Friday, May 16Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Opinion

From the Suffragette Movement to Modern Day Feminism
Opinion

From the Suffragette Movement to Modern Day Feminism

By Madeline Baugh In the past 150 or so years, I think we can all agree that the feminist movement has done so much to help women all around the world.  From women gaining the right to vote, to gaining more independence over the decades, many big steps have been taken to ensure the liberty of women. But just how far have we come? Is it really a perfect world for women to live in today’s age? And how far do we have to go? Its roots can be traced back to The Women’s Social and Political Movement (WSPU) being founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, with the women’s suffrage movement already existing for many years before. The core reason for this movement was to fight for a woman’s right to vote. Pankhurst believed that more action was needed to be taken in order to give women that...
Will Artificial Intelligence Change Journalism Forever? We Better Hope Not.
Opinion

Will Artificial Intelligence Change Journalism Forever? We Better Hope Not.

By Eleanor Harvey A few weeks ago, I received a pretty enticing job offer. It came, as all the best things do, in the form of an unsolicited message from a random person on social media, in this case LinkedIn. This Mr A. told me he was looking for an ‘excellent freelance writer’ and that my profile ‘stood out’. I mean, obviously. The green flags kept on coming, from ‘no interview required!’ to a salary of ‘$15 USD per hour’. I was already totting up how I’d spend this generous amount, perhaps on moving to a country where dollars are legal tender, before I’d registered what the job actually was: to ‘join my team at Outlier, where we train AI systems—no AI knowledge required!’ Somewhat unexpectedly, Outlier is a real company, though admittedly one which has attracted several Reddit pa...
Who are the real ‘Monsters’?
Opinion

Who are the real ‘Monsters’?

By Madeline Sidgwick - Editor-In-Chief Immediately climbing to the top of Netflix's streaming charts, the second instalment of Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’ focused on ‘The Eric and Lyle Menendez story’. Upon watching the series, I began to question the morality behind creating entertainment out of a disturbing case of events. The rise of the true crime genre is not sudden; the popularity of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ beginning in the 1980s and the global phenomenon that was ‘Tiger King’ in 2020, gripped audiences globally. However, I begin to seriously question true crime more when actors, directors, and social media promoters become involved in the sub-genre that is the ‘recreation’ of such crimes.  Specifically, Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ series has presented audiences with the intricacie...
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...
The Death of the Cool Girl Act
Opinion

The Death of the Cool Girl Act

I enjoy the concept of a Gone Girl vengeance storyline just as much as the next girl, but you don’t need to be an enigma to those close to you. Intimacy is a scary concept, and I used to fall victim to the romanticisation of being the Cool Girl, but this isn’t a good mindest to have. As much as I will defend Amy Dunne until the end of time, if I actually knew her, I would find her insufferable.  For those who are unfamiliar with it, the archetype of a Cool Girl I’m referring to is derived from the ‘Cool Girl’ monologue Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl, later adapted into a film in 2014. The Cool Girl is simply someone who never allows others to get to know her. The Cool Girl is supposedly every man’s fantasy. She loves everything he loves and does everything that he wants, but she isn’t...
Gated Communities: AIDS in the Queer Space
Opinion

Gated Communities: AIDS in the Queer Space

Photo by Michał Franczak via Unsplash By Daniel Pepin Being a part of the queer community has always meant a lot to me. I came out as bi in secondary school, partly because of a bizarre song my Year 8 History teacher played to mark Pride Month. I cannot remember the song’s name, but rest assured it was camp and quite awful. At college, I became aware of the messy beauty of the queer community – a Circuit Laundry machine filled with dirty clothes spinning so fast it shakes. Loud. Overwhelming. But an intimate comfort and a crucial addition to my life. A space that plucks people from dangerous and damaged lives, setting them down in a haven filled with the warmth of familiarity and expression. To be cliché, a family. A space steeped in monumental history stretching back millennia. Win...
What is TikTok’s obsession with the Stanley Cup?
Opinion

What is TikTok’s obsession with the Stanley Cup?

The toxicity of overconsumption and trends on TikTok. Starbucks and Stanley have released a limited edition Valentines Day Cup that has people lining up outside of Targets from one in the morning to receive it. If you have not been on TikTok and seen the Stanley cup, then lucky you. But what is TikTok’s obsession with this cup and what does it say about the consumption of products in the rise of the social media age? Stanley was founded in 1913 by Willian Stanley Jr, who created the vacuum flask that was used for more than keeping influencers' Dr Pepper cold all day. Its early uses included being used by pilots in WWII, used on deep sea explorations and used in the cattle industry to transport bull semen. The Quencher bottle (that TikTok has come to refer more commonly as The Stanle...
How Long Should I Wait to Reply?
Opinion

How Long Should I Wait to Reply?

‘Is romance really THIS dead?’- a question I believe all of us have asked, or possibly screamed at a wall, at some point in our lives. In an age where social media undeniably consumes us it is clear that intimate relationships, both romantic and platonic, have been affected by the internet. Being able to easily contact those we connect with has many positives however when considering intimacy, I would suggest that the internet has done more to hinder deep connections than build them. The internal questioning of ‘how long should I wait to reply?’ ‘Do I seem too keen?’ ‘Which is worse being left on delivered or on read?’ are ever present as we try to figure out what on earth both our friends and potential romantic endeavours are thinking. Now I am not suggesting that chivalry is dead, bu...
Beyond Space and Time
Culture & Literature, Opinion

Beyond Space and Time

By Adisa Manole November is the month that many Eastern European countries remember the loved ones who have departed from this life. Consequently, I decided that this was the right time to tell the tale of my great-grandfather. He served in the Second World War when Romania joined the Soviet Union's Operation Barbarossa. Even though I have never met my great-grandfather, my father always told me that I had the same spark in my eyes as he did. I always needed clarification on what he meant when he said that. How could this heroic figure compare to this scared young woman?  When my great-grandfather, Vasile Gheorghe (also known as Răduță), was sent to serve on the battlefields of Europe, he was in his late twenties, had just got married to my great-grandmother, and they had just ...
Failure is Part of Progression
Opinion

Failure is Part of Progression

By Ruby Caballero-Roff I didn’t pass my driving test for the first time at age seventeen. I didn’t go to university the September I turned 18. I did not have a huge balloon-filled party at age 21. I felt like I had failed, but I hadn’t.  I’ve always found that making progress is far too often linked with age and meeting goals we assume we will reach as we grow older. These goals are then combined and linked to your personal success as a person. Goals can be positive, uplifting, and remarkable, and all these achievements at such a young age give you countless boasting rights. A CV filled with confidence when applying to universities or a bedroom drawer filled with certificates (not just participation awards) — your progress has given you a childhood full of success, but will th...