t be dragged across them like struggling thieves as if sleep was a felony.’

Beguiling though Lee’s evocation of Spain is, there are moments which risk becoming over sentimentalised. Images abound of women sitting by sun-dappled river banks and unspoilt rural villages. The novel manages to counter this, however, with its increasing awareness of the political divides in Spain that would eventually erupt into war. Lee is even forced to leave the country on a British naval ship that arrives on the southern coast to rescue any British citizens trapped by war. The less sentimentalised view of Spain seems to tie-in with Lee’s growing maturity as he explores the country, which lends the novel a poignant coming-of-age aspect.

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is a novel to savour, replete with images of sierras, dusty old towns, and sun-bleached plains. For some mid-term escapism, you couldn’t do much better.

Fancy some more travel writing to help you escape during term time? Here are 3 more top picks: 1) Tracks, Robyn Davidson Robyn Davidson crosses the Australian desert with a herd of camels, in a journey which evokes the outback in all its blistering intensity.

The novel has also been turned into an excellent film starring Mia Wasikowska.

2) Squirrel Pie (and other stories) : Adventures in Food Across the Globe, Elizabeth Luard Veteran food and travel writer Elizabeth Luard details the travels she has made in search of the world’s best food. Luard even includes recipes at the end of each chapter so you can satisfy your cravings.

3) Best of Lonely Planet Travel Writing The perfect collection to dip in and out of, complete with writing by Lonely Planet’s co-founder Tony Wheeler.

Cruising China’s Centre: the power of the library Sasheenie Moodley

Staff writer

In my previous column, I wrote about meeting strangers: how to do it, why you should do it, where you should do it. This week, I took my own advice. Where could I meet strangers in the intellectual village that is Oxford? For all you post-grads out there: where could I meet strangers *for free* in the intellectual village that is Oxford?

The library.

Oxford boasts the largest university library system in the United Kingdom, yet each library is a novel space. Each space could even be described by some as a delicate ecosystem teeming with activity. What do Oxford’s libraries offer? Which cafe has the widest range of food? Do you need to bring a heater or can you wear a T-shirt? What do you need to ‘get in’? (For those of you who are familiar with American Greek Life terminology: do you have to know a brother?)

Join me, lend me yours ears (or in this case, yours eyes), as we explore… The Bodleian KB Chen China Center Library.

Vibe With all the windows and natural light, this library is the perfect place to work in for those seeking Vitamin D on a sunny day. I must admit, however, that watching the rain is also amazingly therapeutic. All in all, environment is definitely a must for Oxfordians who want to soak in the outdoors without actual being outdoors.

Greenery can be seen from all the rooms facing inward, which brings a sense of peace and tranquility. The library’s vibe brings a sense of calm, or maybe that’s simply the soft echoes of the piano when a musician is at work.

The secluded location, away from the hustle and bustle of the city center, no doubt adds to the ‘cool’ vibe.

Food The Elizabeth Wordsworth Tea Room is open 10:00-16:00. You can purchase hot and cold drinks as well as cold sandwiches at any time. Be sure to check out the lunchtime Asian fusion meals, which are served starting 14:15.

Expectations and rules No food or drink is permittedexcept for bottled water. You should

not take bags into the library given the nature of some rare Chinese collections and 60,000 volumes. There are clear bags available at the front desk should you need them. Lockers at the entrance of the library are super convenient. These ‘officially’ cost £1 to gain key access, but if you cannot spare the change feel free to leave your belongings in a locker. Gotta love the Oxford honor code! Be aware that some of the working spaces require key access after 17:00, so take a friend who is a veteran of the China Center.

Oxford boasts the largest university library system in the United Kingdom Fun facts 1.The center is considered Europe’s leading center for the study of China.

2.HRM the Duke of Cambridge formally opened the China Center in 2014. For those fangirls (and

fanboys) out there, you might consider walking on the same floor that William did.

3.It was announced that HRM the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with a second child on the same day as the China Center was opened.

4.The library boasts works on China and the Chinese diaspora (except art and archaeology) in all languages.

Remember To… Check out the couches and lounges on the upper floors. You can work anywhere in the building.

Take a stroll through the central courtyard: a ‘quiet zone’ for fresh air and some contemplation during a study break.

Access overnight storage in the basement locker rooms as needed.

Try out the piano in the Tea Room. For you keen, musical Oxfordians, the piano can be played at any time and is tuned regularly.

Check out the large, rustic art feature in the courtyard. I cannot read Chinese so poetic significance is open to interpretation, although the plaque certainly brings the space together.

Get a (generous) slice of cake

and coffee in the Tea Room for only £2.60.

History Officially opened in September 2014, this library is part of the Dickson Poon China Center. The library boasts cosy study spaces and new-age technology for scanning and printing books; a testament to the £10 million donated by its most notable benefactor Mr. Dickson Poon CBE - Hong Kong philanthropist. Perhaps he also had a hand in picking the modern couches, tables and chairs…

Association The China Center is officially owned by St Hugh’s College, yet the center is open to all Oxfordians. The center combines interdisciplinary research and teaching - within Chinese Culture.

Architecture The China Center was designed

by David Morley Architects. The building features numerous wallto-ceiling glass windows, and modern architecture. Ancient Chinese relics and scripts covering most walls bring a sense of calm to the space. A square green space can be found at the building’s core.

Features 14

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Why leaving it behind was the best thing could do for my faith Hannah Taylor Staff Writer

I’ve been a Christian since early childhood and when I first came up to Oxford I was excited at the prospect of joining the Christian Union and finding other Christians when there had been so few at school. However, now a third year, I’m not part of any faith societies. And I’m not the only one.

With this and the recent actions of Balliol JCR in mind, it’s time we started to take a proper look at why so many people view OICCU (Oxford Intercollegiate Christian Union) in a negative light.

The major problem with OICCU is its evangelical basis. It is affiliated with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) whose evangelical doctrine it adopts, in conjunction with its own vision to be “Giving every student in Oxford University the chance to hear and respond

to the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.

The result is a specific brand of Christianity that makes OICCU an uncomfortable place to be if you hold to a different Christian doctrine such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy or anything other than evangelical protestant.

There was a 5-minute talk by a gay apologist on how celibacy was the only true way for the gay Christian It is worth noting here the difference between evangelism and evangelical. Evangelism is the act of informing non-Christians about Christianity whilst the latter is just a type of Christianity like Catholicism or Protes-

tantism. I don’t disagree with evangelism, it’s encouraged in the Bible and is like your friend telling you how wonderful their society is and that you should join too. However, I believe the key is moderation; evangelicals, especially within OICCU, focus almost entirely on evangelism and don’t do much else. Aggressive and constant invitations to events can alienate people, like mission week (recently “Everything in Colour” and “Home”) or text-a-toastie. These campaigns have a militant approach to conversion where people are specifically targeted and their progress discussed in CU meetings.

I found this constant pressure to actively evangelise damaging to my self-esteem. If you find social situations hard, fulfilling these expectations is difficult and as a result I began to feel as though I was a second-rate Christian. This is, of course absurd, the passage 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 compares Christians to the parts of the body, each with their own different role but all still a crucial part.

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that being a Christian is not only about evangelism.

My disagreements with OICCU to don’t only lie with their doctrinal basis and evangelistic methods. Unfortunately, the conservative views of many evangelical groups are present under OICCU’s surface.

I realised this when some apolo-

Bella Italia: authentic Italian cuisine Penny Young Features Editor

A step away from the Oxford Playhouse sits Bella Italia, a chain that feels like a small family-run restaurant in Italy. It’s authentic Italian in almost every way, from its décor to its menu packed with Italian ingredients including their new fresh pasta made by the Gaetarelli family ‘pastificio’ in Lake Garda. The one thing that disconnects the restaurant from real-life Europe is that it does actually offer a wide variety of labeled vegetarian and vegan dishes, which is a welcome adaptation for the UK market.

The restaurant is buzzing with energy, and feels youthful but cosy.

Its candles are annointed in true Millenium style with used-winebottle candles and each has a view of the busy street outside, and the numerous passers by offer a great conversation starter or cover for an escape attempt if you’re stuck on an awkward first date. What’s even better is that they have a 50% off student discount on all pasta and classic pizzas Monday-Wednesday with a student ID, or alternatively 2 for 1 on cocktails. I tried the Bella Mojito with fresh mint leaves which cooling and delicious, and would recommend going to Bella for the drinks alone.

Italian food’s essence is its highquality but simple ingredients Italian food’s essence is its highquality but simple ingredients, which is why it is so vulnerable to destruction by the student lifestyle - the typical student’s supermarket own-brand pesto and fusilli is not

what Italian cuisine is all about, surprisingly enough - and Bella Italia deliver on the classics as well as offering more adventurous alternatives from their new menu.

Highlights include the new Arrostro Platter to share, which has a great selection of oven-food (which no one realizes the value of until they are forced to live with only a hob) and the classic British Italian starter, dough balls.

Better quality than those of most other Italian restaurants, their dough balls are a great option if you’re ordering pasta for your main but you’re craving some pizza dough. The Roma pizzas are very large and great to share, or if you’ve got a big appetite, and come in a lot of interesting varieties including the new Pollo Pesto pizza which has Pesto from the Contino family in Liguria. The highlight of the dessert menu is the shot glass desserts, which you can either have all five of yourself, or share between the table.

Bella Italia satisfies a craving for Italian food that is less guilt-inducing than a takeaway pizza, and if you use the student discount or get takeaway, it will also be cheaper - that’s a win / win all round.

gists were invited to run an OICCU Wednesday evening Central. I was, as a bisexual Christian, particularly looking forward to the small group discussion on sexuality. But instead of a meaningful discussion, there was a 5-minute talk by a gay apologist on how celibacy was the only true way for the gay Christian, this was then followed by several questions from OICCU members that began with “obviously homosexuality is a sin…” and similar homophobic comments.

No documents produced by UCCF or OICCU mention anything about LGBTQ+ issues specifically. However, the UCCF document on how religious societies should handle equal opportunities issues states: “Any allegation of discrimination or harassment made against the society must be properly substantiated and not based merely on the expression of unpopular or controversial opinions”. However declaring homosexuality to be wrong is homophobia not just an unpopular opinion. Meanwhile a google search of “homophobia in UCCF” brings up several sources that talk of recent discrimination at UCCF affiliated CU’s across the country. In 2006 Edinburgh CU was banned from teaching a UCCF course that included books on ‘curing’ homosexuality, a course that remains available and unchanged.

The OICCU often has speakers, both from the university and

from outside, who express these “controversial views”. For example, Krish Kandiah, a frequent speaker at OICCU events, compared homosexual sex to assaulting one’s mother at a Bristol CU event in 2012. His bigoted and unwavering views on homosexual sex being a sin are well known in Christian circles. Michael Ramsden, the joint director of the Oxford Christian Centre for Apologetics, is another regular speaker and he has talked of how he believes homosexuality is a so-called ‘lifestyle’ that is not approved of by the Bible.

OICCU not only discriminates but will lie when convenient to them. Some friends of mine went to an OICCU discussion meeting where the leader denied the existence of the non-canonical gospels and told them that the Bible had never undergone change.

This is blatantly ridiculous given historical evidence exists for both. The same evening my Asian friend was told ‘her God was not the God of the Bible” a harmful statement even without the possible racist undertones.

Despite all this, I still hold many OICCU members in high regard - but certainly not all. Most are blind to the problems but others mirror the discriminatory actions of the UCCF. We need to speak up against the major flaws in OICCU if we want to make it open and welcoming instead of toxic. If we speak now, we can begin this process of change.

Tales from the Bakery: disaster strikes Andrew Wood Staff Writer

Macarons are the hardest thing to bake in all of the world. To create perfectly puffed, crisp yet fluffy, vibrantly coloured circles of exactly the same shape is supposed to be nigh on impossible.

But the shops do it, so how hard can it be? That is precisely what BakeSoc intended to find out this week. As if attempting the impossible wasn’t enough of a challenge, our numbers were severely depleted due to the 5th week essay-crisis-pandemic and El Presidente (yours truly) had screwed up and forgotten the eggs. Promptly straight back to Co-Op he went! Oops.

With all thoughts of presidential ineptitude put very briefly to one side, the four remaining members instead turned their minds to the task of macarons.

