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Editors: Agatha Gutierrez Echenique (senior); Jessica De-Marco Jacobson, Jessica Kaye, Kiki Wrece (section) oxstu.pink@gmail.com

The Oxford Student | Friday 27 May 2022Pink

‘Tuesgays’: A Review

Kiki Wrece

On Tuesdays each week, the OULGBTQ+ Society holds a drinks event – called Tuesgays – at different locations around Oxford. Over the past year, I’ve been to a few of these and I thought I’d give my thoughts on how the event differs from place to place.

What follows is very idiosyncratic and may feel like a series of footnotes without any substance. I haven’t included every single college, and the selection is basically random. So, if your college doesn’t show up, I’m sorry Maybe that’s for the next edition!

Worcester College

This was the first Tuesday Drinks I ever went to. Worcester is big. If you go when it’s dark (which it was when I went), watch out for the pond. You don’t want to fall into the pond. Not that I fell in myself. Really, I didn’t. I just had a shock of fright when I realised how close I was to the pond, and how hard it was to see. It doesn’t help that there is no fence or railing or any other intermediary material that might halt someone in their transit from land to water.

The room the actual event was in was enormous. Perhaps the only room that has held this event and been big enough for it. Again though, it was dark. To be fair, it looked like the kind of building where you’d need a degree in stage management just to know how to turn on the lights.

Jesus College

The event was full to the point of suffocation. I remember it took about half an hour to get a drink. I grew old in that time.

Keble College

On the other hand, this event was empty to the point of embarrassment. Drinks were held in a marquee, which was a great disappointment to me. I always think that part of the allure of these events is that it gives you the opportunity to see colleges you haven’t seen before. If I’m going to see a new college, I’m not interested in their marquee. One the flip side, the lack of people in attendance meant that you could actually hear the people talking to you.

The Student Union

Whatever activity you want to do, the SU is probably not a good place to do it. Unless the particular activity you have in mind is feeling a little miserable in uninspiring surroundings that make you feel like you work in an office. This event consequently felt a bit like a works-do, like we had all come to a retirement party. That said, the turnout was surprisingly good and I was accompanied by a different friend that week, which made things more interesting too. The wild success of drinks here inspired us to attend the same event the week after – also, as it turns out, in the SU.

University College

‘Relatively nondescript’, was my friend’s verdict of this event. On a positive note, they did hold the event in the hall, which provides a great opportunity for inspection of the portraits (one of my favourite games).

Brasenose College

This was a marquee situation again. To be fair, Brasenose doesn’t really have a room big enough to hold a Tuesday drinks, so the marquee was the only option. Despite the mild disappointment in terms of location, this Tuesgay event was a nice addition to the Brasenose Arts Week and was brought to life by a show of pole dancing at the start of the event.

I hope the reader has found something of use in these keen observations. This review of Tuesgays is intended in good spirit and it should be noted that I’m very grateful to the OULGBTQ+ Society for putting on Tuesgays, wherever they manage to do it. Liked the review? For more information concerning OULGBTQ+ Society’s Tuesgay events, visit their Facebook community: Oxford University LGBTQ Society. This page is regularly updated with their Tuesgay events, as well as other fun (and informative!) events for students to attend!

UK Commemorative Pride Coin

Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson(ed).

On 20 May 2022, the British Royal Mint issued a commemorative 50p coin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UK Pride Movement, made in partnership with Pride in London. The coin will not be in circulation. Instead, it will only be available online.

The Royal Mint has historically used the 50p coin to commemorate special events. This is the first time that official UK coinage has celebrated the country’s queer community. More specifically, the Pride UK 50p coin commemorates the first UK Pride event, which took place in London in 1972. People marched in solidarity with the New York Stonewall Riots.

The new Pride coin has the number “50” inscribed at the top. Its face features a silver filigree with a heart motif. There are five rainbows which feature Pride in London’s five values: Protest, Visibility, Unity, and Equality. At the bottom is a series of five chevrons: white, pink, blue, brown, and black. These five chevrons, in combination with the rainbows, are a reference to the Progress Pride Flag. The coin was designed by an east London artist, writer, and LGBTQ+ activist: Dominique Holmes.

In an interview with Dezeen, Holmes said they designed the coin with the purpose of evoking “images of the original Pride marches – the hand-made placards and protest signs calling out the demands of the brave LGBT+ people who were taking to the streets to fight for their rights.”

Those involved in the coin’s creation have been excited about its imminent release. Pride in London director Asad Shaykh told the BBC

Image Credit: Royal Mint logo via wikimediacommons.org. Rainbow in background taken from freepngimg.com.

that “Nowhere in the world had this been possible, except the UK. Pride in London feels very proud today.”

However, some have criticised the coin, given that recent attempts to ban conversion therapy do not include transgender people. Others have criticised the release of the coin as an act of performative activism.

The Pride UK 50p coin will be released this summer, but the Royal Mint has not announced a specific date.