Profile
Interview with Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein
Comment New benefit cuts put pressure on welfare departments
Music
Page 19
Page 20
Lily James captivates as Natasha Rostova in War and Peace
Page 17
Page 13
Screen
Review of Rhianna’s longawaited album
12.02.2016 Volume 75, Issue 5 oxfordstudent.com
Bop-goers wreak havoc in Magdalen College OxStu News Team The deans and college officials at Magdalen College have been piecing together evidence following a bop on Saturday in which behaviour described as “unacceptable” led to significant damage to college property and altercations with college staff. Initial reports were of damage to a number of college spaces, including both common rooms, as well as mess on the lawn in Magdalen’s famous cloisters, damage to a staircase, and damage to the outside toilets near where
Somerville College was named after Mary Somerville, a Scottish science writer and polymath.
Continued on page 3
Image: Thomas Phillips
Mary Somerville to appear on Scottish £10 note
• Controversy over alleged “likebotting” led to her winning Alys Key
News Reporter
The namesake of an Oxford College will appear on the Scottish £10 note. Following a week-long public vote on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Facebook page, Mary Somerville, after whom Somerville College is named, was announced the winner. The competition invited users to like the Scottish scientist they would most like to see on the banknote from a shortlist of Somerville, James Clerk Maxwell, Thomas Telford. Despite Mary Somerville leading the competition for some time, Thomas Telford had the most likes by the close of voting. However, suspicions were raised after a sudden surge of likes on Sunday the 7th of February,
the final day for voting, put Telford into the lead. On Sunday morning Telford’s picture had around 500 likes, but at time of writing it had 5,117 votes. Mary Somerville had accrued 4,356 likes and James Clerk Maxwell had 2,123. Concerns were raised on both Facebook and Twitter about the sudden rise in likes. Many suggested the involvement of “likebotting”, whereby high numbers of “bot” accounts are used to automatically like a post. “It was an absolute shock to see Telford in the lead, after days of having only a few hundred votes,” said Somerville College’s
“
All Somerville students and alumni will share in our joy
Communications Officer. Following the complaints, RBS told The Oxford Student on Tuesday, “we are looking to establish if these votes were genuine.”
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Somerville had been the clear leader throughout the process In a subsequent press release on Wednesday, RBS announced Mary Somerville as the winner of the competition. They also addressed the perceived irregularities in the public vote. “Following concerns over a huge influx of last minute votes for Thomas Telford from outside of the UK, RBS decided to choose Mary Somerville as the winner. Somerville had been the clear leader throughout the
process with the vast majority of her votes coming from the UK.” Dr Alice Prochaska, Principal of Somerville College, said in an exclusive comment to The Oxford Student: “I am thrilled that Mary Somerville will receive this recognition. All Somerville students and alumni will share in our joy at seeing this great woman recognised for her contributions.” Also commenting on the announcement, Malcolm Buchanan, Chair of RBS’s Scotland board said: “Mary Somerville’s immense contribution to science and her determination to succeed against all the odds clearly resonate as much today as they did during her lifetime.” Somerville students, who had been disappointed to see Mary
Continued on page 3
Where the Wild Things are See pages 26 and 27
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Editorial
2
Editorial
Editors: Ariane Laurent-Smith and Naomi Southwell
Hello
Hilary, 4th week
Friday 12th February 2016
“Your essay was fantastic, full of new and original insights. LOL JK. ”
Tutor comment Conspiracy theories of the week Lincoln College is the namesake of rock legends Linkin Park Jesus College is full of bona fide Messiahs Valentine’s Day is actually a sincere and meaningful celebration of romantic love
Alumnus of the week
This week has welcomed some nice weather and we’re enjoying the lighter evenings, especially considering we’re in the office until midnight on Wednesday and it makes us feel slightly less doom and gloom!
Halfway Halls
of entering the club. I spend half my night wandering around trying to find members of my group in the rabbit warren that is Park End’s three floors. Finding out there is no place to get any air, I made my way downstairs to the smoking area, a section of the street which meant I began to miss Bridge dare I say it.
This week we have been a bit depleted at points in our depping due to second years needing to go eat, drink and be merry and generally celebrate/commiserate about being ‘halfway’ through their degrees.
Ale Verses
Ale Verses is a special Brasenose tradition: a pretty standard formal but accompanied by a weird mulled wine and some interesting verses about Brasenose life. The winning verse this year was to the tune of ‘Blank Space’ by Taylor Swift about the relationship between Junior Deans and students, written by one of the Junior Deans!
We are more than halfway through Oxstu and halfway through our degrees!
This was mine (Naomi’s) second time in Park End, the first time being Freshers’ Week. I found the experience both terrifying yet ultimately rewarding. My senses were overwhelmed within minutes
Zaha Hadid world renowned architect comes to the Oxford Union Page 31
Finally
A massive thank you to our new team for staying awake and mostly sane through the long night (those who weren’t drunk in Park End) and Thursday in the office.
Park End visits
What’s on
Port and Policy
Third time lucky, they say. So I trooped back to P&P from the rail station. It was probably worth it for the emergency motion on student politics being futile, featuring a great speech by Emily Dillistone, someone who I normally disagree with admittedly, on getting women involved in politics.
Fashion Oxford’s best dressed in this weeks street style Page 29
Music
Interview with Wolf Alice ahead of their upcoming UK tour Page 20
OxStuff Dan Haynes looks for love across the pond
Page 33
Write for us! editor@oxfordstudent.com
William Beveridge
Balliol College
Educated at Charterhouse, followed by Balliol College, where he read Mathematics and Classics. The Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services, published in 1942, and later known as the Beveridge Report, paved the way for the post-war welfare state.
odds-ford bets. Journalists to learn how to interpret ****ing statistics...
∞/1
Jaden Smith to become a philosophy don at Oxford
10/1
Junior doctors to secede and found independent utopian nation
5/1
Beyoncé to ascend to the upper 2/1 realm in a blaze of brilliance
The OxStu team Ariane Laurent-Smith and Naomi Southwell Jake Wiseman Scott Harker, Daniel Haynes, Flora Holmes, James Sewry, and Sam Sykes Matt Burwood, Megan Izzo and Jan-David Franke News Editors Laura Whetherly Investigations Editor Imogen Gosling and Ben Oldfield Comment Editors Chloe St George and Clio Takas Stage Editors SherryTan and Alice Townson Fashion Editors James Charter and Beth Kirkbride Music Editors Jasmine Cameron-Chileshie DavidtoParton Features Editors Oxford Unionand election be Art and Lit Editors Rosie Collier and Tristan Wilson conducted in harmonious and Screen Editors Daunish Negargar and James Riding Adam Hilsenrath and Ned Walker Sports Editor Toby Clyde and James Broun Deputy News Editors Deputy Comment Editor Louis Trupia Editors in Chief Online Editor Deputy Editors
Deputy Features Editors Deputy Arts and Lit Editor Deputy Music Editor Deputy Screen Editor Deputy Stage Editors Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Fashion Editors Profile Editor Chief Sub Editor Sub Editors
Robert Pepper and Jamie Russell Hetty Mosforth Katie Collins Robert Selth Georgia Crump Josh Stickland Xuemei Chan, Claire Leibovich and Alexandra Luo Nayra Zaghloul Elizabeth La Trobe Lizzie Evens, Joshua Dernie, Jei-Jei Tan, Jane Yu and Amelia Wrigley
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News 3
Wild Behaviour at Magdalen’s “Jungle Bop” Continued from front page the bop took place. One of those responsible for the chaos at the bop ended up in a heated discussion with a porter, and items were allegedly broken and stolen from the college’s MCR. An email sent by the JCR President to Magdalen students after the bop reflected the seriousness with which the college was considering the matter:
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The small group of men responsible...may not have been Magdalen students
“I hope you enjoyed your night, unless you were one of the hard men who decided that smashing up a toilet, tearing posters off the wall, ruining a flowerbed in the Cloisters, stealing/breaking things up in the MCR or having a go at a porter were acceptable things to do. “Benn and I are seeing the Deans on Tuesday, and
unfortunately they’ve made it clear that if this isn’t sorted by then that they will cancel the Entz events for this term. If this was you, clean the mess up and get in touch with the Deans. Having spent most of my afternoon dealing with this and the last half an hour on the phone to the Deans, I’m pretty disgusted by the mess that’s out there and more than a little aggrieved that your ‘fun’ has ruined not just my Sunday, but that of the Entz Team and a large number of college staff.” On Tuesday, the JCR President and the Entz Trustee met with the Deans of the college, to discuss any repercussions and consequences of the damage and disruption. As a result of the meeting, no bops or other Entz events at Magdalen have been cancelled, and neither the JCR nor Entz have been deemed responsible for the damage. It
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Neither the JCR nor Entz have been deemed responsible for the damage
has been suggested that the small group of men responsible for the damage may not have been Magdalen students, and most of the damage is likely to
have occurred after the bop had ended, though these rumours are yet to be confirmed. Magdalen Entz did not refer to these unsavoury elements
of the event when posting the photos from the Jungle Bop on their Facebook page, simply opting for the caption: “Hope everyone had fun!”
The picturesque college was the site of damage and destruction last Saturday night. Image: Ed Webster
Mary Somerville to be honoured on Scottish notes Continued from front page Somerville lost at the last minute, were pleased with the announcement. The College’s feminist discussion group, 1920 Society, said: “We’re really proud to see that Mary’s legacy will live on. Hopefully this will encourage more young women to go into science. ” Brigitte Stenhouse, a fourth year Maths student at Somerville, pointed out that the banknote will give Mary Somerville the recognition she was unable to achieve during her lifetime.
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Hopefully this will encourage young women to go into science “Mary Somerville was a key member of London Scientific Society in the mid 19th Century,” she said. “However when Mary was alive, scientific societies only recognised her achievements by electing her an ‘honorary member’, so she was still unable to fully participate in the society, or electing her husband a member of the society.”
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The banknote will give Mary Somerville the recognition she was unable to achieve during her lifetime “This is a chance to give Mary
recognition for the work she did, and help her to finally be remembered as a scientist rather than a woman in science.” Mary Somerville: career history •
1780 - Somerville born
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1804 - Married unhappily, but eventually was able to use her late husband’s inheritance to pursue her educational interest
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1831 - Somerville’s translation and publication of ‘The Mechanism of the Heavens’ made her famous
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1834 - Published ‘On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences’
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1835 - Along with Caroline Herschel, Somerville became the first woman member of the Royal Astronomical Society
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1848 - Published ‘Physical Geography’
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1869 - Awarded the Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
Mary Somerville is finally achieving a kind of recognition for her formidable contributions to science. Image: Thomas Hunt
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News
4
Wadham Warden echoes Vice Chancellor in opposing government Prevent Strategy College
Matt Burwood News Editor
The Warden of Wadham College and former Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald QC, has spoken out against government legislation designed to ensure that universities “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. In an interview conducted by Free Speech Debate as part of an Oxford research project, Mr Macdonald told All Souls Fellow Max Harris that “the best way to face security threats is rarely to close down communication”. He expressed doubts as to whether the Prevent legislation would be helpful to the cause of counterterrorism, suggesting that it may instead be detrimental to the cause of open and intellectually honest debate on campus. Mr Macdonald went on to say: “no one believes that terrorism should be encouraged; the problem is how you define an act of encouragement.” He argues that laws already exist which render certain types of speech illegal, such as hate speech, and that what the Prevent strategy does is compel universities to police “behaviours which [are not] in themselves criminal”. He added: “You have to be very careful about expanding the areas of criminal speech.” When asked what the government’s policy entailed
for Oxford, Mr Macdonald explained that “universities have acquired a duty to prevent people on university premises from being radicalised” along with “a responsibility to examine with care which visiting speakers are going to stay on university premises”.
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Mr Macdonald described the definition of British values as “very broad”
Citing Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights which provides for freedom of expression, he gave a possible scenario in which the legislation could impinge on legitimate free expression of political opinion. The guidance to universities defines extremism as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” Mr Macdonald described the definition of British values as “very broad”, and picked up on the rule of law as being a value which should be able to be debated within an academic setting, giving an example: “a Marxist might argue that the rule of law is a construct designed to keep one class in power over another.” He raised concern that whilst it seems obvious that people should
be allowed to express this view and challenge the rule of law, it would technically fall under the category of speech universities should not be tolerating. This is in line with comments from the new Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Louise Richardson, when she told the Telegraph earlier in the year that she did not oppose in principle inviting the group CAGE to speak on campus in Oxford, saying: “Provided that they can be countered, I think that we should let them be heard.” CAGE is an advocacy group led by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Moazzem Begg, which aims “to highlight and campaign against state policies developed as part of the War on Terror”, and is often cited as the sort of organisation which attempts to radicalise among students.
widely perceived to be directed against extreme Islamists and I worry that Islamic students would feel that they are suspect.” Mr Macdonald used his interview to weigh in on another high profile discussion within the university - the debate surrounding the Rhodes Must Fall campaign. Prompted to comment on the efforts by a group of students to have a statue of Rhodes removed he
said: “I don’t think it is possible to change history. I think it’s critical to see these things in their context”. Making a connection to more general trends in the political landscape at Oxford, he continued: “There is a serious and growing danger in universities of self-censorship. [...] I think it’s a terrible mistake for people to think that universities are places where you can be protected from discomfort or offence.”
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There is a serious and growing danger in universities of selfcensorship. Professor Richardson has also aired her specific “real concerns about Prevent”. Referring to young muslims who might feel further marginalised and put under suspicion by the government’s policy on extremism, she added: “The Prevent legislation is not explicitly anti-Islamist but it’s
Mr Macdonald has spoken out about the Prevent initiative Image: civil society
South England floods caused by climate change Jan-David Franke News Editor
According to climate scientists at Oxford University, heavy storms, such as the one that caused devastating flooding in the South of England in the winter of 2013/2014, are heavily facilitated by climate change. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions increase the risk of extreme floods by more than 40 percent, the researchers found. As temperatures keep rising, traditionally exceptional weather phenomena will become more normal.
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It is not possible to link single extreme weather incidents to global warming The study led by Dr Nathalie Schaller at Oxford’s Department of Physics is the first of its kind, analysing the once-a-century flood from end to end, accounting for atmospheric circulation, rainfall, river flow, inundation, and properties at risk. Two aspects of global warming primarily contributed to the extreme peak in rainfalls in
2013/2014, the researchers found: an increased water-holding capacity of the atmosphere, a so-called thermodynamic factor, and enhanced westerly air flow in January 2014, a dynamic factor. In their computer simulations, thermodynamic factors account for about two thirds of the increase in risk, dynamic factors make up the remaining third. While it is not possible to link single extreme weather incidents to global warming, scientists are able to run probabilistic simulations. These simulations allow conclusions about how much more likely the event has been made by climate change. In this case, man-made emissions increased the risk of extreme rainfalls in South England by an average of 40 percent in the researcher’s 100,000 different simulations. Lead author Dr Shaller said: ‘We found that extreme rainfall, as seen in January 2014, is more likely to occur in a changing climate. This is because not only does the higher water-holding capacity lead to increased rainfall, but climate change makes the atmosphere more favourable to low-pressure systems bringing rain from the Atlantic across southern England.’ In late 2013 and early 2014 heavy rainfalls led to floods submerging 5,000 houses and totalling costs of more than £450 million. Among the
areas worst affected were Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and the Thames Valley. The researchers warn that rising temperatures will make such extreme and costly weather phenomena significantly more likely.
£450
million
Cost of floods in 2013/14 5,000 houses were submerged costing more than £450 million
The study can also be used to explain the occurrence of Storm Desmond in late 2015, which devastated parts of Cumbria and other northern regions and left 60,000 households without power. However, “A positive attribution for an extreme rainfall event like Desmond is still rare”, said coauthor Friederike Otto from the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University. For the simulations, the research team made use of the weather home project which combines the computing power of thousands of personal computers in households around the country. The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Flooding on the River Darent Eynsford, Kent on Boxing Day 2013 Image: Stephen Craven
Celebrating life outside of lectures, labs and libraries
27th February 2016 Exam Schools, High Street, Oxford
11.00 - 5.00pm Clubs and Societies showcase including:
Oxford University Ceilidh Band, OU Salsa Society, Oxford Imps, OU Fencing, OU Poetry Society, International Festival, Food stalls and much more! 7.00 - 9.30pm W online Nominate NO If you know of an individual or group that deserves recognition, nominate them for a Student Award now:
ousu.org/surveys/nominate2016studentawards/ You’ll need your Single Sign On details handy, to log in
Check it out, visit: ousu.org/get-involved/oxford-students-festival
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News 6
Oxford RAG Jailbreak raises £22,000 in first week Toby Clyde
Deputy News Editor
46 teams from Oxford have journeyed around the world in one weekend for the charity event Jailbreak. By the 9pm deadline on Sunday Oxford students had reached Milan, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. Jailbreak winners, Prisoner’s Dollema managed to fly all the way to Johannesburg, just short of the all time distance record of Tokyo.
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One team reached Istanbul but not before bumping into Stephen Fry in London
Participants had 36 hours to escape from Oxford without spending their own money on transport. Instead groups had to rely on good will, luck and any money they could raise whilst travelling to get them across the globe. While many of the teams journeyed north to Liverpool, Leeds and Edinburgh some managed to get much further. One team, Total Newsance, reached Istanbul but not before bumping into Stephen Fry in London. The Froggies won the non-flight distance prize journeying to Prague by train and car, closely followed by Young Warriors who were only 35k behind them at the polish border. Prisoner’s Dollemma, a team of three Green Templeton College students, travelled the furthest by far, reaching Johannesburg in time for the Sunday deadline.
Christopher Burningham, Helen Gao and Antonio Ji Xu spent the morning in Oxford fundraising before they managed to gain the sponsorship of GTC alumni for an international flight. The team said: “The decision was between Beijing and Johannesburg – although the idea of Chinese New Year in China was tempting, Johannesburg is around 600 miles further away and we had never been before! South Africa here we come!” Despite having some trouble getting through Heathrow security in animal onesies they eventually reached the South African city. The group came very close to breaking the all-time record for Oxford Jailbreak needing only to travel an extra 300 miles to Durban from Johannesburg. The record was set in 2014 when a trio of New College students managed to fly approximately 5,967 miles to Tokyo. However they decided against the extra travelling: “After much consideration, we decide not to spend more money on travel to break the record and give it to charity instead – since this is the whole point of Jailbreak!”. But as they added: “we still can’t believe we made it so far!”
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We are able to ensure that every single penny raised by participants goes directly to our four charities
Oxford RAG, the event organisers, has managed to raise £22,000 so far through this year’s Jailbreak. Despite fewer participants than in 2015 they are looking to “smash” the £30,00 raised last time and hit their £35,000 target in the coming weeks. Prisoner’s Dollemma was not the only team to make an unexpected journey. Total Newsance had just aimed to get across the Channel but by Sunday evening found themselves in Istanbul. The three New College first years managed to raise £500 in London on the first day and then promptly boarded a 9:35pm flight to the ancient transcontinental city. “It has been incredible, it’s literally the best thing we’ve done” Chemistry student Annabel Lawrence said. “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us and to the human kindness that we’ve Breakdown experienced this weekend”. They even met Stephen Fry in 36 Hours to get away London who, according to the group, joked he would have 46 Teams took part given them more money if they £22,000 Raised so far were from Cambridge but said he liked their zebra onesies. 5,967 Jailbreak record According to Jailbreak leader 300 Miles needed to Joe Hill another team, Positively break record Lost, were kindly offered a ride on a Romanian mini-bus to £35,000 Fundraising target Luxemburg and was treated to the whole history of Romanian
pop music, renditions included. They were: “quite glad to get off at the other end” he said. The third year classics student from LMH stressed how enjoyable the buzz around Jailbreak has been: “We on the Jailbreak team and the RAG Committee are over the moon with what all our amazing Jailbreak participants have achieved this year.”
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We’re incredibly grateful.. for the human kindness that we’ve experienced this weekend
“I think Jailbreak is such a great fundraising activity because it is so effective in Oxford, and in a student population. It’s become an established name that people know is an exciting event, and therefore everyone gets really enthusiastic about it”. He also highlighted the importance of Jailbreak for the charities involved given that: “we are able to ensure that every single penny raised by participants goes directly to our four charities.” Fundraising remains open until the 20 th February with all donations going towards RAG’s four chosen charities, the Against Malaria Foundation, Student Mind, Oxford Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre and Jacari. Donations can be made online.You can also donate directly to Prisoner’s Dollemma via their twitter @ dollemma2016. Prisoner’s Dollemma: highlights of our journey •
•
•
• • •
Fundraising in Oxford: High street barbers’ opened their till for us, free frappuccinos and £100 of ties from Shepherd and Woodward Receiving an email from a Green Templeton alumnus offering to sponsor a generous amount for flight tickets! Getting stopped in our onesies at Heathrow by security who thought we were animal rights’ protestors Getting into the business lounge at Addis Ababa airport, Ethiopia Being treated by a Green Templeton alumnus to ostrich burgers for lunch Straight after arriving in Pretoria we were taken to a Mumford and Son’s concert - what a way to end the weekend!
One team met Stephen Fry in London before flying to Istanbul.
Images: RAG Jailbreak
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News 7
LGBTQIA+ flag pole affixed with Bible verse James Broun
Deputy News Editor
This week at Christ Church a person or group of people attached a note to a flag pole where an LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag had been flying. The note quoted a bible passage, Corinthians 6:910 which states: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” The fragment concerning “nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind” is translated from Greek and is translated as “men who have sex with men” in the New International version of the bible. Some students at Christ Church found the note and reported it to the porter’s lodge. The flag is flying at Christ Church, and at many Oxford colleges, for LGBTQIA+ History Month. This act follows several similar instances of vandalism targeted at rainbow flags at Oxford.
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More colleges than ever have voted to fly the LGBTQ+ flag Additionally, 2016 has been a significant year for LGBTQIA+ history month, as more colleges than ever have voted to fly the flag and show support in other ways. This is significant, as history month was observed at Oxford only as recently as five years ago. While many people openly support the LGBTQIA+ community at Oxford, there have been a number of incidents in recent weeks. At Ship Street last week, a group of drunken young people attempted to steal and damage a rainbow flag from a student’s window. In the past few years, there have been numerous reports of students attempting to steal and vandalise flags. The flags are
Image: Tejvan Pettinger
a symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride as well as the social movement as a whole. Former OULGBTQ+ Society President Ashley FrancisRoy once told the Cherwell, “Flying the flag does not make a statement about any particular issues but more generally show a commitment to diversity and acceptance. We all have a responsibility to ensure that our college is an accepting place for all and to contribute to an environment that enables people to fully express themselves. Such an environment can only be beneficial for the college’s desire to achieve true academic
excellence.”
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The note quoted a bible passage about sodomy
Most colleges at Oxford have JCR positions for Sexuality and Gender Equality officers in an effort to support the LGBTQIA+ community and promote equality for students. There is a great deal of emphasis placed on the resources available to students, both during the application process and during freshers’ week.
Image: Ludovic Bertron
Private school hosted at “access event” Matt Burwood News Editor
Members of University College’s JCR have passed an emergency motion calling the decision to host pupils from the fee-paying Radley College at an access event “indefensible”. Earlier this week, The Telegraph reported that the Schools, Liaison and Access Officer from Univ’s JCR, Nelli Chamings, had sent an email to students asking for a pair of ambassadors to show the students around. It is also alleged that they were given a talk by a member of the access office’s staff. Radley College is an independent all-boys boarding school which has been based near Abingdon in Oxfordshire since its foundation in 1847 by the English divine and Oxford graduate William Sewell. The termly fee for 2015-16 is £11,475. Parents are encouraged to register their children early to help them obtain a place when they turn 13, and some sign them up at birth. The school’s website boasts an average of “15 to 20” pupils attaining Oxbridge places each year for the last decade, with 37 matriculating at Oxford between 2010 and 2014. The vast majority of those who do not go to Oxbridge attend Russell Group universities, with Bristol, Durham and Edinburgh being the most
popular destinations for sixth formers with a combined intake of 231 Old Radleians over 2010-14. The motion criticising Univ’s use of access funds was proposed by Michael Slade. According to The Telegraph, he said it seems “silly that College should spend money helping to perpetuate their privilege”. This comes just months after Oxford was criticised by a government commission on social mobility. In December, the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission reported that, although he proportion of state school entrants at Oxford has increased by 6% since the 2003/4 academic year, this is mirrored by a decrease of over 5% in the proportion of entrants from less advantaged social backgrounds. The report also highlighted how Oxford has failed to meet the Russell Group’s benchmark for the admission of students from less advantaged social backgrounds by 5 percentage points. Oxford, where just over 10% of entrants fall into this group, ranked joint lowest (with Cambridge) out of the Russell Group in this measure. The admissions office at University College, the JCR President (Agatha-Christie Onwuzuruike) and the JCR Schools, Liaison and Access Officer (Nelli Chamings) were invited to comment.
Radley College Chapel in its grounds. The fees per term are £11,475. Image: Bridget Mermikides
RAG CHARITY BALLOT
the charites you think RAG should support in 2016/17 CATAGories: local & national/international
3rd WEEK MONDAY 1st FEBRUARY 12:00 NOON TO
5th WEEK THURSDAY 15th FEBRUARY 12:00 NOON GO TO bit.ly/RAGBallot
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News 9
Cambridge University to introduce entrance tests Caitlin Troutman News Reporter
The University of Cambridge has announced that it is instituting entrance exams for incoming undergraduates. Each test will be tailored specifically to a certain subject and will be administered either pre-interview or at-interview, depending on the course. The purpose of these tests are to provide admissions tutors with more evidence of an hopeful students’ abilities and potential to succeed. Cambridge officials emphasize that these tests are a holistic part of the application process; they will be evaluated in addition to writing samples, applications, transcripts, a-level exams and interviews. While exams for each subject differ, they will commonly include a language aptitude and thinking-skills assessment and have both a multiple choice and essay component. The university states that no specific preparation is needed for the exams. This new testing policy is in response to grade inflation around the UK, particularly with A-level exams. According to the university, teacher and student feedback has indicated a need to develop new ways to measure students’ qualifications during the admissions process. Cambridge professor of experimental psychiatry, Barbara Sahakian, told the Sunday Times, “What people are concerned about is whether the A-level exam results still mean quite the same thing as they used to mean. There are a lot of students getting very high grades but not all of them would have got
those grades in the past, so it is hard to discriminate between candidates.” This new evaluation system does raise some concerns. Some argue that wealthier students would be put at an advantage, as they would have the money to pay for preparation courses. Additionally, some subjects are very difficult to test without background knowledge. Subjects like classics, which emphasizes knowledge in Greek and Latin, are not taught in public institutions. Therefore, less privileged applicants would have less preparation or background knowledge of a subject than their privately-educated peers. An Oxford tutorial fellow of English stated that she does not think that Cambridge’s new policy will impact the University of Oxford or its application process. Oxford currently administers pre-interview admissions assessments for most of its subjects. These assessments are aptitude based, as opposed to knowledge based. The professor also stated that these assessments may actually offer an advantage to applicants in less advantageous situations. Other elements of the application process, like writing samples and transcripts, may be influenced greatly by teachers or the institutions. Aptitude tests, alternatively, offer students a chance to showcase their natural abilities with no direct help. While preparation and unfairness may still occur, the results of the test are more likely to highlight a student’s potential. If Cambridge’s testing system is similar, then this additional step in the process may potentially be positive for some applicants.
