Issue 1 - Hilary Term 2015

Volume 72 Issue 1

Thursday 15th January 1st Week

oxfordstudent.com

University defends Vice Chancellor’s pay • Response issued to student criticism of Hamilton’s £442k salary LUKE MINTZ & LAURA WHETHERLY NEWS EDITORS

PHOTO/ World Economic Forum Flickr

Unpublished report finds BME students “socially isolated” • Report notes the “greater visibility” given to feminist and LGBTQ campaigns over issues of race • “I’ve successfully made myself fit in to Oxford and, in that process, I’ve actually lost myself” LUKE MINTZ NEWS EDITOR

An unpublished report seen by The Oxford Student claims that Oxford University suffers from a “culture that struggles to welcome differences in race and ethnicity”.

The 100 Voices Report, produced in March 2014 by OUSU’s Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE), describes feelings of “social isolation” among BME (black and minority ethnic) students in Oxford.

Despite the description of 100 Voices on CRAE’s website as an attempt to

“share the experiences of BME students at Oxford”, the report has not yet been made publically available, ten months after its initial production.

The report cites a lack of racial diversity and a Western-centric academic curriculum as among Oxford’s main racial problems. It goes on to recommend a “cultural shift”, urging the University to create more safe spaces for the discussion of racial issues, provide more BME-specific welfare, and broaden the racial diversity of its staff and students.

According to the report’s Race Survey, 59.3 per cent of BME respondents

have in the past felt uncomfortable or unwelcome at Oxford due to their race, with 57.75 per cent viewing racism to be a problem in Oxford (versus only 39.5 per cent of white students). Additionally, 71.1 per cent noted a lack of racial diversity among the University’s teaching staff.

OUSU’s current VP for Equal Opportunities, Chris Pike, described 100 Voices as “an incredibly exciting piece of work which has had fantastic effects already as the University considers its policy and curriculum into the future”.

Pike continued: “We hope to release the report publicly in the future, but

for now we want to use it in the most constructive way possible.”

The report combines findings from the 100 Voices Project, which conducted face-to-face interviews with around 70 BME students last year, and the 2014 Oxford Race Survey, the findings of which are already publically available.

One interviewee described an occasion at a college photo shoot in which a tutor remarked “ah excellent, a woman and an ethnic” upon seeing who he was being photographed with.

Continued on page 5 »

Features, p.20

Comment, p.9

Everything you need to know about BME activism in Oxford, and the need for a wake-up call in the student body

Andrew Hamilton’s salary, and questions of whether higher education is becoming all about the money

The University has defended the pay of its Vice-Chancellor, Andrew Hamilton, following criticism from students who condemned his £339,000 salary as “disgraceful” and “insulting”.

A University spokesperson justified Hamilton’s pay, which stands at £442,000 once benefits and pension are included, on account of Oxford’s “great institutional complexity” and “vast” research output.

The statement was released following Monday’s “day of social media action”, in which activist group Oxford Defend Education encouraged students to share statuses, memes, and tweets, to protest Hamilton’s pay.

The spokesperson commented: “Oxford is one of the great universities of the world, making a major contribution to the economic prosperity of the UK as well as to tackling global challenges through its research.

“Its research output is vast, it has an almost billion-pound-a-year turnover not including the colleges and Oxford University Press, and it has great institutional complexity. The University must remain globally competitive and its Vice-Chancellor’s remuneration needs to reflect that.”

Oxford Defend Education, however, was deeply critical of Hamilton’s pay, which according to data compiled by The Times is the highest of any ViceChancellor in the country.

Hamilton’s pay is considerably higher than that of the Vice-Chancellor of Continued on page 6 »

2 Editorial

EDITORIAL

15th January 2015

Using our platform

J

ournalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Nowhere do George Orwell’s oft-recited words seem more apt than with regard to the 100 Voices report. Like the admissions statistics for those in receipt of free school meals and the anecdotes of the ‘I, too, am Oxford’ campaign, we believe the findings of the report should be brought into the public domain. However, we accept there may be those who do not.

Perhaps our publication of details from the report will “set access efforts back ten years”, as we have been warned. Considering the lack of access to such specific statistics, we doubt it. Perhaps, instead, bringing these issues to the fore will generate public pressure conducive towards building real change. This is our hope, and such a view is argued for on page 11.

To adopt a tunnel vision now would be foolish. Let us acknowledge the weight of the report, and let us strive to achieve the changes that are so urgently needed. But we should also appreciate the work that is being done by dedicated and determined BME activists amongst our student body. This is not to deny the existence of discrimination in Oxford; this is to suggest there is a sufficiently strong framework for activism for us to be optimistic about the future. For an in-depth feature on Oxford-based BME activism and details on how to get involved, see page 20.

Due to the political climate of the

University, we feel it necessary to add a word of caution. The views expressed in these pages – the preferences and the values held – can only conclusively be said to be that of the writer, and the writer only. The Oxford Student does not have an homogenous conscience, and we are proud of the diversity of our contributors. By its nature, The Oxford Student is one of the largest ‘platforms’ in Oxford. If we refused to platform, we would not have a paper.

It is worth remembering that silencing a voice alone is not enough to dispel the thoughts behind it.

Similarly, ignoring a report will not eradicate its findings.

A fresh start

P

eople have told us that The Oxford Student is dying.

This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the state of student media, because the fact that we have more competition is not a sign of weakness; the more we come up against other publications, the greater our motivation is to build on our strengths and constantly improve what we are doing.

At universities where there is only one student newspaper, there is no incentive to make it better. Oxford provides us with many worthy rivals, for whom we are thankful. Their jibes over Twitter, their relentless news-hounding, and their latenight banter over Gmail instant messenger have all provided us with that extra reminder to keep going.

And it really has paid off. Look through the forty pages which you

hold in your hands right now and you will find a News section packed full of stellar reporting, a crop of excellent Comment pieces, some remarkable Features journalism and a fantastic spread of Sports.

But our pride and joy is still OXII, the legendary culture pullout. The first in a long list of “Thank You”s has to go to our incredible Creative Director, Tom Barnett. His vision has transformed every section, making each a delight to look at, as well as to read. Look out for the new logos, illustrations and photography which Tom and his Creative Team have made for us, especially in OXII. At the risk of sounding like gushing award-winning actresses, there are a few more people we need to extend our gratitude to. Our news team has worked unbelievably hard throughout the vacation, covering everything from female bishops to dodgy pizza vendors.

All in all, we have published over one hundred articles on the website over the holidays. That’s unprecedented, and we couldn’t have done it without our Section Editors, whose brilliant ideas have kept our online presence constant and interesting. The same goes for our Deputy Editors, who have been on-hand throughout, and have spent many hours in the office putting this whole thing together.

There’s no handbook for being Editor of The Oxford Student, nor is there a set way of doing things. We’ve put our all into this paper, and we hope you enjoy it. If you like what you see, and fancy getting involved, drop us an email: editor@oxfordstudent.com.

Here’s to Hilary.

Get involved with student social action www.oxfordhub.org

News 3

15th January 2015

Low admissions for free school meal pupils OULC concerned for women • University blames “serious disparities in school attainment” • Women’s involvement labelled “negligible” MARY GEORGE NEWS REPORTER

Oxford University accepted three times as many pupils from Eton College than pupils on free school meals between 2009/10 and 2011/12, new Freedom of Information figures have shown The figures, obtained by the Daily Express, show that only 50 pupils on free school meals successfully applied to the University over the three year period. Free school meals are an indicator of low family income.

This contrasts with the much higher acceptance rates for some top private schools, including Eton College and Westminster, the former schools of David Cameron and Nick Clegg, from which 152 and 144 were admitted respectively over a similar threeyear period (2011 – 13). Other highachieving schools included St Paul’s school, with 78 successful Oxford applications during the same period.

Oxford performed slightly worse than Cambridge in attracting applicants from low-income backgrounds, with Cambridge accepting 70 free school meal pupils during the same three year period.

The University spent £5.67 million on outreach work, including school visits and summer schools,

in 2012-13, with a further £10.79 million spent on support for students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dr Lee Elliot-Major, the director of policy for the Sutton Trust (an educational charity), stressed the importance of having a degree from a top university for finding a “good job”.

He continued: “All bright kids should have those chances, not just those whose parents can pay high fees. We believe the Government should introduce a national programme of support for highly able children from low and middle income backgrounds.”

However, the Department for Education told the Daily Express that progress is being made, claiming that “disadvantaged primary school pupils achieved their best ever results this year and the attainment gap between rich and poor is narrowing faster today than when this Government came to power”.

They continued: “Tackling the attainment gap has been a priority for this Government.”

A spokesperson for the University defended Oxford’s record, stating: “The figure of only 50 children on free school meals ending up at Oxford is terribly low, but the picture

is about far more than university admissions alone.”

They continued: “At least 80,000 children were eligible for free school meals last time full figures showing attainment were released. Of these, just 176 achieved AAA – the minimum to make a competitive application to Oxford or Cambridge. But of those 176, around 50 ended up at Oxford or Cambridge – which is a very good success rate indeed.”

The University also blamed “serious disparities in school attainment” to explain the admissions figures, commenting: “It is unfair to hold Oxford accountable for inequalities that come into play long before students even consider applying to university.”

When presented with the figures, OUSU VP for Access James Blythe emphasised the need for outreach work to be “truly targeted, effective and impactful”.

He continued: “These articles appear with saddening regularity, but that in no way diminishes the seriousness of the statistics they present.

If any student reading this is not doing anything to promote access, they should consider coming along to OUSU’s first ever Access Showcase in 3rd week to hear about ways to get involved”.

Corpus finalists removed from college • Renovation work sees undergraduates relocated across Oxford BERTRAM BEOR-ROBERTS DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Corpus finalists have been moved to offsite accommodation and second years to North Oxford as renovation work begins at the College.

Undergraduate students from across all years at Corpus Christi are returning to entirely new accommodation this week, as long-contested plans for renovation begin.

Corpus Christi will start major work demolishing the New Building on Merton Street this term, where Corpus firstyears are usually housed. The subsequent displacement of freshers necessitates a full accommodation reshuffle.

This has particularly affected thirdyears, who usually live in college.

Third year Physics student Dan Shearer commented that the complex living arrangements are “a failure on the college’s side for not wanting to engage the JCR in a discussion about what they wanted”.

Shearer also remarked: “The JCR committee at the time was partly to blame, as they had a very hostile attitude to members of the SCR which meant that there was a lack of political manoeuvring space when it came to the discussion table.”

The renovation works were originally intended to affect last year’s finalists.

However, delays due to efforts by The Twentieth Century Society campaign to have the New Building listed meant that planning was only obtained last year.

The JCR’s attempts to keep finalists in college were unsuccessful.

Corpus’ JCR Accommodation Rep Sam Breen stated: “Given the logistical nightmare that is shutting down a major accommodation building and having to find space for everyone, I believe both the college and the JCR have coped extremely well. Due to the way our ballot system works, finalists get priority in choosing rooms and as such all are no more than a ten minute walk away from Corpus. It is a shame however that they will not be able to enjoy the more beautiful college rooms.”

However, Shearer maintains the finalists are housed further than claimed, “around 20 to 30 minutes away from college”.

Other finalists and second-years have been moved to North Oxford, with ten students as far away as Staverton Road – two streets up from Oxford’s most northerly undergraduate college, St Hugh’s.

Current OUSU President Louis Trup’s 2013 manifesto included a proposition that St Hugh’s be connected to central Oxford via monorail, due to its significant displacement from the city centre.

Second year History student Florence Wang commented: “The location is unbelievably annoying…when we applied to Corpus, no one told us that this would happen – many people chose the college for its location at the heart of Oxford”.

Not all students are unhappy about the accommodation shifts. First-year Jemimah Taylor said freshers recognized the inconvenience to finalists; however, they also “appreciate that the College are keeping the first-years closer and are all quite excited about getting to live in the loveliest accommodation”.

The College did not reply to our request for comment.

PHOTO/Monika Kostera

LAURA WHETHERLY NEWS EDITOR

Oxford University Labour Club’s Women’s Officer has expressed concerns in her Michaelmas report that women’s involvement in OULC is “negligible compared to that of men”.

Anna Coombes, Women’s Officer at OULC, stated in the Michaelmas OULC report that: “Despite the high level of involvement from new women members, attendance of existing women members has declined. And thus, the overall involvement of women in OULC still remains negligible compared to that of men.”

In addition, Coombes noted that they have found it “challenging to find enough women to fill all the mandated positions” in executive posts within OULC, and that they had “not succeeded in the aim of hosting more women speakers who are not party politicians”.

OULC hosted several events aimed at women during Michaelmas term, including women’s cocktails in 3rd week and a women’s brunch in 5th.

The OULC Women’s Caucus, the group dedicated to women within the wider Club, has 30 members on their Facebook group. The main Facebook group for Oxford University Labour Club has 990.

Magdalena Leao, taking up the position of Women’s Officer for OULC in Hilary, commented on behalf of OULC: “It is the case that OULC has been quite concerned with the level of women’s participation in the club. It is because of this concern that OULC has been working hard to promote the interests of women in the club.

“Unlike some of the other political societies in Oxford we have a women’s officer (which is a position elected a term in advance so she can work with

any future co chairs) and an electoral system which ensures women are equally represented (due to a weighted caucus). We are also fortunate that despite the worries expressed in our end of term report we in fact managed to ensure that just under half of our exec positions were filled by women. It is also encouraging to note that over the next two terms we will have gender balanced co-chairs.”

Neither Oxford University Conservative Association nor Oxford University Liberal Democrats have a ‘Women’s Officer’ or similar position on their executive.

Other political groups in Oxford have also noted the need for women to become more involved in student politics.

During Michaelmas Term, OUCA invited Minister for Women Nicky Morgan to address women from across political groups on the topic of how to get more women involved in politics. This was attended by members of OULD, OULC and Oxford Women in Politics.

OUCA head, Maryam Ahmed (then Treasurer) chaired the event.

Ahmed commented: “I’m incredibly proud to be President-elect of such a diverse and progressive society as OUCA. We’ve been doing a lot of exciting work to engage women in politics this year, and as a woman of colour I’ve found my fellow members to be endlessly supportive and encouraging.

“Of course there’s a lack of women in politics, but the problem lies with society as a whole. Until the media stops fixating on Theresa May’s footwear rather than her policies, until toy shops stop peddling dolls for girls and Lego for boys, and until our society develops a healthy attitude towards women in all positions of power, women won’t have equal representation in government or any sphere of public life.”

PHOTO/Labour Party

maps.ox.ac.uk

The New University Interactive Map Search for university and lifestyle stuff Works on desktop, mobile, and tablet Have a look and tell your mates too!

Any issues? email maps@ox.ac.uk

15th January 2015

CRAE report's "highly powerful" findings remain unpublished • “Ah excellent, a woman and an ethnic” – the words of one Oxford tutor at a college photo-shoot LUKE MINTZ NEWS EDITOR

» Continued from front page Another criticised their English Literature degree as “mainly a study of white male authors”, with another noting a feeling of separation from their subject’s predominantly “white, middle-class professors”. All accounts and opinions were reported anonymously.

An email sent to CRAE members in 2014 thanks the report's producers for “being part of the growing tide of awareness and commitment to recognising and addressing inequality”.

Charlotte Hendy, last year’s OUSU VP for Equal Opportunities and a key figure in the report’s production, described 100 Voices as only an “internal document”, and refused to explain why it has not been made publically available when approached for comment, citing the fact that she is “no longer a student representative”.

Hendy was described by the CRAE email as the “constant OUSU power behind the scenes”.

The material in 100 Voices was also used in CRAE’s Race Summit with the University in Hilary 2014. The

press statement released specifically for the summit, however, declined to mention the report.

When asked why the report has not been publically released, CRAE cochair Hope Levy-Shepherd stressed the “highly powerful and sensitive” nature of its findings, commenting: “Conversation about releasing the report is one that we’ve formally opened in our open weekly CRAE meetings twice over the last year … we want to make sure it is released publicly in the most constructive way possible.”

Levy-Shepherd, a student at Regent’s College, continued: “We definitely look to release the full report to the public in the near future to maintain momentum.”

The report criticises the lack of safe spaces available for BME students to discuss racial issues. Only 42.5 per cent of the survey’s BME respondents felt there were enough platforms to discuss race, with one student noting the difficulty of raising racial issues as “the only person of colour in that JCR meeting”. Another respondent noted the “greater visibility” given to feminism and LGBTQ campaigns over issues of race.

One BME student described an oc-

casion in which they were asked by a porter to hand in a Bod card before entering their College. “I had never heard of porter’s doing this before, and no one I know has ever been asked to do the same,” the student added.

Commenting on the perceived cultural isolation of BME students, one respondent said: “I think I’ve successfully made myself fit in to Oxford and, in that process, I’ve actually lost myself.”

The report recommends a general broadening of student and staff racial

diversity, and a shift away from the perceived “eurocentralism” of several academic courses. Some of the more specific recommendations include the establishment of a BME peer support scheme, an elected BME officer in every college JCR, and a greater focus on cultural awareness during Fresher’s Week.

Last year, the I too am Oxford project attracted national headlines, with numerous BME students taking to Tumblr to repeat the racial ignorance they have encountered at Oxford.

PHOTO/The Oxford Student

U-turn over St Hugh's 'Queerbop' naming

• 'Queerbop' becomes 'Express Yourself' after accusations of 'stereotyping' from students SCOTT HARKER NEWS REPORTER

The name of St Hugh’s first bop of Hilary term has been changed after a number of student complaints.

The event, originally named ‘QueerBop’, is now called ‘Express Yourself’, following a vote held on Facebook in which students approved changing the event’s name but not the whole theme. The number of complaints received against the original

name has not been disclosed.

Concerns about the bop’s name centred on the belief that it referred to stereotypes and would be interpreted negatively. St Hugh’s fresher Lauren Martin criticised the original naming on Twitter by saying: “‘Queerbop’ is the worst theme ever, stereotypes LGBTQ people and is frankly disrespectful.”

Second year Law student Jake Dark voiced similar disagreement, tweeting: “It’s asking for trouble … does this mean we have to have a straight/trans/

etc bop too?” Dark later suggested that the name produced “a +ive [positive] discrimination issue”, adding that he was “dressing normally cos [sic] queer people are no different”.

Many St Hugh’s undergraduates defended ‘Queerbop’, however, with Biomedicine student Jack Cooper tweeting: “Please keep Queerbop/ Express yourself alive I need this.”

St Hugh’s Art student Callum Cooke expressed similar support, tweeting: “I’m sick of straight people shouting

PHOTO/Jared Green

over LGBTQ+ voices.”

The event resembles Wadham’s ‘Queerfest’, an annual bop held every Michaelmas term, popular with students across the University.

St Hugh’s LGBTQ Officer Matthew Shaw also defended ‘Queerbop’, stating: “I am deeply disappointed that the queer aspect of the bop has been silenced in order to convenience people and this shows a need for more education and discussion in this area.

“Whilst I completely understand that not everyone understands the term queer or queer culture, hushing it away does not improve the situation but merely silences an important voice and damns any further notion of understanding and progress that can be made."

Carys Williams, the college’s other LGBTQ officer, voiced similar support: “I had not personally been approached about any issues with the name and was under the impression that the St Hugh's LGBTQ community was in favour of the original theme 'Queerbop'.

“It was intended as a celebration of queer culture and self-expression but it has come to light that some members of the JCR felt 'queer' had negative connotations and was referring to stereotypes. I was disappointed that the name was changed, as I understand other colleges have held bops with the same name and/or theme without issue and I feel strongly that queer voices should not be silenced; however I would never wish for a bop or theme to make anyone feel uncomfortable so find the change of acceptable on those grounds.”

The St Hugh’s Entz Reps were unavailable for comment.

News 5

Tribunal rules St Peter's bursar unfairly sacked An employment tribunal has ruled that St Peter’s bursar Jean Wright was unfairly dismissed from her position.

Wright was sacked in mid2013 after 12 gross misconduct allegations were made against her.

While her claim to unfair dismissal was upheld, the tribunal did not find St Peter’s guilty of public interest disclosure or disability discrimination.

In his statement to the Reading tribunal, St Peter’s Master Mark Damazer CBE described the claims made by Wright as “spurious, untrue and misleading”, and noted that college staff were “much happier” after her dismissal.

Gathering for victims of Charlie Hebdo attack A vigil was held outside of the Sheldonian Theatre on Sunday afternoon in order to “show solidarity with the victims of the recent attacks, and support for peace, liberty and democracy”.

Organised by Engineering student Robin Malloy, the event was named on Facebook as “L’AMOUR PLUS FORT QUE LA HAINE” – “Love is stronger than hate.”

It has been estimated that over 200 individuals attended, including students, University lecturers and Oxford inhabitants of all ages. A speech was given by Cheryl Hudson, and images of the event were published on the BBC’s newsfeed.

Union removes student papers The Oxford Union has removed copies of The Oxford Student and The Cherwell from the Union and replaced them with copies of The Spectator.

This comes after The Spectator devoted a front page story in November to an article by Brendan O’Neill entitled ‘The Rise of the Stepford Students’ which criticised Oxford University activists for allegedly failing to uphold free speech over a cancelled debate at Christ Church.

The event’s cancellation, and the national publicity it received, prompted considerable debate among Oxford’s student community, with the Union recently confirming a free speech debate in which O’Neill is scheduled to debate Tim Squirrel, former President of the Cambridge Union.

