O XFORD S TUDENT
World’s first study on period pain in teens
The University of Oxford’s Student Newspaper, est. 1991
Oxford Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme faces criticism
The University of Oxford has rolled out a number of initiatives in support of the advancement of learning and the rebuilding of higher education in Gaza and the West Bank. One of these initiatives is the Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme, to support “students displaced by the humanitarian crisis” in the region. However, the scheme has been criticised by a member of Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) who worked on the scholarship, for its limited reach and delayed rollout.
This comes after Oxford received the University of Sanctuary designation in 2023 in recognition of its ongoing dedication to supporting sanctuary seekers and fostering an inclusive, welcoming environment
A threat of many fronts: The Middle East by M Saddique Sport
In conversation with Lewis Goodall by Johannes Riese
The other Oxford Chancellor Candidates
Last week, the official list of 38 candidates for the position of Chancellor of the University of Oxford was published.
Naturally, prominent figures like Lords William Hague and Peter Mandelson have received more media attention than other candidates. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t other equally interesting individuals in the running, who are campaigning on diverse promises.
This week, The Oxford Student reached out to some of them –a Zumba teacher, an activist,
and a Reverend – to hear more about their ambitions regarding the Chancellorship.
Tanya Tajik described herself as a “seasoned businesswoman,” who aims to become not only the first female Chancellor, but the first Pashtun woman to hold the position. She told The Oxford Student: “As a Pashtun woman from a region ravaged by terrorism, I’m proud to be shortlisted for this esteemed position. My journey is not just about breaking gender barriers, but also about representing a community that faces immense challenges. Continued on page 4
Chanel set to sponsor the Boat Race
for displaced individuals.
Designed to provide “access to higher education to students displaced by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank”, the scheme allows for the provision of full graduate scholarships to study at Oxford in 2025-2026.
Besides covering students’ course fees, the scholarship provides them with a grant for living costs, as well as additional support towards arrival costs.
Graduates from all subject areas, and who hold an offer for any one-year full-time or two year part-time taught master’s course, are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The scholarship is open to applicants for the 2025-26 academic year. However, the Palestine Crisis Scholarship has faced criticism for being “too little, too late”.
The Oxford Student spoke to a
member of OA4P who worked with the University throughout the development of the scholarship. They said: “This is an extractive scholarship scheme that only serves postgraduate students and is temporary”, remarking that it is “completely insufficient”.
“The scheme targets only students who are postgraduates, meaning they already have degrees. It serves such a small section of the student population in Palestine, and does not support students who never had the chance to go to university, or undergraduates whose studies have been interrupted.”
The OA4P member said that they and a few others had previously been campaigning for scholarships that serve both undergraduate and postgraduate students, instead of merely the latter. Continued on page 3
In what is set to be Chanel’s first move into sports, the French fashion house has announced its long-term partnership with ‘The Boat Race,’ the UK’s oldest running sporting competition between the rowing clubs of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
The renowned competition dates back to 1829, and has been running consecu -
tively since 1856, apart from between the years 1915 and 1919, and from 1940 to 1945 due to the World Wars, and in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Whilst being broadcasted by the BBC, it is also attended by around 250,000 people every spring, with attendees hoping to see the UK’s oldest two universities compete along a four-mile course on the River Thames.
Continued on page 32
The Boat Race 2010. Image credit: Ant Miller via Flickr
The Radcliffe Camera, Image Credit: Cameron Samuel Keys
Yunzhang Liang
Caitlin Clarke
Zohaa Butt
OTwo returning officers elected amid Union uncertainty Culture
Around the table: Dumplings
ctober is finished, Movember has begun, and most importantly, Oxmas is only 24 days away. Term however, is far from over, with another 5 weeks to go and many more essays, problem sheets, and late night panics still to come.
Here at OxStu we have finally settled into something of a rhythm and are hoping to be done putting together this week’s print at a slightly more sociable hour than last time.
This time the articles are a little more personal in tone. Beyond the drama of the Chancellor elections and Union infighting, our writers discuss skincare, marriage, and nude beaches, giving unique personal takes and nuanced ad-
Being a finalist feels weird. I am now three weeks into my fourth Michaelmas term at Oxford, and am still in complete denial. The “later” to which I had deferred most of my work over
Editorial Team
Editorial Board
Georgie Allan and Amelia Gibbins (Editors-in-Chief)
Johannes Riese and Sabine ZednikHammonds (Associate Editors)
Gaspard Rouffin (Directors of Strategy)
News and Investigations
Anandita Abraham and Cameron
Samuel Keys (Heads of News)
Zohaa Butt, Caitlin Clarke, Canqi Li, Yunzhang Liang, Devika Manish Kumar, Yashas Ramakrishnan, Gaspard Rouffin (Section Editors)
Comment
vice.
In other news I have been sleeping better, probably because I’ve been working on new ways to disconnect. I’m fortunate to have a great team in Cameron and Anandita, our Heads of News, who are constantly switched on so I don’t have to be. I also have some great friends who are more than happy to help me forget the stress of student journalism sat on their sofa, watching them kill zombies (and occasionally get eaten too).
I’m also looking forward to seeing some of the upcoming student productions from Oxford drama this term - particularly Othello at my own University College, whose set will feature some empty wine bottles I kindly donated (wanted out of my room). It’s a strange experience watching enthusiastic thespians perform, knowing that they may be the next Emma D’Arcy.
Georgie Allan University College
the past three years is now upon me, yet somehow, that reality has not quite sunk in. Over the years, I’ve become skilled at finding creative excuses to avoid work. Recently, my reasons for underproductivity have ranged from a bout of “freshers’ flu” (really just a mild cold), to claiming exhaustion (not surprising after going out four nights in a row), and even convincing myself that “the work surely isn’t as hard as it looks.” But my best excuse for procrastinating? Anything urgent I de-
Yusuf Kungdol (Deputy Editor)
Emma Heagney, Rufus Jones, Ned Preston, Mariyah Saddique, Natasha Tinsley (Section Editors)
Max Thomas (Legal Correspondent)
Profile
Ananya Parakh (Deputy Editor)
Vivi Lei, Yashas Ramakrishnan, Mariyah Saddique (Section Editors)
Features
Faith Caswell (Deputy Editor)
Nicole Gibbons, Sophie Harrison, Emma Heagney, Nayana Juliette Syed, Natasha Tinsley (Section Editors)
Betsy Fricker, Rohan Kaya
The time has yet again come around for me to write about myself for a few hundred words, so here goes. My first three weeks editing the OxStu have been pretty busy - my Facebook Messenger notifications have never seen anything quite like it and I have spent a spectacular amount of time with my fellow student journalists that I could have never foreseen. One thing I have learnt is that having all my tutorials on even weeks has been the biggest blessing I could have ever wished for - not having to create an entire newspaper alongside talking about French and Spanish novels has been a bit of a relief. My degree is definitely thriving,
cide needs to be done for The OxStu right now.
As Associate Editor, of all the projects I’ve dedicated my time to this term, I’m especially pleased with the video content we’ve been producing for social media and with our new “Postcards from Abroad” section. Credit goes to Georgie for the brilliant idea of inviting those talented writers— who might otherwise slip off the Oxford journalism map during their year abroad—to share their experiences with us.
(Columnists)
Culture
Eleanor Grant (Deputy Editor)
Nicole Gibbons, Sophie Harrison, Rufus Jones, Nayana Juliette Syed (Section Editors)
Shilpi Nanda (Columnist)
OxYou
Seth Saupin (Deputy Editor)
Jan Maciejewski, Lara Murrani (Section Editors)
Lara Murrani (Columnist)
Identity
Sami Jalil (Deputy Editor)
Willow Lock, Lucy Pollock (Section Editors)
Will McCaffery, Sharon Chau (Columnist)
no doubt about that.
This print edition of the OxStu coincides with the start of November, so expect autumnal vibes coming your way.
As per, I would like to thank our wonderful team for their hard work this term so farthe writing, editing, collaboration, and reporting have all been top-notch, and I couldn’t be prouder. I am really grateful to Anandita and Cameron in particular, whose ability to run a news team will never fail to amaze me - your reporting has been interesting and insightful, so I am honoured to work with you both.
I would also like to thank our Directors of Strategy over the past month for being a source of such wisdom - your support will always be very much appreciated.
Amelia Gibbins Pembroke College
So far, we’ve published pieces capturing vastly different student life perspectives in Paris and Amman. This week, Rosina White-Belchere joins us from Yerevan, Armenia, sharing how two contrasting musical discoveries—a techno club and sessions with a Russian-speaking opera teacher—are helping her navigate a recent heartbreak.
Sabine ZednikHammonds Balliol College
Sport
Johannes Riese (Deputy Editor)
Zohaa Butt, Caitlin Clarke, Ned Preston (Section Editors)
Haris Book, Gaspard Rouffin (Correspondents)
Science
Sabine Zednik-Hammonds (Deputy Editor)
Yunzhang Liang, Devika Marshal (Section Editors)
Bob Sira (Columnist)
Creative Rhea Kaur (Creative Director)
Amelia Woon, Caroline Kuba, Liv White, Mia Leahy (Illustrators) Miranda Devine, Lloyd Dore-Green (Puzzles)
news@oxfordstudent.com | Heads of News: Anandita Abraham and Cameron Samuel Keys
Section Editors: Zohaa Butt, Caitlin Clarke, Canqi Li, Yunzhang Liang, Devika Marshal, Yashas Ramakrishnan, Gaspard Rouffin
Oxford researchers launch world’s first study on period pain in teens
Agroup of researchers at the University of Oxford are embarking on the world’s first study to identify changes in the brain when teenagers experience pain, and the extent to which this is linked to developing chronic pain later on in their lives.
The RoADPain project is being carried out by the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health over the next three years. The project has three key aims, namely: to understand whether period pain during adolescence increases the risk of developing chronic pain as a young person; to see whether there are
Period pain has traditionally been dismissed as “normal”
differences in pain processing systems in adolescents with period pain, compared to those without in the first few years of having periods; and finally to see if there are any factors in childhood that increase the risk of period pain developing in the first few years of having periods.
Dr Lydia Coxon, when asked about the rationale behind embarking on the study, told The Oxford Student about the lack of understanding surrounding the link between period pain and chronic pain.
“Chronic pain affects approximately 3 in 10 adults worldwide, and we know it disproportionately affects women and those assigned female at birth. Despite periods often being very painful, period pain has traditionally been dismissed as “normal” and something girls must learn to live with,” she said.
The research will be carried out using a range of tests on 120 volunteers aged 11 to 20 who menstruate (with and without period pain). The team is looking for people who have had periods for 1 year, 3 years or 5 years to take part. Half the volunteers will be those experiencing period pain and half will not.
Participants will undergo testing at two different times during their menstrual cycle – both during their period and 10 to 14 days after it has ended. Testing includes both sensory testing and brain scans (MRI), and are to be carried out at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
In addition to the aforementioned clinical study, the study also utilises epidemiology
Oxford Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme faces criticism
Continued from page 1
“One of the reasons why the university did this is because funding for undergraduate scholarships is a lot harder –you’d have to fund the whole four years in advance”, they add, despite the fact that “the people involved in fees and funding who we spoke to were taken aback by the number of colleges that were willing to support the scholarship scheme.”
research, which uses a large longitudinal cohort of people from the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and
“ We will use what we learn about the long-term risks of period pain to make sure period pain is taken seriously
Children) dataset.
“We hope this work will reduce the risk of both adolescent girls and adult women suffering from period pain and other chronic pain conditions. We will use what we learn about the long-term risks of period pain to make sure period pain is taken seriously and to produce advice and guidance for those with period pain, health professionals, policymakers and educators,” Dr Coxon added. The study is currently ongoing and recruiting participants to be involved in the study. Participants should be 11-20 year olds who have periods, are not ...
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Another point of contention was the timeline of the release of the scholarship – according to them, “by the time the University eventually launched the scholarship scheme, it was so late in the year that they could not accept students for this academic year”, and university administration was reluctant to “disrupt the admissions cycle” given how late this was announced.
“There were so many of us working on the petition even before OA4P and the encampment,” they added, stating that the original petition had garnered over 1000 signatories before being sent to the Vice Chancellor’s office.
Nevertheless, they remarked “I do not think it is a bad thing. I am very happy that we have a scholarship scheme, since this is an indicator to students in Gaza that they are so welcome at our institution.”
“Higher education is very much influenced by the things that we do at Oxford, so
if Oxford can be the institution to set this precedent, it would be incredible work worldwide for supporting Palestinian students in higher education.”
Professor Alex Betts, Local and Global Engagement Officer at the University remarked in a press release that “It’s important that……the University is able to respond to the needs that arise from crisis situations that undermine people’s access to higher education within their own countries and regions. The scheme represents an important part of our wider efforts to contribute to the rebuilding of higher education in Gaza.”
Alongside the Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme, the University has also made online services and resources in the Bodleian Libraries available to students and scholars in, or displaced from, Palestinian universities. The portal has been designed in Arabic and English and enables users to access various Bodleian services.
An OA4P spokesperson said: “Although OA4P welcomes scholarships for Palestinian students, we are deeply concerned about the performative nature of this scheme, especially without any further commitment from the University to engage with the higher education sector in Gaza. We do not see [the scheme] as a fulfilment of our ...
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com
John Radcliffe Hospital Credit: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 2.0
Radcliffe Camera encampment. Credit: Cameron Samuel Keys
Yunzhang Liang
Debate Recap
Peter Lenahan
The debate motion “This house believes Islam is incompatible with democracy” provided an interesting question for the future of Islamic countries and Muslims living within democracies.
Proposition speaker Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, provided an interesting argument claiming “trillions of dollars of ‘Petro-Islam’ have destroyed our faith” maintaining that the incompatibility “is not in the DNA” of Islam.
Minister Usame Zukollic, Serbian politician, refuted this claiming that the fundamentals of Islam are fully compatible with democracy by using the fiqh al-aqalliyyat, to show how Islam promotes democracy.
The debate was brought back into the practical reality of Islam with Prof. Dr. Mazlee Malik, former Minister of Education in Malaysia, he asserted that Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, “[has] not known any other system after democracy” he rejects the motion as Islam is already found within democracies.
Ben Habib, a British-Pakistani politician, closed for the proposition.
Using the example of a teacher in the UK who was threatened after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad he argued that it is undemocratic for a teacher to be placed in hiding.
Maajid Nawaz closed for the opposition speakers stating that the motion concerns essence and so the proposition had consistently conceded the motion to the opposition. The motion was rejected with 112 noes to 49 ayes, meaning the Oxford Union concluded Islam is compatible with democracy.
