Voices
Voices is a section that aims to give students a platform to write about issues that matter to them. This is a space to voice your opinion, especially on topics that can be neglected or underrepresented in mainstream media.
An incredible performance by the Musical Theatre Society will go down in history as one of the greatest Bloomsbury productions Roshni Ray Theatre Correspondent “Get out of my swamp!” Oliver Sykes as Shrek at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Photograph: Nick Miao/The Cheese Grater Shrek: The Musical was as much of a success at the box office […]
Shrek review – sellout musical takes the Bloomsbury by storm Read More »
UCL’s new approach to student drug use is a “watershed moment” that recognises the problem as a complex issue that requires education, support, and compassion, argues Joss Baynes, President of the UCL Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Joss Baynes President, UCL Students for Sensible Drug Policy Credit: Mary Hinkley/UCL Media Services via UCL Imagestore For
UCL’s harm reduction policy is a victory for compassion and common sense Read More »
If the Provost is serious about Disagreeing Well, he must support a culture of student-led debate on campus Robert Delaney Societies Representative for Student Media Over 300 attended the King’s cross-party debate on Thursday evening (Credit: Ben Scanlan) University politics is a complex phenomenon. Between the Students’ Union, society politics, and those on campus who
The Drama Society’s first Blooms show of the year was met with cheers and several standing ovations from members of the audience Alice Pedersen Theatre Correspondent A modern period drama with profound themes (Credit: The Welkin/UCL Drama Society) This weekend, Bloomsbury Theatre staged a student production of The Welkin, a 2020 period drama, set in
The Welkin review – a period drama with profound themes Read More »
3,000 miles away from Tbilisi, Georgian students at UCL fight for another future Elene Suramelashvili Communications Officer, UCL Georgian Society Protesters left this stained transparent white suit outside of the Georgian Embassy in Central London to symbolise the lack of vote secrecy in the legislative elections, as ballots could be seen through the thin envelopes.
The closure of one of the world’s oldest Middle Eastern Studies departments is a worrying sign for academic integrity and diversity in Europe and beyond, writes Lola Davies.
One recent gloomy day on campus, I made the arduous journey to the Union Bloomsbury Shop to get some study snacks. Trying to exercise some self-discipline, I decided to grab some fruit instead of my usual Cadbury Wispa or instant noodles. Then, I noticed, in horror, a blue and yellow logo sticker on the bananas,
Bloomsbury’s Bananas: a tale of massacres, coups, and ethical consumption Read More »
This is a desperate cry for change from a Jewish student who has had more than enough of the UCL Jewish Society’s underreaction to events unfolding in the Middle East. Andrea Bidnic Investigations Editor Lethargic and painfully self-complacent, I believe that the Jewish Society (Jsoc) is not only betraying Jewish students but its Jewish identity
On Wednesday, The Cheese Grater sent out a blanket invite to all four candidates competing to be Media Rep – Altay Shaw, Robert Delaney, Maria Kliuchnikova, and Yixiao Huang – to contribute to our Voices column on why they should be the next Societies Rep for Student Media. At press time, we have received one
Student politics at UCL has a major crisis of engagement. In last year’s Leadership Race, the Union celebrated a ‘record-breaking’ turnout of… 23.7%. While mildly impressive for a student election, the reality is far worse: on average, only 2,679 students – a mere 5.2% of the student body – voted in each of the six
If you are new to UCL, you will probably notice very soon that the Provost has a particular obsession with ‘free speech’ and a little something called ‘Disagreeing Well’. Andrea Bidnic Investigations Editor After three years in office, the President and Provost Michael Spence’s record on free speech is convoluted on paper and contradictory in
What is it with the Provost and ‘Disagreeing Well’? Read More »
Please write to us Dear Readers, The Cheese Grater had a brief experiment with a letters column called the Mailsack around ten years ago which didn’t last very long, but we thought we’d try again. We are now accepting letters addressed to the editors from all UCL students and staff, current and former, regardless of
The portal has opened, but its glow is far from beckoning… Instead, a rather grim, shadowy darkness looms, eager to swallow me up and spit me out onto a lacklustre graduation ceremony stage… Katherine Graham Having just finished three years at ‘London’s Global University’, both my personal and university email inboxes were flooded with insistent
