Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Before the lockdown, St Cross was a far livelier college than its unassuming exterior suggests. We have one of the smallest front doors of all Oxford colleges, but behind that is a community of over five hundred students. We have bops, speaker events, and an assortment of societies, all within the confines of a very […]
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As a child, I used to think I could control traffic lights with my eyes. The logic was if I squinted hard enough the little red man would turn into a little green one. I would think I was special, but my mother would just think I had hay fever. I stopped believing this in […]
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Image Description: ‘Welcome to the Sunny Side of Oxford’ reads on a restaurant’s exterior From Jesus College’s vote for divestment to the reopening of Najar’s (just outside John’s), there’s plenty of good news in Oxford from second week—read on to find out more optimistic news about Oxford! Getting the Ball Rolling The Oxford University Hockey […]
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It was the end of 8th week Hilary: the last week of term. There is something inexplicable about the way that Oxford life – and the city itself – becomes a strange bubble during the term. Each of us gets sucked into a routine of sorts, moving from college to college, library to library, faculty […]
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Image description: Abi Owen, author, holds a bow and arrow I remember leaving Oxford with elbow-bumps, laughing and joking and shouting “see you in October”. I remember going home on the train, using hand sanitiser while trying to sit as far away from people as possible. I remember watching videos of people in quarantine in […]
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The prospect of online tutorials initially strikes dread into many of our hearts. What if I get trapped alone in a video call with my tutor? How on earth do we break the painful silences? There is a distance that comes with speaking to someone via a camera rather than in person, and it is […]
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When news of the lockdown hit, a week into the vacation, I knew I was in trouble. I thrive on certainty and low-energy social interaction – two things a lockdown was guaranteed to take away. This – an indefinitely long period of isolation in a town that I was very happy to leave – was […]
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Image Description: several A4 pages stuck on the wall read “Tessa Marry Me?” It’s not an easy time. Every email and conversation starts with “I hope you’re safe and well”, “…in spite of these difficult circumstances”, “strange times”, or, my personal favourite, “a warm virtual welcome”. It feels almost weird not to talk about it—and it […]
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As Oxford term kicks in, there is no denying that us students must get back into some kind of routine. For most, the past few weeks have been anything but normal. According to the World Economic Forum 2.6 billion people worldwide were living under lockdown in early April. Where measures have been strictly implemented, the […]
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Ever felt overwhelmed? Or perhaps you don’t feel good enough? Perhaps you struggle for motivation, or a sense of worth? These are all common amongst the population, at universities, and, of course, at Oxford. It’s in light of this that I can highly recommend Oxford’s 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy programme. It might be interesting to […]
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Image Description: May Morning celebrated by revellers costumed in leaves and greenery Oxford’s May Morning is a tradition which has contributed to the unique mythology and mysticism surrounding Oxford. The ancient festival of spring has been celebrated on 1st May for at least 1000 years—and crowds have gathered beneath Magdalen’s Great Tower for at least […]
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As the days started to blur into one, it was rather a shock to open my emails and see a message from our JCR President, welcoming us back for Trinity term. ‘Is that really how long it’s been now?’ I thought first, wondering where all those weeks had gone. My second thought was an altogether […]
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Sweaty selfies, videos of impressive loo roll kicking, and photos mysteriously captioned “until tomorrow”. As lockdown keeps people inside and online, social media challenges are springing up left and right. Most of these, like the toilet roll challenge, are a quick fix for isolation boredom. Others, like the “Run for Heroes” challenge, involve donations and […]
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Like many, I was in a state of denial about the scale of the pandemic. ‘Trinity might be cancelled!’ was half-heartedly thrown about as justification for another round of drinks at the college bar in eighth week and when my parents did pick me up at the end of term – a few days earlier […]
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One way I have always got through difficult moments is by thinking ahead to what good things are yet to come. It might be a holiday, a social event with friends, or the moment I save enough money to buy something I’ve really wanted. It’s a flawed coping mechanism really, because as soon as you […]
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Image description: a silver lining I think coronavirus is most usefully thought of as an uncontrollable act of nature. Like all natural disasters, it is a great reminder of both the fragility of human life and the fragility of our social infrastructure. We find the tragedy of death and illness paired with the loss of […]
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Oxford It was around 6th week. My home country, South Korea, was being ravaged by this new coronavirus. But I tried not to think of that – in Oxford, my new second home, there was so much work to do and so much life going on. Each time I’d submitted another essay I went on […]
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Image description: bridge graffiti reading “GIVE PEAS A CHANCE” For some, it might be a slightly unorthodox way of recognising the NHS and fighting back against the social disruption which has descended upon the country. But the graffiti message on an M25 bridge close to my motorway exit reading “Thank you NHS” is a big […]
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Staying at home has been onerous for many, and we’re all starting to miss the once ostensibly small but now perceivably luxurious activities that would assumedly come with the return home for the vac. There are many parts of the pre-COVID-19 world for which we all feel saudade; activities as futile as a stroll around […]
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