In conversation with: the other Oxford Chancellor candidates
Continued from page 1
Growing up in an area where women’s opportunities are scarce and basic rights are often denied, I understand the struggles that many face.”
Ms Tajik emphasised her devotion to “advocating for inclusive policies and diversity initiatives” within the University. Moreover, she pledged to prioritise student mental health and well-being. She stressed: “Empathy is essential in every role but particularly crucial for a Chancellor. Students face various stressors – financial, emotional, physical, and academic.
As Chancellor, Ms Tajik would promote the arts, telling The Oxford Student they are invaluable and should not be neglected: “I believe art keeps us humane and connected to our emotions. Engaging with art has uniquely equipped me to approach challenges with creativity and nuance[…] As Chancellor, I’ll integrate art into university life, alongside curricular activities. It will encourage creative thinking. It can help promote emotional intelligence. It fosters a fresh and innovative community.”
A lawyer from East London, Harry Stratton describes himself as “the only left-wing candidate” on the ballot.
“Over the last century, the Chancellorship has mainly been occupied by failed rightwing politicians. I’m running to be the first left-wing, progressive candidate. I’m also the only candidate running on substance. I’m the only candidate with a concrete proposal for something we can do tomorrow to fix the student mental health crisis,” he told The Oxford Student.
One specific (and somewhat unusual) aspect of Ms Tajik’s statement has attracted widespread media attention. Outlets like The New York Times have recently published articles that spotlight her work as a Zumba teacher. However, Tajik maintains that her passion demonstrates her fitness for the Chancellorship: “I want to set the record straight. Zumba is not just a casual activity; it’s a high-intensity workout requiring stamina, dedication, and passion. As a serious Zumba enthusiast and instructor, I have unyielding resilience, unrelenting energy and peak physical & mental well-being. These qualities make me an exceptional candidate for Chancellor. My cardio training, mental toughness, and discipline will enable me to tackle the most pressing challenges.”
Times investigation is that it would cost less than 4 million pounds to make a difference to all of these people, out of a budget of £2.9 billion. There’s not that many things you have to do differently. Oxford spends more on the alcohol budget, the food budget, the gardening budget. But most importantly capital works, and I’d like to see them delaying some of these. It’s pretty obscene that one of the richest universities in the world is still paying basically poverty wages.”
Mr Stratton’s solution to the student mental health crisis involves scrapping the 100% final exams at the end of a degree course. He proposes a system of more spread-out assessments: “If most courses were to have exams at the end of each year, that would still be the same amount of marking for the University, it’s just spread out. That’s what most universities around the world already do. Oxford is quite unique in that sense. You already do a lot of work for collections, and it might even be appropriate to use tutorial essays and say, well why don’t we measure the work you’ve already done? I don’t think this final year of hell needs to be built into the degree.”
“ I don’t think this final year of hell needs to be built into the degree
Rather, Mr Stratton wants to see a rise in staff wages to a minimum pay of £15 per hour, and suggests the University needs to direct funds to this issue instead of projects like building renovations: “Current wages for some are as little as £8.05 an hour. Comparing this to £15 – it’s a great difference for these people, but for the University, it’s a drop in the bucket. The approximation by a Financial
ford. Many of the candidates are mentioning free speech but some of them are doing so without much intention. If I saw erosion of free speech I would be quite public about it.”
“ If I saw erosion of free speech I would be quite public about it.
Moreover, Mr Stratton emphasises that he stands in solidarity with staff and students expressing their views on many hard-hitting issues. He vows to be the “first campaigning Chancellor” if he were elected. He adds: “For me, student protest is very important. I wouldn’t have dismantled the encampment, I would’ve been there as Chancellor with students protesting against Nick Griffin.”
Finally, The Oxford Student asked Mr Stratton to weigh in on his feelings towards several frontrunners for the Chancellorship. He said: “When I say ‘Put The Tories Last’, I really do mean that. I’m sure William Hague and David Willetts are nice enough guys. But in particular, Lord Willetts was the Universities Minister who tripled tuition fees – to be honest, if that were me, I’d be embarrassed to run for this position.”
Standing in stark contrast, Reverend Matthew Firth describes himself as the “anti-woke candidate.” Whilst he recognises that various candidates, like Lord Hague, have spoken out to defend free speech, Mr Firth maintains that his own Chancellorship would better allow for difficult discussions.
“It’s one thing to mention it, it’s another to be willing to take action on it publicly.
Freedom of academic enquiry is the lifeblood of universities, especially somewhere like Ox-
Mr Firth was also asked to comment on his frequent referral to the University’s Christian roots in his statement. He argued: “Oxford would do well to embrace the Christian faith. Even though a large proportion of students now may not be Christian, their experiences at Oxford are more influenced by the Christian worldview than they think. Take the traditional, ancient Oxford quad – you have somewhere to worship, somewhere to fellow in hall, somewhere to study and somewhere to live. By embracing the Christian faith, what Oxford has become is a place for enlightenment, study and community.” Although he himself is dedicated to the Christian faith, Mr Firth also makes sure to emphasise that he values diversity of belief, saying: “Because of my commitment to free speech and free academic enquiry, I believe a university should welcome absolutely everybody.” ministry.”
As a former student of Oxford, Mr Firth speaks fondly of the University. He does not, however, shy away from admitting that big changes need to be made in regard to its endowment. “The endowment of the university and colleges combined is about 8 billion pounds, whereas MIT in the United States has an endowment of about 25 billion dollars or 20 billion pounds.”
The first round of voting began on the 28th of October.
Two returning officers elected amid Union RO uncertainty
The Oxford Union is once again facing disagreements about procedure for electing a returning officer (RO), with one being appointed by conclave on Saturday, and another ‘acting RO’ elected by a Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) list amended by standing committee on Sunday.
A conclave (meeting of DROs) was held at 17:10 on Saturday, which returned Russell Kwok as the RO of the Oxford Union. This election was held in line with the Union rules as they stood prior to disputed amendments to rules endorsed by president Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy.
Kwok, one of the three individuals blocked from taking on the role of DRO during a closed door standing committee meeting last week, previously told The Oxford Student that objections to his candidacy were “baseless, offensive, and completely driven by
political machinations.” His election is the latest in a series of events which have divided the Union.
Speaking in support of the “reassuring” move, former senior appointed officer Shermar Pryce said: “I’m glad to see that the process for electing the Returning Officer has gone smoothly, particularly given the recent turbulence.
“The election of a highly experienced member of the Society, who is also a person of colour, is a positive step towards restoring faith in “RO World.”
Traditionally, the Union RO has been elected by the DROs in conclave, a process scrutinised by the standing committee. Under the reforms controversially implemented by President Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, the RO is elected by DROs in standing committee, leading to concerns that DROs may face pressure during the vote.
These changes have been made in the face of allegations
of institutional racism within “RO world,” affecting the disciplinary processes of the Union. Incidents include allegations that members of committee have been referred to as “Genghis Khan” and “Mongol hordes.”
“ ...the latest in a series of events that has divided the Union
The Union RO is responsible for overseeing the society’s elections and disciplinary procedures, maintaining an updated copy of the rules, and entering any amendments.
A source close to the Union blamed the situation on the current standing committee: “This was an absolute consequence of rushing through a rules change...not doing the proper consultation and not considering the consequences properly.”
Not all shared this sentiment, with one former member of the governing body decrying the legitimacy of Kwok’s election stating: “The message written by the returning officer on the notice board isn’t worth the ink used to write it. It is nonsensical, ridiculous and even a basic reading of the rules would reveal that.”
In a meeting held on Sunday, all but two of the DROs were removed from their positions, and several new DROs appointed by President Osman-Mowafy, none of whom have had prior Union electoral experience. Only one DRO on the current list approved by the standing committee has been present for a prior Union election. The Union has been approached for comment.
Should we care about the Chancellor election?
Yusuf Kungdol is the Comment Deputy Editor at The Oxford Student.
It is incredibly easy to become wrapped up in the election for the position of Chancellor. From the drama surrounding Imran Khan and his nomination, Peter Mandelson’s inccessant media and public appearances, to our very own Editor-in-Chief interviewing William Hagueit appears to have taken over the beginning of term. Perhaps understandably so – the last 4 men to have held the position have done so for an average of 24 years each – a significant period which allows them to develop their own legacy. Oxford also of course continues to promote a perverse obsession with the ideals of free speech, democracy and elections– look no further than the antics that ensue in the world of student politics. Whether it be within a JCR, SU, or at the Union -
few things can so consistently provide entertainment like politics in Oxford. Perhaps this is the reason for our disproportionate representation in high-level British politics. Despite this, should we really care about the Chancellor election?
Firstly, it is important to note that the position is for all intents and purposes an honorary one – they would are involved in the day-to-day of the University (that pleasure belongs to the Vice-Chancellor). They simply act in a ceremonial role as a figurehead that would represent the University, with the description of the role acknowledging that there are no executive duties to be carried out. As such, the only benefit that the Chancellor can have for the University comes from their diplomatic skills and influence; given
that the frontrunners largely consist of former politicians with a global reach it is hardly the case that there is a significant distinction to be made. This point can be explored further; it has been noted that as yet we have not had a Chancellor who was not a white male. To me, this appears unlikely to change. As previously mentioned, the current favourites are Lords Mandelson and Hague. Although coming from different sides of the political spectrum, their views on Oxford remain largely alike. With buzzwords including ‘free speech’ and ‘access’ - their campaigns are similar, exacerbated by the lack of policy involved in running for Chancellor. Of course there are other candidates, some running on far more radical agendas. With 38 candidates set to appear on the
first round of the ballot, there has never been a greater variety of options for the role. The unfortunate truth however is simple; the majority of these candidates stand no chance of winning - indeed I expect that by the second round of voting, where only the top five candidates will appear on the ballot, it will signal the strength of the establishment. Voting has commenced, and in 7th week we will have the final results and the declaration of the new Chancellor. No doubt there will be fanfare, accompanied by the traditional Oxford pomp and circumstance. Ultimately however, I truly believe that this election will have no material impact on any of our lives. We will return in the new year burdened by the same problems and with the status-quo very much intact.
The Oxford Union Chamber. Credit: NATO
Georgie Allan
OA4P protest matriculation
Credit: Luke Harris
This morning, several protesters affiliated with Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) attempted to disrupt the matriculation ceremonies taking place in the Sheldonian Theatre.
The first disruption took place around 10:30, when a student stepped forward with a Palestinian flag inside the Sheldonian during a matriculation ceremony. The student said: “you [the University] will not address that there is a genocide happening right now”, and “we [OA4P] will hold you accountable”.
Protesters on Broad Street also held a banner which read, “While you read, Gaza bleeds.”
The University commented: “We are disappointed with OA4P’s attempt to disrupt and spoil the event for our incoming students... Actions which disrupt University events are not acceptable.”
Israel in violation of international law, Oxford professor argues
Caitlin Clarke and Cameron
Samuel Keys
Apaper by Professor Janina Dill (Blatvatnik School of Government, Oxford University) and Tom Dannenbaum (Fletcher School, Tufts University) has called on the international community to “suspend material assistance” to Israel. The paper rebuts Israel’s claims of compliance with International Humanitarian Law in the context of their military operations in Gaza.
The paper criticises the outsized role that retrospective accountability has played in the discourse around Gaza. It argues that the focus on intent has allowed countries like the US “to hide behind a (highly deferential) application of the narrowest interpretation of intent developed for war crimes” when considering possible breaches of interna-
tional law.
Professors Dill and Dannenbaum suggest the existing legal discussions have largely neglected other functions of International Humanitarian Law in favour of holding Israel accountable retrospectively in courts.
would be ‘an existential threat to the primary mechanism available to limit the horrors of war and mass violence.’
“ A predominantly civilian population does not lose its civilian character due to the presence of combatants within it.
The authors urge against the dismissal of these functions of International Humanitarian Law. As such, they stress that presuming that a state is complying with international law
On the subject of starvation as a possible military necessity, the authors state that “a predominantly civilian population does not lose its civilian character due to the presence of combatants within it.” They argue that, while nations may choose to accept that Israel’s intent is war with Hamas, this does not automatically legitimise any military decisions they take.
They assert that “the lawful ultimate goal cannot authorise the unlawful means.”
Considering the way in which Israel’s operations have a profound effect on the population of Gaza, which they describe to be “over 98% civilian,” they assert that “the lawful ultimate goal cannot authorise the unlawful means.”
Oxford Action for Palestine,
a campaign group who have organised several protests across the city, notably encampments at The Natural History Museum and Radcliffe Camera, and more recently, disruption of matriculation ceremonies, have welcomed the release of this research paper, which they say “sounded the alarm bells.”
A representative from OA4P told The Oxford Student: “This new legal research should prompt action from the Administration in the form of immediate divestment, disclosure, and cutting of all partnerships with companies supporting this genocide. Ignoring Oxford’s own experts would be the highest form of hypocrisy.”
A University Spokesperson said: “‘International Law in Gaza: Belligerent Intent and Provisional Measures’ is a newly published evidence-based academic re-
search paper and is subject to academic freedom. The new legal scholarship co-authored by Professor Janina Dill, the Dame Louise Richardson Chair in Global Security, concerns the role of law and morality and international relations, specifically in war. Academic freedom is at the heart of all the academic work that is carried out across the university.”
The Oxford Student asked the authors how their research could influence the University’s relationships with Israeli businesses and universities. They responded: “Our paper articulates the implications for third states of the finding that Israel is breaking international law. The imperative for states to withdraw their material support for Israel’s conduct in Gaza is grounded in International ...
Read the full story online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Bus fare cap rises to 3 pounds
The bus fare cap in England will rise to £3 beginning 1 January 2025, as part of a series of measures announced during the Labour government’s Budget unveiling on Wednesday.
The current fare cap of £2 was introduced by the previous Conservative government in January 2023 to help with cost of living pressures, at a time when the UK was experiencing 30 year-high inflation rates. The cap was set to expire by the end of December 2024 but has been extended until December 2025.
The £3 cap will apply to most bus journeys in England, including in Oxfordshire, where almost all bus operators participate in the national fare cap scheme.
While most University of Oxford students walk or cycle as a primary form of travel, those who live further from the university in areas like Cowley and Summertown are likely to
be impacted.
The Oxford Student spoke to two members of the University community who shared their perspectives on the fare increase.
Emily, a DPhil student enrolled at both the University of Oxford (Linacre College) and Oxford Brookes University, benefits from free fares through the BROOKESbus service. However this service is only available to students living in Oxford Brookes-managed accommodation and on select routes. Accessing other areas, such as the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, where students perform science imaging, requires paying the fare: “It’s quite a lot to go there and [the buses] are not even frequent.”
