Wednesday, June 3Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: RHUL

From my window
14May By Elena-Teodora ChiujdeaNo Comments
Creative Writing

From my window

From my window I stand and stare at the garden over the fence. All the eye can see is a crisp layer of fresh grass. The gardener comes in every Tuesday to mow the lawn and take care of the flowers. A cluster of lilies standing proud. Orchids with their intoxicating scent, bound to put you in a frenzy. Roses tainted in blood or as white as the clouds above. Even the sun stares in awe, hiding behind the apple tree, scared its scorching heat will ruin their beauty. Each branch grows heavy with the ripe fruit. Not one is allowed to fall, or they would land in the crystal-clear water.  An old man in overalls is hunched over the opulent pool to collect the stray leaves that did fall in. It’s not their fault. The wind last night was fierce, pulling them off branches and downing them in chlo...
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Chest Pains
14May By Max FlemingNo Comments
Creative Writing

Chest Pains

You bring me Hope You bring me Joy But you bring me Pain. A Pain so great It’s like an anvil An immovable object Taking its retirement On my chest You can’t see It But I can definitely feel It Weighing down on me It’s so easy for You To take off But impossible For me to Lift It My breath feels heavier The weight pushing  Down on my air But You breath so easy Naïve to the Pain My Pain that You cause Lift It Please. Photo by Akshar Dave🌻 on Unsplash
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21 candles
14May By A.L WalesNo Comments
Creative Writing

21 candles

i wanted to call in sick that night because i am sentimental still  birthdays carry the ghost of the child i was & the ways my parents loved me like  opening chords & yolks overeasy maple haloing angel cake the time it takes to wrap a bike in patterned p...
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Written from a dorm room in Hong Kong
13May By Sofia BajerovaNo Comments
Opinion

Written from a dorm room in Hong Kong

What International Exchange can do for you and the application process Eight months ago, I sprinted through Zurich Airport and boarded a twelve-hour flight. After fourteen days of quarantine, filled with temperature checks and Covid-19 tests, I was finally able to start my life in Hong Kong. I am incredibly grateful for my experiences here, which have led me to consider Hong Kong a second home. I have thrived in the education system, though the same could not be said for the summer heat. I have tried several new hobbies including bouldering and aerial yoga and continued my love of hiking in a place where the view of the city from the mountains is unlike any other.  Thanks to the friends I have made in Hong Kong, I have spent countless hours playing Mahjong and eating Dim Sum. Be...
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Cash is King
13May By Accalia SmithNo Comments
Opinion, Sports & Socs

Cash is King

Is Formula One an Elitist Sport? At the start of 2020’s season, Lewis Hamilton reminded us that ‘cash is king’ in the world of formula one. The paddock is full of millionaires, each race a glittering spectacle of celebrity, champagne spray and the sound of multi-million pound engines. Each team is vying for sponsorship and the driver that can give them that all important sponsorship deal - if there’s no money, there’s no competitive car out on the race track. Take Haas, for example: with limited money behind them the past few years and a lack of points to go toward a constructor championship, the Haas cars have often been left floundering at the back of the grid.  2021 saw a critique of Haas’s new rookies: Nikita Mazepin, son of Dimitri Mazepin, owner of Urakali, Haas’s former ...
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University is No Longer About the Degree Alone
12May By Accalia SmithNo Comments
News, Opinion

University is No Longer About the Degree Alone

How to Tackle the State-Private Education Divide, an Interview with the 93% Club. By Accalia Smith At the 1996 Labour Party conference, Tony Blair infamously stated that his three top priorities when coming into office were “education, education, and education”. Indeed, it was a large part of New Labour’s manifesto and although largely adopting the previous Conservative education policies, he did make many changes whilst Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. This included increasing support and teacher training schemes, and crucially “a 50 per cent target for university participation among young adults”. This emphasis on the importance of education caused a huge influx in university attendees. Choosing university was no longer the exception but rather the expectation. Blair’s son, Eau...
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Defining Class
12May By Jessica WoodNo Comments
News, Opinion

Defining Class

Defining Class: is it about what you earn or how you act?  By Jessica Wood Society is ordered; people, places and possessions are constantly being put into boxes. Have you ever seen a movie and not had the desire to place it into a genre? It is a human instinct to name and sort things, that’s why we have an entire literary category called nouns. But what effect is this having on how we view the people around us? Does it explain why I was once told by a ‘friend’ that they would “only be friends with someone who went to a boarding school”? What defines this elusive term ‘class’? Why am I considered to have a lower status in society than them, even though my household income might actually be higher? This made me think that status in society is much more than what lands in your ba...
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Studytube: Helpful or Dangerous
12May By Laura BloomfieldNo Comments
News, Opinion

Studytube: Helpful or Dangerous

By Laura Bloomfield In the last few years, StudyTube has boomed, with videos gaining thousands and thousands of views. However, it’s worth wondering whether StudyTube advertises unhealthy study habits which viewers may feel they have to copy in order to achieve certain grades. The ‘Study with Me’ videos are some of the most potentially damaging videos I’ve seen on YouTube. Content creators post up to 12 hour study sessions. This has the possibility of making students feel like they need to study for equally long to achieve the same grades as these StudyTubers, which is not the case. These long study stints aren’t always healthy. We need breaks. On the flip side, these videos do have the benefit of making viewers feel like they have a study companion which can motivate people to cont...
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Strategic Schooling
12May By Hannah ArmourNo Comments
News, Opinion

Strategic Schooling

It was the first day of sixth form and in they came, an influx of kids from all of the surrounding private schools. One, an all girls school, was only across the street from ours. They arrived in their pre-made cliques, ready to learn and ready to get into Oxbridge. Since acceptance rates are higher for state schools, their parents had moved them to us. Their movement was strategic. To the parents, it was simply a stepping stone. For their children, it was two years of their life.  Now, don’t get me wrong, my state school might as well have been a private one. Sure, we didn’t have the one-on-one attention private schools do but we had some fabulous teachers. I’m tempted to say the best in the country. Situated slightly outside the city centre of Oxford, we all had some connection ...
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