Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: A pile of blue masks. Lockdown is a social responsibility – Rita Kimijima-Dennemeyer It’s true that the number of severe cases and fatalities have dropped significantly since April. We also have a better idea now of who will be most severely affected by coronavirus, and the good news for the majority of university-age […]
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Image description: a close shot of the side of a police car Morality patrols. That’s what my Dad remembers about his Bristol University Halls. Marching up and down the corridors past the watershed to catch any lanky geek who was lucky enough to have pulled. This would have seemed completely and utterly ridiculous only a […]
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The government’s ‘Moonshot’ testing scheme, announced this week, is aiming high: 10 million tests a day, 15 minutes for a test to be returned, £100 billion price tag. But the UK is currently so far from the Moonshot ideal the plan sounds nonsensical. And there’s no point to it – or to any kind of […]
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The clinical trials of the joint Oxford University and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) have been halted after a participant suffered a ‘potentially unexplained illness.’ A statement released on 8 September 2020, stated that a participant in the Oxford-based trials had a suspected serious adverse reaction, resulting in a pause in testing, though it is not […]
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Image description: a photograph of Christ Church, taken from the meadows I realised how alone I was in my application to Oxford when I was mistakenly taken away from a lesson one morning to sit the TSA. For admissions to Geography in 2018, no admissions test was required. Through no fault of their own – […]
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Image description: Ed Davey on a yellow background. These past five years, you had to feel sorry for us Liberal Democrats. It would take a cold heart indeed to ignore our plight, whatever your political views. We have staggered lethargically from leader to leader, a rudderless ship swept this way and that by events. Two […]
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“I’m very, very glad that it has finally been sorted out”. These were the words of Boris Johnson on Wednesday, speaking to a group of students at a school in Leicestershire. Yet, it turns out (come on, someone at least pretend to be surprised) that this is complete and utter rubbish. 1900 state schools in […]
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From freshers’ week to Christmas dinner, Michaelmas is usually a term filled with fun and festivity. This year, it’ll look slightly different. Students are returning to Oxford’s halls for the first time since March – though not to Exam Schools or the Four Candles but to online lectures, staircase bubbles, and outdoor boozing at a […]
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Image description: a Jewish Yamaka against a black background. In recent days, disturbing reports have come out of war-torn Yemen. That is nothing new. These days, it is strange for a report from Yemen not to be disturbing. Yet this recent news will probably go unreported in the West. Because the subject of this news […]
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Image description: an aerial view of London, and the river Thames flowing down the centre of the photo. “To attract and admit students from all backgrounds with outstanding academic potential and the ability to benefit from an Oxford education.” This is the first commitment of the university’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan. While Oxford is far from […]
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Image description: a student holding an open book against her face. Error upon error has marked this year’s exam season. Prioritising avoiding grade inflation rather than fairness led to A Level chaos, and then a sudden change to BTec results caused widespread confusion: it seems that every consideration was made other than for the welfare […]
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Image description: blurred picture from inside the London tube with young male waiting at the stop in focus. Cuts, debts, loans and fees – the economic impact of coronavirus on the nation’s stability has meant this financial jargon is at the forefront of government discussions and news debates. One area inextricable from such discourses? Transport. […]
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Image description: woman receives face massage with a towel around her head as her skin is moisturised In amongst the controversies of the past few weeks, there has been growing fury over the re-opening of beauty salons and clinics. The guidance for the beauty industry in the pandemic has not been received well by those […]
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Image Description: Dramatic depiction of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine in an overcast day. In 2017, France defied the populist wave by choosing centrist banker Emmanuel Macron instead of the far-Right’s Marine Le Pen by a significant margin. Pundits in the English-speaking world lauded the French for their prudence. After Brexit and Trump, the […]
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Image description: an older man looking sadly into the distance When Number 10 first floated the idea of an over-50s lockdown, the reaction from those who would be asked to isolate was best described as indignant. Rarely has the phrase “ok boomer” seemed quite so apt. Many were furious, calling the policy ageist and unfair. […]
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Image description: K.K. Shailaja, Kerala’s health minister, smiling Kerala is a small state on India’s Malabar Coast – home to 35 million people and renowned for its peaceful backwaters and the tea-covered mountains of the Western Ghats. Despite being over 5,000 miles away from the UK, Kerala’s careful yet unrelenting response to the COVID-19 pandemic […]
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Access initiatives at Oxford spend a lot of time trying to portray an equality across colleges. This includes their culture and what they have to offer which can help students decide what space is right for them. This is problematic and here is why. Growing up in East London, I always had ethnic minority peers […]
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Image description: A white cassette tape on its side. Hip hop is the genre of the downtrodden, disadvantaged and voiceless. It also isn’t one to shy away from social issues: since the days of N.W.A and Public Enemy, rappers and MCs have been speaking out against police brutality and the American criminal justice system’s dire need […]
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Image description: The Statue of Liberty in fog. Fourth of July for my family is usually a sizable affair, as for most. We have potlucks and barbecues with our friends, go to festivals and watch the annual fireworks in our city. Events are always highly attended and for everyone it is a way to put […]
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