When asked if the fare increase would impact their travel choices, Emily stated: “100%. I can understand potentially why they did it, but… if you take the bus twice a day, 6 pounds up from 4 [pounds], [it’s] quite a significant
amount. I would naturally obviously take the free bus over one I pay for.”
Manuel, a staff member at Worcester College, observed that wages have not increased in line with the cost of living. They cite higher Council Tax, food and electricity prices. Manuel noted all of their colleagues rely on the bus to commute to the University but doesn’t see other viable options for those who live further from the university despite the fare increase: “I don’t think there are alternatives [to the buses] here in Oxford.”
The Labour government’s first Budget in fourteen years includes tax rises of £40 billion and spending cuts. However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also announced an increase in the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year olds from £8.60 to £10. This is in addition to an increase in the minimum wage for over 21s, also known as the National Living Wage, from £11.44 to £12.21 effective April 2025. The wage increases align with the government’s target of equalising minimum wage between all age brackets to a single rate.
Oxfordshire homelessness charities on funding “cliff-edge”
tive (RSI) that is due to end in March.
Anumber of charities that address homelessness in Oxfordshire have met Labour MPs about a funding “cliff-edge” and the need to renew homelessness spending, ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ 30 October budget announcement.
The charities are worried about the funding stream of the Rough Sleeping Initia-
The Rough Sleeping Initiative is a central government allocation, given to councils around the country to tackle rough sleeping. Oxford City Council received almost £6m for the RSI from 2022 to 2025, when that initiative is set to end. Charities that receive some of this funding are calling for a one-year rollover of existing funding into 2025/2026, and a review of
homelessness spending for the following year. The heads of Connection Support, Aspire Oxfordshire, and Homeless Oxfordshire, met with Anneliese Doods, Labour MP for Oxford East, and Sean Woodcock, Labour MP for Banbury, to raise concerns ahead of Wednesday. According to Connection Support, Dodds committed to writing to the Treasury and the Chancellor.
Daniel Cairney is an employee at Oxford Mutual Aid, an organisation that addresses food provision and polity in Oxford. He told The Oxford Student that RSI cuts would not directly affect OMA, but “on a broader level, it’s sure to affect us heavily [with] more requests coming our way despite us already being at capacity.” Cairney said that local organisations do the “heavy lifting” in social welfare, “papering over the cracks [so] the higher-ups get to say the prob-
Debate Recap
lems aren’t that bad.” The Oxfordshire Homeless Alliance provides 233 beds across Oxfordshire.
In an open letter, over 70 support charities nationwide have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a “funding cliff-edge.” Rough sleeping in the country rose by 27% in 2023 and has risen by 60% since 2021. Figures from March show the number of people sleeping rough in Oxford had almost doubled, and the number of households in temporary accommodation increased from 78 to 174.
The letter notes that £1bn is set to “leave” the sector when sources of funding dry up in early 2025, while service contracts get costlier due to inflation. The letter also highlights “deep flaws” in the system. It lays out how current funding is insufficient, resulting ... Read the full story online at www.oxfordstudent.com
Canqi Li & Peter Lenahan
The Oxford Union debated the motion
“This House Has No Confidence in His Majesty’s Government” at its annual No Confidence debate on Thursday of Week 1.
A long-standing tradition within the Oxford Union, the “No Confidence” debate is held annually to gauge Oxford students’ support for the current state of the UK government. At this year’s debate, speakers considered the new Labour government’s performance in tackling the economy, healthcare, housing, education, and sustainability, as well as accusations of sleaze, indecisiveness, and a lack of change from the Tory government.
Proposition speakers included MP Dame Harriet Baldwin and MP Richard Holden, both Conservative politicians. Labour MPs Kevin Bonavia and Calvin Bailey, and former Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, spoke for the Opposition.
“Each and every one of the speeches was very well-delivered – my main takeaway is there is a coherent case for why the Labor Party can have our confidence in government,” former student at Lady Margaret Hall Charles Amos remarked. Labour MP Bailey told The Oxford Student: “All of you must recognize the privilege that you have being here, being surrounded by each other – you must make the most of the opportunities that you have now.” “If that means bringing other people in to challenge and tackle current affairs, you must make the most of it.”
The motion failed with 116 to 71 votes for the proposition, so the majority concluded that they had confidence in the Labour government.
MP Anneliese Doods at Step Down. Credit: Connection Support
Oxford Bus Company near City Center. Credit: Au Morandarte
Devika Manish Kumar
Caitlin Clarke
Amidst the ongoing genocide in Palestine, countries in the Middle East and across the Arab world have propelled themselves to assess how this shapes their diplomatic relations with their counterparts. Israel’s settler-colonial policy in occupied Palestine has displaced the local population. International organisations such as the UN, and subsequent bodies responsible for upholding international law, such as the ICJ, have shed light on their own limitations - which mean Middle Eastern powers can embark on whatever violence they please. It is only once the damage is done or the threat has cemented itself that there seems to be greater attention paid to the regional catastrophe. is an inter-state body - so does not deal with intra-state prob lems such as man rights abuses and conflicts.
The
commonality of intra-state problems raises the question of whether the ICJ can and will delve further into punishing Israel.
Iran did embark on a missile strike - fred towards Israeli military territory, according to the IDF after the attack. Iran chose to reafrm solidarity for Palestine and attempted to present a united front, but such an extravagant move
skin to the bone of civilians. As competitive as one can be, and in the ‘winner takes all’ mindset which Israel has seemingly adopted, any aggressive action will provoke its retaliation and risks widening confict. Israel imposed three weeks of aerial bombardment which Lebanese authorities claimed killed more than a thousand people. Around a million were forced to depart from their homes in a desperate attempt to seek refuge. Te very prospect of refuge and safety remains uncertain in the air that becomes thicker; flled with rising levels of soot, dust, and rubble.
does not pose as big a threat to Israel due to their ‘Iron Dome’. Israel’s military readiness and frequent strikes against perceived threats heighten the potential for escalation. A volatile environment thus arises. Not just in 2024, but back in 2023 we saw Israel target individuals in Al-Duhayra, a town in southern Lebanon, with an unlawful use of white phosphorous, burn -
On the topic of multiple emerging fronts, there is the question of where to place the US in such a situation. Certain fgures across Congress have implied support for Israel in front of the press, such as Joe Biden – Foreign Policy claimed Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv in the wake of Hamas’ war crimes in Israel on October 7th reiterated the US administration’s ‘unwavering support for Is rael’. A perfect visual for such support was the overwhelm ing standing ovation received by Benjamin Netanyahu as he entered the chamber of Congress. Such support has lured the US into becoming Netanyahu’s puppets as he breaks all boundaries regarding humanitarian law and international law, with the US following behind. Te US Treasury and State Department an-
nounced that it would impose sanctions on companies that trade and transport Iranian oil after its missile attack on
Israel’s missile sites. Such allegiance to Israel renders the US a cemented ally of the Is
ing proportionality and the protection of civilians. Proportionality has been raised as a subject of focus when discussing Israel’s genocide in Palestine and the last year shows the danger posed by genocidal actions that appear as records, statistics and numbers for the history books - but in reality manifest as children,
mothers, fathers, grandparents, and loved ones. Although much discussion is focused on the powers who are creating fronts by acting upon their aims and support, we must not ignore those who, although silent, have the means to put up a ‘force to be reckoned with’ front. Saudi Arabia has sprinted its way to become the vanguard of nation-states who boast oil and energy. Diversifcation of their economy has proved priority since 2023 as they aimed to focus on non-oil related growth and divercation, which was driven by improvement in the regulatory and business environment. One cannot conclude that Saudi Arabia is a staunch supporter of Israel; this is incredibly far-fetched. However, the stance of pro-Palestinian support is not entirely de-facto stance from a country engrossed in its position on global charts. Both blindness to supporting countries such as Palestine and Lebanon, and the violent dangers of competitiveness amongst other Middle Eastern powers refect the normalisation of tensions in the Middle East which could lead constant warfare itself to become a normality.
United Nations, Geneva. Credit: Wimox (Henry Muhlpfordt) via Creative Commons
It may have passed by without you even realising, but the latest BRICS summit - hosted by Russia - is yet another sign of the ongoing change in world order. Boasting leaders Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi amongst others - and with the theme being ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security’, it is sufce to say that there were some important takeaways from the event.
It is important to begin with some context; this was the 16th annual meeting of the ‘BRICS’ - a phrase coined by the Chief Economist of Gold man Sachs attempting to de scribe what he believed to be the rising powers of the world. Of course China, Russia and India are now lished as major players on the global stage whilst Brazil and South Africa continue to develop their in year also saw the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates - a tell tale sign of which nations the BRICS currently view as im portant potential allies. Returning particularly to the
Big Tree of the group: India, China and Russia - it is clear that they hope this will be the start of something further. Putin proclaimed this the start of a new ‘world order’, with the Kremlin declaring it one of the ‘largest-scale foreign policy events ever.’ Te bloc now
contains 40% of the world’s population as well as 35% of global GDP - so it is fair to say
the question of perspective. Having been educated in England and grown up on Western media it is hardly supposing that I share the views of the majority of Western commentators on this issue. At times it is important to step back and consider perspective. India, for example, will simply claim to be respecting the states that view them as signifcant; often marginalised by the traditional colonial powers. China will argue that following the Trump presidency and subsequent sanctions they have moved on to dealing with the countries that respect them, and what they have to ofer. Russia, maligned for their actions over the entirety of the last century, can now claim to the world that the attempts to isolate them have failed.
On the face of it, there are signifcant areas of diference between many of the countries
breaking apart. It was not guaranteed that the summit could even take place; last year Putin was unable to attend as a result of his arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. Tis year Modi, for example, chose to forego a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in favour of his appearance at the BRICS summit - a clear sign of
his, and India’s priorities. No doubt this will have delighted Putin and Jinping; allowing them to continue to push the message both domestically and abroad that the BRICS -
ing war with Ukraine, whilst both China and India are at odds with their neighbours, as well as each other. One of the signifcant disputes between the countries related to the Eastern Ladakh region, where the two countries were able to come to an agreement. Russia also managed to achieve one of their primary aims, devel oping a BRICS pay system that allows them to bypass West ern sanctions on all of their international trade. China and India remain their largest trading partners, and this new scheme ensures that they can escape the infuence of the US and carry out their transactions independently.
All of this should be hugely worrying for ‘the West’ - who appears to be losing its outuence in the East. Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine shows no real sign of stopping, and indeed with the support of the majority of the 34 nations that attended the summit - it no longer seems fear the UN or other global organisations. Of course, as with all things international relations, there is
cussed, China and India dispute territories, whilst Egypt and Ethiopia also have active disagreements. Despite this,
Putin in particular remains desperate to maintain an image of unity and some semblance of togetherness. It is crucial for all of these countries that they are able to stand up for themselves and are not reliant on the West. Ultimately however, policy diferences will have to be resolved, either through some of these countries abandoning their principles or as a result of the Bloc
itself, is the focus on the future. As of yet the BRICS, for all of their might, have not actually come together to achieve anything signifcant - only ever symbolic meetings and con ferences. that this will change soon. Te addition of new mem bers ensures that the the bloc is able to hold meaningful con versations, but more im portantly should be able to take meaningful ac tion. It remains to be seen whether this fact is utilised; it is entirely possible that until next year’s summit, the only mention of bricks will relate to either building, or basket ball.
PM Modi, President Putin and President Jinping. Credit: MEAphotogallery via Flickr
pathy – were dismissed, of ten subtly but unmistakably. Teir competence was ques tioned, just as their ability to “lead” was, as if leadership itself were fundamentally in compatible with the qualities we attribute to women.
Tis is not about the overt sexism that many women learned to combat, it’s about some thing subtler, more perva sive. Sociol ogists call it “second-generation gender bias”. It is not about deliberate ex clusion from spac es or the absence of civil rights, but about the unspoken rules of leadership that have been crafted by men, for men. Tese rules equate power with ‘agentic’ traits – assertiveness, competitiveness, independence – traits we socialise into men from an early age. Women, by contrast, are taught to embody ‘communal’ traits: empathy, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. Te result is a leadership paradigm that equates power with masculinity and incompetence with femininity.
In boardrooms, political offces, and educational institutions across the world, one thing remains constant:
deeply ingrained bi
– forces that have long
shaped our understanding of leadership. Tese biases disadvantage women, and they diminish the rich potential of feminine leadership.
perceived as weakness, must be suppressed for women to ft into a model of leadership historically designed by and for men.
In one of my frst leadership roles, a mentor warned me: “You’re a very strong and very feminine woman. Tat can be unrelatable. If you want to rally people, you need to soften that femininity.”
It’s a sentiment that many women in power know all too And it encapsulates a sad reality: femininity, often
masculinised myself – adopting darker clothing, lowering my voice, project ing command –the more respect I seemed to garner. And yet, I could see the price. Women who presented them selves in traditional ly feminine ways – those who embraced warmth, collab ora tion, or em
ing respected or being liked,
Women face an impossible double bind. If they are highly communal, they are viewed as weak or unserious. If highly agentic, they are seen as aggressive, bossy or cold. Competent women are deemed unlikable, and likeable women, are seen as in-
women feel pressured to conform. When women don the proverbial “power suit” –adopting traditionally male attire, tone, and behaviour –they are often simply doing what it takes to survive. Yet, this conformity reinforces the very stereotypes that marginalise women in the frst place. It tells the world that femininity has no place in leadership, that to lead is to be ‘like a man.’
Hillary Clinton’s career offers a particularly stark example of this double standard. As United States Secretary of State, she maintained one of the highest approval ratings of her career, peaking at 65% largely thanks to her being seen as advocating for others. But when she ran for President, her approval plummeted – a pattern not uncommon for candidates as the intensity of a campaign often leads to a dip in approval ratings, as seen with Joe Biden too.
dent.com
New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern visiting NATO. Credit: NATO via Flickr
At 35, few people have scaled the broadcasting ladder as quickly as Lewis Goodall. He began his journalism career at the BBC, moved to Sky, and then returned to the BBC as policy editor for Newsnight. In 2022, he left the BBC with his colleagues Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel to start the widely popular podcast Te News Agents, partly due to a confict over impartiality at the BBC. Goodall graduated from Oxford in 2010 with a degree in History and Politics from St John’s College. I met Goodall at Global’s headquarters, the parent company producing the podcast, for a conversation about his time at Oxford, his career in journalism, podcasting, and British politics.