The Buzzfeed recipe promised easy desserts to bake with your best friend. Instead it proved to be a minefield of mistakes and innuendos, especially when whisking egg whites! Who would have thought stiff peaks would

be so hard to achieve? Or that whipping too much would just lead to it all collapsing? The result was a partially-collapsed supposed-to-be-pink-actuallygrey batter and a slightly less bad white batter. Too hard to fix, too late to restart, so we just moved on to the filling: creamcheese and icing sugar combined in a cheesecake-style frosting.

Add some strawberry jam and the results, whilst not in any way like we intended them, were still yummy. In 5th week we combatted the blues with lashings of lava and copious cinnamon.

Come find out what we’ll try this week!

Shake up

your Christmas!

Get an extra deal a week with NUS extra

nus.org.uk/nus-extra

ART & LIT

Art & Lit 16

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Poetry review: the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur Kaur’s recent publication will have an important influence in modern poetry Juliet Garcia Staff Writer

Rupi Kaur’s debut collection milk and honey liberated poetry from the archaisms of regulated metre and stuffy subject matter. Her fluid and plain style is known for beautifully encapsulating the struggles of heartbreak, femininity and defiance. However, Kaur’s ambrosia formula of abstract sketches and lower case-lettered odes to self-love in milk and honey seem at risk of souring if repeated unoriginally in the new publication the sun and her flowers. After the raw journey from ‘the hurting’ to ‘the healing’, a cynical reader may question if the sun and her flowers can succeed in a growth of Kaur’s poetic style, or if it can only ever be a withering novelty.

However, a close analysis reveals it to be a haunting evocation of issues such as female infanticide and racial diaspora, departing Kaur’s reputation from merely tumblr-girl aesthetic to an ethereal goddess of social justice.

Kaur’s poetry rose to prominence through self-publication on her Instagram account, which has over 1.8 million followers. The choice of social

media as a platform for her poetry has amassed a fierce dismissal by sceptics, since two-liners such as ‘on the last day of love/my heart cracked inside my body’ seem targeted at the mass reposting of uninspired scrollers.

Although perhaps some of her work descends into cliché, to dismiss Kaur entirely for using Instagram is to display an intellectual elitism. Kaur in fact opposes modernity’s addiction to social media, posting on Instagram in order to hold up a mirror to her audience that reflects their actual experiences. Her work prompts selfcontemplation amidst a gallery of idealised snapshots and unreal lives.

The style of the sun and her flowers combines short poems of a few lines with longer narratives, recounting issues such as the beauty found in her parents’ broken English and self-reclamation after sexual abuse.

The poems often lack titles and distinctive boundaries between each work; they can be read individually or as sequences. This fluidity removes any impersonality, and creates an organic poetry that refuses formalistic constraints. Rather than laziness or a pretentious attempt at original-

ity, her use of only lower-case letters is an attempt to include Gurmukhi script in her work, in which divisions between upper or lower casing do not exist. Kaur also eschews traditional punctuation, which is powerfully affirmed in the line ‘there are some things/in the world so infinite/ they could never use a full stop’.

The first section of the sun and her flowers entitled ‘wilting’ is haunted by the pervading distress of lost love, the struggle of waking up in bed alone. However, Kaur excels in not simply lamenting a breakup or providing condescending advice, but instead affirming the importance of self-love. The poem ‘what love looks like’ refuses to digress into a selfpitying sob story, and instead she candidly writes ‘i think love starts here/everything else is just desire and projection’. By questioning the definition of love, Kaur emphasises our unhealthy obsession with romantic affection alone. Instead we should also legitimise the love of selflessly hardworking parents, the fading love of a distant friend, love as an act of giving.

Importantly, the arduous journey towards self-acceptance is not simpli-

fied, and the struggles of depression are harrowingly portrayed. Disturbing passages such as ‘what draws you to her/tell me what you like/so I can practice’ candidly expose Kaur’s selfflagellating psyche. Yet, what is so crucial and refreshing in the sun and her flowers is the defiant refusal to find validation in a lover’s approval.

Kaur’s unapologetic poetic style insists on taking up space the sun and her flowers was originally intended as a collection dedicated to toxic love, on how unhealthy relationships can result in a distorted lens on the world. However, Kaur was disturbed by recent events in America, and consequently found herself drawn to writing about the political implications of immigration and diaspora. the sun and her flowers shifts from a mere repetition of the love poems and recipes for romantic healing found in milk and honey, to a tormented commentary on racial issues in the section

‘rooting’. Rather than homogenising the experiences of South Asian refugees into a collective trauma, Kaur focuses on the intimate moments of her mother’s longing for her native Punjab, the nostalgic search ‘in foreign films/and the international food aisles’. The poems which are weakest are the didactic critique of borders.

Instead, Kaur’s nuanced exploration of race is perfected through the guilt she feels at her parents’ sacrifices, and her desire to uncover their cultural history, to have ‘pried their silence apart like a closed envelope’.

The consideration of racial identity does not only focus on grief, but progresses to a fierce pride as ‘it is a blessing/to be the colour of the earth’.

Kaur demands more representation in literature, and her own simple and unapologetic poetic style insists on taking up space: ‘to be mouthy/ get as loud as we need/to be heard’. the sun and her flowers is an inherently imperfect work, with jewels of artistic merit scattered amongst page-fillers. However, the brave honesty of Kaur figures her as a literary revolutionary, fighting oppression through the dismantling of taboo.

125 years of Sherlock Holmes: remembering Conan Doyle’s legend Rosemary Smart Staff Writer

Conan Doyle did not want to be remembered as the man who created Sherlock Holmes: this seems unfortunate, perhaps, when one looks back over the history and extraordinary popularity of the world’s most famous detective.

From his first appearance in the Strand in 1887, Holmes, with his (somewhat apocryphal) deerstalker and omnipresent pipe, has remained one of the most recognisable figures of Anglophone literature: parodied by some, imitated by others, the subject of countless adaptations, it is hard to believe that his creator did not much wish to be associated with him. Indeed, as fans will know, he attempted to kill off his protagonist, only to face such a backlash that he was forced to bring him back from what had seemed like a certain death.

Genius though he was, Arthur Conan Doyle drew on earlier works when creating his iconic opus. If one reads the mysteries solved by Edgar Allen Poe’s famous Dupin, created even before the word detective had been coined, one can immediately see where Conan Doyle gathered much of his inspiration from. Arguably the three short stories fea-

turing Dupin are more perfect in conception and more ingenious in execution than those by Conan Doyle: there is a matter up for debate, and one in which it is doubtless possible to spend too much time. Furthermore, since Conan Doyle, there have been countless detective stories and murder mysteries, some drawing on his work directly, some trying to avoid it as far as possible. Any fan of Agatha Christie will know that some of these works are just as good, if not better. Why, then, is Sherlock Holmes still in our hearts and minds as the very best?

Holmes, with his omnipresent pipe, has remained one of the most recognisable figures of Anglophone literature Despite Poe’s influence on the genre, and claim to fame as the “first”, Sherlock Holmes is at once a more endearing character and a more long-lived one. He is the protagonist of four “long stories” and no fewer than fiftysix short stories. Some are traditional mysteries; some have far-fetched and fantastical explanations; some are character

developments hiding behind the title of “adventure”, and it is these ones that are the ones most ingrained in the collective consciousness. The endearing nature of Holmes comes in part from his enigmatic nature. We learn about him from the observations of his Boswell, Doctor Watson, who is charmed and impressed by his every movement. And, despite the intrigue of the mysteries (which touch the incredible in their ingeniousness), the most enduring image is that of Watson in their armchairs by the fire in their “digs” in Baker Street.

The constant revival of the character, too, is an important factor in his legacy. Sherlock Holmes is the most-portrayed character on screen, played by such diverse actors as Ian McKellen and John Cleese. Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent incarnation, played with panache in the BBC’s series Sherlock, seems the most popular yet, spawning merchandise, countless “slash fics” and a rabid fanbase. It is often only after having watched one of these adaptations that the audience turns to the books where it all started, and, usually, ends up falling in love with those as well. The books are good, and damned good, of course. But this constant perpetuation alone could explain their incredible

popularity, even 125 years after the publication of the first.

Sherlock has been parodied by some, imitated by others, the subject of countless adaptions “If in 100 years I am only known as the man who invented Sherlock Holmes, then I will have considered my life a failure.”

From the man today revered by literally millions of people, this Conan Doyle quote seems surprising and almost disappoint-

ing. His life was not a failure, by all accounts: Sherlock Holmes, and Dr Watson of course, have endured as among the most popular and best-loved characters in all literature; the “Adventures” are the template on which all crime and mystery writers rely, and to have written books that are still read, adapted, beloved 125 years on, regardless of how little the author himself might have esteemed them, is a brilliant and enviable achievement.

In conclusion, then, I would quote Sherlock Holmes, himself quoting George Sand, in The Red Headed League: “L’homme c’est rien, l’oeuvre c’est tout”. And nobody, surely, would disagree if I added: and what an oeuvre!

Shell_Ghostcage

Art & Lit 17

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Oil paintings and iPhone photos: is Instagram the new still life?

Tony Wilkes Staff Writer

It’s mid-June. I’ve just sat my A-levels, and have been whisked away on a family holiday to the world’s cultural epicentre – Florence. Like most tourists, I find myself on a pilgrimage to one of the city’s many cultural trophies: Raphael’s Madonna della seggiola housed in the Palazzo Pitti. What we are confronted with is an Aladdin’s cave of art.

But it’s not a cave; we’re standing in one of the 140 rooms of a 32,000-square-metre Renaissance palace. Paintings rise from knee level to high ornate ceilings, separated from each other by merely a few inches. Just the sight – the taking it all in, the rapid visual digestion – makes us feel sick. About to give up on our search for the Raphael, we catch a glimpse of the luminous Madonna, seen through the doorway to another room, inserted in a perfectly-sized gap between non-descript artworks by non-descript artists. The critic John Berger, in his book Ways of Seeing (1972) articulates the problem: “Visitors to art museums are…overwhelmed by the number of works on display…Third-rate works surround an outstanding work without any recognition – let alone explanation – of what fundamentally differentiates them…Consequently the confusion remains on the walls of our galleries.”

But why? Why is cultural merit attributed to the volume of artwork, rather than the quality?

Why do we leave the world’s most acclaimed art galleries

merely confused? Berger attributes this trend to a deeply entrenched relationship between artwork and possession.

The critic Lévi Strauss supports this idea, writing that: “It is this avid…desire to take possession of the object for the benefit of the owner…which…constitute[s] one of the…original features of the art of Western civilisation.”

Instagram is drawing upon the entrenched way of seeing created by the oil painting

This “avid…desire to take possession” produced the oil painting. The term doesn’t refer to a technique, but rather an artform. It created a certain way of seeing the world. “Oil paintings”, Berger writes, “often depict things. Things which in reality are buyable”. He explains how having a thing painted is not unlike buying it, having it in your house. Lévi Strauss elaborates on this idea, writing: “For Renaissance artists, painting was perhaps an instrument of knowledge but it was also an instrument of possession, and we must not forget…that rich Italian merchants looked upon painters as agents, who allowed them to confirm their possession of all that was beautiful and desirable in the world.”

The world, then, was objectified, condensed into posses-

Flegel’s ‘Still Life With Parrot’ (1630)

sions for the wealthy. As Berger concludes: “the model is not so much a framed window on to the world, as a safe let into the wall, a safe in which the visible has been deposited”.

But this way of seeing not only continues to form our 21st century artistic assumptions, but our cultural ones too. The visit to the Palazzo Pitti illustrates how artistic value still hinges on possession. So what happens when “representing the visible” (Berger) in this culture is not only accessible to the wealthy, but to the vast proportion of the population: roughly 4/5 of Britain’s adult population owns a smartphone (BBC, 2016). Roughly 80%, then, are able to take a photo.

There seems a highly interesting parallel between oil painting and Instagram. Using Berger’s work to gain insight into oil painting’s own way of seeing, Instagram seems a 21st century equivalent to meet the same need. Created in 2010, the app has rapidly transformed into a major cultural phenomenon – by 2017, ‘Instagram’ is used by 700 million people. That’s over 10% of the entire planet in only seven years.

So why has this app boomed? It seems that Instagram is drawing upon an entrenched way of seeing created by the oil painting. And both oil painting and Instagram are kinds of art. A school pupil interviewed by Daniel Miller for his study ‘Social Media in an English Village’ (2016) recalls how they “uploaded a photo of some books…but I rearranged them so they’d look good for the photo…It is a craft, it’s important.”

