Opinion – Page 27 of 31

26Feb

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News, Opinion

‘The Dark and Cold Ages’ at Kingswood 1

With the end of the Christmas holidays, it is so exciting to be back on campus! You carry those heavy suitcases, craving to get to your warm, cosy room and have a nice, hot, relaxing shower after having travelled (most probably) for hours. How wonderful it is then to find your room cold and the hot water, well, missing. Yes, this is a small part of what Kingswood 1 residents have been experiencing for the 6 weeks! According to an e-mail from Campus Services, during our vacation, the central boilers that service blocks A, B and C suffered a major breakdown, resulting in there being neither heating nor hot water. Since then we regularly receive e-mails, informing us that they are trying to fix it, but it is not easy and we should be patient. However, with the days getting colder, it is no...

26Feb

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Opinion

Injured, Inelegant and In the Way

If you’ve had the misfortune to bump into me on campus since the beginning of term then I’d like to apologise. Not because I’ve done anything particularly heinous (other than a few of my usual crimes against fashion), or even that I’ve been particularly objectionable to be around. It's more that for the past 6 weeks, thanks to a pair of crutches and one giant grey aircast boot, I have been pretty much the clumsiest person at Holloway. In fairness, I was pretty clumsy before, but unfortunately I’ve found that Holloway isn’t exactly the easiest place to navigate on anything but two sturdy feet (or if you have nice friends with cars, four sturdy wheels). Every time I’ve ventured onto campus this term, I’ve had to avoid the uneven paths and steep inclines in the woods. If I want to get anyw...

28Jan

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Opinion

Founder’s Legacy

Founder’s building of Royal Holloway is beautiful. Its majesty excites the fortunate onlooker. This building is of the rare breed of sights that exceeds the aesthetics of its respective Google Image results. The students that scurry around its many levels of incalculable beauty bring it to life, such as oxygen does to the lungs, you can feel Founder’s breathing its history. However, Founders is not simply a master piece of constructed human vision, but a chapter, a turning point in the history of Britain that is easily overlooked as you succumb to the charm of this building. Women have historically been valued below men, everyone knows this, from women not being classed as citizens in Ancient Athenian Democracy to the suffragette movement in the 19th century, women have struggled to achie...

28Jan

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Opinion

Let’s Reconsider Consent

The 'I Heart Consent' campaign was a good idea but it was run in a way that I can only describe as dreadful. It was a campaign directed at the male community, yet for the most part it failed to engage men; it was a campaign interested in excluding men, or at least that’s the impression given. This campaign should have separated itself from the nasty face of feminism, which would have resulted in less time preaching that women are fundamentally different to men (which of course is false) and it would have turned attention to the real cause - consent! Men are placed in uncomfortable positions more often than is apparent and it would only be false to claim that only men go out ‘on the pull’; I for one have witnessed many girls with the intention to ‘pull’. This is of course a two way stree...

28Jan

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Opinion

Why are we all so scared of freebies?

It’s 1am on a Friday night at the SU and people are starting to trickle out, some a bit worse for wear. This is where the Christian Union Club Mission comes in, offering free water, doughnuts and crisps to tired revellers. Yet one question we seem to be asked is “How much is it?” Maybe it’s a ‘British’ thing but we don’t seem to accept the idea of freebies. When I suggested going to grab some free Ben & Jerry’s just a stone’s throw away from our flat, my flatmates were less than keen. Yet, as a student, I would think that everyone would jump at the chance to get something for nothing. As a devotee of the free stuff I cannot tell you why it’s been neglected by my peers, but I can guess that part of this is because they expect there to be a catch. Motives for giving out freebies di...

28Jan

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Opinion

Landfill of the Soul

An instruction from the accommodation services details the meticulous levels of cleanliness I have to achieve by 10 am on the day of departure. It is as I undergo this next stage of sanitising my frankly depraved living conditions, emptying the contents of my small bin, that a realisation struck me; my entire academic term can be defined by the goods I am disposing of. As I ferreted through the thrown-away, I noted an increase in the amount of screwed up paper, seemingly anonymously discarded. This to me shows a new reluctance to accept anything less than perfection, whilst the subject matter of the screwed up paper - of philosophy, of article ideas, of drawings - acted as a perfect demonstration of the person I am trying to become. Pretty profound stuff for items whose new temporary...

28Jan

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Opinion

The Paradox of Militant Liberalism

Does the rise of political correctness have the potential to be just as oppressive as intolerance? The internet has given young people a larger platform than ever before to air their views on the world and make their voices heard. No corner of the internet is more demonstrative of this than the popular blogging website Tumblr. Its users are outspoken on issues such as race and gender; it isn’t easy to scroll down your dashboard without encountering some sort of social commentary. Whilst it can only be a good thing that society is far more accepting of difference these days, what happens when it starts to go too far in the other direction – when social justice fighters police freedom of speech? Should I really be wracked with guilt every time I catch myself dancing to Blurred Lines on a ...

28Jan

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Opinion

The Bechdel Test

What is it? The Bechdel test was first introduced in Allison Bechdel’s comic "Dykes to Watch Out For", in a 1985 strip called “The Rule”. In order for a film to pass the Bechdel test it has to meet the following requirements: 1. It has to have at least two women in it 2. Who talk to each other 3. About something besides a man There have been variations to the criteria of the test, for example the female characters have to be named. Think about a movie that you watched recently, or any movie at all. Does it have at least two female characters? Do they have a conversation about something besides a man? Can you try and name more than 3 films that pass the Bechdel test? I actually found it kind of difficult. And that’s where the problem lies. The problem isn’t just about the lack ...

Maintenance of campus accommodation: an experience of varying satisfaction

28Jan

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Opinion

Maintenance of campus accommodation: an experience of varying satisfaction

It was half past eight in the morning and I was fast asleep. As it was my day off from lectures, I wasn’t planning on getting up anytime soon. However, my peaceful slumber was soon disturbed by incessant knocking at my door; knocking that had also woken up the other seven members of my flat. A maintenance worker had come to fix something that had been reported by housekeeping during the last room check. With no forewarning that maintenance was to be coming, and not even knowing that something in my room needed fixing, it was a less than pleasant start to a Monday morning. While I was grateful something in my room was fixed, this incident highlighted issues with the on-campus maintenance procedure. There is a lack of a system in place that alerts students as to when they should expect ma...

28Jan

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Opinion

It’s Time to Consent

Watching Frozen for the millionth time, I’m still surprised that Kristoff asks Anna whether he may kiss her. Expecting the hero to seize a victory smooch, I realised we’ve long forgone consent because we’re not used to seeing or asking for it. Here was a Disney film portraying consent for a kiss, when 55 years ago the kiss in Sleeping Beauty was metaphor to obscure the character’s rape. Our popular culture, which so heavily socialises us, has brushed over the need for consent. We’re all given Sex Ed. at primary school, and talking about sex becomes as ordinary as a DFS sofa sale. So it’s disappointing that university students find drunken hook-ups less awkward than talking about consent. It’s defined as “agreeing by choice and having the freedom and capacity to make that choice.” ...