We immediately dive into his lingering feelings and memories of Oxford. He begins reminiscing, saying he “sort of feels wistful,” not only on a personal level but also for a diferent political era. He introspectively remarks, “I always sort of bring it back to politics,” a sign that he truly lives and breathes his profession. During his time at Ox-
man Brothers collapsed: “It was sort of the last gasp of that very diferent order and very diferent world.”
When asked how his Oxford degree prepared him for his career in broadcasting, he quips that it does not “prepare him for any of the practical aspects of broadcasting” but rather “sharpened and honed” his thinking. He stresses that political journalists are often too caught up in the 24-hour news cycle and the daily gossip of the streets of Westminster, which risks missing the “sweeping historical forces” that have defned his time in the profession.
a “medium of the age” that has disrupted the media landscape. He refers to podcasts as the “Holy Grail that broadcasters have been looking for for
ford, Gordon Brown was still Prime Minister, Obama was elected President, and Leh-
Our discussion about the changing political era leads me to bring up podcasting, which, in Goodall’s words, is
years” because they provide a “blank canvas.” He explains that podcasts “allow you to tell stories without some of that formality (which he associates with traditional broadcasting), without some of that artifce, and while showing some of your personality.”
He emphasises the deep
connection one develops with an audience that is far younger than the typical BBC viewer, calling it “visceral and far more personal.” Te success of podcasts, he asserts, hinges on “people coming because they like you and they like the interaction between the two or three of you.” However, that personal connection can also be a double-edged sword, specifcally when you tell the audience something they do not want to hear. He compares it to “hearing something you don’t like from a friend.” He mentions the “load of fak” he and Jon Sopel received from some listeners after an episode at the Democratic National Convention in August, simply for pointing out the hypocrisy in
Credit: Global
the Democratic Party thanking Joe Biden after they had efectively pushed him out of the race.
Te audience’s expectations of him prompt questions about a journalist’s impartiality and integrity. Goodall stated in a previous interview with Observer Magazine that he left the BBC partly because he felt his superiors failed to “push back enough” when ex-Conservative communications chief and BBC Board member Robbie Gibb criticised his reporting.
An avid listener of Te News Agents would likely have a general sense of Goodall’s political preferences. He says, “Everybody knows that the
idea of anybody being completely impartial is nonsensical […] because if you are actually passionate about politics, it means you’ve really thought about politics.” He believes that being genuinely “interested and curious about other people’s politics and how they reach their conclusions” makes one a far better political journalist, citing Andrew Neil as an example. He admits, of course, that striking the right balance is tricky, but the goal should be to assure the audience that “they (journalists) may have politics, but they don’t have an agenda.”
Our discussion of impartiality naturally leads us to the
current state of British politics. I raise the concept of a ‘theory of change’, something Goodall frequently mentions on the podcast and in his New Statesman column. He notes that Starmer “has actively eschewed having deep philosophical or political beliefs,” allowing him to be “nimble” in opposition. Yet Goodall believes the story so far of this government is that without a theory of change, “all people end up thinking is that you are a more efective manager of decline.” He thinks it is diffcult but possible for Starmer to develop a theory of change in ofce.
Goodall believes that the pressure on the Conserva-
tives to develop such a narrative in opposition is lower, for historical and structural reasons. He observes that “Labour politicians are expected to be thinkers” and that the Conservatives have an “inbuilt press advantage.” However, the big challenge facing both parties is Reform: “If there is one political force in Britain right now with a theory of change, it’s Farage and Reform.” He stresses that even if Farage’s theory of change turns out to be purely rhetorical, it is still “powerful.”
As our conversation draws to a close, we circle back to Goodall’s matriculation and that earlier political era. Goodall believes that when
The youngest member of parliament in Serbia, and one of the youngest in Europe, Minister Usame Zukorlic is a Serbian politician of Muslim Bosniak and Palestinian heritage. With a career spanning several industries, from law to eco-startups to ethnographic studies to government ofce, Zukorlic is a highly experienced professional fuent in four languages: Bosnian, English, Arabic, and Turkish. Zukorlic recently spoke against me at the Oxford Union, opposing the debate motion ‘Tis House Believes Islam is Incompatible with Democracy’. Admittedly, I was the one who invited him, knowing full well his background in Islamic theology and ethnography, so I kind of walked right into that one. Nevertheless, it was my pleasure, along with my peer Omer Mihovic, to receive him and his delegation (including his chief of staf, Salahudin Fetic, and photographer, Edin Bacevac) at Oxford.
How has your time at Oxford been so far?
“So, I arrived yesterday, and I had a chance to visit Oxford city and some buildings belonging to the University. Te architecture is fascinating. Te culture in London and Britain is very unique; it is my
frst time here. I had a chance in the past to visit 25 European cities in 25 days - with my colleague, Edin, my editor. Tat was in the month of Ramadan, so we had 25 iftars in 25 places.“
ed me, in a democratic way. I didn’t inherit the position, not in a dynastic way.”
You were in another job before this, weren’t you? BioSan, I believe, was its name.
“So yes, originally I worked in my father’s company, Sandzak TV. I had a very good salary for our region at that time, but because I was a teenager and my father was very famous, I didn’t like the rumours that everything was easy for me. So, I asked my father to “escape”.
“I was the coordinator of a very unique project on DNA. I study genealogy as a hobby, and had an operation with the ‘YSEC’ institute, and with genealogy institutions in Houston, who had money to fund us. We collected more than 500 samples of more than 500 surnames on the Bosnian diaspora.”
How is the situation in Serbia now?
“It is better now, yes, haha. I am now the Minister for reconciliation, and represent the Bosniak communities in Serbia. Te name of my Ministry is the Ministry of Reconciliation, Regional Cooperation, and Regional Stability, and the name of my Party is the Justice and Reconciliation Party. Te Party ofcials elect-
I moved from Sandzak TV, I resigned, yes that’s the word. I started it up myself, I did not want accusations of nepotism to my name, so I spent time working with a small shop on organic and healthy food. Since I was a master in economy, I learnt how to manage an economy on the feld! ...but when COVID hit, I moved to diferent felds. I created ‘ITSan’, and moved most of my work to the internet to then be attached to one place.”
What were your university days like?
“I had a very good professor as a mentor, from Georgetown University in Washington. I wanted to apply there to study religious studies as my PhD, and I was preparing myself, in Turkey. I was just leaving Istanbul when I got the call
historians look back on this period and ask what went wrong, the story will be rather straightforward: “Living standards today are basically no higher for the average family than they were when I matriculated at Oxford in early October 2007.”
He remarks that living standards in Britain have not been this stagnant since the Napoleonic Wars, and in hindsight, the country’s “democratic structures and liberal democracy have been remarkably strong by comparison to all the forces that have been pushing and pushing against them.”
Only time will tell if he is right.
that my father… and so I attended the Janazah (funeral), and when we fnished that, in three days the colleagues of my father suggested that I become the President.
meeting on the feld was in the city square, the most crowded I have ever seen a square, and my frst debate today in English is at the Oxford Union. A lot of great opportunities were given to me as a result of my circumstances! As of 6 months ago, I am the youngest minister in Europe; 31 years old when I became Minister.
Tere is an interruption as Majda L., a member of the Serbian delegation to Oxford, joins us and takes a seat.
I was just a student, at that time. He died surprisingly, he was 51, and in the highest power in Serbia, and so I inherited very hard circumstances.
My frst speech, as it is today, my frst political speech, was in front of the President, PM, MPs, ambassadors. My frst
Tere is some shufing of seats so she can hear the conversation.
“My father was very famous in our place, very popular. He told me very often to learn English; it was the one thing he didn’t achieve.”
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Week 6
Thurs 21st Nov
Oxford Town Hall
Student All
Meeting
features@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Faith Caswell
Section Editors: Sanjana Choudhary, Georgia Fielding, Emma Heagney, Sophie Harrison, Emma Heagney, Grace Nelson, Cora Partridge, Nayana Juliette Syed, Natasha Tinsley | Columnists: Betsy Fricker, Rohan Kaya
“Lump of Shit in the Shape of a Bike”
Amongst the many bikes huddled around the Radcliffe Camera stands one that is not entirely like the others. Eye-catching yet skilfully discrete, Louis Wootton-Davies’s art piece
‘Lump of Shit in the Shape of a Bike’ adorns the North Eastern part of the cast iron fence. If noticed, it is as humorous and intriguing as the art gallery plaque that appears once you approach it.
The bike, or ‘the LUMP’, as Wootton-Davies refers to it on his Instagram, is a welded metal construction with long, rusty limbs. Though undoubtedly mirroring a bike, it is delightfully disproportionate, with an elongated frame ending in three wimpy wheels. Where one might expect to find a seat, one finds, instead, two scooter-like handlebars on a blue metal rod. The LUMP is chained to the fence with two bike locks, perhaps to make removal more difficult, or perhaps because that is how one has to lock one’s property in the bike-stealing hub of Oxford.
I noticed the LUMP on my first Saturday back in Oxford for Michaelmas Term: A leisurely stroll around the Rad-
cliffe Camera took me to the exhibition site and brought about the delightful surprise of seeing a bulging metal construction amidst the oh-so-fa-
“ The piece has remained untouched for eight weeks
miliar landscape of Oxford architecture. My immediate thought was to savour the piece in a student article. Partly because of the delicate location, and partly because of the slightly mocking name, I was expecting the LUMP to be soon gone. Yet to both my and Wootton-Davies’s surprise, the piece has remained untouched for eight weeks, ever since it was trundled down from Headington on 2nd September.
There are two places that form the backdrop of Wootton-Louis Davies’s childhood and that feature throughout his art: his dad’s breakage yard, and the local pub. The former features through the use of materials and techniques: scrap metal and welding, respectively. The motives
Wootton-Davies explores his childhood growing up in Shrewsbury and his family’s working-class identity. His Dad (who owns a breakage yard) has a lot of motorbikes, he tells me, “And so it’s kind of me trying to be like him a little bit, me trying to build a bike like my dad, kind of”.
Our conversation quickly moves to Wootton-Davies’ dad and the breakage yard: “We
(2023), a ‘ready-made’ wall piece consisting of a dirty noticeboard taken from his dad’s warehouse unit. The noticeboard has scraps of garbage pinned to it, and seems to have been broken in half, as if someone has tried to fit it in the bin. Wootton-Davies says that his dad and friends are very supportive of his art and excited on his behalf, but that he’ll find them asking, “what is that, can that be art?”
of his paintings, based largely on photos and stories from his parent’s local pub in Shrewsbury, captures the local pub. In his art, Wootton-Davies seeks to take us to these places; to the world that they embody and signify, and to represent the at times sombre reality that forms the rich tapestry of working-class life. It is in these places of hardship and friendship where community and solidarity bloom. I met Wootton-Davies at the Turf a week later to discuss his art piece. The LUMP featured as part of his final exhibition at Oxford Brookes, where he just finished his Masters in Fine Arts. In the exhibition,
“ I want them to be fun, as if you’ve asked some drunk person to name this artwork and they’ve gone out, that’s a lump of shit.
grew up around it, but my dad didn’t let me and my brother and sister be involved in it, because he kind of wanted us to be better than him, you know?
So, there are all these different skills, like welding and fixing the car – he knows everything about cars – that we weren’t taught. And so, especially with [The LUMP], as it’s a welded piece, it’s kind of a full circle of not being taught how to weld by my dad, but teaching myself and making something of it, even though he didn’t want us involved.”
Wootton-Davies also mentions Luxury Apartment
I think the question holds not only for Wootton-Davies’s immediate family, but for his wider audiences. Perhaps someone has passed the LUMP and thought, ‘surely this isn’t art’. The name, ‘Lump of Shit in the Shape of a Bike’, reflects that.
“The names are really important to me,” says Wootton-Davies, “a lot of my names come from doing interviews with my friends and family members, and I’ll pluck quotes from here and there. I think it’s nice to have the way that I speak and the way that my parents speak into the work as well.” But the names reflect more than just his family’s contribution. They also express Wootton-Davies’s general approach to art: “I don’t want my art to be particularly serious. I want it to be like the names, I want them to be fun, as if you’ve asked some drunk person to name this artwork and they’ve gone out, that’s a lump of shit.” Yet through the humour ...
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Photograph of plaque attached to Radcliffe Camera gate. Credit: Nayana Juliette Syed
Nayana Juliette Syed
Photograph of The LUMP. Credit: Nayana Juliette Syed
Why you should visit your local cemetery
Faith Caswell looks at the value of cemeteries, in Oxfordshire and beyond
In the 19th century, burial grounds were designed as attractive public spaces, often on the fringes of towns and cities. According to Historic England, 19th-century urban cemeteries were often designed by the same hands that planned public parks. There are about 3,500 historic cemeteries in the UK (dating
before 1914), though today, many of these are greviously neglected.
Graveyards—smaller plots of burial land often surrounding local churches—are spread all across Oxford. Some of the most high-traffic graveyards in Oxford are those of St. Giles and St. Mary Magdalene. A popular spot for tourists are
Even as a student of Latin American literature in my undergraduate days, I came across Paraguay very little, considering the fact that its capital, Asunción, is the ‘Mother of Cities’, the longest-inhabited city of the Amazon basin and one of the most linguistically, religiously and geographically distinctive countries in the region. I met Bruno Adrian Caballero out of pure coincidence, but when I found out he comes from Paraguay, I knew I had to find out more about a country which, for most people, comes across as familiar in name but unknown in essence.
The one thing Bruno wants everyone to know about Paraguay is that it is friendly; wherever you go in the country, be it Asunción or forested regions in the Amazon, what stands out is how open and welcoming people are to compatriots
also the burial grounds at Holy Trinity Church, for instance, which bear C.S. Lewis’ grave. The four main cemeteries around Oxford, however, are Botley, Headington, Rose Hill, and Wolvercote, all of which are impressively maintained. I visited Wolvercote most recently to see J.R.R. Tolkien’s grave, which is at once beautifully ordinary and uniquely adorned with little notes, coins, and memorabilia from visitors. The signs staked along the path leading to Tolkien’s burial site are small, nondescript marking stones, helpfully guiding visitors while not distracting from others laying peacefully at Wolvercote. As well as bearing deep significance to many religions and cultures, burial grounds also offer ecologically rich green spaces. A 2023 study by
and foreigners alike. He also proudly states how green the country is, to the point that even Blake’s England mountains don’t compare.