There is an obvious parallel to be drawn between the purpose of these two crafts – both are used to show off what we own. A good example is food. When we call oil paintings to mind, we tend to think of tables covered with food.

Paintings such as Georg Flegel’s ‘Large Food Display’ (1630) objectify the edible. Fast forwarding from the 17th century to 2017, it is almost impossible to walk into a café, bar or restaurant without seeing someone stand over their food, phone in hand, to snap a picture for Instagram. 195 million images are tagged with the word ‘food’. There is a significant visual similarity; we are still capturing images of food-laden tables for observers to see. Just as the Renaissance merchant uses the art form to emphasise his wealth, Instagram users place the emphasis on their aesthetic, rather than monetary wealth, showing how stylish they can be. In other words, the subject is merely exploited by the craft.

However, this development isn’t so simple – it would be foolish to condense the development to an ‘Instagram = oil painting’

POETRY CORNER The Horns

by Vatsal Khandelwal

When winds unguard the glassed silence revolting subjects of chaos let silence free When clouds unmask the vulnerable sky Bees don’t hum and all ceases to be.

I shudder as you whisper in my ear.

Like grass does weep when soft dew falls And stars do avoid the sweet sun’s mentions Like lovers do shiver when hands slyly touch And kisses do vie for prolonged extensions I shudder as you whisper in my ear.

I searched for silences ever since I began, A quietness in whose lap one calmly mourns But amidst this silence when you do whisper With an open embrace, I welcome all the argument. If oil painting “defines the real as what you can put in your hands” (Berger), Instagram defines the real as what you can be, what life you can lead. Instagram does more than simply frame possessions. It objectifies experience. As the philosopher Gillian Rose points out: “To understand what a photograph is we need to think about what the photograph is doing”. What photos on Instagram do is depict the perfect life. In terms of teenagers, Miller observes that: “Taking a photograph has become rather like holding a drink – a key mode by which everyone acknowledges how much fun they are having.”

People at a party for example, respond automatically to the raising of a phone by demonstrating how much fun they’re having. Before being photographed, we are constantly told: ‘Smile!’. But we do not need to be told. Our faces have already changed. And when the camera’s put away, our faces drop. We then resume as normal.

Just as the Renaissance merchant uses art to emphasise his wealth, Instagram users place the emphasis on aesethetic

The manufacturing of the perfect image is designed to elicit envy. As observers of the oil painting envy the owner’s money, Instagram users envy the photographer’s life. This point

is illustrated through the vast number of Instagram accounts dedicated to student life at Oxbridge. Interestingly, we do not see many accounts concerning other Russell-group universities. The constant framing of the life of an Oxford student could be seen to play upon the elite nature of our university experience; the idea that ‘I am in a highly sought-after position, and I shall dangle this privilege in front of others’. There is no judgement here – I’ve done it myself. Like everyone on matriculation, I got my picture with a group of friends, all in sub-fusc under the Bridge of Sighs. Our smiles, though, conceal a highly complicated first two weeks. The aesthetically-pleasing image of myself working in the Missing Bean simply masks the reality of a late-night essay crisis, sitting in bed, surrounding by notes trying to plough through Lady Audley’s Secret in a single night. So what these images do is take the grit out of people’s lives, to create a desirable, rosy but false veneer.

The popularity of Instagram, then, is underpinned by a certain way of seeing the world first created through the form of the oil painting. Just as the rich framed their objects, we too objectify our lives. But Instagram does more than this. The photograph objectifies experience to create a perfect representation of life, to stir envy in the beholder. What we need to remember, to use the writer Eudora Welty’s words, is that the “single, entire human being [can]…never be confined in any frame”. Our lives, our selves, cannot be confined to a snapshot. They are too good for that.

STAGE

Stage 18

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

An electric adaptation: A Girl in a Car with a Man at the Michael Pilch Studio Mitch Mainstone Staff Writer

If I’m being really honest, I love a good adaptation, especially where there’s an added level of creativity to any kind of contemporary theatre, a medium which is already bristling with it. It could be a minor, or a major revision, but if someone is making a concerted effort to put together a performance with their own take on things, I’m very much into it.

I said as much in chatting to Georgina Botham, the director of A Girl in a Car With a Man, wherein one of several such takes on this 2004 play is an increased use of actual technology, both verbal and visual, to convey the centrality of it to the text itself.

The first scene I saw featured an intersection like this, between different ways of mediating experiences of knowing the world, and by extension oneself - a key theme that runs throughout the thirty-plus scenes that make up the play.

This was done by using television - and, more specifically, surveillance camera recordings - in the first scene. Not only was this an engaging audio/visual introduction to the play as a whole, but also to its ideas; it helped in framing the thematic exploration of how identity is shaped not just through the contemporary

experience of seeing and being seen, but in questioning just how many screens this ‘other viewer’ sits behind, in doing the seeing. I’m pretty convinced of this as a great portent for how the complete play seems to want, politically, to reach outside of itself in new and interesting ways.

If this all sounds pretty heavy and complex, it can seem like it, but I think that it’s also shaping up to be a tremendously rewarding production of a relevant and exciting piece.

The heaviness of the potential, here, for philosophising and

navel-gazing, that the text itself doesn’t fully advocate either way for, is something that the entire team working on this piece evidently realise, however, and it shows. As a result, instead of lazily weaving concrete meaning into the way they present a piece that is written to be fragmented, they instead focus on its staging, pacing, and methods of active audience engagement, and so much the better.

Two really key examples of this, that I was party to anyway, were the presence of multiple members in a ‘chorus’ around the characters

where the different facets of the play’s production come together - inventive and adaptive uses of sound and lighting come into contact with the cast’s vibrant interpretations of the characters to make for a really promising pre-opening performance.

One particularly effective use of both the space and technology available to enrich the play in this way was the ‘flipping’ of this scene depicting a crowd to its horizontal equivalent, the cast reaching forward instead of upwards to demonstrate dancing and the focus of their attention, while the music pulses and fades to mirror minor changes in location.

This highlights, I think, the higher-tech form of physical theatre underpinning the play, one that expresses its nuances as much in the intricacies of how sound and light are produced and manipulated, as in the details of the actors’ absorbing performances.

The way that a creative flair for technology is combined, here, with careful theatrical professionalism, being engaging while respecting the ambivalences and uncertainties of the text it draws from, is really significant. It certainly wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that this preview was, put quite literally, The Michael Pilch Studio electric.

in the scene (differing from the original production) and how this is featured in a particularly memorable moment taking place in a club.

What was really interesting wasn’t so much where this latter scene was located, though, as much as the dynamism that ran through it, with the ways the characters responded to each other in a small-spaceportraying-a-big-space feeling as though they fitted well in the wider schema of the play, despite not being directly tied to the other scenes shown. This is

Under Milk Wood: A play of voices of Dylan Thomas’ work Akira Charoensit Staff Writer

I am going to be honest with you, I have only seen the first fifteen minutes of the show. Only a small glimpse offered by the directors, Fleur Snow and Tesni Jones, into their interpretation of Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio drama, Under Milk Wood. But it was enough to rouse my curiosity and tempt me to book a ticket.

The venue, the 400-yearold Brasenose College Chapel, turns out to be an integral part of the experience.

It was raining outside of the chapel the night I was there, and in every brief moment of silence we could hear the hushed white noise of the rain which evoked the sound of the waves lapping the shore of the seaside village of Llareggub, where Thomas’s play is set.

The Welsh-sounding name – I realised as I double-checked its spelling – is a semi-palindrome of ‘bugger all’. As the play began the light was dimmed, but

the chapel (which will be lit by candle chandeliers on the actual nights) was nowhere near ‘bibleblack … sloe-black, slow, black, crow-black’ dark, as repeatedly and obsessively described by the narrator. As if to compensate for this lack of blackness, the directors offer the audience a different kind of invisibility: Llareggub was, at the beginning, void of people. Apart from the two narrators, no-one was seen.

The townsfolks were hiding behind the audience, under the upper rows of the seats or, in the case of Organ Morgan, behind the chapel organ.

Often, we heard their voices without seeing them. Like in a radio drama. This is, after all, a ‘play for voices’. But, occasionally, the folks were conjured up, called out of their hiding places in different corners of the chapel by the narrator’s sonorous voice, and I couldn’t resist whirling round on my seat, trying to catch sight of the ‘mazes and colours and dismays and rainbows … and big seas of their dreams’.

I would have loved to tell you

the plot, but there is no plot.

Guided only by the voices of the narrators, we blindly dived from one eccentric dream to another.

Each of them, like the waves, broke and receded from the shore as the dreamer disappeared again into his or her hideaway.

Depending on where they sit, different members of the audience see different things, said Snow. But it was always dreams that we saw, or darkness.

At the first performance of the play, Thomas told his actors to ‘love the words’ and Gavin Fleming, a narrator in this production, delightfully took his advice. He tackled gracefully and with such relish Thomas’s poetic tongue-twisters and obsessive love affair with dictionary.

But my favourite performance of the night belonged to Jasmine White who delivered a brilliantly steely Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, the twice widow dreaming of bossing around her deceased husbands. I cannot vouch for the rest of the play, but from what I saw tonight it is worth finding out for yourselves how it will unfold.

Stage 19

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Expressionist horror in Intruder and Seven Princesses Mitch Mainstone Staff Writer

A single word went buzzing around in my head (alongside the unnerving giggles and shrieks of the play) as I was watching Intruder/Seven Princesses: Beckett, Beckett, Beckett. A retroactive comparison between the recalcitrant absurdities of something like Endgame becomes all the more relevant when you consider that - in keeping with the Expressionist horror tradition the plays emerge from - these plays are bounded by a fascination with the incomplete, and the unknown. The clue is in the names: one play allows us to ‘intrude’ on parallel perceptions of a long-awaited arrival (Death? A doctor? A sister?) that’s never quite followed through with, and the other’s only resolution comes after the fact of a grisly murder.

One of the characters themselves states, to no-one in particular, “We must know what to expect!” - here, the wryness of the comedic twist of the plays becomes more apparent, as in Beckett: shrieking at, making fun of, and tormenting what

is assumed of it. Under these circumstances, it’s pretty easy to see how the brutal ambiguities of both plays have more than a little in common with his various theatrical monstrosities, shuffling onto the scene some sixty years later.

The use of sound and lighting are one particularly effective example, with Rebecca Irvin’s audible glee in particular providing a sharp counterbalance to the play’s backdrop

of silence, pauses, and confusion, much of which the audience shares in because of her. The play itself begins with an intense screeching that somehow manages to be frightening while still bearing a striking similarity to the use of a warped baby’s cry later on in the production (and, yes, it was as scary as it sounds). The characters - all of which asynchronously twitch and jitter - bring to life the traumatised staging, in the con-

Intruder and Seven Princesses

text of which set-pieces based on the inside of a house are made to look like the broken shards of a feverish dream. Lighting, here, comes into play in full force: by far the most disturbing part of the play, for me, was a combination of what sounded like a sickle being scraped against stone, during which a red light pulsed through a misshapen ‘window’ floating above the stage. At the same time, the cast somehow gave the (aptly) nonsensical dialogue a sense of urgency and animation - I may not have been sure exactly what it was that I was supposed to be afraid of, but it was exactly this disembodied sense of horror that made the whole thing so entertaining.

While I was less keen on the way the second play didn’t capitalise on the peak of the Old Countess’s grief at the Princesses’ potential awakening by combining it with effective pacing or dramatic changes in lighting (as established in Intruder), this was more to do with the structure of the play itself than the evocative staging and vibrant performances.

The self-conscious quality of the

first play was, however, carried over with aplomb, the Countess shouting “Do not look at me! Do not look at me!” and landing me straight back in Beckett territory once again. Adding to this is the way that this presentation of Seven Princesses engages with the legacy of its own horror. A shambling, almost inhuman character periodically wanders across the stage, arms bent crookedly, in a really unsettling throw-forward to Max Schreck’s shadow of Nosferatu, creeping up the stairs to his victim in an iconic scene of 1920s German Expressionist horror. The ominous booms of “We will return no more”, mouthed by several characters at once, as the voice of the sailors leaving Marcellus to his bloody fate on the island, give a sense of this particular kind of dawning horror that the play trades in. Even Nosferatu, though, eventually met his fate by being dissolved by the sun; the production, however, is all the more terrifying, because despite the cerebral quality of its horror(s), it’s equally the stuff of nightmares.