6 News

15th January 2015

Oxford lecturer Dr Salisbury to stand for parliament

• National Health Action Party candidate wants to make health the “dominant issue” in Oxford West and Abingdon

MATTHEW COULTER DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

An Oxford University lecturer will stand for Parliament in May, prompted by a desire to “speak out against the destruction of the NHS”.

Dr Helen Salisbury is currently a lecturer in Communication Skills at the University’s Nuffield Department of Health Sciences, as well as a GP. In May, her name will appear on the ballot as the National Health Action (NHA) Party’s candidate in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency.

Dr Salisbury told The Oxford Student that she is “deeply committed to the founding ideals of the NHS”, and that she originally became involved with the NHA Party because she “could see that the NHS was under threat” from reforms by the coalition government, which she described as “wasteful and destructive”.

Before being asked in November, Dr Salisbury had not considered standing as a candidate: “I see myself as a doctor and a teacher rather than a politician but when I was asked to stand it seemed like the most effective way to speak out against the destruction of the NHS so I ought to say yes.”

Dr Salisbury also expressed optimism for her chances in the election, calling May’s poll in Oxford West and Abingdon “wide open” and promising

to “bring a fresh perspective to politics, a respect for evidence rather than ideology and a minimum of party baggage”.

In 2010, the seat was the eleventh most marginal in the country, when the current Conservative MP, Nicola Blackwood, defeated the incumbent Liberal Democrat, Evan Harris, by just 176 votes.

The NHS is set to be a major issue in the 2015 election following health reforms by the coalition government, including the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, as well as reports of missed performance targets. On 6th January, it was reported that A&E waiting times in England are the worst for a decade.

Sally Copley, the Labour candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, said she is “from a family of NHS workers” and is “completely opposed to privatisation of the NHS”.

Copley continued: “Labour has already committed to much needed additional spending on the NHS, part funded by a mansion tax of course, as well as to repealing the dreadful Health and Social Care Act.” Copley went on to describe Labour as “the only party contending [Oxford West and Abingdon] with a clear change of forming the next Government”, and urged voters to “send a real message to the coalition … about the NHS” by voting Labour.

The National Health Action Party was founded in 2012 by a number of former doctors.

The Party aims to repeal the 2012 Health and Social Act, roll back what it describes as the “privatisation” of the NHS, and to reduce reliance on management consultants within NHS decision-making, instead involving patients and staff.

Liberal Democrat candidate Layla Moran did not defend the coalition’s health record, instead insisting that she has been “very vocal in my criticism of the NHS reforms in this Parliament” and is “worried for its future”.

If elected in May, Moran promised to “work to ensure the NHS remains about quality of care and not profit”.

She continued: “By any reading of the polls, I, as the Liberal Democrat candidate, am the only contender to the Conservatives [in Oxford West and Abingdon]. If people are worried about a Tory government or, even worse, a Tory-UKIP coalition, the best thing they can do is reduce the number of Tories in Parliament.”

Nicola Blackwood, Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, was unavailable for comment.

Mark Smyth, co-chair of the university’s Liberal Democrat Society, defended the coalition’s record on the NHS: “The NHS is currently undergoing much needed and necessary

PHOTO/NHAP.ORG

change in order to remain effective in the face of 21st century health challenges. Part of our response to this is to ensure an £8 billion budget rise to allow the NHS the tools it needs.

“We're also proud to have legislated for the treatment of mental and physical health to be regarded equally and are working to improve mental health services, which have been neglected for decades.”

However, David Cesar-Heymann, co-chair of the university’s Labour Society, commented: “The last week alone has shown how the current coalition has created a crisis in the NHS.

“With indiscriminate cuts and a 3 billion pound ideologically driven reorganisation, people are now waiting for over ten hours in A&E. It now takes weeks to get a GP appointment.

It is understandable that people are mobilizing around the issue of the NHS.” Cesar-Heymann went on to dismiss the NHA as a “protest party”, instead urging voters to “elect a Labour government that will put 2.5 billion more a year into the NHS and guarantee people can see their GPs in less than 48 hours”.

The President of OUCA could not be reached for comment.

Trials begin for Ebola vaccine Uni defends VC pay • Rapid progress being made in development of "promising" vaccine • Student outrage over VC's bumper salary DANIEL CUNNIFFE NEWS REPORTER

PHOTO/NHAP.ORG

The Oxford Vaccine group began trials of a new Ebola vaccine on 1st January, with students targeted as participants in the study.

The group, part of the Oxford University Department of Paediatrics, aims to have the vaccine available for use in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone by mid-2015.

Professor Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute, the research partnership between the Oxford University and The Pirbright Institute, commented: “We are delighted that the trial of a new Ebola vaccine has progressed so rapidly and smoothly in Oxford. The vaccine does look rather promising. We are hugely grateful to all those who volunteers to be immunised, in such large numbers, so we could make the vaccine ready for use in West Africa”.

Dr Matthew Snape, leader of the study team, said: “The University of Oxford has been at the forefront of research to help contain the Ebola outbreak, and this Ebola vaccine study represents a great opportunity for Oxford students to make a real difference in the fight against this disease.”

The newest study is conducted on 72 volunteers aged between 18 and 50, and aims to have all participants immunised within a month.

They will then be asked to make a maximum of 12 visits to the Oxford

Vaccine Group site at Churchill Hospital over the course of a year.

There, doctors will monitor the immune response that the vaccine generates.

According to Dr Snape, “the main aim is to understand the safety profile of the vaccines”. The trial’s organisers have made clear that there is no risk of contracting the disease from the vaccine, since it contains no replicating virus.

As this is first trial of the vaccine on humans, the Institute cannot be entirely sure of the possible side effects.

However, the Participant Information reveals that tests using similar vaccines are associated with “malaise (feeling generally unwell), myalgia (muscle pain/aches), fatigue (feeling tired), chills, headache, joint pain and/or fever, mostly of mild severity”.

Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary company Crucell Holland B.V. is sponsoring the trial, hopes to begin a larger Phase 2 trial within three months. In October 2014, Johnson & Johnson announced a commitment of up to $200 million to accelerate and expand production of an Ebola vaccine.

If participants remain in the study for the entire period, they will receive £540 in reimbursements for inconvenience, time and travel.

Snape added: “We are looking for healthy 18 to 50 year olds to take part in this study, and I would invite anyone interested to visit www.ebolavaccine. org.uk for more information and to see if they are eligible to take part.”

LUKE MINTZ & LAURA WHETHERLY NEWS EDITORS

» Continued from front page Cambridge University, whose salary was £334,000 as of January 2014.

The Facebook page for Monday’s event stated: “At lunchtime on January 12th 2015, Andrew Hamilton will, presumably, be eating his lunch and feeling pretty proud of himself. Why? Because at around midday, before Hilary term even begins, he will have earned the same amount as Oxford’s lowest paid full-time staff earn in a whole calendar year.”

The group also noted that “as [Hamilton’s] wages continue to increase during the recession, other staff at the university suffered a 13.5% real-terms pay cut”.

The group urged the University to pay Living Wage to all staff, “take action” on eliminating Oxford’s “gender and racial pay gap”, and commit to reducing the pay ratio between its highest and lowest paid worker to 5:1.

The University also defended its record on Living Wage, stating: “For many years, Oxford has ensured that everyone employed by the central University is paid the Living Wage. The University has been considering further steps on the issue and hopes to make an announcement in the next few weeks.”

On Monday, dozens of students took to social media to voice their opposition to Hamilton’s pay. Law student Angie

Normandale tweeted: “I’m pretty sure for £442k we could build a robot that does [Hamilton’s] job for him.”

NUS representative James Elliot wished Hamilton a “Happy pay day”, with Wadham fresher Ella Adjei branding Hamilton’s pay “disgraceful”.

Oriel student Kate Bradley, a member of Oxford Defend Education, condemned Hamilton’s pay as “insulting”, stating: “I struggle to imagine what Andrew Hamilton could be doing with £442,000 a year.

“I think it’s important that students know where their fees are going, and that staff know the disparity in wages between themselves and Oxford’s management. When we have information, we can act on it.”

Numerous other universities around the country have planned protest action in relation to Vice-Chancellor pay, with Birmingham, Warwick, UCL, and Royal Holloway all scheduling events in the coming weeks.

Hamilton attracted controversy in October 2013 when he equated the “real cost” of an Oxford education to £16,000, and urged the government to allow top universities to charge higher tuition fees.

Vice-Chancellor pay remains a contentious political issue, with business secretary Vince Cable and universities minister David Willetts last year urging university leaders to exercise “much greater restraint”.

Andrew Hamilton declined our request for comment.

News 7

15th January 2015

Living Wage fever hits Oxford • Hertford's living wage accreditation triggers wave of JCR activity

Colleges "caused housing crisis"

• Oxford professor claims conferences to blame CONOR HAMILTON DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

PHOTO/Oxford Living Wage Campaign

LUKE MINTZ NEWS EDITOR

A number of Oxford JCRs will attempt to push their colleges toward Living Wage accreditation this term, prompted by last month’s announcement by Hertford.

Representatives of eight JCRs have confirmed to the The Oxford Student their desire to become accredited employers, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks. These JCRs are Exeter, Trinity, Oriel, Wadham, St Hugh’s, St Catherine’s, Corpus Christi, and Worcester.

In most of these colleges, JCR Charities Officers and Presidents will raise the issue at JCR meetings early in Hilary Term, before attempting to negotiate with College authorities.

Hertford College won praise in December when it was confirmed by the Living Wage Foundation as an accredited employer. According to OUSU Charities VP Ruth Meredith, accreditation means that an employer has “made a public commitment to pay the Living Wage to its staff now and in the future”.

The Living Wage is a rate of pay, calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University as the minimum income required for an acceptable standard of living. It currently stands at £7.85 an hour, considerably higher than the legally enforced minimum wage of £6.50 an hour for over 21

year-olds.

Eleanor Grange, former Environment and Ethics Officer at St Hugh’s, expressed hope that “Hertford’s decision to accredit will show the way for all colleges”.

Grande added: “Perhaps it will even act as an expedient to college authorities at St Hugh’s, who are already discussing how to start paying scouts a Living Wawge here.”

Corpus Christi JCR President Bethany Currie showed similar optimism, describing Living Wage accreditation as “high on the committee’s agenda for the coming term”.

Currie continued: “It’s great to hear of Hertford’s accreditation and here’s hoping lots of colleges follow suit!”

Wadham JCR is currently awaiting a decision from college authorities, after an open letter encouraging Living Wage accreditation was circulated through the JCR last term and collected around 230 signatures.

Charities Officer Henriette Willberg commented: “We have lots of student and staff support so fingers crossed.”

Alexandra Grime, Charities Officer at St Catherine’s, confirmed accreditation as “definitely something [St Catherine’s JCR] would consider”.

OUSU Charities VP Ruth Meredith stated: “We’re currently at a really exciting stage in the OUSU Oxford Living Wage Campaign. Not only has Hertford become the first ever Oxford College to accredit, but the

decision was a result of the actions of students and staff at the college.”

Meredith continued: “I’m confident that the campaign can transform the momentum we’re seeing in an unprecedented number of colleges into accreditations, and change Oxford's tacit acceptance of poverty wages.”

Hertford’s accreditation last month followed a campaign by the JCR, in which 200 students signed an open letter to the College Principal, Will Hutton, former editor of The Observer.

Joshua Platt, who served as Hertford JCR President during much of this campaign, commented: “We always hoped that it would be a domino effect after one college took the step, so now that Hertford has accredited I expect others to follow suit.

“This really does need to be a university wide movement. When Conference of Colleges meet, we need every single Principal standing up and saying: "My students have been campaigning hard for this - what are we going to do about it?""

A similar sentiment was expressed by the Oxford Living Wage Campaign, with co-chair Sam Couldrick stating: “The news of Hertford’s accreditation was very encouraging, and we are hopeful that there will be more to come very soon.

“This is now as good a chance as any to make real, long-lasting change. That’s what accreditation stands for.”

One senior university professor has criticised Oxford University for their role in the Oxford housing crisis, saying that they have an “obligation” to remedy the shortage.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, a fellow at St Cross College and TV historian, told The Oxford Student that the shortage of housing in the city is “to a great extent, a problem caused by the University and Colleges themselves in modifying existing student accommodation to make it ensuite, to make such rooms viable for the conference trade, to generate revenue”. He added: “That has resulted in the amalgation of rooms. So it is not a 'natural' housing shortage.”

Geography Professor Danny Dorling, fellow of St Peter’s, commented: “It is worth students today asking themselves if they could afford to live and work in Oxford in future, assuming that they secured a good job as a teacher or in a local private business.

Students graduating in the year 2000 who wanted to stay living in the city or come back to work in it were in a very different situation back then.”

Many of Dorling’s publications focus on inequality and housing, including books The great divide: an analysis of housing inequality and All That is Solid: The Great Housing Disaster. Oxford University have defended their accommodation against these claims. University spokesperson Stephen Rouse commented: “The University is unapologetic about trying to ensure students are provided with good quality accommodation. It is also a priority of the University to provide accommodation for as many students as possible to ease the burden on Oxford’s housing

market.”

Many colleges in Oxford use their facilities to host conferences outside of term time, including New, Magdalen and Balliol. In total 213.2 million of the University’s income comes from sources outside of grants, fees endowment and donation. This income includes conferences. Balliol charges £138.50 per day per conference delegate staying in an en-suite room, inclusive of food, conference facilities and accommodation. New College charges £124.80.

MacCulloch added that he understood colleges’ thinking behind using University accommodation for conference guests, saying: “You can’t really, in the UK, have a conference trade where you expect people to share bathing facilities, so they [the colleges] go ensuite, like hotels".

“You have to recognise that the conference train brings in an enormous amount of revenue for colleges, which benefits students and keeps their costs down.”The issues of housing, accommodation and conferences have also been high profile in Cambridge recently, with students launching a campaign entitled 'Whose University?' aiming to tackle “the distinct lack of clarity about who has ownership over college spaces”.

Costs of housing in Oxford are some of the highest in the country. The Oxford County Council website states that “Oxford has overtaken London as the least affordable housing location in the UK”, further claiming that the average cost of buying a new house is “more than 11 times the average salary of an Oxford worker”.

At the time of publication, none of the college Bursars or accommodation managers responded to The Oxford Student’s requests for comment.

PHOTO/Flickr use Elliott Brown

Oxford Uni students organise London vigil for trans teenager

• Leelah Alcorn’s death attracted international coverage last month after her suicide note was published on Tumblr KATHERINE HODGSON NEWS REPORTER

Two Oxford students helped to organise a vigil in Trafalgar Square earlier this month, in memory of Leelah Alcorn, a trans teenager who took her own life in December.

Despite adverse weather conditions, over 200 mourners attended the vigil, including politician Sarah Brown and novelist Roz Kaveney. Oxford students Rowan Davis and Kae Smith helped to coordinate and promote the event.

The idea originated from Rowan, a

second-year student at Wadham College, before being circulated online.

Leelah, from Kings Mill, Ohio, was found dead in December 2014. Her suicide note, published posthumously on her Tumblr page, gained much online and media attention. The note explained her reasons for ending her life, blaming a society which failed to adequately support trans people, and particularly noting lack of access to trans related healthcare. The note ended with a plea to “fix society”.

Both Rowan and Kae were pleased with the positive response the vigil

received. Davis commented: “The turnout for the vigil was very strong, but more than that the shared sense of solidarity, anger, and a desire to make Leelah’s death the last of its kind was what made me so proud to be there.

“I hope that people see Leelah’s death in the context of systemic transmisogyny and continue to take action to fight that oppression. The sad truth is that there are so many more Leelah’s than we can ever have vigils for, and that until we attack the root causes of this oppression (racism, the patriarchy, capitalism…) our loved ones will con-

tinue to die.”

Smith said: “This vigil, as well as remembering her, is hopefully the starting position to a place where we won't see another dead trans teen.

“It’s our job to link with other struggles happening, such as anti-racism, and the organised labour movement.

And work together against the continuing effects of the recession on the more marginalised groups in society.

It’s who we stand with and what sort of world that we want to live in, that can fuse a disparate community together.

What’s stopping us?”

Leelah’s death has provoked considerable levels of political activism, with countless vigils organised in numerous countries. A petition to President Barack Obama to “ban transgender conversion therapy” attracted over 311,000 signatures at the time of writing, with another petition demanding the “correct name of Leelah Alcorn to be placed on her headstone”.

Earlier this month, the teenager’s funeral was moved following reports of threats made against her family.

The Samaritans UK can be contacted on 08457 90 90 90.

8 News

15th January 2015

The biggest news stories you missed over the vac • Christmas vac saw fake pepperoni, a “destructive” food fight, and the release of Out of the Blue’s Christmas single Gridiron dining club upholds all-male An all-male Oxford dining society, which counts David Cameron as a former President, voted against the inclusion of women.

The Gridiron Club, commonly known as ‘The Grid’, voted on a motion to break its 130-year tradition of refusing to admit female members.

Despite a majority of 22 members voting in favour of the motion, the twothird majority necessary to secure the change was not met. Only 13 members voted against allowing women to join.

Unsurprisingly, the outcome of the vote has been met with criticism from some Oxford University students.

Alice Nutting, an administrator of the Cuntry Living Facebook group, commented: “I’m not remotely surprised that an elitist drinking society has upheld their outdated gender-exclusionary rule. Thankfully, I don’t think that 99 per cent of women at Oxford will really care either way. Who needs a pretentious old boys’ drinking club when you have Babylove?”

The co-Presidents of the Gridiron Club, Nicholas White and Thomas Lambert, have declined our request for comment.

Student serves revenge to childhood bully A revenge letter penned by a student at St Peter’s College went viral, receiving more than 950,000 views.

Louisa Manning uploaded an image of a letter written to a former schoolmate on 4th December, with the caption “a guy who bullied me at

school then asked me out just got this from a waiter”.

The letter reads as follows: “So sorry I can’t join you tonight. Remember year 8, when I was fat and you made fun of my weight? No? I do – I spent the following three years eating less than an apple a day … Remember the monobrow you mocked? The hairy legs you were disgusted by? Remember how every day for three years, you and your friends called me Manbeast?

No perhaps you don’t – or you wouldn’t have seen how I look eight years later and deemed me fuckable enough to treat me like a human being.”

Commenting on the response to her letter, Manning stated: “I think it’s crazy and quite overwhelming, I wasn’t expecting it to go this viral! I was pretty happy with Glamour magazine though – I was listed hero of the week, alongside Prince Harry.”

Hertford given Living Wage accreditation On 16th December, Hertford college became the first Living Wage accredited college in Oxford.

The announcement was made by the Living Wage Foundation.

The living wage currently stands at £7.85 an hour, and is judged the minimum wage needed for an individual to have an acceptable standard of living.

In Trinity term, over 200 Hertford students had signed a petition calling for staff to be paid a living wage. Hertford’s move also encouraged discussion on social media about other colleges looking towards the living wage.

Pizza vendors pass off turkey as pepperoni Fast food outlet Express Pizza, whose branches in Cowley and Gloucester Green have received food hygiene ratings of one and two out of five respectively, passes off highly convincing turkey replications as ham, bacon and pepperoni.

The admission can be found at the bottom of Express Pizza’s website, in a statement that reads: “Our bacon is sourced from halal turkey to give you 100% assurance.”

Although some felt betrayed, other students already had low expectations for the pizza company flagged up by the Food Standards Agency as requiring “major improvements”.

Izzy Garratt, a first-year student at St Peter’s and regular customer, stated that turkey is a “step up from horse”.

Meanwhile, other students embraced the realisation. James Lavin, also a St Peter’s first-year student, said: “I’m pleased. Turkey’s much better for you than pork actually. A much leaner meat. Probably pumped full of carcinogens to make it taste like pepperoni, but I’m doing that myself so can’t really complain.”

Out of the Blue release Christmas charity single Oxford’s all-male a capella group Out of the Blue released a Christmas charity single in December.

The proceeds made from their cover of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ will go to Helen and Douglas House, an Oxford-based children’s

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PHOTO/Piers Nye

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hospice.

The accompanying music video has received over 2.1 million YouTube views at the time of writing. The video features the group’s 13 members singing and dancing in front of famous Oxford landmarks, including the Old Schools Quadrangle, the Divinity School, and the Radcliffe Camera.

Commenting on their choice of charity, fourth-year New College member, Domhnall Talbot, remarked: “We make sure we visit this inspirational place at least once a term. It is a truly amazing Oxford-based charity that cares for children and young adults with life limiting illnesses.”

A spokesperson for Helen and Douglas House expressed their delight, stating: “We are thrilled and very grateful that ‘Out of the Blue’ continue to support Helen & Douglas House. They contribute so much by putting fun into our lives through their visits, as well as helping to raise vital funds for us to provide exceptional hospice care for terminally ill children and young adults.”

“Destructive” behaviour at Balliol Christmas formal Balliol students came under fire for throwing food and damaging Hall artwork during a Christmas formal last term labelled “havoc” by the College Dean.

Diners dressed in bop costumes damaged college property when the dessert course descended into a food fight.

