Opinion

As this article goes to print, Oxford University is missing two of its offer-holders. In a haunting echo of the trials faced by approximately 78 Palestinian students last academic year, several of whom held places at Oxford, two Sudanese doctors are unable to begin master’s courses at the University this October. This comes after the High Court dismissed their legal challenge to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s ‘emergency brake’ visa policy, which also affects applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Myanmar.

As someone who also initially applied to St Andrews before withdrawing, and later accepted an offer from Oxford, St Andrews now being ranked first in the UK by The Sunday Times does not make me regret my choice because I understand what that ranking was primarily measuring. It does not focus on global academic reputation, research influence, international standing, or fully capture the breadth and scale of research.

There is something liberating about being somewhere where nobody knows your name, your college, or your subject. While abroad, I am no longer simply an Oxford student navigating the same routines of term-time life; I am an outsider, and, most importantly, a beginner again. The world suddenly feels much bigger than the few square miles I had grown accustomed to calling home.

Freshers’ formal. The first black-tie event I attended at Oxford. The golden glow of the candlelight, the grand dresses, tailored suits, and frustratingly elegant...

When looking back on abuse cases that have plagued the church, some of the most common questions centre around whether there were early warning...

Oxford students hate C*mbridge. Or at least, we’re supposed to. We call them Tabs, occasionally ‘shoe’ them, and inherit a rivalry as soon as we matriculate. There’s only one problem: most of the time, nobody seems particularly bothered.

A diasporic fight that surged with UN-approved ambitions saw optimism dwindle early this month. Jamaican government officials have elevated their call for reparations with...

I was too mentally exhausted to write this article, but I grew up watching my mother respond to every verbal harassment we faced on the street. When I once told her she could ignore it, she told me that they are relying on stereotypes surrounding Muslim women: they rely on us to be what they want us to be, silent and meek. It is our silence that emboldens them.

Now, it cannot be clearer: ‘Academic freedom’ is only ever collectively invoked for those like Nathan Cofnas.

We seem to have been locked in an eternal attempt at domination over nature for millennia. My recent trip to Thailand shifted this into clear focus: perhaps the attempt was never really about humans over nature.

I was so excited to connect with the rest of the group through our shared enthusiasm and experiences. Eagerly, I contacted many other queer friends to join. Their responses would soon shock me.

On 6th June, The Telegraph published an article outlining the abuse and criticism faced by Ben Ashworth, over his visit to Israel. The article describes the trip as “a fact-finding trip to better understand the Gaza conflict”. A closer examination of the trip itinerary, however, tells a different story.

A private members’ club audacious enough to promote itself as the “last bastion of free speech”, the Oxford Union is the embodiment of Oxford...

I was very close to rejecting Oxford for Exeter. While this is not why I eventually accepted my offer, I couldn’t stop thinking about...

While scrolling through social media, a video appeared on my feed titled “Remember who you are, start-up boy”, followed by a montage of clips...

If you ever dare to become an audacious transsexual like me, you may have been confronted with a litany of in-group terminology online: “nonbinary...

Arwa Elrayess responds to recent national media coverage.

Calls for migrants to learn English, supposedly for the purpose of ‘integration’, have formed a large part of immigration discourse in recent years. In...

In a matter of days, I will face 15 hours of handwritten exams. I will wear a gown that has never truly fitted, because...

My social media algorithm has successfully tracked my profile closely enough to have figured out where I study. To my regret. For every now...