The Winter’s Tale at Mansfield College: jealousy and rubbber ducks

Erin O’Neill Staff Writer

In witnessing the dress rehearsal of The Winter’s Tale by Shakespeare, the first thing I was struck by was the friendliness of the cast and crew. Helpful and outgoing, the driving forces behind this adaptation set a stage, forgive the pun, for the play I was about to witness. It is one with a great deal of energy and charm, which is always a necessity in even attempting to approach the comedies of Shakespeare. This comedy is perhaps not the most famous of the Bard’s works, and indeed I had no previous knowledge about this particular play before watching it. However, I did

not find myself wanting; even if the language can be tricky, perhaps delivered a little fast at times, the body language and facial expressions of the actors made it easy to follow. The play centers around the jealously of Sicilian king Leontes, and an imagined affair between his wife Hermione with the Bohemian king Polixenes. This leads to crimes committed which overshadow the rest of the play. It is probably one of the hardest Shakespeare plays to make coherent on stage; the first half acts more like a tragedy, with the second half acting almost as its comedic sequel. This should be noted when the tone of the play drastically shifts in the second half.

Generally, I think it is adapted

The Oxford Playhouse

What: God of Carnage When: Tuesday - Saturday (21st25th) Where: Oxford Playhouse, BT Studio Tickets: £6

successfully. The first half has a fittingly heavier tone, concerned with psychology and power, with the modern suits and atmosphere of business an appropriate choice.

The second half seems to become closer to a traditional Shakespeare adaptation, taking Bohemian-style outfits; if one considers it in terms of modernity, you could see them as ‘Coachella-esque’. Although it is not the cleanest production I have ever seen, I greatly applaud its ambition; I was surprised to hear they had only rehearsed it for 6 weeks. Therefore, adapting an entire Shakespeare play with a small crew, and learning all the dialogue that comes with it, is impressive. There were original

The Oxford Playhouse

What: Retelling Tales When: Tuesday - Saturday (21st-25th) Where: Oxford Playhouse, BT Studio Tickets £6

scenes that probably could have been cut, which I thought while watching them, but the personal additions they made were extremely effective. For instance, the original song was a thoughtful inclusion in establishing the shifted tone of the play. Also, the artistic usage of soliloquies, such as Leontes watching the imagined erotics of his wife and friend, was also a commendable scene, and well delivered.

The rubber duck that looked like Shakespeare, which I was told was ‘MacDuck’, was a nice touch too. Different elements such as these help to build a play that, although a little rough around the edges, is enjoyable to watch.

Keble O’Reilly

What: Volpone When: Wednesday-Saturday (22nd-25th) Where: Keble O’Reilly Tickets: £10/ £8 conc.

The Old Fire Station

What: Yellow When: Wednesday-Friday (22nd-24th) Where: Michael Pilch Studio Tickets: £10/ £7 conc.

SCREEN

Screen 20

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

The pride of Tinseltown: a history of the MGM lions James Ashworth

Staff Writer

ROAR! So goes the sound that has accompanied various films for over 100 years, including films as varied as ‘The Wizard of Oz’, and all of James Bond.

First used in November 1916, and designed by Howard Dietz, MGM’s lion logo has been updated multiple times over the years; first when Goldwyn Pictures became the G of MGM (standing for Metro-GoldwynMeyer). It has served two studios, 101 years, and countless films, in which there have been 8 individual lions, each with various incarnations. So sit back, and bask in the tail of these Big Cats.

The very first, Goldwyn only, lion doesn’t appear to have been named.

Frankly, they look a bit forlorn, glancing to the left of the screen; perhaps feline a bit confused over what was actually going on. Also, being in the pre-sound era, with Goldwyn never making a talkie, and MGM’s first soundtracked film not coming about until 1928, the lion doesn’t even get to give the iconic roar!

The Goldwyn Lion was replaced by Slats, who first appeared as a still picture in 1921, and then later in video.

Slats also had the distinction of becoming the first MGM Lion when the studio came into being in 1924.

Turning their head across the camera, before staring out at the screen and eventually looking away; they look a lot less sad than their predecessor, perhaps reflecting the ongoing success of the studio at the time. Slats too never made a sound, and was retired in 1928. His trainer, Volney Phifer, took Slats to his farm in New Jersey,

where a lot of animals for use in New York productions were kept, where he later died in 1936. The grave can still be visited, lion under the shade of a pine tree that was planted to ‘hold down the Lion’s spirit’, in the words of Phifer. His skin may not have made it that far, however, with the McPherson museum of Kansas claiming to hold the pelt, though other sources indicate it could be that of his replacement.

[The lion] has served two studios, 101 years, and countless films Slats’ replacement came in the form of Jackie, the first Lion to actually make a sound. This was during ‘White Shadows In The South Seas’, the first MGM film with a pre-recorded soundtrack. While previous films may have had general accompanying music, played in the cinema itself, this film had its own score, as well as sound effects. Before the film itself, the lion roared for the first time; in fact three times! In total, Jackie would be used for 28 years in the role, and would also retroactively be used on rereleases of silent pictures with soundtracks, such as ‘Ben-Hur’. Outside of his work as the logo, Jackie also appeared in many other films, particularly Tarzan features, and in keeping with this and a later MGM franchise, he was the most James Bond of all the lions, burning through his nine

lives. After surviving an explosion, an earthquake, train crashes, and a shipwreck, he gained the nickname ‘Leo the Lucky’. He even survived a plane crash in Arizona, surviving on sandwiches and water left by the pilot until he was eventually rescued! This period also gave one of the earliest parodies of the logo, in the 1935 film ‘A Night at the Opera’ where the Marx Brothers gave their best roars after the lion, although sadly it was vetoed at the time.

During Jackie’s tenure, there were 3 pretenders to the MGM mascot throne. While Jackie was the lion for many animated films, with a specially animated logo, and also for black and white films (including ‘The Wizard of Oz’, which starts that way), there were 3 other lions who made up the technicolour brigade of MGM, though due to the experimental nature of colour at the time, the first two get a bit of a roar deal, and aren’t technically official. At first, technicolour consisted of two copies of the film being made, one with a red and one with a green filter.

Laying one over the top of another gave colour, and various improvements were made over time. Starting in 1928 with films such as ‘The Viking’, the first technicolour film with sound, Telly the lion was used. Unfortunately, the limitations of two-strip technicolour are quite apparent during his tenure, with the odd colour gradients, and the unfocused image, not really serving as the best logo by today’s standards. Admittedly, a lion in colour must have been impressive at the time, but the overall effect is much less than that of Jackie, who was still running at the sametime. From 1932,

Bradford Timeline

the logo was updated, using Coffee the lion. While the colour gradient had improved to give a slightly more organic feel, the image was still out of focus, and the lion no longer looked straight out of the camera. The final of the technicolour brigade, Tanner, became the first ‘official’ colour lion in 1934, with the advent of the new three strip technicolour that incorporated a blue filter. He seems the most vicious of the lions, snarling at the camera, and was known as the ‘angry’ lion by his trainer, Mel Koontz.

In 1956, both Jackie and Tanner were retired in favour of George, who gets the credit as having the shortest tenure as mascot, lasting only a year.

With the biggest mane by far, he also looked oddly reminiscent of the Goldwyn Lion, just with more roaring involved. He was then replaced in 1957 by the youngest, and longest-serving Lion, named Leo, who provided the mascot with its most common name.

Serving until the present day, and therefore probably the one you are most familiar with, he fought a brief threat to his dominance tooth and

claw in 1965, coming in the form of the ‘Stylised Lion’, a still drawing. It only served on 3 films, most notably ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, before he was reinstated. This logo has undergone various changes throughout the years, through various mergers and acquisitions, as well as the roar itself being changed. This occurred in 1982 with the release of ‘Poltergeist’, with, strangely enough, the roar of a tiger instead, to cope with the advent of stereophonic sound, and was eventually blended together with various other roars in the mid-90’s.

After years of neglect, Leo is now looking better than ever, with his image being substantially airbrushed; something even included the digital reconstruction of his ears, so that he came out looking his best for ‘Quantum of Solace’ (better films are available). Recently, he has even crossed the Rubicon, in 2012, into 3D; the camera zooming out from his eye to reveal the logo. As probably the world’s most famous Lion, I expect him to be the mane event for at least a few years yet.

Bloody hell: violence and realism in Gunpowder Nancy Epton Staff Writer

One Twitter user said they “didn’t realise it’d be so gruesome”. One more bemoaned, “Another potentially good historical drama ruined by unnecessary gruesome scenes”. A slightly less-articulate commenter observed: “The execution scenes made me vomit so graphic my God”. These are just a few of the intense public responses provoked by the opening episode of the BBC’s three-part series Gunpowder, based upon the infamous failed plot of 1605.

The first episode includes the execution of Catholic priest John Gerard who is hung, drawn and quartered. The fictitious Dorothy Dibdale is then crushed to death by a slab. Admittedly, the former punishment would only be given

to convicts who had committed high treason. Dibdale is based on Margaret Clitherow, who harboured Catholic priests, although her execution took place two decades prior to the Gunpowder Plot, and was heavily condemned

by Elizabeth I at the time. Yet despite these historical edits, the threat of religious persecution in the Jacobean era was a constant fear, and is clearly reflected by the gory punishments in J Blakeson’s production.

Executions were more than simple acts of killing, and served as a public warning towards any and every person in the crowd who thought about defying the authority of the monarchy. Gore as a visual threat was therefore entirely necessary, and we can see this even more clearly in the final episode as William Wyatt brandishes a victim’s heart before his audience. Indeed, it is ludicrous

to ask how else the offended viewers would’ve had cinematographer Philipp Blaubach shoot the opening episode’s execution scene. Filming the entire event with just the reactions of Robert Catesby (Kit Harrington) would have been superfluous and anticlimatic. Shooting the executions and then constantly cutting back and forth to avoid the gore would have been almost comical in its timidity. As historian Kate Williams observes, “We do history a disservice if we televise it through a rose-tinted camera lens”. The idea that the gruesome scenes stopped Gunpowder from being “a potentially good historical drama” seems flawed; although taste in drama is inevitably subjective, if your idea of good entertainment constitutes a fluffy, tame and historically inaccurate drama, you could always try Downtown Abbey.

Naturally, however, complaints didn’t stop after the first episode.

Perhaps fuelled in part by various clickbait articles (naming no names, Express, The Sun), viewers continued to be unimpressed by its more visceral scenes, particularly Catesby’s final shootout.

Denise McSheehy makes a more valid argument about gore in the fine editing work in Wolf Hall with Anne Boleyn’s demise, “where the executioner slipped off his shoes, so tellingly revealing the dreadful anticipation of the victim, the brutality of beheading, with- out actually showing it”. Yet the same subtlety cannot be applied as effectively with an extended form of torture like hanging, drawing and quartering, and the climactic slo-mo shootout needed an air of heroic hyperbole as Catesby and his men carry out their final act of violence.

The episodes are undoubtedly violent and intense, but with its graphic dedication to historical realities and solid performances, I see no reason why Gunpowder should ever be forgot. For a little while, anyway.

walterlan Papetti

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The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Young and full of dreams: a day in the life of a film extra Elle Styler Staff Writer

It’s 4am and my alarm goes off, except I’ve already been awake in anticipation for the day ahead. I skip breakfast and put on a base layer of foundation; food and makeup will be taken care of once I’m on set.

We’re filming an hour’s drive outside of the city. This is not Hollywood, it’s a rural Canadian town with nothing more than a set of train tracks and a few generic shops—all it’s missing is the tumble weeds.

The film scene here is small but thriving; mostly American productions coming up north to take advantage of their strong dollar against ours. You meet the same crew on different shows; sometimes the production assistant on last weeks movie is the wrangler for the extras on the next show.

When I approach the sign in table I’m remembered right away even though I’ve been in Oxford since my last gig. “Our little Elle is back!” says the PA as he hands me my contract. At a quarter to six I meet the usual suspects: the comically serious undiscovered actress, the guy who was in a commercial once, the banker on his day off, the full-time extra, and the person who might only be here to eat their weight in free muffins between takes. On set they call us background talent, which is nice compliment considering I can’t act—I’m here doing what I call ‘free film school’. We keep to ourselves, tipping back small cups of coffee until we start to feel human.

