News

By Madeline Sidgwick : Editor-In-Chief April 16th, 2025, saw the UK Supreme Court rule that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”. The ruling will result in transgender women being excluded from female only spaces and that in the eyes of the legal system, that sex is defined in biological terms rather than by gender identity. The ruling will undeniably impact the lives of all the transgender community.  Upon surveying Royal Holloway students on their feelings, concerns and what they deem is suitable action going ahead considering the ruling, it has become clear that students have many differing concerns.  Many see the ruling as a huge step backwards in terms of Queer rights and that it provides “a gateway for further pr...

By Madeline Sidgwick-- Editor-In-Chief Monday 24th March 2025, marked the second Parliament Debate between Royal Holloway’s Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat societies, hosted by Royal Holloway’s Debating Society. The format of the event saw each of the politically affiliated society providing both an opening and closing speech on the two motions proposed, with audience members both raising points and asking the panel questions that related to the set motions. As a member of the Debating Society myself, it was extremely refreshing to enjoy an evening of healthy political discussion and ask participants their thoughts on the significance of student political discourse as well as having the opportunity to develop their academic skill set. Most attendees at the event were either ...

By Madeline Sidgwick, Evelyn Fernandez-Jarvis, Sophie Fairey, Ruby Saggers, Ella Hearn-Zhang The Orbital had the pleasure of attending the results night for the 2025 Student Union Elections. Royal Holloway students had the opportunity to vote for their 2025-2026 SU President, Vice President for Education, Vice President for Societies and Sports and Vice President for Wellbeing and Diversity. There are 5 places that are key to understand here. Firstly, we have our Student Reps. This role is about improving students' academic experiences and there is one position for each main department here at Royal Holloway. These would be the people that you would turn toif there was an academic issue with your course and you needed your voice to be heard to improve your own, present and future stud...

By Alex Robson, Senior News Editor In Fascism is a Lie, Hemingway wrote, “There is only one form of government that cannot produce good writers, and that system is fascism”. It stands for more than a political ideology: a tight-knit political allegory that is somewhat interchangeable with that of Orwell’s 1984, focusing solely on authoritarianism and the suppression of subjects and creatives within a state. Today, fascism shed much of the militaristic image most of us conjure. Instead, it thrives in the guise of populist, cultural rhetoric. Modern movements often manipulate democratic norms to their advantage, weaponising elections, judicial systems and media narratives to entrench such nonsensical power. So, what has history taught us about fascism, and why now, in our political clima...

By Tobias Fraser As a nation in possession of nuclear weapons, and a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the United Kingdom is a prime target in the event of nuclear war. Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising global tensions has led to the largest global threat of nuclear attacks since the Cold War. So, what would happen if Russia launched a nuclear strike on the UK? For the sake of this hypothetical, let’s imagine Russia launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) instead of its bomber planes or submarines. Russia launches multiple ICBMs at the UK, targeted at its major cities and military bases. This launch would almost immediately be detected by British radar systems at RAF Fylingdales, the UK’s early warning radar base. Approximately, 20 minutes remain befo...

By Evelyn Fernandez-Jarvis   Deputy-Editor-in-Chief  Image Via Unsplash by Ashni On Tuesday the 4th of February I was able to talk to Jade Taussig who was introducing me to: We are the News. This conversation completely altered the way I think about how I acquire the news in which I read everyday. We talked about how media outlets today are extremely biased in what they report and how they report it. We read and write based upon the facts that are given to us by these exact companies. I guess the real fear that I expressed was, what if one day I did write for a large journalist company and they decided that I couldn’t produce my work, based on the fact that it was ‘too truthful’ and not shaded with what THEY wanted me to write.  To have a conversation in the 21st century ...

By Evelyn Fernandez-Jarvis  Deputy Editor-in-Chief LA has been burning now for nine consecutive days, accounting for twenty-seven deaths, with at least forty-seven lootings and twelve thousand structures destroyed in the fires' wake. And yet when opening my social media, the most accounts about these ongoing fires is Gen Z lip-syncing to the all notorious and well known quote that came from the Hunger Games films.  “If we burn, you burn with us”  Is this okay? This quote is the statement that fuelled a fictional political rebellion, and yet generation Z are using it as a statement for the LA fires. One of the many beliefs that is circulating is that the rich and famous that live amongst Hollywood can fend for themselves. On the notion that they have millions to spend...

Are you thinking about having a career in journalism? Look no further, following an event at Royal Holloway Careers; Penning the Future provided an environment for professionals to advise aspiring individuals. A career in writing can range from journalism to an author or a reviewer. The advice I give in this article is gathered from interviews with Keith Wallace; a travel journalist for the BBC and senior producer for The Travel Show and Jade Taussig who is one of the directors of a new news platform, We Are The News. Gaining insight into this profession is highly valuable as an increasing number of students and young people are pursuing or thinking about pursuing journalism as a career (Nelson, 2023). When asked how Keith Wallace gained his current position he explained that after com...

Sakeenah Waqas Butt, Associate News Editor The fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s 24-year rule in Syria has led to widespread celebration in Damascus and in the homes of the Syrian diaspora. Following a 13-year civil war between Assad and opposition forces, the leader fled on the 8th of December 2024. Before his rule, Assad was on a shockingly different trajectory - an eye doctor in London.  Before presidency, Bashar was described to be in the shadow of his extroverted older brother, Bassel Al-Assad, as people perceived Bashar as more reserved. Bashar graduated in 1988 from the University of Damascus with a degree in medicine. He then decided to pursue his residency at the Tishreen military hospital before he travelled to the UK to work. Despite his family’s involvement in politics, Bas...