In an email to Balliol undergraduates, College Dean Dr Rachel Quarrell described the food throwing as a “serious incident” with “long-reaching consequences”, telling students that

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O’Neill and Squirrell to debate at Oxford Union On 10th January, the Oxford Union confirmed that Tim Squirrell and Brendan O’Neill will be participating in a debate this term. The proposal will be made by civil rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti.

O’Neill was one of the speakers at the Oxford Students For Life debate “This house believes Britain’s abortion culture hurts us all” which was cancelled after students threatened protest outside Christ Church.

Tim Squirrell, ex-President of the Cambridge Union, defended students in an article published on The Tab Cambridge.

O’Neill responded with his own article in The Spectator criticising the students, and sent several hundred copies to Squirrell.

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PHOTO/Louisa Manning

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“chocolate and cream have caused a considerable amount of damage to quite a few of the Hall paintings”.

Students were also criticised for the impact of their actions on Hall staff working at the dinner, which cost attendees £19.85 a head.

Xavier Cohen, a Balliol PPEist and prominent student activist, tweeted: “Oxford students paying ££ to be waited on by low wage workers at a special dinner, then throw their food around. Brats.”

CR President Duncan Shepherd commented: “It’s a great shame that a few people took the celebrations too far and ended up throwing food and water at each other and even more so that the Hall staff had to deal with it.”

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15th January 2015

COMMENT

Comment 9

PHOTO/ James Cridland

Happy Vice-Chancellor's Day?

B

y midday on 12th January 2015, Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, Andrew Hamilton, had earned as much money as the university’s lowest-paid full-time employee earns in a whole year. Hamilton’s annual salary including pensions (£434,000) leaves him earning about £1,189 a day, meaning it would only take him around 12 days to earn the baseline figure that a low-paid member of the university support staff receives in the entire calendar year (£14,959). Support staff include cleaners, caterers and clerical staff – those who, in Raymond Burse’s words, “do the hard work and the heavy lifting”.

Burse, the President of Kentucky State University, took a permanent pay cut of $90,000 in 2014 to raise the wages of his university’s lowest-paid workers by three dollars per hour. Oxford Defend Education, a new group forming around education issues in Oxford, are calling for Andrew Hamilton to commit to at least the same reduction.

Even after tax, our Vice-Chancellor earns more in one year than a Grade 1 member of support staff (including service staff such as waiters) would earn in thirty years of full-time service. Even

Grade 5 staff, the best paid support staff, earn less than a tenth of Andrew Hamilton’s annual wage. No matter which of the figures you use, the ViceChancellor’s salary is clearly disproportionate to that of other employees, and arguments to justify exorbitant pay packets rarely ring true.

One might think that universities can only attract ‘good’ managers by offering competitive pay packets in line with those of other similarly-sized organisations, as suggested by the chief executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge.

This argument assumes that injustice is acceptable if commonly practiced – but if one person cheats at a game, it doesn’t make another person’s cheating any more excusable. Except, of course, Vice-Chancellors aren’t cheating. We’ve built this injustice into the game itself.

Yet even on its own terms, the claim that salaries must be extremely high to be competitive is tenuous. It seems unlikely that Hamilton would leave a position as prestigious as the ViceChancellor’s role because of a slight wage reduction. And even if he did, that would show his dedication was to his pay packet, not his work. Equally,

it does not explain why pay for other employees is not rising at the same speed as the Vice-Chancellor’s, since good managers are useless without good staff. The unwillingness to apply the same logic of competitiveness to other skilled jobs at universities suggests that it may be an excuse, and it does nothing to exonerate Vice-Chancellors of the sheer enormity of their remuneration.

The ViceChancellor's salary is clearly disproportionate to that of other empoyees

Nicola Dandridge’s comments about competitiveness also inadvertently highlight the way in which Higher Education institutions are beginning to function more like businesses than public service providers. Increasingly, Vice-Chancellors are playing the role of business managers, sourcing and managing private funding to influence the university’s output and distancing

education from the public sector. ViceChancellors are taking salaries that reflect their new role – as academic CEOs. In the newly emerging university model, becoming richer is the key end goal – and the effect of reducing education to a profit-making industry is starting to be recognised by a whole host of commentators, including staff and students.

Higher Education should only be about making money and garnering prestige insofar as that money and prestige is distributed fairly amongst those who research, teach, clean, cook, organise and learn at their institutions.

And at the moment, it is not being distributed fairly. Andrew Hamilton’s pay packet is not the only barrier to pay equality at Oxford – there are severe gender and racial inequalities in pay too.

According to research by the University and College Union (UCU), in 2011, less than 12 per cent of Oxford’s most senior academic roles (as professors) were occupied by women, and an even lower 3.9 per cent of professors were black or minority ethnic (BME), accounting for a proportion of the pay gap. In addition to this, women are frequently concentrated in low-paid

KATE BRADLEY

Oriel College

support roles, as Oxford’s own research has shown; national trends suggest that the same is true for the University’s BME employees. A more productive way of contributing to the 'public good' would be for Oxford to channel funds into researching and rectifying these demographic inequalities, developing, applying, and testing the effects of its Equality and Diversity policy more thoroughly, and implementing thoughtful affirmative action policies to correct self-perpetuating imbalances in staff demographics.

Oxford Defend Education is calling for Oxford University and all its colleges to work towards full pay equality in three ways: to commit to a Living Wage for all its staff; to take action to eliminate its gender and racial pay gap; and to commit to reducing the highest to lowest pay ratio to 5:1 over the next five years. Considering the vital work that our support staff do, I think that these are admirable aims – and, Andrew Hamilton, if you’re reading, could you follow Raymond Burse’s lead and commit to a pay cut to increase the wages of Oxford's lowest-paid employees? Those extra pounds would almost certainly mean more to them than they do to you.

10 Comment

CONSERVATIVES

T

he campaign season for the 2015 General Election has begun in earnest and promises to be one of the most unpredictable in recent times.

However, despite the rise of smaller parties, the election remains a two-horse race; there are only two candidates for Prime Minister. A hung parliament and another coalition would not bode well for the country, leaving us open to uncertainty and weak policymaking. It is all the more essential that a Conservative government is elected with a working majority come May. The Conservatives are the only party that can be trusted to secure the economic recovery, renegotiate Britain’s position within the European Union, and secure Britain’s borders.

Despite the difficulties of being in coalition and the mess left by the last Labour government, the Conservatives’ record over the past five years is impressive. Nowhere is this more important than the economy. As it stands, Britain boasts the fastest economic recovery in Europe; there are 1.8 million more jobs than in 2010, and the budget deficit has been halved as a proportion of GDP. The Conservatives are the only party that can be trusted to sustain and continue this progress. They have demonstrated their commitment to tackling the deficit, and have shown that making spending cuts does not have to inhibit growth, but can instead accompany a strong recovery.

Enabling hard-working families to support themselves lies at the heart of Conservative policy: Cameron’s recent pledge to raise the threshold at which people start paying income tax from £10,600 to £12,500, and to raise the threshold of the 40p tax rate from £42, 285 to £50,000 makes this clear. Labour’s spell in government, on the other hand, saw big spending accompanied by borrowing and debt. It is hardly startling that a Cameron/Osborne team is still more trusted on the economy than a Miliband/Balls duo. A vote for Labour in May is a vote for a return to financial mismanagement.

15th January 2015

JAMES SEWRY

KATE PLUMMER

Christ Church

The Conservatives also offer the most reasonable solution to the question of Britain’s position in the EU. In fact, one of the greatest paradoxes of the forthcoming General Election is that UKIP’s main ambition – a referendum on EU membership – can only really be achieved by voting Conservative. The Conservatives recognise that knee-jerk opposition to Europe, as offered by UKIP, is not a sensible policy, and instead propose a reasonable renegotiation of Britain’s position to ensure we can continue to enjoy the benefits of the Common Market without compromising our sovereignty. A referendum in 2017 is a chance for an open debate and discussion - who can oppose that?

It is clear that the majority of people want greater control of Britain’s borders. The Conservatives know that migrants make a greatly valuable contribution to society, giving Britain a cherished diversity. But they are not oblivious to the strains that excessive immigration – as seen under the last Labour government – puts on essential public services. The Conservatives offer a practical approach that would encourage the benefits of immigration and multiculturalism while curbing benefit and health tourism and minimising the pressures of excessive immigration.

Given the restricting nature of coalition and the requirement to compromise, it is impressive that the Conservatives have been able to achieve so much during this parliament. Five years of a Conservative majority would complete the economic recovery, offer a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship within the EU, and would reduce immigration to manageable levels.

A Conservative government is the only sensible choice for the country.

Lady Margaret Hall

I

THE CONVERSATION: WHO WINS COME MAY?

PHOTO/Ordinance Survey

n May we have the chance to change the leadership of this country. For many of us this will be our first time voting in a General Election, which is why it is all the more important to make sure it is a choice we do not regret. That is why I will be voting Labour.

It would be an exercise in futility to try and convince ardent conservatives to throw away their blue ribbons and declare undying love for Ed Miliband, but it is possible to persuade disillusioned lefties to come back to the Labour Party. I am a socialist, yet am voting for a party that binned their socialist credentials when Blair came on the scene. Why? Because it is entirely impractical to think that socialism can come back as a major political force through outsider groups. Whether it reveals wider issues about a democratic deficit in this country or not, it is indisputable that the general election will be, as it has been for years, a two-party race. When people vote for the Green Party – or even take Russell Brand’s advice and don’t vote at all – they are only weakening the left’s cause. This leaves the Conservatives with more votes and means the only people voting for the Labour party are the New Labour Blairites of today. And if this remains the case then the party carries on with this trajectory, of being a pale imitation of the Tories, aping them like a well-meaning, friendlier younger sibling. But voting for Labour allows change to happen within it – and is the only plausible position for those who genuinely want an alternative to the Tories.

But not everyone flirting with the

LABOUR idea of putting their X in the Labour box will be disillusioned lefties like myself. Don’t worry: you should also vote Labour. The current Labour Party, despite being a centrist party, still offers good policies.

Frustratingly, the popular myth that the Labour Party cannot be trusted with the economy prevails. The Labour party did not cause the economic crisis of 2008; it was an international crisis caused by toxic loans. The Labour party did not overspend, and, in fact, managed to improve the economic situation until 2010 when the coalition proceeded to undo its good work. We should not forget it was under George Osborne, not Labour, that the country lost its AAA credit rating in April 2013. The Tories are lying to us about a thorough economic recovery. Unemployment is going down, but how many of those now employed are stuck in zero contract hour jobs, or underemployed, or have been discounted from misleading statistics that hide the true number of people out of work? Inflation is stabilising, but the cost of living is still sky high, there is a chance of another housing bubble predicated on the Help to Buy Scheme, and growth is uneven across economic sectors.

Thinking about the economy and number crunching isn’t everyone’s scene, but there are other important policy areas that we have a stake in.

Allowing the coalition to implement its education policy has been like giving a bull the key to every china shop in Britain. Removing AS levels and coursework will put undue pressure on sixth formers to perform well on one day – a Russian roulette approach to exams that does not prove someone’s intelligence, but seems more like a test of endurance.

So, whether you are an idealistic socialist, an economist with a careful eye on the GDP, or an average student, it is clear that red is the new black this May.

CARTOON/Harriet Bourhill

Comment 11

15th January 2015

You don’t really believe in free speech, do you?

“J

e suis Charlie” is the rallying call on Twitter. Who would have thought that there were so many dormant believers in our inalienable right to freedom of expression, ready to leap to the defence of that core element of western identity?

Certainly not anyone who has spent time on a university campus recently.

I confess to feeling that there was something not just a little bit ironic about seeing so many people who had devoted their energies to shutting down debate in Oxford last term suddenly emerging from their cocoons, leaving their censorious pasts behind them, and soaring as beautiful butter-

Financial Times in that camp as well, Tony Barber suggesting “some common sense would be useful at publications such as Charlie Hebbdo”, saying that they had provoked the Muslims who killed them. I would hope that “common sense” means taking it for granted that murder is not a proportionate response to satire. And if there are those who think that it is, then does the fault lie with the satirists or with the murderers?

If all of those people tweeting “Je suis Charlie” believed in what Charlie believed, then our university campuses would be very different places.

Charlie believed absolutely that being

If you are a No Platformer, tu n’es pas Charlie

CARTOON/Harriet Bourhill

SID VENKATARAMAKRISHNAN

Pembroke College

A

s a Black and Minority Ethnicity (BME) student, I’ve always been very lucky. I’ve only faced overt racism twice in my life, and neither time was terribly serious (both times happened back home in Essex, for the record). I’ve never faced any sort of prejudice in my time at university. Yet the images of ‘I, too, am Oxford’ brought home the fact that racial prejudice is alive and well, in one of the most vaunted universities in the world.

That BME students still suffer from age-old preconceptions in Oxford was not totally startling, but it was still disappointing. The anger which

offended gives you no right to censor, and yet in our current society, the cry of offence seems to trump every right to expression. “Feeling safe” is more important than being intellectually challenged. This is what we saw in Oxford last term, when the OSFL ‘abortion culture’ debate was noplatformed by people who objected to the choice of speakers and motion.

Instead of going to it and putting their complaint in a reasoned way, or just not going, they made it unsafe for the debate to go ahead.

This is not freedom of speech; it is freedom from speech. If you don’t want to listen to somebody, then don’t give them a platform. It is an outrageous presumption to threaten to take away a platform from someone else, at an event you did not organise,

St Hilda’s College simply because you yourself don’t like the speakers.

The National Union of Students currently runs a “No Platform” policy, denying platforms on campuses across the country to people they don’t like.

Apparently university students, who one would hope are quite bright, are either so easily led that these people with ‘dangerous’ opinions can turn them all into fascists in the blink of an eye, or they are so fragile that none of them can bear to hear their worldviews challenged. Does anyone else bristle in anger every time the NUS declares that a group or speaker is just so dangerous that we’re not allowed to listen to them? If those in the NUS are so convinced they are right, then where is the danger in allowing those bumbling, unenlightened fools who hold differing views to them to talk about their philistine opinions?

Let me be absolutely clear about this: if you think that because of what happened in Paris, we should not satirise Islam anymore: tu n’es pas Charlie.

As long as people believe doctrines which appear ridiculous to other people, those beliefs will be and should be ridiculed. If you think you have a right not to be offended: tu n’es pas Charlie. And if you think that you should be able to take away platforms from other speakers, simply because you disagree with them: tu n’es pas Charlie. The bitter irony is that many of the people who have embraced “Je suis Charlie” as a throwaway tweet would have opposed and protested the newspaper’s cartoonists as Islamophobic racists had they ever been invited to speak at the University. If you are a No Platformer, tu n’es pas Charlie.

The concerns of BME students must be heard

rance that gets mocked on TV, I might have questioned the intellect of my potential peers. Such lines as “So why can’t you speak Indian?” are the kind of things I’ve heard in primary school – they’re not what I would expect to see at a university which prides itself on being a meritocracy. Yet, the findings of the report surely offer valuable lessons for all of us. By releasing what has been found, the report will not harm BME applications: it can only show all that Oxford understands BME concerns. The high profile of ‘I, too, am Oxford’ ensures that concerns over prejudice are very much in the

If the majority of students are happy, it doesn’t stop others from feeling alienated arose over the issue last year was equally unsurprising, particularly with the following ‘We are all Oxford’ scandal. In light of this, the University’s decision not to release a report describing the experiences of BME students at Oxford is somewhat discomforting.

Concerns that the findings of the report could scare off potential applicants are somewhat understandable. If I had been told that I might be facing the sort of igno-

flies of free speech. Now that we have all had this great awakening, would it be reasonable to expect fewer protests, less censorship, and the end of no platforming? I wouldn’t bet on it.

As is so often the case with these incidents, the principle at stake is one with which no one would disagree publicly. After the attack you would have to search very hard to find someone attacking freedom of speech and yet it has taken only a couple of days since the murders to find people expressing sentiments to the effect of “well, maybe they shouldn’t have printed those cartoons”. We find the usual culprit of The Guardian, with Joe Sacco’s cartoon article equating satire with the sentiment “let us drive them from their homes and into the sea”. But I was surprised to find the

OLIVER SHORE

public consciousness. To release the report shows a willingness to accept facts, and to change.

The beauty of the ‘I, too, am Oxford’ campaigners was that they were willing to admit there was a problem at universities – they were not cowed by the prejudice that they faced, but were actively spurred on to fight against it. This wasn’t an attempt to put other BME students off applying, but to try and force some change through an estab-

lishment as august and ancient as Oxford. The strength of character shown in the campaign was, surely, an example of BME students’ ability to stand up for themselves. The response of the ‘We are all Oxford’ campaign misses this point. If we don’t acknowledge there is an issue, we can never hope to change it – the concerns and needs of at least parts of the BME student populace is ignored. I don’t doubt that much of ‘We are all Oxford’ is true. One post, for example, reads, “We enjoyed celebrating diversity at the OUSU international fair”, and I imagine this isn’t inaccurate.

Yet even if the majority of students feel a part of the Oxford, it doesn’t stop others from feeling alienated.

Sunshine-and-rainbows blanket optimism can show the improvements that Oxford has made: it also unfortunately masks just how far is left to go for BME students. I don’t believe that ‘We are all Oxford’ is a bad idea by definition. It is certainly heartening to see BME students who, like myself, have not suffered from the ignorance and bigotry seen in ‘I, too, am Oxford’. The problem lies in its attempt to portray subjective experience as objective reality, sweeping unhappy BME students under the carpet. In releasing the report, we can see both sides: the

PHOTO/ITOOAMOXFORD

progress Oxford has made towards greater equality and diversity, and the remaining ground to cover as seen through the lives of real students.

Furthermore, when it comes to matters as important as students’ experiences, the decision to keep reports “internal” risks looking like a failure to engage. The motives may be noble, but the potential damage has to outweigh the risk of the University appearing recalcitrant to deal with the facts. As the discourse of immigration and race grows ever more strident in Britain, issues like this will undoubtedly increase. The

report, no matter how negative an image it might cast on the University, is very important – it is the only way in which we can work out how to improve the University.

24 per cent of Oxford students are BME, a not inconsiderable number. We don’t know the exact proportion of those who have had negative experiences – but then, it’s not about how many students are being let down. It’s that there are students being let down at all, and that their experiences are not being shown to the public. They deserve to have their voices, their concerns, and their fears heard by all.

The

Student AWARDS Oxford university student union

OUSU has created the Student Awards – so we can give a big ‘thank you’ to all the students who have worked hard to influence Oxford life and the people involved in helping Clubs and Societies.

Please help us to make this year’s award the best it can be, by nominating the students who most deserve a shout-out in the following areas: • Outstanding Individual Contribution to Oxford Life • Campaign of the Year • Cultural or National Society of the Year • Event of the Year • Society of the Year • Student Innovation of the Year • Creative Piece of the Year • Outstanding Senior Member

www.ousu.org

2 Arts & Lit

ARTS & LIT

Elitism in Eden: an exploration of reading spaces “I

have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,” wrote Jorge Luis Borges in his 1959 ‘Poema de los Dones’ (‘Poem of the Gifts’), alluding to the age old notion that libraries are Edenic sanctuaries on earth. This trope of library as paradise presents the library as a safe place, a haven where the mundane is transcended through intellectual or creative endeavour. Certainly, for many bibliophiles a good library is cause for rejoice.

This, however, has not always been the case. The first libraries were nothing more than archives of the earliest form of writing, and were simply repositories of information. It was not until Callimachus composed a system for the Library of Alexandria that the library became an organised reading space. Yet even as an established reading space, libraries were not communal, but instead yet another institution where elitism thrived. The Byzantine Empire helped to maintain their social hierarchy by differentiating between four different types of library: imperial, patriarchal, monastic, and private. Certainly,

the move towards a ‘paradisiacal’ library in England was not until 1850 when free public libraries became legally permissible. With this in mind, the idealism with which libraries are commonly perceived must be balanced with an understanding of their frequently marginalising status in history.

As an Oxford student, it is, of course, not essential to love libraries. Many naturally prefer to study in the modest comfort of their rooms, or an alternative reading space such as a quaint café or lush parks.

For those students who do feel the appeal

painted by a team of artists, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. The distinctive murals are enhanced in value by the stories surrounding their genesis, including tales of how the young artists accepted no wages for their labour, instead merely requesting an endless supply of soda water, and the way in which Rossetti and Morris would look out for ‘stunners’ (beautiful young women) to act as their models from the windows of the King’s Arms Pub. Yet despite all of this, there still remains the central issue that its use is for members

The mundane is transcended through intellectual or creative endeavour of a particularly beautiful and well stocked library, Oxford is an excellent place to be. It is home to the Bodleian, Radcliffe Camera and Union libraries, in addition to specific Faculty and College libraries. My personal two favourite reading spaces are the Oxford Union Library and Lincoln College Library.

The Oxford Union Library (for those who haven’t seen it) is Gothic in style, with a sense of mystique that makes it a particularly intriguing space in which to work. The Union Library is characterised by its Pre-Raphaelite murals, depicting scenes from Arthurian legends and was

use only, leaving it up to you to decide whether this is a droll tradition, or an antiquated form of elitism.