An hour later we prepare our outfits for approval by the wardrobe team. As extras we often get to pick our own clothes when the episode calls for town folk. The newbies make the classic faux pas of bringing forbidden colors of red, yellow, white, or black.

Rule number one: you aren’t here to stand out. Despite our lower status there is still an element of competition. The crew pick their favourites, the professionals, those of us who unzip our garment bags with an array of camera camouflage— inconspicuous browns, muted greys, and dull greens. It’s how you get better placement in front of the camera, closer to the action.

The costumer looks pleased, adding a delicate skull printed scarf to my ensemble before I’m sent to hair and makeup. I look tough, a welcome change to my girlish attire. For fifteen minutes I feel like royalty as my hair is brushed and curled until it’s finished with a shower of hairspray.

The production assistant walks into the room and starts plucking a few of us to be sent onto set. Occasionally, some are never chosen but still get paid.

Main Street has been transformed into a fictional town—the shop signs covered over with new names, and props scattered all around. Finally, we are read the scene description and the method extras promptly get into character. We get placed around the scene, some so far that they won’t be more than a speck in the final.

I’m pointed to the middle of the road and told to lie down. We begin a rehearsal with the stand-in actors, and I realize how close to the cameras I am.

Two hours of playing dead go by before we are called for lunch.

Nothing has been filmed yet.

Some shows rent food trucks, some have their own catering. In the church hall we’ve divide into agency cliques and eat together.

The painted on blue veins that surround my mouth smudge a lit-

Till Krech

tle as I try to eat delicately. “Ah, my ice crystals are falling into the soup,” I joke with my new friends, spooning out the Epsom salts and glue. The girl across from me is talking about the Netflix series that she’ll be in next month, and I tell her about my plans to be a screenwriter when I’m finished at Oxford. We’re young and full of dreams but here it all feels possible.

Around 2pm it’s time to shoot the scene for real, with the actors. I take my place on the road, spreading out in the best victim pose as the makeup artist kneels to touch up my face for the third time. And…action! A car skids to a stop…a feisty monologue…gun shots—blanks of course. Then we do it all again ten more times. It’s thrilling but all I see is the sky, memorizing the lines as I lay frozen. It’s getting cold and we’re sent back to the extras holding room to eat and warm up.

Just as I’m about to take a sip of my hot chocolate I’m asked to return to set. I’m paired with a fictional boyfriend and we are placed beside the director’s tent for this shot. I study the crew as they set up the cameras and set focus on the starlet a few feet away. “Wait four seconds then walk past her, got it?” they instruct. We walk, miming a conversation until they yell cut. It happens several more times, with my hair getting brushed and sprayed before each take—I feel like a princess once again.

When the sun sets the crew cheers and claps; a fifteen-hour day is done. We grab our bags and say good-bye, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Top Five: Netflix Documentary Series

Eve Lytollis

Screen Editor

For those days when you want to learn without actually having to do any work, here are five informative series to keep you occupied: 1. The Confession Tapes There is a trend on Netflix for dark documentaries, and The Confession Tapes is no exception. With each case examined, we hear a new confession tape that many believe to be false, and are shown various other ways in which the crime might have taken place.

2. Chef’s Table If you like your documentaries aesthetically pleasing, Chef’s Table will be a delicious treat. Each episode focuses on one of the world’s greatest and most unique chefs, exploring their life stories, their influences and their culinary creations.

3. Hip-Hop Evolution Hosted by rapper Shad, this Canadian series uses interviews to take us on a ride through the history of hip-hop.

4. The Cuba Libre Story A worthwhile watch for any history fan, this series takes a closer look at Cuba and its dramatic past, from political plots to foreign invasion.

5. Making a Murderer There’s a reason why this series received the attention that it did.

Filmed over the course of ten years, the show’s first season explores the true story of Wisconsin resident Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in jail after a wrongful conviction. Two years later, a murder takes place, and all evidence points to Avery.

So bad it’s good?: the hidden appeal of ‘bad’ films Kayla Kim Staff Writer

The movie Troll 2 is not a sequel to Troll. In fact, it does not contain any trolls whatsoever. It was written and directed by Italians who spoke no English, it stars not actors but dentists and mental health patients, and it boasts a soundtrack composed entirely on a Casio synth. And, of course, the plot revolves around murderous vegetarian goblins.

Sounds appealing, I know.

Unsurprisingly, upon Troll 2’s release in 1990, it was branded one of the worst movies of all time.

However, it has come to gain a large cult following and has even spawned a highly acclaimed documentary about its creation. Troll 2 is not alone in its notoriety. A whole subgenre of movies that are so-bad-they’re-good populates the seedy underbelly of cinema, simultaneously thrilling and repulsing their audiences.

Watching awful movies is the perfect antidote to boredom or stress, firstly because these films appeal to the worst part of human nature: we love to watch people fail. Failure is funny. When films contain elements that are blatantly incongruent with what we understand to be good cinema, the unexpected departures entertain. For example, one would assume a movie called Birdemic: Shock and Terror to be dominated by birds, right? Wrong.

The first birds appear on screen about 45 minutes into the film as CGI monstrosities that flap on a different plane than the actors like disembodied angels in a piece of medieval art. The absurdity makes us laugh, and when we can laugh at failures in movies, we illuminate our own ability to discern good films from bad. Watching bad movies reinforces our own feelings of intelligence and superiority.

Sometimes, however, watching simple failure on screen is not enough. This failure has to be ear-

nest and organic; a film cannot be so-bad-it’s-good if it’s conscious of its own failure. Look at the Sharknado franchise. These movies were not intended to be masterpieces of cinema but parodies of the worst movies of all time. While the movies lack effective plot, dialogue, and acting, just as excellent horrible movies should, they are conscious of their own failure.

They fail to be truly bad and instead become banal; we can no longer laugh at the franchise’s absurdity if it is already laughing at itself. By contrast, Tommy Wiseau, writer/ director/star of The Room intended his film to “become a classic, embraced worldwide” according to Greg Sestero, a star of the movie.

Similarly, Troll 2 director Claudio Fragasso believes that “Troll 2 is a film that examines many serious and important issues.” Troll 2 writer Rossella Drudi, also insists that her film is “A ferocious analysis of today’s society.” Specifically, she states, “I had many friends

who’d all become vegetarians and it pissed me off.”

Best-worst movies must be bad, and they must be earnestly bad.

But though these movies may be marketed as the worst movies of all time, they must also have some degree of watchability. The creators of the films often seem as if “they knew how to make a film but had suffered quite a heavy blow to the head,” in the words of horror movie journalist MJ Simpson. I would argue that Manos: the Hands of Fate and even Birdemic straddle the line between hilariously inept and unwatchable. To illustrate, both open with a prolonged scene of nothing but a car driving down a road, Birdemic’s lasting about 4 minutes and Manos’ lasting an excruciating 9. This extension simply becomes dull. A good bad movie must, at least, entertain.

Bad movies are seeping into the mainstream. We will even soon have a blockbuster exploring the creation of The Room: a movie

adaptation of Greg Sestero’s book The Disaster Artist, which hits theaters on December 1st.

Wiseau’s “awful” film has reached levels of fame and success comparable to an actual “good” film.

Maybe these flops ultimately succeed because we love to laugh at failure or because we love to see unbridled earnestness. Or maybe we simply want to watch vegetarian goblins seduce hapless teens with an ear of corn.

Mike Searson

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Music 22

MUSIC

The death of the sublime: Morrissey and the perils of musical hagiography Seb Braddock Music Editor

William Blake once wrote that “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” But neither are anywhere near as simple to forgive as the fallen angel still known as Morrissey.

For fans and lovers alike of the oft incomparable music he made, his gradual descent into the sordid, the vulgar and the outright bigoted is not simply a matter of having to dissociate the man (for inevitably it is often the man one has to deconstruct) from the art; with Morrissey, one has to

reconsider the idol, our idolisation, our deification even of the artist. With every outburst at those not white and suitably “British” enough, every polemic on whatever wholly irrelevant controversy the latest rash of United Kingdom Independence Party backstabbing has prompted, every inconsiderate response to terror attacks (simultaneously tragic and blown out of proportion by everyone who forgets how the Smiths’ heyday was more afflicted by bombings than our own), Morrissey’s wilful self-destruction destroys his lovers as collateral.

The requiem for the idol lies at the heart of why Morrissey’s turn to the

The Hard Times

fascist remains the ultimate betrayal of hagiography. Even the man at the heart of the uncompromising industrial groove of the Fall, the infamously cantankerous ne plus ultra of contrarian dickheads, Mark E. Smith, he who thought it would be a good idea to kick off one of his band’s greatest albums with an expletive-ridden broadside of “Where are the obligatory n*****s / Hey there fuckface / Hey there fuckface”, attracts nothing of the order of magnitude of the revulsion given to the white nationalist Morrissey, precisely because Mark was so obviously of this world whilst Morrissey transcended it. Mark exposed our classist society’s collective id, revelling in the wholesale carnage and alienation which formed the quotidian experience of a post-industrial North afflicted by the pestilence of Margaret Thatcher; Morrissey, born of analogous working class northern stock with an Irish immigrant background of his own, found the sublime in his melancholy, in the loneliness the dirty old town of Manchester and its inhabitants induced, in the depression wrestling with his sexuality and his feminine love of the girl groups of the 50s and 60s wrought in him, and in finding said sublime wrought the sublime in ourselves with his music. Thus with the death of the sublime Morrissey died a little part of the sublime itself.

Of course, the first response we turn to is to ridicule and laugh. We point and jeer, ridiculing his self-importance, his cancelling of shows for being too cold, his strident veganism as a punchline in itself, and his admiration for a man quite as odious and obviously repulsive as Nigel Farage.

Sometimes, the jeering is even as hilarious as it is apropos; when the Viz

published a comic strip featuring Morrissey vacating the subsequent panels after being hit with a brick for being

When we laugh at Morrissey, we laugh at the part of ourselves that once thought him a god a twat, I laughed. When The Hard Times, a satirical zine which amounts to a superior version of The Onion for indie subculture, published an article entitled “Morrissey accused of asexual harassment”, whereby “dozens of victims came forward this past weekend with completely nonsexual harassment accusations against iconic singer Morrissey,” I thought for a moment that my sides had been sent into planetary orbit. He is, in many respects, the ideal figure of fun, the one more risible than any. But in knowing so, it is never far from the devotees’ mind that in pointing and jeering at Morrissey, we are in one sense the successors to the inveterate homophobes, the hyper-masculine ogres and the unreformed testosterone junkies who once pointed and jeered at the fairy who giddily graced the television screens of the 80s with a back pocket full of gladioli. When we laugh at Morrissey, we laugh at the part of ourselves who once thought him a god.

And to be sure, there much that was godly and admirable in Morrissey. He was a queer icon, a man who showed those who grew up poor in places like my father’s hometown Wigan that there was nothing wrong in rejecting the stereotype of working class

masculinity, that it was as legitimate to listen to the Supremes as the Rolling Stones. He affronted conservatives and southerners who thought the proper place of Mancunians and Irish immigrants was either down the mines or back in the D.H.S.S., not on the radio. He brought the discourse of asexuality to national prominence.

His vegetarianism, however hilarious it may be to mock, was ahead of the curve and hardly indefensible as a moral position. And in the wake of the revelations that the monarchy are as evasive of the taxman as of the guillotine, I can’t help but hope that the Britain should wake from its sycophantic and quite frankly sickly adoration of that altogether retrograde institution altogether inimical to the dignity of mankind. But all this counts for nothing in the face of what is, for want of beating about the bush, his unabashed racism. The ideal of the progressive Morrissey breaks down in the face of ‘The National Front Disco’, ‘Bengali in Platforms’, and his admission that “you can’t help but feel that the Chinese people are a subspecies.” “England for the English” sounds more like an EDL chant than the lyrics to an indie anthem.

If he was once a punchline, the man who thought it would be a good idea to follow a contender for the greatest song of the 80s with ‘Some girls are bigger than others’, the punchline has soured, leaving nothing but the bitter taste of betrayal as we labour away in the wake of his transgressive deicide.

It is not only a cultural tragedy that ‘This Charming Man’ has given way to ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’. It is a personal one. For that, I doubt I shall ever forgive him; the pain from that thorn in my side shall never fade.

