Professor Katherine Willis has been elected the new Principal of St Edmund Hall.
She will succeed the current Principal, Professor Keith Gull, on 1st October. Professor Gull has been Principal since 2009.
Willis has been Director of Science at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, since 2013. While there, she coordinated Kew’s over 370 scientists and its research projects in more than 101 countries. She also oversaw creation of Plants of the World Online, an online portal detailing Kew’s 8.5 million botanical record entries.
She was previously a tutorial fellow at St Hilda’s and Jesus, before holding the roles of Tasso Leventis chair in Biodiversity, Head of the Oxford Long-term Ecology Laboratory, and Professorial Fellow at Merton College.
While at Kew, Willis led several initiatives promoting public understanding of science. Among them is a 25-part series for BBC Radio 4, Roots to Riches.
A press release said that Willis “greatly looks forward to meeting the alumni, Fellows, students and staff in October and building further the Hall’s strength as a vibrant, forward-looking, diverse and inclusive society that strives for excellence in all that it does.”
Oxford students have been warned against walking home alone at night following a spate of attacks on students in the Cowley area.
Recent incidents involve a physical assault on a female student by South Parks, as well as a man approaching students who are on their own late at night by Cheney Lane.
Two men were also reportedly waiting outside St Hilda’s College last Saturday, asking students leaving the ball to get in their car.
In an email to students, St Hilda’s Dean Lorraine Wild wrote: “We have been alerted to an assault on a female student in the South Parks area last week during which she was kicked and punched to the ground.
“There have been two other incidents in the area around Cheney Lane in which a man has been reported as approaching lone students late at night.”
She warned students to be “extra vigilant” and to “try not to walk home alone late at night.”
A female student was approached at 4am by two men in a silver car on Cowley Place, shortly after leaving the St Hilda’s Ball. She ran back inside to the St Hilda’s porters’ lodge, but the men had already driven off when the porter went out to find them.
The student described the men as “leery” and told Cherwell that she would have felt “vulnerable” without the porters’ lodge so near.
She said: “I’m surprised that it happened here, because back home I’d probably be more careful, but in Oxford you forget that there’s a wider world beyond the colleges.
“It’s shocking to think that despite being lucky enough to run back to a college, something scary like this can happen.”
Advice on the University website recommends that students “plan your night before you go out” and “never walk home alone” in the dark.
Students gathered on the High Street this evening to protest the invitation of political commentator Brendan O’Neill to a dinner held at Queen’s College.
The protesters, who were largely made up of members of Oxford SU campaigns, said they were speaking out against the “hate speech” spread by O’Neill.
O’Neill, editor of Spiked and a regular columnist in The Spectator, was in Oxford to attend a dinner with the Addison Society at Queen’s College. The student-run society, open only to members of the college, invites speakers to have a formal dinner with them “before sharing their thoughts on a topic of their choice”.
O’Neill told Cherwell that he planned to “criticise the ideology of transgenderism” and “make the case for freedom of speech in all matters of life” at the event.
A statement issued by the Oxford SU LGBTQ+ campaign, who helped to organise the demonstration, said that O’Neill’s invitation was “tantamount to an endorsement of his violently transphobic, homophobic, misogynistic and ableist views by the Addison Society and the Queen’s College.”
Katt Walton, the incoming SU Vice-President for Women and former co-chair of the ‘It Happens Here’ campaign, said: “This protest is exercising students right to free speech and response. We are calling Brendan O’Neill out for his comments and actions, which aren’t controversial or political, they are hate speech.
“Brendan O’Neill defends himself through the veil of free speech, but we know that the law in this country does not and will not extend to free hate speech.”
The LGBTQ+ campaign said that, in additional to attacking the rights of transgender people, O’Neill “espouses harmful views against many other structurally oppressed groups”, including other members of the LGBTQ+ community, survivors of sexual abuse, and disabled groups.
In the past, O’Neill has suggested that victims of abuse by Jimmy Savile should “keep it to themselves”, and has derided the increased acceptance in Western countries to homosexuality as “queer imperialism”.
O’Neill was unimpressed by the protest (Photo: Daniel Hall/Cherwell)
Speaking outside the event, O’Neill told Cherwell: “I think [the protest] is pathetic, [the protestors] should grow up. There’s far more important things to protest in the world than me giving this speech in Oxford.
“The only hateful speech I hear around university campuses these days actually comes from student activists who casually demonise and libel anyone who disagrees with them. That’s a far more hateful form of speech than anything I plan to say tonight”.
