Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
It’s a sad fact of the internet that many things done in earnest end up as hideous parodies of the original cause. The term ‘meninist’ could be found circa 2001 on feminism.org, simply referring to male feminists. The word really exploded this year, however, after the account @MeninistTweet came on to the scene to “satirise” […]
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On December 8th, 2014, a poll conducted by Conservative Home for the future Conservative leadership yielded the following results: in first place came, Theresa May, second was Boris Johnson and third, George Osborne. With the demotion of Mr. Gove in the latest reshuffle, it seems very likely that the contest will indeed be a battle […]
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The movies love Christmas. Ultimately, that’s because we love Christmas. We all know about the magic and splendour of Christmas as a child, but what we less often recognise is that there is a different but equally potent magic: a magic that takes hold of us at Christmas, as adults. Whatever our feelings about the […]
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“The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well you do not stand in one place” Chinua Achebe “Do they know it’s Christmas?” Well of course they bloody do. They’ll probably go to Church, and then spend the day with their families. I find the return of Geldof’s fundraising wonder song […]
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The Feast of All Souls and Remembrance Sunday at the beginning of November always mark a period of time when we are reminded of our departed loved ones and those who have fallen whilst serving their country. Remembrance Sunday is the day traditionally set aside to remember all those who have given their lives for […]
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Due to technical errors, the publication of this article was delayed by two weeks. Faced with grizzly videos of beheadings and massacres, the demand that something must be done about the so-called Islamic State (Isis) is a natural reaction. Moreover, given the hundreds of billions of dollars the west spends on defence, it seems reasonable […]
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Oxford plays host to any number of would-be authors/English students, but LP Lee is the real deal. Her short story, ‘Reflections’, appeared in the Oxbridge anthology ‘The Obsidian Poplar and Other Stories’, and is on its way to becoming a film, alongside two of her other tales ‘The Feast’ and ‘The House of Locks’. Lee’s […]
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The American and British people are being lied to. The arguments being made for intervention to counter the rise of ISIL in Iraq and Syria and to placate the Western public make little sense in the broader context of the situation. In seeking to appease both those who desire a cautious approach as well as […]
Continue ReadingThere is no doubt that today, British politics is undergoing change on a scale we have not seen in three decades, with the rise of UKIP’s populism and the electoral implosion of the Liberal Democrats. We saw the first in UKIP’s victory at this year’s European elections, and it will probably continue in a crushing […]
Continue ReadingIt is not uncommon for people in the UK to suggest total disarmament as a solution to the United States’ gun problem. Far removed from the realities of the US, the right to keep and bear arms seems strange to many people here. However, to suggest that “disarming US civilians and police” is in any […]
Continue ReadingThe link between Elliot Rodger’s massacre and the Indian gang-rapes has not been considered. A subtle cultural sensationalism permeated Western reports on the latter; Indian newspapers, too busy focussing on the political upheaval or perhaps immured to the horror, simply ignored them. Remove the colour of the assailants’ skin, throw away their weapons, peel them […]
Continue ReadingMassacres have become a pretty staple American event, it seems. Coverage simply seems to lurch from Columbine to Virginia Tech to Sandy Hook and so many others. Now, it’s Santa Barbara’s turn. Each killer has their ‘quirks’ – Rodger came from a privileged, sheltered background, albeit one affected by his parents’ divorce. His 140 page […]
Continue ReadingAs a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize adds her name to the growing exodus of speakers from the Oxford Union, the Union President, Ben Sullivan, has finally issued a response. Not wanting to be left off the Open Letter bandwagon, he has written to speakers declaring that any attempt to boycott the Union offends […]
Continue ReadingWhat policy has support from 52% of Tories, 79% of Labour voters, 73% of UKIP fruitcakes and 64% of the few remaining Liberal Democrats, yet is condemned as being wildly left wing? That’s right, renationalising the railways!
Continue ReadingYou would be hard pressed to have missed the latest charity craze sweeping Oxford at the moment. ‘Live Below The Line’ challenges participants to live on £1 a day for 5 days in order to raise awareness of the global poverty which so many people across the world sadly live in. The website says that […]
Continue ReadingDo you know what LGBTQ really stands for? It’s a shortened version of LGBTQPIAA+ – the ‘PIAA’ standing for pansexuals, intersex, asexuals, and the rather vague ‘allies’, with anyone left out of the full nine-letter acronym being lumped into the ‘+’. Now, that’s a tad too long for most people, so usually we shorten it […]
Continue ReadingA lot has been written on the NUS conference, so I will quickly summarise my argument to avoid re-reading: the NUS is not great, but we have to stick with it.
Continue ReadingDuring a discussion of the recent news that many graduates will have to continue student loan repayments well into their fifties, BBC One Breakfast presenter Charlie Stayt suggests that “it’s hard to draw any other conclusion other than that this is a system that doesn’t work”. Even if his conclusion is in fact correct, to […]
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