Image: Andrew Dunn
Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch among those to become visiting LMH fellows James Broun
Deputy News Editor
Amongst the eleven new Visiting Fellows at Lady Margaret Hall are the actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson. The list, which reflects a broad range of people from many walks of life, was published on 5th February. These non-academic fellows will hold office for three years. They have been chosen to “add to the intellectual and cultural life” at the College, according to the Principal, Alan Rusbridger. The former Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman, is one of the five women appointed. She is joined by the artist Cornelia Parker, who is best known for ‘Cold Dark Matter: an Exploded View’, ‘The Maybe’ and her embroidered version of the Magna Carta’s Wikipedia article. The arts are also represented by the film director Beedan Kidron, who directed ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’ and ‘Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason’ before receiving a peerage in 2012. A graduate of St Catherine’s, Mark Simpson, has also been appointed; a composer and clarinettist, he won the BBC
Young Composer award in 2006. They are joined by Neil Tennant, part of the ‘Pet Shop Boys’ duo. Scientists include Dr Henry Marsh, the neurosurgeon who has worked with colleagues in the Ukraine to develop advance neurosurgery techniques there. The biologist Dr Jennifer Rohn is also amongst the appointments. She works at University College London, but is better known for her ‘lab lit’ novels about Scientists: ‘Experimental Heart’ and ‘The Honest Look’. Francis Habgood, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police since last April, has also been appointed a Visiting Fellow. So has Sir Rabinder Singh, the first Sikh High Court Judge in England and Wales. Most of the Fellows are from nonacademic backgrounds and not all went to university. But, according to the Principal, “We think we can learn much from them – and we hope they treasure their time with us.” He said that he “hope[s] they will occasionally come and eat at college as well as debate, perform, challenge and otherwise engage with the fellows, tutors, alumni, students and support staff.”
Other LMH Visiting FelMalorie Blackman Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015, wrote the ‘Noughts and Crosses’ series.
Francis Habgood Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police since April 2015.
Sir Rabinder Singh The first Sikh to be appointed a High Court judge and a founding member of Matrix Chambers.
Dr Henry Marsh A leading British neurosurgeon and author who wrote the brilliant memoir ‘Do Not Harm’.
Neil Tennant Composer, singer and writer, one half of the Pet Shop Boys.
Emma Watson attended Worcester College for a year as a visiting student in 2011. Image: David Shankbone
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
News 10
President of Oxford University Lib Dems resigns James Broun
Deputy News Editor
Gareth Wilkes has resigned as Senior Co-Chair and President of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats. He announced his decision during the society’s weekly debate last Wednesday, 3rd February. Speaking to The Oxford Student about his resignation, Wilkes said: “As a second year DPhil student my workload became too high for me to give OULD the time it deserves”. Gareth took over from Matt Sumption as Senior Co-Chair at the end of last term, having been President-Elect in Michaelmas and Spirits Officer in Trinity. According to his successor, Lucinda Chamberlain, members of the General Executive had been aware that he was considering resigning for some time. Chamberlain, who was elected Junior Co-Chair for Hilary, will now be Senior Co-Chair for the remainder of the term. The office of President-Elect and Junior CoChair are synonymous and the constitution mandates that the President-Elect should assume the President’s office if he or she resigns. This left the society without
a Junior Co-Chair until Wednesday evening, when the Social Secretary, Jack Ford of St Hilda’s, was coopted into the role at the OULD committee meeting. A student at Brasenose, Chamberlain has been active in OULD for several terms. She was Secretary and Spirits Secretary in Michaelmas and served on the General Executive last Trinity. Having volunteered in the Liberal Democrats for several years, she unsuccessfully contested the Ardwick seat on Manchester City Council at the 2015 local elections. She is also a Deputy Returning Officer at the Union and the VicePresident of Oxford Students for Liberty, a liberal discussion group. Asked about her plans for OULD, the new Senior Co-Chair replied: “This is an exciting time for the Lib Dems, given the upcoming local elections and EU referenda. My focus in the next few weeks will be to get our members knocking on doors and gathering support for our fantastic candidates in the local area. Past May, I will look towards the EU, focusing on speakers and events in conjunction with the campaign, and hopefully work alongside Oxford Students for Europe.”
News In Brief New Sainsbury’s to open
Image: Ibsan 73
Endeavour to return Popular detective drama series Endeavour has been renewed for another run by ITV. Endeavour is set in the 1960s and tells the story of young Constable Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans), solving murders in the city of Oxford together with his partner, Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allam). After a very successful third season averaged over 6 million viewers at the beginning of the year, “it was an easy decision to recommission” the two TV detectives, Steve November, Director of Drama at ITV, said. casebook of Detective Constable Endeavour. The fourth season of Endeavour, the Inspector Morse prequel, will begin in late Spring of this year.
It has emerged that the supermarket giant Sainsbury’s will be opening a new store in Oxford. The chain had quietly lodged an application for a premises at 117-119 St Aldates. This store will be in addition to the nearby Magdalen Street branch, and is part of a wider scheme to flatten 4 and 5 Queen Street and the block behind it. This will make way for the ground floor store and 133 new student flats in the storeys above it. Sainsbury’s have said that the new store has the potential to create up to 25 new jobs. The store on Magdalen Street will not close. No opening date has been announced yet.
Image: Andrew Abbott
Image: Jon Bunting
National biscuit shortage The UK is facing a nationwide biscuit shortage following damage to the United Biscuits factory in Carlisle. The factory, which is one of the most hightech biscuit facilities in the world, was affected by floods as a result of Storm Desmond in December and was forced to close. The factory is responsible for the production of McVitie’s, Jacob’s, Carr’s and Crawford’s brands, which means a shortage of ginger nuts, custard creams, and water crackers, to name but a few. Production of some lines has now restarted, but United Biscuits have commented that it could take ‘several months’ until things get back to normal.
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The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Investigation Reconsidering the Sutton Trust’s Oxbridge report Laura Whetherly Investigations Editor
Ensuring that the Oxford application process is accessible to all is an issue which, though always under consideration, has come under particular scrutiny in recent months. This is largely thanks to a recent Sutton Trust report, released on 4th February. However, the Sutton report has come under criticism for not fully acknowledging the disparity between applications to colleges – which vary greatly – and the percentages accepted, so in order to give a fuller picture, the Oxford admissions report (2011–13) has been used as a means of comparison.
Sutton Trust
The Sutton Trust’s report offers an analysis of which colleges applicants are applying to, which subjects they are applying for and how these figures compare with rates of acceptance, for Oxford as well as Cambridge. In the week since its publication, these findings have been republished in national newspapers and questioned by many colleges – particularly those who came out badly in the report. As published in The Guardian, Brasenose was judged worst, with just 11 percent of state school
applicants receiving offers, as opposed to a high of 30 percent at St Peter’s and Somerville. In response, the Access and Admissions team said: “We read this morning’s Guardian newspaper’s coverage of the Sutton Trust’s report on Oxford admissions. The Sutton Trust’s criterion for widening access is unusual. “The report would, for example, praise a college receiving just one state school application and admitting that person on the grounds that 100 percent of applicants were admitted.” The shortcomings of the Sutton Trust report are revealed by discrepancies within the report itself. When instead considering state-schooled student admissions as a percentage of all UK admissions, the results instead point towards Christ Church as having the lowest representation (45 percent), followed by
Investigation Pembroke, New, St Peter’s and Trinity, all around the 50 percent mark. Under this measure, Mansfield and Wadham have the strongest representation (79 percent and 68 percent respectively). With such a discrepancy even just between these two results, it seems unwise to draw too much from the report’s statistical findings in terms of college difference. However, the report also reveals further findings which are significant, not just in terms of state school applications, but in terms of how successful Oxbridge have been in attracting applications across different backgrounds. The proportion of students from families with an income of less than £16, 000 a year lies at around ten percent, and last year, only 50 students in receipt of free school meals (which the report calls “a common measure of disadvantage”) were admitted to Oxford and Cambridge combined. As a whole, Cambridge appears to accept a higher proportion of state-schooled pupils than Oxford, 62.2 percent in 2014 as opposed to 56.3 percent at Oxford.
Oxford admissions data The Oxford Admissions report, based on a three year average, similarly shows that there are significant disparities between the number of state-schooled students accepted to study at Oxford. Like the Sutton trust report, the statistical analysis from 2011–13 has been clearly differentiated by college, showing the application
State as a percentage of all UK admissions* Highest Mansfield
79%
Wadham
68%
Hertford/ Worcester
60%+
Lowest Christ Church New/ Pembroke/St Peter’s/Trinity
45%
50%
*At undergraduate colleges, according to 2014 Sutton Trust Report Image: Desmond Bowles
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Discrepancy betwen percentage of state school applicants and percentage of state school admissions*
Highest 14.5 points 14.2 points 13.4 points 12.0 points
rate and acceptance rate for students from state backgrounds. According to these statistics, the colleges with the highest acceptance rates for state-schooled students include Mansfield, Wadham and Hertford, with Somerville and Merton also scoring highly. Christ Church, New, Pembroke and Trinity have the lowest scores. However, these results, as with those for the 2012–14 report, suffer from not fully acknowledging the impact of college choice upon levels of “success” for applicants from state schools. The likelihood of a successful application to Oxford is designed to be equal regardless of college choice. However, this has significantly complicated the data available from the University, particularly since there is little information available about the process of transferring students across colleges during the admissions period.
Application/ acceptance discrepancy One of the most interesting factors that the Oxford admissions data makes reference to – although not explicitly – is that of the disparity between the percentage of applicants to a particular college and the percentage who were accepted. Under this measure, the results are distinctly different from those reported by the Sutton Trust and other, similar reports. Brasenose, which has been criticised as the “worst” for state-school admissions, has one of the smallest disparities between the percentage of applications received from the state sector and its acceptance rate of state-schooled students: 0.8 percentage points. The largest difference (for undergraduate colleges) came from St Hilda’s, who, over the three year period in question, had a 14.5 percentage point difference, followed by Jesus with 14.2. The only college to have a positive discrepancy (accepted a larger proportion of state-schooled students than applied) was St Edmund Hall, which over the three year period averaged out to a 0.5 percentage point difference. St Peter’s and Exeter also scored lowly,
St Hilda’s Jesus St John’s Christ Church
Lowest -0.5 points St Edmund Hall -0.1 points Exeter -0.1 points St Peter’s +0.7 points Mansfield *At undergraduate colleges
with a negative 0.1 percentage point difference.
Do these reports mean anything? The conclusions of the Sutton report suggest that there need to be some significant reconsiderations of the Oxbridge admissions system to make sure that access is levelled. Alongside suggesting that applications should be standardised across subjects and colleges, the Sutton Trust proposes more consideration on the restriction that students are able to apply to only one of Oxford and Cambridge and that they should do more to “publicise clearly the generous amount of financial support available before students apply”. These conclusions, though, do not directly follow from an indepth look at the differences between colleges – for good reason. Although students and wider media like to criticise particular colleges for their shortcomings, in reality, the pooling and redistribution system means that any statistical analysis – at least simple ones like those presented here – is not going to give a completely accurate account. Clearly, there are continuing issues with state school representation at Oxford. In 2013, state-educated students represented around 55 percent of the UK intake, in comparison to 86 percent of sixth-form students as a whole. However, the disparity in results displayed just between these two reports is obvious. Focusing on college-based data is misleading rather than helpful – applicants apply to a particular college for a variety of reasons, not all of which are going to be affected by educational background.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Profile: Prince Hans-Adam II
A monarch on the inside and the outside Nayra Zaghloul Profile Editor
Before I sat down with ‘his Serene Highness’ I was, naturally, rather anxious. Prince Hans-Adam II is certainly a formidable figure. He has been the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein since the 13th of November 1989 and is known for owning LGT banking group, having a family fortune of $7.6 billion and a personal fortune of about $4.0 billion, making him one of the world’s richest heads of state, and Europe’s wealthiest monarch. He is also a figure of much controversy after the referendum to adopt Hans-Adam’s revision of the constitution to expand his powers passed in 2003 and he formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his eldest son and consequently instigating a dynastic transition to a new generation. However, in person he is incredibly personable with a surprisingly gentle demeanour. I open our conversation asking him about his published political treatise The State in the Third Millennium (2009) advocating democracy and his motivation to write it. The prince answers after a thoughtful pause: “I felt like it was my duty to write the book. With the experience I had, which was somewhat unique, and my business being quite successful. I have the ability to show how a state works from the inside and the outside.” The prince does not hesitate to voice his anxieties, saying, “And I am worried about where states are going. I think they need a reform and we are in an age where I’ve seen so many, many states about to collapse or fall into Civil War. And people who have been driven away, refugees, you see my wife was a refugee as a small child. To try for the next generation to have a more peaceful and successful world. We have been successful but we can only live in Liechtenstein in peace and prosperity if the rest of the world also lives in peace and prosperity.” I then transition from the political discussion to ask about the practical issues that come with monarchy and ask the burning question: “How important is image in being a monarch?” Prince HansAdam chuckles: “If I hadn’t been born into that position, I wouldn’t have run for president. I see myself as more someone who is fixing problems. I had to fix the problems of the family business first and then I had to fix the problems of the state and now I am trying to fix the problems of the world. Which I know is quite ambitious. I know I am not going to make it, perhaps, but I could make a small
difference.” The magnanimous answer doesn’t quite tell me about the day-to-day image politics that I envisioned comes with the territory of his profession. So I pushed for specifics of how his career affects how he dresses and acts in public. I am happily proven that this entirely inaccurate in his case. Prince Hans-Adam replies with a wry smile, “Oh no, I am very relaxed. Here of course I can’t be in jeans. But in Liechtenstein, I go around without a tie unless it is an official thing. Normally I go shopping or to the restaurant without a problem. The advantage of being in a monarchy in a very small country is that I don’t need a bodyguard and I can do whatever I want. My children were able to go to school and we were able to live a completely normal life. With the exception of living in a castle. For the eldest, there is a fixed career plan.” I couldn’t help myself at this point so I ask curtly, “How does this work in terms of gender? If you had all daughters, who would then be the next Head of State?” The prince sighs, and then explains his policy of primogeniture. “You see, we have a family law from the middle ages. I reformed it. Some of my predecessors tried but couldn’t. It goes off the male succession. Always the male. If I had had only daughters it would have gone to the son of my brothers. That’s what’s always happened since the medieval period.” I interjected asking if he found this at all outdated.
“
We were able to live a normal life, with the exception of living in a castle The prince earnestly tried to explain his outlook: “We have discussed this in the family. The job of the reigning prince is not just the monarchy but also the family business, which is very important as it pays for the cost of the monarchy. This is quite costly as we are a large family with approximately 100 family members. Each one needing to be supported financially. This is quite a demanding job. What we see is that for the next generation, especially for the next generation when they are young. The mother is more important that the father. My mother in law was a marvellous person, looking after seven children. That was the family life I wanted to have.” Intrigued, I continued the questions about his “family values.” “Could you tell me more about your position on abortion, and how you think the legalisation of
Profile abortion will affect Liechtenstein?” The prince exhales slowly, clearly trying to piece together his stance. “If women have an unwanted child, the community and state should look after it. My problem is that it’s unknown from what moment it is a human being. And killing it, I have a problem there. Another generation might not have that problem. I think the majority of Liechtenstein would be against abortion.” I interrupted, at this point, wondering if this was for religious reasons, to which I am told, “No, but there are religious reasons. I just think if you put it to vote, it would be rejected. If the life of the woman is in danger then of course, but with modern technology this appears to be less the case.”
“
I’m trying to fix the problems of the world. Perhaps I could make a small difference The next question I ask is one driven by pure curiosity: “Your native tongue is German but you also speak French and English fluently. Which language do you prefer to use in political negotiations and which do you use most in personal interactions, and why?” The good natured prince bemusedly answered, with some nostalgia. “Well at home we only speak German. But what I use most, if I don’t speak German is English. I have very rarely anymore occasion to speak French. But German speaking comes from my father of my mother grew up in Austria and Czechoslovakia.” It is well known that the prince owns an extensive art collection, much of which is displayed for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. So naturally I asked him to tell me more about his love of art and the collection? “Well,”, he confesses, “I would never have started the art collection. My father knew much more about art. For him it was very tragic as he had to sell much of the art to finance family and the monarchy, because he wasn’t a very good businessman and so luckily, I was then able to buy back some of the art for him.” Prince Hans-Adam’s voice softens as he speaks of his father. ‘He had a very good eye for it. I have to rely on the experts. But I thought to rebuild the holes. From the same artists, to put it again together as it was. I thought it was my duty to my father.” Finally, I gain the confidence to ask how he balances funding charities and investment. On this note, the prince returns to his professional, clipped tone: “With charity I follow the things that make sense. My mother founded the Red Cross in Liechtenstein and my wife has taken over that. But of course, business investment is important, and not just banking. For example my rice seed business. I own the largest rice seed business in the West that is active in Latin America and starting in India. It is very important as it is also concerned with feeding the people. It is not enough to feed your people, but to teach them, as the old saying goes, to feed yourself.”
Prince Hans-Adam II expanded his powers after a referendum in 2003. Image: Roger Askew
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The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Comment
Iowa proved no candidate can rest on their laurels
Politics
Claire Sims Staff Writer
Underneath the controlled exterior, Hillary Clinton’s team must be frantically redesigning their strategy in a way that they could not have imagined almost a year ago. In the ten months between the announcement of her candidacy and the Iowa caucuses, the White House has predominantly been seen as hers for the taking – for some time, she seemed to hold the unchallengeable position of a venerable stateswoman guaranteed for the Democrat nomination and opposed by a fatally fractured Republican Party. The Iowa caucuses, while strictly bearing little legislative influence on the actual presidential election, must therefore have come as a nasty shock to her relatively slick campaign; she won, but hot on her heels was “Democratic socialist” Bernie Sanders with only a 0.3 percent smaller share of the vote. Indeed, Sanders was not even a Democrat this time last year, giving up his title of the longest-serving independent congressman in order to make a surprise bid for the presidency. Sanders fulfils the role of the earnest outsider in the presidential race, and it is this which has fuelled his support; his opponents may disagree most strongly with him out
of all other candidates, but his unabashed socialism means his supporters are ideologically committed and unlikely to swing towards Clinton. This socialism is perhaps very different to the British socialism of Jeremy Corbyn and co., but the word still holds connotations in the USA which are difficult to reconcile with democracy and prized freedoms, and thus Sanders’s ability to win over the progressive side of the Democrats with the promise of socialism must be considered an impressive political achievement.
The Iowa results must have come as a nasty shock to Clinton’s relatively slick campaign. The battle for the Republican nomination has meanwhile become a three-horse race; Ted Cruz and Donald Trump were joined by Marco Rubio at the top of the vote count while the rest of the many candidates, including Jeb Bush, were condemned to near obscurity. Rubio, the affable Hispanic senator from Florida, will pose more of a threat to Cruz than Trump in the run-up to the nomination. While Sanders is striding towards the left
Though previously regarded as the unchallengeable candidate, Hillary Clinton got just 0.3 percent more of the vote than Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucus. Image: Disney | ABC Television Group
Comment 14 of the comfortably centrist Democrats, Rubio and Cruz both represent the hard-line right of Republicanism (while not quite matching the zealous xenophobia of Trump). In Rubio’s favour is his capacity to compromise while still maintaining his ideological faith to the Republican right – he lost some Tea Party support for supporting a bipartisan immigration reform package in 2013, a move which seems only to have strengthened his support within the moderate camp of the party and heightened the threat he poses to his opponents. Despite the similarities between Cruz and Rubio, Cruz was the poster child of the Tea Party during the 2013 government shutdown (an event he controversially created while still a freshman senator) and has less of the GOP’s loyalty. Yet it was Cruz who took the Iowa Caucus with a 3.4 percent lead over Trump, proving that the Tea Party’s influence on Republicanism has not been quite as subtle as the party’s more moderate members would suggest. He is perhaps less conciliar than Rubio, his equal in terms of most domestic and foreign policy, but his victory in the caucus is an encouraging sign for the rest of his campaign. Trump, the most widely debated candidate of the Republican race, came second to Cruz but not so dismally that his hopes of the nomination have been dashed. In fact, the closeness of the result could only encourage Trump to push further towards the right and attract Cruz’s Tea Party supporters with yet more populist rhetoric. With Trump representing an even further right position than his two key opponents, the Iowa Caucus has made clear that there is yet no room in the mainstream Republican race for a liberal conservative; despite the caucus’s relative unimportance compared to the upcoming primaries, it does at least give a good picture of each party’s general standing before its position is solidified with the choice of a single
candidate.
This year suggests a closer presidential race than any since Bush versus Gore. The Iowa Caucus has traditionally had 50 percent success or lower in predicting who will win their party’s nomination – as such, to use it as the basis for a long-term prediction would be giving it too much significance. Nevertheless, we can safely assume that the nomination race will be more contentious than 2012 and even 2008 as both parties vacillate between their moderate and radical wings. If the caucuses are correct, the presidential race will be between Clinton and Cruz, placing a liberal but hawkish Democrat against a dogmatically conservative Republican. If these are not the candidates, however, this conflict between two comparatively centrist positions could be expanded into a race between outright socialism and the extreme right-wing – Trump versus Sanders, while ultimately unlikely, would create an ideological battle for the presidency perhaps unprecedented in American history. The 2008 caucuses saw decisive victories for both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee; John McCain’s measly 13 percent compared to Huckabee’s 34 percent is indicative of how misleading the Iowa results can be even in times of outright victory or defeat. In 2012, Obama comfortably held his position while the two leading Republican candidates were separated by a single 0.01 percent, displaying the ideological fractures in the GOP which have persisted into 2016. No caucus can define a presidential election, but this year certainly suggests a much closer presidential race than any since Bush versus Gore in 2000. The Iowa Caucus was designed to be a “meeting of neighbours” rather
than a battle when the Democrats introduced it as part of internal electoral reform in the 1970s and the Republicans adopted it soon after. Why, then, is a fairly inconsequential procedure regarded with such interest by the press and the parties themselves? The answer lies not in its formal importance (or lack thereof ), but in its informal function as the midpoint marker of the presidential race. The campaigns of the candidates have been rolling on since the middle of last year, and the election itself is not until November; Iowa is the first opportunity for serious candidates properly to estimate their chances of being nominated, and the last for candidates whose poor performance will prompt a graceful exit from the race.
To use the Iowa Caucus as the basis for a long-term prediction would be giving it too much significance What happens next will be the subject of countless strategy meetings, debates, and campaign plans. Those candidates who can must now capitalise upon their Iowa support and continue to build up momentum for the primaries – for the leading three Republicans, this will no doubt entail some untangling of their respective positions as Cruz and Rubio both strive to establish themselves as the “true” representative of hard-line conservatism. Clinton and Sanders will face the altogether simpler challenge of winning over mainstream Democrats with their distinctive brands of liberalism, with Clinton struggling to keep the primary position almost guaranteed to her when she first announced her campaign. As a particularly close Iowa Caucus has proven, a point or two could now make all the difference in November’s presidential election.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
The media shouldn’t sensationalise Oxbridge Louis Trupia
Deputy Comment Editor
A few months ago I wrote an article entitled “Oxbridge is not the be all and end all” in response to another article that said there was virtually no point in going to any other university. And I truly believe that. I like to think that I would have been happy at any university I applied for and got accepted by (still not quite over my Durham rejection). Yet the main media outlets today seem to make it seem like Oxbridge is the be all and end all, the pinnacle of high society, the strongest bastion of elitism. When you get here you’ve made it in the world. Many of them seem to do this to imply that Oxbridge needs to change its ways, yet their negative articles do more damage to access than any college (even one with a statue of a colonialist at its entrance) could do on its own. This week The Guardian published an article entitled “David Cameron’s Oxford college admits fewest state school applicants”. In the article the Guardian education correspondent, Sally Weale, suggests that the Prime Minister’s alma mater was actively discriminating against state school pupils and purposefully picking more students from private schools. First of all, as I hope many of
you will have seen, the statistics used in the article were grossly misused. Brasenose may only have a 12 percent acceptance rate for students coming from state schools, but this compares with only a 13.5 percent rate from private schools. Therefore the difference is not actually that great. The reason why both these figures is so low is because Brasenose is one of the most oversubscribed colleges in Oxford.
Brasenose has a 12 percent state school school acceptance rate And why is it that we’re so oversubscribed? Because our access team is among the best. Our access officer Joe Organ is one of the most highly respected access officers at the University. I mentioned him to a tutor at Pembroke once and the tutor replied, “Joe really is a fantastic asset to your college”. Brasenose does among the highest number of outreach schemes of any college. Our achievements in our catchment area, North Yorkshire, are reflected in the fact that our JCR president and bible clerk are both from state schools in Yorkshire. Both were visited by Joe Organ and his access team.
The Guardian attacked David Cameron’s former college for admitting few state school applicants. Image: Ozeye
Comment 15 The Brasenose JCR President even said if it hadn’t been for Joe she would never have applied. We are not a stronghold of elitism like The Guardian might want people to believe. Brasenose has twice been voted the happiest college in Oxford and I honestly believe it is because of our inclusivity. The majority of students who come and look round on the open day are blown away by the friendliness of the helpers. So why am I bragging about these great access achievements of my college? Well it’s because the media can and may well have undone all that hard work in the space of one article. Look at the damage that the press has done to Oriel College over the past few weeks. I am hugely concerned about the impact that this may have on Brasenose. The line that gets me most is: “critics say Brasenose is turning down strong state school candidates who are good enough to win places elsewhere in favour of candidates from independent schools.” First of all I would like to know who these critics are and what statistics they are using. A proper look at the statistics from the Sutton Trust report would show that Brasenose is better than average in terms of taking students from state schools. Most of all is the fact that this claim is so untrue. Tutors don’t care what school you’ve been to. Frankly they just want someone who isn’t going to send them to sleep during a tutorial, and who is vaguely literate. They don’t care if you don’t know the correct way to pass the
port. They just want someone who has half (and maybe a little bit more) of a brain. The Guardian is clearly trying to take a stab at Oxford for continuing to be an elitist club. But that just isn’t the case, and in suggesting that it is, they are just putting off more students from state schools from applying. They are propagating myths that make bright students afraid to apply.
The Guardian is propagating myths that make bright students afraid to apply But The Guardian isn’t the only one that is guilty of this. The Daily Mail doesn’t help by having albums of end of exams trashings as if to say “oh look at the unusual rituals these elitist intelligent people have”. The Telegraph every year has articles about the “hardest ever exam questions”, normally things that would never be done in an interview nowadays. They are all doing more damage than good. They make it seem like the students of Oxford and Cambridge are something separate to the rest of the student pool, and we’re really not. We are normal people who like to have fun by spending time with our friends, going clubbing (although personally I don’t like clubbing as it is an opportunity to showcase my dad dancing skills), and getting drunk (yet again I don’t do this as I make enough of a fool of myself without alcohol). They so rarely look at schools.
They never suggest that maybe teachers should seek to instil at a younger age the idea that all students should aspire to Oxford, that all students should aspire to the best. Because I still think that, for most young people, it never crosses their mind that they might be good enough for Oxbridge. I went to a state secondary for Key Stage Three and Four, and there was very little emphasis on university in the first place, let alone Oxbridge. My sixth form was a private school, and so put Oxbridge on the agenda for everyone. So it’s not really surprising that there’s still this discrepancy - many state schools simply don’t suggest to their students that they can aspire to more.