I would like to assure sceptics that no college loyalty is required to adore Lincoln Library. It is not merely a location, but a surreal experience, achieving a sense of timelessness from the poet Matthew Arnold’s famous description of the striking spire as one of the iconic ‘dreaming spires’ of Oxford. This library transforms the task of reading into an excitingly clandestine ritual as entrance necessitates disappearing into its small, well hidden rustic gate. The upper reading room is

Haruki Murakami’s The Strange Library T PHOTO/FLICKR USER GINNY

he axiom to ‘never judge a book by its cover’ cannot be held entirely true for ‘The Strange Library’. Haruki Murakami’s new novella is striking: the lime green cover, stamped with the name ‘MURAKAMI’, features only a faded pink library slip. Even the blurb has been replaced by the typically ominous phrase: “All I did was go to the library to borrow some books.”

Murakami defies genres with ‘The Strange Library’, and it’s hard to gauge whether this is a novel with pictures or a picture book with

words. The book is like a museum, a glass cabinet of library relics: the familiar red return-dates stamps, labels reading ‘For Internal Use Only’, or ‘File Copy: Not to Be Removed’.

Murakami takes these mundane artefacts and makes them a novelty, and by incorporating them into his narrative he defies expectations of what a novel should look like. Parts of it almost read like poetry: on a full- page etched illustration reads I protested Indeed,

15th January 2015

NAYRA ZAGHLOUL

Lincoln College

an especially compelling space for reading and studying with both private booths and a central wooden desk area (to cater for those feeling sociable and otherwise.)

The intricately latticed ceiling of pale blue and pearl white, the Latinate placards of prayer excerpts, the delicately carved wooden bookcases, the various emblems and insignias alongside the on-looking cherubim all serve to generate an ambience of peaceful refinement whilst the large windows ensure a bright airy feel.

For those with artistic inclinations, the presence of a copy of Andrea Del Sarto’s gorgeous ‘Caritas’ serves as a source of inspiration…or least provides visual soothing in the midst of academic frustration.

The library’s true beauty lies in the way in which it does not alienate its student body but rather acts as a grand backdrop that lends an amusing sense of drama to each and every essay crisis it houses. I love that despite its intimidating classical appearance it has a welcoming atmosphere and is a regular haunt for many of the college’s students.

The love of libraries is a passion to be indulged with a critical eye on the past.

Oxford libraries are often places of aesthetic beauty, but most importantly their intrinsic value as reading spaces lies in their devotion to the pursuit of knowledge; a quest in which we are all equals.

And maybe that’s as close to paradise as we can hope to get.

PHOTO/FLICKR USER BARTA IV

OLIIVIA CONSTABLE-MAXWELL

St Anne’s College

inside the door was as dark as if a hole has been pierced in the cosmos

The illustrations, too, have echoes of a museum, containing varying species of animals, insects and other general oddities. Some look as though they’ve been taken straight from natural history books, and

so the novel is layered even further in a collage-like collection of words, objects and pictures.

Like the boy lost in the labyrinth, the illustrations distract and draw you away from the story, down different paths, where you enjoy their beauty before returning back to the main story.

In defiance of the bland eBook, ‘The Strange Library’ is an argument in favour of the paperback. It is art-for-arts-sake: a captivating and aesthetic book, that deserves a place in every library.

Arts & Lit 3

15th January 2015

RUSKIN PROFILE: Charlotte Hyman

F

irst-year Ruskin student Charlotte Hyman discusses her interest in art, experience in Oxford and fashion icons.

Review: The Rijksmuseum

H

ow do you go about presenting a great work of art? Mount it in a gilded hall, with velvet sofas, or hang it in a plain room alongisde its contemporary works, as an equal? If we look to the iconic museums of the world for an answer, we find there is no consensus. While the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia has dedicated an entire hall to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, the Mauritshuis Museum has positioned the ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in a corner room, among twelve other paintings and two sculptures, with only a subtle green backboard to hint at its elevated status.

In Amsterdam, The Rijksmuseum which houses Holland’s greatest collection of masterpieces - subscribes heavily to the canonisation of art. Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’, target for a school teacher’s bread knife in 1975, an acid spray can in 1990, and KLM’s advertising campaign (in which it was referred to as ‘Rembrandt’s spectacular failure’), now stands tall and dignified in the Rijksmuseum’s ‘Hall of Honour’, as the only painting to be left in situ during the recent €375 million renovation of the museum.

‘The Night Watch’ forms the ‘altarpiece’ of the magnificent cathedral-like hall, a hall which accommodates, as its

PHOTO/ROMAN BOED

name suggests, only the greatest paintings by the most celebrated and distinguished artists of the 17th century.

Yet my immediate reaction to its gawking crowd was cynicism. Isn’t there a risk that the grandeur of such a space and the celebrity of the work will make it difficult for viewers to use their independent judgement? While this central space was teeming with people, the newly-opened Philips Wing at the extremities of the building, housing a fascinating tem-

No painting is an island, independent from time and space porary exhibit on the developments of photography in the 20th-century, had no audience. If the ‘Mary, Egg and Croissant’, William Klein’s photograph (which changed the face of fashion photography with its use of an innovative lens that pressed together the foreground and background of an image), had been positioned in the ‘Hall of Honour’, I’m sure it would have merited much more attention from the eager crowd.

ELEANOR TREND

Pembroke College Alain de Botton seems to have reacted in a similar way to me. In his summer installation, he covered the museum with yellow post-it notes, each with written suggestions of what he imagines is on the viewers’ minds as they observe the paintings. The sticky note positioned beside ‘The Night Watch’ challenged the apparent reverence of the crowd of viewers: “I can’t bear busy places - I wish this room was emptier” was his provocative line.

As I drew closer to the jewel of the collection, my cynicism subsided. This painting commanded an independent authority; it had been “born great”, and needed no greatness “thrust upon it”.

Whether it was the work’s extraordinary dynamism, which stood out among the surrounding militia paintings, its in-built spotlight, achieved by Rembrandt’s unprecedented experimentation with light, or the mesmerising expression of the leading officer, I’m not sure. It was clear to me however, that the painting was honouring the hall and the visitors’ gaze, not vice versa.

I then realised I was wrong to treat the painting as so separable from its environment. The idea of looking at the masterpiece in a quiet studio, rather than between multiple phone screens, may seem more attractive, but the experience would not havebeen thesame. When you see a painting in a gallery, you are seeing more than a canvas; you see its historical, social, and political dimensions, and by doing so, implicate yourself in the contextual structure.

No painting is an island, independent from time and space. After all, it wouldn’t have been given the name ‘The Night Watch’ in the 19th century, if the dirtying effect of time hadn’t given the scene a nocturnal appearance. Once it was cleaned, it became clear that daylight was in fact pouring into a dark room.

But by this point, the name had stuck, and it was branded by its dialogue with the outside world. The crowds may be annoying, but they are a part of the power of the painting, and the phenomenon that surrounds it.

Which area are you most interested in and why?

A lot of my work to date has been focused on photographic processes, which interest me because of the opportunities they present to transform something often seen as a prosaic documentary record into an artefact in its own right.

This is because you cannot reproduce the images like you can with a digital photograph. I also find them intriguing because wof the illusion of reality fostered by the photographic image. There is a widely-held assumption that what is shown in a photograph must have existed in reality, whereas imagery created with these processes exist only upon the paper on which they develop.

What inspired your engagement with the photographic process?

My interest was originally stimulated by the ‘Shadow Catchers’ show at the V&A, which introduced me to the concept of ‘camera-less photography’ - images created using only light and chemical reactions - along with artists such as Pierre Cordier and Gary Fabian-Miller, who have inspired a lot of my work.

How would you describe your fashion sense? Is it influenced by your art?

My fashion sense is best described as ‘totally impractical’. I wear far too many white shirts for an art student. Margot Tenenbaum is my ultimate style icon; I wish that I could pull off a tennis dress and fur coat with as much panache as her. I wouldn’t say that it’s influenced by my art, although I do wear a lot of black and white, so perhaps subconsciously my interest in photography leads me to

favour a monochrome aesthetic!

If you could pick one artist (dead or alive) to paint your portrait who would it be and why?

Petrus Christus, because his ‘Portrait of a Young Girl’ is exquisite and I would love to be captured giving such a sassy sideway glance as the one with which he portrays her.

How would you define art? Would you define art?

That’s a very interesting question to ask now, during a time when it seems as though art has evolved to the point that anything can be considered as such.

It used to be very straightforward; art was something created by people who were skilled artisans - painters, sculptors etc. - with the purpose of being aesthetically pleasing. However, much of today’s art isn’t even ‘made’ anymore; it can be rumpled bed sheets or a tin of soup. And certainly not all of it can be considered ‘beautiful’. I guess I would say that art, in its simplest sense, is a form of communication, involving whichever materials facilitate the expression of the artist’s ideas.

Which three famous works would you want in your house and why?

Turner’s ‘Vama și Santa Maria della Salute, Venetia’ because it’s beautiful and Venice is one of my favourite cities.

John Singer Sargent’s ‘Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose’ because I’ve adored it all my life. I saw it in a book when I was six and remembered it for years although I didn’t know what it was; I only found out when I came across it at the Tate Britain. Looking at it reminds me of my childhood.

Jeff Koons’ ‘Balloon Dog’ simply because it’s fun, and if it were mine I would be able to climb on it with no security guards chasing me down.

THE RAG NAKED CALENDAR 2015 FT. THE OXFORD BLUES This years best Christmas present is

out now!

photography: liberty king

all profit raised goes to charity

out now www.ousu.org rrp ÂŁ10

15th January 2015

MUSIC

Going in for the kill with La Roux’s Elly Jackson I

’m convinced Elly Jackson is the coolest person I’ve ever encountered.

Popularly known by her band name, La Roux, she’s a Grammy Award winning tropical castaway who seemed to get lost at sea after her stellar eponymous debut. It garnered her fame and seemingly fortune. But Elly tells me that the success deflated her like a punctured beach ball, washed up by the tide.

Like so many greats of pop music – Michael Jackson, Stevie Nicks, David Bowie - and so many of us, she suffers from crippling anxiety. It’s the kind of

anxiety that robs you of any semblance of self worth and motivation, making you curl up like the first leaf of autumn.

That’s where she’s been since 2009. Yes, it’s been that long since we were dancing to anthems like ‘In For the Kill’ and ‘Bulletproof’. She can’t believe it either.

I am touched that Elly wants to share such personal details about her life with someone she has only just met, at the end of her gig. I ambushed her whilst she was still dazzled by strobes and smoke, being guided along the guard rail by a burly security man. I’m curious, and

PHOTO/ SIMON PROCTER

I’m charged on the electric of the gig I have just witnessed. Boldly, I ask for five minutes of her time. Smiling and squinting, she automatically agrees and I have to use my entire inner adult to play it cool. The conversation stretches to thirty minutes, maybe because I told her it was my birthday, and by the end we’re laughing about the paradoxes of being a woman, her five years spent out of the limelight and her creative process.

I can’t help but ask her about her absence from the public eye. She sighs; I reflect it’s probably the most common question she’s been asked. Patiently, Elly opens up about her struggles with anxiety, “I wish people would understand the situation.” Wisely, she muses, in a voice tinged with obvious life experience, “one thing that I’ve always found weird is that you’re supposed to be perfect in some way if you do something of note.

If people were more honest about their downfalls it would be a lot easier. Life is far more real than that. Things can be hard, whatever you’re doing with your life.”

Looking at Elly, you wouldn’t have thought that she was anything less than unflappable, with not a hair out of place, even in the heat of Oxford’s O2 Academy. She is feisty and outspoken when I ask her about being a woman in the public eye.

“You feel like you aren’t allowed to say as much as men are. I’m extremely opinionated, probably too much for my own good, and it really gets to me when you know that if a man had said that, everyone would have gone “oh they’re just being them again”. If Noel Gal-

Music 5

KATE BICKERTON

Regent’s Park College

lagher says anything, it’s just funny. If a woman says it, it becomes part of a political debate. You’re instantly branded as a bitch.”

Clearly, Elly has not been immune from the pop political discourse that has been raging for the past year. Feminism and sexism have become topics that all would-be pop stars need to have a suitable PR line for. Not Elly. She isn’t afraid to challenge my question about what it’s like to be a woman in music. “You don’t ask men that question. I used to say “I don’t know what you mean; I’ve never experienced any sexism; I think

Music is a personal thing for her. She lives and breathes it, viscerally absorbing all her experiences and baring them creatively. She becomes quieter, more relaxed when I ask her about her creative process. This is her territory.

“I think it’s better to work with someone who you have a connection with - you end up with better results than if you went with the biggest producer or designer. I think it’s something that this industry has forgotten, and it’s something I want to remember all the time.”

The conversation winds down. Thirty minutes have elapsed when I only asked

if you’re a strong powerful woman you don’t experience it” but then I started to notice the subtleties in being asked that question.”

However, she agrees that in the music industry, like many industries, there’s a widespread, ingrained sexism that does go unchallenged. “I was in a duo with a guy for a long time and the assumption was that all I did was sing and come up with one line - but maybe I couldn’t possibly do that because I’m a woman,” Elly rages, her tone climbing higher with sarcasm.

“Actually it was quite the opposite. If I say; “I made this track and I want to finish it”, they say “well what bloke are you going to finish it with?” If you can’t pick a man that you want to work with they don’t feel satisfied that you will be a success. It’s unconscious so much of the time, and that’s why it’s so dangerous.”

for five. Neither of us wants to end the conversation first, and we’re stuck in a weird cycle of thanking each other politely and telling each other how good the conversation was. I hadn’t realised how much time had passed, like talking to an old friend.

Elly Jackson: Bulletproof enigma of pop culture, androgynous icon, music maker extraordinaire, is really just a lovely girl from London. Like a cool older cousin you only see at weddings and funerals, she’s the one you want to sit next to. Older relatives will tut at her hair, but she doesn’t notice. Or care. You want to be her shadow for the afternoon, drinking too much of the cheap wine (hey, it was free), raging about politics and sneaking cigarettes out of the fire door. The stories of her life make you envious and proud. I think there need to be more Elly Jacksons in the world.

“If people were more honest about their downfalls it would be a lot easier”

PHOTO/ SIMON PROCTER

6 Music

Rising stars or media martyrs?

A

s we hang up our calendars for 2015 and the Grammy Awards kick off the awards season next month, one topic will attract even the most casual music listener’s attention: predictions for the next big names in the business. Such speculation is only natural; the music industry is one ever evolving and ever changing. New names bring with them fresh hope that one of these people might do something extraordinary. It’s no secret that the Top 40 has started sounding more like a chart of recycled chord structures and melodies than original creation.

From the past few years, we can see such a hope is justified. Florence and the Machine, Emelie Sandé, George Ezra… all names which have been notable for making the popular music charts more interesting, whether that’s through their

use of sound or the way that they convey what they want to say. British music is not a landscape where you have to be obscure or fiercely independent to be ‘fresh’ – something that I think separates us from American music industry, and for the better.

However, to what extent does this reflect a world where ‘new names’ only serve our craving of an unknown making it big? Shows such as The Voice and The X-Factor demonstrate that we aren’t yet sick of watching the modern musical Cinderella story. When we watch someone new we like come out of nowhere and make it big, it’s as if their public validation proves we’re ‘cool’ or ‘in the know’. This isn’t just a phenomena of the music industry. All up and coming actors and models are all supported by fans believing that their investment is realer

and truer because we liked them before their bandwagons became big and shiny.

Artistic development is all part of the game, but it is something we seem to resist. Much has been made of Taylor Swift’s conversion to pop and it’s a little sad that an artist’s shift in genre is treated as big news. It should be expected of musicians that they don’t limit themselves to the same old rigmarole. I certainly don’t expect an artist to be making music that sounds the same after twenty years.

There are exceptions to the rule. Lana Del Rey seems to have weathered the notorious perils of making a successful second album fairly well. Her new album, Ultraviolence, has been a success with both critics and her fanbase, whilst still retaining the spirit that made her so exciting. It was her authenticity and individuality which grabbed our attention

in the first place. She holds public and musical interest, and this in turn has kept her a notable name.

Contrast this with old X-Factor artists – One Direction being an obvious exception. Singers with clear talent such as Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke were well-buoyed with their ‘newness’ when they first came out – but both suffered drastically as soon as they hit the sophomore slump, proving that we don’t like these artists for their music, but we have been caught up in their clever PR hype. If any of these talent show types have survived, it’s because they have a certain je ne sais quoi which whilst not always unique, is at least different.

Certainly, the music industry is not the same as 40 or 50 years ago, where a new band or name or sound could very likely be something very few had heard before.

PHOTO/ PRESSPARTY

AIMEE KWAN

Magdalen College Today, so much has been covered by so many that bands like The xx, Alt-J and Bon Iver are so loved because they are different from the popular spiel.

It’s clear that publicity has never been more important: music is big business, and it’s folly to pretend that this will change anytime soon. But there is a difference between ‘newness’ and ‘authenticity’. I’d like to hope that of the new young ones predicted to be big in 2015, many of them will actually make it. After all, they are people with real hopes and lives. Of course, we know this isn’t the case. When I look back on 2015 this time next year, I think the name we’ll really remember are the ones that, underneath all the publicity, good lighting and kooky outfits, actually attempt to offer something new. The ones that are real and genuinely dedicated to their craft.

PHOTO/ PRESSPARTY

J Mascis: wide awake J

PHOTO/ SUB POP

15th January 2015

Mascis is a Massachusetts born songwriter, singer, drummer, producer and grey-haired guitar wizard. He’s most well known for his role as guitarist and vocalist in Dinosaur Jr., an alternative rock band.

With their signature deployment of heavy guitar effects, including feedback and distortion techniques, to J’s melodic guitar playing, they adopted a uniquely raw sound that would influence alternative stars of the 90s like Nirvana, Pixies and My Bloody Valentine. After his first solo album Several Shades of Why in 2011 and announced the release of his second, Tied to A Star, in August of 2014, many were left wondering whether the gentler sound seen on Several Shades of Why would continue or whether the album would signify J’s return to his hardcore, distorted roots.

‘Wide Awake’ is among the lead tracks of Tied to A Star, a delicately sad but uplifting song completed with the added emotion brought by Cat Power’s raspy vocals. The song grows with J’s expressive yet technical guitar strumming, then softly ends with his signature distortion. But this is decidedly soft sonic manipula-

tion that only adds to the vulnerable nature of the song. With regards to his solo work, J seems to have set aside the ferocity of his Dinosaur Jr. sound for good.

The melodic direction of this album is not as innovative as it was on Several Shades of Why. Yet this doesn’t detract from the pared down confessional-style formula that really seems to suit J’s weathered voice.

J just seems to want to enlighten us to the sort of music acoustic guitars can make.

On ‘Every Morning’ (the video for which sees J star as the head of the fictional religious guitar cult The Space Children of the Forest) his vocals really come together with one of the more overt uses of a distorted guitar solo on the album. His selfharmonies, achieved by overlaying two vocal parts, allow the various aspects of his distinct voice to come together expertly.

This pared-back sound hasn’t come

NAOMI SOUTHWELL

Somerville College without its challenges. J admitted to Paste Magazine that playing the song ‘Wide Awake’ was a new experience: “It’s hard for me to play, because it’s finger-picking. And, you know, I’m not that good at that.” Peeling back the modesty, we see J continuing to take his work on this new musical direction with quiet confidence.

Many artists attempt this to keep themselves ‘relevant’; however J just seems to want to enlighten us to the sort of music acoustic guitars can make.

J delighted many UK fans with his announcements of a UK tour in 2015. The quieter, melodic nature of the album is certainly reflected in the wise choice of intimate venues.

Recent performances of tracks from the album have seen J play without so much as an amp for equipment, leaving fans expectant of a highly intimate performance. A welcome change, as intimacy was a factor that raucous Dinosaur Jr. performances were usually lacking. This UK tour will see the alt-rock favourite continue to display his technical mastery, but with a warm yet entirely raw performance that’s likely to resonate with past and present fans alike.

Music 7

15th January 2015

Collections Records OxStu’s 0th Week Playlist

Deceptacon Le Tigre Mr. Lady Records

My Game

Hannah Lou Clark Gravy Records

Archie, Marry Me Alvvays Polyvinyl Recond Co.

Torn Apart (vs. GRADES)

Bastille Virgin Records

OxStu Music’s 2015 album picks

HENRY HOLMES

Wadham College

A

lot happened in music in 2014.

Kate Bush played her first live shows in decades, Against Me! released the most important punk album in years and Beyoncé was the undisputed queen of everything. But what does 2015 hold?

Firstly, the pop royalty: Rihanna released seven albums between 2005 and 2012, so the three-year gap since Unapologetic is especially notable. It’s also been four years since Adele released the record-obliterating 21, so the anticipation for the follow up this year is mountainous. To complete the trifecta, Kanye West’s new album is also coming soon, and will inevitably be spectacular. It was also announced back in September that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are collaborating on an album together, which, if released this year, will almost definitely be another big seller.

Elsewhere, Marina and the Diamonds’ new album Froot is looking to be another great pop album, judging from the three exceptional singles ‘Froot’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Immortal’. Grimes and Sky Ferreira have both hinted at new albums coming this year, and Chelsea Wolfe revealed on

PHOTO/ MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

Facebook that she’s releasing new album Abyss this year. Following the drone-folk masterpiece that was 2013’s Pain is Beauty, it should be a good one.

