Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
I am a Crankstart scholar, and I am proud of it. For those who are unaware, the Crankstart scholarship is offered to Oxford students from lower household income backgrounds, and comes in the form of financial aid and career development help. Frankly, the support which the university provides for its scholars is pretty much unparalleled; […]
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Image Description: a close-up photo of a condenser microphone against a purple background Picture this: it’s 2008. Britney Spears has just shaved her head! It’s in all the magazines and game show Family Fortunes US runs a round on it. “What has Britney Spears lost this year?” “Her husband! Her hair! Her sanity!” cry the […]
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Image description: A hand holding a smoking blunt, on a green background. The Amsterdam city council recently made headlines with a proposal to ban foreign tourists from visiting the city’s world-famous coffeeshops. These establishments, which use the name as a euphemism for cannabis dispensaries, have long been a part of Amsterdam’s international identity, to the […]
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Image description: Doughnuts on a light blue background. The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed our economies, decimated industries, and cost millions their jobs. While this was taking place, our skies got clearer, our carbon footprints diminished, dolphins returned to the waters of Venice, and we took time to appreciate nature around us – after all, exercise […]
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Image description: A woman in a yellow protective suit puts on a white face mask. “We have failed in our collective capacity”, reported a recent WHO panel, “to create a protective web of human security”. Whilst measuring the comparative effectiveness of every state and territory may be difficult, it is becoming more evident that the […]
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Image Description: four hands raised from the bottom of the photo, each holding up a wad of cash When shopping online, the option to pay the full amount upfront is now often challenged by the alternative of paying in smaller weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly interest-free instalments, over a set period of time, using the […]
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Image Description: three syringes with colourful liquid inside, in front of a flag of the EU. Vaccines! Our saving grace! Well…maybe not for the European Union. In light of a more protracted approval process when it came to the candidate vaccines themselves, and the recent spat with AstraZeneca, the EU as a whole is far […]
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Image description: A fist in front of the Tunisian flag. Often touted as the sole success story of the Arab Spring, Tunisia remains troubled ten years on. As the birthplace of the Arab Spring, Tunisia is cited as evidence that democracy, the rule of law and peaceful political participation can be established, and even flourish, […]
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Image Description: a line of beer taps in a pub. Those who know me will know that I am partial to a pint or two. But, prior to alcoholic beverages entering my life, pubs already had a place in my heart. Not only do I come from a family of publicans, and lived in a […]
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Image Description: the White House, with an American flag flying for impact. PROPOSITION (Danial Hussain) America is divided. Martin Luther King described this dichotomy. On one side there is an America that pioneers and innovates, a country of optimism, determination and industry. On the other side is an America that feeds on hatred and division, […]
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Image Description: Joe Biden speaking and standing behind a podium The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States earlier this month may have brought a sense of optimism and a sigh of relief to millions, but it is far too soon to become complacent. Biden, working alongside the history-making Vice […]
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Image Description: the Kremlin on a sunny day On Sunday, prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was detained just minutes after he landed in Moscow, denied access to his lawyers and promptly jailed for 30 days. This marks a new turn in the messy spiral of Russian political developments that have taken place since his poisoning […]
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Image description: Stage at the final Republican Party debate, hosted by Fox News, before the 2016 Iowa caucuses at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa. When was enough, enough? That is the question on which the Republican Party, its representatives and its leadership these past four years will be judged by history. Last […]
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Image Description: students sitting exams in an exam hall News of the cancellation of GCSEs and A-Levels in England came unexpectedly to students this year who, up until this point, had been emphatically assured that these would go ahead as planned. This decision came almost one month after Wales and Scotland also called off examinations. […]
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Image description: A protest, with banners with slogans like “Stop Killer Drones”. On Saturday 12th December, youth representatives from 20 countries, alongside members of the UN Disarmament Committee, representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Director of Human Rights Watch Japan, convened online for the International Student Conference on Fully Autonomous Weapons. […]
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Image description: A crib and a teddy bear mobile. The American model, Chrissy Teigen, and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, have both recently shared very honest accounts of their respective miscarriages. Teigen publicly shared her feelings of grief on Instagram following the loss of her third child due to complications in her pregnancy. The […]
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Image description: positive messages (“Don’t give up”, “You are not alone”, “You matter”) displayed on signs on a chain link fence. Student mental health has been at the forefront of many conversations since the first lockdown back in March. Most, if not all, of the administrative emails I have received since the end of Hilary […]
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Image description: A row of shops, with a Christmas tree in the middle. Will I shed a tear for Debenhams, the department store that has withstood total collapse for so long? The store opened first in 1778, withstanding wars, depressions, the invention of modern life, and even my working there as a Christmas Temp, despite […]
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Image description: The Whitehall sign, which reads: ‘Whitehall, SW1, City of Westminster’. Dominic Cummings left 10 Downing Street as he entered it — through the front door, with the nation’s cameras watching. A special advisor, he enjoyed unusual influence in a PM’s team, and a higher public profile than many senior frontbenchers. We should all be […]
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