Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
“I have often thought that nothing would do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in every county, to consist of a few well-chosen books, to be lent to the people of the country” Thomas Jefferson, 1809. In Ghana, illiteracy is a chronic problem. UNICEF reports that […]
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Fired up by the electric experience of rowing I had experienced in the Christchurch regatta, I set to work during the Christmas vacation to increase my fitness and come back sporty enough to be able to compete in Torpids. Torpids – also known as ‘Bumps’ – are the Hilary races, open to rowers of all […]
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Coming to university means broadening horizons, being introduced to new ideas and concepts, people and cultures. For a Londoner born and bred, one distinctive group I have had to come to grips with have been ‘Northerners’. People from ‘The North’ are not just people from Northern England. In fact it seems as if this place […]
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Despite the obvious educational prestige associated with the city of Oxford, schools in our local area suffer from some of the lowest pupil attainment at GCSE level in the country – Oxford was ranked 320th out of 324 areas in England for this in 2012. This is inextricably linked to social and economic deprivation in […]
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Exam season is well and truly coming. The sun has begun occasionally appearing over Port Meadow, finalists have disappeared into the bowels of their rooms, and the first pictures of ecstatically trashed students have begun to appear on our Facebook feeds. Following on the tail of these picture-postcards of the Oxford summer comes a highly […]
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17/12/12. The news of the horrific gang-rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in India’s capital city, Delhi, captured the imagination of a nation. Protesters, both men and women, filled the streets to demonstrate their solidarity and anger at such assaults. They continued there for over a month, despite increasing police violence, leading to the formation […]
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Starter: An unlikely find, but serendipitous nonetheless, spotted on a Sunday stroll in downtown Lisbon. Landeau, with its low-arching brick ceilings, is more monastic than your average chain and the tasteful lighting and décor transform the potential gloom of the side-street premises, revealing a central table area dotted with dim beams from overhead lamps, matched […]
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When deciding where to venture for a break this summer, initial suggestions are unlikely to arrive at Eastern Europe, or more unlikely still, Slovenia. Not the most obvious destination for a holiday, yet that in itself adds to its appeal, as uncharted territory. Although most would then assume the capital Ljubljana as the only known […]
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University can be conceptualised as a microcosm of society as a whole. A community with the same interests and enjoyments of wider society, but also with the same challenges. One of these challenges which seems to be increasingly important with the pressures of modern society is mental health problems. Whether the University is successful or […]
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Argentina is the land of broken promise. With vast tracts of land and unexploited resources, this nation should have been able to build herself into an economic powerhouse. Yet a 20th century wracked by bitter political division and economic disaster have reduced Argentina to a shadow of its potential. Nowhere is this clearer than in […]
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The issue of climate change has been put on the sideline of politics for too long and left to charities, NGOs and activists to bring to the forefront of societal concerns. Climate change is an issue that affects us all and so should be given centre stage in any discussion of the future of our […]
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I write this as it pours with rain outside; it’s a dull Wednesday in 5th week, approaching 4am in the morning, and the prospect of three translations to do by tomorrow is becoming less of the faint prospect it was a couple of days ago and more of a threatening reality – and the only […]
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In the midst of the polemic over Le Pen’s visit to the Union, a comment piece appeared in the fourth edition of the Oxford Student, which had the courtesy to mention the Oxford Marxists. The article repeated the liberal mantra that far-right populists like Le Pen should be given a platform for the sake of “freedom of […]
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As the visit of Marine le Pen to the Union fades into the relative distance, the ideologies of the no-platformers, claiming to act on our behalf through OUSU, must continue to be challenged. It is outdated, indefensible and hypocritical- even more so due to the fact it is espoused in all our names. The ineffectiveness […]
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It’s archaic, unfair, unnecessary, elitist and offensive, and the university should put a stop to it, some argue. Depending on what headline has been put above this piece, there’s a fair chance you won’t have guessed the subject I’m talking about. To be fair, Oxford has quite a few things that would fit the description: […]
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Despite the violence we all see on TV, we live in a remarkably peaceful age. The global economy is more integrated than ever before, and major wars between states are rare. Though it is dangerous to guarantee anything in international relations, the prospect of a global conflict seems more distant than at any point in […]
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Last year, during my much-awaited Christmas vac break, I saw a Facebook status which really hit home. A fellow fresher had posted, twinned with a “feeling frustrated” emoji, the following words- “I don’t quite understand what vacation stands for, in Oxford terms – it surely must stand for the action of vacating our rooms, rather […]
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When the Aam Aadmi – Common Man’s – Party first stepped in to politics, you’d have been tempted to laugh at their prospects. An anti-corruption party, with no experience of governance, taking on the established big guns of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seemed unlikely to make headway in the quagmire-cum-minefield of Indian […]
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I am a defender of free speech. Being able to express your opinion, especially dissenting views, is important for social progress. There was a time when democracy and equality were the radical ideas of the day and, had free speech not prevailed, we would be living in a very different world. Admittedly, some ideas are […]
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