Many state schools simply don’t suggest to their students that they can aspire to more Today I actually saw a half decent article in The Telegraph by a girl who had been rejected by Oxford last year. She said she was heartbroken at the time but that she realised it was for the best. She wouldn’t have been cut out for it and someone much more deserving probably sits in her place. I think that this best sums up Oxbridge admissions. Everyone who gets to the interview stage will be smart. It’s whether you can hack this soul-destroying system of two essays a week that’s the real test.
Comment 16
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Comment
A case for pragmatism in US foreign policy US Politics
Alex Lupsaiu Staff Writer
The United States is approaching the final stretch of a tumultuous election cycle. There is a sense that 2016 could produce significant change. For a myriad of reasons there is substantial public unrest, conducive to the rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, and the apparent fall of established politicians. One source of public frustration is the current US foreign policy. For over a decade the US has been invested in a military conflict in the Middle East that shows no sign of tangible returns, and this failure to produce any meaningful progress in the region has led many to question America’s role in the world.
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Russia is not the Soviet Union, and Vladimir Putin is not Joseph Stalin
The overarching problem that plagues US foreign policy stems from a failure to adequately adapt to the post-Cold War world. The fight to contain Soviet expansion
led to wars in Korea and Vietnam, and proxy-wars in Cuba, Greece and Iran, among numerous other countries. Many mistakes were made during those various conflicts. Furthermore, many cynical profiteers unquestionably took advantage of conflict to serve their own ends. However, it is easy to forget that the Soviet Union was a totalitarian regime that managed to dominate Eastern Europe and promote totalitarian communist regimes globally through aggressively expansionist foreign policy. The struggle between the two superpowers of the Cold War produced horrible consequences, but it is impossible to imagine a counterfactual Soviet victory as being the better possible world. The problem is that despite the US winning the Cold War, its foreign policy failed to change. First, the US has continued an aggressive policy toward Russia that included the expansion of NATO to ex-Soviet states and Eastern European nations alike. A failure to integrate the Russians into Europe has likely contributed to the embittering of a regime that is now less willing to cooperate with the west. Although Russia is no bastion of democratic ideals, it is not the Soviet Union, and Vladimir Putin is not Joseph
US foreign policy in the Middle East is yet to yield any tangibly positive results Image: Yeowatzup
Stalin. There are no Gulags, no political purges, and no aspirations of global communism. Russia, with its shrinking population, economy dependent on natural resources, and continuing corruption, poses no serious security threat to the US. Thus, there is no reason to maintain a large US military presence in Europe, a policy that has arguably contributed to Europe’s complacency regarding its own security. The US engaged diplomatically with the Russians when they were a legitimate threat during the communist reigns of Khrushchev and Gorbachev, and there is no reason not to engage diplomatically with President Putin now.
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Are Iraqis better off now? Surely not
More worryingly, the US has continued direct military intervention in smaller nations, but without a clear enemy. What was once an arguably necessary policy to defeat the Soviet empire is now an idealistic, and fatally unclear interventionism. The conflict in the Middle East is between multiple terrorist organisations that oppose one another for ageold ideological reasons. Many of them are backed by competing nations in the region, all of whom have authoritarian regimes that use such terrorist groups to vie for dominance in the region. It is a tangled web beyond the help of military intervention. It must be recognised that US intervention in the Middle East has failed to improve the situation. Although Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who terrorised his own people, one oppressor has simply been exchanged for another in the form of Isis. This lack of foresight by the US government is troubling because it was a failure
to recognise a fundamental flaw with the general policy of regimechange that should have been familiar. It is extremely difficult to predict what will happen following a traumatic change in executive power, especially when the history and culture of that country is not fully understood. In addition to examples of past US backed regime changes that should have been warnings, the long history of European interventionism provides an ample body of evidence that intervention often produces grave consequences. Both Syria and Iraq were carved out of a defeated Ottoman Empire in 1920 by European powers, which forced together antagonistic ethnic and religious groups. Unsurprisingly, this created regional conflict once these artificial nations collapsed and the competing sectarian groups were no longer held together by force. Familiarity with the history and cultural makeup of these countries should have revealed the massive risk that intervention posed in the twenty-first century, and the extremely slim chances of democracy emerging.
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Liberators, like fish, begin to smell after three days
In addition to instrumental difficulties, there are more fundamental questions. It must be seriously considered whether military intervention is the moral option. The Iranian regime is dictatorial, but would its people be better off after a US military intervention that would leave thousands dead or displaced? Are Iraqis better off now? Surely not. The severity of war and the uncertainty that it inevitably produces for the host nation’s population cannot be
underestimated. There may be cases when life under dictatorial control is genuinely the lesser of two evils for the native population. To abuse a tired cliché, the US must also consider whether it wants to police the world. There will always be tyrants, but the US has only finite resources and an already enormous national debt. More importantly, peace and democracy are more likely to be sustained if they are reached by a nation independently. Intervention necessarily detracts from a nation’s self-determination and more than likely leads to further conflict. Even if intervention is benevolent, it will eventually be seen as invasion. Liberators, like fish, begin to smell after three days. The US must recognise that in recent times military force has not worked and continues to be largely ineffective. This is not isolationism, but realism. Rather than pursuing an idealistic vision of world democracy, US intervention should commit itself to the realistic promotion of concrete improvement in the lives of foreign nationals. Given the current state of affairs this means living with, and diplomatically engaging with, unsavory regimes such as those in Syria, Iran, and Russia. Attempting to democratise Syria is folly. Again, are Syrians better off now than under the dictator Assad? As long as a nation poses no genuine existential threat, and there is no viable democratic majority that is actively seeking foreign intervention, diplomatic engagement should be the extent of intervention. If there is to be a new doctrine in US foreign policy let it be one of pragmatism. It should not be in anyone’s disposition to sit idly by and watch others suffer under oppressive regimes, and it is not in the disposition of the American people. However, the reality is that such problems do not lend themselves to quick military solutions.
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The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Duncan Smith’s benefit cuts will only shift the burden Politics
Oliver Eagleton Staff Writer
As part of the government’s proposal to cut welfare expenditure by £12 billion, the benefits cap is set to be reduced from £26,000 to £20,000. This policy, described by Iain Duncan Smith as ‘social justice in action’, means that the maximum amount available to couples and families will drop as low as £385 per week, putting acute pressure on welfare-dependent groups and pushing more people into homelessness or emergency accommodation.
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It is those who live in supported housing who are anticipated to lose out most drastically
We might assess the validity of Duncan Smith’s comment by noting the impact of previous Tory benefit caps. According to a survey, conducted by Crisis in 2015, there has been a mass “cleansing” of benefit dependent families from the private rented
sector in parts of central London, since the initial £26,000 cap has left claimants unable to afford the most basic rents. This has had dire financial consequences for over 59,000 households nationwide. “London boroughs”, states the report, have found it “very difficult…to meet their statutory duties to priority need households”, as families become increasingly reliant on council services and accommodation. Meanwhile, it has been claimed that the initial benefit caps have left over 140,000 children worse off, and that the policy breaches the UN convention on the rights of the child.
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It has been claimed the initial benefit caps have left over 140,000 children worse off
In this context, Tory attempts to frame the cap as a “progressive” measure which “improves individual lives” hinge entirely on the claim that, despite its immediate humanitarian cost, it has at least made employment more attractive than reliance on the state. However, the DWP
ISIS’ unwitting ally: the western media
Politics
Rachel Dunne Staff Writer
An unlikely symbiotic relationship is developing between the western media and ISIS. Every brutal execution video ISIS produces provides a sensationalist story for newspapers to report on. The media duly propagates the video and advertises its existence to the public. It has reached the stage where journalists are trawling the internet looking for the next brutal murder or the next claim of responsibility for a terrorist attack by ISIS. Everyone wants to be the first to break the latest horror story.
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The media aid ISIS in spreading its messages to its target audiences
The reason the western media’s approach to reporting on ISIS is particularly problematic is that it gives the impression that they are much more powerful and dangerous than is really the case. This is not to say that they do not pose any threat, but they do benefit significantly from media exaggeration of their international potency.
For example, as soon as ISIS claimed responsibility for the Garland shootings in Texas last year this was the headline of most reports on the attack. There was never any clear evidence that it was actually organised by ISIS and it seems most likely that they just acted as an indirect inspiration to the perpetrators. However, the media’s focus on ISIS’ claim meant that it was quickly assumed that they really were behind it, playing straight into the organisation’s hands.
undermined this very argument by demonstrating, in an analysis of the first cap produced in conjunction with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that a “large majority” of those affected were not incentivised to find work. Instead, welfare claimants (many of whom are full time carers or suffer from a disability) responded by “running down savings”, “building up debts” and “getting help from family or friends”. This process will be extended and exacerbated by the latest round of “savings”. The new cap marks an escalation of Tory policies that have seen the number of Britons sleeping rough increase by 55 percent since 2010. With another 90,000 households expected to suffer from this reform, firms such as Plus Dane Housing and Liverpool H o u s i n g Trust have warned they will have to halt building projects, close social housing units, and refuse to accommodate w e l f a r e d e p e n d e n t families in a move which Elizabeth Austerberry, chief executive of
Moat, projects will lead to an imminent rise in “evictions and homelessness”. Tenants unable to cope with the cap’s financial burden are, according to a Local Authority source from South London, “generally already in social housing and therefore difficult to rehouse into other [more affordable] accommodation”. Such people must therefore decide whether to become homeless or to leave urban centres. So, far from inducing claimants to find work, the cap will remove welfare recipients from areas with high employment opportunities and deposit them in low-rent districts where they must rely on local services. Yet, these very services have b e c o m e l a r g e l y insufficient after their budgets w e r e slashed by £40 million last year: a fact evidenced by O xfordshire C o u n t y Council’s recent scrapping of provisions for children, the elderly and the
relatively young, Muslims in the West. ISIS wants them to be fed the idea that it is a strong, powerful state which they can join in order to feel the excitement of combat and uniting against the enemy. It also wants the general population of Western countries to think that it is powerful and poses an international threat. Both of these suggestions are being propagated by the media when they circulate ISIS’ claims to be behind terrorist attacks or
report on the latest execution. One of the key solutions to the problem of the current representation of ISIS lies well within the grasp of the western media. Richard Barrett, a former British counter-terrorism chief, has argued that we should be making greater use of those who have chosen to return to the west having spent time living under ISIS. These people have had the scales lifted from their eyes as to what it is really like
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It gives the impression that ISIS is stronger than it really is
The war on ISIS is not just a military battle but also a battle for hearts and minds. When newspapers report another instance of someone from a Western country choosing to go and live under ISIS, they are part of the cause of this defection. By acknowledging and even disseminating ISIS propaganda and by writing dramatic and attention-grabbing articles on it, they are aiding the organisation in spreading its messages to its target audiences. One such audience is disillusioned, often
Western media’s approach to reporting on ISIS is particularly problematic Image: ProtoplasmaKid
homeless. However, it is those who live in supported housing who are anticipated to lose out most drastically under the Tory programme. The population’s ageing rate has led the National Housing Federation to predict that 50,000 new supported homes will be necessary over the next decade, while Woman’s Aid has estimated that, in any given year, at least 12,000 women and their children find themselves in need of sheltered accommodation. But this is not a consideration for the government, whose cap will cut £400 million from supported housing, causing 95 percent of such schemes to close, and rendering their 440,000 occupants reliant on the (critically strained) NHS.
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Tory policies have seen the number of rough sleepers increase by 55 percent since 2010 We can see how, under this model, the drive to cut public expenditure proves self-defeating, since the needs of welfare claimants do not evaporate, but simply turn towards local councils and public health services for their fulfilment. If the government pursues its welfare cuts, it will be forced to either invest more in such services (and thereby reverse any savings made by the cap), or to leave their dependents destitute.
to live under Sharia Law, and have also seen the desperate situation the Islamic State is really in. If the media focussed more on distributing what they have to say about it rather than on the more sensational stories provided directly by the terrorist organisation itself, this would be a profound improvement. Until this change is made, the Western media will continue to be an accidental ally of ISIS.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Screen
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Cinepiphanies ‘Titanic’ Feature
Daunish Negargar Screen Editor
Hopefully, anime studios will be even more willing to take on ideas from unestablished, off-the-wall writers
That my 70 year old, predominantly Farsi speaking grandmother was very well acquainted with the plot of Titanic and could quote reams of it in English was a sign of the way in which the film has completely pervaded public consciousness throughout the world. The fact that I’d not yet seen it was once again a sign of my woeful underqualification for the position of Screen Editor. As I admitted to this in the OxStu office, I was met with looks of blank disbelief. People seemed genuinely amazed that I’d managed to make it to this stage in my life without having watched the film, which was, by all accounts, almost impossible to avoid. So, once more I settled down with a DVD, ready to sob myself into oblivion, as I watched the doomed love between Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio unfold. There was one thought which pretty much dominated my mind as I watched, and that was “I am never travelling by boat again”. If there’s one thing Titanic taught me, above all else, it’s that I would not survive a shipwreck. The amount of running Leonardo DiCaprio did during the film was enough to make me wonder how he hadn’t yet won an Oscar – he definitely deserves one for putting himself through that kind of physical exertion. Had I been on the ship, I doubt I would have survived the first minute. On that note, whilst the love story between Jack and Rose was truly beautiful, and their passionate love affair a reminder of how desperately alone I was, their fate in the end was somehow even more depressing than I imagined it would be. “I’ll never let go, I promise”, exclaimed Rose, as she proceeded to immediately let go of Jack, and watch his frozen corpse float away from her. Why didn’t they just take shifts? One on the door, and one floating in the sea? As I lay in bed after watching Titanic, I realised that even though no one had proclaimed their undying love to me on Tinder, I wasn’t drowning in the middle of the Atlantic, which was a definite plus. James Cameron, DiCaprio and Winslet proved themselves immensely talented individuals once more, and I finally understood the elusive “but I thought the old lady dropped it in the ocean” reference in Britney Spears’ “Oops…I Did It Again”. A successful night all round.
Punch Man’s reception (especially if the series hopes to endure for hundreds of episodes as the greatest anime have). It remains to be seen if One-Punch Man will be able to create sufficient emotional stakes and a connection with its viewers to last for additional seasons as more plot-heavy series, such as One Piece, have. But, in the meantime, this is the best series the genre has produced for years; one that reignited in me memories of running down to watch the latest episode of Astro Boy on CBBC every morning; and, even better, one that might just make you want to dust off your old Dragon Ball Z VHSs and watch them again, this time with a more adult, more critical, more postmodern perspective.
Image: 20th Century Fox
Image: ONE, Yusuke Murata/SHUEISHA, Hero Association HQ
One-Punch Man: The first postmodern anime? James Riding Screen Editor
If you’re a kid who grew up some time between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, chances are you remember watching a particular type of Japanese anime (animated series) on TV. What we thought of as simply ‘Naruto’ or ‘Dragon Ball Z’ in fact came from a grand anime tradition known as “shōnen” (meaning “few years”; i.e. anime which is targeted at the lucrative eight to 18 year old male audience). Shōnen anime experienced a golden age in the West in previous decades, with popular series proving themselves able to transcend their native culture,earn millions of young fans around the world and turn what was once a niche interest into a multi-millionpound industry. In recent years, however, anime has arguably retreated back into its Japan-centric bubble, becoming increasingly impenetrable to the average outsider, with the consequence that very few new titles make it big abroad (with some notable exceptions, such as the epic Attack on Titan). However, there is one new shōnen anime which I feel is essential viewing. That series is One-Punch Man, animated by the studio Madhouse. Yes, it is still very weird (and very, very Japanese), but self-consciously so. It is a hilarious deconstruction of both itself and other series of its ilk which skewers the quirks of the genre with such skill that I believe it earns the title of first truly postmodern anime. On top of that, it has some of the best, most mind-blowing action in any animated show ever, putting much of its Japanese competition - as well as almost every other Western cartoon - to shame. Anime fans will argue over the most essential ingredient for a shōnen series. Some will say it’s the camaraderie between the characters, or the themes of hard work and self-improvement, but one thing which unmistakably defines the genre is its bombastic, over-the-top
action. Whether they’re telling the tale of a mysterious teenager seeking revenge for his tragic past or a plucky team of heroes facing overwhelming odds, shōnen plots generally function as excuses to pit the characters against each other in dramatic fisticuffs to see who is the strongest. One-Punch Man’s central conceit takes the shōnen genre’s action fetish to its logical extreme: what about a hero who is so overwhelmingly powerful that no foe could ever take more than a single hit from him? The answer is obvious: it’s pretty boring! The dilemma facing our titular hero, Saitama, is the crushing pointlessness of being the strongest being in the universe with no enemy strong enough to validate his existence. “But where does the conflict come from,then?”, you might ask. It comes from the fact that Saitama is a loner and a nobody, whose origin story is that he’s just a hero for fun and is hilariously unaware of the goingson of the rest of the world around him. Of course, it helps that this world is visualised brilliantly. It recognises the importance that American superhero comics had on the formation of the shōnen genre (face it – Goku’s backstory in Dragon Ball Z doesn’t even try to conceal its Superman influences) to the point where the worlds of anime such as Dragon Ball Z or One Piece are essentially overrun with superheroes fighting each other. The world of One-Punch Man actually institutionalises such heroism, making the role of ‘hero’ a proper occupation in the defence and government of the world, which is managed by an enormous organisation called the Hero Association. To fight crime and earn adoring fans, you need to register with the board and take a rigorous exam, where you’ll be assigned a rank and pitted against appropriately-ranked threats. Every secondary character in One-Punch Man conforms to these traditional shōnen concepts of climbing ranks and improving their skills, blissfully unaware that the presence of Saitama, who only registers as a hero several
episodes into the show, renders their entire existence meaningless. It’s a stroke of genius which creates some genuine moments of drama - since Saitama is isolated from the rest of the world, noone believes his achievements,considering him a hoax who takes credit away from his fellow heroes – as well as comedy: Saitama is constantly exasperated by the overcomplicated origin stories of his
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This is the definition of pop-art: appropriating and inverting mass culture in an ironic, postmodern light.
fellow heroes,ordering them to limit their exposition to just a few words. Indeed, the comedy is perhaps the greatest weapon of the series. With his bald head (a result of him training so hard his hair fell out) and hilariously deadpan expression, Saitama is a glorious comic creation who is unintimidated by the most horrific-looking foes but devastated when he misses a sale at the supermarket. Crucially, much of this comedy is intertextual in nature. Saitama’s guffawinducing moves mock the shōnen cliché of shouting dramatic titles before each attack with distinctly anticlimactic nomenclature (“Consecutive Normal Punches”, take a bow). Even Saitama’s hero name and design is itself a reference to a classic anime character, Anpanman, who has been ubiquitous in Japanese culture since his creation in 1973. This is the definition of pop-art: appropriating and inverting mass culture in an ironic, postmodern light. But while this, along with other references (it also pays homage to other anime such as Hunter x Hunter and Neon Genesis Evangelion), may not be picked up on by most Western viewers, they never distract from the more universal postmodernist inversions of concepts and characters,or indeed the incredible visuals. What is perhaps most interesting about One-Punch Man is that the series
Feature
comes from very subversive beginnings. Rather than being an adaptation of a manga (comic book) series created by a professional artist, One-Punch Man was based on a manga which was itself adapted from an amateur webcomic by an internet user named ONE, for whom drawing is just a hobby. This is the ultimate example of the triumph of the fans: comic-book nerds who have come to find themselves dictating the future of the industry they grew up consuming, and thus end up making loving critique of the shows they watched as kids part of the DNA of their very own series. Hopefully, anime studios will be even more willing to take on ideas from unestablished, off-the-wall writers such as ONE in the future - surely only a good idea considering the passion and clear affection for the genre that drips from every frame of One-Punch Man. These post-shōnen elements are certainly intriguing, but ultimately they won’t be the deciding factor of One-
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The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
The films and TV that defined our childhood Daniel Mahoney
Screen Feature
Coming Up At: Magdalen Film Society What’s On
Gabriel Naughton
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Disney’s Fantasia
CBBC’s Raven
Fantasia. It’s the movie snob’s Disney film of choice, featuring some of the most imaginative and gorgeous animation the studio has ever produced, set to beautiful classical music. It’s iconic, artistic and groundbreaking in demonstrating the scope of what animation could do and the potential of Disney as a film studio. For me? It taught me never to trust anyone because they will turn on you. Why? Because Fantasia is bloody terrifying. Even now I find it hard to watch without just feeling hugely unnerved by it all. I wasn’t that old when I first saw Fantasia but, like any child, I loved Disney films. I’d seen Peter Pan, countless Mickey Mouse cartoons and even Fun and Fancy Free (Basically Fantasia, but not as artistic and less traumatising), so when Fantasia was put on my reaction would have been “Oh boy, Disney! This is bound to be fun!” But NO. IT WAS NOT. The film opens with Bach’s wonderful “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” to footage of beautiful, rhythmic abstract animation. To this day I still find it hugely creepy and I have no idea why, but something about those swirling shapes just makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry. Yes I’m fully aware I’m pathetic. Elsewhere we see the death of the dinosaurs (heartbreaking) until we reach the last and most disturbing segment of all: “Night on Bald Mountain”.This one literally has a demon in it. This demon is the single most horrifying thing Disney ever created, and that includes that bloke who shot Bambi’s mum. The fact that anyone ever thought this was appropriate to show to children without expecting them to have a breakdown baffles me. Fantasia defined my childhood because it scarred me to this day, and taught me that even the people you love most may just decide to attack your emotions out of the blue. Isn’t Disney magical?
Great journalism isn’t about writing the stories you want to write, it’s about writing the stories that need to be written. At a time when students have been roundly criticised for creating a culture of campus censorship, now more than ever journalists must not be afraid to document the issues that matter and strike a blow for truth. It is time for a reckoning. I ask you, reader, if I don’t write a nostalgia piece about the noughties CBBC hit show Raven, who will? First aired in 2002, the series relied on a distinctive five-day format, which demanded devotion. Over the course of the week we followed the same group of six warriors, as they were gradually whittled down to just two, who along with the other elite pairs from subsequent weeks would fight it out again in the finale. Students of UK gameshows will have noted the similarity with ITV’s Jungle Run. But any connoisseur knows that the paltry prizes of playstations and Motorola flip phones could never compare with the honour accrued through a successful navigation of Raven’s perilous fantasy world. The show’s mysterious talisman was a constant presence throughout ten series. Whether awarding rings or consoling a dejected victim after the “Way of the Warrior”, the deadpan Scot maintained his aloof aura, offering epigrammatic words of wisdom and reassuring catchprases, most famously: “Are you ready...? Then let the challenge begin”. Indeed consolation was needed after the brutal rite of passage that was the “Way of the Warrior”. The surest testimony of the show’s lasting impression upon me is that even a decade later, as I sat huddled alone in front of my screen watching a YouTube video of Kinsa’s completion of this cruel challenge, I still wish that I could don the tunic and make my way past those swinging axes.
Image: Aaron Sneddon
James Riding Screen Editor
In 5th week, Magdalen Film Society continues its run of exciting and provocative films from around the world by getting a little too close for comfort with the theme of “Claustrophobia”. On Sunday at 7pm, watch a plucky Australian family fight to prevent their eviction by greedy property developers in The Castle before Dreams of a Life, a touching elegy to a real woman forgotten forgotten by society, at 8:30 pm. On Monday at 7pm the chilling Onibaba is showing, arguably one of the greatest horror films of all time, before the quirky New Zealand vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows at 8:50 pm. Then, on Tuesday, experience Alice, the darkly riveting Czech stop-motion animation directed by Jan Švankmajer. The weather may finally be getting warmer, but that won’t stop us from taking one last look back into the wilderness of “Winter” in 6th week. On Sunday we begin with the daring escape of French soldiers from a First World War prison camp in The Grand Illusion at 7pm, before confronting mortality and self-obsession with Cléo from 5 to 7 at 9pm. Finally, Monday pays host to a double-bill of snowy action: first with the tense film noir On Dangerous Ground at 7pm, then with the kick-ass dystopian Snowpiercer at 8:30 pm. All of our screenings are just £3, so come along to the Magdalen auditorium and witness a huge variety of films on the big screen, or check us out on Facebook. com/MagdalenFilmSociety or at our new website: m a g d a l e n f i l m s o c i e t y. w e e b l y . c o m .
War and Peace Review: sleek and surprisingly sexy Claire Sims Staff Writer
The BBC certainly cannot be criticised for lacking ambition; producing a fresh interpretation of Tolstoy’s magnum opus is no easy task, particularly with scores of previous interpretations already available and a veritable masterpiece as its source. As with any adaptation, the transfer from page to screen meant the risk of losing the original’s charm – happily, the risk has paid off in the form of an inventive and dynamic addition to the canon of Sunday night drama. Andrew Davies’ screenplay prioritises action over accuracy to no real detriment of the series. While sticking faithfully to the original where it counts, Davies has modernised the text enough to draw in both Tolstoy readers and casual watchers; part of this is the controversial inclusion of gratuitous sex scenes. It is true that
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the series has been limited somewhat by its creators’ determination to give it a sexy slant – the lustful and even incestuous undertones may have been what Tolstoy intended, but it is telling that he left these details to the readers’ imaginations rather than declaring them outright. Nevertheless, such innovations have kept the complex storyline from growing stale, and no adaptor can be blamed for wanting to put his own fingerprint on the object of a thousand other interpretations. This is not to say that the adaptation has entirely captured the spirit of Tolstoy’s masterpiece. Challenging though it would have been, Davies could arguably have sacrificed some of the programme’s modernity for a deeper exploration of Tolstoy’s philosophy; the driving force of the novel was a fatalistic view of history, and this is not quite captured in the actionbased screenplay. That said, it is worth viewing War and Peace not as a faithful
representation of its source material, but a particularly elegant addition to the glut of sumptuous period dramas – what it lacks in depth, it certainly makes up for in style. Lily James is captivating as Natasha Rostova, the charming female lead whose light-hearted demeanour complements the darker performances of her male counterparts. The brooding hero Andrei Bolkonsky is played with startling depth by James Norton, who combines the archetypal “tall, dark and handsome” role with refreshing sensitivity. Paul Dano is perhaps the weakest of the leading trio as Pierre Bezukhov, although his subtle performance brings some balance to the melodrama provided by James and Norton. The supporting cast must also be commended for the life they breathe into the scandalous society of nineteenth century Russia, and yet this array of arresting characters have been somewhat written into the
shade by Davies, whose focus remains on the three leading roles. Once again, we must consider the difficulties of compiling a notoriously lengthy tome into a six-part series; the sacrifice of a wider focus allows the true pulse of Tolstoy’s story to shine through. Beyond considerations of the script and stars, War and Peace must be seen as a stylistic achievement in its own right. It is heartening to see the BBC putting such effort into developing its drama, particularly in an age where television is quickly becoming entertainment’s most innovative dimension. Despite the fast-moving plot, director Tom Harper intersperses busy scenes with moments of stillness to emphasise not just the characterdriven narrative, but the beauty of the adaptation’s design. While neither fully true to Tolstoy nor fully committed to modernisation, War and Peace is a sleek and surprisingly sexy drama worthy of a watch in its own right.
