Wednesday, October 16Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: royal holloway

Have We Invested in Intimacy?
Lifestyle

Have We Invested in Intimacy?

By Tia Martello In an era where technology reigns supreme and the desire for immediate satisfaction prevails, the search for genuine connections has become more pressing than ever before. In a rapidly evolving world, the conventional criteria for measuring relationship success are undergoing a major transformation. As we navigate the complexities of modern romance, a fascinating question emerges: could intimacy be the new currency of our generation?  As we venture into the intricate realm of contemporary romance, it becomes increasingly clear that the traditional notions of love and connection are undergoing a significant transformation. In the era of current intimacy, dating apps have become the go-to method for finding love. With their enticing promise of a vast array of pote...
An Interview with Kellie Cheung 
Features, Sports & Socs

An Interview with Kellie Cheung 

Photo by Liberty Simons By Beth McCowen In light of lacrosse being named as an Olympic sport for Los Angeles 2028, The Orbital sat down with player Kellie Cheung to talk about her personal journey with the sport, what this news means for the lacrosse community, as well as her time competing with Royal Holloway. Photo by Sharks Lacrosse HK Can you tell us a bit about your personal journey with lacrosse? “I came to the UK when I was 12 and attended boarding school, and that's where I started to play lacrosse. I actually started as a goalie in high school, then at university I was midfield attack. After my year abroad, I joined Hong Kong Lacrosse, so I would play with Hong Kong during the summers. I would coach beginner’s adult and children’s lacrosse. Also, during my year abr...
Beyond Space and Time
Culture & Literature, Opinion

Beyond Space and Time

By Adisa Manole November is the month that many Eastern European countries remember the loved ones who have departed from this life. Consequently, I decided that this was the right time to tell the tale of my great-grandfather. He served in the Second World War when Romania joined the Soviet Union's Operation Barbarossa. Even though I have never met my great-grandfather, my father always told me that I had the same spark in my eyes as he did. I always needed clarification on what he meant when he said that. How could this heroic figure compare to this scared young woman?  When my great-grandfather, Vasile Gheorghe (also known as Răduță), was sent to serve on the battlefields of Europe, he was in his late twenties, had just got married to my great-grandmother, and they had just ...
University is the Most Confusing Time of your Life, and No One Talks About it
Opinion

University is the Most Confusing Time of your Life, and No One Talks About it

By Claudia Macaluso Picture this. You’re eighteen, it's Christmas Eve, you’re sitting around a table with loads of people who you’re apparently related to, and you suddenly get asked this question: “So how’s uni?” And you shudder, thinking to yourself, “How could I possibly answer that nonchalantly?” The truth is, university is undoubtedly the strangest time of your life, and you’re not given enough credit for it. Everyone anticipates this moment for most of their teenage years, and yet when the time comes, you turn into this tiny goldfish who gets tossed into a massive aquarium full of fish species you’ve never even heard of before. One of my friends once told me, "I would love university if I didn’t actually have to do university.” You’ve been in education your entire life, yet...
Loosen Your Stitching
Opinion

Loosen Your Stitching

By Kiera Garcia When living in an age where identity is everything, the idea of fluidity appears to be a perilous game. We're expected to know who we are, our desires, and our beliefs, and know exactly how to articulate those thoughts. I know that I fell victim to the idea that if I hadn't had my whole life figured out by the time I was 18, I would have failed at life. After coming to university and having the subsequent almost quarter-life crisis of realising that I did not have my entire self figured out already, I realised how dull and colourless life would be if I never changed. The idea of being the same as I was when I was 13, and even the same as when I was 17, frightened me. This does not make the process of evolving and developing your identity any easier. The cliché of ...
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 ...
How Did Life End Up With Us?
Culture & Literature, Literature, Opinion

How Did Life End Up With Us?

By Felix Poreé and Olivia Taylor Introduced as the first book of a quartet titled "The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang to Trump", SS O'Connor's How Did Life End Up With Us? presents itself as an attempt to answer the most pertinent of questions surrounding the laws of life, from the start of the Big Bang all the way to the ‘decisions’ that organisms make that ultimately determine their chances of survival. One anticipates that such questions would require substantial scientific research, and although O’Connor admits he is not a scientist, his undertaking, given to the reader in a conversational writing style, is divided into specific chapters that aim to cover such topics as natural selection, gene mutations, and evolutionary change, down to parasitism, mutualism, and altruism. O’Con...
Hopeless Romantic by Dolly Alderton
Culture

Hopeless Romantic by Dolly Alderton

I have held myself back from discussing Dolly Alderton for quite some time now. I first read her debut memoir Everything I Know About Love three years ago, during lockdown, and I have not shut up about it since. I’ll admit, her fictional debut, Ghosts, did not impress me as much; I quickly realised it was her confessional tone that caught my attention, hence why her autobiographical work and her ‘Dear Dolly’ advice column have left such a lasting impression. Since reading Everything I Know About Love, I have continued to stay up to date with her work, but I only recently found an essay she wrote for The Pound Project in 2018 titled ‘Hopeless Romantic’.  The Pound Project is an independent publishing company founded by JP Watson. Their message is to shout about ‘the value of readin...
The Democratic Downfall of Journalism
Opinion

The Democratic Downfall of Journalism

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist. Near the time of his abduction and death, he had been working in Mumbai, India as the Southeast Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, but had travelled with his family to Karachi, Pakistan to report on the United States’ War on Terrorism following the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in 2001. Pearl was recognised for his journalistic detail and his ability to empathise with how humanity - and our own human nature - is affected by international issues. Consequently, he was considerate of the reported portrayal of the Islamic world towards his Western readers. Nevertheless, during his time in Karachi in early 2002, Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by several Islamist jihadist groups working together, operating under the Lashkar-e-Omar umbrella. ...
Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “if one of us can’t breathe, none of us can breathe.”
News

Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “if one of us can’t breathe, none of us can breathe.”

Turkey and Syria woke up to a 7.8 magnitude quake in the early hours of Monday (6th February) morning, killing more than  40,000 people in Turkey and a death toll of 5,800 in Syria. With numbers expecting to rise, and the situation becoming seriously unprecedented, it is important to demonstrate compassion for those suffering such a great loss.   As the region awaits help, the emotional outburst from grieving survivors saddens nations already crippled by economic and political uncertainties. Enduring traumatic injuries and having to sleep outside in blistering conditions has become the norm for those living in the affected areas. Silence…  After hours of hearing ominous cranes and smashed rubble, the rescue teams pause for the faintest noise. Anguished and fe...