Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Author: Becca Bashford

Books That Matter
Features

Books That Matter

In early December, I attended the Books That Matter launch party at The Book Club in Shoreditch.  I was greeted by a group of friends and helpers excitedly pointing me to a table of feminist merchandise and a raffle in aid of ‘This is Our Period’, the room buzzing with excitement about the panel which was about to start. I was then introduced to Molly Masters, the founder of Books That Matter and quite frankly – an absolute sweetheart. She told me to grab a drink and make myself comfortable in the swanky underground bar while she prepared her opening speech and questions for the panel of authors and publishers. If you haven’t heard of Books That Matter, don’t worry. They’ve only been around for four months, but their success has been astronomical. Simply put, Books That Matter is a monthl...
Debrief: Dr. Amy Tooth-Murphy
Features

Debrief: Dr. Amy Tooth-Murphy

When I met Amy in her office, something I immediately noticed was her collection of books. One caught my eye straight away: Female Masculinity by Judith/Jack Halberstam. Coincidentally, the book came up more than once in our interview - she described how she came across it for the first time while she was working at Oxfam during her undergraduate degree: “I was a stones throw away from the uni but nothing like this had ever been shown to me. It turned a light on in a way, I didn’t realise Queer studies was something that even existed.”. Amy described how her journey in academia actually began in law – and that after a short 6 months she realised that it was too constrained for her ‘fairly strong opinions’ to be heard and explored, so she ended up doing her undergrad in English Literature a...
“Suspicious package” reported at George Eliot Mailroom
News

“Suspicious package” reported at George Eliot Mailroom

At 1.05pm today, students at Royal Holloway were evacuated from various buildings across campus.  Students were told to evacuate and move towards the other end of campus and to congregate at The Hub. Shortly after, security were given the all clear and students were allowed to return.  The Orbital spoke to Surrey Police officers that were present during the incident, and they confirmed that a suspicious package was reported in the George Elliot mailroom, and hence George Elliot, Windsor Building, Emily Wilding Davison library and Founders were all evacuated. The officers noted that the students were difficult to move, and that some remained on campus and officers had to knock on doors and make them move. They ask that students comply and remain vigilant during incidents such as these...
SU Support for ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign
News

SU Support for ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign

The ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign - first launched by Lincolnshire County Council and now officially supported by the Metropolitan Police - has been rolled out in the Student Union. The main goal of ‘Ask for Angela’, according to the Sexual Violence & Abuse Strategy Coordinator for Lincolnshire County Council, is to “promote a culture change in relation to sexual violence and abuse … and to empower victims to make a decision on whether to report incidents. Sexual abuse and violence is a national issue and all councils have a responsibility to tackle abuse.” The campaign offers discreet help to anyone who is made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe, whether that be by a stranger, a tinder date, or anything in between. Venues which support the campaign provide posters which are displayed in to...
Stabbing Reported Outside SU Shop
News

Stabbing Reported Outside SU Shop

Surrey Police cordoned off the Student Union shop and the surrounding area in the early hours of this morning between 2.30am and 4:30am. A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed that they responded to reports of an assault. Surrey Police have confirmed that the man was not a student at Royal Holloway. They believe he knew his attackers, but it is unclear why he was on the university campus. There is speculation that the stabbing occurred on campus but this has not yet been confirmed. The SU shop is now open as normal. Surrey Police have released the following statement: “In the early hours of this morning (13 December) Surrey police were called to disorder at Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham. We responded quickly and, working in partnership with the univ...
Free Speech?
Opinion

Free Speech?

‘Millennials’, ‘snowflakes’, ‘triggered’, ‘lefties’, ‘vegan hippies’; without a doubt, there is a fiery debate taking place about Generation Z and our ability to debate without getting offended. Usually, these criticisms come from the older generation - those who cry: “I miss the good old days when no-one complained about Yorkies not being for girls, and now Greggs are changing their name to be more gender neutral! The world has gone mad!”. We all know that person. They’re the kind of people who read the Daily Mail, love Piers Morgan, or think Tommy Robinson is a top bloke. However, beneath the surface of this Gen Z vs. Baby Boomer war, there is something darker. Underneath all of the insults is the idea that people are somehow entitled to offend others. Why? Because we’re all entitled to ...
NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns
News

NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns

A source at NUS (National Union of Students) has revealed that due to a crippling £3million debt, cuts may be made to vital liberation and democracy campaign budgets. The National Union of Students is a ‘voluntary membership organisation of 600 students' unions, amounting to more than 95 per cent of all higher and further education unions in the UK’. Their aim is to support and defend students rights through a unified and collective voice which seeks to promote equality, democracy and fair opportunities to students across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. NUS Liberation campaigns ‘support and fights for the rights of POC, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women students’. The campaigns range from ‘Stop and Scrap Universal Credit’, responding to the Gender Recognition Act, and cal...
RuPaul, transphobia, and remembering your Herstory
Opinion

RuPaul, transphobia, and remembering your Herstory

“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”, “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag” … we’re all familiar with RuPaul’s famous one-liners, which are often expressions of self-love; defending our right to be authentically and unapologetically ourselves. RuPaul’s status within the LGBTQ+ community cannot be understated. Bringing drag into mainstream culture is no small feat, but being the most famous drag queen in the world also comes at a price. So when RuPaul recently sparked a debate about who can or can’t be a drag queen, it made me wonder how valuable RuPaul’s opinions still are when he’s clearly forgotten his Herstory.  In a recent interview with The Guardian, Ru shocked us all when he said he wouldn’t accept a transgender contestant on his...
Transphobic Literature Distributed Across Campus
News

Transphobic Literature Distributed Across Campus

Content warning: Transphobia, Transphobic Language Transphobic literature has been discovered in various places across the Royal Holloway campus, including the women’s bathrooms in the Wolfson, Windsor, and Boilerhouse buildings. The leaflets and stickers were created by a prominent transphobic group ‘Fair Play For Women’, who have started a widespread campaign against the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), claiming that reforming the GRA to be trans (including non-binary and inter-sex) inclusive is ‘the worst assault on women’s rights in over a century’. Their campaign includes a full-page ad in the Metro newspaper, which was met with public outrage last week. The government is currently in the process of reforming the Gender Recognition Act, and have released consultation forms to be...
Interview: Labour Society President, Maliha Reza
Sports & Socs

Interview: Labour Society President, Maliha Reza

To start, could you sum up the aims that are at the heart of your society? As a political society, our main aim is to unite socialist voices across Royal Holloway to inspire positive change, both on campus and beyond. It’s important for there to be student representatives of the Labour Party on campus as it is students who can go on to inspire many policies and changes.   Is there anything your society is planning for the coming year that you are particularly excited about? On campus, we are planning to run guest speaker events featuring MPs to Political Journalists, these are always exciting and insightful. For off-campus trips, we are planning to attend events at the Houses of Parliament and panelled discussions held there- it’s a good way to feel more involved with the party and a g...