Review
Natasha Rostov, played by 4th Week: Bertolucci’s Lily James. The Conformist. Image: BBC
Music
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Music
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Interview: Wolf Alice • We
catch up with Joel Amey about the Grammys, the Brits, and their upcoming UK tour James Chater Music Editor
2015 was an impressive year for British-band Wolf Alice. Having secured a Brit award nomination for Best British Breakthrough Act and a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance (with their track ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’), the band are now getting ready for another UK tour. They play at the O2 Academy in Oxford on Sunday 13th March. The band’s Grammy for Best Rock Performance is a testament to their focus on live performance. I began by asking Joel how it felt to be preparing for another UK tour: “I’m just pumped for it. We hadn’t played since December, when we started rehearsing again in mid January, having just come off the tour from America. You know, it wasn’t the same kind of shows as in the UK because of the support here from radio shows and stuff, so we’re really looking forward to getting out there and playing some of the surprises we’ve been practicing over the last few days.”
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In America... no-one is ashamed to be really passionately into the gig
After a stellar performance in the charts with the release of their debut album My Love Is Cool, which peaked at number two in the UK last summer and made inroads into charts worldwide, I asked whether the shows on this tour would be featur-
ing mainly material from the debut album or if new material would be aired. Joel responded: “I guess we haven’t really decided at the moment. We’re just going to try and put on the best show possible really. Yeah, the majority of it will be from Love is Cool because you obviously want to play songs the audience is going to know but there might be a few little twists and turns. Of course, we don’t want to make it a repeat of the last tour. We’ll be doing everything in our power to make sure the people that come get a brand new show. But we’re still working out the finer details.” On how the creative process materialises within the band, Joel commented: “It’s very much a joint effort – all of us sporadically doing things. Everyone is delivering five or six new demos at the moment. But really, everyone’s coming up with ideas all the time. It can be a full idea – a fully-fledged five-minute song – or maybe just a five second riff. So the process is dependent on this really. To be honest, every song has been different so far, there’s never been a set formula for doing things. I guess it will be the same kind of routine for the next album. If someone comes up with all the best ideas, that’s fine. It we all come up with good ones, that’s fine too.” By this point, Joel had touched a lot upon the difference in reception the band received in the US in comparison to the UK. I asked him to elaborate on what that meant in reality, particularly in live performance. “America is amazing, because you can be playing in some dive-bar in wherever and there can only be
Album Review: ANTI - Rihanna
Katie Collins
Deputy Music Editor
After an accidental leak last week, Rihanna’s long-awaited eighth studio album ANTI dropped on music streaming service Tidal, going platinum within just 24 hours. It’s been more than three years since the release of Unapologetic, her seventh album in eight years, and perhaps that is why this newest offering is uncharacteristically thoughtful and considered. Rihanna’s real strength has always been with her singles – ballsy power ballads or catchy chart-toppers – yet ANTI doesn’t have the incoherence of her previous albums. Instead the track-list feels carefully constructed, a listening experience rather than a disorganised collection of could-be hits.
What stands out first is an unexpected lightness. The instrumentation is noticeably sparse throughout, as each track relies on Rihanna’s vocal strength to do the legwork. The result is intensely
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A listening experience rather than a disorganised collection of could-be hits personal – without any heavy backing the emotion in her voice resonates clearly. The album itself is very light: with only 13 tracks, and all three of her recent singles conspicuously absent, ANTI feels almost more like a mixtape than a full studio album.
Image: Bruce Atherton
Image: Jordan Curtis Hughes
around 20 people there; but noone is ashamed to be really passionately into the gig. It can be a really rowdy atmosphere. Because our gigs got so much bigger even whilst we were out there, it kind of snowballed. I guess the main difference in the UK is that crowds can often be a bit more reserved; it takes a bit of a while before everyone’s in the mosh pit, that happens a bit later on. The UK’s still the best though. We still love the UK; it’s just that the US has this atmosphere that is unique.”
Their Grammy nomination confirms outright their success across the Atlantic; a huge achievement for any British band. However, success has often been British musicians’ worst enemy across the pond, so I asked briefly whether the recognition had changed the
way band approached their writing. Joel responded, “Not really. I’m just really excited to play new material. It’s important to see everything that’s happening in this cycle, as something great that’s happening now; it’s exciting for us and if you lose that excitement it’s a shame.” I moved on to ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’, the track nominated for the Best Rock Performance Grammy. Initially released on an EP back in 2014, the song’s arresting energy makes it one of Wolf Alice’s most individual creations. Asking about the song’s conception, Joel responded: “Well it was one of our earlier songs. It was initially just this riff that Joff had, that we used to sing the lyrics from ‘Old Man’ by Neil Young over – in this rehearsal space in Camden with no air-conditioning – and we just used to sing these lyrics over and over again. Eventually though it became something more cohesive! The song portrays this modernday American girl tragedy. She’s an archetypal character – and the song’s a reflection on that. The song never got put out on the al-
Importantly, ANTI is not about flashy hits – in fact none of the tracks really stand out as a potential single. There is no attempt to follow the commercial success of its predecessors by padding out the hits with beige fillers. ANTI is more original: in allowing her to be herself we earn a rare glimpse of Rihanna’s untainted emotions. ANTI opens with ‘Consideration’, an obvious anthem to new beginnings. We’ve barely reached the end of the first verse when we hear Rihanna announcing, “I got to do things my own way darling” – an indication of what’s to come. She stays strong with a quirky ode to marijuana (‘James Joint’) and the soulful ‘Love on the Brain’, which, despite the worrying lyric “it beats me black and blue but…I can’t get enough”, is undoubtedly the standout track on the album. The first single is ‘Work’, Rihanna’s third collaboration with onoff partner Drake. It’s relaxed and fun, and the hook is catchy, but compared with their previous efforts the track is vaguely disappointing. The pairing seems tired, and the track comes
off as a lazy attempt to recreate the excitement surrounding their original material. Closing with “Higher”, a love song which ends unfinished after only a minute, and “Close to You”, a beautifully bittersweet ballad, Rihanna ends the album at her most vulnerable. The album is not without its weaknesses: ‘Never Ending’ is more ‘Princess of China’ than ‘American Oxygen’, a song named ‘Woo’ was destined to be disappointing, and any
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Their Grammy nomination confirms outright their success across the Atlantic
bum in the UK. So it never really got a proper release apart from on the EP; everyone seemed to dig it, so we thought we should definitely give it a bit more attention.” Because of the relatively quiet release of the track in the UK, I wondered whether the band was surprised that the song eventually got picked up by the Grammys. He replied, “Yeah definitely! Some award ceremonies give you a bit of a heads up but the Grammys don’t do any of that. Yeah, I woke up in America and Catherine Marks, who produced the record, just texted me saying “you’ve got a Grammy nomination”, I couldn’t believe it. Yeah, I didn’t really know what to say for about 20 minutes!” With the Grammys taking place in LA on Tuesday, Wolf Alice have the opportunity to really assert themselves on the world stage. Their category is a tough one, with Alabama Shakes and Florence + The Machine also up for the award. But should they upset the odds, they will put themselves in an even stronger position to pick up the
Image: Trip Pop
loyal fans looking for classic smash hits reminiscent of 2012’s ‘Pour it Up’ or ‘Stay’ are likely to be underwhelmed. But for those without great expectations, ANTI is a surprisingly good listen: it allows Rihanna not only to showcase her impressive vocal talent but also to explore new directions and grow as an artist, and the result is an intimacy we don’t often see.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Track Review: Thinking It Down - I Said Yes Bethany Kirkbride Music Editor
Oxford based band I Said Yes are a five-piece whose single, ‘Thinking It Down’, was released on the 31st January. The song combines charming lyrics such as “If you ever need to talk, I will likely be here, thinking it down” with a gentle, soporific melody. The raw, emotive quality to the track is reminiscent of some of
Frank Turner’s less raucous constructions, whilst there’s also something of Stornoway to be heard in the careful pronunciation of the words, as well as the folk elements of the song. That said, the band are not copying anyone explicitly; their style is distinctly their own. The fact that I Said Yes have been promoted by BBC Introducing and Glastonbury Emerging Talent, as well as appeared alongside artists such as Florence and
Preview: Keble Early Music Festival
James Chater Music Editor
Throughout 6th Week, Keble Early Music Festival will showcase the best early musicians from Oxford and beyond. With both choral and instrumental recitals on offer, the festival promises to provide an eclectic offering of music often neglected from standard concert programmes. Now in its third year, Festival Publicity Manager Beth Potter commented on the continued importance of the Keble Early Music Festival: “Musicians who play early music in Oxford – student musicians especially – often don’t have a platform to perform. It’s difficult to get friends to come along because early music is seen as so far away, both in terms of time, and also just because it’s not as popular. The idea of the festival is to give students a platform to perform early music, and to make it more contemporary in a way.”
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The idea of the festival is to give students a platform to perform early music The festival begins on Monday 22nd February with the Launch Night, held in the Douglas Price Room in Keble. The evening will consist of a number of short per-
formances that aim to give a sample of the music on offer at this year’s festival. Those performing include The Bate Players, Sansara, as well as cast members from Theatron Novum’s Trinity production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen. Elaborating on how the launch night will encapsulate the ethos of the festival on the whole, Potter continued, ‘This is also the main idea behind the launch night as well. People can drop in and out and experience short segments of early music, 10 minute performances or so, whilst being there socialising with friends and having wine and cheese.” The first professional concert of the festival – 23rd February, 8.30pm in Keble Chapel – will feature Gramophone Award winner, Mahan Esfahani. Esfahani’s programme will include music by Peter Phillips, Giles and Richard Farnaby, Bach, and Couperin. This is followed on Thursday (25th) at 8.15pm by the first student-led performance given by Keble’s own chamber choir, The Henry Ley Singers – accompanied by Keble’s Director of Music, Matthew Martin. The choir will perform Schütz’s magnificent ‘Musikalische Exequien’ by candlelight before a Compline service at 9pm. On the significance of integrating the Compline service into the festival’s programme, Potter said: “Over the last few years, the compline service at Keble Chapel has been quite popular on a Thursday night. Especially in a place like Ox-
Music 21 the Machine and Lucy Rose is testament to their talent, but it’s clear they’re unlikely to be a support act for much longer.
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The band has set the bar incredibly high with this first release
As the track is only the first in a series of 12 singles, set for release over the course of the year, the band has set the bar incredibly high with this first release. We can only hope that they’re able to follow ‘Thinking It Down’ with another stellar construction, in the
ford, where you often find yourself very busy and stressed out I think that it will be lovely for people to come along. There’ll obviously be some Gregorian chant, but there’ll also be some Schütz. It will be a dark chapel, candlelit, and very peaceful. I think that students will be able to not only really appreciate the music, but also unwind.”
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Early music is not just something that’s stuck in the mires of academia
Friday of the festival presents second-year St Catherine’s student James Orrell playing viola da gamba, as well as The Queen’s Six. The Queen’s Six is a male a capella group based at Windsor
Image: Rachel Oates
form of ‘California’, which is set for release on the 29th February. To keep up with the band’s re-
leases over the course of the year, be sure to follow them on Twitter: @isaidyes
Castle. Founded in 2008 – the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I’s accession to the throne – all the members of the group are also lay clerks at St George’s Chapel. In light of this, the group will sing an Elizabethan programme consisting of Byrd, Gibbons, Weelkes, Tomkins, Tallis and Morley. The Marian Consort return to the festival on Saturday (27th). Their programme will focus on Cipriano de Rore and Carlo Gesualdo, both of which celebrate anniversaries this year. The Marian Consort’s website describes the group as a “young, dynamic and internationally-renowned early music vocal ensemble, recognised for its freshness of approach and innovative presentation of a broad range of repertoire.” In a lot of ways, the aims of the Marian Consort parallel those of the Keble Early Mu-
sic Festival. James Hardie, festival founder and organiser, commenting on this idea said, “another aim [of the festival] is related to the fact that early music is often thought of as a solely academic pursuit. We’re not trying to ignore that, but emphasize the performance facet, and show that early music is not just something that’s stuck in the mires of academia.” With so much on offer, at both a student and professional level, the Keble Early Music Festival is a unique chance to experience repertoire difficult to find on normal concert programs. The festival’s goal of accessibility is mirrored in its programming. It’s something that should be capitalized upon both by those steeped in this sort of music, and those experiencing it for the first time.
Keble College is playing host to an extravaganza of early music in 6th week this term Image: Steve Cadman
Spotify: Grammys 2016 Predictions Record of the Year Uptown Funk
Image: Nguyen Thi Nhi
Album of the Year Kendrick Lamar
Best New Artist Courtney Barnett
Image: Tajette O’Hallaran
Best Rock Performance Wolf Alice
Image: Emily Cheng
Best Alternative Album Alabama Shakes
Art & Lit
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
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Preview: Turl Street Arts Festival Rosie Collier
Art & Lit Editor Ankita Saxena, a second year English student at Jesus College, is president of this year’s Turl Street Arts Festival, a collaborative effort between the colleges of Turl Street - Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln - to hold an annual festival celebrating and embracing the arts. The Turl Street Arts Festival is in its 19th year and this year Ankita tells us things are going to be “bigger and better”. Usually a week-long celebration, in 2016 it’s taking place between 13th and 21st February and so promises more time to indulge in all the arts have to offer. Also different this year is that the festival is following a
theme - “Decades”- for the first time ever. Enter the colleges of Turl Street and be swept across the decades. From the Roaring Twenties to the Swinging Sixties, each day on Turl Street will represent a different era in history. Talking to Ankita, she stresses the audience she wants to attract and whom she hopes will be engaged in the festival. “The festival looks to reach out to three different kinds of people. “Firstly, people who want to make art. The poetry and art collaboration on Saturday of 5th week is a celebration of the work of artists and poets throughout the university”. Ankita herself leads writing workshops for Oxford University Poetry Society, and so is very much at the heart of the artistic and creative movement in
Image: Steve Cadman
Image: Turl Street Arts Fest
Oxford. Yet it’s not just those with a creative impulse that the festival looks to attract. Ankita also hopes to engage those who might not be directly involved in art but like to “watch and appreciate” it. With regular film screenings (check out Pride at 7:30pm on Thursday of 5th Week, or The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 8pm on Wednesday), and a rehearsed reading of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, if you enjoy sitting back and appreciating the culture around you, this is for you. Ankita then tells us that even if the arts, music and drama aren’t your usual scene, the festival is still worth your while. The “Throwback Thursday” club night at Cellar promises to be a night of music through the decades and you don’t have to be a regular at Modern Art Oxford or at life drawing classes at your college to attend. With most events being free, chances are you don’t even have to have spare change in your pocket to attend. Whoever you are, English students, music students, language
students, medics, or physicists, there’ll be something for you to enjoy and engage in.
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Enter the colleges of Turl Street and be swept across the decades
Organising the festival is a committee from across the three colleges of Turl Street. With Ankita as President, the team includes Emily Oldham of Lincoln as Secretary and Shannon Brittan of Exeter as Treasurer. The festival also has a large team to coordinate events, publicity, and design and tech. Perhaps what is so impressive is the fact this talented team only found out at the end of Michaelmas that they would have to organise, arrange, and create the festival. Within such a short space of time, they have managed to put together what looks to be one of the most exciting events of the year. They’ve injected given the
annual arts festival an injection of modernity and energy, with new and imaginative themes, dates, and ideas. Arts festivals are nothing new in Oxford - many colleges, including Somerville, St Anne’s, and Brasenose, each host an annual arts week. Yet the Turl Street Arts Festival is a collaborative effort between the three colleges in the centre of old Oxford and will be bigger and more exciting than what you’ve seen before. It will transform the cobbled streets and quads of Turl Street into a hub of creative power. A medley of art, music, drama and poetry, the Turl Streets Arts Festival looks to be one of the most exciting events happening in the creative world of Oxford. Make sure you don’t miss it. The Turl Street Art Festival takes place between 13th and 21st February. Most events are free. Follow it on Twitter @tsaf2016, like it on Facebook : “Turl Street Arts Festival 2016” or visit its website at http://www.turlarts.org/.
What’s on at the Turl Street Arts Festival Rosie Collier Art & Lit Editor Opening Ceremony Go back to the 1920s with the Turl Street Arts Festival’s opening ceremony. Get your Gatsby-esque dresses on, drink champagne and listen to live jazz from the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra. A night in Exeter Chapel will be just like plunging into an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Tickets cost £5 and include music, drink and entertainment! Monday 5th Week, Exeter Chapel, 7:30pm- 9:30pm, £5. Rocky Horror Picture Show On Wednesday of 5th week Turl Street takes you to the 1970s. The Oakeshott room in Lincoln College becomes a cinema screening The Rocky Horror Picture Show. £2 entry on the door, or free for those who
decide to dress up, get your glad rags on and “give yourself over to absolute pleasure”. Wednesday 5th Week, 8-10pm, Oakeshott Room, Lincoln Chapel. Poetry and Art Collaboration: An Exhibition Over the course of Hilary Term, poets have been collaborating on a poetry and art swap. Come and see their work at the Garden Building, Lincoln College on Saturday of 5th Week. An exciting opportunity to witness what has been going on behind the scenes in the poetry world of Oxford. Saturday 5th Week, Garden Building, Lincoln College, 1:153pm, Free. Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls An exploration of women’s role in history, Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls is the play of the 1980s.
Come and watch a rehearsed reading within the walls of Exeter Chapel on Thursday 18th February, A brilliant play, by a brilliant playwright, in an exciting location. Don’t miss it. Thursday 5th Week, Exeter College Chapel, 1:15pm, Free. Closing Concert The Turl Street Arts Festival is closing this year with Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. With choral singers from across the three Turl Street colleges, this promises to be a beautiful closure to a fantastic week. Saturday 5th Week, Exeter College Chapel, 7pm, £3 Students, £5 Other. Tie-Dye Workshop In the spirit of free love and the 70s, embrace your psychedelic side with a free tie-dye workshop at Jesus College. T-shirts can be bought, or alternatively bring
your own. All paint materials are provided. Tuesday 5th Week, Jesus College JCR, 12-1pm, Free. Sex and Literature Panel The Turl Street Arts Festival and a panel of experts get together to discuss the interrelation between sex and literature. It promises to be a good one. Monday 5th Week, Oakshott Room, Lincoln College, 11:30am- 12:30pm, Free. Student Film Showcase The festival gathers the best of Oxford’s filmakers for a free screening of the films made in and around Oxford. Again, the event is free, and is a greeat opportunity to see Oxford behind the screen. Friday 5th Week, Habakkuk Room, Jesus College, 1:15-3pm, Free.
Art & Lit
The Oxford Student | Friday 19th February 2016
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Will the Ebacc foster creativity?
Opinion
Natasha Burton Staff Writer
This week Nicky Morgan, secretary of state for education, has stated that she wants 90% percent of sixteen years olds to have the Ebacc, a set of subjects which does not include the expressive arts, the default for secondary schools. This plan has been justified by the usual excuse for the lazy and senseless maligning of all arts as ‘soft’ subjects which do not lead to ‘career prospects.’ At the time of writing a petition against this plan has reached 65, 733 signatures, and with very good reason, stating that “The Ebacc, is a standard which maintains that English, maths, science, a language and a humanity define a good education. The exclusion of art, music, drama and other expressive subjects is limiting, short sighted and cruel. Creativity must be at the heart of our schools.”
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The skills which the expressive arts teach us allow us to more creative individuals Interestingly, the petition ends on the note that the Confederation of British Industry is currently
demanding more creative people. This attitude is part of the problem. The blind insistence on viewing education through the narrow prism of practical, monetary reward is suffocating. Not every child is suited to doing science, or language subjects. Not every child wants to be an engineer, or choose a set of subjects at A-Level that lead them directly to a ‘secure’ career in a lab, or as a lawyer. The bias our society is tending to give to these ‘safe-bet’ subjects (which are of course valuable and do lead to interesting routes for those who wish to take them) is limiting and fundamentally wrong. English is included as a core subject in the Ebacc, but as an English student I am tired of the stigma towards the arts. We have all heard the jokes made by scientists about future unemployment; who believe their work is harder simply because they sit through more lectures earlier in the morning. To these people I would suggest they try to read Paradise Lost for an essay deadline in two days, if they want to truly understand how demanding arts subjects can be. Of course arts subjects lead to careers. Yet, my point is that the skills which the expressive arts teach us – clear communication, self expression, confidence, creativity and intellectual flexibility, to name a few – not only make students good candidates for
Image: SWNS
jobs, but also allow them to be more creative, interesting and developed individuals (with better conversation, too). The importance of the expressive arts in our school systems was brought home to me when working in a language school over the summer, wealthy children come from overseas to see Cambridge and practice their English. It was fascinating to hear about the different systems which children from various countries experienced, I remember a class where the Chinese and Italian pupils told me they were jealous of the Argentinians for having freer afternoons in hot weather. In fact the timetables of the Chinese students that I spoke to were absolutely full, and very much geared towards pragmatism – lots of science, maths, and English lessons. Teaching the children expressive arts subjects was where the difference was most apparent. Some of the
students really struggled to express themselves in a creative situation; asking them to come up with ideas for plays or to act in any sense seemed to be out of the question.
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Creativity must be at the heart of our schools
I once tried an ice-breaker game in which I gave them all a character and the other children had to guess who they were from how they walked, spoke, and interacted with the others – they had to act exaggeratedly and comically, inhabiting the character of someone else. One girl whom I gave ‘Barack Obama’ to, expecting her to walk with some authority at least and maybe even talk about living in the White House or the pitfalls of having so much power. Instead, she simply walked in
front of the class and said quietly “I am black. I am the president of America.” Obviously, there are other factors involved in how much confidence and imagination children will show in a lesson, but it was a worrying and recurring trend. Therefore, I would say to Nicky Morgan that this insistence on the hegemony of ‘useful’ subjects is self-defeating. The arts are equally useful in enriching the lives and minds of our students and allowing them to develop into confident and imaginative individuals, whether they ultimately choose an arts-based career or not. Furthermore, scientific career options are pushed and funded but they are not the only way – yes science and medicine save lives, and enable us to survive, but the arts make life worth living. The OxStu are always on the look out for your Art & Lit opinions. Send us an email at oxstu.culture@ gmail.com to get involved.
The Best Places To Write In Oxford Rosie Collier
Art & Lit Editor When the library is all too stifling, and you need to get out of your college bubble, grab your laptop and head to some of these spaces in Oxofrd. Blend in to the crowd of mac books and flat-white-coffee drinkers and embrace the student cliche as you hide away in these perfect writing hotspots.
Jericho Cafe, Jericho In the heart of beautiful Jericho, the Jericho Cafe is a perfect place to hibernate as you make your way through endless books on your reading list. It serves large mugs of tea have a great choice of cakes to help you through those essay panics, not to mention free wifi and a downstairs designed just for
those who need to work. What more could you want?
cafe. With large tables to spread your books over. and a wide range of cakes, coffees and sandwhiches for when the writing gets all too much.
The Missing Bean, Turl Street
Turl Street Kitchen
You might have to wait to get a seat, but once you grab one, The Missing Bean promises to be a great spot to write and work away. You’re garenteed to be surrounded by other students with their heads in books, and they offer some of the best coffee’s in the whole of Oxford. Looking onto Turl Street, it promises some perfect people watching opportunities for when you need to lift your head from that laptop.
Another Turl Street hideout. and another cafe where MacBooks are sprawled across tables. Turl Street Kitchen is in a perfect location when you need to escape the walls of the Rad Cam; In the afternoon they promise a wide variety of cakes and pastries, and your more likely to find a seat here than you are at it’s neighbour The Missing Bean. It’s also open till late, which is fantastic for all those late night essay crises.
Waterstones, Cornmarket Street A cafe with a view. Climb the steps of Oxford’s Waterstones and take spot in this beautiful
University Parks Image: SWNS
With Trinity Term approching, and the weather gradually
improving, chances are you’ll want to bask in the sun and write your essays and read your books outside. University Parks is the perfect place to do so. Open spaces and fresh air. This is the hottest wrting spot for summer.
Truck Store, Cowley Embrace your inner hipster and arts student cliche and write your essays in Cowley’s independent record store and coffee shop. Make sure you order a flat white and instagram the experience. OxStu Art & Lit would love to hear your favouite places to write in Oxford. Best libraries? Best pubs? Let us know at oxstu. culture@gmail.com
Art & Lit
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
For your leisure... Spiral
Oxford Student Lonely Hearts’ Club
Symmetrical Sophie Taylor spiralling swirl Staff Writer running itself to a Whether you are single or infatuated with the love of your navel, life, always remember: a book Shadows light on will never leave you. Valentine’s day is a day of love – or, almost the curves turning as good and certainly a lot less hassle, a day for reading love inexorable dread stories. Who needs a boyfriend Towards the pit or when you can read a book? Novels have the wonderful point at the final quality of being able to condense Point, where the line a relationship to the most joyful or the most heart-wrenching stops moments. They may also remind you that you might be a lot dead. happier with a novel than with
a relationship. Just a heads up, most of the books on this list have miserable endings. And that makes them more interesting.
Nerves on the curve of each bend slide to the front as you wind Who needs a boyfriend when you can read a Hurtling towards book? repetition, an inevitable discord If you’re happy in a relationship, that’s great, but happy couples of mind – makes dull reading. No one has any interest in sitting and fully aware and watching a couple coo and kiss dashing the tunnel each other. In love stories, we find the chaotic passion that that carries you to might just be too much to handle in real life. the drop, These love stories can be enjoyed Seeking and cursing by anyone, happily coupled or single. If the capitalist structures the trigger that and their insistence that loving means buying them lots pushed you off at the someone of pretty things and taking them for an over-priced meal (with a top.
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set menu you don’t even like) is getting you down on Valentine’s day, then remember: you don’t need a relationship – you need a
Cool blow at the bottom to cushion, a final, irresistible fall. Sweet relief as you Tristan Wilson float, face down at Art& Lit Editor the base of the pool. Cambridge, 2014.
book. And here is something for you. Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë If you can get over the fact that almost all of the characters are horrible people, then Brontë’s 1847 moors masterpiece is one of the maddest, most visual novels in the English language. The landscape is so immanent it is almost a character in its own right, and Brontë’s masterpiece contains some of the most romantic lines in the English language (if, perhaps, they are taken out of context). Revolutionary Road Richard Yates If you’re lonely this Valentine’s, try to remember that at least you’re not married to someone you hate. Revolutionary Road is a heart-breaking rendering of a marriage slowly falling to pieces and the lies we tell ourselves. Frank and April Wheeler “long to be extraordinary” but feel like their souls are slowly seeping away in their dismal suburban settings. Pretty much all of the marriages in this novel are in some way tragic, whether they are passionate, to the point of breaking furniture to vent frustration, or comically mismatched. The Price of Salt Patricia Highsmith The Price of Salt (filmed as Carol) is remarkable for being one of the first novels in which a gay couple could have a happy(-ish) ending, and its representation of queer women as complex characters rather than caricatures. It is also a wonderful
Speaking Wordlessly
Charlotte Hayton
The Oxford Student is looking for talented poets to submit original content for the Art & Lit section; whether you are a prolific poet or an occasional scrawler, get in touch with us at oxstu.culture@gmail.com!