What’s on this week?

Bryan Ledgard

Max Pixel

What: Newton Faulkner When: 18th November, 7pm Where: O2 Academy ‘Soulful and laid back’ is how people describe Newton Faulkner when trying to avoid openly discussing his white-guy-with-dreads aesthetic. They also avoid discussing his lack of a decent album since his 2007 debut Hand Built By Robots, and the fact that’s he’s frequently compared to Ed Sheeran. £25.85

What: Audioscope When: 19th November Where: The Bullingdon All-day charity music festival raising money for Shelter. Since its first appearance in 2001, Audioscope’s lineup has starred world class performers including Four Tet, Explosions in The Sky, and Deerhoof. This year’s headliners take an electronic bent, with Nathan Fake and JK Flesh topping the bill, accompanied by fuzzy noise courtesy of The KVB. £17.85

Paul Hudson

What: Armed For Apocalypse When: 20th November, 7.30pm Where: The Cellar It’s always refreshing when a band conforms to all the clichés of its genre. Could you guess that California-based Armed For Apocalypse are a metal band, or that their latest singles include ‘You Are Alive When They Start to Eat You’, and ‘The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Men’? £8.80

Bryan Ledgard

What: Dr John Cooper Clarke When: 24th November, 7pm Where: O2 Academy Ever the showman, punk’s greatest legacy to poetry, a northern scab on the otherwise thoroughly bourgeois and aristocratic edifice of that art form’s British incarnation, John Cooper Clarke’s iconic delivery has not waned with age. Having upstaged Squeeze on his last visit, the good doctor gets a welldeserved headline billing, especially given that “The bloody weed is bloody turf / The bloody speed is bloody surf” beats “I never thought it could happen with a girl from Clapham” any day of the week. SOLD OUT

Music 23

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

The seedy underbelly of American life: Tom Waits’ Asylum Years Joe Small Deputy Music Editor

scene in ‘Small Change’. In ‘Kentucky Avenue’, he even sings in childlike prose, taking on the role of sole childhood companion to a boy crippled by Polio, all of which adds to the seamless immersion into scenes of an American life unique to his West

When I’ve told friends in the past that one my favourite albums was sung by the voice that inspired Heath Ledger’s Joker, tentative smiles and silent nods have been ‘Asylum Years’ is an the usual response. But despite Tom album to be enjoyed Waits’ voice sounding as though it in the comfort of an was (as one critic puts it) “soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in armchair with a long the smokehouse for a few months, lost lover on the mind. and then taken outside and run over with a car”, Asylum Years is an album that wouldn’t survive without Coast upbringing in the 50s and 60s. it. For songs that revel in the seedy Beyond his distinctive voice, the underbelly of American life, Ma- album is littered with small touches riah Carey isn’t going to cut it, so that add to this feeling of immerwhen Waits’ growl drones in over sion into a bygone world. Singing the top of a wandering bass line in gently of optimistic nightlife goers in opening track ‘Diamonds on my Windshield’, something clicks.

Waits’ lyrics read like poetry, but when sang in his gravelly tones and uniquely offbeat rhythm, it is clear that poetry isn’t what he is going for. Instead, songs of juvenile delinquents skipping town and lonely travellers in late-night diners become tales; narrations by an unnoticed observer, whose smoke stained voice blends into the background of the scene depicted. In this sense Tom Waits isn’t just a singer, he is a character César in his own songs, taking on every role from long lost lover in ‘Martha’, ‘(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday to indifferent observer of a murder Night’, a soft acoustic guitar opens

alongside the low rumbling of a car engine and beeping car horns, placing you in the driver’s seat of an oldsmobile as he sings in the second person.

Later in the album, the striking of a match and first drag of a cigarette introduces a moaning saxophone, only accompanied for the five-minute duration of ‘Small Change’ by Waits’ spoken word style of singing. ‘Small Change’ might well be my favourite, and for the patient listener, few songs are as rewarding. A steady stream of nameless characters at the scene of the crime would have set the tone for a murder mystery if everyone wasn’t so indifferent to this apparently common occurrence. “Small Change got rained on with his own .38/ And nobody flinched down by the arcade/.../ And the fire hydrants plead the 5th Amendment/ And the furniture’s bargains galore/ But the blood is by the jukebox/ On an old linoleum floor.” Instead of shock in the wake of violence, a parade of cops cracking jokes, cashiers with tight lips, and lunatic newsboys are amongst the figures trotted out in service of an increasingly hectic scene, the murder being more of an excuse to tell these side tales than it is the focus of the song itself.

Although present in ‘Small Change’, Waits’ ability to convey character in a handful of lines is perhaps best showcased in ‘The Ghosts of Saturday Night’, a melancholy portrayal of a late night diner

straight out of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. A smooth piano, each chord rolled, is met by a twanging double bass, as the nameless subject is introduced. “A solitary sailor / Who spends the facts of his life like small change on strangers/ Paws his inside peacoat pocket for a welcome twenty-five cents / And the last bent butt from a package of kents.”

All of these scenes may seem played out, hitting all the marks of classic noir. The buzz of neon lights interrupted by the crack of pool balls, a late night diner where early morning workers meet the hangers-on from a long Saturday night, a small time gangster gunned down, the only reaction by onlookers being to take his meagre belongings. But in the details, both lyrically and musically, the universe Tom Waits inhabits comes to life. Few albums transport you to a different time and place the way Asylum Years does. Over fourteen songs, the breadth of styles and scenarios never undermine the unified atmosphere, despite a couple of weaker songs that fall on the slightly soppier side. But with ‘Burma Shave’, a slower, stripped back piano and vocals song, and the jazzier numbers, ‘I Never Talk To Strangers and Blue Valentines’, there’s plenty to be going ahead with. So light a cigarette, dim the lights, and swirl some whiskey around a tumbler – Asylum Years is an album to be enjoyed in the comfort of an armchair with a long lost lover on the mind.

Live Review: a night at The Cellar with Girl Ray Connor Thirlwell Staff Writer

Within the intimate, well-weathered interior of Oxford’s Cellar, Girl Ray guitarist and frontman Poppy Hankin assures the audience “I’ll make this fun”, in case we were already having doubts. At one point, the whole band stops, and Hankin apologises: “Sorry, I dropped my pick.” We’re all understanding, of course, and politely wait for her to unsheathe plectrum no.2 from her back pocket before the band regather themselves for the prompt restart. There’s goofy rhymes like “If you get down in the dumps / Call me and we’ll play top trumps”, and even a playful 360 degree guitar and hip swivel by Hankin and bassist Sophie Moss during the chirpy solo to “Don’t Go Back at 10” – small evidence that we might be witnessing an unlikely revival of the cheeky-grin show(wo)manship à la late 70s doo-wop cabaret groups like Showaddywaddy and Darts.

Given what Girl Ray are actually singing about – awkwardness, selfdefeat and painful longing soaked through with sadness (“I’m so down”, the moping lyric that opens “Stupid Things”, neatly summarises this mood) – it is remarkable that their live performances achieve such cheeriness. It is refreshing that a snappy sense of humour is not lost on Girl Ray, despite their miseries. Their name itself is a puckish twist on the early 20th century Dada and Surrealist artist Man Ray. Their debut album, released in the summer, and which their now completed Killer Sting Ray of Death UK Tour was in promotion of, is entitled Earl Grey, a play on Man Ray. Also, the greater bulk of their artwork features images of sheep.

Though that is not to say Girl Ray do not offer something more straight-faced. Bashful smiles are juxtaposed with tough-eyed steely stares into the audience pit. The group themselves are academically precise. They punctiliously perform like sculptors steadily chipping away

OLDIE OF THE WEEK ‘Where Is My Sunday Potato?’

(1947) Arthur Lucan

Leo Reynolds

banger1977

Claire Sims Staff Writer

Like so much of the music I love, I wasn’t looking for Arthur Lucan when I found him. In fact, I was only trying to make a joke. While creating a poll for our next crew date, I decided to list potential dates in the form of song titles. This act of unparalleled wit was somewhat impeded by my inability to remember any songs with the word “Sunday” in them (and if you immediately thought of one, you can fight me outside). I asked Google to salvage my plan, and received a providential answer: Arthur Lucan’s ‘Where Is My Sunday Potato?’. It’s not on YouTube – Oxford hipsters, begin your quest to find the original record now – but it’s described on Wikipedia as a classic music hall ditty. (Think ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’, except banned by the BBC because it was supposedly a protest against rationing.) Lucan’s novelty tune was first performed at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1947, but post 1948 it was very sadly never performed again. Now, I can already see the angry letters flooding in: how can I pick an oldie I’ve never heard? For two reasons, Brenda.

Firstly, this is student journalism.

Secondly, music hall songs like this are fun tunes from a bygone era – and there’s nothing so nice as romanticising a bygone era to escape your own. In lieu of Lucan’s seminal work, listen to a little George Formby or Bernard Cribbins this week, and try to forget what the world is like. At the very least, it’ll be a laugh.

Connor Thirlwell

at their proud creations; drummer Iris McConnell pointedly mallets her tom-toms, runs her stick along the row of twinkly chimes at her left side and asks the audience how they are doing. Hankin’s eyes screw up as she picks out her high notes and Moss fixes her gaze on her bass-frets, determined that no note is bum. Mike O’Malley, now touring with the group as a utility ‘I’ll-play-anything’ member, makes sure his tambourine rattle is beat-perfect. A vision of effort and concentration, Girl Ray

are bent on getting it right, but not shy of smiling if it goes a bit wrong.

The gently rocking indie jangle, as demonstrated throughout their debut LP, was the evening’s main rhythm. Even so, the penultimate track, given the dubious working title of “Rock Out 2” (as Hankin so helpfully informs the audience), provided their set’s most intriguing moment. The clean-toned aesthetic was all scuzzed up; a swaying beat gave over to swampy Nirvana-esque grunge that gave us a glimpse of a

maturing Girl Ray who might one day shrug off their sugary innocence to fulfil their potential as a mean and meaningful, rocking unit.

“This is our first time in Oxford,” admits Hankin. “Come back!” I call out, a little flushed from my dancing, before the show concludes with the drawn-out funk-lite cooldown, “A few Months” . No encore is given (fashionably), we all applaud, I pinch the setlist (sorry!), bound out back up into the over ground and steal into the night.

LIVING OUT Checklist Use this checklist when you go to look at a house. It should help you decide which is the right house for you.

Why not photocopy this list, complete for each house, and take photos on your phone to remind you? You can photocopy this list for free at Oxford SU.

Address of Property:

Agent:

KITCHEN AND LAUNDRY

HEATING AND PLUMBING LOCAL AREA Noise level Shops Transport EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSE Is the roof sound and in good repair?

Are the drains and gutters clear or do they have weeds growing in them?

How does the woodwork on windows and doors look? are there signs of rot?

Is there a garden? Does it look maintained?

- what maintenance will you be expected to do?

SECURITY Does the house seem to be secure?

Is there a burglar alarm?

Are the locks on the external door adequate 5 lever mortice locks? (affects insurance) Are the external door solid and secure?

Do all the ground floor windows have security locks?

Are the window frames strong and in good repair?

Are the windows double glazed? (affects heating costs)

Does the house have central heating?

Does the heating system work effectively?

Is there a gas meter?

Do any of the taps, pipes or toilets leak?

Do the toilets flush?

Is there a shower and/or a bath?

Washing machine Tumble dryer Dishwasher Oven Fridge Freezer Do these all work?

ELECTRICAL SAFETY Does the electrical fusebox and wiring look modern and well-maintained?

Have all the electrical appliances been safety checked?

Are there enough power points for each room?

Is there an electricity meter?

GAS SAFETY Is there a current gas safety certificate for the house?

(Look for the Gas Safe mark). Legal requirement.

Is there a carbon monoxide detector fitted?

Legal requirement.

FIRE SAFETY

FURNITURE Has the house got enough furniture for everyone?

Is the kitchen big enough to store and prepare food?

Which items of furniture belong to the current tenants?

In the event of a fire could you escape easily?

Are there front and rear exits to the property?

Are smoke detectors fitted? Legal requirement.

Is there a fire extinguisher/blanket?

LICENSED HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) Basic rule: 3 or more people who are not related.

Does the property need a licence?

If it does, have you seen it?

