Page 15 - The Malvernian - July 2024

THE MALVERNIAN
Wheeler-Bennett Society
May 22nd saw the first meeting for the new cohort of the Wheeler- Bennett Society. Scarlett Guang talked about the stable marriage problem and who to approach at a party. This was linked with the Gale-Shapley algorithm where Scarlett introduced examples of where it was used in matching medical pupils with hospitals and how it is used to match internet users with websites of their interest. She also talked about the limitations of the algorithm and used a wide range of real life examples which kept the audience engaged for the duration of the presentation.
Leo Jin’s talk was titled “Beyond utopia: the realities of socialism”. He introduced the basics of the ideology, its different forms and variants, common discussions and some specific case studies about how different countries, past and present, succeeded or failed under socialism. It was a knowledge-packed and engaging
Confirmation
On Sunday 21 April the Bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd John Inge (President of the College) conducted the annual confirmation service in the College Chapel. Ten pupils from the College were joined by a teenager from Malvern Priory to be confirmed. In the service the confirmands made their declarations of faith and Archie Bubb and Sasha Filina spoke about the course of preparation and how much the group had gained an understanding of the person and work of Jesus and how they can grow in their faith through prayer and reading the bible. Enno Frost read the first lesson and the Chamber choir sang the anthems. Bishop John spoke of the love of God which is revealed in Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. After the service the newly confirmed, parents and guests enjoyed afternoon tea in the sunshine and a chance for photographs with Bishop John.
David Ibbotson | College Chaplain
talk, some quite high-level questions were asked and answered with great skill.
Maria Voronina gave her talk on the western “Saviour Complex,” neo-imperialism, and the myth of developing nations. In her talk, Maria explained how the underdevelopment of third world countries stems from centuries of colonial exploitation, where Western powers extracted resources and wealth, leading to lasting poverty as seen in her example of the East India Company. She discussed the conditions of Latin American countries post-independence, where these nations faced political repression and Western- backed coup d’états designed to maintain foreign interests and suppress local autonomy. Today, neo-imperialism persists through economic control, political manipulation, and misleading media narratives, all serving to keep these countries economically dependent and underdeveloped for the benefit of the Western world as multinational corporations continue to enjoy the supply of cheap labour and resources.
Friedrich Quigley gave his talk on the paradoxes of time travelling. In his talk, Fred covered the nemesis in the search for a time machine: what happens if you jump back in time and prevent your younger self from building a time machine in the first place? He demonstrated though that the future seems more accessible. On a spaceship, time seems to pass slowly relative to an observer on Earth - when the passengers return home, they have effectively travelled to the future.
THE MALVERNIAN
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