As a chronic eavesdropper, the minute I hear something vaguely interesting it sticks. And when it sticks, I start to dig. Ammara Aslam This week I happened to overhear two lads squabbling over the ‘disgraceful’ state of UCL Rugby. Although I’d like to think I’ll win not a Pulitzer but the great journalistic honour of
‘It would be a pain if this gets out’: The boy’s club and university rugby Read More »
It’s difficult to put into words the degree of urgency of the situation. Andrea Bidnic Investigations Editor Imagine a world where Nigel Farage emerges victorious from the general election as he walks into Downing Street with that smug look on his face. Outlandish as this may sound, this worst-case scenario is about to become a
Is it over for France? Portrait of a nation on fire Read More »
Britain needs Labour to win. Not because it deserves to, but because we are being held electoral hostage by a broken status quo The Cheese Grater The Labour Party knows it can get away with offering the bare minimum When the choice at this general election is between the Tories and the Red Tories, The
Editorial: Don’t be held electoral hostage on July 4 Read More »
Dayan Mustafa In his attempt to say nothing at all (nothing political, that is) Dr Michael Spence, the UCL Provost, has revealed more than he might have wished about his inclinations––and by extension, those of the neoliberal business who embody the University’s higher management. Many of you will have already read Dr Spence’s latest update:
Robert Delaney (image via @are_eb on X) As I write this opinion piece, pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up on UCL’s Main Quad. Following in the footsteps of students at Columbia University in New York, there has been a mass student movement across the world, from the US to Japan, in protest of the prevalent complicity
UCL needs to Divest Now: Why Michael Spence must Listen to Protestors Read More »
The fiasco of this year’s Conference will have convinced few to restore faith in the embattled National Union Nick Miao Union Correspondent Photograph by Nick Miao. Shot on Nintendo DSi One question I found myself asking my fellow delegates on our three-day trip to this year’s National Conference in Blackpool was, “What the hell are
Mayra Nassef As an immigrant, my existence has always been political. To say where I’m from, or even where I’ve lived my whole life, often immediately brings up some essentialist orientalist stereotype in the conversation. Orientalism – a theory coined by academic Edward Saïd in 1978 – refers to the idea that the Middle-East/Asia is
Not a Big Deal – The Plight of an “Oppressed Middle-Eastern Woman” Read More »
Robert Delaney The question posed above is one I often face when confronted about my role as co-Editor-in-Chief at The Cheese Grater. Curious friends, mostly those from outside the university sphere, ask me what the point of student journalism is. What is the raison d’etre behind it all? And I don’t blame them. Student journalism
Untitled rant: Why care about student journalism at UCL? (Subject to change) Read More »
Anna Maria Papaoikonomou “When I pointed out what mould looks like, I was called uneducated, ungrateful, and this man refused to interact with me directly or look at me in the eye. Instead addressing all his remarks to my white flatmate (who coincidentally was not called uneducated)”. That’s only one of the mortifying reactions Emily,
Elettra Plati On 20 April 2023, the UCU’s Marking and Assessment boycott began and after a long summer in which you may have spent too much time staring at your half-empty grade transcripts – anything more than a minute would be too long for such an activity – it finally ended 139 days later on
It’s finally happening. After three years of 21-day quarantine policies, dine-in restrictions, and mask mandates, we citizens of Hong Kong are seeing clearer skies. For the first time, trail runners taking part in races such as the recent Hysan Island Hike & Run have been allowed to eat bananas during the competition. This must be
Anna Maria Papaoikonomou, Zine Editor I can’t ever go back to my first two months of university. Not because I had a particularly difficult time, but simply because I genuinely cannot remember large chunks of my first few weeks as I was constantly blackout drunk. No matter one’s background and upbringing, it seems as though
Holly Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or in a developed country, you will have heard all about the catastrophe haunting the UK at the moment. Don’t worry, the Queen hasn’t resurrected in her lizard form; I’m talking about the cost of living crisis. It’s like the 70s coming back without the fun flares
The Cost of Living Crisis: The Cheese Grater View Read More »
Marketisation, racism, transphobia, sexual misconduct and poor working conditions were the defining topics of our coverage, and indeed of the Sabbatical hustings. These seem unlikely to disappear any time soon, but as I leave for a year abroad, I hope to return to a slightly better campus.