He concedes, however, that many countries are known for their friendly citizens and greenery, so what is it that really distinguishes Paraguay? Thankfully Bruno is ready with a few key pointers for anyone who wants to get to know what makes Paraguay unique. First come foods such as ‘Paraguayan soup’, which is ironically not a soup, but a spongy corn cake style of bread. Another is the ubiquitous cold drink, ‘terere’; “just as Argentina has mate, we have Terere.” This is somewhat like mate, but special in being served cold and infused with various kinds of local herbs. Other national symbols are its dams (the biggest in the world), unique two-sided flag, and the beau-
the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences described urban cemeteries as semi-natural habitats, which further serve to “improve air quality” and “reduce the urban heat island phenomenon”. Urban areas are often several degrees warmer than their closest proximate cemeteries; contrary to any supernatural speculation, the chilling air of cemeteries has less to do with haunting presences, and rather more to do with the benefit of being such rich ecological spaces.
Cemeteries also preserve important aspects of cultural heritage and history. According to a plaque at Botley Cemetery, the burial ground “contains a plot of some 170
tiful Metropolitan Cathedral in Asunción.
What perhaps stands out the most about Paraguay, so much so that I couldn’t help asking more about it, is the indigenous Guaraní language. While you may expect to walk through Paraguay hearing Spanish, Bruno explains how “Guaraní is basically a part of all of our lives, no matter where you are from in the country”. Everyone understands it, most speak it, and Paraguayan Spanish is littered with Guaraní calques and vocabulary. While Guaraní faced repression in the past, he tells me, it has now filtered into daily life and speech as an official language, thus becoming the most successful indigenous language of the Americas, according to some.
Bruno, much like last week’s Omer, also came to Oxford as one of the only Paraguayans
First World War burials, many of them made from the 3rd Southern General Hospital which was housed at the time in the Examination Schools and a number of other buildings in Oxford”. Then, “During the Second World War, the cemetery was designated a Royal Air Force a regional cemetery and was used by RAF stations which had then been established ... The First World War plot was extended to accommodate practically all of the cemetery’s 500 Second World War burials, together with almost 70 war graves of other nationalities.” One does not need to have a friend or family member buried in Botley to warrant a visit. Rather, treading the paths set alongside these gravestones... Read the full article on our website.
in the University, as a Chevening scholar no less. Having already completed his education and taught as a law professor in Asunción, he decided it was time to fulfil his dream of studying in Oxford, recalling fondly the joy of sitting next to his mother as they opened his acceptance email. I wanted to know what advice he had for people who have also experienced leaving their home country for the first time, not just for tourism or leisure but to live somewhere entirely new: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” he says, emphasising the importance of support networks. He glows when I ask him what he finds most special and unique about Oxford: “It’s the fact you can speak to someone for hours about incredibly interesting topics... Read the full article on our website.
Rohan Kaya is doing his Masters in Middle Eastern Studies at Pembroke College.
Photograph of Wolvercote Cemetery. Credit: Faith Caswell
Town meets gown
Betsy Fricker advises on how to experience life outside of the Oxford bubble
If you’re looking for more this year, or feel as if you’re trapped in the geographical bubble that can be Oxford University, this article is for you. As someone who has lived in Oxford prior to attending the University, I was surprised to find out how different life is as a student. There are lots of great places around Oxford that most students might not be aware of, so here’s a few of my local favourites.
Pubs
The pubs in central Oxford are great, but they’re packed with students throughout term time. If you’re looking for a nice pub with more of a local atmosphere, try the Holly Bush in West Oxford. A few years ago, it had a complete transformation, and it’s now one of my favourite pubs to visit. You can take a walk along the towpath to get there. They do nice pizzas, and have comfortable seating. Great pub for watching football. Regular student deals. Also, they have the best prizes in their pub
“ There’s always something exciting going on, whether it’s a pub quiz or live music night. I highly recommend spending an evening there.
quiz. Top tier. If you’re a fan of craft beer, Tap Social in Botley is a must. It can be found at the back of an industrial estate, and looks completely different to most of the pubs in Oxford. There’s always something exciting going on, whether it’s a pub quiz or live music night. I highly recommend spending an evening there. If you enjoy Tap Social in the Covered Market, you will love the taproom Restaurants
in Cowley this year, Kazbar is definitely worth a visit. Activities
For when your friends come to visit, take them on a walk through port meadow and finish at the Medley. Grab a pizza and a pint while overlooking the river. Bonus points if you pick your own
“ If you’re in need of a mental health day, take the X40 river rapids bus from St Aldates to Dorchester Abbey.
strawberries at Medley Manor farm beforehand. If it’s a family visit, Mowgli is my top pick. Located on the Westgate rooftop, it is the perfect restaurant for four people (you can get the swing seats). The food is amazing, and there are plenty of options available. I especially recommend the monkey wrap.
Although most of us are on a budget, it can be helpful to have a list of nice restaurants to go to for special occasions. If it’s a celebration with friends, I always recommend Kazbar in Cowley. The interior is stunning; it’s one of the prettiest restaurants I’ve been in. There’s a broad range of tapas to share, and it also doubles as a great cocktail bar. If you’re living in a house out
Christ Church meadow is nice to walk through, but it can get repetitive. One of my favourite things about living in Oxford is that it’s surrounded by countryside. If you’re in need of a mental health day, take the X40 river rapids bus from St Aldates to Dorchester Abbey. There are plenty of walks and places to swim from there. More central is Wytham woods, the best place to go for an autumn walk (partic-
ularly on halloween). Along with Wytham, Bagley woods in Kennington can be easily accessible and both are beautiful.
If you’re in need of retail therapy, Abingdon is the best place to go for a day of charity shopping. All the charity shops are in walking distance from each other, and you can stop for coffee in between. They are also much cheaper than charity shops in central Oxford. Be sure to visit during school hours, as after 3pm, the town gets overrun with Abingdon students.
Finally, after a swim in Hinksey outdoor pool, it is worth visiting Hogacre. It is a space managed by the local community and student volunteers, with a great allotment where you can pick your own vegetables during harvest time.
Having volunteered there, I can honestly say it does wonders for your mental wellbeing.
Hopefully this has given you some ideas of things to try out this year, most of which are outside the typical Oxford bubble.
Credit: Amelia Woon
Photograph of Christ Church meadow. Credit: The OxStu Media Library
Culture
Video Game Spotlight: Cozy Grove
Genre: Life simulation
Platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, XBox, Netflix Games
Developer: Spry Fox
Length: 47 hours (minimum), 170 hours (maximum)
Price: Between £10 and £13(depending on platform) or free with Netflix subscription
Multiplayer: No
In Cozy Grove (2021), you play as a Spirit Scout sent to an abandoned island full of ghostly bears in need of your help. Each ghost has their own personality and story which gradually unfold as your character gains their trust. By searching for mementos from their pasts, your Spirit Scout helps the characters come to terms with whatever is keeping them stuck on this island and eventually
learn to let go. Each bear has their own story (which occasionally intertwine) and a distinctive personality, from the friendly ranger Charlotte to the monosyllabic Ted Sapsen. For anyone who played a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) during lockdown – or just enjoyed the memes – this game has great appeal. Be warned, however: the plot is significantly darker than Animal Crossing and tackles some fairly heavy topics, including disability, self-doubt and financial insecurity. Not all characters are particularly nice, either, initially coming across as cold, obnoxious, or straight-up unethical. However, the overall message of the game is positive, as your role is to support the bears as they process the issues they’re holding on to. Each story is approached with empathy as you explore the characters’ histories and show that their past doesn’t have to define
Food traditions are often passed down from generation to generation. Dumplings are the epitome of this. In Lunar New Year celebrations, families gather around a table to make dozens of dumplings, which symbolise wealth and prosperity. It’s a beau tiful, hands-on ritual that’s as much about family and love as it is about food. Unfortunately, this tradition doesn’t ex ist in my very Indian family, so my dump ling-making journey has been entirely self-taught. It started with a fondness for fried wontons from Chinese takeaways; then, during my A-levels, I practically lived off frozen gyozas, bought in bulk from Costco. Now, ever the sophisticated chef, I make my own when I need some time to relax after a long day, or when
their future.
The sequel, Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (2024) is available with a Netflix subscription and can be played as a standalone game, with a few recurring characters but a fresh story to get started on.
Cozy Grove is a laid-back game to play thanks to its focus on storytelling and peaceful tasks. The game is synced to real time, with daily quests accompanying the quests that are essential to the overall story, and a few characters that only show up on specific days of the week. There is no combat and little time sensitivity, as you generally have until the end of the day to complete tasks and collect your rewards. Like Animal Crossing, you can catch fish and bugs, decorate your island, and plant various trees and flowers to keep yourself busy if you’ve finished your quests for the day. You can also customise your character throughout the
I need an excuse to procrastinate my endless pile of work. The ritual of making dumplings has become a way to unwind – a little escape into the comfort of filling, folding, and frying (or steaming or boiling, but that doesn’t fit the
game and enjoy the range of clothing and hairstyles that are available.
You’ll enjoy this game if:
• Animal Crossing kept you (mostly) sane during the pandemic – bonus points if you found every possible way to make a wholesome game unhinged
• You like ghosts
• You like bears
• You like ghost bears
• You’re looking for a cute (but still spooky) game to play around the Halloween season
en with cabbage). This filling is seasoned with a mixture of fresh and dried aromatics. Aside from the essentials of salt, ginger and garlic, this can be tailored to whatever you prefer. I tend to include spring onions, white pepper, soy sauce, and Chinese five spice. Dipping (or dousing) the dumplings in a mixture of chilli oil (I recommend Lao Gan Ma), soy sauce, and sesame oil makes for the perfect bite.
pork and prawn, or a meat and a veggie mix (pork/chick-
In my second year, up at Univ’s Staverton Annexe, I could often be found claiming a corner of the kitchen, chopping copious amounts of said ingredients, before intricately folding the first dumplings and then clobbering together the last few as I ran out of patience. If my friends were lucky, they’d get ‘dumpling deliveries’ to their rooms; other times, they’d grab a front-row seat and watch the
• This game probably isn’t for you if:
•
• You hate fetch quests –there are a lot of them
• You’re more interested in action than storytelling
• You’re after something to play with friends, as there are currently no multiplayer options.
Cozy Grove is a fun, easy-going game for after a long day in lectures or the library. Be prepared for some sinister undertones but cute art style and dry humour which make up this great low-budget game.
whole process.
Now, making the same dumplings in a new kitchen, in a foreign country (since I’m on my year abroad in France), I can almost hear their laughter and picture their bemused looks as I continue my ritual. I miss them, and I can’t wait for the next time we all gather around a table full of steaming hot dumplings, eating and chatting the night away. Without even realising, I had created a dumpling-making tradition of my own. It may not have come from my family, and I certainly don’t have any ancestors whispering in my ear about the right spices to use. It is mine all the same. Sometimes, the traditions we hold dearest are not those passed down generations, but the ones we create for ourselves. Read
Deputy Editor: Eleanor Grant
Section Editors: Nicole Gibbons, Sophie Harrison, Rufus Jones, Charlie Stevens | Columnist: Shilpi Nanda
Shilpi Nanda is a third year French and History student at University College
Insert image caption text here. Credit: Person
Charlie Stevens is an editor for Culture at the Oxford Student.
Crest Dressed
Kitty Fisher breaks down college microtrends & tells you exactly how your college bedecks itself in this instalment of Crest Dressed
New to The Oxford Student are intimate details on the microcosmic fashion trends flourishing inside each college. Kitty Fisher swoops in to tell all in this week’s Crest Dressed.
Balliol Unveiled
Oh Balliol, bless her, she’s getting on a bit. She’s Miss Havisham, the eclectic grandmother in the attic, best beheld in candlelight. She’s dripping in finery and vinery and slightly sticky from all those radioactive blue cocktail spills. Owing to the enchanting Dervorguilla of Galloway as its medieval patroness, Balliol is timelessly tinged in dark, fantastical femininity. An illusion slightly spoiled by the unnerving amount of
neon crocs I’ve seen shuffling about.
Last year’s student production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show inspired a frenzy of boys at bops experimenting with fishnets and corsets. Even now, every event at college still tempts each eyelid to be re-smeared in black eyeliner which guiltily lasts through all of the following week’s tutorials. My verdict is that Broad Street Grunge is here to stay, complete with the eyebags from 0th week collections as an additional accessory. Fuelling the fever is Balliol’s 99-Percenter-Free-Whiskey-Coffee-and-Cigarettes-Social which consists of, beneath the smoke, students desperately trying to distance them-
selves from their conservative predecessors. It’s a blur of faded Nirvana t-shirts, shaggy wolf-cuts, leather jackets and Che Guevara emblazoned on every spare patch of fabric.
On October 25th, crowds will be spiralling down to the JCR to relish in the flickering atmosphere of the upcoming Dante’s Inferno techno bop. I’m having the divine vision that people will arrive dressed in scorching red, with their scarves, ribbons and skirts draping to the floor, licking the legs of the dancers around them. My advice for the future is to wade into Balliol with care, as she’s swampy and she’s fierce – with long, black, fingernails – she’s a diamond and she’s rough. What Lincoln’s Thinkin’
If the clothes at Lincoln college could stand up on their own, they’d have studied at Eton, bought into the Union, and be a regular for luncheon at the Randolph. Fashion wise, it’s posher than all the plum puddings and signet rings of Rishi Sunak and Bertie Wooster combined.
Credit: Kitty Fisher
Let me explain: the overcoats there are floor sweeping. Selfridge’s entire Winter collection can be spotted swinging past Grove Quad in every crazy shade under the sun… provided that it’s grey.
Read the full article at www.oxfordstudent.com
‘The Flood’: Bettina Von Zwehl’s Wunderkammer exhibition
Nicole Gibbons attends the Ashmolean’s new exhibition
Vitamin D tablets. A Southern Pig-tailed Macaque. An abundance of dog portraits. These are just some of the items featured in a new exhibition by London-based artist Bettina von Zwehl which opened on Friday at the Ashmolean. Titled The Flood, the exhibition seeks to blend the ‘human’ and ‘natural’ in a time of climate crisis, and to invite visitors to look with renewed and transformed perspectives.
Von Zwehl’s exhibition joins previous artists Flora Yukhnovich, Daniel Crews-Chubb, and Pio Abad (shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2024) as the next in the Ashmolean Now series, which invites contemporary artists to create new projects inspired by the Ashmolean’s historic collections.
Von Zwehl’s interest, discovered during her 2022-23 residency in Oxford, lies in the fact that a large proportion of the Ashmolean’s founding collection is now based at Oxford’s Natural History Museum. Through this exhibition, the natural history collections that once were at the centre of the Ashmolean’s project are returned to their prominence. Combining items from the Ashmolean’s original collections as well as her own interpretations, von Zwehl models the eclectic approach to gathering a Wunderkammer (Cabinet of Curiosities), which finds its most striking articulation in the cabinet on the east wall of the exhibition. Stones are given acrylic eyelashes, insect and human are combined through silhouette,
a nautilus shell parallels a belly button – at any moment, you feel that any one of these human/non-human objects could easily come to life in all its uncanniness. Via curated selection and photographic manipulation, von Zwehl transforms the old into the new.
