RHUL – Page 19 of 24

Anti-racism and the failure of the Left Wing: Royal Holloway hosts insightful discussion

5Dec

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News

Anti-racism and the failure of the Left Wing: Royal Holloway hosts insightful discussion

On Thursday the 24 November, Royal Holloway held a public discussion on the failure of left-wing politics in the fight against racism, with the title “Anti-racism: has the Left Failed?” Hosted by the Women of Colour Collective and the Left Forum, the two-hour talk featured representatives of both societies, accompanied by esteemed journalist, Wail Qasim, and NUS Black Students’ Officer, Aadam Muuse. There were five panellists in total. The event comes after the British decision to leave the EU in June, as well as the surprise election of Donald Trump in the United States earlier in the month. Both decisions have been perceived as movements of the traditional left towards more right-wing politics, especially concerning immigration and issues of race. Accordingly, the chairman introduc...

NUS Vice President attends SURHUL preparations for National Mass Demonstration

19Nov

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News

NUS Vice President attends SURHUL preparations for National Mass Demonstration

Sorana Vieru, NUS Vice President for Higher Education, was present at a banner-painting event organised by the Royal Holloway Student Union on Wednesday 9th November. The meeting, attended by members of the Left Forum, saw students prepare for a mass demonstration due to take place on the 19th November. Organised by the National Union for Students, the London protest will involve students from across the country voicing their opposition towards increasing tuition fees and a new tiered system. It is being put in place by the current Conservative government. Ms Vieru, who was democratically elected to her post early in 2015, was intensely critical of the Higher Education and Research Bill, calling it “ideologically driven.” She criticised plans to introduce tiered systems, where unive...

28Oct

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Features

Life as a Disabled Student

I spoke to Grace Bilney, a third-year history student at Royal Holloway who suffers from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or ME. Grace was first struck by the chronic illness, often confusingly associated with the milder Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in 2009, after a bout of glandular fever. What started as intense knee pain soon became something far more serious, but despite the severity of her symptoms it took a full three years before a formal diagnosis was made. Since then, she has managed to complete secondary school, the notoriously difficult International Baccalaureate, and, despite a great deal of uncertainty originally, complete two years of study at her dream university. She is always keen to discuss the illness that continues to dominate much of her everyday life, with a passionate ...

28Oct

By Olivia AtkinsonNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Suffragette: the fear of change

Family movie night premiered Sarah Gavron’s latest film, "Suffragette"; a raw, eye opening success that has introduced significant thought and discussion both within the public eye and my own living room. Not a single word was spoken as my family and I were fixated on the motion picture. In my awestruck eyes, this interpretation of the development of our democratic history perfectly encapsulates the lengths it took for the women of the past 100 years to get to 1 vote for the women of today. The film highlights the immense effort, thought and planning that went into protests, both passive and violent. Beatings carried out in the streets and the death of world-renowned martyr, Emily Wilding-Davison, were incredibly intense moments and were, at times, rather grotesque and shocking, yet w...

Nick Perryman talks careers in the financial sector, uncertainty and a post-Brexit Britain

19Oct

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Nick Perryman talks careers in the financial sector, uncertainty and a post-Brexit Britain

This week is Business and Finance week at Royal Holloway and on the 18th of October, Nick Perryman, Royal Holloway council member and managing director of wealth management at the global financial services firm UBS, came to talk to students regarding Brexit and careers in finance. Nick is soon to be vice chair of Royal Holloway’s council, the governing body that oversees decisions, and opened his talk with a brief history of his 20 year career in finance and banking, talking about his experience in banking despite not having a traditional economics, finance or accounting degree (he graduated in 1997 with a BSc in Psychology). Nick emphasised that both a grasp for quantitative data and a well-rounded skillset was integral to getting a foot in the door in the banking sector, quick to dism...

17Sep

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Lifestyle

Could you win at being Anna Wintour?

Fashion Weeks come and go all over the world, and for the most part, the students who are interested, like myself, are glued to Instagram just to see a glimpse of the couture gowns flowing down the runway at ungodly prices. I bet some of those garments cost more than my own house in Englefield Green. Fashion shows are on a higher level, and not one exactly known for being accessible. Seeing icons such as Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington parked on the front row with eagle eyes (or sunglasses in Anna’s case), it makes you wonder, could just anyone be Anna? Maybe by following her regime you could become the Ice Queen herself… The iconic Editor in Chief of American Vogue starts her morning at a terrifying 5.45am where she finds herself arriving at New York’s Midtown Tennis Club for an h...

16Sep

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Lifestyle

Pack it in… or don’t

A not-so definitive list of University essentials Freshers might just forget and items that should definitely be left at home. The most stressful part of first year, aside from the lab reports and endless essays, is the packing phase. Somehow you must fit all of your worldly belongings into your mum’s Ford Fiesta, packaged in a precarious mix of suitcases, Ikea shopping bags and cardboard boxes. Without going into elaborate details of pots, pans and shampoo, allow us to debunk the myths of what students should and shouldn’t be bringing to halls. 1. Bring a doorstop. You have probably heard this top tip about a billion times in the past few months but it could not be more true. A lot of doors in halls are fire doors and will slam shut unless met with the resistance of a door stop. You...

Protest planned over alleged firing of cleaning staff

11Aug

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News

Protest planned over alleged firing of cleaning staff

There is a group threatening to hold a demonstration at the university, over the alleged sacking of two cleaning staff on political grounds. It is alleged that the Racial Volunteer Force will be demonstrating outside the main gate of Royal Holloway on October 22nd, between 2pm and 4pm. The protest is supposedly in solidarity with two outsourced cleaners, who have allegedly been fired after being connected with an anti-Shomrim Demonstration. According to further tweets publicly published on the protest group's social media page, '#RHULdemo', the group goes on to say: ‘#RHULDemo ‏@Stevenj12792056 Aug 2 Before the #RHULDemo will probably meet @CrownEgham and the Holly Tree Englefield Green impeccable behaviour by all attendee's expected.’… ‘#RHULDemo ‏@Stevenj12792056 Aug ...

5Aug

By Louise JonesNo Comments

Opinion

The Power of the Olympic Games 2016

In honour of the Olympic's opening in Rio this evening, it’s come to my attention that I may just be one of a minority that is truly excited about the Olympics games hitting our screens. Let’s be honest, 2016 has been a year of turbulent and testing times, in other words it’s been a load of rubbish. To be quite frank, the Olympic games 2016 has been rather over shadowed by the years other events: Brexit, Trump, America in general, the refugee crisis, "the war on terror." The list just goes on and on. I’m not saying that it’s wrong that such important issues have been such focus, but I think it’s rather sad that perhaps one of the main things the Olympic does for every country around the globe, has been buried underneath the other news bulletins. The Olympics is a sporting event for every...

18Mar

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Features

A Guide to Being a Fangirl

The fangirl culture is one that is definitely undermined, we all have an inner fangirl/fanboy inside of us. Whether you hate to admit it, you cannot deny that whenever your ‘fave’ uploads a new selfie on Instagram a little bit of you dies inside. Among the students at Royal Holloway, there lies a few fangirls and I guiltily consider myself one. Even though I have learnt to keep my cool at university, I cannot speak for when one of my faves play at TOAST on a Monday evening, and my inner fourteen-year old self comes out and I lose all my chill. When someone mentions fangirl, a 12-year-old Directoner comes to most minds. However, experience has told me, waiting outside a hotel for 19 hours, you’ll find a 33-year-old now and then. I’ve even seen mums bring along their children to ‘stalk...