MONEY How much is the rent? ........................................................................................................................................................

Are there any other charges? ........................................................................................................................................

What is the total amount you will pay? ...................................................................................................................

How much are the utilities? ............................................................................................................................................

Who pays the water charges? ......................................................................................................................................

Notes:

How much is the deposit? ..............................................................................................................................................

Is the deposit placed in a Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme? ............................................................

Is there an agents fee? If so how much? .................................................................................................................

advice@oxfordsu.ox.ac.uk oxfordsu.org/advice

* All information correct at the time of going to press. 09.15.

e

d i t

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

the

Fashion 26

The prepossessing glow from Oxford’s clubs draw in the wide-eyed youth.

Yet it’s the omnipresent cobbles and the sandstone-lined passages on the journey home that define the night.

FASHION The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Photos by Alex Deak

Fashion 27

Modelled by Carla Roever

OXSTUFF

OxStuff 28

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

This week in broadcasting: Go Go Grubby Hats!

Tom Gould

Deputy Broadcasting Editor

Boy, have we got a treat for you this week. In addition to a new episode of Bar Crawl at Lady Margaret Hall, Broadcasting Editor Henry Grub shows off two of his favourite hats.

In the first photo Henry is sporting his patented “Pheasant Stalker” combination, ideal for when he is out in the wilderness fending for himself.

Not only does it keep him warm and dry, the subtle but stylish camouflage allows him to blend into his surroundings.

His “Ambassador” style on the right does what it says on the tin. Perfect for an overcast day, attending marketing meetings in the 1960’s and deposting cryptic messages at dead letter drops.

For the full photo album please email oxstu.video@ gmail.com. For all of our videos, including Oxford Student Come Dine With Me and Bar Crawl visit our Facebook page.

“I could go to your ukulele concert or I could throw myself in front of a bus” “The upper crack is my favourite part of a woman” “I’d like to be taught by dogs, I THINK THEY HAVE A LOT TO TEACH US”

Thomas Miller

OxQuiz Which Oxford Student Deputy Editor (or Tom) Are You? What is an ideal night out?

A) Subverting the capitalist hierarchy B) Spoons C) A sleep and a crumpet D) Some shit concert E) Eating chips at Soloman’s F) Wherever as long as you include me What’s your perfect Sunday?

A) Making sweet sweet love in Paris B) Throwing rocks at old people feeding ducks in the park C) Morse and a warm glass of milk D) Just me and Tacitus E) Coma F) I’ll do what everyone else is doing If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?

A) Me B) Some despot C) Archbishop Wulfstan of Worcester

OVERHEARD IN OXFORD

D) Augustus E) Oscar Wilde F) My best friends from The Oxstu What’s your favourite smell?

A) Corbyn’s allotment B) Essex C) Mango shimmer hand sanitizer D) Beer, sweat and the blood of my Music Editor rivals E) Film reels F) The OxStu office when all my friends are there.

Mostly A’s – James Evans More a myth than a man. You are the Deputy Editor for Sport and Music. Half the time you are in the City of Love with your significant other amd half the time you are actually Jeremy Corbyn. You think all Conservatives should be strung up but you wouldn’t guess it from your bourgeois clean shirt and elbow patches.

Mostly B’s – Daniel Mahoney You are truly the salt of the earth. You are Deputy Editor for News and Investigations (lol). Born on the mean streets of Harlow, you are now Oxford’s premier food critic. You have time for all the little children in your heart (quote), and you also use the suffix ‘-erino’ far too liberally.

Mostly C’s – Verity Winn You are Deputy Editor for Comment and Art and Lit. Despite being twenty years old, you are for all intents and purposes middle aged. Church architecture and the shipping forecast are cool.

Mostly D’s – Maddy Taylor Maddy “I go by Madeleine” Taylor is Deputy Editor for Features and Screen (and still Music Editor after four terms).

You can usually be found in the Bullingdon and crying over antique latin texts. You generally don’t give a shit.

Mostly E’s – Tara Snelling Best known for having a great jumper collection. You are Deputy Editor for Profile and News but your passion lies in theatre and cinema. Coming from Regent’s Park, you are officially classified as an endangered species.

Mostly F’s - Tom Gould You are not actually a Deputy Editor. You social life is so sterile you have to come back to the OxStu office every Wednesday and pretend to have mates. Your other circle is confined the Society of Oxford Ukulele Players which is very right on.

Secret Option - Katrina ‘Gaffer’ Gaffney Do you not relate to any of the above? You are Deputy Editor for Stage and Fashion. You are too cool to be in this quiz.

Everyone else at the OxStu is really sad.

“I think Freud is going to jump out of his grave and shit himself with utter joy” “I transcend Dad dancing, this is Daddy-O dancing”

OxFURd

Chip, from leafy Didsbury, has had an exciting Halloween discovering his inner wizard

OxStuff 29

The Oxford Student | Friday 10th November 2017

Tumultuous tutes: Our agony aunts share their advice Socrates & Ion

Ancient Greek agony aunts

I: Ah, the eternal tute complex. If I say nothing, I’ll look like an idiot. If I say what I’m thinking, I’ll look like an idiot. The pressure to impress not only the tutors but maintain a shred

of respect from your tute partners.

The balance between pretentious asshat and relatable mess must be carefully balanced - it sounds as if the author of this submission may have erred a little too far on the side of the relatable mess.

S: And yet, even if your contributions are more relatable than relevant, at least you’re saying something. There’s nothing worse than coasting in a class because you can’t think of anything valuable to add to the discussion - not only do you look underprepared and lazy, but you feel pretty selfish too, since your classmates are trying their best while you sit in silence. I have to give props to this brave soul who piped up. By offering something to the class, you’re furthering the discussion somehow, even if it’s not in the way you intended. Who knows - maybe your classmates weren’t typing because they were in awe of your intelligence?

I: Let’s be honest- typing in class is almost as much a statement of one’s own participation and demonstrable intellect as voicing your own wellresearched and structured

arguments. By which I mean, we all do it to look as if we’re paying attention. Most of the time when I’m typing in class, I’m messaging my family group Facebook chat, all the while appearing to be diligently taking notes. Not typing could well imply your fellow tutees are actually listening to what you are saying, rather than abusing their friends and acquaintances in meme tags.

S: Exactly - the silence that greeted your answer might not have been an indication of its value. Plus, so what if your tute partners didn’t see your genius? Sometimes you make a point that the tutor can’t fault, but your tute partners just can’t see it you can’t please everyone, and no one really knows what will please

your examiners in the end, so you shouldn’t pay too much attention to what your peers think of your answer. I think this teaches us a wider lesson about life and love as a budding young adult at Oxford. You can spend your days looking around you, wondering why the world isn’t following your lead... or you can walk unafraid and say whatever’s on your mind, even if you know the people around you might not like it. Do you want to be a sheep or a shepherd?

I: When it comes to tutes, I can’t deny that it’s better to be a sheep. As one who usually sits back and let’s others take the reins, I’d rather let the tutor guide us like lambs lost in literary criticism - returning again to the imminent risk of crushing the

germs of friendships budding in one’s tute partners, not speaking is an infinitely safer option than opening one’s mouth to expel a stream of warm trash. Sometimes, Socrates, it’s good to be afraid. Shy and socially awkward wins the race.

S: It wins the race in tutorials, of course, but what about the race of life? In 2017, not speaking up for what you believe in could have dire consequences. We’re in President Trump’s world - stand up now or face decimation. Use your Oxford days as a training ground for the rest of your meandering existence, even if you’re not headed into the soulless city like most graduates. So speak up - even if you’re wrong! At least you’ll be remembered for your conviction.

Sport 30

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Buying or selling early NBA storylines

Sifting the hot-takes from the major stories from the NBA’s first month Continued from page 32

NBA so far this season, his ability to create chaos defensively makes options for his team-mates. This might not always translate into assists for Irving, but there should be no doubt as to his emergence as a lead player on an elite team.

It should come as no surprise that the Celtics’ veteran forwards and deep bench have played well, with Horford, Morris, Smart and Rozier all performing at a high level. What might have been more of a surprise is the emergence of two young starters: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Brown, the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, has emerged as an elite two-way wing this season. He is an excellent defender who rebounds the ball well, gets out in transition and is able to shoot the ball well enough to be seen as a strong off-ball scorer for the Celtics.

Having players like this who can contribute without needing the ball in the hands a lot is hugely valuable for teams wishing to compete late into the season.

However, Tatum should be the true source of Celtics’ fans excitement. The nineteen-year-old was taken as the third pick in the 2017 draft and was expected to come off the bench for Gordon Hayward as an out-and-out scorer. What Hayward’s injury has allowed, however, is the emergence of one of the most promising young players in the NBA; something that is certainly helping the Celtics in the short term, and looks to only get better for them.

Tatum can shoot extremely well, can get to the basket with apparent ease and create his own shot off the dribble. Defensively he has been excellent, contributes well as a rebounder on both ends and his immense athletic ability helps in transition. As with any young player, there are likely to be speed bumps along the road, but what he has shown so far has the makings of a very, very good player.

Verdict: Very Much Buying The Rockets’ start to the season was also somewhat subdued by injury, with newly-acquired star Chris Paul leaving the opening game with a knee injury. While Paul is expected to return in the coming weeks, the Rockets’ start without him has been stellar. Led by James Harden, the Rockets have followed on from last season in their attempts to simply take more shots than their opponent and to rely on some of them going in.

Nobody in the NBA take more threepoint shots than the Rockets, and nobody makes more of them either.

Last season’s additions of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon continue to be some of the best pure shooters

in the NBA, and whilst neither of them are particularly good defenders, that is more than made up for by the Rockets’ additions this season: PJ Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Both players are great defenders who also add some shooting off the bench.

Combine that with established defender-come-shooter Trevor Ariza, veteran bench scorer Nene and emerging star Clint Capela and the Rockets’ supporting cast is much improved on recent years.

When Chris Paul returns from injury things should only get better, with Paul being able to run the offence when Harden isn’t on the court, and contribute as an elite defender and shooter when both share the court.

With that being said, the star of the show will continue to be Harden.

impacts in unstable minutes so far.

This has the looks of a team that has many of the pieces in place, but might take some time to work out the way in which to make the most of what it has. Thompson and Crowder should aid the defensive worries and, frankly, when you have the best player in the NBA it doesn’t take that much to make the team into a contender.

Verdict: Selling Whereas the Cavaliers look to be a slightly new take on a classic recipe, the Thunder are something completely new. With the additions of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George the Thunder now have as good a top three as anybody in the NBA not called the Golden State Warriors.

What Hayward’s injury has allowed, however, is the emergence of one of the most promising young players in the NBA Harden is currently third in the league in both points and assists, is tenth in steals and leads the league in made three-pointers. Harden has two of the three highest pointscontributed (points scored plus points assisted) games in modern NBA history and when on form can dominate a game in a way that only a handful have ever been able to do.

With Harden fit, the Rockets should believe that they really can beat anybody on any given night.

Verdict: Buying The Cavaliers and Thunder are in Trouble For every team that performs above expectations there is one that fails to live up to their’s; and the Cavaliers and Thunder are two teams that have disappointed fans so far. Both were expected to compete for a title entering the season and both are currently sitting outside of the playoff spots with losing records.

The Cavaliers have been terrible defensively and whilst LeBron James continues to play at a very high level, his surrounding cast are finally playing like the aging stars that they are. Rose, Wade, Smith and Korver are all towards the ends of their respective careers and while all have value, the number of aging players has defensive implications.

While Isiah Thomas and Tristan Thompson’s returns from injury should make a marked difference, there should be questions raised about team chemistry and compatibility given the issues that have plagued the team so far. With all that said, this team have a lot of talent, and there are younger players such as Crowder, Green and Shumpert who have failed to make significant

With that said, George and Anthony have never been on a team where they aren’t the best player by far, and Westbrook’s years on star-studded teams met with little success, given the talent on offer.

All three of the Thunder’s stars are accustomed to having the ball for the majority of the time, and the fact that they haven’t immediately settled into a happy system shouldn’t be surprising. What is somewhat more troubling is the lack of bench scoring outside of Raymond Felton and the apparent issues with basic compatibility between the starters.

Russell Westbrook is one of the best players in the NBA when it comes to purely attacking the basket, but his limitations as a pass within a more complicated offence and his limitations as a shooter make

Erik Drost

it hard to build a team around him.