Von Zwehl’s Things series was my favourite in the exhibition. From painkiller tablets to dead mice, plasticine and seaweed, this series - captured by photographing her own collection of daily curiosities under a glass plate - speaks to the oddities of how ‘collections’ of objects might form: the disparate items you might fight rummaging about in your pockets or washed up in the aftermath of a flood. Pine needles, rubber rings, and
metal screws become delicate outlines against a stark white background, accented by the turquoise blue of sea glass or luminescent carnelian. Here,
of Troubles series, it took me a moment to realise that what I was looking at was created using teabags. Though the exhibition is photography based, I was surprised when reading
company the ‘Remember Me.
Read the full article at
What’s On?
Oxford Botanical Garden tour of autumnal wonders. No booking required. Free with entry to the Garden.
Danby Arch, Tuesday 5 November 12:30pm
Oxford United v Hull City Men’s football game. Book tickets online at www.oufc. co.uk.
The Kassam Stadium, Tuesday 5 November 7:45 pm
The Axiom of Choice, a play about free will versus predestination. Written by Marcus du Sautoy. Co-directed by du Sautoy and Lu Descourtier. Book online tickets at www.oxfordplayhouse.com.
Oxford Playhouse, Monday 11 November 7:30 pm, Tuesday 12 November 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Bodleian library workshop on discovering archives and modern manuscripts. Includes Q&A with Bodleian Archivists.
Weston Library Lecture Theatre, Thursday 14 November 10:00 am
Oxford Di-Verse two-day poetry festival including spoken word workshops and performances. Emphasis on diverse voices to kick off Transgender Awareness week.
Exeter College Cohen Quadrangle, Saturday 16 November 10:00 am
Sex and the City in the 1920s: “Ex-Wife”
Ana Pasa is an editor for Culture at the Oxford Student.
New York, the “shining city” of parties and possibilities, is admittedly a cultural obsession of ours. Again and again, we return to it in shows such as Sex and the City, Friends, Gossip Girl or films like When Harry Met Sally. So, when Faber & Faber republished Ursual’s Parrott’s Ex-Wife in August this year, it fit in perfectly with our love of New York-centred narratives and all that they represent. The speed of the protagonist, Patricia’s whirlwind and dramatic life and her quippy, fast-paced narrative represent that modern and seductive cosmopolitan world that we love being drawn into.
In fact, so much of the novel seems strikingly modern: frank allusions to affairs, abortions, drunken nights
and bursts of overt cynicism made it equally shocking and successful when it first appeared in 1929. Not to mention the fact that Patricia has a penchant for buying pretty clothes to make herself feel better about life, and to act as a sort of protective barrier, something which sounds pretty familiar to us. In a similar way, her remark on a bad date that “at the worst it could only result in an amusing tale to tell” reminds us of Dolly Alderton’s “The Bad Date Diaries” in Everything I Know About Love or of the stories about men told over cof fee in Sex and the City. This said, much of the appeal of Ex-Wife also comes from its portrayal of the dazzling world of the
1920s, the world of Fitzgerald, jazz and speakeasies. For women, the 1920s meant a range of new opportunities, including within the working world, and our protagonist is able to support her life of glamorous parties and her love of new dresses, hats and coats with a successful career in advertising. However, to Pat these opportunities are not as fabulous or as liberating as they appear. First separated, then divorced, yet still in love with her husband for much of the novel, Pat regrets that the traditional support of marriage has been corroded. As she laments: ‘Women used to have status, a relative security. Now they have the status of any prostitute, success while their looks hold out. If the next
generation of women have any sense, they’ll dynamite the statue of Susan B Anthony, and start a crusade for the revival of chivalry.’
It is easy to look down on her from our modern perspective for wishing that the feminist movement had not taken place, but in fact this is what makes Ex-Wife such a compelling read. It centres on a generation of women who were raised with traditional values and expectations of marriage, and woke up in a world of liberation in which they found themselves somewhat lost. How do you orient yourself in a world where you can now support yourself financially, enjoy parties and shopping, but at the same time can often find yourself feeling lost and alone? It isn’t hard to understand why Pat is so cynical.
Read the full article at www.oxfordstudent.com
Great British Bake Off: latest
Grace Nelson is a culture section editor at The Oxford Student.
The Great British BakeOff: it’s a show we all know and love. Many viewers — myself included — anxiously wait for Tuesday to see if their favorites will survive another week. It’s be come part of my routine to call my boyfriend over in America to watch the show together (in case you’re curious, our favor ite is Sumayah).
My nerves were especially shot for this episode, as it was the dreaded Caramel Week (how did you pronounce that word, care-a-mel or car-mel? There’s a right way, but I’ll leave it to your discretion). In order to avoid burnt sugar and chewiness, the bakers must
work fast and keep an eye out for the caramel’s temperature. But do they live up to the challenge?
Signature challenge
The signature challenge this week was to make caramel biscuits for Prue and Paul’ser putting their own flavourful
nut stroopwafels which were received very well by the judges. However, the stand-out
“ Paul almost shook her hand. Almost.
Last weeks’ Star Baker, Dylanesting Peaky Blinders-esque hat — opted to incorporate -
ary sweetness of the caramel. Prue and Paul both found them delicious, but the former judge did say the shape of the cookies were reminiscent of a
Representing his homeland of the Netherlands, Chistiaan decided to recreate spiced-
baker of this signature challenge was definitely Georgie, whose peanut butter chocolate cookies appealed not only to my American tastebuds, but also to Paul’s, who almost shook her hand. Almost. He stuck his hand out but immediately rescinded it due to a few cracked cookies. Next time, Georgie. Believe it or not, Sumayah (who has consistently been amazing) wound up in the
bottom two for this signature challenge due to her unset caramel. Nelly, whose personality makes this season all the more entertaining, experienced similar struggles, as her salted caramel cookies were “stodgy”, a big no-no in the Bake Off realm.
Technical challenge Next up was the technical challenge in which the bakers were asked to make pear tarte tatin using a recipe they had not previously seen. This challenge felt especially timely for me, as the dessert at Pembroke’s formal hall that night had been apple tatin (I’d like to think that the chefs watched Bake Off before me).
Read the full article at www.oxfordstudent.com
Night at the Museum: The Musée d’Orsay
Sophie Harrison, in Paris on her year abroad, visits its galleries at night, which ‘proved to be my best decision’.
Having moved to Paris for my year abroad, I decided to take advantage of my newly-stamped EU visa – a golden ticket granting free museum access – with a visit to a bucket-list location, the Musée d’Orsay. Suffice to say, it did not disappoint. Housed in a former railway station, the Musée d’Orsay assembles masterpieces from the most famous French impressionists and post-impressionists: Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cézanne, the list goes on. Though these are all men, the presence of some female artists like Berthe Morisot offers a glimpse into the overlooked historic contributions of women in art.
Visiting at night proved to be my best decision. On Thursdays, doors open for a late night viewing between 6pm and 9.45pm, enabling you to wander around at a slightly less frenetic pace and approach the most well-known pieces
traits.
Realist Paintings
As a fan of French novels associated with ‘le réalisme’ (Le Père Goriot, Madame Bovary, Germinal, etc.), it’s no surprise that I was drawn to the realist paintings on display.
“ On Thursdays the doors open for a late night viewing enabling you to wander around at a slightly less frenetic pace
A flagship work was Gustave Courbet’s Un enterrement à Ornans (A Burial at Ornans), an enormous canvas depicting a provincial burial in the artist’s birthplace. The piece
vine subjects to a so-called mundane scene. It’s one thing to read this fact (or, in my case, to hear it in lectures), but another to see it in person; the scale is truly immense, the colours dull and dark.
Though smaller, Courbet’s L’Origine du Monde (The Origin of the World) is even more striking. An extremely detailed study of female anatomy, this painting had been mentioned in some of my French classes under the category of ‘subversive art’. I can understand why. Rumour has it it’s still forbidden to use this image – from 1866, by the way – as a Facebook profile picture. I’m not inclined to test if this is still the case.
Impressionist Paintings
Though the realist collection of the Musée d’Orsay is fascinating, there’s no doubt that it’s best known for its impressionist paintings. There are so many noteworthy ones that it’s difficult to know where to begin, from Monet’s ‘series’ paintings like Rouen cathedral and the Gare Saint-Lazare, to Van Gogh’s self-portrait and bedroom. I once had to try and recreate the latter for a Year Seven art class; the outcome was fairly atrocious, but it made me appreciate the perspective in the original all the more.
The Van Gogh painting that interested me most, though, was L’Église d’Auvers-surOise (The Church at Auvers).
Doctor Who fans will surely understand why. In the iconic episode “Vincent and the Doctor”, Matt Smith actually takes Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) to the Musée d’Orsay, where they discover a shadowy (invented) figure concealed in the Auvers church window.
Perhaps lesser known is Gustave Caillebotte, an impressionist painter
who also produced more realistic art. This dual leaning is epitomised by the contrast between two of his paintings, now housed in the same
Rumour has it it’s still forbidden to use this image as a facebook profile picture
room. Partie de bateau is an intimate re dering of a man rowing. He invites the viewer in, as though they were sitting in the boat across from him.
Unlike this romantic scene, Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers) – another realistic favourite of mine –presents three men scrubbing
away at the floor of a bourgeois Parisian apartment. When Caillebotte submitted the painting to the Salon art competition in 1875, it was rejected on the grounds that it was ‘indecent’ to show shirtless, working class male subjects. Today, the Musée d’Orsay is staging an exhibition of Caillebotte’s work.
Final Thoughts
If you’re lucky enough to visit Paris, as I have somehow found myself to be, I wholeheartedly recommend a night at the Musée d’Orsay. It’s not a particularly original suggestion, since it is a tourist hive, but with good reason. Moving through the museum halls at night is magical. In the still of evening, a hush falls, and the art seems to invite you to linger a little longer.
Vincent Van Gogh, L’Église d’Auvers-sur-Oise. Credit: Wikipedia
Claude Monet,La Gare Saint-Lazare Credit: Musee D’Orsay
Identity
“Humanitarian crisis”: Language
erases identity
Linh Le spotlights a moment during matriculation when a member of Oxford Action for Palestine spoke up, criticizing the language of the Vice-Chancellor’s speech
During the formal matriculation ceremony last Sunday, a key moment broke through the tradition and pageantry when a member of Oxford Action for Palestine spoke up. According to the student, as Vice Chancellor Irene Tracey delivered her address, she referenced the “humanitarian crisis in the Middle East” without explicitly mentioning the genocide many believe is happening in Gaza. This omission did not go unnoticed. The student publicly criticized her for not acknowledging the reality of the situation and instead opting for more neutral language. This incident serves as a microcosm of the growing tensions between university administrators and student activists, especially when it comes to the institution’s response regarding global crises.
The Power of Speaking Up
The student’s interruption shows not only political conviction but also a broader struggle for representation and acknowledgment. Their protest reflects the frustration of those who see their communities constantly erased from mainstream discourse. By failing to explicitly name the violence in Gaza as a genocide, the Vice Chancellor’s choice of language became a symbol of the institutional silencing that many students from marginalized backgrounds experience. For these students, the act of speaking up is a form of reclaiming space, identity, and agency in a university environment that may privilege neutrality over justice. Identity vs. Institutional Power
semantics: it is a denial of their lived realities and the suffering of their communities. This reluctance also speaks to the broader issue of how institutions manage the identities and concerns of their students, particularly when those concerns challenge the status quo.
At its core, Oxford is an institution built on privilege—economic, social, and racial. For centuries, it has been a bastion of the elite, a place where power is concentrated and perpetuated. While the university has made efforts in recent years to diversify its student body and become more inclusive, these efforts are often undermined by moments like matriculation, where the language and actions of those in power do not fully reflect the concerns and identities of the students they serve.
The Burden of Representation
nor is it limited to students advocating for Palestinian rights. Students from marginalized communities are often expected to be the voices of change, to push their institutions toward greater equity and justice. Yet, this expectation places an unfair amount of pressure on these students, who must navigate the demands of academic life while also serving as activists for their communities.
Language, Identity, and Erasure
At a place like Oxford, where tradition and power are inextricably linked, identity is always in negotiation. For many students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, attending this institution is both a privilege and a burden. On the one hand, it is a validation of their intellectual capabilities and hard work; on the other, it often involves navigating spaces where their identity may not fully fit into the university’s historical mould.
The university’s reluctance to use explicit language regarding the situation in Gaza highlights this tension. For students who identify with or stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, the failure to label the crisis as a genocide is not just a matter of
For students from underrepresented communities, being at Oxford often means carrying the burden of representation. They are not just students; they are representatives of their communities, expected to advocate for the issues that matter to them while also excelling academically. This dual responsibility can be exhausting, especially when their voices are met with indifference or hostility from the institution.
In the case of the student who spoke out at matriculation, their protest was an act of defiance against this burden. By disrupting the ceremony, they forced the university to confront the reality that its language and actions have consequences for its students’ identities.
But more than that, the protest highlighted the emotional toll that comes with being a student activist at Oxford—constantly having to fight for recognition and justice, often in the face of institutional resistance.
The Vice Chancellor’s use of the term “humanitarian crisis” rather than “genocide” also points to the power of language in shaping identity. Language has the ability to include or exclude, to validate or erase. For students who identify with or stand in solidarity with Palestinians, the choice of words in this context is more than just a rhetorical issue: it is a matter of recognising or erasing their pain, their history, and their humanity.
When institutions like Oxford choose neutral language to describe events that are anything but neutral, they send a message to their students that their identities and concerns are not fully acknowledged. This erasure can have a profound impact on how students experience their time at university. For many, it reinforces the feeling that they do not fully belong— that their identities are, at best, tolerated but not truly embraced by the institution.
This burden of representation is not unique to Oxford,
Students from diasporic and immigrant backgrounds often find themselves caught between the identity they bring with them and the identity the institution expects them to adopt. For these students, moments like the matriculation protest serve as reminders that their struggles for recognition and justice are ongoing, and that their place at Oxford is not as secure as it may seem.
The Emperor Heads outside the Sheldonian Theatre. Image credit: Ray Harrington
Column
“NWill McCaffery
is a third year Law student at University College.
ude beaches are filled with uglies and oldies”: this is what everyone told me before my visit to a Greek nude beach, and on a surface level, they weren’t entirely wrong. But focusing on the aesthetics misses something far more interesting happening.