Sleater-Kinney are also returning after a 10-year hiatus to release No Cities to Love, which comes out in late January, and so is likely to be one of the first big releases of the year, and guitarist and Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein is releasing her memoir this autumn, which will be re-

quired reading for any punk, feminist or fledgling indie rocker Deafheaven are releasing their third album after the universally acclaimed Sunbather, which was easily one of the best metal albums released in the last decade, and so their new efforts should hopefully be just as good. Following their recent instrumental album Fashion Week, the second half of Death Grips’ final album The Powers That B comes out soon, which

should be an appropriately spectacular finale to their explosive career.

And this is just talking about already established artists; a lot of the more exciting releases of the past year were secretly dropped or have come from debut artists.

Artists such as Perfume Genius, FKA Twigs and Alvvays came out of nowhere with some of the best albums of 2014; the music to look forward to in 2015 is the unpredictable!

TOURING THROUGH 2015 The NME Awards Tour

Henry Holmes The NME Tour comes to Oxford on 27th February, and this year’s line-up features some of the most exciting live bands of the current UK punk scene. While headliners Palma Violets are more of the traditional NME affair, the rest of the bill pushes the tour in a radical new direction.

Fat White Family are prominently a political band, having organised the anti-gentrification direct action group ‘Yuppies Out!’ and often make their voice known on social issues.

Their music totally amplifies all this, alongside their famously unadulterated stage presence.

Slaves, while not as overtly political as Fat White Family, keep up the punk ethos in different ways; reminiscent of Royal Blood but not mind-numbingly boring, the Kentish duo deliver their short, loud songs with a chaotic energy and charisma that’s utterly infectious.

Finally, The Amazing Snakeheads are an angry Glaswegian garage rock band whose debut album Amphetamine Ballads was hailed by many as one of the best albums of last year.

With such breadth of punk talent, it’s set to be an incredible night.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry

Naomi Southwell Lee “Scratch” Perry is the legendary godfather of dub and reggae music production. His astounding career includes working with Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Clash and the Beastie Boys, being named in Rolling Stones Top 100 Artists of all time and winning a Grammy for Best Reggae Album Jamaican E.T. His personal life is equally outrageous. During one of his most creative periods in the 70s, he took to adorning himself in mirrors – claiming to be the receiver of extraterrestrial influences at his mixing board. His latest LP, Back On the Controls aims to recreate the legendary style that came out of Black Ark studios, typified by basic equipment and madcap production techniques - Perry often incorporated ghostly echoes and breaking glass to his records, producing a distinctly surreal sound. The result is a collection of heavyweight dub tracks filled with Perry’s typical reverbs and delays. His past live performances have been described as “a mind boggling experience”

by The Guardian and his childlike enthusiasm for his own singing and his incredible backing band leave the stage aglow. He comes to the Oxford O2 Academy on 11th April.

The Staves

Kate Bickerton You’d think The Staves would be fed up of touring by now. They’ve been on the road for three years straight, supporting the likes of Bon Iver in Canada and headlining their own tour of America - coast to coast. Apparently not.

The three ethereal sisters from Watford are bringing their unmistakable brand of indie folk music back to the Oxford O2 Academy in February. Promoting their latest EP, Blood I Bled, and with their sophomore album If I Was on the horizon, this promises to be an evening of charming harmonies and soothing melodies.

Arguably, their live performances outshine their records.

The Staves are a band which has been moulded and shaped by years spent on the road. Their music reflects this mature soulfulness gained from travel and independence - something rare in people who are only in their early 20s.

Having honed their craft across the Atlantic, this homecoming tour will please not only current fans of the girls but also intrigue anyone who has an interest in well-crafted, honest music. They can express what it feels like to be young and free, with a thirst for every experience and an ear for storytelling.

Wolf Alice

Caitlin Edwards North London four-piece Wolf Alice caught the attention of NME with their selftitled debut EP, and were subsequently named radar band of the week back in April 2013.

Their second EP, Blush, and their first single, ‘Fluffy’, also went down favourably; similar to Haim, but a lot louder and packing a lot more grit.

With their standard setlist encompassing the grungy riffs of ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ and the soft vocals of lead singer Ellie Rowsell on tracks such as ‘Bros’, it’s no surprise how wide their following is. After filling the crowd to full capacity during their slot at Dot to Dot in Manchester, the band continued to make appearances at festivals such as Reading and Leeds back in August, often being picked out as the act not to be missed.

Coinciding with the release of their latest single, ‘Giant Peach’, and with their debut album slated to arrive mid2015, the quartet are embarking on their first headline tour this spring. This features 14 venues across the UK, including the Oxford O2 Academy on 4th April.

8 Fashion

15th January 2015

Fashion 9

15th January 2015

underthings

Photographers: Adi Iilya Yaya and Alan Deng; Models: Aalia Hulf and Charlotte Parr; Concept and Styling: Demie Kim and Augustine Cerf

10 Fashion

15th January 2015

FASHION

Beth Roberts reveals Victoria’s secrets

COLETTE SNAPE

St John’s College

I

haven’t seen Beth since ‘New Rave’ was still cool. Now Beth, at the ripe young age of 22, is a freelance events producer who worked the £10,000-a-ticket Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show this year.

Sporting a new bob and a chocolate fur coat with aplomb, she welcomes me spiritedly with “Hello lovely!”

Beth’s whole allure puts me at ease as we sip away at our mochas – there’s an effortlessly captivating ‘je ne sais quoi’ about her. And it’s clearly got her far.

That and hard work, obviously.

I sit there half-besotted as she tells me how she ran around with a walkietalkie briefing, “The angels have landed.

I repeat, the angels have landed”.

From the moment the ‘angels’ walk through the door to the moment they walk onto the catwalk, Beth orchestrates their every move, from hair and make-up to first and final looks. “It sounds easy, but the models won’t do it themselves. They love wandering off too, going for cigarettes. You don’t want them disappearing for too long. There are a lot of big… not egos… but a lot of big characters in the room, so you have to make sure everybody is happy.”

PHOTO/ vspressroom.com

Beth explains why working backstage for this particular show - arguably the show of the year - was unlike working for any “ordinary” catwalk. “It’s like a military operation. They take so many people, so it becomes really organised.

There are hundreds and hundreds of people working on it. It’s crackers. It’s such a huge set; it took weeks to build and a whole week to deconstruct.

It’s like a theatre show in terms of

production level.”

The lighting, the music and the models – everything has to be in sync. “During the show I help the show caller. It’s a weird one because it’s live acts so it’s so hard to control all of the elements. For half an hour I have my big headset on, I just stand there with my stopwatch and spreadsheet going ‘3, 2, 1… 3, 2, 1…’”

She almost manages to make her job sound tedious, but I shan’t be

Diana Oh: {my lingerie play} {M

PHOTO/ Diana Oh

fooled. At this point, I’m desperate to find out which angel is her favourite.

I crack halfway through and bypass my methodical list of questions. “Lily Aldridge, because she’s just… elegant and sophisticated. And Adrianna [Lima], because she’s crazy hot, as well.

She’s the sexiest woman you have ever seen.”

Beth recalls a moment backstage at the Victoria’s Secret show where she

y lingerie play} is Diana Oh’s brainchild: ten underground street performance installations in her lingerie, culminating into an 80 minute solo concert-play about her underwear collection. In her first installation, Diana stands on top of a soap box in the streets of New York wearing black high waisted pants, a lace corset, sunglasses and a sun hat. She holds brown paper bags bearing messages that challenge the way we talk about women. Her feminist project strives to create a safer, saner, more respectful world for women to live in.

How do feel your brand of feminism fits in with others’?

Honestly, I fucking love my brand of feminism. I think it’s the shit.

Mostly people and other feminists are supportive. The message of {my lingerie play} is awesome: stop being shitty. Period. Some people don’t read the project closely enough and just react to a single picture of me standing in public in my lingerie and call me horrible things, which is all part of the project too. I want to show people’s responses and how one picture of a woman standing in lingerie can make a person feel very violent and can engender judgmental reactions.

I mean, that’s just so ludicrous. You can have people killing each other and ripping each other apart and rape lyrics on the radio, but a woman in

PHOTO/ Beth Roberts

looked at her friend and thought: “This time last year we were doing work for free, and now this is our job; we’re being paid for this. It was really surreal. I felt like I’d made it a little bit.”

Beth’s goals for this year now that she’s made it (a little bit) are simple: to pay her London rent on time and to take a long holiday. Clearly, working with the world’s top models hasn’t gone to her head.

AUGUSTINE CERF

St John’s College

her underwear? How dare this world encourage such behaviour!

Does your work seek to subvert the representation of women found in the mainstream lingerie industry – as exemplified by the Victoria’s Secret fashion show – or are you advocating an attitude to lingerie and to female sexuality which can stand alongside this industry?

Just don’t tell us that thin is the only way to be a beautiful woman and I’m happy. For now, yes, {my lingerie play} subverts what Victoria’s Secret represents in terms of acceptable female body image, but it also stands in support of Victoria’s Secret as {my lingerie play} encourages women owning their sexuality and not being shunned or degraded for expressing it.

I think Victoria’s Secret needs to play

in a way that they aren’t by the word “underwear.” We must drop the slut shaming and dehumanising; it feeds into unacceptable violence against women all over the world. We’ve been taught that women attract violence, attention, catcalling, violation and that they’re asking for it. And this needs to stop. Immediately.

Do you think women wear lingerie for themselves or purely for their partners?

I think this whole women doing things for men bullshit needs to stop. My final installation assesses my personal journey with lingerie, from wearing it for lovers to wearing it for myself, to learning about how fucked my own narrative was inside of my head because of what I was taught to think growing up. Lingerie is empowering because

catch up and can do better in terms of representing a wider gamut of women, encouraging healthy body image and female sexuality that doesn’t just serve a male dominated society and audience.

Is there a problem with lingerie itself or purely with how it is perceived?

No, I think lingerie is awesome. I think it’s the people who talk shit about lingerie are the messed up ones. But I think lingerie is awesome. People are threatened by the word “lingerie”

loving yourself and owning yourself is empowering. It’s only disempowering if you are consistently making choices for other people - that’s unhealthy and gross. I’m done with all these advice articles I grew up with telling me how to style my hair to get a hot husband.

I mean, teach me how to enjoy my life and become a grounded strong human being. Don’t teach me how to lose 70 pounds in four days to have the hottest sex with a hot man.

“Honestly, I fucking love my brand of feminism. I think it’s the shit”

Fashion 11

15th January 2015

WHAT’S IN HER MAKE UP BAG? Deputy fashion editor Ella Harding

Does my bum look big in this?

CHARLOTTE LANNING

Pembroke College

‘Butt pads’ are silicone pads that help to enhance the shape and size of your bum. They’re like chicken fillets used to maximise cleavage, only for your derrière.

takes us through five products for an easy morning makeup routine.

1) Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24Hr Foundation for buildable yet barely-there coverage.

2) Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer to cover blemishes and dark circles.

3) Nars Bronzing Powder to add warmth and highlight cheekbones.

4) Loreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara for clump-free, fannedout lashes.

PHOTO/ Dan Fox

5) Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lip-gloss in clear for subtle, longlasting shine.

PHOTO/ Polyvore

E

xtreme idealisation of the curvy body shape is booming. Stars like Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj are bringing booty back in a big way and there’s no standing in the way of their rampant campaign. Forget the waify ideal of the early noughties, the rear is the next big thing. Kim K’s recent shoot for Paper magazine, featuring a champagne glass resting on her bottom, attests to the marketability of the voluptuous rear end.

The ‘all about that bass’ trend is quite obviously less obtainable than thighhigh boots or boyfriend jeans as it relies on the physique you were born with – even a million squats a day wouldn’t give you an arse like Nicki’s. With obsession comes extreme means of achievement. In October 2014, a 24-yearold British woman died whilst receiving buttock surgery in Thailand, where the operation is much cheaper. Her story is an unsettling emblem of the dangerous lengths that people will go to to conform to the dizzying standards society sets for female bodies.

Why resort to surgery when a quick, safe alternative exists on the market?

‘Butt pads.’ The golden ticket to channelling your inner Kim K. Cancel your flights to Southeast Asia immediately. ‘Butt pads’ are silicone pads that help to enhance the shape and size of your bum. They’re like chicken fillets used to maximise cleavage, only for your derriere. The idea may sound ridiculous, but

it is certainly a better option than a life-threatening operation.

There is already a wide range of these products on the market, including knickers with built-in hip and butt pads to give an overall curvier silhouette, individual silicone butt pads, and even bikini bottoms with butt pads. The site feelfoxy.com, which launched almost a decade ago, offers a particularly wide range of styles. In 2014 it reported its best sales figures ever to the NY Post, with a 40 per cent rise from the previous year. Prior to this, modern shapewear existed primarily as a theatrical aid. Michelle Williams allegedly wore padded pants in the 2012 film My Week With Marilyn, a necessary measure in order to accurately represent the hourglass figure that arguably made Marilyn more famous than her movies. Now, padded pants are becoming a part of everyday life for many women. Don’t worry if you can’t afford the £30 upwards price tag of the American retailers, as even Asda jumped on the bandwagon in 2013.

They claim there is no thriftier option on high street than their £6 pair. If that’s still too much, there are even YouTube tutorials on how to make your own.

Enhancement underwear is obviously nothing new, with corsets dating back to the 1500s. Whatever look you’re trying to achieve, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. No look is worth your life. You could even try loving your booty just the way it is.

Styling the slip beyond the bedroom T PHOTO/ @forloveandlemons

INSTAWORTHY Lingerie and knitwear brand For Love & Lemons is the creation of designer BFFs Gillian Rose Kern and Laura Hall. Based in Los Angeles, the collection features exquisitely crafted bra and underwear sets and lacey, lingerie-inspired clothing for everyday wear. @forloveandlemons is a feast for the eyes, curating an ethereal brand image by capturing luxe textures in warm filters alongside bouquets and delicate pendant necklaces.

The line between daywear and nightwear is, as of late, rather ambiguous. Printed rompers, silky kimonos, pyjama-inspired matching sets–these styles, worn on the street by even the most put-together sartorialists, were once exclusive to the privacy of one’s bedroom.

Of course the most classic example is the slip dress: simple and strappy, constructed of some sort of flimsy material like lace, silk, satin, etc., this piece deserves to be a year-round staple in every girl’s closet. A hallmark of 90s fashion, the slip has returned in full force on recent runways and red carpets.

Rihanna is the undisputed queen of the negligee–the fashion icon stuns again and again in strappy silhouettes, from her slinky silk number at the Guys’ Choice Awards last summer to her red-hot mini at the 2012 GQ Men of the Year party.

If you’re bold enough to channel Rihanna and hit the town in a slip dress and nothing more, kudos to you.

For the more timid, fear not - there are ways to incorporate a slip into your daily wardrobe without baring all.

Simple designs open up a wide array of styling options. In wintertime, slip on a slip and layer up for an unexpected yet sophisticated ensemble for any occasion:

DEMIE KIM

Exeter College

Tutorial: Layer a dark-hued slip 1schoolboy over a turtleneck; put on your classic blazer, penny loafers, and

tights for a sharp, everyday look.

First date: In a wooly oversized jumper and over-the-knee boots, a hint of silk adds a play of texture.

Wahoo: Contrast lace and silk with a moto-leather jacket and platform combat boots.

College ball: On elegant evenings, cloak a structured trench coat over a black silk slip; leave your feet bare in strappy kitten heels.

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PHOTOS/ Polyvore

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15th January 2015

PHOTO/Fox Searchlight Pictures

Why you should cut awards season some slack C

riticism of the film-world is rife in the period between late November and the Academy Awards ceremony around the end of February. For some, this time is the height of Hollywood’s selfcongratulation, praising a familiar collection of names – actors, writers and producers – and treating the already immensely rich to yet more decadence and luxury. For others, it is too political, or else too commercial – the members of the various voting bodies find their decisions dictated more by the hand-shaking and brown-nosing of the contenders than the merits of the films themselves. Many find their favourite films ignored by the major awards, either because they are too niche and indie, or because they have been shut out for more complicated reasons.

But the awards season has a romantic appeal that outweighs its flaws and makes it a compelling aspect for the world of the media. The broadcast and reporting of the ceremonies, and the rampant, lively speculation that leads up to them, serve as an insight into the often-distant world of Hollywood, and allows its worker bees to gain tangible recognition. Critical praise and word of mouth often applaud the merits of a screenplay, a score or sound mixing, but the people behind them rarely have a voice themselves, and aren’t afforded the same attention

that the bigger names garner. Awards season gives the engineers of a film a chance to be seen and heard, rather than just being represented by their work. It adds to the public’s understanding of the broad range of talents required to make a good film.

Of course, the greatest interest always revolves around the biggest awards, for actors and actresses, directors and the best films. Here, awards-sceptics often find that their taste is what makes awards season so irritating. The Golden Globes, the BAFTAs or the Oscars don’t necessarily cater for those who don’t favour worthy biopics, historical dramas or famous directors. It is fair to say that the Oscars don’t always pick out the best film, or the most popular film, but to adopt such a wild antagonism towards these ceremonies for not aligning with personal tastes is pointless.

It is a misunderstanding of what the season is for. Given that voting bodies are, believe it or not, made up of people too, such hostility places the opinion of the individual over the consensus of the many.

Yes. The Oscars, voted for by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and so often by friends and colleagues supporting each other, are a show of Hollywood’s rich and influential patting themselves on the back. But for the cinema-going public, they don’t have

to be so cloying and smug. Like the very films they celebrate, they are insights into another world; it is a world that is partly accessible to us, but one that we often romanticise and think of as impenetrable. Narratives form, heroes and villains emerge, and we watch as other people live out fantasies in victory and disappointments in defeat. Enough films have been made about the filmmaking industry to show that awards season is an

Awards season isn’t about who wins, it is about how they win intriguing phenomenon – when we watch it, we can be drawn in by the characters and the underdogs, and let others feed their narcissism without endorsing it or caring.

Because that’s what the whole thing is about: entertainment. Even if the ceremonies are televised for publicity and commercial benefit, they are only watched for amusement and distraction. The lesser awards, which don’t make it to our screens, are seen to have greater integrity, but are less popular in the same way people prefer the X Factor to the History Channel. The fact that the hosting job is such a hotly debated and contested feature is telling. Ellen DeGeneres

was widely accepted to have injected the Oscars ceremony with energy last year, even though her most popular stunt, that Oscar selfie, was later revealed as a huge advertisement for Samsung. When Ricky Gervais upset Hollywood’s masturbatory mood at the Golden Globes for three years running, his savage jibes and abuse made for a far more appealing show.

In that particular aftermath, the cinema’s glitterati were left fuming, but the wider audience were satisfied.

Awards ceremonies also give their winners chances to make statements that will be heard, and more importantly listened to by a large audience.

Protests at the Oscars have included George C. Scott’s rejection of the whole institution when he declined both his nomination in 1962 for The Hustler and his win in 1971 for Patton, and Marlon Brando’s pro-Native American stand in 1972. In the latter case, a contentious issue in the film industry was brought into the middle of the public gaze, and, although for some it has fallen amongst the artificial shocks used to energise a lengthy show, it has heightened our sensitivity towards the portrayal of Native Americans in film.

In a more sedate manner, winners of awards have been able to speak to the public and inspire a demographic often protected or scorned for being malleable. Matthew McConaughey,

TOM BANNATYNE

St Hilda’s College Jared Leto and, most of all, Lupita Nyong’o impressed in last year’s Academy Awards, not only for their performances but also for their eloquent acceptance speeches, which weren’t merely a slew of thanks and feigned humility, but instead contained sincerity and depth. For every drunken presenter or ill at ease legend of yesteryear trotted out onto the stage, there is a Nyong’o or a McConaughey to bring some class to the proceedings.

The awards season is self-congratulatory and far, far too long, but it is also a wonderful show. If you approach it with cynicism, you are bound not to be entertained, but if you go in with an open mind, it can be fun and compelling. And, with the exception of certain conspicuously left-field (or wrong) decisions, from Golden Globe nominations for Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie for the undeniably rubbish The Tourist, to the Oscar victory of Crash over Brokeback Mountain in 2006, the awards tend to go to the deserving candidates.

If someone criticises awards season because the awards don’t go where they want them, they are failing to grasp the subjectivity of cinema.

Awards season isn’t about who wins, it is about how they win. It is a show designed for entertainment and money, which can sometimes carry a political or social message. And isn’t that just what cinema is too?

15th January 2015

Review: The Theory of Everything W

hat happens when you strip one of the greatest minds in scientific history of the ability to voice itself? With a scope as broad as its title, The Theory of Everything is a sweeping but strangely intimate romantic drama masquerading as a biopic, or perhaps it’s the other way around.

It bears in spirit a conspicuous resemblance to The Imitation Game in its focus on an Oxbridge educated genius troubled by immense personal hardship and adversity, but The Theory of Everything presents a more focused and intensive microscope on the personal exploits of the man himself, in particular his long and unique marriage. Whereas The Imitation Game was arguably as much about cracking the Enigma machine as it was about Alan Turing, this film peripheralises Hawking’s scientific achievements in favour of wholeheartedly exploring his relationship with Jane Wilde. It is, for want of a better phrase, a love story.

Stephen and Jane are unquestionably opposites. He is a fervently atheist scientist, she is a devoutly Christian linguist. They are initially drawn together by flirtatious cosmological arguments, but what binds these two together for the next thirty years is something altogether more powerful and even more unexpected. Stephen is diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the tender age of 21, just as his relationship with Jane is taking off. When doctors give him a life expectancy of two years, Stephen slips into a chasm of depression and self-isolation. Jane knows what their future inevitably holds, but she believes their love is strong enough to face it. It won’t be easy, but they will have each other. In their eyes, this is all that counts.

