Features

Oxford’s obsession with being busy is pretty performative, right?

At Oxford, it seems like we get used to talking about our lives as nothing more than a summary of the things we’ve accomplished lately, or at least are just about to. The longer your list, the better you must be doing, because to be busy is to be making the absolute most of your time here – and who doesn’t want to be doing that?

No Greek life doesn’t mean no rape culture

Perhaps the most effective tool we have at our disposal against casual sexism is casual feminism.

All work and no pay: Why Oxford students aren’t allowed to have jobs

Strangely enough, however, the ‘vac’ is also the only opportunity for an Oxford student to work, not through problem sheets and essays, but in the most fundamental sense of the word.

Feeling fresher: How to be casually healthy whilst going out in Oxford

Freshers’ Week is drawing to a close, and the first lectures are rolling around...

‘We need a different approach’: Students and tutors on AI in academia

From everyday tasks to academic work, AI is already embedded in university life. We asked students and academics at Oxford what they are using it for, what worries them most, and whether the current system can keep up.

Some of the most talented people here are solving problems that don’t matter

As AI rewires the job market, what’s the point of being smart if you’re not doing anything meaningful?

Too young for bops, old enough for a first

There are 237 Oxford students aged 17 and below. In the past, some have dramatically crashed out in the public eye, but many others thrive.

Oxford’s influencers: Student life, filtered through the screen

Oxford has often seemed a mysterious place. An online generation is getting a new but still curated glimpse of life under the dreaming spires

Pagans and Presbyterians: Experiencing a sort of secular age

We've long heard that the world is becoming more secular. From Easter parades in Greece to pagan ceremonies in Kent, is that really true for Gen Z?

Twelve points to politics: Eurovision is more than it seems

Brits don't care as much as our continental cousins. Still, mixing glitter and geopolitics, Eurovision is more than a laughable song contest: it's a cultural flashpoint.

Orange paint, green promises, and Oxford’s climate conundrum

Oxford has fulfilled its 2020 divestment commitments. But some activists see hypocrisy, as it continues to hold millions of pounds in indirect investments.

Are University redevelopments endangering our Common Ground?

With the University having outlined a plan to work with the community, its ability to preserve Common Ground will test its commitment.

Helping the homeless: Volunteering or voyeurism?

In Milan, people sleep on the streets where Europe's elites shop and dine. Is photographing the homeless valuable or inherently intrusive?

Sextigation 2025: Top one percent of shaggers do 15% of all shagging

How much sex do Oxford students have? How true are the stereotypes – which colleges get the most action, do students really date for marriage?

“All faiths and none?”: What college chapels can offer their students

The rustle of a scholar’s gown. Dappled evening light glowing behind a stained-glass saint. The crackling of a candle being lit. The college chapel...

You wouldn’t steal a Cherwell article: AI and copyright infringement

Hello, Cherwell reader! Think this is a good article? A TikToker probably thinks so too. ‘Korean Consultant’ posted a TikTok on 5th January 2025...

Much ado about funding: Financing Oxford student theatre

Last term, I performed in my first show at Oxford University, and I couldn’t stop talking about it. Everyone I knew was subjected to...

High pressure, few spots: What Careers Service data says about Oxford’s internship culture

"Planning ahead is sensible, important – even exciting. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of everything else."

Do ‘you-need’ Youni? 

More than a year on from their official launch in Oxford University, it is time to consider the success of the alumni-founded startup app...

My music doesn’t break tradition. It is traditional

"It is precisely because I love Oxford’s traditions that I’m inviting my culture to be part of it."

MLK Day: Anti-Blackness isn’t just a Western problem

"If we truly believe in equality, it’s time to hold up that same mirror to ourselves and confront what we see. Change begins when we stop making excuses."

£450,000 for a two-bed in Cowley: Oxford is at the centre of the UK’s housing crisis

A two-bed, one-bath home in Cowley is currently listed for £450,000. In 1998, it sold for just £85,150.  While wages have also grown over that...

What Gisèle Pelicot can teach us about student consent workshops 

"Consent is not just a rule dictated in an isolated workshop."

Smoke and mirrors: Oxford’s changing smoking culture

Behind a constant veil of thick tobacco smoke, students relax and chat in a night of music and dancing far from Oxford’s usually formal...

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