My time in Greece wasn’t the sensual dream I’d imagined after two months of grinding through work, internships, and essays. The ancient statues weren’t sexy, the Pantheon wasn’t hot, and my first day was spent in a jet-lagged haze sleeping until 3 PM. Without plans and seeking something different, I looked up things to do in Athens and discovered there was a gay beach nearby. Perfect.
I didn’t know exactly what level of nudity to expect walking in. I was prepared for anything from Christmas day church service coverage to full naturist freedom. It turned out to be decidedly the latter, which I welcomed, though I quickly noticed the demographic skewed older, with an average age of perhaps 50. After getting settled and gracefully deflecting attention from an interested older gentleman who would end up watching my belongings with respectful distance, I found myself drawn to the only other young people on the beach that day, of which there was a solid 3 who all seemed to know each other.
The first was a French hang glider, whose stories remind me distinctively of the stuff I’d only read about in the 70s anarchist books I’d grown up idolizing. He described train-hopping across America, from Louisiana to California, and traveling around the Alps hang gliding. The thing about hang gliding, he explained, was how it forced you to embrace a certain
kind of vulnerability and trust in strangers - you either needed a friend with a car or had to hitchhike back up the mountain after each flight, gear and all.
He was currently couch-surfing with the second guy I met, a Greek local who worked at a daycare centre. Their connection wasn’t personal - they were simply part of the vast, informal network of global travelers I’d brushed against during my own adventures in New York. This Greek host had made the beach his second home, visiting almost daily even through winter. He knew every hidden cove and quiet corner (which he filled with stories of questionable but nonetheless entertaining life decisions), leading us on a somewhat daring expedition to a spot horrifyingly close to the straight sections of the beach. He’d brought a picnic, spreading out local delicacies, and gave strong father vibes when he offered them openly and insistently to everyone.
The third person in our impromptu gathering was perhaps the most surprising, and the only clothed one amongst the bunch. She was a lifelong friend of the Greek guy, now studying in Leiden. She’d recently spent months on the road with her friend’s band, a journey that led to an unexpected backstage encounter with one of her musical heroes. Her and the French guy exchanged what in any other setting would have been extraordinarily pretentious indie music references, but here it was just similarly interested strangers finding out they were two of the a thousand monthly listeners of some punk rock (and any other amalgamation of adjectives) band.
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Sukkot The Jewish harvest festival
Lucy Pollock is a section editor for identity and features at The Oxford Student
October is a hectic time in the Jewish calendar. Though to be honest, every month is a hectic time in the Jewish calendar. I feel like I am constantly trying to find ways to explain to friends and tutors the differences in the festivals I seem to be constantly celebrating. It is particularly difficult explaining something which was commonplace to you when you were growing up, but which most people have never really heard of. I use terms that make myself cringe, like “Jewish halloween” and “Jewish christmas”, degrading things which hold such cultural significance to me just to make them understandable to the people around me. Even the title of this article demeans what the festival is really about. But since I’m sure many people will walk past the little straw
hut on Broad Street and wonder, “what’s that all about?”, and since Sukkot is my favourite holiday, I figured I’d treat myself, and explain - in some detail - what this specific Jewish holiday is all about. What does Sukkot celebrate?
Sukkot is in prac -
ticality a harvest festival, but in religious terms it is so much more than that. Sukkot celebrates God’s protection over the Jewish people through the desert after the exodus from Egypt: they travelled through the desert for forty years and
Fragments
came to no harm. To celebrate and symbolise this, we sit in the Sukkah. The Sukkah is a hut made of wood and straw. By Jewish law, it must have 2.5 - 4 walls, and is covered by schach (a covering of leaves). There must be enough space between the leaves to allow us to see the stars. The Sukkah is traditionally decorated with fruits, paper chains and drawings. Originally, the Sukkah would be made from wood, but now many are made from canvas and metal poles (a bit like tents). Our vulnerability whilst eating in the Sukkah represents our faith in God. For Jews in England, it is customary to eat and drink all of our meals in the Sukkah. In countries where it is less rainy, many Jews even sleep in the Sukkah, for all eight nights of Sukkot! Each night of Sukkot, we invite a different biblical guest (ushpizin) to eat with us in the Sukkah: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Jews derive their
by Benji Chowdhury
I leave little pieces of myself everywhere: My hair, my skin, fragments of my soul, On the ground, on the table, In the minds of people, In their beds and in their bathrooms, Their kitchens, their chairs, Their floors, their doors, Their ceilings and the sky Right down to the earthy forest floorLike a breadcrumb trail to my heart.
value of hachnasat orchim (hospitality) from Abraham, and in my family we discuss the biblical figure each night and share an idea about what we can learn from them. How do we celebrate Sukkot?
Like many Jewish festivals, Sukkot involves yom tov. Yom Tov is a day (or days) in which Jews are forbidden to do work. The Jewish definition of “work” is different from the modern definition: it includes lighting a fire, completing a circuit, and things such as sewing. In practicality, this means that Jews cannot go on their phones, turn on light switches, watch TV, etc on Yom Tov. There are three days of Yom Tov over Sukkot: two at the beginning, and one at the end. The end of Sukkot is followed by an additional day of Yom Tov, although this is a separate holiday - Sim chat Torah. Yom Tov is traditionally a time to be spent with family, although very few Oxford students are able to go home
this year, as Sukkot is over Weeks 1 and 2 of term. The rest of sukkot is referred
“ ...if you happen to walk past the Broad Street Sukkah, take a note of how carefully it’s been built.
to as chol hamo’ed (chol is translated to “all”). Jews can go about their day as usual, but all meals should ideally be
The lulav and etrog must be shaken forwards, right, left, behind, upwards, and downwards. This signifies that God is all around. The lulav is composed of a palm branch, two branches from a willow and three branches of myrtle. The etrog looks like a very bumpy lemon, and costs about 100 times the price. The symbolism of these objects is vast and differing based on who you ask, but I like the idea that they represent the spine, eyes, lips and heart respectively, and that it is symbolic of using every part of your body to do good in the world.
may have seen people on Broad Street waving about a funny-looking green stick.
With the Tory leadership election concluding in just a few days, all eyes are on the two frontrunners, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. The current Shadow Communities Secretary, Badenoch, is the frontrunner and has been projected to become the next Leader of the Opposition. However, she came under fire for her comments on maternity pay being “excessive” and having “gone too far”. A rift in the party then ensued, with many Tory politicians distancing themselves from Badenoch. She has since claimed that her claims were “misrepresented” and that she does “believe in maternity pay”.
Closer scrutiny reveals that she had not been misrepresented at all. In an interview with Times Radio, she was asked if maternity pay was at the right level. She replied, “Maternity pay varies, depending on who you work for. But statutory maternity pay
What is eaten on Sukkot?
As many of my friends will know by now, Jewish holidays are all centred around food, whether that is doughnuts, apple and honey, or even the absence of food entirely! Sukkot is no different, although people often forget this. On Sukkot, it is tradition to eat foods which are enveloped in other foods (eg, kreplach, a type of dumpling). My favourite dish that my mum makes every year
is a function of tax, [and] tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.”
She further said, “Businesses are closing, businesses are not starting in the UK, because they say that the burden of regulation is too high.”
When challenged on how the current level of maternity pay was necessary for those who could not afford to have a baby without it, Badenoch replied, “We need to have more personal responsibility. There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies.”
Let’s dissect Badenoch’s comments here one by one. Yes, of course there was a time without maternity pay when women had seven or eight children. Perhaps this was before women were encouraged or allowed to have careers of their own and merely treated as breeding cattle. Or perhaps
(and which I am very much missing this year) is holishkes. Holishkes are an Eastern European food. Essentially, it’s minced meat and rice in a tomato sauce wrapped in cabbage leaves (but our recipe always included raisins for some reason). It indicates a bountiful harvest, and is potentially the messiest food possible. I absolutely recommend looking up a recipe and making some - they’re a hearty and warming food and
this was during the blissful time when one breadwinner was able to support a household, before the stagnation of middle-class real wages and the cost of living crisis. For someone who claims to be making an economic argument about taxes and competitiveness, she is either laughably ignorant about the economic realities of having children, or simply living in privileged denial.
If this wasn’t bad enough, Badenoch’s argument about excessive taxation is inconsistent with her argument about the uncompetitive business environment. Either, maternity pay is “tax” because businesses claim it from the government, in which case businesses do not have to suffer the undue burden of paying their employees; or, businesses have to bear the brunt of maternity pay, in which case the money is not shouldered by taxpayers. She cannot have her cake and eat
perfectly fitting for autumn.
There is so much more I could share about this complex and wonderful holiday. But if you happen to walk past the Broad Street Sukkah, take a note of how carefully it’s been built. And in a time where nights are getting shorter and colder, practise some hospitality and invite a friend round for some hot chocolate (or some holishkes)!
it too.
The most ridiculous part is that the Tories claim to be on the side of the family unit. Tory MP Miriam Cates said that the low birthrate was the UK’s top priority and argued that “cultural Marxism” and excessive education were contributing to the existential threat. Even though she was criticised for her extreme comments, the family unit has always been emphasised as an important part of Conservative policy. Implicitly arguing for cuts to maternity pay is all the more puzzling in such a context. Badenoch did face significant backlash for her comments. However, not only did she not suffer electorally, but she actually came out on top in the MP’s ballots for the Tory leadership election afterwards. When one of the most prominent women in British politics is directly attacking...
Read the rest online at oxfordstudent.com
Sharon Chau is a Master of Public Policy student at Queen’s College, Oxford.
A traditional Sukkah in the President’s garden at Magdalen College. Image credit: Lucy Pollock
The science of skincare: tailoring your routine for results
Mominah Ramzan discusses the evidence behind skincare choices
Skincare routines have surged in popularity, with influencers like Skincare by Hyram recommending multi-step routines, and TikTok introducing the latest must-have products. But how do you know what is best for your skin - and which trends are worth skipping. One word, science.
Fundamentally your skin is an organ — the largest of your body to be exact. As with any organ, its health, function and overall performance differs from person to person. Understanding the science that underpins your favour ite products can help tailor your routines to ad dress specific skin concerns, promoting a more sustain able approach to skincare.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, most people can characterise their skin into one of the fol lowing categories:
use harsh products that strip natural oils. Identifying your
“ A more sustainable approach to skincare
• Normal - clear
• Sensitive - stinging, burning or irritation after product use
• Dry - flaky, rough, itchy
• Oily - shiny, greasy
• Combination - dry in certain areas, oily in others
Beneath each pore lies a sebaceous gland that produces sebum, a natural oil. When com bined with fats (lipids), it forms a protective coating on the skin’s barrier, shielding and hydrating it. Some people have overac tive sebaceous glands that produce excess oil, while others have less sebum production or
skin type is the first stage in finding active ingredients that best suit your needs. For those with oily skin, ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide help reduce oil production and balance skin pH. Salicylic acid, a BHA (beta-hydroxy acid), exfoliates the skin, unclogging pores. It does so by loosening and breaking apart desmosomes, the junctions that provide strong attachments between cells, in the outer layer of skin. Additionally, it reduces acne by reducing sebum secretion. Similarly, niacinamide, a water-soluble form of vitamin B3 regulates sebaceous glands, reducing oil production, while also decreasing inflammation, tightening pores, and preventing
Alternatively, those with drier skin may find ingredients like hyaluronic acid more useful. This naturally occurring substance, found in joint and eye fluid, is key to the extracellular matrix; a protein network which
gives structure to our cells and tissues. Though a very popu lar ingredient, many fail to use it correctly, miss ing out on its full potential. Known as a humectant, it is able to retain its weight up to a thou sand times in water. To maximise its ben efit, it should be ap plied to damp skin; allowing it to draw moisturise in from its environment.
“ The most important step of any skincare routine is UV protection
For some, preventing fine lines, wrinkles and ageing is their primary skincare concern. Ingredients like retinoids have been used to increase the
production of collagen, which improves skin elasticity, while further stimulating the production of new blood vessels in the skin, improving skin colour. These Vitamin A derivatives are strong, thus should not be directly layered with BHA’s as they increase skin sen-
Importance of UV pro-
Undoubtedly, the most important step of any skincare routine is UV protection through SPF. UV rays cause premature ageing and increase cancer risk by damaging the DNA inside cells. SPF protects against UVB, prolonging the skin’s resistance to burning. The number on the bottle indicates how much UVB is allowed in, not how much it blocks. Irrespective of one’s age, skin concerns or types, daily sunscreen use is crucial for preventing skin cancer and slowing signs of ageing.
Ultimately, a science-backed
skincare routine is crucial for achieving optimal results. By educating yourself on ingredients and their uses, you can create a routine tailored
“ Consistency and informed choices are pillars of effective skincare
to your skin’s unique needs. Importantly, consistency and informed choices are pillars of effective skincare, promoting healthier, more radiant skin
Editor: Amelia Bryan Section Editors: JJ Fitzpatrick, Nicola Kalita, Yunzhang Liang, Mominah Ramzan
A woman uses a glass dropper. Credit: Pavel Danilyuk
The Eco Corner
Why the grass isn’t always greener: reimagining college lawns
Amelia Bryan
As students at the University of Oxford colleges we may associate our college lawns with the arrival of summer, enjoying the warm weather while socialising or working. But these spaces are more than a place to enjoy the transition to a new season, they are a status symbol. From the popularisation of the lawn in England in the 18th century to right now, they are a symbol of decadence – areas typically of no value economically or environmentally. And often in Oxford they can have little social significance to us, with many colleges implementing a ‘keep of the grass policy’.
cies. For example, groups like arthropods depend greatly on the different types of feeding
They are a symbol of decadence - areas typically of no value economically or environmentally
opportunities various plants provide. When we inadvertently remove this diversity in favour of a neat and uniform lawn we are removing feeding opportunities and habitats for insects. This in turn has a cascading effect on the presence of any other types of organisms that rely on them for
In addition to this, there are even wider impacts created by lawns on the climate as a whole. Some of us may look at
mate and biodiversity crises, could letting go of the traditional oxford lawn be a step in the right direction? And is such a change really feasible in a place so obsessed with tradition?
One similar institution that decided to break with this tradition was King’s college
“ We are removing feeding opportunities and habitats “
Cambridge. When gardeners there decided to not mow a portion of their lawn the re sults were remarkable. Oxeye daisies, poppies, cornflowers and many other wildflowers grew in the place of the grass monoculture creating a typi cal East Anglian hay meadow. This meadow even included
plants that were not sewn and occurred naturally.
Cambridge studied this new meadow and found a large increase in their bio diversity. With three times the species of plants, spiders and oth er bugs. In addition, it was also found likely to be more resilient to a chang
All of these examples show us that moving towards a healthier ecosystem within our colleges is possible. And, that by letting go of tradition we can hopefully restore life back into our green spaces.
