Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: Student on New Inn Hall Street with sticky notes reading: “send beer; corona is here”, “it’s his fault” (with an arrow pointing to the window above), and “patient zero” Recent news that students may face a two-week lockdown before being allowed to return home is typical of this government. It demonstrates a failure […]
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Image description: two students looking at some papers. Oxford’s yearly admissions statistics have recently been released, and on examination there are certainly things to celebrate: 68.4% of new undergraduates are from state schools. The ratio between students from the parts of the UK most likely to advance to higher education and those least likely has […]
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Image description: A grey circle on a yellow background, with the words ‘Never acceptable’ in white in the middle of the circle. The word ‘Never’ is scribbled out in red. Trigger Warning: rape, sexual assault, coercive control. Amid the headlines about Miss Rona’s reign of terror, another compelling tale of poor political decision-making took centre […]
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Image Description: the British Parliament, lit, at night Athena Kam: a blow to the rule of law ‘Participation in criminal conduct is an essential and inescapable feature’, states the British Government about their Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Bill, introduced on Thursday 24 September. The Bill permits otherwise illegal activities by MI5 and other public […]
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Image description: a fishing boat on choppy seas October 15th was Boris Johnson’s self-imposed deadline for talks with the EU. In September, the Prime Minister said that it would be time for both sides to “accept it and move on” if this date passed without meaningful agreement. Yet, trade agreements are fiddly things, and politicians […]
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Image description: a school classroom is pictured, with one student holding their hand up. The latest guidance from the Department for Education (DPE) banning British schools from using materials produced by organisations ‘that take extreme political stances’ has sparked much debate. Criticism towards these guidelines comes mainly from its categorisation of anti-capitalism as an extreme […]
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Image description: Boris Johnson standing at a podium Boris Johnson has had a pretty rough ride of it lately. Even The Telegraph had abandoned him, as his government struggled to pull together a cohesive strategy for COVID, as ministers refused to face Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain and as he recovered himself from what […]
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Image description: Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster Last Wednesday, following a deal at the eleventh hour, the government’s latest renewal of the Coronavirus Act passed through the House of Commons. Pressure from backbench Conservative rebels forced Number 10 to make several concessions, including giving MPs a final vote on any new national lockdown. […]
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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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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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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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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: 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: a women and boy walking along a dirt road Shamima Begum – the girl who left the UK to join ISIS aged 15 – was told this month that she can return to the UK in order to fight for her citizenship. The reasoning behind the ruling is that she was denied a […]
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Image Description: A photo of the Swan and Castle pub and a photo of the Four Candles pub side by side The British cultural institution and high street staple that is the pub chain Wetherspoons has always been rather divisive, not just because of the questionable food and lack of quirky charm which the best […]
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Image Description: Removal of a statue of the Shah in Tehran University during the revolution in 1978 Recent successes for the #RhodesMustFall movement has left many Oxford students with a sense of frustration. Of course, it’s good to see progress finally being made on this issue. What’s disappointing is the length of time it’s taken […]
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