President and vice-president of the Addison Society, Robert Holbrook and Paddy Hannam, told Cherwell: “We do not see the invitation as tantamount to an endorsement, any more than we do any of the other invitations we have given this year.
“Indeed, it would be pretty hard to endorse both Brendan O’Neill and, say, the Corbynite journalist Anna Minton who we invited earlier this year, considering their many points of disagreement.
“The dinners are not celebrations of the speakers we have, but a chance to hear from them and ask questions of them, should guests wish to. The assumption that we must agree with Brendan is patently absurd.”
They added: “It can be difficult to draw the distinction between hate speech and free speech, but it is important to keep the boundaries as wide as possible to ensure that nobody is silenced who has been wrongly accused.
“We do not see Mr O’Neil as a hate speaker, certainly not in the legal sense of the word, a testament to which is that fact that he has never been prosecuted for hate speech.
“Brendan’s speech clarified his position regarding the right of trans people to exist, which rebuts the main charge by the protesters regarding his views constituting hate speech.”
Last week, the Queen’s College JCR Equalities and Welfare teams warned students not to attend the event.
In an email to undergraduates, they said: “Brendan O’Neill is recognised for his controversial opinions, many of which have sparked accusations of transphobia, homophobia and misogyny.
“As the Equalities Team we do not endorse the views held by Brendan O’Neill and express serious concern for the impact his words may have for members of the JCR.
“Whilst we support debating and discussing ideas, we believe that a formal dinner fails to provide an appropriate or adequate platform to discuss and challenge contentious political views.”
The Addison Society’s president wrote in an open reply to the Equalities and Welfare committees’ email: “We decided to invite Brendan O’Neill to the Addison Society because he is a stimulating and thought-provoking speaker, and because we understand inclusivity, at least in part, to be about giving representation to varied political positions, and giving the opportunity to members of the JCR to engage with and challenge them.
“These necessarily include opinions which many members of college, including ourselves, may at times find disagreeable or offensive.”
Silicon Valley has acquired Thames Valley, it would seem, after a series of mysterious street signs were spotted across Oxford today.
A sign for “Snapchat End” has been affixed to the walls of Christ Church opposite the Bear Inn pub on the corner of Blue Boar Street and Alfred Street.
A sign for “Google Walk”
A sign for “Emoji Alley” was erected in Pembroke Square.
“Google Walk”, “Facebook Row”, and “Lol Alley” have also appeared around the city, while “Hashtag Walk” and “WTF Lane” were christened slightly further from the centre.
The signs are suspected to be the work of anonymous artist A34.
A man has been charged with multiple offences following a firearms incident near the Westgate centre on Monday.
Duncan Shearman, 24, was charged with one count of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and three counts of possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas.
**CHARGED**
A man has been charged following an incident in Paradise Square in Oxford, on bank holiday Monday.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) donned his iron suit for the first time a whole decade ago, establishing the groundwork for a cinematic universe on a vast scale. After 18 entries that have introduced us to egotistical geniuses, Norse gods, and a group of dysfunctional space travellers, the heroes finally converge in the Russo Brothers’ dramatic showdown. As you might expect from a film that contains 76 characters, it isn’t easy to mention explicit details without giving away any spoilers. So I’ll stay away from the plot and try to asses the film as a whole.
Thanos (Josh Brolin), the movie’s main baddie, is a difficult villain to sell. The large-chinned alien has barely featured in the Marvel cinematic universe outside a few fleeting appearances in post-credits scenes. Nonetheless, the Russo Brothers manage to build up a considerable amount of characterisation within a short space of time, drawing on Thanos’ past history with Gamora (Zoe Saldana). And, unlike most of the Marvel villains that we have seen before, he’s more than a punchbag for the heroes. Thanos is able to overcome the heroes on several occasions and presents a genuine threat to humanity – his explicit aim is to wipe out half the universe.
Thankfully, Infinity War’s darker elements don’t come at the expense of the Marvel series’ characteristic humour. The egotistical exchanges between Tony Stark and Doctor Strange are a joy to behold, as is the usual jovial banter and social misunderstandings between the Guardians. Yet even though the film lasts two and a half hours, the longest running time in the Marvel cinematic universe so far, the sheer number of characters means that there’s still not enough space for sufficient character development. Sure, you could go with the Dunkirk argument that the whole film is based around a conflict so there isn’t any time to waste on such detail, yet Civil War managed to achieve this feat effectively, albeit with a smaller roster of characters.
