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Tag: news

The Orbital Investigates: Is Royal Holloway a Politically Alienated Campus?
News

The Orbital Investigates: Is Royal Holloway a Politically Alienated Campus?

By Madeline Sidgwick, Senior News Editor Last academic year, over some Crosslands pints, myself and my peers came to the conclusion that Royal Holloway is not a politically active campus. It is a common stereotype that Brits are their most politically active, and adventurous, in their student years; archetypes of student protestors or the leaders of political societies that go on to take high office (the Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson's of the world). Many in the older generation would point to their youth as their time of being ‘politically radical’ or ‘waving the red flag’. Winston Churchill himself can be quoted stating ‘If you are not a Liberal when you are young, you have no heart, If you are not a Conservative when old, you have no brain’.   Now I am not endorsing Mr Churchil...
Breaking news: Toast makes its return on Monday 17th November!
News

Breaking news: Toast makes its return on Monday 17th November!

Photo: RHSU Ruby Sharkie, Associate News Editor After teasing it on their Instagram a week ago, the Students' Union (@surhul) has just announced in an Instagram reel that the free entry night-life event Toast will be returning to campus on Monday 17th November 2025.  Unlike last year, the Monday night event will be hosted at the SU venue after the recent closure of the Medicine venue.  This now totals to two mascot-based events next week, one being Quackers on Wednesdays with a big yellow duck mascot, and now Toast.  Although the tickets have not been released on the Royal Holloway Students' Union (RHSU) website, VP Societies and Sports David Gallardo González said in the 11 second reel:  “Come for free entry, cheaper drinks and good vibes, all at the SU”. The re...
Remembrance Day celebrations in Royal Holloways’ Student Community
News

Remembrance Day celebrations in Royal Holloways’ Student Community

By Madeline Sidgwick and Ruby Sharkie, Senior and Associate News Editors This time 107 years ago David Loyd George, the British prime minister, announced the end of World War One (WW1) - now, we celebrate Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday to remember those fallen during the wars and those currently still in the armed forces.  There are many celebrations happening on and around Remembrance Day including The National Service of Remembrance (where members of the Royal family pay tribute alongside Members of the Cabinet, Opposition Party leaders and former Prime Ministers), the Poppy Appeal, parades and many more. On campus, the Chaplaincy team hosted their annual Remembrance Evensong on the Sunday followed by a Remembrance Day Service on the 11th. The Royal British Legion...
The Louvre Heist: When Movement Shook the Stillness of Power
News

The Louvre Heist: When Movement Shook the Stillness of Power

By Liv Briens Montero, Staff Writer On the 19th of October, Sunday morning in Paris, the world’s most visited museum became a stage for an old fashioned heist. It truly sounds like something out of a mystery novel: a handful of men dressed as workers, a crane and a broken window- and the Louvre, the holy grail of French culture and history, robbed in broad daylight. In the age of elaborate technology, such as facial recognition and  AI-driven surveillance, the burglars did not need high tech hackers or tools. They simply climbed, cut and left on their scooters.  The world watched in disbelief. How could the most frequented museum on Earth, home to some of the most famous paintings, as well as the very symbols of France’s grandeur, be humiliated by an operation so simple it...
In Conversation with… VP David Gallardo González.
News

In Conversation with… VP David Gallardo González.

Image by: RHSU By Ruby Sharkie, Associate News Editor Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with and interview the Vice President (VP) of Societies and Sports: David Gallardo González.  We met at the bustling Students’ Union (SU) Helpdesk, with SU team members passing us amidst their daily work.  One of the first things I asked David was to introduce himself and his goals. He said his main goals for the academic year were to meet his Priority 8’s - To make timetables more student-friendly and and making the student events more affordable.  “As a film nerd myself - I want to do a lot of that through social media” The VP graduated from Royal Holloway with a degree in Film but said that it wasn't the defining factor for his win in his campaign.  “I...
In Conversation with Royal Holloway Friends of Palestine
News

In Conversation with Royal Holloway Friends of Palestine

By Madeline Sidgwick, Senior News Editor In September I had the opportunity to interview Huda and Noah, the President and Secretary of Friends of Palestine society here at Royal Holloway for the 2025-2026 academic year. Upon preparing for this interview I wanted to reveal the practicalities of becoming a ratified SU society as well as the challenges that specifically activist related campus groups face. In a productive and inspiring conversation, Huda and Noah were transparent in the struggles they face on campus and emphasised the undeniable importance that students get involved in campus activism. How did you find the process of organising ‘Friends of Palestine’?The origins of the society are in Arab Society. Huda described to me the process of becoming a ratified society as simp...
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...
‘I Saw it on TikTok’: The Death of Print and Reliable Sources
Opinion

‘I Saw it on TikTok’: The Death of Print and Reliable Sources

By Poppy Jackson Podcast recommendations, the next viral recipe, or the serum that will finally rid me of my acne scars—TikTok has it all. Yet, when it comes to spreading global news, this short-form video content and its simple sharing and distribution methods are nothing short of dangerous. We’ve all fallen victim to the social media news circus, where celebrities propagate their own ignorance pertaining to politics, religion, and worldviews, often reaching a larger audience than traditional publications. When the Israel-Gaza conflict is at the forefront of public consciousness, TikTok is more than ever a necessary tool.  So why does this form of media consumption prove so unreliable?  Even before TikTok, it was difficult to find trustworthy, unfiltered news. A politi...
Prime Minister in Waiting?
News

Prime Minister in Waiting?

Keir Starmer may be the presumptive PM, but where’s the vision? By Madelaine Gray The polls show it, the pundits are promising it, and everyone with an interest in politics across the country is holding their breath in anticipation (whether joyful or despairing) for the next general election. It is pretty much undeniable that Labour will win at the next nationwide polling day. Trust in politics across the spectrum is crumbling, but the Conservative Party has internal schisms so large it seems unfathomable that they could cross the post to win another majority. After thirteen years in power, and five prime ministers to boot, an inevitable Labour generation (or era, perhaps, depending on the party’s longevity in power) is coming. I’m a member of the Labour Party, and I look forwar...
Healing Wounds and Fostering Hope in the City Of Joy: The Battle of Dr. Denis Mukwege
News

Healing Wounds and Fostering Hope in the City Of Joy: The Battle of Dr. Denis Mukwege

By Olivia Taylor Trigger Warning: Discussions of rape and violence. Rape is the cheapest weapon in war. It has the power to destroy families, empty villages and rid victims of any sense of dignity. Finding a solution for a crime against humanity like this feels almost hopeless. Still, there is one man who has dedicated his life to changing the world’s perspective by saving the lives of thousands of Congolese women who have endured the harrowing weaponisation of rape in times of war. Dr. Denis Mukwege decided to study medicine after witnessing the complications that women in the Congo experience during childbirth due to their lack of specialist medical attention. As a result, Dr. Mukwege established Panzi Hospital to address his country’s alarming maternal mortality rates. It was ...