Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image credit: Voice of America Imagine a world in which the British government monitored your life, controlling whether you could purchase the home you desired, judging your behaviour and rewarding and punishing you as they saw fit. This goes far beyond the dystopian world created by Black Mirror, in which tyranny of the crowd created […]
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We are two undergraduate students studying at Hertford College, Oxford, both heavily involved in the Widening Participation sphere within and outside of the University. With one of us having been educated at a state comprehensive and the other coming from a BAME background, we were struck by the results of the Undergraduate Admissions Report and […]
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There is not much lightness in Jordan Peterson’s touch. He stands before his audiences slightly hunched, often with lowered eyes and a sullen expression on his face. His manner carries a brooding intensity which matches the solemn urgency of his speech: this is an unusual approach for someone who can be not unfairly described as […]
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The result of the Republic of Ireland’s referendum signalled a historic shift in the rights of women. After weeks of a hard-fought campaign, and years of activism by others, Ireland has finally allowed women to make their own decisions. Whilst we should rightly celebrate this momentous victory, the tragic fact remains that, in the North, […]
Continue ReadingPopular wisdom has it that on October 1517 an Augustinian monk nailed a series of propositions to a door of a church in Wittenberg (Germany). His name was Martin Luther, and he was presenting his ninety-five arguments against the presumed power of Catholic-sold indulgences to save unshriven souls from the pains of Purgatory, that ‘place’ […]
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Breaking out of the Oxford bubble I’ve lost count of the number of times these words, or a similar selection, were said to me during my final year at Oxford. “The world is your oyster, you can do whatever you want to do!” They were usually delivered to me by a well-meaning human, ranging […]
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Two of our writers go head to head on the Oxford Union’s debate “This house believes Britain should be ashamed of Churchill?” Yes, Upasna Saha As an American, I confess that I will never viscerally understand Britain’s veneration of Winston Churchill, although my home country similarly deifies divisive figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Theodore […]
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Surviving the Manchester Arena bombing, one year on At 22:31 on May 22nd, 2017, a terrorist detonated an explosive in the lobby of Manchester Arena, following an Ariana Grande concert. 22 victims lost their lives, with at least 64 injured – it was a moment that shook a nation. And, on a smaller scale, […]
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James Dellingpole recently wrote a horrible attack on Queen’s college for calmly pointing out their displeasure with professional troll Brendan O’Neill visiting their college. He refers to them as losers, toerags, illiterate, and hysterical, while failing to actually address the points in the letter. So, we all know what Delingpole is like, but this problem […]
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It has been over 13 years since the Hunting Act came into force in England and Wales, but the debate still continues to provoke strong reactions on both sides. However, few topics are so governed by emotion and hyperbole and not by reasoned, sensible debate on the facts. When the Conservatives included a free vote […]
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The media today is in a state of flux. The word media itself covers a broad spectrum – from social media to print journalism, television broadcasting to blog posts – and there is much uncertainty as to how we process information and data in a complex technological world. Underpinning every platform or device, however, is […]
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For our first debate feature of the term, two of our Comment team members recently attended a debate hosted by the pro Second Referendum Campaign Group “Our Future Our Choice” between Lord Adonis and David Goodhart. Here are their views on the question of whether or not we should hold another referendum. Yes, Angus […]
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As of April 6th, UK shoppers have paid between 18 and 24p more for a litre of sugary drinks, depending on their sugar content. Following researchers’ findings that teenagers consume over three times the recommended amount of ‘free’ sugars (those which have been artificially added to food stuffs), the UK government is imposing the tax […]
Continue ReadingOn a July day in 2016 the soon to be President of the United States, Donald Trump, was campaigning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His electoral chances seemed dire, and the Republican nominee was all too aware of his unpopularity, even among die-hard conservatives. His response to them was simple: you don’t need to love me, […]
Continue ReadingIn November last year, the Head of Ofsted Amanda Spielman said her inspectors would speak to young girls wearing hijabs in school to “ascertain why they do so”. Reasons given would be recorded in school reports. Spielman previously supported Neena Lall, head of St Stephen’s Primary School, and its hijab ban, and has been criticised […]
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Ask anyone in the UK what their first thoughts are when discussing Wales and the obvious stereotypes will come up: sheep, rugby, choirs, beer, Gareth Bale, and that country that still has an ancient language. It’s an awfully crude set of generalisations for a country with such a rich and diverse history and vibrant culture, […]
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Over two years on from stridently declaring “I don’t mind trade wars we’re losing a billion a year”, Donald Trump has finally started one. After imposing $50 billion worth of trade tariffs on China on the 3rd April, Trump has been met with a decidedly hostile Chinese retaliation, with China now proposing what the American […]
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It might come as a shock that three out of every four British companies and public entities pay male staff more, on average, than they pay female workers. But then again, it might not. With the arrival of the April 4th deadline for British companies to disclose gender pay gap figures, a familiar story unravels, […]
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In 1984, the telecoms giant AT&T (or “The Bell Corporation”) was broken up for violating US anti-trust laws. If you have been following this topic, this is a fact that you will no doubt have read about in a dozen other opinion pieces in the last fortnight. The pioneering antitrust suit which broke the company […]
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