@TheOxStu
Trinity Term, Week 3 | Friday 16 May 2025
OXFORD STUDENT The
The University of Oxford’s Student Newspaper, est. 1991
The politics of style at the Met Gala Read more on page 18
In conversation with Nick Rusher, Olympic rower.
Is BPD the modern-day female hysteria diagnosis?
Cutout Here
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The newly appointed Pope Leo XIV Aamna Shehzad
O Left and right - the India and Pakistan society cricket teams (Credit: Israr Khan). Center - Conflict in Kashmir (Credit: Kashmir Global)
n 8th May, the world waited with bated breath as a new pope emerged at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. After the death of Pope Francis on 21 April, the College of Cardinals deliberated on a pope to succeed him. Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, a fellow at Blackfriaris Hall in Oxford, was one of the 133 cardinals who participated in the conclave. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and holds dual citizenship
of the United States and Peru. Cardinal Robert Prevost took his vows in Rome in 1981 and served as a missionary in Peru, where he became bishop of Chiclayo in 2014. Pope Leo XIV also joined the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977, which was founded in 1244 and is “dedicated to poverty, service and spreading the word of God”. As a citizen of the United States, Pope XIV is the first American appointed to the position. According to The Guardian, “There had long been reticence about the notion of a…
Oxford India Society Leadership accused of Higher education: from tuition to tents escalatory rhetoric
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Comment
Yashas Ramakrishnan and Aamna Shezhad he leadership of the Oxford India Society has faced allegations of undemocratic governance, inflammatory communications, and partisan behaviour during the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. In the wake of a ceasefire announced after recent escalations in Pahalgam, Kashmir, a letter signed by members and former officeholders of the Society has accused the current leadership of sidestepping democratic procedures and using the platform to advance hyper-nationalist narratives. The letter, addressed to the society’s President and signed by members of the society past and present, calls recent statements “reflective of right-wing diaspora propaganda rather
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than the reasoned debate our University cherishes.” The President told The Oxford Student he welcomed the letter as “a testament to the kind of democratic discourse we strive to foster,” and said he had already begun drafting a call for new committee applications to be circulated imminently. The controversy began after the Society’s social media accounts posted a Hindi poem that, while poetic in form, appeared to many as a thinly veiled call for violent retribution. A line translated as “Then, united in every element, we must completely burn Lanka”, referencing the Ramayana epic, sparked concern over its metaphorical tone and timing. According to Arjun Joshi, a Postgraduate Officer at the India Society, signatories also condemned a sudden resched-
uling of the India Society committee meeting on 10th May – from 6:00 pm to 10:00 am – allegedly making it difficult for ordinary committee members to attend. At this meeting, the planned India-Pakistan cricket match, long seen as a symbolic gesture of cross-border camaraderie, was unilaterally cancelled. Joshi told The Oxford Student: “The India Soc is only creating a divide between students here… India Soc has no reason to bring the war from the subcontinent here… ” Joshi also mentioned that the decision to reschedule the meeting and post the cancellation announcement in the morning was “immature”. He also stated that people from South Asia who live in harmony at Oxford should be…
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Ellie Apostolidi
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hat do the years 1968 and 2024 have in common? How are these events - seemingly separated by cause and geography - similar? And why are they important?
On March 31st, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked the world by announcing that he would not seek re-election - a decision made at a time when both
the United States and the world were gripped by radical political energy. The announcement followed a wave of protests across the country, especially on university campuses, against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and helped pave the way for Nixon’s eventual de-escalation of the conflict. This period, spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s, also marked a pivotal shift in higher education policy. Continued on page 10...
Student encampment outside Pitt Rivers. Credit: Cameron S.K.