Picture the scene. You’re a final year English student, and your whole time at university has led up to this. You need at least a 2:1 to get yourself that fat-salaried graduate job - although that might be a bit generous for an English student at Cambridge of all places - and you’re psyched. Into the exam hall, open the paper, flick through just to ascertain which qustions are going to be sliced open by the finely-tuned scalpel that is your instinctive understanding of literature, honed for three years in the halls and pannelled rooms of Britain’s second most prestigious university. You flick to the third question, and you find a collection of apparently motley punctuation marks on the page, only to let your eyes scan to the top of the page
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to find a question about said punctuation. You panic. You fall off your chair. You start drafting your grovelling letter to Clifford Chance instead. Concrete poetry, instead of focusing on the language and content of the poem, is all about form; one carefully chosen word or set of words might be repeated and moulded into a visual shape or pattern, like the work of German-Bolivian poet Eugen Gomringer, or only use words based around one vowel sound, like the exquisite “Ottos Mops” (Otto’s pug) by the Austrian Ernst Jandl. Anglophone poets have also carved out niches in the realm of concrete poetry and typographic experimentation: Ezra Pound, who liberally sprinkled his enormously culturally aware work with Chinese characters, each one signfiying a complex and beautiful image with each stroke of the calligrapher’s
love story, particularly in the moment of meeting, when Carol wanders into Thérèse’s life after a long, dull day at work, and then goes on to transform her life. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald The delectable prose of The Great Gatsby is more romantic than most dates; it will teach you to fall back in love with literature. Again, whilst many of the main characters are somewhat lacking in moral principles, and the eponymous hero is totally deluded about the girl he loves, reading this novel is a lot like being whirled around on the dance floor. Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman Noughts and Crosses is much more than a love story - it’s also a powerful statement about contemporary race relations, terrorism, and prejudice. It is both a stark warning about the dangers of racism and the endearing love story of Sephy and Callum, who grow up together but whose lives are largely determined by the colour of the skin. Blackman is a master of plot, even if the prose lacks the elegance or visceral feel of her brush, was one such poet. E.E Cummings was another avantgarde typist, often stringing multiple words together without spaces to reflect excitement or anger. Not many poets have abandoned words altogether though, and so Andre Letoit’s poem, “Tipp-Ex Sonate”, of the famous Cambridge finals paper, marks a significant innovation. The genre has, nevertheless, been controversial; purists might decry it as countermanding the linguistic and emotional spirit of poetry by ignoring the need for poetic imagery expressed through language; others sometimes see it as merely childish - a kind of poetic fingerpainting, or something - and “not real art”. This derision has, on occasion, been supplemented by righteous anger on behalf of those who see concrete poetry as complicit in the so-called “flight from beauty” in modern society, to borrow the phrase of Tory art-bore extraordinaire Roger Scruton, and the associated iconoclasm which has emerged as a kind of art
other novels. Though the novel doesn’t have the same poetical power of Gatsby, it is driven by a deep concern for ethical issues and a desire to jerk the reader awake to wider inequalities in society. It was very difficult to choose just five love stories (after eventually deciding that Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair was just too gloomy to fit the criteria) but hopefully, if you are not having a wonderful day already this Valentine’s, there is something to perk you up. Relationships are wonderful, but quite often, they are much more fun to read about than be in. Alternatively, heart-wrenching passion may be difficult to sustain after a certain number of years, but you can always be sated by Heathcliff and Cathy rolling around on the moors and hating everyone around them, or April and Frank Wheeler screaming at each other on a motorway, and return contented and happy to your partner. Disclaimer: The OxStu in no way endorses spending time with a book rather than with your partner on Valentine’s Day, and accepts no responsibility for resulting conflict.
Image: George Herbert
form in itself. The accusations are unfounded; concrete poetry is there to provide a different take on poetry - to continue the innovative spirit which has sustained poetry since its very inception. The popularity of concrete and avant-garde poetry in the Germanophone world in particular is indicative of worries about using traditional, pre-war poetic forms in the wake of Second World War and the Holocaust, unspeakable events which make language inadequate as the Germans soulsearched after the war. There is some purpose behind all the fun, then; the aestheticist snobbery of Scruton and the purists is, once again, totally unfounded.
Art & Lit
The Oxford Student | Friday 19th February 2016
For your leisure... Spiral Symmetrical spiralling swirl running itself to a navel, Shadows light on the curves turning inexorable dread Towards the pit or point at the final Point, where the line stops dead. Nerves on the curve of each bend slide to the front as you wind Hurtling towards repetition, an inevitable discord of mind – fully aware and dashing the tunnel that carries you to the drop, Seeking and cursing the trigger that pushed you off at the top. Cool blow at the bottom to cushion, a final, irresistible fall. Sweet relief as you float, face down at the base of the pool. Charlotte Hayton
The Oxford Student is looking for talented poets to submit original content for the Art & Lit section; whether you are a prolific poet or an occasional scrawler, get in touch with us at oxstu.culture@gmail.com!
An Interview with Fadi Zaghmout Lea Cohen TanguiCaresse Staff Writer
In 2012, the Jordanian novelist and activist Fadi Zaghmout published his first novel, The Bride of Amman, dealing with the brutality of gender and sexual norms and conventions within the city of Amman. A bestseller, and only translated into English last summer, The Bride of Amman is a short and compelling read, interweaving five different perspectives throughout the book - those of Salma, deemed an eternal spinster by her family, and therefore as a source of shame, of Leila, Salma’s sister, who in Jordanian society’s eyes leads the perfect life, of Ali, secretly homosexual, Hayat, victim of incest, and Rana, a Christian girl who falls for a Muslim. Despite the bleakness and violence prevalent within the book as the characters struggle to battle prejudice and oppression, The Bride of Amman is paradoxically an uplifting novel with its resilient characters, and ends on a hopeful note with what seems to be two happy marriages. Although primarily written for a Jordanian audience, the feminist and LGBTQ issues that Fadi Zaghmout openly discusses are still relevant in our Western world today - albeit to another level - and Ali’s reflection on double standards with regard to male/female sexual liaisons as well as transgender experience in prison strikes a chord. I was lucky enough to interview Fadi about his book and the questions I had when reading:
How difficult was it for The Bride of Amman to be
published in Arabic on such a controversial topic?
Surprisingly it wasn’t that difficult for me to get it published. It was my first book, and I wasn’t known as a writer before I published it. I approached a local Jordanian publisher based on a friend’s advice and then I called the publisher a week later. It was a new publishing house at the time and he said that he wrote that story and is interested in publishing it. We were worried that it may not pass the censorship but then did with no trouble. My publisher said that if they banned it, then it would be the best thing to happen for the book in terms of publicity!
Were you surprised that your book came out as a bestseller?
I didn’t really know what to expect back then. I knew that I am talking about issues that are not usually tackled in the traditional media or in Arabic literature in the same manner, but I didn’t anticipate this strong people’s reaction. I am happy that people loved it and welcomed it in open arms and became eager to ask others to read it too.
Did you have a foreign audience in mind when writing your book? I feel like
many of the themes you touch upon are still relevant in thew West, albeit to a lesser extent, and the obsession with marriage is very much present in Russian culture as well. I actually wrote it mainly for a Jordanian audience but I knew that same issue are prevalent in the Arab world. I would say that the issue presented in the book are common in all societies where patriarchy rules. It is a feminist
Review: Andy Warhol Liv Constable-Maxwell Staff Writer
If you want the quintessential Warhol experience, the Ashmolean will not disappoint. It displays a collection of over a hundred works, brought together from a single private collection, and films from Pittsburgh’s Warhol Museum. The first room gives you everything you would expect from Andy Warhol. There is a Brillo Soap Pad Box from 1964. There are walls covered in enormous, repeated silk-screen prints of different celebrities. From all four walls they stare you right into the eyes: captivating, famous, posing, poppy. The faces stare down from the walls in garish colours that have come to exemplify Warhol’s best-known works, and the ultra-commercial celebrity culture of 1960s and 70s America.
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And yet the confrontational nature of his screen-prints contrasts with a quite unsettlingly vacant mood that surrounds Warhol’s films.They are projected onto all four walls of the small room. In one, you see clips from a five hour film of John Giorno sleeping. In another, Robert Indiana eats a mushroom for 45 minutes. ‘Empire’ is an eerie single shot of the Empire State Building. It is only the minutely changing lights of the shot that distinguish it from a still life. Though repetitive, there’s something about them that demands attention. David Silver asked Warhol in an interview how he would respond if someone said the films were “rubbish, trite nonsense”. Warhol replies, deadpan, “Well, that’s the way we feel about it”. If they are ‘rubbish, trite nonsense’, they’re certainly no less interesting for it. The ‘Screen Tests’ in particular,
voice that tries to highlight how gender inequality and agents of patriarchy makes the lives of everyone harder.
How difficult was it for you to write from a female perspective about experiences of assault/social oppression?
The inequality of acceptance of women and men sexuality in the Arab world is outrageous. It is comical and unjust and need to be addressed! Arab women are conditioned to hide their sexual needs and shy from admitting them while on the other hand Arab men are encouraged to taunt it and be proud of it! For me, I don’t see any difference between the psychology of men and women, I think human beings have same mental apparatus and that differences between individuals are larger than those making the limits of the sex. I also understand the gender conditioning for both men and women and understand how a human being would react and behave under these circumstances.
I find the transgender character’s story, Tamer, both arresting and haunting - why not have given made him into a proper character with his own voice, like Ali, Leila, explore a relationship with the camera that invites voyeurism in a ways that feels, nowadays, quite familiar. Here, we see different celebrities in front of the camera, sitting. They’re familiar faces: Marcel Duchamp, Bob Dylan, John Giorno, Nico, Edie Sedgwick. With all the films, there is quite an unsettling feeling of self consciousness. The people on screen have a strange relationship to the camera. Edie Sedgwick pouts vacuously past the camera, looking at someone behind the lens. Nico acts up, but still pretends the camera isn’t there. It’s the ‘just be yourself ’ element of the films come with a host of self-conscious affectations that we recognise from any reality TV today. The last room of the exhibition displays a range of different works from later on in Warhol’s career. They’re not as aesthetically striking as some of his other works. One can’t help feeling that their relative unknown is justified. One of the
Hayat, Salma and Rana?
That is a good suggestion which I haven’t thought of before. When I started writing the book, I wanted to show different representations of characters who struggle to get married because of the many boundaries impose onto such reunion. I thought of an LGBT representation and thus had Ali as a main character. In the initial thinking of the book, Tamer came as a sub/supporting character. He was meant to show the contrast of people’s perception of masculinity and femininity. How Ali can hide his homosexuality just because he is masculine while Tamer would suffer just because he acts feminine in public!
Who are your favorite Arabic writers? I see that on your blog (https://thearabobser ver. wordpress.com/)you interviewed Mutasem Subeih and Fadia Faqir. Are there any others?
My favorite Arabic writer is Nawal Al Sadawi. She has been inspiring me since my college time and helped in shaping the way I think. I also like Alaa Al Aswani since his famous book Yacoubian Building.
The Bride of Amman can be purchased on Amazon for £13.00
Image: Incase
centrepieces is a figure of Christ, named ‘Christ $9.98’. Its lines are simple and childish. The point feels one that is familiar in Warhol’s work: a fascination with American culture, where consumerism is so extreme it is almost religious devotion. The fact that the piece seems to have been given about as much attention as ‘Hamburger in (Positive) and (negative) pays homage to this idea. The final pieces lack a uniting force that the other gallery rooms show so well. The exhibition, to me, didn’t reveal the brilliance of Warhol’s lesserknown works. We see that his silk-screen prints are famous for a reason, while the backlog feels quite underwhelming.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Stage 24
Stage
An interview with Adam Mastroianni, Director of the Oxford Imps Interview
William Shaw Staff Writer
We’re always told to turn our phones off in the theatre. But what if that was the entire point? Next week the Simpkins Lee Theatre will play host to Hyperdrive, a new experimental show from the Oxford Imps. The Oxford Imps, as readers with good comedic taste will likely already know, are Oxford’s own improv comedy troupe, who perform a show every Monday night at the Wheatsheaf pub. It’s traditional for the Imps to put together a more experimental show every Hillary term, and this time the theme is Information Technology. It’s the brainchild of Adam Mastroianni, who you may recognise from a now infamous episode of Come Dine With Me. (The one where the guy lost and had a bit of a meltdown at the end). When he’s not being shouted at by reality TV contestants, he’s the director of the Oxford Imps, and he met with me to discuss Hyperdrive and the joys of technology-based improv.
do you go about Q. How putting on a show like this?
A.
I’d never really done a show like this before, where the format of the show itself is created through improvisation. In most improv, there are these set forms, and maybe you experiment with them a little bit, but the majority of this show is created from us, just kind of playing around and having fun in rehearsal. Which is a totally new thing to me, and way more exciting than I could have hoped.
Q.
Where did the idea come from, to do a technology-based show?
A.
Part of it is the fact that it’s never been done before. I’m really excited by the idea of doing a Facebook interview, to inspire a series of scenes, which is just one element of the show. We’re going a step beyond what the Imps do right now - so it’s a new skill we’re learning - but
Image: Oxford Imps
it’s also something exciting, and something very different for an Oxford crowd to see.
to the theatre. I’ve no idea if that’ll work or not, so we’re not banking on it, but we hope that it will.
We also want to create a Tinder profile based on audience input, and have someone in the audience use it throughout the show, and do scenes based on the people they match with. We would love to also try and get that person to get one of those matches to actually come
We’re limited by what we can physically do in the space. We’re banking on being able to use polling software to interact with the audience, but of course it’s an open question: what if people can’t get online in the theatre? What if the computer crashes? So we’ve tried to stick to things that, if it fails, we always have a backup
plan. We know we have these certain parameters, that allows us to say ‘OK, within this circle of possibilities, what do we want to do?’ That allows you to be much more creative. Total freedom can actually be very paralysing.
Has this show preanything else Q. Isyouthere can tell us about Q. sented any technical challenges? the show? Is there anything else A. Q. we should know? A. A.
Oh, we have a drone. I’ve been practicing flying it. So if you hear a buzzing down Cowley Road, it’s me trying to not crash a drone, which I spent most of yesterday doing. I’m sure Health and Safety will be fine with it.
Review: Constellations Alex Taylor Staff Writer
Set in the round, coloured light is refracted through suspended hexagons onto the small stage. It’s intimate and atmospheric, a perfect reflection of the play itself. Centering around the relationship of warm and energetic Marianne (portrayed by Shannon Hayes) and easy going Roland (Callum Lynch), ‘Constellations’ is Nick Payne’s smart and heartfelt play, brought to life by The Experimental Theatre Club (ETC). At first glance the plot is an evaluation of human relationships, following the couple’s life from their first meeting, through the mundane everyday to challenges such as infidelity and even those that come with cancer. However, this simple story of their life together is questioned and complicated by the multiverse theory: “that we are all living multiple lives and making different decisions in different universes”, which Marianne explains as part of her work as a physicist at Sussex university. The play itself is an exploration of this theory. No scene happens
once; every conversation and decision is repeated and reformed, sometimes simply through a subtle change in manner or gesture, or the replaying of milestone moments in their lives. Hayes and Lynch welcome each scene afresh, riding the rollercoaster of emotion that Payne’s intelligent and disorderly script throws at them. Their playful and perceptive improvisation stops the performance from feeling laboured, and their chemistry is tangible.
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It’s really beautiful; I loved its simplicity and emotionit really makes you think
The round also really worked, providing the necessary intimacy between the audience and the characters. The physicality of the actors and dim lighting focuses your attention on each movement, the small stage highlighting changes in tone. It’s well choreographed and a master class in blocking, the result of Sammy Glover’s understated and refined direction.
Perhaps the delivery sometimes got lost in the beginning of each scene; the cross over not always clear cut, with points of breathlessness or a lingering smile. But flashes of light and electronic noises help to distinguish the change between each ‘universe’. Hayes and Lynch are both so natural in their performance, achieving such vulnerability that each moment is truly original, despite the recurring nature of each scene. Flashes of light and electronic noises help to distinguish the change between each ‘universe’. The humanity of the play leaves you questioning free will and its agency in daily life. Despite the unnatural fragmentation you become very attached to both characters in such a short space of time. It’s is short and intense, with very little else to support it other than its two strong cast. You’re kept engaged no doubt a result of ETC’s characteristic wittiness and edge, brought to the fore in the comic scenes which really shine. As an overall performance its nothing fancy; with good direction, clever sound and lighting there’s nothing stand-out or particularly bold. Constellations
Image: Tom Blunt
is instead a key example of the power of a great script and sublime acting. You are never left with a clear sense of which story line is the actual reality, but that’s the point. Its really beautiful; I loved its simplicity and emotion – it really makes you think and that’s arguably the greatest accolade of any play.
Verdict
The simplicity of the production worked to great effect, bringing the quality of both writing and acting to the fore, against an unconventional and fragmented structure; beautiful, thoughtful and intimate.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
OXSTU’S CONTROVERSIAL PLAYS
Feature
Deputy Stage Editor
‘A Doll’s House’
Image: Daniel Nyblin
Ibsen’s masterpiece was seen as an attack on family, its heroine puts her own identity before the roles of “wife” and “mother”. Ibsen was forced to re-write a happy ending for the play for fear of losing his leading lady, who refused to play a woman who could abandon her children.
George Bernard Shaw ‘Mrs Warren’s Profession’
I’m sure all Oxford students can remember their experience of the fresher’s fair, slightly terrified, but very excited by all the opportunities available to you at a scrawl of your new college email address. Having worked backstage in school productions, I was keen to get involved with Oxford drama, but didn’t really know where to start. Later, on getting back to my overstuffed inbox, I found an email calling for help with costumes in an upcoming production. I signed up then, and now four productions down I haven’t looked back! Not doing a degree in art or having no experience should not put you off foraying into this intensely rewarding and enjoyable aspect of thespian activities in Oxford. Few people seem to understand what is expected of a “costumes mistress”, so here’s a quick behind the scenes insight into what being in charge of or helping with costumes means:
At what point do you get involved with a production?
Before a play has even secured a theatre slot, a director or producer will send out a message on TAFF (the backstage society at Oxford) looking for someone to manage costumes. They’ll tell you what their play is about, the size of the production, and what style they’re looking for e.g. period costume, space age, the cast are all cats etc. At this stage, for you this means maybe doing a few sketches and perhaps writing your vision for the play, which will go into the bid for the theatre. If this is all a bit daunting, you can be an assistant or even an assistant’s assistant, taking as small or large a role as you feel comfortable with.
Do you have to make all the costumes yourself ? Absolutely not! For the majority of plays, extensive charity shop browsing, ebay and raiding your grandparents’ wardrobes will cover it. Sometimes your job can be very simple, especially if the play is set near the present day. It’s worth asking the cast what they already own, actors often tend to have a quirky dress sense, so you may be surprised at what they can provide. Of course you could offer your own clothes, but bear in mind
Review: Noose Image: Royal Opera House Image: Public Doman
Originally banned from being performed by the Lord Chamberlain for being “immoral and otherwise improper for the stage”, it addressed the issue of prostitution, but cast the blame onto the British public, and not onto the fallen woman.
Tennessee Williams ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
Image: Andy Roberts
Its shocking subject matter, loose structure, and Williams’s own lack of faith in humanity meant that a film adaption starring Marlon Brando, directed by Elia Kazan, required Williams to rewrite the play’s ending in order for the film to be produced.
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Behind the Scenes: Costumes in Oxford Production
Georgia Crump
Henrik Ibsen
Stage
Chloe St. George Stage Editor
Since last week’s show at the Burton Taylor Studio, a relatively small change had been made to the arrangement of the audience seating, but it was the first thing that interested me about ‘Noose’. Whether or not it was intentional, the result was to allow the acting space, connected to the thin gap through the audience that constituted the actors’ only entrance and exit, to take on the rough shape of a noose. Rather ominously or perhaps just fittingly, the action of the play took place inside the loop of this noose and beneath the literal one that hung from a beam throughout. Then we are introduced to Jacques (Ali Porteous) and Seraphine (Micha Pinnington), who seem to pass days without much direction or contact with the world outside their home. They used to have a ‘rhythm’, she muses, but they have now lost it, and somewhere along the line the life appears to have been sucked out of her. She appears resigned to and unmoved by death, and is just waiting for the right day to end it all. Porteous is often breathless and constantly fiddling with parts of the set, whilst Pinnington remains composed,
and as if she is in a waiting room, often staring blankly ahead of her. At first it seemed as if Pinnington would drive the tension, and Porteous the comedy, but soon he displayed, as well his comic timing, his capacity to quickly transition, creating a convincingly volatile character. Adding further tension to the dynamic is the arrival of an American Christian pilgrim, played by Josh Dolphin. Dolphin (also the play’s director) is rather captivating, adopting a well-paced and menacingly calm delivery and able to twist the tone of the scene subtly but effortlessly from one line to the next, all alongside a faultless American accent. I suppose credit is also due to James Soulsby as the dead body, having to be put to rest in a bin and remain there for the best part of 45 minutes.
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Anthony Maskell’s script is fairly mature, without drawing too much attention to itself... Anthony Maskell’s script is fairly mature, without drawing too much attention to itself; its intelligent insights cropping up from time to time, resulted in frequent laughs from the
they will definitely get sweaty, probably dirty and possibly ripped, so don’t send someone on in your favourite jeans! That said, for the more unusual pieces, it’s worth having a supply of sewing materials so that you can customise and create. For example, sewing chains onto clothes is an easy way to create a punk look, just as attaching flowers and netting can turn a boring dress into a fairy gown!
make-up if it’s a big production or requires particular skills (like hair-curling, which I’m useless at!) It’s often nice to have someone else to bounce ideas off, and useful if you know there will be a complicated costume change at the same time as you need to be doing a quick make-over on the other side of the theatre.
Who pays for all this? The production team will se-
What happens if they cure a budget, partly through OUDS and other sponsors, and don’t fit the cast? It’s a good idea to get the cast’s measurements before you start shopping, and ideally their photo so you can check that what you have in mind will match with how they look in real life. If the costumes are too large it’s very easy to take up hems and stitch up the sides, but if they’re too small you’ve got more of a problem. Never take the labels off anything before its been tried on, and make sure you check with charity shops to see if they have a returns policy.
What about make-up and hair? You can choose to put someone else in charge of hair and
audience. Upon hearing the line ‘it’s not fair to know someone better than they know you’ I had the lovely feeling of having something you’ve previously felt being put neatly into words in front of you. Overall, the script doesn’t seem to rely heavily on plot but instead creates a gentle exploration of the play’s themes, and manages to allude to these in dialogue-driven scenes without descending into clichéd extended metaphor.
allocate you a certain amount relative to the size of the production. If you’re asked how much you need, err on the side of caution, you can always give some back at the end! And make sure you tell the director that they can’t keep adding characters and costumes if they don’t increase your budget, you’re never expected to use your own money. Hopefully this provides an insight into what it means to be involved with costumes in Oxford drama. It’s so much fun and I would heartily encourage anyone with even a slight interest to give it a go, you don’t know what you’re missing behind the scenes!
Verdict
‘Noose’ might not be the best play you see this term, but it really is an enjoyable, nuanced example of new student writing with a strong cast, and I’d recommend going along to support and immerse yourself in the creative outputs of your fellows!
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Where the Wild Things Are Photographer: Valentina Pegolo
Models: Natalie Woodward & Merri Leston Concept & Styling: Alice Townson & Alexandra Murray Luo Make-up: Alexandra Wong
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The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
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Fashion
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Fashion Ethical Fashion:
Style With Heart Freya Morris Staff Writer
Gillian Osrin is an ethical-fashionista residing over the site of all-thingsethical that is Style With Heart. This week, I ask Gillian for an insider’s take. “I’ve been in retail for about 20 years. I wanted to give something back,” she said. It’s clear that Gillian’s vision is all-encompassing. Perusing the website, it’s hard to ignore the company’s innate ability to unite producers, brands and shoppers from a rich global community. Explaining her journey through retail, Gillian draws parallels between the changing ethics of fashion, past and present: “That was around the time when corporation responsibility was fairly embryonic, but still something I wanted to do. Whilst I was working there, I came into contact with a lot of people who wanted to put ethical and eco
at the core of their businesses – so working with really small artisan groups all around the world. And I thought, what can I do to help them?” So Style With Heart was the answer to the difficult question of how to access the market for many small producers. Think ASOS, but eco. The business has gone from strength to strength, building its principles of quality and ethics: “I want people to spend less, shop less. Better quality, longer-lasting things.” Gillian also stresses the diversity of the company: “I’ve had to put my personal preferences to one side, because there are brands on the site that are slightly more traditional, eco, bohemian types, which isn’t my thing at all. The whole thing about Style With Heart was that it could be a one-stop guide to suit all tastes, men, women, and children. So it’s very, very broad.” The site is a nexus of ethical ideas, though Gillian prefers to steer clear
of words such as “eco”, “ethical” or “sustainable”. “These terms are often loaded with specific – and often misunderstood – meanings. They’re not broad enough on their own to encompass the values of all the companies.” It’s a very fair point. The connotations of the term have become largely simplified, though undeniably attractive. “We buy clothes and accessories that make us look good. But how about buying things that make us look good and feel good too?” People are looking to change their lives. As Stella McCartney said, referring to her decision to become the first luxury fashion brand that is anti-fur and leather: “I’m a big believer in that just doing a little something, is a lot better than doing a lot of nothing.”
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Style With Heart was the answer to the difficult question of how to access the market for many small consumers This gloriously ethical agenda is closely woven into the fabric of Style With Heart. The site itself is a thing of beauty as well as a manifesto. “The number one criteria is that brands have to be ethical. They need to be aware of their work force. The work
places need to be audited regularly and they need to know about their supply chain. In addition to that, if there’s an environmental and eco element to what they do, then all the better.” It’s exactly this conscientiousness, which Gillian stresses as the key to an ethical lifestyle: “I think it’s really about what you do in your everyday life and the decisions you make. It’s very much about buying less, but better quality and longer lasting. If you need something new to wear on a night out, clothes swap with a friend, or hold a shopping party. Think charity shops, recycling, customizing.” Surprisingly, Gillian does not consider the muchmaligned high street retailers to be entirely at fault. “High street retailers actually aren’t the biggest offenders, but they will take years to change.” I ask wonderingly about the Yves Saint Laurent quote featured on the website. It insists that while “fashion fades, style is eternal.” Is it not being taken out of context? Can this ever mean the same thing in the separate spheres of ethical and unethical fashion? “The brand has changed and they’re taking steps to be more sustainable. It’s something that I’ve always thought is quite ironic for design houses because they’re not using factories in Bangladesh, they’re using real craftsmen and artisans who are hand making these clothes. It’s just how it is.” Then where do the problems start?
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“The main issue that people can’t see is there’s very few high street retailers that have their own factories. They’re having to share factories, it’s quite difficult when you’ve got one retailer who wants to pay the living wage, and another one who doesn’t. How can they explain that to their workers? That’s a challenge that everyone’s up against at the moment.”The legislation is in place, but no one is enforcing it. Nevertheless, ethics and fashion are definitely courting. Gillian is testament to the changes being made: “You have a lot of high street retailers who are really trying to make an effort. Some are doing more than others. But they are trying to do something. Off the back of that, a year ago I launched Boutique With Heart which focuses on eco, ethical, vintage, handmade jewelry.” It’s another link in the fashion chain. Gillian is aware of people’s desire to feel connected, fashion is, after all, a community. “If you have something with a story behind it, it connects you more closely with it. You appreciate the effort much more – the work and time that’s gone into it. I think when people are actually thinking about what they’re consuming on every level they enjoy it a lot more and they take less for granted: they waste a lot less.” Style With Heart is pioneering not only a brand, but a lifestyle choice. Positive change is in the air. So why not change with style?
