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

Author: Victoria Chapman

The Gender Pay Gap: What Can You Do?
Lifestyle

The Gender Pay Gap: What Can You Do?

You’ve probably heard or read about Orbital’s breaking story on the comments made by Principal Paul Layzell about the gender pay gap recently. But, the question is what can you do as a fellow student to combat this problem as you move ever closer to a career yourself? In late March, a group called RHOccupy camped outside the Principal’s office, campaigning against the lack of support for Royal Holloway’s lecturing staff during the UCU strikes.  The outcome was incredible - not only did the Principal agree to sign their list of demands and meet with them to discuss their concerns, but this reflected a wider idea of how a demonstration of students can affect university politics.  This does not just apply to the strikes. This is our university which means we have the power to instil as much ...
Tinder: Does it really work?
Lifestyle

Tinder: Does it really work?

With our lives getting busier by the minute and it becoming much harder to find time to at least have some sort of dating life, online dating communities on apps like Tinder have grown significantly. But do they really work? Are people actually using them with the intention to meet and date people? With 1.6 billion daily swipes on the app, you’d think you would surely be able to meet someone or have the busiest dating life ever, right? Not necessarily. Only 54% of Tinder users are actually single, so just under half the people you are swiping every day are engaged in some sort of relationship with someone else - not quite so reassuring now is it… Even those who are single, it can be so difficult to gage what someone else wants just from a few pictures and a couple of sentences about the...
Uni Girl and City Boy
Lifestyle

Uni Girl and City Boy

Fast-forwarding from the naïve, young and innocent 16-year-olds who met at a party in a crowded room five years ago and fell in love crazily soon after, my relationship with my boyfriend Jamie has of course, like every relationship, been through some ups and downs, and with almost every emotion in-between during the time we’ve spent together. The huge difference that we have is that we aren’t both at Uni or both working - I’m studying, and he’s working in a fast-paced insurance apprenticeship in London, which makes the dynamics of our relationship change and adapt. Whilst I am by no means any expert when it comes to love, having a long-distance relationship with completely different lifestyles really makes you think about the relationship and, at times, can be difficult, especially when su...
The Politics Of Social Media
Lifestyle

The Politics Of Social Media

Victoria Chapman discusses how social media is used to engage people in current affairs and why it has become such an influence on modern day politics. A day doesn't go by where you don’t see a disgruntled socialist complaining about Theresa May’s cutbacks, or a Conservative supporter making yet another statement about Labour’s debt and denial. And whether you’re into politics or not, you have to agree it makes for an interesting debate on Facebook. But how exactly does social media have such an impact over politics? Everyone’s on social media now; politics can be accessed through every technological medium, allowing it to reach out to everyone rather than the select few. Anyone can get involved in a discussion or movement on Facebook, Twitter, you name it. Even Instagram had users ...
Instagram: The New Catwalk?
Lifestyle

Instagram: The New Catwalk?

Victoria Chapman discusses how Instagram is becoming more influential within the fashion industry than the catwalk. Ever found yourself aimlessly scrolling through Instagram and wanting that cute outfit you saw on a model? You're not alone; Instagram makes the inaccessible accessible. It’s a social trend that’s reconstructing the fashion industry into a new virtual catwalk. Instagram boasts 600 million monthly users, with 400 million of those using the app every single day. The app gives its users a ‘visual voice’, allowing them to express themselves through photos of their clothes, face, hair, makeup, food, places, you get the idea. Instagram is becoming more popular, influencing fashion especially, with clothing brands publicising their products across the world to millions of peop...