I thought that social media couldn’t become any larger a part of our lives, but after a year of intense lockdowns and with staying at home becoming the norm, I was wrong. UK citizens spent 46% more time on their phones since July 2020. Children have spent the majority of the day on screens because Read More…
Opinion
Police, protests and my pointless arrest
“I was arrested for “breaching the peace” and taken to a holding cell where I stayed from midnight until about 4.30am on Easter Sunday. I was handcuffed. My bag and my person were searched. My belongings, including my phone and purse were taken. When I was finally released, I asked if I would be charged and the officers laughingly told me that I wouldn’t. Essentially, they knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. Isn’t it bizarre that, to them, causing me this level of trauma inspired humour rather than guilt?”
Emerald Ace-Acquah discusses her experience being arrested at a Kill the Bill protest in London.
TikToxic: the age of inauthenticity
Anisah Qausher discusses the damage of internet culture on modern dating and pushes us to love authentically, not for the content consumption of others.
The artistic void of the Spanish flu will not be repeated
“The consumption of art, post pandemic, will be a very revealing phenomenon: will it be to teach us lessons? Or will it fill the void of processing trauma for a grief stricken population?”
Cormac Malone explores how the art of the coronavirus pandemic might look, and why, unlike Spanish Flu, Covid-19 will remain in the cultural mainstream.
Illustration by Rosa Bonnin.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: A gateway to long term restrictions on the right to protest
Stella Ktenas highlights the permanent consequences of the The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on the right to protest, and the similar erosion of protest rights in Australia.
“The timing of this bill amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic falsely appears to be guided by a utilitarian logic to derogate the right to protest in favour of public health. However, we should question whether the government is using the pandemic as a trojan horse to impose lasting restrictions on protest rights to thwart their visibility and impact”
A year on, what does the UK’s Covid story say about the government?
“Having now spent more time in my childhood bedroom than in Oxford since starting my course, I can’t help but ask: should we forgive the government’s initial mistakes and errors in light of the new vaccine success and limited knowledge we had of COVID a year ago?”
Sebastien Roberts analyses the UK government’s performance over the whole of the coronavirus pandemic so far.
The Façade of a Non-Racist Modern Britain
Nadia Hassan discusses the disparities between the prevalence of institutional racism in the UK and the inapt positivity of the findings from the Sewell Report.
Violent or not, protests have little impact on democratic policy-making in the UK
Ruby Cooper considers the limitations of protests in UK politics, in light of resistance to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Power without constraint – the UK’s paradoxical attack on protesting rights
Jan Barraclough argues that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is paradoxical, problematic and a serious problem for the people’s interests.
No Religion Deserves Freedom from Ridicule
Oliver Buckingham argues that to place any faith beyond criticism is to threaten free and open discourse.
“No one deserves to live in fear for doing their job. And no religion deserves freedom from criticism. A secular, tolerant, open society rests on its citizens being able to question, and yes, even ridicule the institutions around them.”