New findings from researchers at the University of Oxford has sparked discussion on the imposition of a ‘meat-tax’ on red and processed meat products. The study revealed the potentially lifesaving effects that such a measure […]
Blasphemy Laws Must be Consigned to History
Ireland recently voted to remove the crime of blasphemy from its constitution. Only fifty years ago this country resembled a Catholic theocracy, it has now begun to remove the last vestiges of religious privilege from […]
Censoring Drill Music Will Not Solve Problems of Violence
Drill music is the latest genre of UK urban music to be blamed for inciting violence amongst young people. Music has often been the focus of those trying to explain the violence of people they […]
Is Mandela’s Dream Dead?
“I DREAM OF AN AFRICA WHICH IS IN PEACE WITH ITSELF” – NELSON MANDELA The African National Congress (ANC) has long fought for a unified and democratic South Africa. It was formed in 1912 as […]
Historical Amnesia, Miseducation, and Empire
Cartoon: “Allegoria sull’impero Inglese” (An allegory of the English Empire) by Augusto Grossi depicting the British Empire as a snake, 1878. In 2016, the Independent quoted a poll which found that 44% of British people […]
Should We Be Wary Of The German Right?
On Wednesday 7th November, Alice Weidel, the leader of the second most popular political party in Germany, was expected to arrive in the city of Oxford and deliver a speech at the Oxford University Union. […]
Can Trump And The Democrats Work Together?
Now the midterms are over and the Democrats have regained control of one chamber in Congress, it seems more unlikely than ever that Republican and Democratic divides can be overcome. Just one day after the […]
Ozone Healing: Are We Doing Enough?
It seems miraculous to hear anything positive about the environment and global warming, but this week the UN published a report that managed to make me feel like lugging all my glass bottles to the […]
A 94-Year-Old Man Is On Trial: Justified?
On the 6th November, former Nazi guard, Johann Rehbogen, went on trial for his complicity in the murder of hundreds of people in Stutthof Camp, Poland. This is not the first trial of its kind: […]
Leeds Council Must Ban Cars To Take On Air Pollution
There was a fantastic article in last week’s Gryphon, outlining the unprecedented level of air pollution found in Leeds. Not only is the air quality in Leeds the third worst in the U.K. It’s also […]
The Poppy Controversy: A Sign of Respect Or An Endorsement Of War?
The Case For Poppies: A Sign of Respect For some time, and most notably in the past few years, the choice to wear – or not to wear – a poppy leading up to Remembrance […]
Editor’s Letter, Issue 5, – “At the Going Down of the Sun” and the Misappropriation of the Poppy
Dear readers, It’s that time of the year again: the darkened autumn sky has been set alight by bonfires, kids are throwing live fireworks at locals on the streets of Leeds, and James McClean has […]