The meat paradox of fur and leather Rebecca Oates Staff Writer
Wearing fur is a contentious fashion choice and has been a divisive issue for designers and shoppers alike for decades. There are countless instances of anti-fur protesters hijacking fashion shows or daubing red paint on store windows, nonetheless the fur industry continues to grow in wealth and power year upon year. High-profile designers such as Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood have condemned the fur industry for its cruelty and refuse to use fur in their designs; hence the continued popularity of fur, in spite of the deep ethical controversy surrounding it, is somewhat baffling. Designers such as Fendi, which has its roots in fur fashion, chose to recapture their origins last year with an exclusively fur haute couture fashion show. PETA were quick to condemn this
Image: Jovan J
decision, which in turn prompted Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Fendi, to express his confusion regarding anti-fur mentalities: “for me, as long as people eat meat and wear leather, I don’t get the message.”
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Is everybody who steers clear of fur but can’t say no to a hamburger an undeniable hypocrite? Is Lagerfeld right? Is everybody who steers clear of fur but can’t say no to a bacon cheeseburger an undeniable hypocrite? He is certainly not the first to raise such an argument in defence of the fur farming industry but this message has yet to be internalised by many designers. Defensible or not, it is fairly common practice to draw a line between the use of leather in
fashion and the use of fur. Some proponents of the use of leather argue that a cow’s skin is merely a by-product of an animal that will be slaughtered for meat. Surely since the cow is going to die regardless, should we not try to ensure that the poor animal didn’t die in vain? Yet even a little research reveals this assumption to be, at best, seriously misleading. Sure, it’s true that the bulk of leather used for clothing, footwear and accessories is a byproduct of cows raised for beef, but this is certainly not a universal truth. Often the sale of cow skins is actually more profitable for farmers than the sale of the meat and even when it’s not, it would probably be more accurate to describe leather as a subsidy to, rather than a by-product of, the meat industry. In short, the two work in tandem. It is also important to remember that cow hide is only one variety of
Image: Dennis Jarvis
leather and the supposedly ethical mentality of “waste not want not” collapses when a material like ostrich leather is brought into the equation. Of course, ostrich steaks do indeed exist but you’d be hard-pressed to find it in your local supermarket or farm shop, whereas upon a trip to Harvey Nichols one would come across multiple ostrich leather handbags and maybe even a pair of heels. The same can be said of crocodile and snakeskin. In the ostrich farming industry, the skin accounts for 80 per cent of the bird’s value and so in buying an ostrich leather bag you are directly contributing to the perpetuation of animal slaughter and not merely lessening the wastage of the inevitable. The use of fur is perhaps akin to the use of ostrich and crocodile skin: with the exception of rabbits, the animal carcasses are not used in human food at all. But that is not to say that fur manufacturers do not dispose of these animals in the most cost-effective ways possible and the remains of foxes, minks and chinchillas often go into pet feed and fertilizers. The popular aversion to fur then possibly boils down to the fact that, no matter
how economical their deaths, these animals are ultimately killed for aesthetic reasons. Do not misunderstand me, I am the furthest thing from vegan myself; and am actually writing this wearing a suede skirt. And yet I really do believe that I love animals; I feel a genuine attachment to my pets and would never want to be without animals in my life. So I feel like my consumption of meat and leather should bother me, but it just doesn’t. Why not? The answer, I would argue, lies in a phenomenon colloquially termed the “meat paradox” and psychologically termed “cognitive dissonance”. Basically, like many omnivores, I am pretty adept at compartmentalising the image of a duck on a pond and a duck on my plate. At the same time, I have steered clear of wearing fur my entire life for, dare I say it, “ethical reasons”. And this is ultimately the question that we are most interested in: is it logically sound to condemn the incorporation of fur into fashion and yet refuse to give up your leather jacket and quit eating steaks? I do not think it is and if that is your attitude you are probably a hypocrite. But don’t worry; there are quite a few of us.
Fashion
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
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Ethical Fashion Initiative: Not Charity, Just Work Sherry Chen Fashion Editor
Earlier this week, I spoke to Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), a flagship programme of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. EFI links the world’s top fashion talents to marginalised artisans - the majority of them women - in East and West Africa, Haiti and the West Bank. The organisation has been connecting artisans to the global fashion supply chain since 2009. EFI also works with the rising generation of fashion talent from Africa, encouraging the forging of fulfilling creative collaborations with artisans on the continent. Under its slogan, “NOT CHARITY, JUST WORK” the EFI advocates a fairer global fashion industry.
SC: When was EFI founded? What
were the motivations of establishing such an organisation?
EFI: The Ethical Fashion Initiative
was founded in 2009 as a programme of the International Trade Centre (a joint agency of the United Nations and World Trade Organisation). The first country we worked in was Kenya. The hub we set up there was recently bought by private investors which we were very pleased about. I was inspired to start the EFI after working in Kenya where I met a lay missionary called Gino Filippini. Gino live in the Korogocho slum of Nairobi and worked with microproducers, helping them set up cooperatives. His work inspired me as I saw real potential in working with micro-producers, helping them to organise and learn new skills so that they can positively improve their lives through work.
SC:
What were the goals of EFI when it was first established? Have they changed over the past few years?
EFI: The goal has always been to create jobs in the value chain of fashion for micro-producers in Africa. These have not changed but they have evolved because we have grown in size and stabilised our work by
Image: Ethical Fashion Initiative
creating ethical fashion production hubs to manage these jobs. Ultimately we have sought out private investors to invest in these hubs and the people working in them. We have also added new goals such as the mentoring of African creatives by supporting emerging African designers and brands.
SC: What is considered “ethical” by EFI?
EFI: Dignified working conditions with the full application of the Fair Labour agenda and a clear framework to track all processes and all people involved in production processes, so as to have a very transparent supply chain that is fully traceable. This information should be disclosed to consumers and partners so that everyone can verify them. A clear environmental agenda adapted to each supply chain is also necessary. For example, in leather the environmental agenda that we have is to eliminate heavy metals and chrome, for cotton it is eliminating chemical dyes, using organic and/or recycled materials whenever possible. We believe that setting and following standards and being ethical is a form of sustainability. It must be noted that there is not a defined blueprint; there is no such thing as a clear and simple recipe. Being ethical and sustainable means undertaking a journey towards sustainability, which is a matter of trial, error and continuous improvement. Complete sustainability is a final aim, but there are many intermediate stages that can be equally important. The path towards sustainability has
to be clearly communicated. It has to be clearly and properly tracked with a work plan and landmarks, so that everyone can mark their progression and no one lags behind.
SC: How do you select your partners?
change perceptions and stereotypes that society often has of migrants and asylum-seekers from Africa. It was a very successful partnership with Laimomo and we are currently working to expand our work with them to set up a fashion-focused training facility for asylum-seekers.
by brands and sometimes we approach brands directly. It really works both ways and, of course, we are constantly meeting and being introduced to new brands through our network.
Finally, could you please comment on the recent trend of eco fashion and ethical fashion? Do you think the industry provides sustainable environment for the development of ethical fashion?
EFI: Sometimes we are approached SC:
SC: Tell us a bit about your recent EFI: The ethical fashion movement event Generation Africa.
EFI: Generation Africa was a fashion show which we organised at Pitti Uomo in Florence. We selected four African designers to participate and showcase their Autumn-Winter 2016 collections. There were two Nigerian brands, Ikiré Jones and U.Mi-1, and two South African brands, AKJP and Lukhanyo Mdingi x Nicholas Coutts. It was an excellent show. This event was part of our African designer programme whereby we support designers to access fashion platforms to gain access to the fashion market and raise awareness about their brand. For this show we partnered with an Italian association called Lai-momo which runs several welcome centres for asylum-seekers in Italy. With Lai-momo we cast three asylum-seekers as models for the Generation Africa show. This was an opportunity to use fashion to discuss a social issue and of course
is about people and labour. Yes, the industry is more conducive to the ethical fashion movement than it was eight years ago. Then, it was a matter for innovators and confined to very small spaces, both within the fashion market and in the public eye. Today, ethical fashion is part of the agenda of all the groups that work in this industry; Kering has a Chief Sustainability officer, Marie Claire Daveu, who is very active on this. But all the groups have some resources allocated to sustainability. It is a more conducive environment because consumers have woken up and are more demanding. Social media allows people, even those in marginalised conditions, to be vocal, to have agency and to be heard. People are more mobilised as consumers, and use their buying power. The drive for change does not come from within the industry, as it would remain in the old paradigm if there was no push from the consumers. Sociologists
have named “individualisation” as the main trend of our time. There is a big debate in sociology about whether individualisation gives more or less agency to people. It may not allow for big political goals, but it surely gives more agency to people as consumers, because they are more informed and have immediate purchasing power. We also live in an age of postmaterialist issues. This means that consumers are not only looking for a gorgeous product but also to satisfy deep inner motivations. This is evident in the political spectrum of the societies in which we live. People are changing their partisan affiliation model. Once upon a time, the affiliation model was only on the basis of census; generally the working class leaned to the left and then the middle or higher classes leaned to the centre or the right. Today it is different because there are these postmaterialist and aspirational issues, as well as identity politics. It is very likely that an affluent person has a political platform from the left-wing and vice versa. The same is true of consumerism. Consumers are not only concerned about the beauty and price of products, but also are evaluating the non-physical features of the product. Their choices are now linked to sustainability in terms of people and the planet. This is the real movement behind the ethical fashion movement and the real reason why the industry is becoming more responsive. If we didn’t identify problems and demand solutions, the industry wouldn’t change at all.
Street style: 4th week’s best dressed
Name: Sandrine
Name: Qais
Name: Nicole
Name: Charlotte
Name: Elise
The Student Advice Service live chat facility is now available on the OUSU website during term time Tuesday 3:00pm-5:00pm Thursday 11:00am-1:00pm
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
What’s on 31
Pick of the Week
Pick of the Week
Manning Up? Male Mental Health
Jon Favreau at The Oxford Union The Oxford Union, 5pm
Grove Auditorium, Magdalen College 19th February, 4.30pm doors open Tickets £2/£4 on the door
Described by President Obama as his ‘mindreader’, Jon Favreau was hired as Obama’s speechwriter , and subsequently appointed rector of Speechwriting following Obama’s presidential election.
Panel discussion organised by the Mind Your Head campaign with a variety of speakers
4th-5th week 12th-19th Feb
12 Sat 13 Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 Wed 17 Thu 18 Fri 19 th
Fri
theatre
speakers
Amadeus Until 13th. Relive the life of Mozart through the envious eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri. BT Studio, £5/£6.
going out
music
misc.
OUO Hilary Term Concert Featuring Debussy, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky. 8pm at The Sheldonian, £7/£14
Ruskin Art Sale Featuring art, in its various forms, made by students as well as handmade cards. 13th-14th February at the Ruskin School.
The Oxford Union Hilary Ball: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Oxford Union’s buildings will be transformed into a fantasy land
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Thomas Newman at @ The Oxford Union Winner of six Grammys, he composed The Shawshank Redemption among other films, 8pm.
Coriolanus A politicised, brutish adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy.Until 18th. Regent’s Park Quad, 7.30pm. £5/£7.
Dame Zaha Hadid @ The Oxford Union One of the foremost architects, she is designing the new Beijing Airport Terminal Building, 8pm.
The Phantom of the Opera A spectacle of smoke and mirrors, opulence and decay, reality and illusion. Until 20th, O’Reilly, £8.50
Robin Hood Debate: Should Big Taxpayers be Treated as Treasured Customers or Cheats? The Oxford Union, 8pm. GIRLTALK All female poets, DJs and tunes. Open mic session. Raising funds for zine and OSARCC. Kiss Bar, £4 before 11pm/£5.
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JazzSoc: Tina May The revered jazz singer will be playing a set along with Oxford musicians. The Mad Hatter, Iffley Road, 8.30pm-midnight.
HSH Prince HansManning Up? Male Adam MentalIIHealth in 2016 Reigning Prince of Panel discussion Liechtenstein with a organised by the Mind personal fortune of Your Head campaign. $7.6bn. The Oxford Grove Auditorium, Union, 8pm, 4.30pm , £2/£4 Magdalen
TSAF Throwback Thursday 18th February, Turl Street Arts Festival celebrates music from the 1960’s to the present day. £3 before midnight, £5 after.
Moving Pages Book Club: Stardust Time: 2 hours 7 minutes. Film ends at 8:40pm. Discussion ends around 9:10pm. Blackwell’s.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
OxStuff
OxStuff
Screaming Spires
Cycling in Oxford: a recipe for death... THE TRAUMA BEGINS AT HOME Cycling in Oxford is a pain. But the trouble beings before one even begins to turn one’s pedals. More often that not, there’s something wrong with the bike, which often means one arrives at their commitment late and dishevelled. Not a good way to start the day. If only bikes were simple mechanical machines...
A recentlymaimed cyclist gives his advice
OTHER CYCLISTS
Other motorists, pedestrians, tourists, and drunkards all have to be contended with on Oxford’s roads
However, the real problems commence once one ventures onto Oxford’s streets. One of the principal hazards to be negotiated is other cyclists. Now, depending on what sort of cyclist you are, the threat level that other cyclists pose varies. If you’re a fast cyclist, one prone to doging in and out of slow traffic, other cyclists are just plain annoying they get in your way as you speed towards your essay on kingship during the time of the Hundred Years’ War. Perhaps a horse would be a
better means of transport... However, as a slow cyclist, one has to contend more with the phenonmeon of the arrogant pedestrian. But cycling on the Turl is always a recipe for disaster. Just because you want to see your mate from Jesus, doesn’t mean that you have licence to dash across the path - it’s still a fucking road! But above all, the ‘shit cyclist’ prize must go to him who overtakes you on a roundabout. Not only is it stupid, but we both know that I’m going to overtake you once we hit the Iffley Road, so seriously mate, there is really no point. TOURISTS As a cyclist in Oxford, one will be well accquainted with tourists. In fact, it is often said that it’s the best way to meet-and-greet them given the high chances of them walking out in front of you when you’re trying to bomb down the High on the way to sports training. To be frank, I don’t care that you want to go and take photos of the Radcliffe Camera, so long as you don’t attempt to
Why wait for Valentine’s Day? For some time now, we have been made all too aware that Valentine’s Day is approaching; the Christmas decorations had barely gone cold in their clearance bin grave before the next commercial extravaganza was shoveled upon us. For the past month I have barely been able to walk down Cornmarket Street without the stark reminder that the dreaded day is fast approaching, and I should find someone to love, ASAP. Now, I’m no bitter singleton having a moan because I secretly just really want someone to spend Valentine’s with. The fact that I do have someone is beside the point. My
gotten Netflix episode; you should be lighting candles or experimenting with new positions at the very least. Don’t get me wrong, this does sound great. But what if you’re just not feeling it? Perhaps you’ve eaten so much at your romantic dinner with your chosen one that it’s all you can do not to unbutton your trousers right there, not out of burning sexual desire, but to unleash the giant food baby bursting beneath your waistband? My plan to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day may well end with a similar scenario, except this time I’ll feel bad about it. Why? Because I have to have sex on Valentine’s Day. So maybe, even though I may well be feeling like a baby porpoise, I’ll have sex. It will
OXSTU LOOKALIKES
take back a physical imprint of Oxford by walking out in front of me! PEDESTRIANS One might excuse tourists, who, unsued to British roads , and particularly the complexities of Oxford’s various one-way systems, can on occasion, be forgiven for their blunders. Yet there can be no such forgiveness for inadequate knowledge of the Highway Code on behalf of other students. But whether one is happily cycling along Broad Street, or crossing the perilous Broad/Catte/ Holywell/South Parks junction, pedestrians are almost guaranteed to step out in front of you, their head no doubt in some intellectually virtuous work. In some cases it’s almost safer to walk. And when, after numerous near misses, a couple of derailed chains, and an exchange of expletives with other Oxford-dwellers, one comes to lock up their bike. At which point, one discovers that there aren’t any free bike spaces left. Perhaps it was a better idea to walk after all!
Cliterary Theory objection to the day is the sheer amount of pressure it places on people. If you’re not with someone, you need to be, or risk s p e n d ing the day graciously accepting your smugly coupled friends’ sympathetic words through gritted teeth and drowning your commercially-manufactured sorrows with a monster tub of Ben & Jerries, because you hear that’s what single people should do on Valentine’s Day. If you are with someone, aside from you anniversary, Valentine’s is probably the one day of the year when you definitely should be having sex. Not only that, you should be having great sex. Forget the usual pre-bed quickie enjoyed to the soundtrack of your for-
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DOM APPLEWHITE
Best known for his work with Monty Python alongside John Cleese, Applewhite is a lifelong comedian, as well as a television and radio actor. His impressive resume has made him a househould name in British comedy, but few people know that he is credited with writing ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’. Just look at that smile! Keep up the good work, Applewhite!
ERIC IDLE
be average because I won’t be 100 per cent into it, so both of us will be left feeling dissatisfied and slightly miserable. To this, I say no. It’s 2016; I don’t need a day to tell me that I should have sex, or to make me feel bad if I don’t. Ideally, your sex life shouldn’t need the push of Valentine’s Day to keep the cogs whirring or to try out new things. Why restrict your sexual adventure to one measly day of the year? Be comfortable and honest enough with yourself so that you don’t have to hide behind or cower to the image of Valentine’s Day. If I’m in the mood for sex then I’m not going to wait for a specific date or time to have it, and equally, if I’m not in the mood for sex, I’m not going to just do it for the sake of it. Admittedly, Valentine’s Day can be a romantic occasion or a reason to make time for your significant other who can all too easily be neglected during the term time rush. Make of the day what you will, but don’t make of it what you don’t want to.
Often confused for prominent British comedian Dominic Applewhite, Idle was the child star of The King’s Speech, and is now a big name in university theatre, with several Playhouse shows under his belt. He’s always admired Monty Python - a confidential source tells us that he spent his childood years perfecting a silly walk. Sadly, he’s taken a break from acting to pursue his dream of studying for a degree in Music at New College.
GOT A LOOKALIKE?
email us at: oxstu.editor@gmail.com
The Oxford Student | Friday 19th February 2016
OxStuff
OxStuff
Screaming Spires
The Brookie Always Wins... THE OTHER PLACE Chances are that you know someone studying at Oxford Brookes University. Maybe they’re a good friend from school and you like a good catch-up every now and again. Brookes students are of course, for the most part, an okay bunch. I dated one once, and they were quite nice. HERE COMES THE NIGHT TIME
A sleep-deprived Dan Haynes is tired of Brookes University and its students...
But sadly, somewhere in between arriving at Brookes and adjusting to a city built around the Oxford colleges, something went horrifically wrong. The best way that Brookesians demonstrate that the city is theirs is by forming a large mob and shouting ‘BROOKES BROOKES BROOKES’ down Cornmarket at midnight. It is a sight to strike fear into the most brave of hearts; their matching black Air Maxes stoming in unison as their top-knots bob violently to their victory-song.
PARTY LIKE IT’S SIXTH FORM Another way of showing their excellence is with #houseparties. Remember that thing you did when you were 17 where you turned up at a mate’s house with a sixpack of Coors Light and a handful of nugs? Brookes keep the spirit of youth alive by proving nightly that they have very, very little to do apart from dance the night away. SORRY FOR THE MESS Did you know that, far enough into Cowley, Brookes Uni actually send letters to residents, apologising IN ADVANCE for the noise disruptions? I can understand that. Despite two warning letters from our landlord, my noisy Brookesian neighbous continue to play their reggaedubstep bastard hybrid music til at least 3am. BLACK TIE BLUES I’m in the Half Moon, winding down after a busy day. I get chatting at the
bar to some equally drunk students, and it’s all good, except that I’m waiting for the inevitable ‘University Question’. Anecdotally, the most common responses I get to admitting that I go to Oxford are “you must be posh”, “where’s your black tie”, or the more erudite “lol”. I think it’s time to rethink the admissions system. Oxford Brookes are the real threat to state school access. SIBLING RIVALRY I can almost understand their motives. No doubt they believe in the stereotype of the Oxford student as a twatty academic with a penchant for elitism. But maybe they don’t understand the irony of acting as obnoxious as they do. All of us Oxonians are relatively benign, really. I suspect it’s all part of some programme designed to infuriate us at the colleges. Maybe there are a series of special lectures given in Brookes’ Freshers Week where students are taught the best methods for holding an entire city in utter contempt.
Cliterary Theory Say no to pressure It should go without saying that if you’re not in the mood to have sex, you’re under no obligation to have it. Obviously. But sadly, sometimes I am guilty of not listening to my own advice. Lying on my bed kissing my boyfriend recently, hands were wondering, but I was unsure. A multitude of factors, including the niggling voice in my head telling me I should be writing an essay, meant that I wasn’t particularly feeling it. Not wanting to cause any upset, I did nothing to halt the proceedings. However, body language is a pretty good indicator of what’s going on in your mind in times like these, and my kissing partner quickly read mine. We stopped and I was reassured by my boyfriend with what I already know: that I should never do
anything I don’t want to do, he doesn’t want to do anything if I don’t, etc. etc. I lay on the bed trying to work out why I was feeling bad. Why am I still not convinced by these sentiments that I have so often heard? I seem to have engrained in my mind a notion that I will cause an argument or upset if I don’t go along with the flow. With past partners, that has been made clear. I can recall plenty of times when me telling my ex that I wasn’t in the mood for sex resulted in him being annoyed at me, or called a ‘tease’ at least. Perhaps the most striking of these occasions was when I had to end a steamy kissing session in order to get to an appointment. I came back from my shower
to discover my boyfriend at the time had masturbated in my bathroom to release his ‘frust r a t i o n’ , and look through my phone to see if anything on there could tell him why I wasn’t ‘into him’. Needless to say, the relationship didn’t last long after that. Although there were other underlying issues that caused these reactions from him, I took misconceptions from the relationship about sex which annoyingly have lingered. At last, they are beginning to change. I have begun to realize that I am not the one in the wrong if an argument or annoyance is caused due to me not wanting to have sex. If anyone makes me feel that way, they will be shown the door. I have been going through
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OXSTU LOOKALIKES
LORD VOLDEMORT
Tormentor of Harry Potter and the wizarding world, Voldemort was finally wiped out by Potter himself after a tumultuous battle that took place in Hogwarts, Potter’s school. Voldemort had previously been taken down by a 1-year-old Potter. The evil Lord had killed Potter’s parents and then turned the wand on the young baby but luckily the spell rebounded, reducing Voldemort to weak strength.
MACK GRENFELL
a process of enlightenment this week after realizing that my past is to blame for my warped sexual norms. Anger has been prevalent: why has it taken me this long to realize that I am not to blame? Also, on another level, I am angry at myself because it still took a conversation with another (my boyfriend) about my past sexual experiences to gain conviction in myself that I should have already had. However, no longer am I going to blame myself for things that aren’t my fault. I am not denying someone something they need if I don’t have sex with them. Furthermore, a relationship is not in any way an agreement that sex will be had, and if it’s made to seem that way, that’s a problem that needs to be addressed. If you are with someone with a higher sex drive than you, it is not your duty to fulfill it. I’m glad I am beginning to gain the personal strength I need to not bow to pressure from another.
Often confused for the evil wizard, Grenfell recetly appeared on The Tab’s ‘Power’ list. Grenfell is Vice Captain of the University College Boat Club and also rows for their first boat. On top of this he is Chairman of Oxford Student Publication Limited and a champion player of Europe Universalis IV. Amazing he manages to do so much whilst assuring the wizards amongst us that he is not Voldemort returned from dead.
GOT A LOOKALIKE?
email us at: oxstu.editor@gmail.com
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
OxStuff
Flashback Friday
23rd November 2006
Teddy Hall rebel over “disgusting” hall food
Students at Teddy Hall have moutned a rebellion against over priced and overcooked food by demanding their Bursar experience their “disgusting” Hall cuisine. The Bursar and Assistant Bursar said, “We will be joining the students to sample the meals on offer. This will be on an irregular basis and unnannounced, as we wish to get a true picture of the meals on offer. “We feel thst this will give a greater understanding of the points raised.” JCR Vice-President Robin Fellerman, who was mandated to invite the pair, said, “Many JCR members have commented that the quality of food at Teddy Hall has declined over the course of the term, and in
the last few years. “We would like the staff to gauge the quality of the food, with respect to its price, and provide us with comments about whether they believe we are getting good value for money.”
I do not understand how they make it so bad in the first place Teddy Hall charged £3.37 for dinner this term, a 4% annual increase. Third year Dan Aylward agreed that the high price of the food makes enduring the meals even more unpalatable. “We are paying one of the highest
rates in the university. I do not know what they should do to improve the food, because I do not understand how they make it so bad in the first place.” Aylward described a typical menu to emerge from the college kitchen: “It is absolutely disgusting and often inedible. The macaroni cheese tastes like stale cheese. The gammon steaks especially are an insult. Any sauce or soup that comes out of the kitchen will have a skin on top by the time it has reached our plates.” One first year PPEist said, “The portions are miniscule and healthwise it’satrocious. They very clearly try to cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables. “A couple of weeks ago I cut open a quiche to find
a live spider inside. The situation is emphatically not good.” Geography student Marina Johns added, “We’re paying quite a lot for what are really very small portions. The vegetables tend to be overcooked and oily.” “They are good at experimenting, which is very commendable, but they try a bit too hard. For pudding they’ll take a meringue and randomly shove anything they have on top.” Earlier this year, The Oxford Student revealed that 80 breaches of food safety legislation were reported in college kitchens in 2005. Eighteen of the breaches occurred at just two colleges: Worcester and St Johns.
If Bernie were your Boyfriend... If BERNIE
were your boyfriend, you might get a few strange looks in the street because of the pretty outrageous age gap. But forget the age gap, when there’s a wage gap! Bernie wouldn’t let there be any fiscal inequality between the two of you - and you have to admit, there aren’t many boyfriends who’d do that.
If BERNIE
Enough is enough! Dan Haynes wants a new boyfriend
were your boyfriend, you wouldn’t have to worry about Student Finance ever again. A quick call to your Sugar Daddy and your debts are magically erased. Same with healthcare. Broken your arm? Give Bernie a buzz.
If BERNIE
were your boyfriend, he might need a little taming before you take him shopping. It’s bad enough that you’re participating in the capitalist regime. But he’d be foaming at the mouth and shouting about Goldman Sachs faster than you could say, “I’m just gonna pull some money out from the bank”.
bility scooter for the White House’s eighteen acres of verdant lawns. It’d be when he brought his grandkids round for Christmas that it would get reeeally strange. Just don’t call him daddy.
If BERNIE
were your boyfriend, even if he didn’t win the election, you’d still be dating a political superstar. Why date a Union hack when you can get in with the real thing? And though he’s a career politician, he’s got quite the CV: before being elected mayor of Burlington, he worked as a carpenter. Be assured that he knows how to handle his wood.