Quite obviously, the film required two actors with immense talent so as not to render this touching true story overly sentimental. It is a tale that begins with tragedy, but ends with anything but, and the stars needed to be able to comfortably weather the tumultuous storm of hardship along the way. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are well-chosen leads. Redmayne has already won a Golden Globe for his arresting performance, and quite deservedly so. This is by no means an impression – it is an inhabitation. The actor quite literally engages with every tick of Hawking’s electric mind. It is a remarkably physical and visceral performance. Redmayne’s struggle is arduous to watch as he descends deeper and deeper into his paralysed state (especially in one edge-of-the-seat scene where Stephen attempts to climb a set of stairs at home to reach his baby son). What is perhaps most astonishing is Redmayne’s capacity to show us the celestial explosion that is Hawking’s mind even when it is robbed of the ability to voice itself – at least not without the aid of his

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ANTHONY MASKELL

Trinity College

famous speech-generating device. This star-turn is without question Oscar fodder.

Jones has by far the less flashy role, but she has little trouble matching herself against Redmayne. It’s disappointing that she suffers from a screenplay bent on creating a slightly two-dimensional sweet and amiable Jane Wilde, but she is never totally outshined. Jones, if anything, is more impressive in her ability to make a rather limited role so empathetic. Despite her tireless devotion to Stephen and her enduring patience for his condition, it isn’t hard to see that Jane needed a little caring for herself. Jones’ subtle delivery and tightly contained emotions allow us to see this.

What the film fundamentally suggests is that it doesn’t matter that Stephen Hawking is a world-famous scientific prodigy; he is not immune from the strain of celebrity – the strain of humanity. It’s easy to forget that Stephen and Jane aren’t Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. These are normal people – one must not forget – who find their lives propelled into the realm of stardom long after they have built a life together. What director James Marsh appears to be pushing is the draining burden forced upon this loving marriage. This is not a couple undergoing ordinary marital snags: it is quite literally one hurdle after another, and the film is very sympathetic of this. From the moment Stephen and Jane are pronounced husband and wife, the film transforms into a series of revealing vignettes that gradually explain the descent and disintegration of their vows to one another. It is a deterioration thirty years in the making, and Stephen and Jane’s efforts to maintain dignity and to persevere never pass unnoticed, but ultimately – and unfortunately – we know that this relationship is destined to crumble. In fact, when their divorce finally comes in 1995, we’re left wondering a little where it all went wrong, considering how well they ploughed through every other impediment life threw at them.

It should be noted that this is a film almost seamlessly fashioned. There is a meticulous attention to capturing the feel of the period. Benoît Delhomme’s cinematography plays like a series of faded polaroids, superbly bagging the majesty of Cambridge, and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s harrowing score grabs us by the throat the same way a Thomas Newman soundtrack does so well. It’s never quite as slick as it tries to be, but there is no doubt that a touching degree of craft has been applied to this picture.

Fans of Stephen Hawking’s academic success will probably be surprised by a lot of what they see. Don’t come looking for the science – it’s mostly rushed and raggedly glossed over – but come for the heart, the struggle, the humanity.

COUNTDOWN

Five TV characters you didn’t know went to Oxbridge

5

PHOTO/Chris

Dr. Cal Lightman: Lie to Me Dr. Lightman studied psychology at Oxford before graduating and going on to become “the world’s leading deception expert”.

While, by day, he stays busy identifying lying criminals by interpreting micro-expressions and studying body language, he also enjoys supporting West Ham United in his free time.

4

Daniel Faraday: Lost This physicist from Queen’s College, Oxford is famous for his controversial experiments with time travel. It’s just too bad that his trip to 1977 left him at the wrong end of a gun – that too a gun held by his own mother. You know what they say: you must not be seen.

3

MacKenzie McHale: The Newsroom We discovered that this asskicking Executive Producer studied at Cambridge when, much to her chagrin, her Wikipedia page mistakenly claimed that she was president of the Oxford Union, instead of the Cambridge Union.

2

Rupert Giles: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Part-time Watcher, parttime librarian but always mentor and guide, Giles studied History at Oxford, before dropping out in order to experiment with dark magic and rock music, as one does.

1 PHOTO/Universal

P

SRISHTI NIRULA

Somerville College

redictable, boring, offensive, and, most of all, not funny, Benidorm’s seventh series premiere left me completely unimpressed. For those of you lucky enough to have not heard of the show, Benidorm follows several holiday-goers on their sun, sex and stupid stay in an all-inclusive resort hotel in the Spanish tourist city of Benidorm.

When the title sequence began, I had very few expectations. I had heard that the show was quite popular, and had been nominated for a couple of awards back in the day. I suppose I expected it to be alright – funny, but perhaps losing its charm and originality after running for so many seasons. What I didn’t expect was a coma-inducing show that forced my brain to go into lockdown to protect itself.

The thing is, I should have seen it coming. There I was, vegetating on my bed, Coke in one hand, popcorn in the other and laptop on stomach

in true Christmas holiday repose, all ready to be amused. As the title sequence rolled on, showing images of the various characters, an image of a line of men with their swimming trunks slung a bit too low popped up.

That should have been my first hint.

Benidorm does not do subtlety. As the show went on, I was subjected to more and more obvious, unintel-

Subtlety, or lack thereof, aside, there were jokes that were just plain offensive (that is if you aren’t offended already). On receiving a letter from an American named ‘Buck A. Roo’ (haha?) stating that she was the last living descendent of a family from Arizona, Madge responds that she couldn’t be related to anyone American, for this, very obvious,

Why on earth is only ONE Spanish person working at this hotel? ligent, body-related humour. Jacqueline, an elderly swinger, rushes off for a “quick wee” in the hotel pool.

Hilarious. Les/Lesley, the resident cross-dresser, asks the “casanova” Mateo: “Oh you’re not having one of them vajazzles are you? No, not for a man… a pejazzle!” Witty. I don’t know, maybe “in-yer-face” humour is your thing, but I was just too grossed out to find it funny.

reason: “There’s no fat people with big gums in our family.” Meanwhile, the hotel’s hair salon, Blow & Go, had gone mobile and was looking for slogans to promote this latest development. An idea thrown around was: “Blow & Go Mobile, we bring the mountain to Mohamed (all religions catered for)”. Regardless of this travesty of a line, the Blow & Go boys did provide some humour, and the

Frasier & Niles Crane: Frasier These two leather-loving, sherry-drinking psychologists, brothers, and regulars at Chez Henri’s, always attended competing universities; Frasier being a Harvard and Oxford man, and Niles completing his education at Yale and Cambridge. line, “a bit like a soot covered bog brush, otherwise known as a Simon Cowell” actually made me crack a smile, but maybe that was because I don’t like Simon Cowell either.

When it comes down to it, the show suffered from really bad writing, whether it was clunky dialogue or poorly drawn characters. When Tiger Dyke (the only description I can come up with is ‘an idiot guest’) wakes up after a night out, he says: “I’m never drinking again.” How original. When Lesley hears that she might lose her job, she pleads, “It’s not a job, it’s my life.” Never heard that one before. Yet my biggest question after 46 minutes of sheer, unadulterated boredom was: why on earth is only ONE Spanish person working at this hotel? Have I missed a crucial piece of exposition? Do they only accept Spanish employees with “pejazzles”? Needless to say, I won’t be watching Benidorm from the beginning to find out.

14 Stage

STAGE

15th January 2015

PHOTO/NT Press Images

Verbatim theatre: plays without playwrights I

magine a play without a playwright, a story without anything imaginary.

The increasingly popular genre for experimental ‘verbatim’ plays, has realised this subversive vision for contemporary theatre. Just as the recent popularisation of reality TV reflects the modern phenomenon of seeking entertainment, or even art, from the everyman, the verbatim genre recounts the words of real life people in interviews and conversations often surrounding a particular topic, theme or event. The role of the playwright is therefore replaced with one which collaborates and edits documentary material in an attempt to convey a particular story or message.

Although documentary theatre is not a recent phenomenon, the prolific tendency towards verbatim techniques has emerged in contemporary British theatre over the last decade. Much of its appeal lies in the immediacy of the style; verbatim theatre offers a much more representative and relevant platform for contemporary issues than works which playwrights have taken years to engineer.

Rehearsals for Alecky Blythe’s Little Revolution, for example, a verbatim piece documenting the perspectives of

both the victims and the perpetrators of the London riots of August 2011, began in the October of that same year. In the same way, the style also allows for greater flexibility in updating politically charged works in accordance with current affairs.

Indeed a further modernisation of DV8’s 2011 production of Can We Talk About This?, a piece which distinguishes freedom of speech from Islamophobia in an attempt to expose the correlation between the threat of terrorism and a suppressed discourse, would be particularly pertinent in light of the recent Charlie Hebdo incident in Paris. The flexibility of the genre therefore offers a particularly attractive stage for political theatre, allowing for an ongoing dialogue rather than running the risk of becoming quickly outdated.

However, the inherently static nature of a verbatim script cannot sustain a compelling story in isolation.

The genre therefore requires the practitioner to come up with techniques to bridge the gap between a dry documentary and a dramatic spectacle. It is through a technique called recorded delivery that Alecky Blythe’s verbatim scripts make for

engaging theatre. Recorded delivery involves each actor listening to edited recordings of Blythe’s interviews live on stage during every performance, so that every word, stutter, cough or hiccup is replicated to the audience exactly as it was recorded. She even puts her technique to music in her critically acclaimed verbatim musical London Road, which captures the

Every word, stutter, cough or hiccup is replicated to the audience exactly as it was recorded atmosphere created by the Ipswich serial murders through the reaction of local residents, in which the script is neither completely spoken nor sung but rather offers rhythmically spoken words to music. Although the effect is undeniably bizarre and, at times, seems even superfluous, it is this very incongruity which nevertheless captures our attention and sustains our interest in the thoughts of people

whose opinions would not ordinarily be vocalised in theatres such as the National.

The verbatim style can also inevitably lend itself to comedy, with several of the characters of Blythe’s Little Revolution, for example, ironically offering semblances of satire, as clichés are fulfilled and stereotypes reinforced. Therein lies a potentially problematic aspect of the verbatim style; at times, there is something uncomfortable about watching the exclusively white, middle class audience of the National Theatre or Hampstead Theatre chuckle at poorly educated working class teenagers from the most deprived areas in London attempting to justify their involvement in the riots. However, the verbatim script of Chris Goode’s Monkey Bars, which introduced Oxford to the genre at the BT studio in Michaelmas, generates comedy much more innocently. The play consists of a series of interviews with children who are often put in ‘grown up’ situations, yet are crucially played by adult actors, with the premise of the piece thereby creating comedy organically. However, as is often the case with verbatim theatre, the

REBECCA HEITLINGER

Somerville College

narrative of the play somewhat inevitably lacks direction.

Indeed the documentary style of verbatim theatre risks compromising decisive storytelling, and thus the genre tends to be rather hit and miss. Yet where Goode falls short, practitioners such as DV8 consistently deliver. Like Blythe, DV8 recognises the need for verbatim techniques to work in tandem with other storytelling devices and thus uses physical theatre as a means of making interviews and news stories compelling to watch. Here a similar incongruity arises to the effect of recorded delivery, however, the emphasis on physical expression serves as an interesting metaphor for the limitations of language.

Although a rather ironic implication considering its verbatim style, the success of DV8’s productions can be attributed to the fact that its works address a particular subject matter, in which verbatim techniques assist in communicating a message, yet do not overshadow the overarching impact of the play.

Dv8’s latest verbatim production, John, has just finished at the National; look out for cinema showings soon.

Stage 15

15th January 2015

Treasure Island isn’t quite gold

PHOTO/NT Press Images

T

he National Theatre’s childfriendly Christmas offering of Treasure Island is impressive and polished, but lacks originality.

Director Polly Findlay successfully delivers Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic to a new generation, and the adaptation is in the safe hands of Bryony Lavery, but it would be inaccurate to describe the production as groundbreaking.

Traditionally an all-male cast, Lavery introduces some token women to the adventure story, however, it is surely patronising to suggest this alone makes her capable adaptation noteworthy. In the twenty-first century, a National Theatre production should make such alterations as a matter of course. Commending Lavery and Findlay for merely

respecting that the world has moved on since the 19th Century seems misplaced. Yet, aside from the gender change of Jim (here, ‘Jemima’) Hawkins and the inclusion of several female pirates, it seems that Lavery’s adaptation lacks creativity. It is a refined and expert piece, but no less is to be expected of the National Theatre, and one might hope for greater novelty.

Patsy Ferran, as Jemima ‘Jim’ Hawkins, is a gifted narrator who draws each child, and their parents, in with remarkable animation. The standout actor of the play, Ferran, brings a vibrancy that serves to counteract the somewhat overly rehearsed feel of Findlay’s direction and it is thrilling to see Ferran’s star rise so quickly.

Arthur Darvill’s Long John Silver is

MEGAN THOMAS

Somerville College insufficiently frightening, and this is a common theme among the cast. For a show which markets itself for ages 10+, the characterisation was disappointing and the obvious scope for Silver and his gang to be almost nightmare-inducing appears to have been ignored. Lavery creates a number of new characters, but these fail to strike the balance between clichéd and complex successfully, resulting in an ultimately forgettable larger chorus of pirates.

It stops just short of managing a two tiered appeal for an audience of adults and children, unlike last year’s Emil and the Detectives. Children laugh a great deal at the cheese-related jokes, squealed by Joshua James’ Ben Gunn, but the same jokes cause accompanying adults to cringe. Equally childfriendly and a rare streak of visual originality, was the nimbly operated robotic parrot, Captain Flint, a blaze of colour that ricochets through the audience. Lizzie Clachan’s design is beautiful, making full use of the Olivier’s extraordinary technical resources, but even this is predictable. The set bears more than passing resemblance to that of previous Christmas production Nation. Its most exciting feature is an array of small lights suspended from the ceiling, detailing the stars in the night’s sky, which are lit up during the performance to illustrate the characters’ discussions.

Findlay and her team’s show is handled skillfully, but to expect any less of a National Theatre piece would be condescending, and it is one of their more forgettable Christmas productions.

OXFORD DRAMA 101

W

ith a new term and a new year upon us, Florence Brady, the President of OUDS, and Claire Bowman, committee member and performer, tell us that it could not be a better time to start getting involved with the Oxford theatre scene.

Signing up to the OUDS mailing list means weekly emails with all the theatrical opportunities available, auditions, productions and advertisements. Don’t forget JCR arts committees which often put on college based plays. This term specifically, the New Writing Festival will soon be auditioning for actors and is a “really good way in”, according to Florence, who describes it as “cuppers part two.”

“Give everything a shot,” adds Claire, as auditions will only get less scary by doing lots of them. Things tend to get more competitive as the year goes on so it is advisable to start auditioning early. The University Drama Officer is on hand with a library of monologues if you need guidance, but Florence recommends a mixture of common sense and comfort when choosing monologues. Auditioning for a comedy probably isn’t the ideal time to bring out your most tragic Hamlet, but ultimately Claire says “find something that fits you”. Don’t be put off by unusual audition experiences (Florence recounts an audition in which she was asked to “mime a pineapple”), and don’t be disheartened if you don’t get the first things you audition for.

For those interested in taking on directing or producing roles, assisting roles are a really great place to start

What we’re watching this term Anthony Maskell

T

he first enticing theatrical event on my radar is Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Based upon David Foster Wallace’s 1999 postmodern transcripts, Dolphin and Cartwright have adapted this for the stage themselves.

Capitalising on the success of The Pillowman last term, which carved the way for sophisticated black comedies, it’s also got an all-star Oxford cast. I’ve heard from the “inside” that the production has in store plenty of experimental technical treats too.

I’m equally intrigued by The Boss of It All, the alternative big farce up against Noises Off. Packed with plenty of that classic provocative Lars von Trier magic – sex, fantasy, all-round absurdity, this is going to be a painfully funny caper. .

You can’t spend a term at Oxford without going to Audreys, the showcases for the Oxford Revue. Always a cracking night of snorting chuckles and people literally rolling on the floor

Harriet Fry Two shows I will certainly be going to see this term are Noises Off and The Effect. Written by Lucy Prebble, The Effect won the Critic’s Circle Award for Best Play in 2012 and is on at the Keble O’Reilly in third week. Having enjoyed Prebble’s earlier play Enron I am particularly looking forward to seeing what new ideas she has come up with. The play follows two young volunteers as they take part in a drug trial; I’m told it explores the limits of medicine and ideas of fate whilst still managing to be funny which is no mean feat.

The Playhouse show in fifth week is Noises Off, the famous farce by Michael Frayn. The play brings backstage drama to the foreground and it shows the story of putting on a play from behind the scenes.

With love triangles, jealous understudies and eccentric actors in full supply, this show is sure to boast plenty of farcical slapstick both onstage and offstage. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays with perspective and entertains with farcical repartee; something to cheer cold February days.

Charanpreet Khaira

Amelia Brown

Bursting into the Oxford Playhouse at the start of February this year is West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein’s beloved musical.

Dominic Applewhite has had a busy year making his mark on Oxford’s theatre scene, starring in Livi Dunlop’s brilliant production of Orlando last term, and moving on now to direct West Side Story. It’s a show with a big name, and a big reputation to uphold, something that must be a little daunting for a student cast. But if Applewhite’s acting skills are any indication of his talent for directing, this production will be a great way to start off the year.

A complete contrast to the colour and vibrancy of West Side Story will be Macbeth, running in the Regent’s Park Quad in fifth week.

This is outdoor Shakespeare like we’ve never seen it before; a dark, cold production, rather than the sun-dappled lawn-Shakespeare of Trinity term. A shivering audience, a cast all draped in black, and one of Shakespeare’s bleakest plays look set to combine to make a dark and twisted production.

This looks set to be a term full of really interesting new writing, with the four selected New Writing Festival entries being performed at the BT in fifth week. As well as the competition entries, several other pieces of new writing are making their debuts this term. Potosi, by Jonathon Oakman, is an intimate and heartfelt two-hander. The play is about what it means to grow up, about relationships both romantic and familial, and about stumbling on someone a little different.

More great writing comes with The Architect. Whilst the tenants of Leo Black’s once celebrated tower blocks are calling for them to be blown up and rebuilt, his family is falling apart – a son who looks for sexual encounters in toilet cubicles, a daughter who hitch-hikes her way along motorways. Human relationships are explored by complex characters, in an interweaving collection of scenes.

and help build up experience. For the more technical minded, TAFF is also running a training day on 31st January for both beginners and non-beginners on the kit that they use.

Putting on a play from scratch can seem like a daunting prospect. “The key is to find a play that you really want to do and the most appropriate space for it”, says Florence. With a play decided, and a producer, marketer, director and set designer on board (advertising on the mailing list is a good way to find people), it is time to make bids for your chosen theatre, templates for which can be found on the OUDs website.

“There are lots of people around to help”, Claire reassures me. Theatre is “such a major collaborative process” echoes Florence. Don’t be afraid to email people or even arrange face to face meetings, as everyone is happy to help.

Of course it’s inadvisable to get carried away. “Know your limit”, says Claire, highlighting the importance of having time to eat and sleep between essay deadlines and dress rehearsals.

She also encourages people to ask what time commitments will be in auditions: “talk to directors because everyone is doing a degree here”. She recommends two plays a term as a good limit.

OUDS committee, for which husts are this term, is another great way to get involved and offers another perspective on theatre. As Claire points out, “it’s really fun and there’s cake” – what more could you want? With around 30 productions being put on every term, it’s time to get involved.

The Effect

3rd Week O’Reilly

Noises Off

5th Week Playhouse

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15th January 2015

OXSTUFF

OxStuff 15

COME DINE WITH ME: MAGDALEN FOOD AND DRINK 5/10

What can I say – you cannot go wrong with a halloumi starter, especially when paired with baked asparagus.

Sadly, the main course failed to live up to the hype generated by the halloumi.

What can only be described as a can of mixed beans emptied onto a plate and surrounded by Brussels sprouts does not a Christmas meal make.

Yet, finishing off with a classic Christmas pudding was a clever trick to make me forget the horror of the main and so I ended up satisfied.

everyone on the chairs? No, there was not. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you...

PRICE 6/10

£13.70 seemed a tad steep. Granted, there was wine – but it wasn't exactly free-flowing (we eked out only two or three classes). Doubling up on the free port afterwards helped the whole value for money malarkey and I have to admit that, having not paid my Magdalen host back yet, I can't really complain...

ATMOSPHERE

WOW FACTOR

I remember crackers, Christmas hats and laughter, but was there singing?

Was there a rendition of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ that ended up with

As someone who is hard to wow, this is slightly unfair. Was I supposed to be wowed by the hall itself? I hope not.

By the decorations? The slightly tacky

7/10

City of Oxford Orchestra 8pm/17th Jan Sheldonian

Danny Dorling Social Inequality 7pm/20th Jan Oxford Hub

Stroke of Luck + Clockwork Radio 8pm/17th Jan The Wheatsheaf

2/10

Adventure Film Festival Starts 20th Jan UPP Cowley

Christmas tree in the corner was topnotch but didn't exactly floor me. The food? No no. The wine? No comment.

But then, I wasn't there to be wowed.

