Students – Page 4 of 14

Some Things Never Change: Body Positivity or Toxicity?

10Oct

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Lifestyle, Opinion

Some Things Never Change: Body Positivity or Toxicity?

By Beth McCowen As the weather gets hotter, and the events that have been in our diaries for months are finally rolling around, it’s time to switch up our wardrobes to include some summer attire after months and months of cosy jumpers and trendy scarves. As joyful as the sunshine, floral dresses, and holidays can feel, this transition in season, and therefore style, is easier for some than it is for others. Throughout the autumn, winter and even spring months, we often grow used to hiding away our bodies, our insecurities, under clothes in which we feel comfortable, usually on the basis that they show less of our skin than the alternatives that are more practical for the summer. For those who have struggled with eating disorders, other health problems, or difficult relatio...

<strong>‘Positive’ Discrimination: Race, Language and Labels</strong>

25Feb

By Jethro RobathanNo Comments

Opinion

‘Positive’ Discrimination: Race, Language and Labels

‘… “Reverse discrimination”, which translates to “Keep those Negroes running – but in their same old place”.’ – Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics). POC and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour). Catch-all, pre-packaged tags ready to slap on those boxes we call ‘people’, when we feel so inclined. Establishment guarantee included, free of charge. My gripe with race terminology has long been one of passive resistance yet complicit subscription. This is my guilty confession; more so, this is a personal attempt to unravel the netting of politically correct and functionally useless labels which colour (pun intended) our ever-growing vocabulary of racial identification. A few mandatory disclaimers before I let loose. Conversations...

21Nov

By Charlotte TownNo Comments

Lifestyle

Romanticising University Life

Romanticising simple tasks, such as a trip to the shops, walking to a lecture, or going into Egham for a coffee is something we are all guilty of. There is a feeling of comfort which arises by putting on a big coat and your favourite playlist and idly making your way around campus. The extravagant Founders building and the warm colours of Autumn which currently adorn Royal Holloway are the perfect complement to romanticising your university life. Romanticising your life can play a crucial part in cheering yourself up on gloomy days of Autumn and Winter. As busy students, we should allow ourselves to occasionally follow the beckoning lights of a local cafe or the friendly call of a day exploring charity shops (it is self-care really). Even revision can be made enjoyable when it is...

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

As I sat down to write this article, it suddenly struck me just how wide and complex the word ‘connection' is. At its core, connection has these profound connotations of a bond, of intimacy, of emotion. Yet we apply ‘connection’ to acquaintances and social media friends. On LinkedIn we ask a stranger to ‘connect’ in the name of professional development. We connect the dots, and play Connect 4. Most recently, connection has been used to talk about current crises from the Russian war on Ukraine to climate change. Now with Ukrainians being forced to find refuge in countless countries across Europe, we might wonder how this changes our viewpoint on connection. Yuliya, who recently fled Ukraine, told me her story. Below is her account of what happened. “I was born an...

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Unity for Ukraine

How the Invasion of Ukraine Has Demonstrated What a Europe In Unity Can Do For Victims of Violence, Invasion And War On 21st February 2022, Putin recognised the independence of non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on 24th February ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU council had already delivered its first round of sanctions on the 23rd, in response to Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions’ independence. This was then immediately bolstered by further sanctions on the day of the invasion, alongside the Joint Statement by the EU council condemning the ‘unprovoked and unjustified military actions’ of Russia, deploring ‘the loss of life and suffering’ and warning of measures which would ‘impose massive and severe consequences on Russia...

21Jun

By Hannah ArmourNo Comments

News, Opinion

The Be Real App: The Next Big Thing?

It’s deadline season, and for the third day in a row, the ‘Be Real’ notification goes off while you’re in the library. You take the picture, capturing your front and back camera views: an exhausted face in one corner, an empty coffee cup, and a computer with God only knows how many tabs open. This isn’t the life you wanted to portray online. Be Real, a new social media app, sets itself apart by going for pure authenticity. With the tagline “Your friends for real”, the app sends out a notification everyday at a different time to capture and share a photo in two minutes. The only problem? It’s exposing how mundane our lives really are. It should be refreshing; isn’t this what social media was supposed to be? After all, isn’t there beauty in the everyday? Without the potent...

Disconnection Is The Theme, Making Money Is The Dream

21Jun

By Jethro RobathanNo Comments

News, Opinion

Disconnection Is The Theme, Making Money Is The Dream

The government’s announcement of intent to privatise Channel Four isn’t news. Sadly, this song has seemingly been played since time immemorial. Earlier iterations of privatisation plans were blocked in the House of Lords in 2016 with hope for a repeat performance soon. Back on 4th April 2022, Boris Johnson’s unscrupulous government revealed that ongoing discussions were taking place in the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) to sell Channel Four Television Company. This has been met with widespread public backlash from the creative industries and politicians alike. Even other Conservative MPs have denounced the government’s plans for privatisation, instead requesting additional support for public service broadcasters. Sir Peter Bottomley acknowledged that C4 was in ‘the best st...

21Jun

By Sofia BajerovaNo Comments

News, Opinion

Marking the Study Abroad Experience

The Connection Between Person and Place After tasting the cuisine, meeting, and befriending local people, walking through the streets and immersing yourself in a new culture and country, you make a connection to a place. Positive or negative, a connection is formed. This can take seconds, days or years and can change and develop as time progresses. An amazing weekend somewhere can leave you longing to return for the rest of your life. Multiple years in a place can leave you wanting to run away and never look back. When students study abroad, some form a connection with their country of study that can only be described as a second home: an intense emotional connection that leaves them planning their return before they even leave. In society we often make specific emotional conn...

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

21Jun

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

At six, I pledged to a girl named Isabel that she’d be my best friend forever. She was blonde. I was brunette. Despite this, Isabel always insisted on playing Gabriella when we re-enacted scenes from our beloved High School Musical. I started to hate her a tiny bit. At fourteen, we fell out over boys. When I was nine, I told myself my best friend was a girl called Aoife. She was a bitch in the making, and something about that drew me in. She had a strength that I didn’t. But, like any blossoming bitch, she wanted to surround herself with other bitches (and despite my efforts, I was just a bit too off-the-wall to fit the bitch criteria). I haven’t spoken to Aoife since I was twelve, when her parents shipped her off to boarding school. When I was thirteen, my best friend w...

21Jun

By Zaki ChanNo Comments

Creative Writing, Features

oyvey

behold the golem of prague how tothe first step is seeing them then talk to them then convince themsimpleso after saving them from that edgeplace your own edge on their throat and slice theirs open first before any seas can lay claim to it firstbefore earth before hearth before flame before greedy fingers pry their way to their tonguerip it out first beforeand then wear it in the mouthsit it in the right placecreak teeth out of placealign rows of molars incisors caninessculpt gum to fit perfectanother persons stolen tongueand when that is done and when you are caughtand when there is nothingleft to bare in their hotlampsleft to bear the roiling heatleft alone to step without rhythma syncopated disfunctionof them forcing that maw openad nauseam they will rip out your speechsear yo...