If BERNIE
were your boyfriend, the sex would definitely be more intense than you think. Think he’s animated in his rallies? You should see him in the bedroom. He’d start slow-cialism, to get you into the flow-cialism. But when things get heated and you’re both ready to go-cialism, you’re gonna need lube, believe me. Otherwise you’re really going to Feel the Bern.
If BERNIE If BERNIE
were your boyfriend, you’d have to get used to his new-found fame. It’d be like dating the nerdy kid in school, only to find out they’ve become a BNOC in uni. Everywhere you went together, you’d be accosted by hoards of eager fans, but he’d still find time for you. He’s a loyal sort of guy, with his single-player system.
were your boyfriend, you’d spend evenings enjoying Netflix and Hill: watching old videos of Hillary Clinton for vital political ammunition to use in the campaign. It’s a fierce battle in the run up to the election, and she’s gonna throw everything she’s got at your dear old Bern. Rodham Must Fall?
were your boyfriend, Christmas might be kinda weird. What do you buy for a wisened presidential candidate? Maybe a bus pass, or perhaps a mo-
were your boyfriend, he’d be a loyal one, even if he lost the election. He’s stuck to his beliefs for decades and they’re not going to change now. Nobody’s going to buy his love.
If BERNIE If BERNIE
Overheard in Oxford “How do Cherwell generate their team, copy and paste?” “This is where we change lives, this is where we change Britain.”
“People are beautiful that’s why I want to enslave them.”
“Our political system is fucked, accept that and move to China.”
“You just don’t understand, I just want to smell like pineapple.” “Guys... does tentacle porn count as anime?”
“Ironic shit drinking is still shit drinking.”
Yak of the week “Pro tip: when your PPE mates are hammered take photos for when they become Prime Minister.”
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The Oxford Student | Friday 19th February 2016
OxStuff
Flashback Friday
20th November 1991
University status under threat?
On 4th November, the revolutionary Further and Higher Education Bill was introduced in Parliament. Nothing les than a fundamental reconstruction of the higher education system is proposed. Polytechnics and colleges would no longer be funded by separate councils - the existing University Funding Council and Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council would be replaced by new single funding councils. These would also be responsible for assessing tthe quality of education provided. The Secretary of State would be given the power to allow colleges to award degrees, thus rendering obsolete the Council for National Academic Awards. In
addition, any establishment of higher education could include the word “university” in its title (subject to Privy Council approval).
A fundamental reconstruction is prosposed These proposals are geared towards the removal of longstanding differences between universities and other institutions of higher education. The Director of Polytechnic described the new single funding system as “long overdue”. He emphasised the inequality of the present system, adding that it was “chaotic and
lacking in organisation.” Polytechnics offer a wider range of subjects than universities and more choice as far as subject combinations are concerned. The standard of teaching is often excellent. Yet many people continue to regard them as as “not quite as good as universities”. The brighter students often submit their Polytechnics Central Admissions System Form as an insurance policy should they fail to get the grades necessary to enter university. As universities are perceived to be better than polys, many sixth formers who want to read a subject only offered at a polytechnic can feel pressured into a more traditional course at a university by teachers and parents alike. The heads of all polytechnics and colleges
will be hoping that the newly introduced Bill will begin to resolve this problem by giving all higher education establishments university status. Clive Booth, Director of Oxford Polytechnic, said that the poly was looking forward to being rechristened as a “university”. He wants readers of The Oxford Student to take note of the fact that a magnum of champagne will be awarded to the person who produces the best suggestion for a new name! Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East and Labour Higher Education Spokesperson, expressed many more doubts: “There are grave dangers in the Bill, both for the quality of education and for academic freedom.”
If Donald Trump were your Boyfriend... If Donald
Sam Sykes wants a strong man who isn’t afraid to speak his mind...
w e r e y o u r boyfriend, you’d have met him at a fancy corporate cocktail party, where all the guests owned major listed companies, dapper designer suits, and multi-storey egos. He’d saunter up to you, making that face (you know the one), enigmatic hair undulating gently in the breeze, and whisper in your ear, ‘I’m kind of a big deal.’ Those locks would feel like silky marshmallows as they brushed against your cheek, and you’d dream that night of a beautiful romantic future, of sleepovers in skyscrapers and private jet jaunts to Barbados and whispered sweet nothings by a roaring fire, in a peaceful hunting-lodge, surrounded by soothing taxidermied heads mounted on the wall.
If Donald
w e r e y o u r
boyfriend, it would be just like you’d imagined, and better. He’d take you to Paris, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires; you’d sip champagne from a shoe and puff on rich Havana cigars; he’d cradle you in his arms and fill your ears with romance. ‘I’m the nicest guy’, he’d assure you, ‘believe me.’ You would believe him, and you’d start feeling attached to your silvery chevalier. were your boyfriend, things would start getting complicated. He’d tell you not to invite your Spanish friends to his party, in case they brought drugs. Or crime. Or turned out to be rapists… When you introduced him to your friend Mahmoud, he’d tell him he was a terrorist, and try to get him deported, before telling you not to go the UK because of the dangers of radical Islam. And when you started arguing at home, he’d promise to build a wall between the two sides of the bed. y o u r b o y friend, you’d tell yourself it must just be a stunt, or some kind of elaborate joke;
If Donald
If Donald
he couldn’t be serious about this. You’d let it go, and just go back to enjoying the romantic dinners, the cruises, and the private jet flights. were your boyfriend, he’d buy up tinder and eHarmony, so he could then explain to you how he was the only man for you, because only he was independent from the romantic corporate machine. were your boyfriend, he’d tell everyone that he had two girlfriends. And that his girlfriend was the second-most beautiful girl of all time. And that all it took for him to get a girlfriend was a small loan of a million dollars from his daddy. were your boyfriend, after some investigation, you’d discover that his hair is actually a separate organism, with a rich inner mental life – a host of superb cocktail parties, teller of witty jokes, and incisive political commentator. Eventually, you’d learn that it was parasitic on the Donald’s brain, controlling it and using him to viciously satirise the modern world and celebrity culture.
If Donald If Donald If Donald
If Donald boy
If Donald
Overheard in Oxford “Is it easy to tell a pancake from a blini?”
“I sconce anyone who was rimming someone and they farted in their mouth.”
“I could definitely beat you up, I’m from Leicester mate.”
“InDesign is so wanky; you know that.”
“If I were in a police state, I would definitely rat out my neighbours.” “The French never beat us... in the Hundred Years War, the great war.” “You can tell they’re homeless from their decorum.”
Yak of the week
w e r e y o u r
friend, shortly after proposing to you, he’d demand to see your birth certificate for proof that you were a native. were your boyfriend, if you ever got pissed off with him, he’d just tell you that you had blood coming out of your eyes, blood coming out of your ears, blood coming out of your wherever. y o u r b o y friend, in the end he’d break up with you – “you’re fired!” And you’d have to pay. But you’d get out of there, and get with Bernie Sanders instead. And the two of you would live happily ever after.
If Donald
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“Interview tip: If you know you’re meeting 3 interviewers, take a 4 fingered kitkat. Take charge of distributing kitkat to emphasise leadership skills.”
Features
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Travel Prejudice in Shanghai China
Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe Features Editor Bursting with restlessness, naivety and overexcitement, a mere two weeks after finishing my A Levels, I ventured to Shanghai in pursuit of an adventure. Whilst my peers dashed off to the drug and alcohol soaked beaches of Ayia Napa and Ibiza, I had always been fascinated by the surreal complexity of Chinese culture, from its archaic traditions that flow through the hearts of the people to the hitech modernism that radiates from its infrastructure. In 2013, I embarked upon a seven week journalism internship programme and was the acting English Editor for an artsy bilingual magazine in China. Strolling down the stifling streets of Shanghai, I was taken aback by the ferocity of the crowds, the oppressive polluted air that weighed down upon me and the staggering beauty of the bold red temples alongside the cool metallic skyscrapers. Yet it appeared that many Chinese people were simply taken aback by my very presence.
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I was accosted with heckles and laughter Whilst I have never really
regarded myself as extraordinary looking, as a fivefoot-nine slim black girl with dark eyes, full lips and wavy brown hair, I certainly stood out in China. Despite being the most densely populated country in the world, China has little ethnic diversity as 91.51 percent of the 1.355 billion inhabitants belong to the Han Chinese racial group. During my time in China, wherever I walked I was accosted with heckles, laughter and pointing, as people were certainly not shy about publicly condemning my features, skin and general otherness. Worse still on public transport, with no verbal explanation granted, people would reach out and stroke any exposed part of my skin; meanwhile, I struggled to hail a taxi due to the prejudice maintained by many taxi drivers, that foreigners and particularly those of African- Caribbean descent were only out to cause trouble. Whilst I was part of a larger internship organisation, I worked individually for my designated company and commuted alone, and I found the attention I received on a daily basis distressing and isolating. Even when socialising and dining with my European housemates, I noticed the stark contrast in treatment between myself and my white peers. It appeared that my white female friends were revered for and complimented on their eyes, blonde hair and
Life abroad in the Middle Ages History
Isabelle Reuser Staff Writer
Today, Oxford is one of the most international universities in the world. Around a third of students are from abroad and they come from over 125 different countries. The University runs events for prospective applicants all over the world and once admitted, there are numerous societies that welcome and support international students.
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Wars, epidemics and crusades all left their scars on medieval life
How different the situation must have been for Emo of Friesland, widely believed to be the first international student to study at Oxford. This year, we remember his
arrival here 825 years ago from the northern part of the Netherlands. This occasion is being celebrated in Oxford throughout the year by the Oxford Dutch Society, and the celebrations started with a formal dinner at Exeter College at the end of January. Emo’s decision to travel all the way to England in order to continue his studies showed that he was both adventurous and headstrong, two qualities he needed even more later in life. After finishing his studies in Oxford he returned to Friesland, the area of his home country where he was born and raised, first working as a teacher and then becoming a parish priest. Later he founded the Bloemhof (Floridus Hortus) Monastery in the small town of Wierum, in Friesland, and became its first abbot. He spent the remaining years of his life leading and expanding the monastery. Despite several setbacks, he turned it into a thriving religious community.
their smooth pale skin whereas I was looked down upon with mocking stares. One singular moment stands out vividly in my mind. I was on a small boat, crossing the Huangpu river that slices through the expansive architecture of Shanghai and I noticed a small child stand directly in front of me with her hands on her hips. The girl faced away from me. It appeared that she was posing in front of me, as she and many others were boldly taking a photo of my sweating perplexed face as though I were an exotic animal in a zoo.
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Racism against those of African and Caribbean descent is prolific
Arguably, China has “imported” negative racial stereotypes from western cultures. Certainly, the country is awash with predominately white media and advertising campaigns whilst the beauty industry actively promotes skin altering treatments such as lightening creams, all of which give the impression that China is a country where, white is undeniably “right”. With such rigid standards of beauty, black people in particular are often seen as unattractive and undesirable. Meanwhile, historically, those with darker skin have been regarded as lower class and presumed to have little status within society. Black people are categorised into the limiting roles of criminals, namely drug dealers, or sports players. With little representation within media and politics, the voices, concerns and opinions of black people are often silenced, encouraging a reliance upon lazy and damaging racial stereotypes. Large African populations began to grow in China from the 1960s onwards when Chairman Mao introduced a policy of “third Emo’s superior knowledge of canon law played a crucial role in the founding of Bloemhof. After the inhabitants of Wierum donated their village church to the abbey Emo had joined, the Bishop of Münster challenged the legality of the gift. Emo was livid and could not accept the situation. In November 1211, he travelled all the way to Rome, in order to lodge an appeal with Pope Innocent III against the Bishop’s decision. Not many people would have started a journey like that, especially not in November because, on top of the normal dangers, it meant crossing the snowy Alps during the coldest time of year. Against all odds, Emo achieved what many must have thought was impossible: he arrived in Rome in the middle of January of the following year. He stayed in Rome for several weeks to await the Pope’s decision. Only after Innocentius had ruled in favour of Emo by deciding that his order was allowed to keep the church, the victorious Emo returned home. Even though compensation had to be paid, it meant he could incorporate the church and relocate to Wierum to set up Bloemhof. The name of the town itself was later changed into “Wittewierum”after the
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View of The Bund from Huangpu River. Image: Eugene Lim
world solidarity” in an attempt to establish close ties with developing nations. Thousands of African students were granted large educational scholarships, which caused much resentment and eventually culminated in the 1988 Nanjing Protests whereby protesters accused the African students of taking advantage of Chinese women as well as Chinese resources. As the number of foreigners in China has increased, so has the number of reported racial tensions within communities. Figures have estimated that there are up to 200,000 black people residing in China. Yet, in cities such as Guangzhou, with a high black popultion, there have been complaints of segregation between black and Chinese people, Today, the large assumption held is that anyone who is black in China has originated from Africa. Certainly, when I was asked about my nationality, I received many confused and shocked expressions when I explained that I am British, as the notion of being black and British is still a concept that is not quite understood. Overall, my experience in Shanghai was a positive one and enabled me to develop confidence, assertiveness and a greater understanding of a culture completely alien to my own. Indeed, after a week or so, I became accustomed to
the stares and began to fully embrace all that the country had to offer. The official party line in China is that racism doesn’t exist, and indeed in a country with little racial diversity it is easy to understand why such a view could be maintained. However, racism against those of African and Caribbean descent is prolific throughout the world and China is no exception. What is exceptional about China is the overt shamelessness of the racism. On some occasions, the stares and pointing had a brutal and unfriendly undertone, but on other occasions, I felt like genuine curiosity was the driving force. Although being subject to endless questions and feeling as though I was suddenly a representative for my entire race was draining, for me, it indicated a real interest, in me as an individual and as a black woman living in Britain. Arguably, such open racism could make it easier to confront racial misconceptions and spark discussion, all of which will ultimately alter perceptions for the better. Relatively speaking, perhaps this is easier than confronting the embedded historical and institutionalised racism of Western countries that often shrouds the unavoidable truth by falsely promoting themselves as exemplars of liberal, equal and accepting societies.
white (“witte”) habit of the monks. Detailed information about this perilous journey has survived because a fascinating account of this expedition is included in the Cronica Floridi Horti, a chronicle that Emo wrote about Bloemhof. Reading about the conflict, one cannot help but be impressed by his courage to fight for what he believed was right.
harvests, conflicts and crusades all left their scars on the battle of medieval life. According to the chronicle, daily life was often hard and the struggle against nature, such as the big flood of 1219 that devastated substantial parts of Friesland, was never-ending. It also touches on the wider political situation in Europe and contains invaluable information about the participation of the Frisians in the 1217 crusade. However, probably the most interesting parts of the cronica are those in which Emo gives an insight into his own actions and motives. By reflecting regularly on topics like religion, virtue and guilt, he creates an intimate picture of this interesting era of the Middle Ages, of which we know too little today. Emo’s journey to Oxford paved the way for other international students in years to follow and this year there are more than 7,000 students from abroad in Oxford. Just like Emo, they come here not only to study but to learn about new perspectives and ideas and to submerge themselves into a new culture. For many, the road to Oxford hasn’t been an easy one, and many yet go on to achieve exceptional things. Maybe not that much has changed at all.
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Emo’s journey to Oxford paved the way for future international students The chronicle was continued by Menko, the next Abbot, who regarded his predecessor as a brilliant scholar and viewed him as one of the most learned men of Friesland. Emo’s time in Oxford, where he was able to mingle with the best and brightest of his contemporaries, undoubtedly contributed to his reputation as a homo universalis. A handwritten copy of the chronicle, in Medieval Latin, has survived centuries of wars, floods and fires and can still be found in Groningen’s University library. Wars, epidemics, storms, failed
Features
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Food
No beef - life as a vegan in Oxford Fossey Mettam Staff Writer
I am walking home at 2am and I see a bright light. There are only three things that radiate such comfort: my bed, one of my friends, and a food truck. At 2am it is usually the latter. Hassan’s Kebab Van is a staple for early morning cravings, whether they are from late night working or late night dancing. I, like most people, have stood in line for almost half an hour, making new friends and anticipating the first bites of falafel and chips. As a vegan, many ingredients, dishes, and restaurants have been deleted from the list of possible options. Falafel, however, is an accessible, simple, cheap, and (sometimes) healthy choice I have found everywhere I have travelled. I get to the front of the line and order the usual: falafel and humus and a portion of chips. The falafel is classic, heavy and satisfying, and every chip is cooked to a crunch (though I would recommend avoiding Hassan’s mysteriously translucent and sweet ketchup and grabbing some from anywhere else open). It is the the perfect meal for
double cheeseburgers served at multiple vegan fast food restaurants, and the raspberry, strawberry, and peanut butter cheesecakes eaten at extravagant birthday dinners. Cooking, eating, and exploring food is a way, my favorite way, to experience any new city or country. Though finding food that fits dietary restrictions can seem daunting and prohibitive, vegan food, as well as gluten-free and allergy-specific foods, are becoming more widely available.
anyone hungry and in a fatigued delirium, easy to carry back to your room or on an adventure through the streets of the city centre. If you are looking for a falafel fix in the daytime, go to Najar’s Place. Simply put, the blue kiosk on St. Giles’ street serves the most delicious falafel I have ever tasted.The ultimate falafel is fried crispy on the outside and then warm, soft and fluffy in the middle. Najar’s is exactly that. You start with the base of hummus, sauce (the chili sauce is hot but worth it if your sinuses are strong enough), and a layer of crushed falafel. Next you add toppings. The choices are endless but my personal favorites are roast peppers and potatoes, cauliflower and aubergine, and baba ghanoush and sun-dried tomatoes. Every topping is uniquely spiced but complementary. Finally, the wrap is sprinkled with salad and tomatoes, folded, and baked to a toasty light brown. The only way Najar could make his place better is to add a dairy-free milkshake (wink wink!). I am a visiting student from a college near New York City, the city that never sleeps and always eats. I have been spoiled by the bacon
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waiting in. The smoothies can provide a much needed fruit fix while the milkshakes are simultaneously refreshing and indulgent. Nash’s Oxford Bakery A part of the covered market since 1955, Nash’s provides freshly baked breads, cakes and pastries. A great option for a snack on the go or to stock up for a picnic or long library stint (preferably the former). Oxford Café Perhaps the most modern and chic of the covered market’s cafés. It may lack the character of Georgina’s or Brown’s but the food is good value for money and the iced coffee is well worth trying. Pieminister No one should attempt to gentrify pie and mash. They just shouldn’t. Unless they’re going to do it this well. Every pie is a clever twist on a classic and can be enjoyed in the shop or taken away. A little expensive but with student discount and “Mothership Tuesday” savings, it can be made affordable. Sasi’s Thai Good value Thai food is available every day from Sasi’s. For those inclined to try and recreate some real Thai dishes at home they are also the go-to for ingredients. Sophi de France Oxford may be awash with sandwich shops but Sophi de France holds its own against the likes of Taylor’s and ATS. The baguettes are fresh and the fillings are straightforward and unpretentious. Unlike the aforementioned
competition, you can easily sit in or take away and wander around the covered market while you eat.
The falafel is classic, heavy and satisfying Oxford has many more vegan and vegetarian options than I expected. But vegan food is not just made for or eaten by vegans. There are many unlikely foods from restaurants and grocery stores that can and are being eaten by anyone: falafel, salads (Pret à Manger’s falafel salad with squash and lemon is quick and wholesome), veggie burgers, pastas, vegetable dishes, and, on the other end of the spectrum, Oreos, certain doughnuts at the Co-op, and cupcakes from Green’s Café. The list goes on. I have been vegan for about a year and a half. I have been vegetarian my entire life.The transition was difficult but, with education about nutrition, substitutions, and new, inventive food combinations and technology (cashew cheese, anyone?), eating in a way that takes into account the lives of animals and the state of the environment has never been easier than it is today.
Oxford Markets Review Jamie Russell
Deputy Features Editor Oxford has a vibrant street food scene, and not just when the Bitten Street market is in town. The covered market presents a myriad of cafés and food outlets while the Wednesday Gloucester Green market is a great opportunity to experience exciting, international cuisine. Covered Market Alpha Bar Catering to all vegan and veggie tastes with sandwiches, salads and hot food. Ideal for those tired of the generic offerings of hummus and falafel in supermarket meal deals. Ben’s Cookies I don’t know who Ben is or in which of his 26 small shops he resides but one thing is certain: he makes delicious, chunky cookies. They’re great when you want to treat someone, especially when that someone is you. Brown’s Café An old-fashioned but thoroughly pleasant café by the Market Street entrance. This is the ideal place for a fry up after a long night or at the beginning of a long day. Georgina’s Coffee Shop A cosy coffee shop hidden at the top of a narrow flight of stairs. If it isn’t too full, it can provide a great place to while away an afternoon with a coffee and a bagel. Moo-Moo’s The lengthy queue on a hot summer’s day speaks volumes about Moo-Moo’s and is well worth
Gloucester Green Authentic Spanish Food This one is (as the saying goes) what it says on the tin, or in this case the paella pan. The paella is consistently mouth-watering and makes for a wholesome and filling lunch. Flavours of Goa Distinctive and flavoursome curries, served as they are by street vendors in Goa. The food here really is a world away from the anglicised versions of curries which are often served in the UK with a focus on rice fish and vegetables that one would be hard pressed to find in most Indian restaurants. From Peru to You Peruvian cuisine is hugely varied, reflecting a wide variety of influences from the different regions of the country as well as settlers who have come and gone. From Peru to You serves the best selection of these delicacies that can be expected of a market stall and is the perfect way to sample a cuisine which is largely underrepresented. Greek Souvlaki Thought to predate the kebab by around 3000 years these tasty grilled meats have stood the test of time. Recently this historic street food has become available at Gloucester Green and is probably one of the easiest dishes on offer for those eating on the go. Goulash
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Cook once, eat for a week: German stews Hannah Behrens Staff Writer
My favourite foods are kale, turnip, and savoy stew, as they are foods that remind me of home. But they are also healthy, cheap, and easy, and can last you a week In winter the traditional German kitchen is dominated by oneweek stews. They are based on a vegetable that is hard or fibrous, like kale, turnip, or savoy, which is then cooked for a very long time so it will soften and release its flavours. Day after day the stew gets better, so there is no danger of getting sick of it during the week that it will last you. But just in case, it is also possible to freeze them. All of these dishes contain meat, to enhance the flavour of the stew, and it is truly magnificent when all the ingredients combine to form one overwhelming flavour. However, the amount of meat is rather small compared to the vegetable portion. For kale and turnip, traditionally cured and smoked pork loin is used, which is hard to get around here. Uncured meat, bacon, or salami work just as well though. For savoy, minced or diced beef is used. Here is what you do. On a Saturday morning fry the onion, add all the ingredients to the pot, set it to the lowest heat and go back to bed. Leave the stew to cook
for at least 3 hours (but really the longer the better). You can then enjoy one portion per day and do not need to cook for the rest of the week. If you want to have some of the meat every day, make sure always to leave something in, so that the flavours can continue to combine. Or have a feast on Friday and eat vegetarian until then. Or if you are vegetarian, you can give the meat to a friend or leave it out, although I do not recommend that. Traditionally all these stews are served with potatoes.This is because pasta and rice were unknown in northern Germany when these recipes evolved. I recommend you stick with that tradition because it is definitely a tasty one. Kale: 1 onion, 1 kg kale in small pieces (use blender), 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp mustard, 1 hand full of oats, 2 steaks of pork loin or equivalent, salt, pepper. Cook potatoes separately. Turnip: 1 onion,500g turnip,500g potatoes, 200g carrots, all veggies diced, 700ml stock, 2 steaks of pork loin or equivalent, salt, pepper. Savoy: 1 onion, 1 savoy cabbage (roughly 700g in stripes), 500 g potatoes (diced), 1L stock, 300500g beef mince or diced, salt pepper. If you like, add crème fraiche, muscat, or caraway. If you use minced meat, fry it with the onions or roll it into little balls and cook it.
Image: Hannah Behrens
Feeling Hungary? This spicy stew is a filling winter-warmer. Portion sizes are also generous and the service is always good. Gyoza and Buns Gyoza and Buns have recently expanded their range to include sushi and a variety of other delights (the octopus balls are great). They offer a range of traditional condiments and while the rice vinegar is a must the chilli vinegar should be treated with respect, even by the most avid spice fans. Momo King Very traditional Nepalese curries with tender stewed meats and
subtle spices. Anyone who enjoys the food at Yeti is in for a real treat when they pay Momo King a visit. Mum’s Kitchen Noodle Nation is unlikely to be happy about this stall setting up right outside every Wednesday. The crowds at the market beg to differ though and have come to love their rice noodles and Chinese dishes (not to mention their prices). Pad Thai Quick, traditional and delicious. Pad Thai has continued to go from strength to strength at Gloucester Green market even with the opening of Thaikhun just around the corner.
Features
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Lifestyle SASI Society: socialising when you’re shy Miranda Reilly
Staff Writer Last term, I founded the SASI (Social Anxiety, Shyness and Introversion) Society. Yes, it is supposed to sound “sassy”. It’s a society for students who feel that they identify with any, or all, of the above. SASI is not primarily a support or self-help group, although I’m certainly planning to collaborate with Mind Your Head or peer supporters in future welfare events, but rather a club to provide alternative ways to socialise.
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SASI is a club to provide alternative ways to socialise
For readers unaware of the differences between social anxiety and shyness, these are not synonyms. While there can be overlap, someone can be shy but not
have social anxiety or someone can have social anxiety but not be shy. I’m not sure where the distinction between these two lies in myself; it varies a lot from person to person. For this reason, I run a variety of different events so people can pick and choose what’s right for them, as well as what appeals to their personality. The idea of SASI was sparked by my own needs. University is a hyper-social culture. A lot of students enjoy having the freedom to host parties late into the night, go out clubbing and visit societies bursting with people who share a hobby. For me, these things are pretty terrifying. I spent a lot of my first term at Oxford hiding in my room. I would feel anxious about leaving my room to use the bathroom in case someone said “hi” to me. What would happen? Well, I would say “hi” and that would be it. Phobias aren’t rational. This term things are a lot easier. I’ve got to know my fellow English
students well and everyone I’ve met is incredibly supportive and tolerant. But a lot of social situations always have and always will overwhelm me. With SASI, however, the idea is to allow socialising with less pressure. Everyone at the events can relate at least a little to how you feel and, although we have quite a few members in our Facebook group, events so far have been small, with only a handful of students, so it’s nice and cosy. Every weekend I run a general session with board games and snacks and on weekdays I organise an additional event such as museum trips and movie nights. If the society continues to be a success, I’ll soon be looking into funding and having a stall at the Freshers’ Fair. As Freshers’ Week is especially overwhelming, I think it’s extremely important to have a presence there for new students. While I initially made the society for myself, I’ve been touched by the positive impact it has had on others and this has made me determined to continue. So to finish, I’d like to share another member’s, Alan Hua Shen’s, thoughts on SASI: “As a concept for a society, I think something like SASI is ingenious, but furthermore, really vital at university. It caters to a group of people, like myself, who might ordinarily have trouble finding some commitment at university, or staying proactive in day-to-day activities. When introducing it to a friend, they dubbed it the antithesis of what the word “club” brings to mind, but it’s because of this that I feel it is all the more necessary, and I was very surprised and impressed to hear that it had only been established in Michaelmas term!