CONVERSATION AND COMPANY 9/10

Here, Magdalen Christmas dinner came into its own. Top-drawer Christmas jokes and random yet excellent conversation from my left, high quality subversive activity from opposite, and to my right...well, he gave me his mince pie.

TOTAL SCORE FOR MAGDALEN: 29/50 PHOTO/Magdalen College

Deep Cover 10pm/16th Jan Cellar

Audrey - The Oxford Revue 8:30pm/20th Jan Old Fire Station

PICK OF THE WEEK Ed Paschke Exhibition All Week Ashmolean

Susan Davies CEO of BRAC 7pm/19th Jan Christ Church

Contribute to Cherwell 2am/19th Jan Mordor

William Blake Exhibition All Week Ashmolean

Alexander Darby, New College

Strummer Room Project 7.30pm/16th Jan Jericho Tavern

Milk Teeth 10pm/20th Jan Cellar

16 OxStuff

CLITERARY THEORY PHOTO/Flickr user Piers Nye

It’s hard to find an unhappy picture of Andrew Hamilton. Smiles all round in every snap – and who wouldn’t be beaming with a salary that could build a robot (or purchase 63.1 hair transplants)? No wonder Andrew Ha(442) MILton has no qualms about upping tuition fees; the VC’s suggestion back in 2013 of nudging the £9,000-ayear ceiling makes sense now that we know his own bank balance is blasting through the roof. Smug-faced, overpaid, and disappointingly un-dashing – with student fees going straight into Andy’s profound pockets, what we want to know is: are we getting what we’re paying for?

‘422k’ HAMILTON

TIM SQUIRRELL

‘Enemy of free speech’, ‘that one of Country [sic] Living desperate to get laid’ or, as most of the OxStu office agrees, ‘surprisingly dashing’ Tim Squirrell has plummeted in our estimation this week after it was revealed that this principled opponent of freedom will be participating in a Union debate this term. Even worse, rumours are circulating that deep in this fanTABulous heartthrob’s murky past he actually ran a free speech-supporting debate club of his own, a shocking development to be sure. Undoubtedly he’ll have to have some giant acorns to stand before the Union after some of his nutty comments.

PHOTO/@timsquirrell

ANNA CONDA

Dom/Sub-editor

W

elcome back, my dear and curious readers. I hope that you have all returned to Oxford with a newfound energy (sexual or otherwise), fun new toys from under the tree (sexual or otherwise), and plenty of stories to tell (hopefully sexual – they’re just so much more interesting…)

Of course, I mustn’t set my hopes too high. Christmas, I fear, is by no means the sexiest of holidays.

Mark Darcy-esque reindeer jumpers are not made to be ripped off in the throes of passion, and family dinner parties are hardly the place to meet your future one-night stand.

However, in this department, there is one significant perk that comes with returning to your home territory. You see, I’ve often found that getting with a stranger, while exciting and refreshing, is a whole lot more effort than getting with an acquaintance. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around sleeping with each of my friends when I can’t be bothered finding a passable shag – that would create far more problems than it solved. But I have often found that the perfect people to go home with are those you ‘know’, in the sense that you’re probably Facebook friends, but not in the sense that you ever want or need to speak to them.

You know… those ones you ruled out months ago as outrageously dull.

Who fits this magical description of the perfect partner, you ask? Well of course, it’s many, many guys from school that you never really spoke to.

I’m sure many of you know the story: you’re in a club, you say hello to each other, you have absolutely nothing else to say, Joe/Phil/Eduardo has become much hotter and somehow more mature…

Before you know it, you’re in a taxi with a hand up your skirt and

your bra undone. And, provided the sex is not abysmal, (and it certainly wasn’t – round of applause for he who shall be known as Eduardo) you’ve managed it: a near perfect one-night stand.

First, it requires next to no effort.

Of course, once upon a time, you would have been nervous to approach said conquest (whom you have always had a thing for) and start flirting, but you are now old and drunk enough to have lost all such minor inhibitions.

Next, there is no need for the usual small talk – no need to exchange names and subjects and colleges and star signs. There’s an excellent weall-know-what-we’re-doinghere vibe and so the fun can begin as soon as the mood strikes.

Finally, and most gloriously, there is absolutely no need for either party to consider whether or not it is polite to exchange phone numbers and bebo pages, and no chance of an upcoming awkward run-in. You both know that you’ll soon be gone, back to your real lives and your real one-night stands; this was just to tide you over. Perhaps you will see each other again, at the same sad club in your same small town, but this can only be in at least a term’s time. By that point, all potential awkwardness will have faded and you may even be ready for a recap.

This ingenious strategy certainly worked for me at my weekly hometown soirée. The next morning, I left a certain somebody’s bed – albeit a lumpy, single one much too close to his parents’ room – feeling satisfied enough to survive an otherwise minimally sexy Christmas.

So think carefully before you complain about going home and losing that wild Oxford lifestyle, for if I am wise in any sense at all it is in this one very specific one. In future, look to those you know for comfort in this difficult time. The perfect one night stand may have been right in front of you all along.

15th January 2015

ONE TO WATCH

PHOTO/Team Women

Within a matter of weeks, Aliya Yule is set to rise the ranks of BNOC as her name becomes familiar to a large proportion of Oxford students who’ll receive regular email updates from her. As she steps into the shoes left by Lucy Delaney, Aliya is now OUSU’s Women’s Campaign Officer – in charge of WomCam. Aliya will oversee a massive amount of the society’s feminist activity, from their weekly socials and discussion groups to any events or protests that may arise.

This former OxStu front page star (Trinity Term ‘14, Issue 3 anyone?) is already well known for her admirable involvement in university life. Formerly the chair of Womcam’s Women in Colour Working Group, Aliya was heavily involved in the orchestration of one of the biggest Oxford student protests last year, the vigil outside the Union in Trinity Term.

Feminism isn’t Aliya’s only forte however. A keen activist for social issues, Aliya was one of a group of Wadhamites who participated in 2014’s Live Below the Line campaign, as well as lending her face to I, Too, Am Oxford and putting her name to an SU motion calling for the creation of a POC rep.

As the Vice-President of Wadham’s SU, this PPEist certainly has a busy schedule, yet she always seems well dressed as she constantly works for the good of others.

Here at the OxStu offices, we’re excited to see what the text three terms hold for Aliya Yule, until her WomCam leadership comes to an end in Michaelmas. Does a future as VP for Women await? Or does Aliya have her sights set on bigger and better things? Only time will tell.

OxStuff 17

PHOTO/Rosie Shennan

15th January 2015

“T

here’s only one thing worse than dragons.

Americans”. That was the one thing which Reign of Fire taught me, and it was wrong. Because there is something worse than Americans – French school children.

Don’t get me wrong, I detest school kids as a general rule: their high-pitched voices, their grubby little hands, their misguided optimism for the future. They are a constant reminder that I’ve squandered the promise of my youth – and my career prospects – by descending into the self-indulgent madness known as a degree in Anglo-Saxon.

That feeling can only be made worse when they move in droves, whispering and sniggering at our non-crusty bread and lack of berets. You try and get past them on Magdalen Street, and they close ranks like a pre-pubescent testudo: you have to take a detour around LMH just to get to the Exam Schools, such are their numbers.

Having the entire tweenage population of France visiting Oxford seems as improbable as it is unfeasible, but the only other possibility is that it’s the same group who’s been lost for years.

I’ve come to the conclusion that their appearance on our streets is no coincidence –Oxford can’t be so exciting that the French see a visit as some sort of rite of passage. No, it’s far more sinister: it is the final step of revenge for us beating Napoleon (and for writing ‘Allo ‘Allo). School children, as any primary teacher can tell you, have the ferocity and lack of fear normally seen in wolverines on adrenaline. A pack of them could do as much damage as a tank battalion, and the only fuel they need is the sugar in a pack of Haribo. They also cause limited damage to materiel (as long as it’s tacked down), making them effective for the planned Norman re-conquest. Their teachers

(read: handlers) could just toss some sweets into WH Smith and they’d rush in, devouring and trampling everything in their path like piranhas with legs, backpacks, and a predilection for cheese.

That being said, perhaps Operation Les Enfants Terribles will have a happy ending (so long as we bar the doors to the ivory tower from the inside). After all, in the time before the sugar-high runs off and the police corral them, the kids might well dispose of their adult counterparts: the tour groups. You have to

of all Oxford denizens. Whoever thought that getting someone to dress like that and spend their days like a hybrid of the Queen and Bradley Wiggins was a good idea should really be tried for crimes against collective humanity and sanity. This is assuming, of course, that a fullygrown man doesn’t voluntarily suit up in something out of Donnie Darko to spend his days waving at passers-by, silently judging them; watching; waiting...and, you know, probably getting a great work-out from all the cycling. My faith has taken a hit since I came to Oxford, but I’m not sure I could believe in an AllLoving God if he created willing rabbit-cyclists (regular cyclists are bad enough).

On the note of faith, Cornmarket Street now has the dubious claim to fame of having enough religious leaders to become a pilgrimage site. I went in a Hindu-Catholic, and came out with five Bibles, two Qur’ans, a Hare Krishna Bhaghavad-Gita and what looks like a pasta strainer. Although having my soul fought over by competing stalls does give me the ego boost I need to get through the day, I’m tempted to offer Satan when they next ask me who my Lord and master is.

Personally, I see the best way to deal with it all is to simply give the whole street protected status and section it off from normal society. It can be all the holy sites of the world in one, just with Itsu and more firejugglers. We can have some stalls with sweets to bait in the school kids, and a big placard with ‘REAL OXFORD HISTORY’ for the tour groups. We could even charge tourists to enter.

And then we can use the money to build the monorail and circumvent it all.

Problem solved.

School children, as any primary teacher can tell you, have the ferocity normally seen in wolverines on adrenaline wonder, don’t those wretched loafers have anything better to do than crowd our streets? There’s nothing so annoying than running late to Prelims only to a find a metric tonne of them in your path. I lie – what’s more annoying is when they turn around and stare at you as if they’ve never seen a human being in a gown before. And then take photos very subtly, as if you can’t see half a dozen men and women in gaudy anoraks raising their iPads to head level.

It’s a situation only made more painful by the presence of a tour guide: probably some sneering exstudent, desperately trying to pretend that their time at Oxford hasn’t come to an end. Watching them pulling facts out of the air is excruciating, like “Full fusc is wearing a suit of armour” or “Camera is habitable by human beings”. The most horrifying part, though, is seeing them on their marches around the same bloody routes every time. It’s like watching the Battle of the Somme acted out daily by an army of pensioners, led into combat by smarmy gits waving umbrellas overhead.

Still, at least they aren’t the White Rabbit, that most terrifyingly trippy

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15th January 2015

FEATURES

The man against the Prime Minister

S

tuart Macdonald is the man up against David Cameron. No wonder he finds the election campaign “extremely hard work”.

“The Tories in particular, and Labour to a lesser extent, have a machine there and massive national support – the Greens haven’t.

“Towards the end of the campaign I’ll be giving three or four presentations a day and it’s hectic – it’s alright if you’re the PM and are being taken from one to the other in a chauffeurdriven car, but the Greens don’t work like that.” Macdonald does not hold this against Cameron however. “I’ve debated against him, and I actually find him fair, reasonable and reasoned. I quite like the man.”

Being a representative of the Green Party in Witney has some advantages. “The opportunity in Witney is to say things and to be heard in a way you wouldn’t be able to in other constituencies. That’s because of the dominance of Cameron and the Conservative Party. The world’s media

descends on Witney, and much of it is interested in something different or unusual. We cash in on that quite shamelessly.”

The coverage of the Green Party is topical after Cameron threatened to not participate in leader’s debates if the Greens were excluded. “It’s the right thing for him to say,” Macdonald conceded, “but for the wrong reason. He’s doing it is so that the Greens can erode Labour’s position.”

Macdonald is also not optimistic that the Witney authorities will be welcoming of his campaign. “As the election heats up we’ll have all sorts of action taken by local officials to make life difficult for us. On the streets sometimes too: we’ve had police summoned to take our stalls down, threats of arrests from local mayors because we’ve put a poster up. It can be very hostile. They find the Green Party particularly threatening,” he said carefully, “Come the election there’ll be a host of ratbag parties but they’re flash in the pan.

But the Greens are here to stay, and we are ferocious in the election. We take Cameron to task. We got one of the highest votes in the country in 2010. That’s pretty good in the Prime Minister’s constituency.”

The Green Party are constantly dealing with misconceptions, but Macdonald speaks clearly about what

"the keenest greens tend to be the ones looking for a tree to hug" they stand for. “The Green Party is not a single issue party, it’s got a full spectrum of policies.”

“The problem is that the keenest Greens tend to be the ones looking for a tree to hug, not the ones who view the Green Party as a radical socialist party, as I do.”

The name, however, can prevent

people from being aware of the party’s social policies. The deaths of Mark Wood and David Clapson in Witney came as a result of austerity measures and benefit cuts. “We just had our first public meeting looking at the two men that were starved to death in their own homes following benefit sanctions. You’re able to publicise that event nationally, and then from the press you get the interest of the local press which otherwise you wouldn’t – because it’s totally Tory dominated.” Macdonald laughed, “We’re out to change things but we have the opportunity to in Witney that other Green candidates don’t have.”

Macdonald is also concerned with student issues, particularly tuition fees. “Making a market system out of education is appalling, not just university education but public schools – it’s appalling. The Oxford system is illogical if you’re making a market out of it. How do you justify capping?

Oxford can charge very, very, very

Features 19

NASIM REBECCA ASL

Somerville College

much more than other universities.

It doesn’t make the system sensible.

Education is a public good, not a private good.”

Macdonald fears the effects of the rise in tuition fees. “Students now will be poorer than their parents.

That has not happened for centuries in this country. Students have been a political plaything for decades now – the whole idea that if you have half of your cohort going to university it will create a high technology economy that will create a lot of wealth – this is absolute nonsense. We create students who go into careers that don’t need degrees, striving to get qualifications rather than learning.”

So what does the future hold for the Green Party? “The word is that small parties will do well in this general election. I think they will too, if only because there’s a real dissatisfaction with the main parties.” 2010 saw the Greens gain 4.1 percent of the Witney vote, but this year Macdonald is confident – “We will do better”.

20 Features

15th January 2015

BME activism in Oxford

ARIANE LAURENT-SMITH

Brasenose College

CRAE - CAMPAIGN FOR RACIAL AWARENESS & EQUALITY Who? Independently run but facilitated by OUSU. What? It successfully agitated for the Race Equality Summit at Oxford which was held in March 2014.

CRAE also instituted a survey of Oxford students on racism and BME issues and the 100 Voices participant research concept.

Where? In addition to working in Oxford itself they held the first Oxford Annual Access conference in London last year.

Website: See OUSU website Facebook: OxfordCRAE

SKIN DEEP What? An Oxford based race forum which has recently begun to produce a termly ‘zine’ also titled ‘Skin Deep’.

When? Submissions for the third issue of ‘Skin Deep’ close on January 28th.

Where? Copies can be found in most common rooms and otherwise may be requested via the Facebook group.

I, TOO, AM OXFORD What? This striking visual campaign sought to challenge the perception of these universities as all-white environments by demonstrating the cultural diversity that can be found as well as criticising the ignorant assumptions made and stereotypes used by fellow Oxford students.

Facebook: itooamoxford Tumblr: itooamoxford Twitter: itooamoxford

OXFORD FERGUSON SOLIDARITY MARCH Who? Over 250 students and members of the town, organised by Joshua Aiken and Nicole Nfonoyim.

What? A peaceful march around Oxford with speakers as well as the reading of poetry and a list of names of the hundreds of victims of police violence in the US. When? 1st December 2014 Where? From Cornmarket Street to Radcliffe Square

F

rom the recent 100 Voices report to last year’s ‘I, too, am Oxford’ campaign, evidence of racism and discrimination at Oxford University is worryingly common.

As shown by the 100 Voices report, black and minority ethnic students in Oxford feel “a sense of social isolation” and that there is “a pervading culture that struggles to welcome differences in race and ethnicity”. The report has also brought to light the lack of diversity amongst the student body, and the failure of the curriculum to “capture the diversity of non-Western thought, people and culture”. Yet, Oxford is also home to tireless campaigners who strive to promote BME issues here, as well as nationally and even internationally.

Activists face a battle even in convincing some of the student body that racism is a problem in Oxford.

The recent OUSU survey, facilitated

by CRAE, found that 57.4 per cent of BME students felt that racism was a problem at Oxford compared to only 38.5 per cent of white students. As Nikhil Venkatesh, the BME students’ officer at OUSU, commented: “What we’re seeing more of now, especially here, is white people … ignoring racial issues.”

Last year, ‘I, too, am Oxford’

demonstrated the assumptions and stereotypes applied to BME students. The University itself is being confronted by CRAE on the minority of BME tutors and the predominantly all-white authors on reading lists (see The Alternative Reading List Project) which narrow students’ viewpoints.

Much of the BME activism has also sought to create spaces for discussion

issues throughout the term. Even so, a quarter of BME participants in CRAE’s survey thought that a safe space to discuss race issues was lacking. Activists feel it is vital that all students take part in these discourses.

Nikhil stated that he would “like to see more white students discussing race issues” but advised that they need to appreciate “that they have a lot to learn from BME students”. The

of issues surrounding race. The ‘Skin Deep’ Facebook group is a fantastic example, akin to ‘Cuntry Living’, in which a variety of students share and comment on recent events, articles and problems such as the dangers of an Islamaphobic backlash following the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ attacks. The eponymous ‘zine’ cites its wish “to cultivate a space where different experiences of race can be shared, retold and examined” as one of its principle aims. In addition, TORCH’s (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) Race & Resistance group’s holds seminars and CRAE has meetings on race

first instance of official discourse with the University on matters concerning race, the Race Equality Summit, was only last March, demonstrating the need for continued and sustained activism.

The disparity between the numbers of white and BME students at Oxford is particularly striking. Whilst one might assume that this is due to fewer applications from BME pupils, the statistics demonstrate that 17.1% of all non-white applicants are successful compared to 25.4% success rate for white applicants. The university argues that this is due to BME candidates applying to the more competitive

BME activism has also sought to create spaces for discussion of issues surrounding race.

courses like Medicine, Law or Economics and Managements, and this is true to some extent. Yet, as Joshua Aiken, co-organiser of the Oxford Ferguson Solidarity March, explains: “Institutions with legacies of systematically excluding particular communities don’t get rid of the biases, prejudices, and discrimination embedded in their walls overnight.”

The first BME Annual Access conference in July last year was attended by 140 BME students and teachers. Oxford’s African and Caribbean Society ran the event with the support of the University’s Undergraduate Admissions team and expect increased attendance from London state-schools in future years.

Activists for BME issues in Oxford are some of the most dedicated in the University, but they face accusations of dissuading potential applicants by reinforcing the perception of an elitist, racist and sexist Oxford.

This approach ignores the access and outreach initiatives being implemented by such campaigners but also ignore the blatant need for a wake-up call in the Oxford student body. When most Oxford students tend not even to think about BME issues, who can deny the necessity of such activities?

Features 21

15th January 2015

Stretching your student loan S

Mansfield College you need never pay full price again.

Always show your Bod card when shopping to see if there are discounts.

If you’re a Union member look up the ‘Treasurer’s Treats’ to find out what offers you can get.

4. Read your JCR mail. Take advantage of events which have free drinks receptions, and begin your nights out here. You don’t need to have the slightest interest in them, they’ll be grateful somebody turned up. Alternatively, you could take part in a university survey, and try to convince yourself that you’re doing your part to help mankind.

5. Don’t spend money on bops! Be creative with the clothes you currently own, and feel free to pin on signs to clarify what you’ve actually come as.

6. Only put the heating on at certain times of the day. Time your heating to come on just before you get up to prevent frostbite on the way to the shower, and to go off again when you leave the house. Then put it on again when you get back and switch it off before bed.

If all else fails, don’t be afraid to beg off your friends; someone will always have a hoard of food that looks suspiciously like road kill that they’ll be willing to offer you. If you’re extra nice, you may even earn yourself a free drink or a complimentary chip on a night out. But be prepared to return the favour one day … preferably when your next student loan comes in. And so the cycle goes on.

PHOTO/ Thomas Barnett

PHOTO/Chris Friel

o, your student loan has just come in … and has promptly disappeared on your rent. How are you going to survive the arctic winter known as ‘Hilary term’, now that the first term’s ‘care packages’ from home have all been used up? Will it be necessary to wear the same pair of unwashed jeans for eight weeks? Never fear. After trawling the internet for advice, consulting numerous housekeeping magazines, and even speaking to my wise and frugal grandmother, I have compiled a comprehensive list to help you get through Hilary 2015.

1. Buy supermarket brand products. You may be living in the city of dreaming spires, but this is no time to be a snob. As a student, you are in a perpetual state of poverty. Accept it. The very bravest among you may even venture into the dangerous territory of own brand alcohol, but this is not always necessary. Cutting back on branded products saves you money to spend on the tipple of your choice.

2. Cook in bulk and FREEZE! If you’re living out this year, cook favourites like spaghetti bolognaise or curry in bulk for your housemates and freeze any leftovers for another time.

Similarly, when you buy perishable foods, check if they can be frozen.

This way you can cut costs and reduce waste.

