Amal Abdi, Author at The Orbital

15Mar

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Lifestyle

Bring it 2019

2018, what a year! Here’s what we should bring into 2019 and what we never want to see again: Bring It – Memes Somewhere in the world there is an ancient calendar and engraved in a sacred rock it says '2018: the year of the meme'. BDE (big dick energy) seemed to be the term on 2018. Originating with Pete Davidson, it means confidence without cockiness. Of course, the person with the greatest BDE of all time is Rhianna. Obviously. Pete Davidson is also to be thanked for the Ariana Grande song Thank You Next, both the song and everything else that came from it. In our ever fracturing world, with extremist views on either side of the political spectrum, it was nice to see everyone rally over one thing: Twitter's white boy of the month. When it seems like no one can agree on anything any...

2Jan

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Opinion

Anger in the Supreme Court

For as long as feminism has been around, the angry feminist has been a stereotype used to dismiss the claims of women. Calling a woman angry is the best way to ignore what she is saying, after all, who would listen to a screaming woman who cannot control her emotions. In the Supreme Court hearing last month, Brett Kavanaugh revealed himself to be an angry man. Throughout American history white men’s rage has been seen as righteous. An angry man is a hero, he is a revolutionist, maybe he is an American Founding Father, a symbol of patriotism to be loved and his angry fetishized. But why is it that every women who is enraged is immediately dismissed? In 1991, Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court by George H.W. Bush. After his nomination, Anita Hill, a law professor who had p...

28Oct

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Opinion

Love Island and Racial Diversity

This year, Love Island saw its first black woman, Samira Mighty, entering the villa and the show failed her. From the moment Samira was not chosen by any of the Love Island men in the first episode, I knew that she would be facing this kind of rejection for the rest of the series. Throughout the show, she was either seen as a second choice by the men or served her role as an asexual agony aunt there to save the relationships of her white friends. Unfortunately, Samira’s experience on the show is simply representative of black women’s experience in the real world. Misogynoir is a portmanteau that combines ‘misogyny’ with the French word for black, ‘noir’. The term, coined by the black feminist Moya Bailey, is often overlooked by mainstream feminist discourse as it describes the racialise...

Life at Royal Holloway as a Commuter Student

28Oct

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Lifestyle

Life at Royal Holloway as a Commuter Student

Student who commute to university from home are growing in number. But, their specific experiences are often ignored in the student narrative. It might be difficult to understand why people choose to commute but for me and many of my friends, growing up in London, the idea of moving out for a university was not even something to contemplate. Of course, commuting is far cheaper than living on campus, especially with the scrapping of the maintenance grant now becoming a loan. The reality is that many students from working-class backgrounds, simply cannot afford for many reasons to leave their family homes and be straddled with so much debt. There are also cultural reasons for commuting, as some children are expected to stay at home throughout university. I commuted to Royal Holloway from W...

9Oct

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Sports & Socs

What is the Harry Potter Society?

How would you describe your society to anyone wanting to join? We are a friendly society, who promote a warm and supportive atmosphere. We just chill, hang out and are connected through our mutual appreciation for Potter. What are your highlights from last year? The main highlight from last year was several of our members appearing on Children in Need, due to our fundraising for Lumos. The studio tour trip was also incredible- we broke the SU page and tickets sold out in 12 minutes. What level of fan do you need to be to join Harry Potter society – do you think casual fans would enjoy the society just as much as hardcore Potterheads? 100%! One of our aims for this year is to make the society as inclusive as possible. All of our content is related to Harry Potter, but the...