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Image: SASI Society; Miranda Reilly
“For me personally, I have been living for a while now within a mental grey area – I’ve had no formal therapy or diagnoses, yet I am painfully aware of how disruptive my social anxiety and shyness has become in so many aspects of my daily life: going out to dinner, to societies, to lectures, clubbing (or rather, not going to these). It’s clear to me that ignoring the issue does no good, and to me, SASI is a relaxed and enjoyable way of easing myself comfortably into social interaction. Everybody may draw different benefits from SASI, but for me the simple sessions of board games and casual discussion are almost like a kind of informal therapy. It has got second term at Oxford off to a much brighter start
than the first.
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For me, the simple sessions are almost like a kind of informal therapy “I hope the society continues to grow in size and recognition in the future; the feeling of being in a subculture surrounded by people who understand and acknowledge your social anxiety, shyness, or introversion is, in my opinion, quite priceless.” Find SASI Society (Oxford) on Facebook or email miranda.reilly@ hertford.ox.ac.uk. for infomation.
Taxidermy, single people and a bunch of mirrors Vincent Chabany Staff Writer
If you have ever seen taxidermied animals, you are likely to have been struck by the eyes and their capacity to look animated. This may be a trick of the light, but it arouses an uncanny feeling that something cannot be so dead and yet so alive. It is said that in Victorian times, to secure the illusion, they placed small mirrors in the eye socket. In effect, we all wish to be mirrored. Think of Freshers’ Week. When you asked banal questions, such as “where are you from?” or “what do you study?”, the action was twofold. You were interested in getting to know people, but also in testing out potential similarities. You might wonder, when you asked about seventy strangers where they came from - did you actually care whether that curly-haired boy came from Southampton, or that tall pale girl from South Dakota, or were you just looking for someone who came from a place that you knew? The need for mirroring is an instinctive one, and has only grown with time. Think of the Jennifer Lawrence era. What made her so of-the-moment, the true it-girl? The answer lies in Lawrence’s calculated effort to establish herself as relatable. Compulsively talking about the pleasure of food, drinking, and her similarly compulsive tripping branded her the everywoman we felt was more likely to hang out with us after work
with some chips than say, Gwyneth Paltrow, who would probably just criticise my sheet-folding method and force me to buy her overpriced garbage. Think of the number of “relatable” Twitter or Instagram accounts that seek to gather as many people as possible under an umbrella of common concerns and shortcomings, defusing the pejorative potential of issues such as procrastination. This is a symptom of greater need for community, and fosters the idea of the importance of tight emotional bonds. Romantic relations especially are tending towards this mirroring. The trend of couples who are as one is now prevalent: Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother; Brad and Jane in the criminally underrated Happy Ending; Annie and Jake in the short-lived Marry Me.
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Romantic relations are tending towards mirroring
These couples follow the same pattern of total fusion. They are similar in their quirks and unique habits, and when they differ, it is rarely on anything crucial, but rather serves as a reminder of how much they love each other, but also of how much they make each other better. They are fusional to a fault, although rarely presented as such, even
though I faintly recall one particularly disturbing visual in which Ted pictures Marshall and Lily as one grotesque entity instead of two separate people. They also share a need to deglamorise romantic relations, both to be more relatable to the audience, and also to display the fact that their life as a couple knows no bound, not physical (the bathroom), or emotional (there are no secrets between them). The couple is everything, and one without the other does not make sense, and in many ways, it constitutes the final line of the building of identity. I do not seek to question what constitutes a functional couple. What I do seek to question is what these couples say about our vision of love and affection. My theory is that it betrays a growing conceptualisation of romance as a unique point of reference due to the intensity of the mirroring it operates on us. The reasons for this would take too long to explain, but it can probably be attributed to the importance early societies placed on familial units as well as a later development of our society of trauma. I never questioned this understanding of a couple as a sort of personal vector to find one’s identity until I had a certain realisation. We all have a nebulous and heavily glossed-over projection of ourselves in a long-term relationship. Some exercise the fantasy of holding hands with respective rocking chairs, some imagine themselves nursing imaginary children,some restock some
future pantry for a romantic dinner. Perhaps I am the only one who does this, and if I am, I will deny writing this whole article. But sometimes, as I take walks in my hometown of Paris, or cook dinner, I find myself wondering what would change were I to have a partner by my side, what I would point out, or what I would present and prioritize. In effect, these small fantasies, that in no way betray my touch-andgo sanity, purely express a desire to heighten the experience of pleasant occurrences in my life. But what is interesting is how I approach this task: through the gaze of a romantic partner sublimating the mundane. A pattern of thought surfaced. I tended to consider things I do in romantic relationships as performance, but what I do in between relationships as rehearsal, as if the audience of a partner could make me real. The eyes I imagined floating in this imaginary partner’s face, they were not real, but a product of taxidermy. What interested me was not the life inside of them, but rather their potential for total reflectiveness. The real question lies in why one longs for romantic relationships. Is there a schematic person-shaped hole in your heart, and would you cram anything in there? In the end, what you are looking for is taxidermy. It might look very, very real, and is domesticated so that you can approach it without fear. Taxidermy is often enclosed in glass cases. This is done because if you
come too close, you start to see the stitches and tricks. The performance falls to pieces, and you understand that what you see is not real.
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The performance falls to pieces, and you understand that what you see is not real
The need for connecting, for mirroring, is a vital and primordial one, and I believe that any advice that hinges on the construction of emotional independence is not only unrealistic, but if applied comes closer to sociopathy than anything else. But much like my mother would point out, it can come from other sources. Friendships are often seen as placeholders for a romantic denouement, but this does not have to be so. Would you cook dinner for your boyfriend? Then cook dinner for your friends. If you are looking for an audience to make your actions real, you have one. You are just performing in the wrong part of town. Pick up your bags and your tricks, and change venue. As you act out your sense of self, you will find a special kind of twinkle. It will not only be mirrors, you will not only feel real, but there will be a trick of light no taxidermist can operate. And it will be love, not imagined, but experienced.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Oxford Sport
In brief...
Blame the Premier League clubs, not China Adam Hilsenrath Sport Editor
Another mixed bag for hockey teams The blues hockey teams continued their patchy start to the new term, with both the men’s and women’ teams losing to the University of Exeter. Playing in the BUCS League, the women’s team lost 3-2 following a sluggish start in the first half, and while their match was fortunately only a friendly, the men’s blues were thoroughly outclassed throughout the game, losing by a final margin of 8-3.
Men’s squash teams continue their dominance With their crushing 5-0 win over Loughborough men’s thirds, Oxford’s men’s squash firsts cemented their comfortable lead at the top of the Midlands 1A League. With ten wins from a possible ten, the team hold a colossal 38 point lead over their closest rivals, the Birmingham seconds.
Women’s rugby avenge Varsity loss
As the football cuppers begins to move towards climax, the rugby iteration of the tournament is only just beginning. Round 1 In their first meeting with matches will be played the Cambridge since overther course of theat next few weeks thumping Twickenham, with most of the big clawed beasts the women’s blues of college rugby (last years back their pride, defeating finalists Kebleblue and rivals St Edmund their light in a Hall) the tight, receiving defensive byes gameto that second finishedround. 3-0 to Oxford. The injury-hit men’s blues were less successful, losing 28-10 to the Welsh Crawshays on Wednesday.
Successful week for football teams Despite the men’s blues suffering a 1-0 defeat in a cagey match against Cambridge, the university football teams had a dominant week, capped by the women’s blues 7-0 victory over the University of Northampton. The Centaurs begun their rise up the BUCS table with a 3-1 victory over Warwick, whilst the Colts ground out a 1-0 victory away at the University of Leicester.
Last Friday Arsene Wenger came out to warn that the television deal worth over £8billion to the Premier League and its clubs is likely to be entirely reinvested in players, with fans, who are particularly concerned with ticket pricing, facing no financial benefit. This came after ten days in which the Chinese Super League transfer record was broken three times, with a total of £94m spent on Ramires (£25m), Jackson Martinez (£31m) and Alex Teixeira (£38m), the last of whom was apparently taken away from an interested Liverpool. The Merseyside club have also been at the centre of attention when it comes to club finances and fans’ financial rewards; following the announcement that the highest priced tickets in the new main stand will increase from £59 to £77, Liverpool fans planned a walkout protest in the 77th minute against Sunderland at Anfield. The protest was supported by both the “Spion Kop 1906” and “Spirit of Shankly“ fan groups.
The first £100m transfer target may only be a couple of years away The massively increased Chinese spending was spurred on by their apparent footballfan President Xi Jinping, who released a 50-point plan to create, in China, a booming sport economy. As a result, investments in Chinese football have rocketed, culminating in the ever advancing record transfers; China’s average transfer fee is about £3.3m per player, compared with an overall average of £1.57. Regardless of whether this spending increases or not in China alone, there is a marked global trend for increased transfer fees, and has been almost exponentially for decades. Gareth Bale’s price tag in 2013 of just over £85m is the current world record, when just 15 years’ prior, the record had been £21.5m for Denilson from Sao Paulo to Real Betis. The world record for a transfer fee only passed the £50m mark with Kaka in his move from A.C. Milan to Real Madrid in 2009, but in the mere seven years since there have been fourteen such
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the growing levels of spending on players; in a competitive and increasingly wealthy market, any institution that limits its spending will simply fall behind. Clubs that do not have the prestige, history, or current standing to attract the top players in that capacity often have to rely on lucrative contracts and fees.
Arsenal sell the most expensive tickets in the league, at £97 The Premier League may have an increased television revenue of £8bn, and the top clubs may receive somewhat of a lion’s share, but they have all got enlarged spending requirements which brings us back to the issue of fan tickets. Yes, Premier League clubs need their money to pay for demanding transfer tags and wages, however there are degrees of necessity. Wenger might apologise in advance for the lamentable need for the broadcast deal revenue, but his Arsenal sell the most expensive tickets in the league, with their £97 match-day tickets and £2,013 season tickets the costliest in their respective fields. Indeed, the cheapest season
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ticket to watch the Gunners cannot be matched by any season ticket outside of the capital. The need to spend more can, as some clubs are showing, be addressed through increased broadcasting revenues rather than having it offloaded, at least partially, onto fans. Leicester, despite leading the table, proudly sell the cheapest of match-day tickets, and for those cynics pointing out that when those prices were set Leicester were predicted relegation battlers, it should be pointed out that the cheapest season ticket is to be found at Stoke, who are not only far from relegation candidates but have spent amply in the past couple of transfer windows. It is not the case that clubs need to hike up ticket prices to match transfer fees, as seems to be happening with Liverpool’s match-day tickets next season. Nonetheless, fans should be appreciative, and the footballing world must surely be aware by now, that to stay competitive in such a hugely lucrative industry, spending is going to keep increasing. The first £100m transfer targets may only be a couple of years away; it will be up to the clubs involved how much fans will pay for the future record-breakers.
Teixeira broke the Chinese transfer record with his big money move from Shaktar. Image: Aleksandr Osipov
Town vs Gown 2016: A Review Continued from back page
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moves, ten of which were signed in the last three years. Whether or not people like the ever-increasing cost of sport due to the notion that teams are being bought (as was a common criticism of Chelsea in the early Abramovic era, and of Manchester City when first bought by Sheikh Mansour and his consortium), this is a trend that is likely to continue with or without China. In this respect Wenger was perhaps being disingenuous when he blamed the unlikeliness of Premier League clubs to pass television revenue onto its fans purely on the Chinese spending growth; it is a global issue. However, there is an argument to suggest that the clubs have a point; if additional money is simply stored, given to fans, or spent in any way other than on the increasing price tags on players, then they will simply be unable to compete. This goes for clubs on every level of the footballing pyramid, since price tags have risen for lower-tiered players just as they have for those on a world-class level. Just think of Jordan Rhodes transfer between Championship clubs Blackburn and Middlesbrough for £9m. No individual club has the capability to simply slow down
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the fireworks of the bouts before it, but perhaps necessary, in that it allowed the reddish tinge that had become visible on the canvas to dissolve. The judge’s scorecards were not even required for the next fight, with novice boxer Tom Scott beating Bristol boxer
Jack Moraine at 81kg. Scott had appeared to be tempting fate, or at least disappointment, by coming out to the Rocky soundtrack, yet he engineered a virtuoso offensive performance, with the referee calling halt to the bout midway through the second round, though it was perhaps surprising that the fight wasn’t stopped far earlier. As
the evening carried on, the early volatility of the fights subsided into something decidedly more technical, with novice Enzo Frater narrowly losing his heavyweight bout, and wins for Noah Viner and OUABC captain Matt McFahn. Ultimately, one should not read too much into the individual results of the
event, considering its primary function was to serve as the precursor to Varsity. Nonetheless, both the technical ability and competitiveness shown by the OUABC fighters’ proved that they stand in good stead for the matchup on the 5th of March, as they seek to avenge their 6-3 loss to Cambridge last year.
The Oxford Student | Friday 12th February 2016
Mechanical doping threatens the cycling world Jack Evans Staff Writer
The cycling world has been rocked by news that one of their athletes has been caught mechanically doping for the first time. In what is yet another blow to the scandalsuffering sport, at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium on 30th January, a motor was found in Femke Van de Driessche’s bike. The Belgian and European champion was competing in the Under 23 women’s race. Despite allegations that mechanical doping has permeated to the lower levels of amateur cycling, and so could even have affected Oxfordshire cycling, many industry members and cyclists have rubbished suggestions that amateur riders have the means and incentive to use motors in competition. Suspicions that elite riders have been committing what the sport’s governing body (UCI) calls “mechanical fraud” have led to the introduction of random bike checks after races. One of these tests detected the motor in one of Van de Driessche’s bike. At first, she denied allegations of cheating, claiming that the mechanics who had checked her bike must have been mistaken. She then said that the offending bike was not hers; she had sold it to a friend who had placed it next to her other bikes. Her friend has since admitted to ownership of the bike. For their part, the UCI have confirmed that a motor was found and that investigations are on going.
Although Van de Driessche is the first rider to have been caught mechanically doping, rumours of the practice surfaced back in 2010. A YouTube video released that year, which has now been watched millions of times, showed a road bike fitted with a motor, and implied Fabian Cancellera had used a similar mechanism to win two of cycling’s biggest one-day races (The Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix) in the spring. The video called into question how Cancellera had managed to irresistibly power away his pursuers whilst in the saddle. He was said to be operating the motor with a switch located to the side of the brake hoods. Cancellera rubbished the allegations, as did much of the cycling community who pointed out that he was no bolt from the blue; he was a proven champion. A journalist, who saw the bike in question the night before the race, said that its seat tube was too narrow to house a motor. Nonetheless, from this point on, the UCI started testing for mechanical doping. This extra testing rankled some members of the peloton, who considered the practice unnecessary. Multiple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, also subject to (unproven) allegations of mechanical doping, said it was “science fiction” that bikes were being fitted with motors: a comment he will regret in light of recent events. Now that mechanical doping has been detected, the question remains whether it is widespread. Pessimists
fear that it could be on a par with the levels of systematic doping in the Armstrong era from the mid nineties to the mid noughties. The majority (including Froome and Wiggins), however, imagine that the practice is not so prevalent, but could have been going on for years. Allegations that professionals are cheating are one thing; that amateurs are repeating the act is another. I quizzed the University Cycling Club on the prevalence of mechanical doping in amateur ranks. Press Officer Angus Fisk was quick to condemn the practice: “we are strongly against cheating in all its forms, mechanical, drugs, help from organisers, anything that makes the competition unfair. We look forward to seeing the sanctions brought against the rider, and her entourage, that were caught last week with a motor in one of her bikes at the Cyclocross world championships”. With regards to the amateur ranks, he said that there has understandably not been the same level of speculation as at professional level, “however in the amateur and domestic scene in the UK, testing isn’t as rigorous, therefore there is a chance people have been getting away with it”. He drew attention to “rumours concerning what is called “sportive” or “gran fondo” rides, long organised rides that have no official competition but like any situation where you put a bunch of fit competitive people together, usually have people trying to be the first … there is no form of doping control, for drugs or motors. Based upon
absolutely no evidence whatsoever people have been saying that since there is no risk of getting caught, that’s where motors are likely to be used. I don’t know how accurate that is but that’s what’s been flying around”. Despite the cost of the motors being prohibitive for most people, he indicated that some wealthy members of the cycling community have the means. A bike mechanic I spoke to echoed these views. He imagined that the cost of acquiring and fitting a motor is around £1000; well within reach of some cyclists spending several thousands on the bike itself, in his view. However, he told me that there are suspicions of motor usage in local time trials, which are official competitions unlike sportives. Other conversations I had paint a different picture. Luis Tulip, from Beeline Bicycles, told me that “half the people road-racing in Oxfordshire bring their bikes
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in here, so we’d know if they were using motors”. He rubbished claims that motors could be acquired for £1000 and estimated the cost to be six figures. Nonetheless, he did acknowledge that testing for motors is non-existent except at the highest amateur levels. Another bike mechanic nuanced the issue further. Despite being in the trade for decades, he had not heard of mechanical doping until recently. He did however think that a tiny motor hidden at the bottom of the seat tube would be virtually undetectable and hugely effective. At this stage, the cycling world is uncertain whether mechanical doping is epidemic. If it is even a fraction as widespread as chemical doping was, the sport will be plunged into a scandal that could inflict irrevocable reputational damage. Given professional cycling’s dependence on sponsorship, the fallout from a scandal in the public sphere could
Cycling faces a sponsorship crisis due to its continued doping issues. Image: Wladyslaw
Football Manager: a way of life for a generation Tristan Wilson Art and Lit Editor
It is approximately four and a half years since I received my first copy of the legendary game, Football Manager. 2400 beautiful hours of play-time later, I am a veteran of the franchise, but the eagerness shows no signs of abating. Each all-conquering Arsenal side, constructed lovingly with every new edition of the game, has contained footballing luminaries from 2012’s indomitable Marouane Fellaini, through to 2014’s in fashion leftand right-wing pairing of Julian Draxler and Marco Reus (move over Cameron and Corbyn) and all the way to a 2016 midfield centred around the might of Paul Pogba. Sprinkle in a few absurdly talented regenerated players – think an Egyptian forward plucked from obscurity for his cultured left foot going on to shatter Thierry Henry’s goalscoring record by age 23 – and you have the therapeutic side of FM nailed down, your unstoppable behemoth of a side, with more world class players than I now have friends, excoriating the pitiful wastrels put in front of them by now irrelevant footballing sinkholes known only as ‘Spurs’ or ‘Chelsea’. The other side to FM, however,
is certainly the more rewarding one. Like most Arsenal fans, I hail from Surrey, and so Woking FC – featured on the most recent adverts for the game after it provided the stimulus for a group of Dutch players to come and watch us in real life – were my original longterm project, back in the heady days of study leave for GCSEs. Investing heavily in scouting, meticulously trawling the Croatian second division for latent potential, and enduring no small measure of play-off heartbreak, the famous Cards gradually ascended the rungs of the footballing ladder, until a Thorgan Hazard inspired side was shocking the likes of Manchester City on their home ground, with incisive counter-attacking football and the classic near post flick-on tactic. When the next edition of the game emerged, I began to turn my attention to foreign clubs; I couldn’t summon up the same raw passion as my brother, however, a passion which manifests itself rather strongly in physical action. Football Manager can be a cruel mistress, as the eventually-replaced glass panels on our front door, our gaffer-taped computer screen and my crippled hole-puncher will attest to. It’s a wonder none of us have been killed. It proved to be all worth it though, when on a family holiday to
Football Manager can be a cruel mistress Copenhagen, we were able to cross the bridge to Malmo, where my brother had virtually managed FC Rosengard, a club located in the most deprived, dangerous and racially divided district in the whole of Western Europe; apparently, we were the first tourists ever to go there. My brother kissed the turf at the gleaming 1,500 capacity stadium, and even spoke to a bemused youth coach in his inchoate Bosnian. I’d like to say we barely escaped with our lives, but the reality was that the people we met were some of the friendliest we’ve met abroad, and it was FM that was the catalyst for that goodnatured interaction, proving that it is not the social murder weapon which it is sometimes claimed to be. It must be said, however, that the game does seem to cater very well to a particular kind of ‘quirky’ personality which me and my brother have in common. I, like any self-respecting FM player, provide my own commentary when playing – even when it has to be internalised, like in the college library, and displeasure
expressed with a vengeful crushing of a nearby book. My brother is rather more eccentric in his habits, often donning a suit before cup finals, or playing the Champions League anthem before European fixtures; sometimes I have been roused from my work to give him a (usually fiery) post-match interview, particularly when the decisions don’t go his way. All in all, Football Manager is often seen as a haven for uncoordinated yet sport-obsessed geeks, fixated with the minutiae of management from day-to-day, sitting at a computer to avoid
exposing their lack of real sporting ability – and for anyone who has ever seen me try to do stepovers to beat my man, they could well corroborate this impression in my own case. But at its heart, the game is a cult phenomenon that has brought people together in geekery and simulated joy – as well as providing a uniquely eccentric basis for choosing holiday excursions: my brother will probably end up going to Greenock (in Scotland), Sint-Truiden (Belgium) and Vigo (Spain) before even setting foot in the home ground of his beloved Newcastle United.
Football Manager allows the virtual fulfilment of every fan’s dream Image: Benjamin Burns
Mechanical doping scandal Jack Evans, Page 39 Image: Wladyslaw
Transfer fees and ticket prices Adam Hilsenrath, page 38 Image: Aleksander Olipov
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OUABC excite in Town vs Gown fixture Ned Walker Sports Editor
The women’s blues team celebrate after an emphatic win over Oxford Brookes. Image: Tina Gough
Women’s blues shine under the lights of Iffley Road Adam Wills Staff Writer Chantal Paine, Tina Gough and Sonia Curtis all bagged a brace each as Oxford Women’s Football Blues emphatically beat Brookes Women’s 1sts 6-0 in the third Annual Brookes Varsity Match. It was a cold, windy Friday night in Oxford at the Iffley Road Football Stadium, but that did not stop the Women’s Football Blues from producing a scintillating display of free-flowing passing football to earn an emphatic victory over their local rivals. Last year’s fixture ended in a 0-0 draw, but there was no chance of there being a repeat of that this year, with Oxford dominating throughout the game. Oxford began the game brightly and were ahead after just fifteen minutes. Good pressure from the Oxford strikers forced Brookes centre back Watson into scuffing her clearance and Chantal Paine pounced, picking the ball up and
slotting it past the goalkeeper to put Oxford 1-0 up. From then on the result was never in doubt and Oxford extended their lead just a few minutes later with the pick of the night’s goals. Captain Colleen Lopez, who had a brilliant game in midfield, played a delightful backheel to striker Tina Gough who beat the keeper with her twenty-yard curling strike into the bottom right corner. It became apparent at this point that there was a gulf in class between the two teams. Oxford were playing with confidence and composure and consistently looked a threat, with Helen Bridgman controlling the play from the centre of midfield, and the lively crowd did not have to wait long for the third goal. Lopez, looking dangerous as always, won a corner, which was cleared, but winger Sonia Curtis crossed the ball back into the box and Paine reacted quickest after Brookes failed to clear to score her second of the night.
It became apparent that there was a gulf in class between the two teams An almost perfect first half ended on a somewhat sour note, however, as Oxford’s goalkeeper Kirstin
Anderson was forced off injured after a collision with the Brookes striker as she bravely came out to stop Brookes scoring on a counter attack in what was their best chance of the first half. Anderson was replaced by May Martin, who proved to be a perfectly capable replacement and never looked like conceding, though she admittedly had little to do – Oxford’s back four were solid throughout the game, with centre back Anna Green putting in an especially good performance. The second half continued in much the same vein as the first with Oxford playing tantalising, passing football and in less than ten minutes since the restart of play, Oxford were 4-0 up. The move began with superb play from Bridgman down the right flank as she skipped with ease past three Brookes defenders before cutting the ball back to Gough, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net for her second of the night. Oxford’s women were clearly enjoying themselves on the pitch and exuded confidence as they continued to dominate the game and the fifth goal came on the 60 minute mark, after a mix-up between the Brookes goalkeeper and defenders left Curtis free to poke the ball into back of the net. Curtis was on the scoresheet once again, as she battled past the increasingly lagging Brookes defence to go through one-on-
one with the goalkeeper. Though her initial shot was saved, Curtis scored the rebound to complete a resounding victory for Oxford. Brookes, to their credit, did not give up, and the last ten minutes of the match was their best spell of the game. Their striker Amy Cairns had two good chances, but did not trouble Martin in goal as she failed to hit the target with either of her shots. The final whistle then blew to bring to an end a fine performance by Oxford. Oxford captain for the night, Colleen Lopez (regular captain, Caroline Ward, is currently injured) was understandably thrilled with the win and the performance, “It was a really good game. We had trained hard in preparation and we really enjoyed ourselves on the pitch tonight – nobody had a bad game. Credit to Brookes, they were a good opponent, but we really played as a team tonight and I’m really proud of everyone and how they performed.” Oxford’s performance and victory over Brookes will give them a great deal of confidence going into the second half of the season and into the Varsity Match against Cambridge, which takes place on 27th February at Iffley Road. Oxford will be looking to repeat last year’s heroics, which saw them demolish Cambridge 7-1, though it is expected to be a closer contest this year.
The Oxford Union was transformed on Wednesday,playing host to an event far removed from its usual location as the home of public school networking and B-list public figures. The annual Town vs Gown event saw the brightest and best from OUABC pitted against fighters from around Oxfordshire and further, in what amounts to a quasi-warm up for the Varsity match against Cambridge (which will take place against Cambridge in the Town Hall on the 5th March.) Indeed, the Union, liberated from its usual stuffiness proved the perfectly sized venue for the thrills and spills (mainly blood) that took place within its hallowed walls. This was the first test of Hilary for OUABC, following an intensive week-long training camp in Tenerife over the vac, as they gear up to the business end of their season. A lack of suitable opponents for the OUABC fighters meant that some of the fights were ‘Gown vs Gown’, but this had no discernible effect on the competitiveness of the bouts: if anything, the intra-Oxford fights were the most brutal of them all. Whilst the athletic prowess on display was evident, this was carefully balanced by the carnival like atmosphere within the union, created by the jovial, perhaps even inebriated crowd, and the eclectic mix of walk-out music chosen by the boxers, ranging from Justin Bieber to what appeared to be the music from the opening credits of the Apprentice. The first fight, the women’s 48kg, was perhaps one that would have given boxing purists fits, but for the casual observer it was stunningly exciting: 3 rounds of unadulterated brutality and a neglect for any form of defence, which resulted in a unanimous decision for Mariya Lazarova over Lara Jonas – a fight made even more enjoyable by the obvious bond between the two boxers, evident after the final bell. Proverbially, the next fight should have been the yang to the yin of Lazarova and Jonas, but proved to be anything but. OUABC fighter Theo Cox, pitted against Birmingham boy Danny Iqbal (travelling with a supporting contingent that filled at least half the Union) fought valiantly, edging the third round, but was outclassed by Iqbal’s superior speed, made manifest by his stunning second round knockdown of Cox to the rapturous applause of his Midlands acolytes. Another gown vs gown event followed, with Justine Ryan edging Jessica Sandelson marginally, but convincingly by unanimous decision. A fight perhaps more notable for the technical ability on display rather than
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