A flower in the the OUNCS biodiversity garden. Credit: Beatrice McWilliams
Applications Open
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Student Associates
The Chief Diversity Officer and the Equality and Diversity Unit (EDU) are pleased to invite applications for students to join the EDU as Student Associates on a part-time basis for 12 weeks.
Applications are open to currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 11th November 2024
Debbie Downer addresses your deep-seated issues so you and a threrapist don’t have to.
The OxYou
oxyou@oxfordstudent.com | Deputy Editor: Seth Saupin | Section Editors: Jan Maciejewski, Lara Murrani
Matriculation, Marriages and Making-do
Dear Debbie
Another year passes, another Matriculation day makes a blot on our calendar. Waddling through the city like a colony of penguins in ill-fitting suits and clutching bottles of Prosecco so cheap that for legal reasons it has to be called ‘sparkling grape juice’, this week sees the Freshers legally become people.
The little’ns will don their best garb (the suit they wore to prom), starch their collars, and take the iconic RadCam picture that will sit on their parents’ mantelpiece and inevitably become a LinkedIn profile picture. Your profile already says Oxford, you don’t need the polyester dressing gown to prove it.
It’s a special day of intense drinking, and general menace-like behaviour. If you pace yourself enough to actually make it to your college’s bop, you can look forward to choices that will haunt you for the next three years.
Of course this year, there is a difference to the century-old traditions. A little birdie has heard that this year the freshers were not able to go
punting. Something about water levels being too high, or currents too strong, or an oily sheen on the Cherwell that kills particularly unlucky ducks? Some rubbish like that at any rate. Sink or swim is what we say. The University will be issuing black and white life jackets (to match your subfusc) for the brave souls who wish to test the waters, but we think orange looks rather good with the gown.
It’s a crying shame this year’s newcomers are deprived. There is nothing quite like the rush of being four bottles down and trapped in the middle of the river because you’re so fizzy drunk that your punt has begun to look like the door from Titanic, and there will not be room on it for your Fresh ers’ week hook-up. A wayward punt is forma tive in developing you as an Oxford student. Stuck there in your lit tle raft with a group you suddenly realise you don’t know well enough to be there with, you nav igate the straits
and wonder briefly who you would eat first if you lost the punting stick. The freshers this year are clearly missing out on the meaningful and moving bond formed between a man and his punt-mates. They haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of Undergraduate amateur boatmanship.
Punting trips can even be the beginnings of a beautiful college marriage. That said, any excursion involving alcohol is usually the start of a college marriage. Concern has been raised that the closure of Atik (God rest her soul) might impact college birth rates - how on earth are this year’s Freshers supposed to find a mate if not by having a drunken conversation with a loose acquaintance in the Atik smokers’ area? Bridge will have to suffice. Its smokers’ area already has something of the Love Island villa to it. A fresher’s own parents will be thrilled to watch them learn and grow. Well, the handful of parents that still speak to their children past first week at least. We all swear we won’t end up like our parents, but there you are in Trinity eighth week buying carnations for your kids and realising you don’t remember their surnames and can’t find their pidges. Ah, well. Maybe your kids will be better parents than you were. Probably
Submit your woes to us - our form on the instagram, @theoxstu.
Dear Disease Control...
Dear Debbie
‘Dear OxStu, I’ve just started my first term at Oxford and everyone I know has already caught Freshers’ flu. I’ve got a lot of work piling up, and I’m slightly afraid of catching it and falling behind. What should I do?’
Freshers’ flu (also lovingly known as the freshers’ sniffles, the undergraduates’ under-the-weather, or the Michaelmas miasma) is a familiar foe for many an Oxford student. Insultingly, you don’t have to be a fresher to fall victim. It infiltrates all subjects, all colleges. Only a lucky few manage to escape its grasp in the first few weeks, but the OxStu is here to try and remedy that. So far, only about 70% of students have Freshers’ flu at any given moment, but with your diligent help, we can increase this number. We have compiled, for your sick enjoyment (and for any nefarious purposes you may have), a list of the all best places to catch Freshers’ flu: The Gladstone Link (The Glink) - A small, underground library pop-
ular with students on their eighth all-nighter of the week? Bug paradise. We promise you that after a few hours in there, you’ll walk out a changed student. Well, your immune system will be changed at least. Your college JCR - The more social your JCR is the better. Spend a few hours there a day and you’ll almost certainly start coughing. Make sure to lurk around crowded corners and take very deep breaths. Lick a pidge.
The Radcliffe Camera (The Radcam) - While not an ideal place to get ill, the Radcam is a great place to be ill. Make sure you forget to bring a pack of tissues, your peers will 100% appreciate your sniffling and sneezing. The echo in Upper Radcam adds a certain je ne sais quoi.
Read the full article online at www.oxfordstudent.com. v
Punting. Credit: Amelia Woon
Sports fans, especially tennis enthusiasts, love indulging in what-if scenarios. If Juan Martin del Potro had not been so injury-prone, would we have witnessed a ‘Big Five’ era? If Roger Federer had converted his championship points against Novak Djokovic in the classic 2019 Wimbledon fnal, would he still hold the Grand Slam record? If Nick Kyrgios had more discipline, could he have been a Grand Slam champion and shaken up the top of the game?
Now, many wonder what would have happened if Dominic his motivation after winning the 2020 US Open and injur ing his wrist. Unlike the con temporary titans of the sport, Tiem chose not to extend his career into his late thir ties. Te 31-year-old Austrian bid farewell on October 22, in front of a home crowd in Vienna, losing to Lu ciano Darderi 7-6, 6-2.
Tiem was broadly be loved and had exceptionally
few detractors—a rarity in this era of tribal Big Tree (Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer) fandom. Te contrast between his powerful physical game
Lamenting what could have been for Tiem does a disservice to his stellar career. He far exceeded most expectations set for him early on. He was something of a late bloomer, only entering the top 10 at 22, winning his frst Masters 1000 title at 25, and his frst and only Grand Slam at 27. His two biggest titles came on hard courts—a surface he was never expected to win on— which is a testament to his grit and commitment to improving his game.
and intense work ethic and his soft voice and gentle nature endeared him to fans. From 2017 to 2020, he was perhaps the best show in town with his
When he frst entered the top 10 in 2016, his game was still quite raw. His serve left much to be desired, he barely had a backhand slice, and his shot selection was questionable at times. However, he gradually worked on each area every season, making incremental but meaningful improvee fruits of his labour became evident when he came within inches of beating ve-set classic at the US Open in 2018, hinting at what was to come. By 2019, when facing Federer in the Indian Wells fnal, his improved kick serve made the erence.
Fast forward 18 months, and his game seemed extremely complete: improved volleys, a knifng slice, and refned shot selection. He needed all these skills when he came back from two sets to love against Alexander Zverev in the 2020 US Open fnal. Poignantly, Tiem’s most famous victory took place in an eerily empty 20,000-seat stadium amidst the pandemic. Some criticised the topsy-turvy quality of the fnal, but for many, it signalled the dawn of a new tennis age.
Tiem became the player born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam title. His greatest triumph would prove to be his last. Te mental toll of reach ing those heights in the Big Three era took every thing out of Tiem. Physi cally, his game was never the same after he su injury at Roland Garros in 2021.
of years have been painful for and his fans as he hov ered around the top 100 rank ing without ever looking like his former self.
that this would be his Grand Slam title. However, beating
Perhaps the biggest disap-
pointment of Tiem’s career is that he never won Roland Garros. A two-time fnalist and the heir-apparent to Rafael Nadal on clay, it seemed inevitable
ing record against the Big Tree. He won 16 matches and lost 19. Only Murray and Del Potro have more career wins against the Big Tree, excluding themselves, and Tiem’s 46% win rate is the highest among their closest rivals. In the greatest era of men’s tennis, Tiem made his mark against the greatest players to ever play the game.
Tennis fans should cherish this legacy and appreciate the heights Thiem reached, as they should not be taken for granted. If he can walk away with a smile and his head held high, so should we.
Dominic Tiem at the 2016 ATP Finals. Credit: Ungry Young Man via Flickr
The last week of the London NFL games has just wrapped up with a matchup between the New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars. You could see fans from all over the world heading towards Wembley Stadium, dressed in the colours of their favourite NFL team. Passionate fans in good spirits and colourful clothing looking forward to a sold-out event in Wembley Stadium... Sounds familiar?
I think I’ve seen this flm before on August 17th– the last show of the European leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in London. Te audience was chanting, singing and cheering for the person who inspires them, just like your regular NFL fan does. As both a Swiftie and American football fan myself, I was wondering why there seems to be such a fear of contact between both
fan bases, especially when they have so much in common.
Luckily, Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has helped bridge that gap. For those Swifties who are still feeling reserved or don’t know where to start when it comes to American football, I will provide you with an introduction that will aim to show case what is so appealing about American Foot ball (except for Mr. Kelce him self).
Firstly, contrary to what you might think, American football is not just an aggres sive contact sport. strategic aspect of planning and execution that is no less important than physicality. Tink of it as a physical game
of chess with human pieces. In football one ‘chess move’ is called a “play”, and each team has a so-called “playbook”, where they store hundreds of
Five days into my year abroad studying a Russian language course in Yerevan, Armenia, I broke up with my boyfriend of almost two years. Two years of my undergraduate experience consisted of living in the same college accommodation, going to BOPs, drinking, cooking, and dedicating ourselves to late-night library sessions together. I felt like I had set the safety blanket of my relationship on fre and had exposed myself to the reality of having to learn who I am without it. Suddenly, the infuriating honking of cars and the sobbing of the newborn I share a wall with are welcome distractions to my overthinking.
American football is closely connected to most family traditions as there are matches on Tanksgiving and Christmas. Yet, the close connection between NFL games and family holidays is far from the only way American football brings people together.
Te Super Bowl halftime show has become a staple of American pop culture where only the biggest artists perform, many for whom it is a career-defning moment. Celebrities are regular attendees at games resulting in various crossovers between pop culture and the sport with spillover efects. Taylor Swift’s attendance at Kansas City Chiefs regular season games increased female viewership, allowing many fathers and daughters to bond over something new.
Read the full article online at oxfordstudent.com
I began pursuing noise that could drown out the negativity. Te frst port of call: a visit to a techno club housed in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Pulling up to the club in a taxi with a bunch of new girlfriends, we had no idea what to expect. Te road leading there was concerning enough; no streetlights, no signs of life but twiggy trees swaying in the breeze on each side. It was only the thudding of heavy bass that let us know we were close. Te building itself was crumbling away at the balconies, with cracks running up and down its pasty cement walls. Videotape hung artistically from the ceiling at the entrance, sculptural led exhibits and abstract paintings created a microclimate of modern art and cul-
ture growing out of a post-Soviet wreckage.
Tis was my frst experience at a techno club. My Jäger-infused brain was transfxed by the lights behind the booth at the front of each room (there were three), and the music’s bass made the room shake on every beat. Each person, whether they were English, Russian, or Armenian speaking, was dancing in their own
bubble. People danced rarely danced together; it was an individual experience. Everyone simply let the music move their bodies like NPCs in a narrative video game. Ironically, from that night onwards, music quickly became my source of serenity. I have reconnected with my love for singing by fnding a Russian-speaking opera teacher. Insisting on two 2-hour classes per week, she welcomes me at her door on the top foor of another post-soviet brutalist building and leads me to her piano. As my abdomen and vocal cords are put through the motions of “breathing from the diaphragm”, I can sing to the beautiful Mount Ararat through the window as the sun begins to set behind it.
Artwork by Rhea Kaur
Oxford University won the frst-ever race to take place in 1829. Te 2025 Boat Race, scheduled to take place on the 13th April. In the most recent Boat Race, Cambridge came out on top, beating Oxford University in both the Men’s and Women’s Boats. Te Oxford Women’s Reserves, known as the Osiris Boat, did, however, see victory, winning by a margin of fve lengths - the Men’s Reserves were defeated by their Cambridge counterparts.
Te famed competition is now set to be sponsored by Chanel and will be called the ‘Chanel J12 Boat Race’ in honour of the brand’s J12 unisex line of watches.
Te J12 retails between £5,800 and £27,500. T of the line was sponsored by the J Class 12 metre race boats, which were popular in the 20th Century.
cryptocurrency company after the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Chanel and The Boat Race have signed a contract for the brand to be the official
In a statement released by Chanel, was announced that “the longterm partnership is an expression of a
ACROSS
1 Sad rites arranged for catastrophe [8].
5 Everyone, i.e. 500, were joined in battle [6]. 10 Classic retro style, emerging from eccentric redcoat [3,4]. 11 It might be a squash: take heart, perhaps, before family comes [7]. 12 E.T., following his
return, has hesitation and wobble [6]. 13 Obama memoir may be fattering [8]. 15 It can be lower, for instance [4]. 16 Vetoing him might get messy - time to grab the popcorn! 18 Hence trend unexpectedly becomes ingrained [10]. 20 Bran is milled in farm building [4].
shared philosophy, one of an uncompromising pursuit of excellence which relies on collective effort to succeed.”
The partnership comes as Chanel seeks to raise awareness of the J12 model and improve the company’s presence within the United Kingdom.
After relocating the company headquarters to London in 2018, Chanel has made an effort to showcase their
23 Spot celebrities and feel dizzy [3,5]. 24 Where to watch the big game from afar is changing [6]. 26 Biscuits nearly led to new recruits [7]. 27 Almost deifes abandoned building [7]. 28 Iris is terrifed to conceal who might be found in convent [6]. 29 Good man produces a sound and stammers [8]
DOWN
1 What extreme circumstances call for when assured ceramist becomes ensettled [7,9]. 2 Crossword compliers are dogs [7]. 3 Heartlessly sow garden in Nordic country [7]. 4 God of love, in pain, goes up [4]. 6 Parodies by accident (oops!) man with Latin opening [8]. 7 Faint suspicion of what’s contained in pink linguine [7]. 8 Encourage lack of imagination? Be smart about this now! [4,3,3,4]. 9 Spa is renovated and home to small desires [9]. 14 Relish, I hear, cress not originally for witch [9]. 17 Hit with staple for woman [8]. 19 Matt remorsefully has shudders [7]. 21 Greed is pointed out by Church of England following a very ancient religious institution to begin with [7]. 22 I am going up, holding on to love, on street representing communist [6]. 25 Defeat beast without sword initially [4].
various collections within the country.
Chanel follows in the footsteps of other luxury powerhouses, such as Louis Vuitton and LVMH who sponsored the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