Beyond the difficulties with establishing strong characterisation, the simple fact that the individual heroes have emerged from films written by other people sometimes presents problems. Many of the characters in Avengers: Infinity War already have well-developed personas – the necessity of bringing all these characters together often means that they do things that don’t quite fit with our general expectations. The narrative sometimes suffers as a result, but Brolin’s performance maintains a constant sense of dread and unease that holds the screenplay together. Though the first half is perhaps slightly over-long, the Russos nonetheless manage an outstanding feat in bringing all these eclectic characters onto the silver screen. As the culmination of a decade of filmmaking, witnessing some of our favourite superheroes finally interact is an unparalleled joy to behold.
In the film’s final minutes, it’s difficult not to think of Deadpool’s sardonic rhetorical observation in the recent sequel trailer. “You’re so dark, are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?” Will the Russos stick with this dark tone in Avengers 4 next year? We’ll have to wait and see. I, for one, think that they should.
“Many nights I watch Pepe very closely through the window bars and he seems to fade away, as though he were hidden in a cloud of dust like those raised by the flocks.”
Imagine the scene. Stifling midsummer in a pre-WWII Spanish village. The heat is unbearable. Servants clean day and night but no matter how much they scrub, the dirt keeps rising to the surface. Welcome to the House of Bernarda Alba.
The play follows a household of eight women, where Bernarda’s five daughters spend their days embroidering lace that will never make it to a wedding day. The eldest is 39 and the youngest is 20, but all are domineered by their authoritarian mother, who refuses to let them marry anyone who she decides is beneath their rank. In the muggy atmosphere of their wasted lives, the girls are silently united in defiance of their mother… for now.
The dynamics between the sisters were handled with just the sensitivity they called for, and oscillated between intense love and intense hate. There was a tangible chemistry between the actors which added layers of interest. One of the most interesting relationships was the characters’ attitudes towards the one man in the story, who never appears onstage. He is an important character and yet represents of such a void in the lives of these women that this made for some truly heart-wrenching monologues.
The roles that I found most notable were Adela, the youngest daughter, played by Esme Sanders, and La Poncia, the servant, played by Charithra Chandran. These characters were the complete antithesis of the other. The beauty of Esme Sanders’ characterisation lay in the strength of her emotions. In her final monologue, I was on the verge of tears. She made such a striking image looking into the distance, her hands darting over her thighs and playing with her dress. Charithra Chandran’s character was the calm older woman, harnessing her years of experience into an understated wisdom. She used facial expressions and gestures in such a beautifully sparing way, and radiated a rich quality of motherliness and old gossip, which was seriously impressive given her age.
There was an obvious attention to detail in the costumes. Each sister had a slightly different texture of lace and although their dresses were similar, they were different enough to really add something to the characterisations. The contrasts between the layered black mourning clothes and the light white frocks was striking. There was a lovely translucent quality in the fabric of the walls and the lower skirt of Bernarda’s dress, which added to the idea of secrets waiting to rise to the surface. I loved the tiny stool at centre stage, the only piece of furniture available to all of the women.
The yellow lighting and the textures on the stage articulated the stifling atmosphere. There was a violin that would play every so often which created an intense, almost sensual atmosphere that contrasted with the characters’ frustrations beautifully.
My one one piece of criticism to an otherwise brilliant play is that in a couple of moments, I felt that the facial expressions were forced, making the emotions less convincing. But this is something that usually improves throughout a run of a play, as the actors get more comfortable in their characters and the space. Most of the acting was effortless and unforced, and this was done very well both in this and the other play I have seen directed by Isobel Ion. In my opinion, it is the mark of a great director.
Unfortunately, as per, I underestimated the time it takes to get anywhere from St Hugh’s, so I was a tad late – luckily for me Joe was still waiting. After the awkward introductions we went inside for a friendly chat over a drink in the Bear Inn. While it was a slow start, with us both suffering from a case of first date nerves, once we had our drinks and had got the usual questions over with, the con- versation started flowing. Discussing the usual topics from where we each lived, pets and family chatting was nice and for the most part awkward silence was avoided. Passionate about his subject, Joe excelled in storytelling. He made historical events seem more entertaining than ever, and his historical themed cocktails sounded even more interesting. Time flew and before I knew it my glass was empty: I had to make my excuses and unfortunately return to the library.
First Impressions?
Obviously nervous, but soon opened up.
Quality of the chat?
6/10.
Most awkward moment?
Waiting for the bartender to take our photo at the end of the date.
Kiss or miss?
Sweet but not my type – miss.
