Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Jackie Brown reflects on the climate crisis close to home. On my journey home this Christmas Vacation, my plane descended into a landscape I no longer recognised. An unfamiliar sky where clouds had been replaced by a thick, impenetrable blanket that seemed to be suffocating everything beneath it. A blurred, dark outline of a city […]
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Elis Harrington explores the merging of reality and fantasy in the city of Oxenfurt From Inspector Morse to Alice in Wonderland, Oxford has been the inspiration for countless works of art, literature and film. This hardly comes as a surprise, I’m sure. Even when taking a dreary glance out of a library window in what […]
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As every advert, film, and song reminds us: Christmas is a magical time, and there is so much to do (and so much to buy). You have decorations, music, family reunions and traditions, plenty of food, and of course, presents! Whether you’re celebrating it as a Christian holiday or not, if you’re going to spend this winter in […]
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Sarah Alford explores whether there is any value in rising early. At what point does the night officially turn into morning? We may have our 24 hour clock, but the social constructs are too elusive to be useful. I’d say, regardless of whether it’s light yet or not, the morning only truly starts at the point when […]
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Content Warning: sexual and physical assault, victim-blaming, depression, suicidal ideation When people find out I returned from my year abroad, they naturally ask how it was. I usually enjoy being honest, but here I hesitate to say: “Well, someone did some non-consensual things to me in bed, tried to strangle me, and I ended up […]
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Advertisements for teaching abroad summer camps are a common sight on JCR pages in Hilary and Trinity, with China being one of the most common destinations. That’s how I ended up spending the summer vacation teaching English – I wanted to travel abroad to Asia and saw four weeks teaching in Guangzhou as a fair […]
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As one treks through the vast expanse of Magdalen College’s grounds in the deep dark of November’s winter, one can feel only trepidation. But for what? For feral deer leaping out of the dark? For the hidden banks that come out of nowhere and slide you down into a cold, chilly Isis? A blazing inferno around which […]
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As the darkness approaches earlier each evening and the essay crises (or problem sheet calamities – not that I know about those, instead hiding in the depths of the library to study literature) grow more frequent, there’s a glimmer of light in the shape of BBC iPlayer at 8pm every Thursday. You can find me, on a quiet […]
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I went into the Edinburgh Fringe Review without any real expectations. I signed up to do it on a last-minute whim, applied for a travel grant from college, and the next thing I knew I was on the train to Scotland. The concept was appealing: a week sharing a flat in central Edinburgh with a […]
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Living in Oxford sometimes feel like living in a bubble: the big quads, formal halls and black-tie events seem to bring us ever further away from reality. I wished so many times that I could go back to the normal-looking, charming streets back home with shops that don’t just sell souvenirs or over-priced food. But […]
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From cannon-bluster to the Turl Street dash, and from recognition in the Daily Mail in 1979 to more modern recognition as a particularly fierce rivalry on Wikipedia, the Turl Street rivalry between Exeter and Jesus is rather exciting, as far as college rivalries go. Compare the pitiful ‘wars’ of recent times exemplified by the petty […]
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If I’d heard the word “Paris” before July this year, I’d have thought of the Eiffel Tower, croissants, nice coffee, cultured, attractive people, and enough cheese, bread and wine to make any Tesco aisle look poorly and scarcely stocked. Or maybe world-renowned art galleries with original masterpieces dating back centuries. Or King Louis XIV’s monumental […]
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Swapping the dreaming spires of Oxford for the twisting spires of Barcelona. ‘Puc fer-te una pregunta?’ Can I ask you a question? Honestly, I’m in a hurry, running an Oxford five minutes late and sweating slightly. I get asked questions all the time. Does it have to be now? It helps to be addressed in a language […]
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When I first heard of Charity Concierge, I couldn’t believe my ears. Free tickets to the Latitude Festival in exchange for a mere three shifts of menial labour – a little light tent pegging here, a spot of waitressing there – and the added benefit of raising money for an excellent charity? Count me in. […]
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Imposter syndrome is an idea spoken about a lot in Oxford, especially during the start of the academic year. It’s the feeling that you don’t quite belong here – that your offer was a result of a mistake and someone else should have been accepted instead. Imposter syndrome is not unique to Oxford, but the […]
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Image description – Library books tunnel The ‘Oxford bubble’ is a concept we all know well – when in the bubble you can think of nothing but your Oxford workload. Completing your essay feels like a matter of life and death. But it is also a dangerous one. When I was in my worst place, […]
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Bethan Roberts reflects on the stress of collections As everyone knows, the best way to start a term at Oxford is with a healthy burst of exam stress. At least it must be, since every term begins with a collection. As I start my final year, I still do not understand collections. As we all […]
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Sarah Alford challenges the popular perception of the clubbing scene I went to a Freshers’ clubbing night on Wednesday. Not the sort of anecdote I expected to be telling, for I would ascribe the same amount of enjoyment experienced on a night out as to what I feel during collections I haven’t revised for. But […]
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The season is now, officially, over. On the day before the temperature dropped from 33°C to 22°C the plaza was packed, with Parisiens, locals and international holiday-makers alike. And what a spectacle it was, with an 80s music concert and performances of Saracen twirling and fire dancing. The sparks literally flew 5 metres into the […]
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