Voices
Voices is our opinion column open for all UCL students. If you have an idea for an article, send us a pitch at editor@cheesegratermagazine.org. For shorter opinion pieces up to 300 words, you can write a Letter to the Editors via the same email.
Student politics is broken, and it’s our fault
Student politics at UCL has a major crisis of engagement. In last year’s Leadership Race, the Union celebrated a ‘record-breaking...
What is it with the Provost and ‘Disagreeing Well’?
If you are new to UCL, you will probably notice very soon that the Provost has a particular obsession with ‘free speech’ and a li...
The Mailsack: Issue 88, Autumn 2024
Please write to usDear Readers,The Cheese Grater had a brief experiment with a letters column called the Mailsack aro...
Graduation? No thank you.
The Portal has opened, but its glow is far from beckoning… Instead, a rather grim, shadowy darkness looms, eager to swallow me up...
‘It would be a pain if this gets out’: The boy’s club and university rugby
Ammara AslamAs a chronic eavesdropper, the minute I hear something vaguely interesting it sticks. And when it sticks, I start...
Is it over for France? Portrait of a nation on fire
Andrea Bidnic, Investigations EditorIt’s difficult to put into words the degree of urgency of the situation. Imagine a world...
Editorial: Don’t be held electoral hostage on July 4
When the choice at this general election is between the Tories and the Red Tories, The Cheese Grater believes that students shoul...
On the Provost’s Update
Dayan MustafaIn his attempt to say nothing at all (nothing political, that is) Dr Michael Spence, the UCL Provost, has re...
UCL needs to Divest Now: Why Michael Spence must Listen to Protestors
Robert Delaney(image via @are_eb on X)As I write this opinion piece, pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up on UCL’s...
The State of the NUS is a bit like Blackpool
Nick MiaoOne question I found asking myself and my fellow delegates on our three-day trip to this year’s National Union of Stu...
Not a Big Deal – The Plight of an “Oppressed Middle-Eastern Woman”
Mayra NassefAs an immigrant, my existence has always been political. To say where I’m from, or even where I’ve lived my whole...
Untitled Rant: Why care about student journalism at UCL? (Subject to Change)
Robert DelaneyThe question posed above is one I often face when confronted about my role as co-Editor-in-Chief at The Cheese ...
New famous landlord technique to avoid mould problems – gaslight your marginalised tenants!
Anna Maria Papaoikonomou"When I pointed out what mould looks like, I was called uneducated, ungrateful, and this man refused ...
M.A.B.: We’ll Get Our Marks Back Some Day
Elettra PlatiOn 20 April 2023, the UCU’s Marking and Assessment boycott began and after a long summer in which you may hav...
Hong Kong’s Banana Breakthrough
It’s finally happening. After three years of 21-day quarantine policies, dine-in restrictions, and mask mandates, we citizens of ...
The Cost of Living Crisis: The Cheese Grater View
Holly Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or in a developed country, you will have heard all about the catastrophe haunting t...
No More 3 for 10 Jagers?
Anna Maria Papaoikonomou, Zine EditorI can’t ever go back to my first two months of university. Not because I had a particula...
Sabbatical Officers Hustings: Thoughts from the Chair
For seven hours last week, I sat on stage with candidates for all six Sabbatical Officer positions and had the chance to question ...
Unpaid internships: when did free labour become normalised?
There is a sense of excitement when searching for Summer Internships on, what seems like, the endless amount of job finding sites ...
Our Sabbatical Officers: A Year in Review
It has been a turbulent year for all at UCL. It was truly a rollercoaster ride with changing COVID conditions, numerous bouts of s...
“Rape is not normal; it is normalised”: A First-hand Account
Trigger warning: mentions and graphic details of r*pe and sexual assault Everyone has drunk sex at university, right? That’s w...
The Damning Depop Divide
I was fourteen when I first downloaded Depop. Back then, I could find a nice top or dress for £10 and get a good bargain f...
Separate But Equal: Social Sciences’ Superficial Inclusivity
I chose Social Sciences as my undergraduate degree thinking, almost naively, that understanding the world around me would help me ...
If you want a functional Students’ Union, you won’t get one here.
The other day I got a text from my editor: ‘there’s a virtual Students’ Union Executive meeting, you should go check it out’. Natu...
Who is BAME? Not Me.
BAME is a term that has been in use for some years but shot up to the headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. It stands for Black,...
Government Cuts to the Arts: A Student’s Perspective
In July 2021, Gavin Williamson, the former Secretary of State for Education, announced the Conservative party’s plans to...
UCL’s Disability Support, Or Lack Thereof?
I chose Education Studies for my undergraduate degree at UCL. The university has ranked number one in the world for Education for ...
UCL’s Ethnographic Collection: A Road Towards Decolonisation
While researching a mask belonging to the Sande society of Mendiland, Sierra Leone, for an assignment, I was puzzled to discover t...
Discrimination against Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities has fatal consequences
I live in a small village in South East England. I first heard the word Traveller used to describe a group of people when I was ab...
What it feels like to be at the centre of J.K. Rowling’s “TERF Wars”
Trigger Warning: Mentions of violence against transgender people. Let’s talk about J.K. Rowling; author of the impossibly succ...
Change shouldn’t be a ‘women’s burden’
Male violence against women must be diminished. Intersectional solidarity is the way forward - a movement of which men must become...
We cannot let the persecution of Uighurs escalate
By Amber Kite*Trigger Warning - this article contains mentions of sexual assault and violence*“I would have done som...
Examining UCL’s Apology for its History of Eugenics
By Rusheen Bansal On 7th January 2021, UCL issued a formal statement of apology regarding their role in the “deve...
Extended Family: Halls and Isolation – and how you can overcome it
Vaania AchuthanAs part of Isolation DiariesTrigger Warning: Mention of suicideEver since students have moved i...
What is the cost of isolation for working-class students?
Eleanor CorneyAs part of Isolation DiariesBeing a student is hard - that goes without saying. Being a student in the m...
Remote Learning and Isolation: My Own Thoughts…
Eleanor Kingas part of Isolation Diaries2019 and 2020 have been two binaries for me. The joy of finally graduating wit...
Should I stay or should I go?
Jakob Kiesslingas part of Isolation DiariesEvery day, between 9 PM and midnight, a man appears in my flat. He’s tall, ...
No Child Should Go Hungry During A Pandemic
Riddhi KanetkarRecently, a Labour motion to extend free school meals until Easter has been rejected by the government, by...
The lies behind the 2020 exams scandal
Eleanor CorneyYoung people are always told that they are the future. When did it become acceptable for others to control t...