Joseph Brown First Year, History, Worcester
We met at the door of the Bear Inn as had been agreed beforehand. After introducing ourselves, we promptly ordered pints of cider and before long the conversation was flowing. We discussed all sorts of topics, mostly fairly normal ones like our hobbies, what our impressions of Oxford life were, our plans for the summer etc. Though we’re on quite different ends of the spectrum when it comes to academic subjects, each of us managed to gauge the other’s interest, particularly as regards our intellectual pursuits – Jen liked my account of the tale of Heloise and Abelard, the most notorious lovers of 12th century France, and arguably of all time. Generally, the conversation went quite naturally – we most certainly didn’t run out of things to discuss – and, overall, we had a very enjoyable and relaxed time chatting, drinking and chilling in the pub.
First impressions?
Struck me as a nice, laid back person.
Quality of the chat?
Very good and light-hearted.
Most awkward moment?
Saying I loved IT after she admitted to a clown phobia.
However, after pressure from students, the portrait was taken down last night.
The University has said that the portrait was taken down because it “was being obscured by posters bearing various messages.” According to the statement, the portrait “will be re-displayed so it can be seen as intended.”
Theresa May was included in a series of portraits to celebrate high-achieving female graduates of @oxfordgeography. The portrait was being obscured by posters bearing various messages, so it was taken down and will be re-displayed so it can be seen as intended.
May, who graduated with a second-class degree from St Hugh’s in 1977, was originally one of twelve alumnae to feature prominently as part of the new display, which aimed to “aim to inspire the next generation of women geographers to aim high in their future careers.
The portraits were nominated by current and former members of the department.
The School’s Equality and Diversity Officer, Claire Hann, who came up with the idea for the display, said: “The aim is to show that the achievements of the few selected women represent and are linked with the achievements of a much wider group of women geographers.
“We’re keen to celebrate the successes of our women students and staff as much as those of men. It’s been great to reconnect with many of our past students through this project, and we hope it will inspire our current students as they pass by the display each day.”
But ‘NotAllGeographers’ took issue with May’s inclusion.
The group, whose name builds upon a hashtag used during the recent UCU strikes distancing current students from the vice chancellors who also studied geography, told Cherwell: “We are rightly proud of…the celebration of SoGE alumnae.
“However, there was no consultation (at least with students) about the placing of Theresa May as one of the selected twelve larger portraits to celebrate women and Oxford geography (or the selection of photos for the wall).
“Clearly at a time when there are issues with the Windrush scandal and the handling of Brexit [she is] a contentious figure in a department with many EU citizens and decolonial scholars.
“The main, and most basic, issue comes with the celebration of a sitting Prime Minister. Should a department align itself with the power of the day, when there are those who actively challenge it?
“It is unprecedented to celebrate state power in such a way (regardless of one’s political affiliation).
“For many geographers, the famous Doreen Massey being placed below her is also another kick in the teeth.”
#NotAllGeographers have creatively intervened for geographers everywhere to challenge the installation of a Theresa May portrait in Oxford Geography without consultation of the student body (at least). This is unacceptable and does little to inspire confidence in critical thought pic.twitter.com/HqwMqaO56O
The group had planned to circulate a petition demanding the portrait’s removal.
‘NotAllGeographers’ also stuck up card around the portrait, and invited students to share their thoughts.
One student wrote: “School of Geography and (Hostile????) Environment” [sic], while another message said: “Let in every refugee, throw the Tories in the sea.”
In response, a counter-campaign took off, under the moniker #PutThePortraitBack.
The School of Geography and Environment and Theresa May have been contacted for comment.
South Central Ambulance Service said that one person was being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Shortly before 3am today a 24-year-old man from Oxford was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the incident. He is currently in police custody.
Residents, who were evacuated from the street, have gradually been allowed back into their homes. Some police are still at the scene but most of the road closures have now been lifted.
Negotiations between police and the gunman continued yesterday and went into the early hours of the morning.
Heavily armed police were seen at the scene along with sniffer dogs, ambulance services, and fire services. At one point, fire services unrolled a hose onto Paradise Street to use in the standoff.
Earlier in the day, an Ambulance crew carried a stretcher through the cordon, but it was not used afterwards.
Residents and onlookers gathered at a local pub on Paradise Street and said that the event had “brought them together”.
Residents have been sitting outside this pub for most of the day, they say that the event has brought the street closer together pic.twitter.com/S0n864b1J1
One resident told Cherwell: “ I woke up and there was a lot of shouting and dogs were fighting outside. I came outside and there were police cars everywhere – some marked and some unmarked. One up round the castle and round the road here.”
Pembroke College, which is near the scene, warned students to avoid the area.
In an email, seen by Cherwell, the Deputy Home Bursar said: “Due to an ongoing security incident, please be advised to avoid the Westgate Centre and the area around the Castle.”
