Opinion

By Lexie Maclaughlin In the wake of Royal Holloway’s late-night venue Medicine closing, among others nationwide, club culture is clearly not as prevalent as it once was. However, I am a firm lover of the club and have been predicting an ‘indie sleaze’ revival for the best part of three years. Finally, in the year 2025, we are seeing a resurgence of messy club culture and hipster fashion; I think this is an overwhelmingly good sign for our generation! While ‘Brat’ summer may be the cause of this, I will view it as a cultural movement aided by fashion and hedonism. With the latter referring to the pursuit of pleasure as the singular purpose in life, embracing individualism to let loose in the club, I would argue, is the epitome of hedonism in the 21st century. Youth movements are often c...

By Claudia Beal ‘UK EXODUS? Why Brits are LEAVING in 2025’ ‘My Friends are Leaving the UK. Should I Go Too?’ ‘Why So Many Brits are Leaving the UK’ ‘WHY MORE PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE UK - AND SO AM I’ ‘The Great British Brain Drain.’ ‘UK Brain Drain: Why do young people want to leave the UK?’ The final headline there is one I saw a few months ago on a YouTube clip. Shortly after relocating back to Britain myself, I thought I had escaped the ‘brain drain’ conversations. Instead, there seem to be rising concerns online that Brits are desperate to leave the UK and are being headhunted overseas for their skills and education - a concern that the future of Britain doesn’t want to stick around. ‘Brain Drain,’ or human capital flight, is what occurs when a large portion of ...

By Ruby Peresso T.W: War Since our complex societies are highly susceptible to interferences and accidents, they certainly offer ideal opportunities for a prompt disruption of normal activities. - Jürgen Habermas Third spaces are crucial for social well-being, physiological health, and a strong sense of community. The term ‘third spaces’, coined by Ray Oldenburg in his book ‘The Great Good Place’ (1989), refers to a place that is distinct from home and work. Oldenburg describes these spaces as an essential anchor for community life. However, what happens when the spaces designed for leisure and community collapse? Where do we retreat to, where do we go?  In a world that seems to be increasingly isolating and hyper-individualistic, urban societies cannot ignore the need fo...

By Jessica L. Smith, Senior Opinion EditorJesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.Fifty years ago, Patti Smith’s raspy, poetic voice burst onto the New York City music scene with a debut studio album marked by this striking opening line. When I saw Smith bring her Horses 50th Anniversary Tour to London earlier in October, the very same line opened her set to a roaring, affectionate crowd. Smith’s voice exploded into the London Palladium, signalling the start of a spirited performance. By some fluke of rare ticket purchasing luck, I witnessed this triumphant moment from the third row in a state of sheer euphoria. Stepping into the spotlight, Smith’s silver hair glowed brightly, ironically reminiscent of a celestial figure as she sang her line about taking personal responsibility for h...

By Rhian Kille, Associate Opinion Editor Instagram is at risk of making images impotent. In the image of a body we no longer see one – it is simply an empty representation, a signifier, a gesture in the direction of a person. A forum for connection has long since become a stage for performance. Hours spent doomscrolling on social media is disembodying us, fogging our brains and numbing our reactions. Every day we subject our bodies and minds to this ritual of detachment. Over time this rewires us as voyeurs who only take breaks from watching to keep up our own performances on social media. Our stillness is breeding an emptiness that threatens to take hold more permanently; we are using our digital tools to prepare ourselves for taxidermy. The social media space has become our main e...

By Ruby Peresso Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash                                                                                                                              &n...

By Ruby Sharkie As with half the nation at the moment, I have been glued to my screen watching the new season of Black Mirror. The seventh season in the series, currently stands at No. 3 on the Netflix trending list as of the time of writing this. The show highlights societal issues within thriller/sci-fi style story lines and my favourite episode so far has to be ‘Common People’. Common People, the first episode of the season, follows a couple, Mike and Amanda, who are trying for a baby. However, one day, Amanda collapses whilst at her teaching job, it is revealed she has a brain tumour and will die without a medical procedure that costs £300 per month. The couple subscribe to the procedure, but over time, the company changes their privileges and forces them to pay more money, cau...

Photo by diana kereselidze on Unsplash. By Isobel Carnochan, Associate Lifestyle Editor Last Autumn, Hayden Anhedönia, professionally known under the stage name Ethel Cain, posted a rant on Tumblr expressing her frustration at the modern obsession with reducing everything to an online joke. It sparked some controversy, and she was accused by many of ‘compliment fishing’, but I’m pretty confident that the majority of us can see where she was coming from. Every time I make the misguided judgment of opening the proverbial door of Instagram, X, or TikTok, an onslaught of shallow jokes about anything and everything seem to fall into a jumbled heap at my feet. The most concerning of these jokes? The ones about global politics. Zelenksyy’s infamous meeting with the White House was, ...