Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
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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Disabled students promised access to recorded lectures have been consistently denied this support by the University since its recommended implementation in 2016, an Oxford Student investigation has found. Further, support was denied despite the University recording all lectures this term, as part of all teaching being conducted remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many disabled […]
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Encaenia, the annual University ceremony for the conferral of honorary degrees, will be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oxford honorands will receive their degrees in the next ceremony to be held on 23 June 2021, according to a proposed Congregation resolution likely to be approved without opposition. The seven people originally due to be […]
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Image Description: Corpus Christi students study outside in the Front Quadrangle. This week saw a dramatic announcement by the University of Cambridge. For the next academic year, all lectures will be online. This decision swiftly follows a similar move by Manchester University to shift all next term’s lectures online. Cambridge maintain that physical lectures would […]
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A new morale-boosting scheme for students who are social distancing at the University has officially launched, as Worcester College is the first to recruit its own ‘In-College Rep’. Beth Chamberlain, a student who is currently in University residence, has filled the ‘In-College Rep’ post at Worcester College. Speaking to The Oxford Student, Chambarlain emphasised that […]
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Image Description: U.S Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Oxford Union President Robert Harris before delivering an address to Union members on 11 May 2016. The Oxford Union has come a long way from the all white, all male debating club that it once was. Now, the Union plays host to a Spotify podcast […]
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Image Description: Books on a shelf about eugenics. Warning: this article refers to content which may be considered disturbing, including incitement to hatred, physical violence, racism, ableism, eugenics, and Nazis. It also discusses trigger warnings, triggering content, prejudice, discrimination, and hate crimes. The most frustrating thing in the debate about the SU motion, and in […]
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Image Description: Students playing croquet on the lawn of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Imagine that you have ordered £100 of groceries and only half of the order with some dubious substitutions turns up. Would you still pay the full price of the delivery? Yet still the university asks us to pay full fees for a […]
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Image Description: Students in academic dress outside the Exam Schools, Oxford. The Oxford SU’s recent motion to issue an amendment to make lecture and tutorial content “prejudicial on the grounds of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cisgender/transgender status, or socioeconomic background” non-mandatory has sparked much controversy in the press. I have several concerns […]
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Historians, cultural commentators, and sociologists have long wrangled over the extent of secularisation in our society. Does yoga count as a religion? Is listening to Songs of Praise the same as attending church? In reading your horoscope, are you engaging in a new spiritualistic society? Are ‘new age movements’ hippy-dippy rubbish, or truly meaningful? And, […]
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A Student Council motion recently passed arguing that the current legal definition of what constitutes ‘hate speech’ is not enough. While the motion has good intentions, it is severely flawed and strikes in the wrong direction. The resolution sought to push for university policy to also prohibit hate speech regarding gender identity, socio-economic status, and […]
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