At the moment, it seems as if the Thunder’s entire offence is either Westbrook charging the basket with the option to throw it out to a shooter or him simply giving the ball to either Anthony or George and letting them go at it.

The issue with this is that using George and Anthony as catch-andshooters is a horrendous waste of talent and that resorting to isolation basketball hasn’t been an effective way of playing in the NBA for at least twenty years following the use of zone defences. While the chemistry should undoubtedly improve, there should be real questions about what the limit for this offence might be.

In the Thunder’s favour, they have been playing very well defensively so far this season and if they can get better at all offensively then they should have a realistic shot at a decent play-off seed. However, seeing as this team was built to compete for titles there is a lot of work to do before they can be seen as real contenders.

Verdict: Too Early To Tell Lonzo Ball is A Disappointment Normally, the first overall pick in the draft is the one that attracts all the attention, but with Markelle Fultz struggling with injury and Lonzo Ball’s dad unable to shut up about how good he thinks his son is, much of the attention has instead gone to Ball, the second pick in the draft.

As a result of his father’s hyperbole, many either want Lonzo to play up to the hype or to crash and burn on the NBA stage, and so far it has been more the latter than the former.

Lonzo was expected to come and make the Lakers better from day one, as a pass-first point guard who could

run the offence and make others around him better; Jason Kidd was a common comparison.

While his raw numbers don’t look hugely dissimilar to Kidd, a future Hall-of-Famer, but what those numbers fail to account for is just how inefficiently Lonzo has been getting there. He is currently last in the NBA in three-point-shooting percentage, and second last in shooting percentage. Of course, there are players who have succeeded in the NBA without being great shooters, but it is hard to remember any who have been this bad.

Until Lonzo ball came along, Charles Barkley’s 25.5% was the worst three point percentage among qualifying players; Lonzo Ball is currently shooting 22%. The issue with such poor scoring from outside is that is allows players to guard him without having to worry about his outside shot. This in turn makes it harder for him to get to the basket to score inside, as seen by his poor shooting percentage. This inability to score then makes it harder to create as a passer, as opponents will simply play off him, forcing him to try and score the ball.

Lonzo Ball was never expected to be a dominant scorer in the NBA, but instead to be a creative passer who could contribute with some points here and there. What he looks like right now is a player who cannot make his own shot and is limited to creating as a passer on the fast break. If he can improve his shooting stroke then this might be subject to change, but right now it is hard to see him as the star he was hyped-up to be. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a place in the NBA, but that the second overall pick might have been a bit rich.

Verdict: Buying

Sport 31

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Autumn internationals take on new significance Action-packed weekend of rugby has effects on 2023 World Cup

Danny Cowan Sport Editor

The autumn internationals between South Africa, Ireland and France take on new significance in the wake of the competitive process to host the 2023 World Cup. South Africa emerged triumphant in the initial stages of this process, where World Rugby, with the help of a consulting firm, ranked the nations in five key categories: vision and hosting concept (10%), tournament infrastructure (20%), organisation and schedule (5%), venues and host cities (30%), and financial and commercial value (35%).

South Africa topped the board in three of the categories: infrastructure, organisation and venues, having hosted a fantastic football World Cup on 2010, whereas France topped the rankings in vision and finances. Ireland, the odds-on favourite before the release of the assessment, and bidding to host their first World Cup, failed to come top in any of the categories.

This left South Africa with an overall score of 78.97%, to France’s 75.88% and Ireland’s 72.25%.

“The comprehensive and independently-scrutinised evaluation reaffirmed that we have three exceptional bids but it also identified South Africa as a clear leader”, stated World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont.

Yet, this has not stopped the Irish and French from maintaining that they can still win the right to host the World Cup in 2023.

After all, the World Rugby recommendation is non-binding.

The unions will vote on November 15th, in London, where there will be 39 votes cast. South Africa, or indeed Ireland or France, need a simple majority to emerge the victor. The three unions cannot vote themselves.

New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, England, Scotland, Wales and Italy each have three votes. Japan, and six regional associations: Americas North, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania, each have two votes. Canada, Georgia, Romania and the USA have one vote each.

France and Ireland have both taken defiant stances. World Rugby has confirmed that it has received and responded to clarification enquiries from the unions about the process and the result. Bernard Laporte, French Federation of Rugby President has said that “as of today, a final is taking shape in which France and South Africa will go head to head”, while Dick Spring, former Irish number eight and the chairman of their bid, maintained that “there is nothing in the report that is insurmountable, and this is certainly not the end of the road”.

Yet this is likely just wishful thinking. World Rugby was determined to avoid the kind of suspicion and accusations that came with FIFA’s choices of Russia and Qatar for the 2018 and 2022 football world cups, and so have made a conscious effort to make their process as transparent as possible. The vote on November 15th will be a secret ballot, but, having opted for this transparent process themselves, it is unlikely that many of the unions will vote against it.

Not only is it unlikely that the unions will vote against the report, but South Africa, as the

report demonstrates, do have a strong bid to host in 2023.

They have missed out on hosting the last three World Cups, last hosting in 1995, and, in 2010, hosted a successful football World Cup. It is estimated that 38,600 jobs will be created by the World Cup, and that it will provide a £1.5bn boost to the South African economy.

Though travel, politics and attendance are worries, the football World Cup on 2010 demonstrated that by no means are these issues insurmountable.

The French have made the financial case for their hosting of the tournament. They hosted

as recently as 2007, but they do boast the strongest financial plan. Laporte stated that “In its assessment report, [World Rugby] placed France 2023 in top position on the main criterion: the financial offer and the guarantees. This prime position buttresses our strategy, which consists of securing the recordhigh financial resources needed for the development of global rugby. Now, we need to reassure the voting federations on the quality of our infrastructures and our stadia.” World Rugby requires 40% more funding than in 2015, and there is little doubt how important finances

are to the game. The French have promised £500 million of commercial earning, yet they promised a very similar figure to the South Africans (£150-160 million) to go straight back to World Rugby. Ireland were only able to promise £120 million.

Either way, all eyes in the rugby world will be on London on Wednesday, as the final choice is made. The choice will take place just days before South Africa meet France, and just days after the South Africans meet the Irish, and will provide all three teams with a little extra to prove as they step out onto the pitch.

David Roberts

Checkatrade Trophy Encapsulates EFL Flaws Continued from page 32 competition will be reimbursed, is little more than bribery.

Not only is the EFL failing fans by continuing to provide a competition that there is no demand for, but it is also failing by creating an economic situation for clubs that forces them to prioritise financial survival above fan satisfaction. The ratio of football league income distributed between the Championship, League One, and League Two respectively is 80:12:8. The disparity in finance between the leagues is such that just Sunderland’s sale of Jordan Pickford this summer

would finance the annual budget of Accrington Stanley, who sit just 25 places below them in the league pyramid, 15 times over.

This exacerbates the financial disparity between the leagues,

League. The lower leagues will only suffer whilst this continues.

The Checkatrade Trophy is little more than an ego trip for Shaun Harvey, with games only marginally more important than

An EFL guarantee that any financial losses due to the competition will be reimbursed, is no less than bribery. and before long it will become incredibly difficult for clubs entering the Championship to meaningfully compete, as has historically been the case for those entering the Premier

friendlies. However, in terms of being a threat to English football, it forms only a fraction of the failures of the EFL. Owners such as Leyton Orient’s Francesco Becchetti, who achieved

two relegations in three years under eleven managers, and Nottingham Forest’s Evangelos Marinakis, currently under serious investigation for match fixing in Greece, have passed the so called ‘fit and proper persons test’. A combination of profligate owners and financial mismanagement has created a perfect storm in the football league, and the prospects of a Championship breakaway league or the financial ruin of several League 2 clubs seem all too predictable prospects.

This brings us back to Tuesday night; for while the absence of fans appears to be protesting a threat to the lower leagues, it seems more apt to suggest that the focus of

the boycott is wrong. The boycott has been successful largely due to apathy, but the threat to the lower leagues requires a response much greater than apathy. If the aim of the EFL is to create empty League Two stadiums whilst Championship clubs flourish, then they seem to be going about it the right way.

In the EFL boardroom, the fans make about as much impact as they did on Tuesday night. If that doesn’t urgently change, then some clubs are undoubtedly set for a collision course with collapse.

Follow @OxStuSport on Twitter for more sporting updates

SPORT Sport 32

The Oxford Student | Friday 17th November 2017

Buying or selling NBA storylines

The Checktrade Trophy threatens the EFL

The Checkatrade Trophy threatens EFL Buying or selling early NBA storylines Vincent Richardson Sport Editor

About this time every year, as the NBA season begins to settle down into the grind of the regular season, several storylines emerge about what might be in store. The tales range from the obvious - LeBron James is still very good at basketball - to the ridiculous - LeBron James might not be the best player in the NBA anymore.

This article looks to explore some of the more significant storylines and pass judgement on whether they will hold true over the season and beyond.

The Celtics and Rockets are Legitimate Contenders

Richard Rogerson

its inception last season. To place clubs such as Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers into the Staff Writer same competition as Brighton Football is not a quiet game. U21s is frankly insulting, and Yet at the Kassam Stadium on its apparent aim, to improve Tuesday, where the empty seats the quality of young English outnumbered the spectators players in order to improve ten-to-one, even seven goals English football, is a pipe dream.

Whilst it could be argued were not enough to distract from the deafening silence that the tournament has good that engulfed the arena. While intentions, as only six under-21 MK Dons emerged the 4-3 players are required to take victors, the match begged the part for the academy sides, question: if a game of football the degree to which it leads is played, but nobody is there to mass youth involvement highly questionable.

It to see it, did it really happen? is The reason for this marked remains to be seen how absence of fans is the much 28-year-old Frenchman Tony maligned Checkatrade Trophy, Andreu’s hat-trick for Norwich brainchild of English Football U21s last season benefitted League (EFL) Chief Executive English football. Indeed, it’s whether eight Shaun Harvey. The tournament, questionable made up of sides from Leagues games (the maximum a side One and Two in addition could play if they reach the to 16 Premier League and final) could ever have a lasting Championship ‘B-Teams’, has impact on a player, regardless been mired in controversy since of the difference in standard

Harry Croasdale

from regular academy leagues.

Perhaps the sole positive that could be taken from the tournament is how the exposure to a higher level of football can allow for a more accurate assessment of a player’s potential, distinguishing genuine talent from flattrack bullies. However, to a certain extent, an effective loan system already achieves this goal on a much greater scale, making the trophy redundant.

Lower league fans, quite rightly alarmed by the prospect of the competition being used as a springboard for B-Teams entering the football league pyramid, responded with an almost universal boycott. It should be seen as a damning indictment that a tournament design to widen to interest in football leads to a drop in average attendances by 56%, with numerous clubs setting records for lowest competitive

attendances. In many cases, the cost to clubs of providing stewarding was greater than the income in ticket sales.

Despite this, the unpopular, unprofitable tournament looks set to continue for at least two more seasons, if not longer.

Just this May, League One and Two clubs voted in favour of continuing the competition in its current format, making any change in this area seem like a far-off prospect. It would therefore seem all too easy to lay the blame at the feet of club owners, but this would be ignoring the harsh financial reality of running a lower league club in the modern era.

Many clubs struggle to make ends meet, and so the offer of £20,000 per win in the competition, in addition to an EFL guarantee that any financial

Continued on page 31

After a dozen-or-so games, the Celtics and Rockets sit atop the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively and while it is far too early to predict where they might lie in the seeding come the play-offs, the idea that the NBA Finals might feature teams other than the Warriors and the Cavaliers seems more reasonable than at any time in the past three years.

While the Celtics were expected to make a push for a championship after a busy offseason, the fact that they have been arguably the best team in basketball so far is somewhat surprising. What is more, their league-leading defence could well allow them to compete at the highest level in the postseason. This is a reality far removed from the expectations of the Celtics season when Gordon Hayward went down just five minutes into the season opener.

The Celtics are likely to be without Hayward for the rest of the season having only recently signed him to a four-year, $128 million contract, other players have stepped-up to take-on Hayward’s scoring responsibilities. While Kyrie Irving is the only Celtic averaging over twenty points per game, six other players are averaging at least nine.

With that said, Irving, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Cavaliers over the summer, has become the figurehead for the new Celtics regime.

While not the most efficient scorer in the

Continued on page 31