Challenge and More Able

Astrophysicist and Ex-St. Michael's Student Explains "Dark Matter"

We were absolutely delighted to welcome back St Michael's alumnus (class of 2018), Jed Young, to share his research on Dark Matter. Please find the thoughts of Noah Yonas (11SA) below:

Jed Young was an excellent presenter. He was able to provide an impressive first impression , through his many successes throughout his career as an astrophysicist. Young had structured his presentation clearly and effectively. The first half would be all about what dark matter is, and the next half was based on advice on how to spend your time effectively as we move towards university, then into the real world, as well as transferable skills we should work on.

The topic of Dark Matter itself is something quite confusing to grasp our knowledge on, and it is a hard topic for scientists to dig deeper into, as dark matter does not interact with light at all, essentially meaning that it is invisible to the human eye. Additionally, we can’t see dark matter through x-rays, radiation levels or any other instruments. This is different to something being very dark, like a black chair. The black chair absorbs a lot of the different colours on the spectrum, making it harder to see, unlike a bright red chair. However, dark matter does not absorb the light, nor does it reflect it. The only reason scientists believe dark matter exists is because of an unknown force that is allowing for the universe to expand, and for planets and galaxies to keep in place like a gravitational force. Jed Young had also shown us a table of all the energy in the universe and what percentage came from what. The table shows that 4.9% of mass-energy comes from ordinary matter such as protons and neutrons. 26.8% of mass-energy comes from dark matter and 68.3% comes from dark energy. Additionally, dark matter is expected to be making up 84.5% of the total matter in the universe. Just to summarise; scientists believe that dark matter makes up a large portion of the universe. We cannot see dark matter, and we do not have any tools to be able to see it. We only know of its existence through its effect on gravity.

Young had much enthusiasm for this topic and was open to as many questions as possible from us. He would make sure that we followed along with what he was talking about, as he attempted to make topics and ideas studied by top scientists into digestible, smaller pieces. Jed Young had also presented very useful tools and skills that we could use in these next few years. He had highly recommended EPQ’s and its importance, as it shows to employers that you were able to do your own research into topics that you are truly interested in. 

Overall, Jed Young had presented a very interesting and meaningful presentation, that I would highly recommend for people to attend.

Noah Yonas, 11SA

Changing Perspectives: Antisemitism and Film

Workshop with Year 9

Last week, my peers and I were fortunate enough to participate in an insightful workshop delivered by UK Jewish Film. It was focused on the idea of changing people’s perspectives on Jewish identity as well as promoting British values of tolerance through showcasing a series of unique films. The workshop was very informative, fostering an environment where we were exposed to the diversity of Jewish life. This allowed us to learn more about antisemitism and not only about how to recognise it but also how to challenge it. 

One of the films we were shown was titled ‘Blewey’ and it was an animation which explored the life of a young, Black Jewish boy. Growing up, he would always feel like he didn’t belong in the Jewish community due to being surrounded by ideologies which only saw Jewish people as White and Eastern European. However, this idea was later challenged as Blewey began to realise that there were more people who were like him in the Jewish diaspora. This film not only highlighted the diversity among the Jewish community but also revealed and challenged one of the many misconceptions about Jewish identity: all Jews are White.

I really enjoyed this workshop and engaging with films detailing the complexity of Jewish life and identity. It also made me think about complexity of my own identity and sense of belonging in the UK. Ultimately, the workshop was very useful and informative, offering ways film can be used to highlight as well as to combat antisemitism, and it most definitely achieved its aim of changing perspectives.

Mirabel M, 9DA

St Michael's Celebrates "All Are Welcome"! 

St Michael's celebrated "All Are Welcome" in style during June, with a series of thought-provoking lectures from the London Jesuit Centre and the Westminster Pastoral Council. Please see the thoughts of Luiza L, 12DA, below:

As a part of the All Are Welcome celebrations at St Michael’s, many year 12 students attended a talk about transgender and liberation theology led by Dr Nicholete Burbach. The insight that she provided into transgender theology and the idea that all people - no matter their gender identification and orientation - are reflected in Jesus (and in God as a whole), really encapsulated the ideas that pride as well as diversity and inclusion hope to spread, especially in the religious context in which we see it as a Catholic school. 

Celebrations also included an LGBTQ+ Karaoke session to a capacity crowd of students in the main hall.

Celebrated Civil Rights Campaigner, Arthur Torrington, visits St Michael’s

St Michael’s were delighted to welcome Arthur Torrington CBE to the college as part of our commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush in 1948. Arthur Torrington CBE is known for his substantial and tireless work researching, collecting, and archiving the histories of Caribbean people in Britain, and his work as Director and Co-Founder of the Windrush Foundation and Equiano Society. Arthur was particularly excited to hear about Ryan B’s publication of an article on ex-mayor of Southwark, Sam King (a good friend of Arthur’s) and Adrian N’s winning entry to the 2023 Black History Month Competition that also drew the attention of current Mayor of Southwark, Michael Situ. As a result of this work, Arthur wanted to come to St Michael’s and speak to our students directly. Ryan and Adrian conducted an incisive and thoughtful interview with Arthur in front of a packed audience in G18. This interview will be published in full in the 2024 edition of The St Michael’s Review. Stay tuned for a fascinating insight into Arthur’s life growing up in British Guiana and his arrival in the UK, his numerous accomplishments as a long standing Windrush champion, a youth leader and radio broadcaster during the 70s and 80s, and, of course, his ground-breaking work with Sam king. Arthur also expanded on his ongoing research and work as a Historian, focusing on the achievements of Black Britons such as Olaudah Equiano and Ignatius Sancho, and his international connections to commemorate special historic figures including a recent visit to Barbados to help establish a monument to the 1816 Bussa rebellion. Arthur also kindly gifted the college new publications of two books: the first a collection of Windrush generation poetry entitled ‘Tallawah’ (meaning strong, fearless and mighty), and the second a focus text on John Richards, one of the passengers on HMT Windrush. These signed copies are now in the 6th Form Library.

A History of Brixton and Tulse Hill Boys School

During St Michael’s Diversity Week, we were pleased to be presented with the History of Brixton by Robin Whitburn of UCL. The presentation opened with the background of key figures all having involvement with Tulse Hill Boys School, including Muhammad Ali, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Paul Stephenson and Althea Jones LeCointe. Not far from the school in 1973 police arrested 3 young black men, one of which attended the school, Robin Sterling, on the premise of them fitting the description. All three were charged and sentenced in ‘74 to 3 years in prison. The same year Ali made an appearance at Tulse Hill for free and sparred a student in an unexpected spectacle. Black students from the school also marched for the release of the victims, resulting in the release of two boys the following year, and the final one after that. This allowed the Black community to become more vocal about excessive and violent policing. The Brixton community have a proud tradition of providing light in times of darkness. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was the home of the British Black Panther’s youth collective, and a base for the operations of the British Black Panther movement. The Brockwell 3 case was mirrored in that of Olive Morris, who was sexually harassed and taken into custody by the police at age 17 following an racially aggravated incident between the police and a Nigerian diplomat. Olive died in 1979 and essentially caused the formation of the Brixton Black Women’s group. The History of struggle and protest in Brixton carries on years past this, with, amongst other events, the Battle of Lewisham 1977 and the Brixton Riots and New Cross Fire of 1981, reaching a point today where Brixton is a beacon in London for Black struggle. I found this lecture both moving and empowering and it has encouraged me to conduct further research into local Black History. Looking forward to the next “Big Ideas” lecture series!

Gibson E, 13SA