Sabbatical Officers Hustings: Thoughts from the Chair Read More »
Yet, despite this struggle, many employers continue to promote unpaid internships for students. By normalising this type of work, they are complicit in limiting upward mobility, especially for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
Unpaid internships: when did free labour become normalised? Read More »
It is worth remembering that the Sabbatical Officers work full time for a salary just over £25,000 a year. With such an important role and a very fair wage, it is important they take both their jobs and their constituents, that is the student body, seriously.
I should not be scared to consume alcohol when I am out with my friends in the fear of another person’s hands being placed on my body without consent. It is time that we stop normalising taking advantage of people’s vulnerability.
“Rape is not normal; it is normalised”: A First-hand Account Read More »
Between unhappy buyers and frustrated sellers, Depop is fostering a community struggling with over-saturation and exploitation, which begs the question: how did it even get here?
The question remains: if the module leaders are aware that there exists an imbalance, and are also knowledgeable about non-white and non-male thinkers, why do they still fail to produce an inclusive curriculum?
Separate But Equal: Social Sciences’ Superficial Inclusivity Read More »
For my first meeting, I can’t say I wasn’t bored by the show, but I was disappointed by the actors’ performance.
If you want a functional Students’ Union, you won’t get one here. Read More »
The term BAME implies that the feeling of ‘otherness’, being non-white, is a sentiment that all ethnic minorities bond over. However, this community is largely imagined.
In July 2021, Gavin Williamson, the former Secretary of State for Education, announced the Conservative party’s plans to cut the Office for Students (OfS) budget for arts courses by 50%.
Government Cuts to the Arts: A Student’s Perspective Read More »
I chose Education Studies for my undergraduate degree at UCL. The university has ranked number one in the world for Education for several years; on paper, there was no better place to be. What drew me to the subject was my previous adverse experience with education at school. During secondary school, I was placed in
While researching a mask belonging to the Sande society of Mendiland, Sierra Leone, for an assignment, I was puzzled to discover that UCL’s Ethnographic Collection did not have enough information on this object. Only the most basic details were included in its description: the approximate origin date, source location, and ID number. What truly intrigued
UCL’s Ethnographic Collection: A Road Towards Decolonisation Read More »
It is up to us as individuals to educate ourselves about GRT history and culture, and confront the racism and discrimination we see head on.
Discrimination against Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities has fatal consequences Read More »
Trigger Warning: Mentions of violence against transgender people. Let’s talk about J.K. Rowling; author of the impossibly successful Harry Potter series, owner of a very cute dog and, of course, fresh-out-of-the-closet “gender critic” (aka TERF aka Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist – aka transphobe if you are feeling particularly daring today). That last bit is actually
What it feels like to be at the centre of J.K. Rowling’s “TERF Wars” Read More »
Male violence against women must be diminished. Intersectional solidarity is the way forward – a movement of which men must become a part. Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse. She just wanted to go home. Women have felt overwhelmed as events unfolded over the last couple of weeks, beginning with the
Amber Kits talks about the imperative of taking meaningful action now to prevent the plight of the Uighur population from worsening.
We cannot let the persecution of Uighurs escalate Read More »
Rusheen Bansal examines UCL’s apology after the eugenics inquiry, the dialogue across campus, and the steps being taken to move forward.
Examining UCL’s Apology for its History of Eugenics Read More »
Vaania Achuthan’s piece about how the experiences of living in halls and isolation has shaped their experience at university.
Extended Family: Halls and Isolation – and how you can overcome it Read More »
Eleanor Corney talks about how isolation has affected working-class students.
What is the cost of isolation for working-class students? Read More »
Isolation Diaries: Eleanor King’s piece on studying a Masters in digital learning, remotely.
Isolation Diaries: Jakob Kiessling, a UCL fresher, recounts their experience of student halls during the first term, and weighs their options.
Riddhi Kanetkar comments on a free school meals plan that has been firmly rejected by the conservative government.
Eleanor Corney’s piece on the exam board failure that lead to thousands of students’ plans being uprooted .
