Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
On 12 December over 46 million British citizens will be eligible to have their say on the last turbulent three and a half years of bruising, insufferable dither and delay at Westminster. I’m mainly talking Brexit terms here, but the domestic agenda, especially the zeitgeist climate issue, will play heavily on the minds of the […]
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Image Description – Young person at rally holding a sign Whilst an amendment to lower the voting age to 16 was rejected in Parliament, it has revived the long-standing debate amongst media over the desirability of lowering the voting age. Three questions need to be answered before: 1) whether it is worthwhile to make such […]
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As we move into the next General Election, more and more female Members of Parliament (MP) have announced their resignation. Despite claims made by conservative commentator Tom Harwood that only 19 out of 59 MPs are standing down, proportionate to 32% female representation in the UK Parliament; the Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Wollaston has argued […]
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Recently, a spate of cases from the Home Office have cropped up involving academics being threatened with deportation or having their or their children’s visas rejected. This has doubtless caused significant emotional and psychological turbulence for these academics, but we might go deeper and ask: Why now, are there so many patently unfair decisions being […]
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When we think of financial markets, the image that often comes to mind is that of sharp suited men closing deals for obscure financial instruments over the phone. Perhaps the cacophony of voices clammering out on a stock exchange floor is a more stereotypical portrayal. Whatever the idea, these transactions all seem to be far […]
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When reading the latest political headlines, do you find yourself asking: when did it all become a game? All the hectoring and sniping about niche problems, petty rivalries and personal attacks seem more designed to put down one’s opposition than about actual issues that people care about. And not just as a paean to “voter’s […]
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Amber Syed – COLLEGES ARE COLLEGES, NOT MUSEUMS Oxford is a city steeped in history – and not just its own, but that of this country and, by extension, the British Empire. These streets were a playground for the great state-makers and war-wagers of past and present, the backdrop to the intellects and ambitions that […]
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Reuben Cooper – DON’T BAN BORIS FROM BALLIOL IF YOU BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH Whatever your opinion of the man, to bar Boris Johnson from Balliol would be censorship in all but name. It would feed into the unfortunate stereotype of ‘wokeness’ or ‘snowflake-ism’, often touted by the political right to decry the increasing levels […]
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Indyref2 is in the headlines again. This time, there seems to be a credible route to a second Scottish Independence referendum happening; Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the SNP, has pledged to start a new referendum campaign at the Scottish National Party conference. Now seems like a better time than any to introduce a debate […]
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Extinction Rebellion, an environmental movement formed less than a year ago, has seemingly swept through every city in the Western world. Taking on a grassroots approach, the group has found significant success in large-scale protests organised by local activists. The seriousness of the issue and the validity of their concern is, I think, plain to […]
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It is undeniable that the current criminal justice system is plagued with a multiplicity of problems necessitating comprehensive reforms. The Conservatives’ plan, summarised by Patel’s dicta of “we are coming after you”, merely scratches the surface of a deeply complicated issue. Central to the crumbling criminal justice system is the severe lack of funding at […]
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On the 14th of October 2019, the Supreme Court of Spain sentenced 9 Catalan nationalist leaders to between 9 and 13 years of imprisonment for sedition and misuse of public funds, with 3 others sentenced for disobedience without prison time. This sentence, which had been anticipated since the October 2017 illegal referendum, has sparked violent […]
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Alongside the protests of broken hearts, the telephone numbers of crushes never rung, and the usual scribblings about rival gangs or local football teams, etched into the very centre of this wall, was something extraordinary. Driving through my hometown of Grimsby, two words could not be missed to those passing by. ‘No Deal Brexit’. The […]
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Let’s be clear. The acceptance of donations from and granting of naming rights to prominent billionaires does more than just slap a relatively unknown name on a building and help some students out. It entrenches the donor as a legitimate actor, as someone to look up to, a paragon of philanthropic decency. When Stephen Schwarzman […]
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With the announcement of Stephen A. Schwarzman’s £150 million donation to set up a centre for the humanities to the University, Oxford’s status as a premier location for humanities scholarship has been cemented. This donation will allow for different humanities faculties to be located close to each other with shared facilities, allowing for much greater […]
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Image Description: Pollution being emitted from factory chimneys Last year, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that we only have 10 years to avoid irreversible damage from climate change. Last week, world leaders failed to answer UN secretary-general Guterres’ request for renewable industry plans. This inaction is the reason why six million […]
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Image Description: Photo of the Radcliffe Camera Bleary eyed and bawling, a new group of students will find themselves thrust into the confusion and terror of Oxford University this October. Having passed through the group stages and achieved their offer, they’ll realise with dismay that the real contest begins now: the relentless pursuit of relevance […]
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Having converted to a meat-free lifestyle in my first year at Oxford, I felt I could live with a level of environmental smugness – I didn’t need to feel bad about my personal contributions to climate change because I hadn’t eaten beef in a year and a half. However, deep in the depths of long […]
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“I believe law should be accessible to applicants from all backgrounds”. With this awkward statement I began my unsuccessful application to the LawSoc General Committee in Michaelmas 2018. I remember toying with what to put next, how best to project my identity in the 50 words I had to impress the faceless arbiters of my […]
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