Tuesday, March 19Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

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The Psychological Effects of Witnessing Cruelty to Animals on Social Media: An Interview with Dr Kieschnick and Dr Lawlor
Lifestyle, News, Opinion

The Psychological Effects of Witnessing Cruelty to Animals on Social Media: An Interview with Dr Kieschnick and Dr Lawlor

By Felix Porée Royal Holloway graduate Felix Porée, who is studying for his MA in War Studies at Kings College London, recently collaborated with the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics to interview Dr Dustin Kieschnick and Dr Katie Lawlor. Dr Kieschnick holds a Doctorate of Psychology as a graduate of the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium as well as being a licensed clinical psychologist, and Dr Lawlor holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Stanford and specialises in the human-animal bond, grief, and pet loss. Felix specialises in the studies of 19th-century German philosophy, ethics, and terrorism. More information can be found via his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixporee/ In a discussion centred around animal cruelty and its links with social media, Felix, Dus...
Luton Town Football Club Face £120,000 Fine for Homophobic Chants
News, Sports & Socs

Luton Town Football Club Face £120,000 Fine for Homophobic Chants

Image by Sky Sports By Beth McCowen Luton Town Football Club  has been hit with a £120,000 fine and a two year action plan by the FA.  The club has accepted the charge, which is a consequence of an incident that took place during the Town’s first game of the 2023/24 season on August 12th in Brighton, where a portion of the away side’s fans took part homophobic chanting.  The action taken by the FA in this instance sends a strong message to both clubs and their supporters regarding the importance of stamping out all forms of discrimination.  Luton were promoted to the Premier League, the top tier of football in England, after the 2022/23 season came to an end. Prior to this breakthrough, they had not been a part of the country’s top flight in footbal...
Prime Minister in Waiting?
News

Prime Minister in Waiting?

Keir Starmer may be the presumptive PM, but where’s the vision? By Madelaine Gray The polls show it, the pundits are promising it, and everyone with an interest in politics across the country is holding their breath in anticipation (whether joyful or despairing) for the next general election. It is pretty much undeniable that Labour will win at the next nationwide polling day. Trust in politics across the spectrum is crumbling, but the Conservative Party has internal schisms so large it seems unfathomable that they could cross the post to win another majority. After thirteen years in power, and five prime ministers to boot, an inevitable Labour generation (or era, perhaps, depending on the party’s longevity in power) is coming. I’m a member of the Labour Party, and I look forwar...
Healing Wounds and Fostering Hope in the City Of Joy: The Battle of Dr. Denis Mukwege
News

Healing Wounds and Fostering Hope in the City Of Joy: The Battle of Dr. Denis Mukwege

By Olivia Taylor Trigger Warning: Discussions of rape and violence. Rape is the cheapest weapon in war. It has the power to destroy families, empty villages and rid victims of any sense of dignity. Finding a solution for a crime against humanity like this feels almost hopeless. Still, there is one man who has dedicated his life to changing the world’s perspective by saving the lives of thousands of Congolese women who have endured the harrowing weaponisation of rape in times of war. Dr. Denis Mukwege decided to study medicine after witnessing the complications that women in the Congo experience during childbirth due to their lack of specialist medical attention. As a result, Dr. Mukwege established Panzi Hospital to address his country’s alarming maternal mortality rates. It was ...
Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “if one of us can’t breathe, none of us can breathe.”
News

Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “if one of us can’t breathe, none of us can breathe.”

Turkey and Syria woke up to a 7.8 magnitude quake in the early hours of Monday (6th February) morning, killing more than  40,000 people in Turkey and a death toll of 5,800 in Syria. With numbers expecting to rise, and the situation becoming seriously unprecedented, it is important to demonstrate compassion for those suffering such a great loss.   As the region awaits help, the emotional outburst from grieving survivors saddens nations already crippled by economic and political uncertainties. Enduring traumatic injuries and having to sleep outside in blistering conditions has become the norm for those living in the affected areas. Silence…  After hours of hearing ominous cranes and smashed rubble, the rescue teams pause for the faintest noise. Anguished and fe...
Westernisation of the Media
News, Opinion

Westernisation of the Media

What is the value of human life?  What is a “dominant western ideology”? It is best described as the propagation of a rigid geopolitical identity that prioritises western values, while concealing and alienating third world countries. As you can imagine, this is a deeply embedded narrative determining the discussions and outcomes in any political or academic space . Nearly all types of media coverage perpetuate western models of journalism, navigating desirable political views, and consequently overlooking the baseless claims that they might be making or insinuating.  Historically, the tendency to privilege and perpetuate narrow-minded western thought traces back to the Imperial age. During a time when minority groups were glorified, and the elitist perspective involved “saving ...
“I don’t recognise my country”: Orbital Reacts to Roe v Wade
Features, News, Opinion

“I don’t recognise my country”: Orbital Reacts to Roe v Wade

“We are better than this”, my mother says. “I don’t recognise my country.” I can’t help but agree. Because this isn’t what the United States of America should be. This is not what it was founded on. This is not a reflection of its population’s views. This is an act of ostracisation in the pursuit of control. This is not democracy. There have been many times in recent years that I’ve been embarrassed by my country, by my accent and by my passport. Friday’s overturn of the Roe v Wade ruling topped everything else (a high boundary to break after the election of our last president). Equality, that often-distant dream, felt obtainable. We could see it off in the distance, and if we could just get a bit closer, keep moving forward, then maybe we could reach it, touch it, smell it, lick...
Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises
News, Opinion

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

As I sat down to write this article, it suddenly struck me just how wide and complex the word ‘connection' is. At its core, connection has these profound connotations of a bond, of intimacy, of emotion. Yet we apply ‘connection’ to acquaintances and social media friends. On LinkedIn we ask a stranger to ‘connect’ in the name of professional development. We connect the dots, and play Connect 4.  Most recently, connection has been used to talk about current crises from the Russian war on Ukraine to climate change. Now with Ukrainians being forced to find refuge in countless countries across Europe, we might wonder how this changes our viewpoint on connection.  Yuliya, who recently fled Ukraine, told me her story. Below is her account of what happened.  “I was born an...
Unity for Ukraine
News, Opinion

Unity for Ukraine

How the Invasion of Ukraine Has Demonstrated What a Europe In Unity Can Do For Victims of Violence, Invasion And War On 21st February 2022, Putin recognised the independence of non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on 24th February ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  The EU council had already delivered its first round of sanctions on the 23rd, in response to Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions’ independence. This was then immediately bolstered by further sanctions on the day of the invasion, alongside the Joint Statement by the EU council condemning the ‘unprovoked and unjustified military actions’ of Russia, deploring ‘the loss of life and suffering’ and warning of measures which would ‘impose massive and severe consequences on Russia...
The Be Real App: The Next Big Thing? 
News, Opinion

The Be Real App: The Next Big Thing? 

It’s deadline season, and for the third day in a row, the ‘Be Real’ notification goes off while you’re in the library. You take the picture, capturing your front and back camera views: an exhausted face in one corner, an empty coffee cup, and a computer with God only knows how many tabs open. This isn’t the life you wanted to portray online.  Be Real, a new social media app, sets itself apart by going for pure authenticity. With the tagline “Your friends for real”, the app sends out a notification everyday at a different time to capture and share a photo in two minutes. The only problem? It’s exposing how mundane our lives really are.  It should be refreshing; isn’t this what social media was supposed to be? After all, isn’t there beauty in the everyday? Without the potent...