3. Vouchers are your new best friends. Whether they are from the Fresher’s Fair stack or from websites like My Uni Days or Student Beans,

Oxford etiquette

SIAN BAYLEY

CHARLOTTE SAMUELSON

Jesus College

W

hat even is bubble tea? According to the LA-born friend that dragged me down the dingy alleyway to Formosan Tea Bar it is ‘literally so good for you’. Boba, as it is known, is said to be a sensation of taste and texture, a sickly concoction of iced tea, tapioca pearls and toppings. The tea bar itself is beautifully designed with its laid-back, Asian-inspired décor, creating the perfect backdrop for hipsters to display just how healthconscious they were, whilst they sat

and chewed their drinks and contemplated the supposedly endless health benefits of tapioca.

While I’m a proper Brit and prefer my tea hot, I have to admit Formosan’s bubble tea wasn’t entirely awful. I appreciated it the same way I do Eminem – both are simultaneously enjoyable and offensively bad.

There’s something satisfying about the chewy texture of the tapioca pearls, and I would like to explore the novelty of eating whilst drinking further. I felt my eyes brightening,

my skin clearing and my metabolism churning. Finally, a healthy snack that doesn’t taste like rabbit food.

Proud to be one of the select few who had been touched by tapioca, I headed home to brag to all my friends, but Google quickly revealed that ‘Tapioca Pearls May Contain Cancer-Causing Chemicals’.

A quick glance at a nutrition site showed that green tea with bubbles averages 181 calories. At first I wasn’t shocked – it seemed less than Starbucks’ whopping 500-cal

cappuccinos - but combined with the fact that green tea itself barely amounts to one calorie and that the pearls are basically balls of carbohydrate; my enthusiasm may have to be put on hold.

I felt duped. The momentary high from feeling as though I was in on a health secret was replaced by annoyance. I had shelled out £4 to make a plastic cup of cold green tea taste worse by adding squidgy balls of starch. As trends go, I’ll stick with FroYo.

A

n Oxford student must be careful about relationships. Romantic attachments between students of the same subject or college are generally a bad idea. They lead to difficult circumstances, for the people involved and those around them. This sentiment is often expressed in the rather crude and loutish phrase “Don’t dip your pen nib in office ink.”

This expression is imperfect in many ways. While I will not presume to psychologically analyse the image (sometimes a pen nib is just a pen nib, after all), the analogy does imply a somewhat questionable attitude towards romantic relationships. The analogy of the ink is problematic, implying as it does that all romantic partners are interchangeable, and easily acquired from a number of high street retail outlets, among them such respectable establishments as Blackwell’s and WHSmith’s. Furthermore, it betrays the flawed line of thought that the fellow students comprising the pool of potential sexual partners exist for no other reason than to satisfy the “nib”– after all, what else can one do with ink? Perhaps a more apt phrase would be something along the lines of “don’t glue your pen nib to a different pen nib without the other party’s full consent, and ensure that your new double-pen does not negatively impact the productivity of your colleagues”. But I digress. Suffice it so say that Oxford etiquette precludes the viewing of human beings as items of stationary.

Nevertheless, the observation that relationships within academic contexts are often ill-advised is a sound one.

But if you must enter such a relationship, please maintain your standards of decorum. You may enjoy flirting outrageously over dog-eared copies of Beowulf and making lewd comments about swords, but doing so in a tutorial is very distracting. And for goodness’ sake don’t go … carrying on in the library.

Especially when it’s 3am and I’m trying to find one of the more obscure works of T.S. Eliot, which is currently located in the same general area that the two of you are engaged in heavy petting.

Just think about whether such a relationship is healthy, sustainable, and mutually respectful before entering into it, and be as thoughtful about those around you as you would otherwise. You may also wish to invest in a fountain pen.

It’s 2015, no-one uses quills any more.

22 Sport

UNDERWATER HOCKEY SUPRISE AT UWH TOURNAMENT The UK’s best University teams visited Iffley Road in December to compete in the Winter UWH tournament.

This season’s Blues side, featuring a number of new freshers and despite being almost completely rebuilt from ground up managed to achieve an impressive and unexpected third place.

The Novice team featuring the likes of Jo Collins, Mortiz Bock, Sufyen Baras-Stubbs, Jim Wilson and Mortiz Darup were able to take home the victory in their competition, both teams modelling an almost perfect underwater three-dimensional attack.

OXFORD’S NEWEST POLO RECRUITS GRAB TROPHY Oxford’s Polo Club celebrated success in the December Winter Challenge Tournament with its newest recruits lifting their first trophy.

Oxford’s Frederick Hamilton, Peter Kutzen and Thomas Johnson took up the mallet for only their first time this term, showing great promise as they battled strong opposition.

The result of the team’s endeavours was a string of victories, culminating in a remarkable 7-0 victory against hosts Universities of London Union.

Completing their whitewash, the team finished on the maximum possible eight points. Thomas Johnson was given the Most Valuable Player award, scoring most of the team’s goals and displaying fine ball control throughout the tournament.

BLUES CROSS COUNTRY TEAM OVERCOME ODDS AT VARSITY MATCH The men’s and women’s Blues overcame sharp odds to post some stellar results against a strong Cambridge team. The men’s team took a rousing victory on Wimbledon common in the 124th Gentleman’s Cross-Country race, however, inconceivable scenes in the Women’s race, where half the field lost the course and took a shorter route, saw Sophia Saller denied of a historic victory. After post-match discussions it was decided that Sophia would be awared the individual victory due to their respective decisive positions when the runners lost the course.

THE OXSTU SPORTS TEAM WANTS YOU! Want to see your club feature on our new University sports side-bar? We would love to hear from you. Please send in your brief team reports and news updates to oxstu.sport@gmail. com or get in touch with one of our esteemed editors David and Alex at david.barker@some.ox.ac.uk and alexandra.vryzakis@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk

15th January 2015

MARTHA BELLAMY

Somerville College

A

s Melbourne prepares to welcome the tennis world to its sun-baked courts, the start of the 2015 Grand Slam season means stakes and heartrates are high. After a tumultuous 2014 that included Stan Wawrinka’s surprising triumph at the Australian Open and ended with Marin Čilić and Kei Nishikori squaring off in the U.S. Open final, fans will be asking if the ‘Big Four’ of men’s tennis will reassert themselves and restore normality to the Grand Slam history books.

By prevailing down under in 2014, Wawrinka became the first man outside the ‘Big Four’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and

Are the Big Four at risk in 2015? injuries, and that a recently-married Djokovic had a poor US Open after slumping the entire hard-court summer. Yes, the ‘Big Four’ had its fair share of problems in 2014. But what’s to say that same story won’t continue in 2015, thus once again opening the door for a new generation of hungry young players?

Federer at thirty-three years old hasn’t won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 and it has become the norm for Nadal to be out of at least one Slam a year with injury. He has missed two of the last three U.S. Opens and three of the last nine Grand Slams. Indeed, he admitted that he is taking a relatively cautious

The Open offers a great change for any budding punter to make a quick buck. the floundering Andy Murray to win a major since Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2009 U.S. Open. Since then he’s gone on to win in Monte Carlo and was part of the winning Swiss Davis Cup team. However, despite his ranking as World No. 4 the pressure of defending his title could be too much, with some uninspired performances at recent tour events and Grand Slams.

The bookmakers are predicting that the Australian Open will see the restoration of messrs Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, and Federer back to their seat at the round table of tennis’ elitè.

Not surprisingly, the two debut major winners in 2014, Wawrinka and Čilić, have the next-best odds to take the trophy. Does this mean the anomaly of 2014’s grand slam results will be just an aberration? ‘Big Four’ apologists state confidently that both Murray and Nadal were a shadow of their real selves after both experienced back

approach to his game at the start of 2015. ‘”At the beginning [of a comeback] you need to suffer a little bit on court.

You need to remember all the things that you did well in the past to have success…it’s normal that I’m going to need some time.”’

As for Djokovic, he’s still the No. 1 player in the world, in case you’d forgotten. The Serb has won the Australian Open four times in his career, including three out of the last four years and is favourite for this year’s tournament with odds currently at 13/8. A Djokovic versus Federer final is largely expected. Elsewhere, locker room rumours abound about our man Andy Murray, suggesting he has lost the “fear factor” since his back operation. He’ll need to address his weak second serve if he’s going to fend off the rest of the gang.

This all assumes play will go ahead

PHOTO/YANN CARADEC

smoothly. 2014’s tournament saw freak weather as temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius, causing players to faint from heatstroke and water bottles on court to melt. Organisers were criticised for not suspending matches, but Tennis Australia has since installed a retractable roof on the Margaret Court arena as a “weatherproof” measure to ensure matches can continue even in extreme cases.

A disrupted tour hierarchy in both

MS Dhoni: Player, captain, icon F

ew countries in the world idolise their sporting heroes as much as the Indian public, with the nation’s greats worshipped as god-like figures. Cricket is a defining feature of Indian culture, the great names of Dev, Tendulkar and one man, Mahendra Singh Dhoni are on the lips of almost every Indian whether young or old.

MS Dhoni, the dynamic and unorthodox wicketkeeper-batsman has lived up to this titanic billing more than any other Indian sportsman in the last decade. The announcement of his retirement from test cricket after the third test of the 2014-15 BorderGavaskar Trophy shook the entire cricket world. Under his captaincy, India were, at their zenith, officially the best test team in the world and the first team to complete a test whitewash of Australia in the modern era.

Individually, he is the first wicketkeeper to captain India in a test, captaining more tests as a wicketkeeper than any other in the history of cricket (60), the most test wins of any Indian captain (27), the third highest test score by a wicketkeeper (224) and effected the most dismissals as an In-

PHOTO/DEE03

dian wicketkeeper (294). These facts alone cement him as the greatest test wicketkeeper and test captain India has ever had.

Affectionately called ‘Mahi’ by his adoring nation, Dhoni may have put away his whites, but we will still see him in blue, most notably in the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand, beginning in February.

In his last World Cup outing in 2011, Mahi had indifferent performances until he reached the biggest match of his life.

The final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai was the moment one billion In-

dians had been waiting for. After a masterclass century by Mahela Jayawardene, India were set 275 to chase.

After losing Sehwag early and talisman Tendulkar shortly after, a phase of rebuilding began with Gambhir and Kohli, when Kohli fell at 113-3, everyone expected Yuvraj Singh, who would be Man of the Tournament, to walk out to the crease. Instead, captain Dhoni, a man who had a high score of 34 in the tournament, walked out.

Gambhir would go on to make a brilliant 97, but Dhoni was the man of the final, finishing on 91 not out. The way he smashed the Sri Lankan bowling

men’s and women’s tennis in 2014 has set up an exciting 2015 Grand Slam season. New blood will be looking for luck in the form of an injured Nadal or inconsistent Sharapova to make a mark on the tennis circuit. The Australian Open will be the first witness to this unfolding drama. Will a bet on any one of our four much loved Tennis compadres remain safe? The Open offers a great chance for any budding punter to make a quick buck.

PRANNAY KAUL

Somerville College attack, especially Muttiah Muralitharan, was a sight to behold. Dhoni redefined the meaning of a captain’s knock, not just for his team but for the entire nation. I remember watching Dhoni smash Kulesekera for a six over long-on with his trademark ‘helicopter shot’ at a Dubai bar. The elation that I felt was streaming through all Indian fans around the world.

When visiting Mumbai, the hometown of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, shortly after the successful World Cup campaign, it had become apparent that Dhoni had eclipsed his compatriot to become the No.1 icon in Indian sport. Every second billboard, commercial and bus featured the Indian skipper, and it was difficult not to hear his name being spoken on the lips of the locals.

Putting joyful tears in the eyes of people across the world is what Dhoni stands for and will be remembered for.

When he finally puts down his bat and retires from one-day cricket, he will rightfully enter the hall of fame as a true Indian sporting legend. For now, we can only look towards the 2015 World Cup to see whether Dhoni can set the world alight once more.

Sport 23

15th January 2015

Lewis Anderson relishing Oxford’s 43-6 thrashing of the Tabs at Twickenham.

DAVID BARKER

Somerville College

T

he OxStu Sports team sat down with Oxford prop Lewis Anderson having recently achieved a record-breaking fifth successive Varsity Match win with the Blues, the only man to do so in 133 years of the competition, after a 43-6 demolition of Cambridge at Twickenham. Anderson, a 7th year DPhil student at Trinity College, hailing from Bexleyheath, started his Oxford career studying Classics at Univ, later undertaking two MSc’s at Trinity.

It’s been over a month since the team’s Victory over Cambridge.

How were the team’s celebrations?

The celebrations were ...uninhibited and ecstatic, I’d say, bloody wonderful. The atmosphere in the changing room immediately after the game is indescribably joyous. When things calm down a bit, we recline in our bathtubs and mull over what happened. The year’s anxieties are unassailably discharged. Then we move on to the Oxford & Cambridge club for dinner, where lots of emotional speeches are made highlighting the contributions and efforts of all those involved in the win – the broader OURFC family of coaches, staff, committee members, partners, parents, friends. At some point a feeling of deep contentment and relief sets in – all our hard work has paid off.

At 7.30am the next morning we left the hotel to catch a flight to Istanbul, where we stayed over the weekend.

It’s a stunning city. After that, leaving a group within which you’ve been so utterly embedded over the last few months comes as a bit of a shock.”

After such a huge event that requires months of hard work and preparation, the intensity of Rugby must inevitably decline.

What are the plans for the team going into Hilary term?

PHOTO/MATT HENDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Five-time Varsity hero: Lewis Anderson Hilary begins for us with the election of a captain and secretary for the year. Then we’ll play games against the Army, Navy and RAF, as well as a couple of invitational sides - the Penguins and Crawshays. There’s a trip to Ireland to play Trinity College Dublin, and we’re also visited by Kyoto Sangyo University. It’ll be a chance to introduce some new players and give them a chance to impress in the build up to the next Varsity Match.

Of your five successive Varsity Match victories, which one do you value the most, and which one did you enjoy playing in the most?

They’ve all been different and enjoyable in their own ways. In one sense, I value my first (2010) the most, because I was really on the periphery of the team back then and had to work harder than at any other time in my life to earn my 20 minutes on the pitch as a replacement and keep up with my degree at the same time.

I was a 20-year old prop needing to put on a lot of muscle, and found the strength and conditioning regime brutal, especially as I was pulling one or two all-nighters a week to get my essays in. In another sense, 2012 was the most special because we looked at one stage almost certain to lose – we were 19-6 down early in the second half.

Which I enjoyed playing in the most is easier to answer – definitely 2013 because we wrought havoc with the Cambridge scrum. Some 10 yearolds dream about being an astronaut or a film star, but I wanted one day to get a push-over try from a scrum at Twickenham, and we did. What was also wonderful about that game was how we pulled together after one of our players was sent off with 30 minutes to go. I’ve been told that on average, a side that loses a player for 10 minutes concedes 7 points, but we just seemed to gel together, almost

started playing as a single organism, and ended up extending our lead and winning comfortably. It was a testament to our togetherness and team spirit, something we have actively pursued a lot over the last few years.

Historically the Blues have focused entirely on the annual Varsity Match.

Do you think there is room for Oxford to play Rugby against other Universities in the BUCS league during the build up to the game?

I don’t think there’s much desire for it – we currently have a good mix of traditional fixtures (such as the Army, Navy, RAF and Penguins), ‘A’ League teams and academies, and the odd international, such as with Russia and Georgia over the last few years. The current situation is ideal for our preparation for Varsity, because we’re regularly tested against professionals. Whoever else we played, the VM would always be the focus – it’s a successful season if we win that but lose every other game.

is a Good Lad Workshop run by our captain, Jacom Taylor.

an England shirt? A last-minute World Cup call-up perhaps?

What would you like to see more, a sixth successive Varsity Match triumph or Trinity being promoted in the JCR league?

Stuart Lancaster has my number in case anything happens to George Ford...

You’ve had an excellent 5 years for Oxford, and are something of a veteran now. What are you hopes for the future?

I love seeing Trinity do well but I think I’d have to take the VM win!

Who is your favourite Rugby pundit and why?

Sean Maloney. Not sure he counts as a pundit but I’d rather watch his ‘top 5’s than listen to anyone else talk about rugby. Google ‘rugby HQ top 5’. Of the rest, my favourite is Brian Moore. I appreciate his righteous indignation.

Your time on the pitch at Twickenham has been extremely fruitful. Have you ever pictured yourself coming back wearing

I still have two, possibly even three years at Oxford after this one. I can only play in one more VM – there’s a limit on the number of postgraduate Blues one can win. So my main hope is to win that final game. Outside rugby, if my DPhil goes well I might look to go into academia. Otherwise some kind of job which utilises the skills I’m learning would be good, perhaps a research post at an NGO. I think I’ll be happy if I can live comfortably without ending up in a job that essentially consists in protecting the wealth of the wealthy.

Is it challenging to prepare as a team when Oxford terms are so short and academically-focused?

Yes it can be quite tough, especially for the undergraduates who have lots of deadlines to meet. There have been some good players who haven’t got a Blue because they just didn’t have the time to train enough.

However everyone is going through similar pressures and the result is that it helps us become extremely tightlyknit and intimate with one another.

In as few words as possible, how could you adequately describe your Blues fresher’s initiation?

In as few words as possible: nonexistent. We don’t have any kind of ritualised initiations. I guess the closest thing we have to an initiation

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The OxStu Interviews Blues Five Times Varsity Match Winner Lewis Anderson.

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Will the Aussie Open be the beginning of a season of giant killing?

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This time for Africa: Cup of Nations preview A

frica’s premier continental championships, the African Cup of Nations, does not get a lot of love from English football fans.

For most, it is a bi-annual inconvenience, a seemingly meaningless tournament robbing the Premier League of its African stars for a month or more.

However, the tournament never fails to provide a compelling storyline of the highest quality and his year’s edition looks to be no different.

Even before the tournament has kicked-off, this year’s Nations Cup has been hugely eventful. The original hosts, Morocco, pulled out of hosting the tournament in October, citing fears over the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. After a frantic search, Equatorial Guinea, hosts of the previous competition, stepped in. The oil-rich nation was a controversial choice when it was chosen to co-host the 2013 edition, thanks to its poor human rights record and position as the most economically unequal country in the world.

In addition, some of Africa’s most decorated footballing nations will be

absent from the competition. The 2013 Champions, Nigeria, failed to qualify after a dismal campaign wracked by government interference and a subsequent FIFA suspension. Also missing out are Egypt. After winning three Nations Cups in a row between 2006 and 2010, the Pharaohs have been devastated by retirements and the development of new players stunted by the suspension of the Egyptian Premier League, now inactive since 2013, after a string of political protests during games. Without these two leaders of African football featuring, who will step up and take the 2015 trophy?

The Ivory Coast will certainly be among the frontrunners. With players such as Yaya Touré – Africa’s standout player – in the centre of midfield, and the power of Wilfried Bony up front, the Elephants’ attack will be a force to be reckoned with. Where doubts remain, however, are in defence. Future PSG star Serge Aurier excepted, their defensive cohort including Liverpool’s titan Kolo Touré, is mediocre at best.

As perennial chokers, entering the

past five tournaments as favourites, and winning none, the Elephants will hope to silence critics by taking their first Cup since 1992.

Algeria present the most obvious challenge to the Ivory Coast. The Fennecs had built up something of a reputation as a well-organised, dour and defensive team. However a generation of youthful talent in attack has come

At its core the Nations Cup is a festival of football at its purest through and for the first time in their history Algeria are threatening to become a serious contender in world football. In Valencia’s playmaker Sophaine Feghouli and FC Porto’s winger Yacine Brahimi, they have two of Europe’s most intriguing attacking midfielders. Along with Leicester youngster Riyad Mahrez, Algeria's attack has

become one of Africa's finest. In addition, with defensive personel such as Getafe's Mehdi Lacen, they have the players to maintain their trademark defensive solidity.

A huge part of the charm of the tournament, notorious for its upsets, is its underdogs. No one will be backing Equatorial Guinea, a team that shouldn’t be competing after an initial disqualification for fielding ten ineligible players in their qualifying match with Mauritania.

The oil-rich nation’s ruling oligarchy, tired of seeing their nation flounder on the international stage, has enacted a policy of recruiting players from other nations, awarding them citizenship in completely opaque circumstances.

In the 2012 Cup of Nations, twelve of the squad were naturalised Equatoguineans, and in the next year, after losing the first leg of a Cup qualification match, recruited nine Brazilian players to help win the tie. The result is that the number of bona fide Equatoguineans in the tournament squad is far less than one would expect for a

Rupert Tottman

Balliol College ‘national’ team. An almost suspiciously weak group gives them a good chance of reaching at least the quarter-finals.

A happier underdog story is Cape Verde. The islands, despite their tiny population of 500,000, have long been producers of footballing talent, albeit for other countries, such as Patrick Viera and Henrik Larsson. Such pedigree has begun to show for the national side im recent years, and the Islands have climbed the FIFA rankings, reaching the lofty position of 27th. A kind draw could give the Verdeans every chance to continue their remrkable rise Beset by controversy and blighted by poor organisation, the Cup of Nations is often in the news for all the wrong reasons. However, such gripes mask what never fails to be an exciting and vibrant tournament featuring teams and football of the highest quality, full of the upsets and underdog stories that are so often lacking in modern football.

At its core the Nations Cup is a festival of football at its purest, and one that will be enthralling football fans across the world over the next month.