Each summer Oxford students, after enduring a soporiphic hibernation period amongst our dear dreaming spires (otherwise known as the academic year), burst forth to wreak havoc on the wide and exciting world, and it is the duty of Cherwell to chart, at the beginning of Michaelmas term, the various misguided paths our readers take year after year. In the optimistic days of the20s, free of politically correct inhibitions and fears of appearing overly bourgeois, one writer waxed lyrical of his experiences on ‘the romantic streets of Sevilla, on the borders of enchanted Italian lakes, on the Alps, even in the streets of Lyons at four in the morning, when moments of bliss or preoccupation have been suddenly shattered by the sound of a blatant Anglo-Saxon ‘Cheerio”.
Each summer Oxford students, after enduring a soporiphic hibernation period amongst our dear dreaming spires (otherwise known as the academic year), burst forth to wreak havoc on the wide and exciting world, and it is the duty of the Cherwell to chart, at the beginning of Michaelmas term, the various misguided paths our readers take year after year.
In the optimistic days of the 20s, free of politically correct inhibitions and fears of appearing overly bourgeois, one writer waxed lyrical of his experiences on ‘the romantic streets of Sevilla, on the borders of enchanted Italian lakes, on the Alps, even in the streets of Lyons at four in the morning, when moments of bliss or preoccupation have been suddenly shattered by the sound of a blatant Anglo-Saxon ‘Cheerio”.
By 1969 the NUS was being lauded by the Cherwell for its travel scheme, which made summer vacations of all manners both affordable and easy to organise. We excitedly heralded the option of ‘£55 for 3 weeks in the Soviet Union with everything paid for except your vodka & cigarettes’. Between Ryanair, Malia and Ouzo, precious little seems to have changed in the desires of the travelling student.
A drink and a smoke have always been top priorities for Oxonians, with our purpotedly secret, reputedly hedonistic dining societies often cropping up in the news in less than favourable circumstances. In 1982, we told you how ‘members of an elitist university dining club, the Assassins, caused £560 worth of damage to a Thame restaurant, telling police it was part of a good night’s fun’. A similar incident in 1987 may come to mind.
I must warn you, don’t think you’re free from the clutches of the University Proctors, even when the sun comes out for the summer. After the 1967 summer of love we reported how, ‘in a massive purge on drug-taking, the Proctors swooped during the vacation on seven first year undergraduates. Six students, including two St. Hughs girls, have been rusticated for a year. The seventh has left for good’.
Scandal continued that summer with OUDS accepting the invitation for an all expenses paid VIP performance tour courtesy of the Greek military junta. After student outrage surfaced, one young thesp retorted, ‘We are artists, not politicians. We just wanted to put on a good show’.
Week after week, year after year, Cherwell has brought you the best on ‘theatre, music, Union, sport & all the other features’. We start the new academic year in high spirits. We’re still the same old Cherwell, and this is the same old Oxford.
By 1969 the NUS was being lauded by Cherwell for its travel scheme, which made summer vacations of all manners both affordable and easy to organise. We excitedly heralded the option of ‘£55 for 3 weeks in the Soviet Union with everything paid for except your vodka & cigarettes’. Between Ryanair, Malia and Ouzo, precious little seems to have changed in the desires of the travelling student.
A drink and a smoke have always been top priorities for Oxonians, with our purpotedly secret, reputedly hedonistic dining societies often cropping up in the news in less than favourable circumstances. In 1982, we told you how ‘members of an elitist university dining club, the Assassins, caused £560 worth of damage to a Thame restaurant, telling police it was part of a good night’s fun’. A similar incident in 1987 may come to mind.
I must warn you, don’t think you’re free from the clutches of the University Proctors, even when the sun comes out for the summer. After the 1967 summer of love we reported how, ‘in a massive purge on drug-taking, the Proctors swooped during the vacation on seven first year undergraduates. Six students, including two St. Hughs girls, have been rusticated for a year. The seventh has left for good’.
Scandal continued that summer with OUDS accepting the invitation for an all expenses paid VIP performance tour courtesy of the Greek military junta. After student outrage surfaced, one young thesp retorted, ‘We are artists, not politicians. We just wanted to put on a good show’.
Week after week, year after year, Cherwell has brought you the best on ‘theatre, music, Union, sport & all the other features’. We start the new academic year in high spirits. We’re still the same old Cherwell, and this is the same old Oxford.
