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: Two deer fight, overlayed with the logos of Oxford City Council on one side, and Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University on the other A similar sense of dread is settling over Oxford as it was in the panicked last week of Hilary Term. We know a little more about the virus than […]
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Image description: An aerial view of the Radcliffe Camera. October 2020 marks the centenary of female students being allowed to matriculate and graduate from the University of Oxford for the first time. The occasion calls for commemoration of all that has changed in that time, as well as reflection on what still needs to be […]
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Image description: Left: me outside my natural habitat holding a tin of alcohol as I watch the boat race, with my thumb held up. Right: a blurry photo of me, in my natural habitat, dancing in a nightclub, hands waving. You really don’t need to drink at uni. I know, it’s contrary to popular opinion […]
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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 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: 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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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: 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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I’m not a member of the Oxford Union. And I’m proud of that. As a naïve freshling, I certainly toyed with the idea of joining the Union. The illustrious halls, inspiring speakers, and the reputation which seems to precede this institution almost inspired me. But, in the end, I decided that I had better things […]
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Image description: students in subfusc standing outside the Radcliffe Camera Following the announcements about the plans for the next academic year from Cambridge and others, it is safe to assume that some kind of social distancing will need to be enforced in Michaelmas term. There was even a nod to this in the most recent […]
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Image Description: A student studying from home at their desk. When it comes to considering whether or not to continue work, Oxford is in a reasonably unique position as a UK university. Most other universities use their summer term exclusively for exams, and break up early. Even Cambridge students tend not to have much other […]
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Image description: Kellogg College dining hall with bottles and cutlery Picture this: it’s a Wednesday in fifth week and you’re back in hall again. You may be sitting in a centuries-old hall designed by some very well-known now dearly deceased architect, with the roof high above you held up by beautiful dark beams that criss-cross […]
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Oxford City Council, in partnership with Pembroke College, has provided over 15,000 free meals to Oxford’s homeless population since the 4th of April in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Oxford Student has learned that the council secured over 120 rooms previously used as student accommodation in order to house rough sleepers, alongside providing breakfast […]
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Zero Gravity, a new digital mentoring start-up, has launched today. Building on the success of Access Oxbridge, Zero Gravity seeks to pair students looking to apply to any university with undergraduate mentors from Oxbridge and Russell Group Universities. Students will receive mentoring and application advice via the Zero Gravity app up to and beyond receiving […]
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