Saturday 9th May 2026

Opinion

Oxford needs a women’s college

Naturally, I loathe to say that Cambridge does anything better than Oxford, but I can’t deny that there is one thing I will always respect them for: Newnham and...

Both rags and riches: Social media is heightening Oxford’s class disparities

According to the University of Oxford’s admissions data, in 2024, 14.5% of students admitted...

We need to talk about Oxford’s gossip problem 

Gossiping is an innately human pastime, existing long before our generation, and a beloved...

When I met Peter Mandelson

In October 2024, during the Oxford Chancellor election, one of my responsibilities as Deputy Editor of Profiles at Cherwell was to interview Peter (then Lord) Mandelson, who was among the five frontrunners contesting the election.

There really is no smoke without fire

Preoccupation with one’s appearance is to be expected when starting at University. New wardrobes and even newer anxieties combine as the daunting concept of...

I was wrong. Oxford needs a ‘reading’ week.

In passing, friends often bemoan how their partners at other universities get a week off, mid-term, to, in essence, prat around. The deified ‘reading...

The Schwarzman Centre is a commercial venture, not a place of learning

Schwarzman's donation was meant to revitalise study of the humanities. But with cramped libraries and cramped faculties, it's closer to a death knell.

CalSoc misses the ‘Reel’ point

During my first week in Oxford, I stumbled upon a Scottish third year in the college bar. This was startling; I’d only come across...

‘Studentification’ is hollowing out Oxford

When redevelopment becomes synonymous with displacement, we must ask what kind of city is being constructed alongside the University.

We need summer re-sits

Desmond Weisenberg discusses the impact of Oxford's lack of summer re-sits

Course culling is a threat to us all

Education is valuable for its own sake, Rampant course culls are the result of wrongly boiling it down to economic value.

Oxford’s poverty porn addiction

It exists in the overly sympathetic sighs of ‘solidarity’, the overexaggeration of comparatively minor and mundane inconveniences

Oxford is making you childish

With rooms cleaned, meals made, and jobs banned, Oxford students fail to experience true independence. Is it any wonder we're so childish?

Is lifetime membership a perk or a problem?

I couldn’t help but notice the sea of grey-haired, geriatric, white, men (mostly), who somehow still had the right to vote at the Oxford Union.

AI applications will quietly revive nepo hiring

When AI makes it impossible to tell what is real, recruiters will return to what (or who) they know. Is this a new age of nepotism?

In defence of the internship spreadsheet

It’s easy to criticise “internship culture”, with its nerves and competition, but it’s worth asking why it’s so contagious.

Lawyers are weird. Mods are (partly) to blame

Mods makes every law student irritable, isolated, and disillusioned with their subject. We should move them to Trinity for everyone's sanity.

British students simply can’t afford postgraduate study at Oxford

Zero kroner. That’s exactly how much EU students pay for masters study at the University of Copenhagen. It’s not been the best start to...

New year, same me?

Whether it be exercise, relaxation, or the oh-so-naïve ‘Dry January’, the idea of resolution-making is one that has become redundant.

Navigating Oxford’s social media footprint

How do colleges maintain a social media presence when competing with 40 others? From access Instagrams to society Facebook groups to JCR-run TikTok pages,...

Who cares about college politics?

I’ve found myself part of a small core of my JCR who still care about JCR politics – those who fulfill a minimum requirement of simply turning up to things. Needless to say, the bar is low.

Criticisms of Oxford slang aren’t really about language

Sub fusc, college marriages, BOPs, sconcing, Prelims, the Bod: Oxford boasts a unique catalogue of words and phrases. Some would critique them as elitist...

Why you should talk to your scout more

Quite apart from our academic work, students at Oxford University lead a life very different to that of students at other institutions, a fact...

Livin’ la vida Lidl

Though I still have reservations about milk from Lidl – I swear it tastes different – and the eggs from Aldi look to me dull and pale, I can put aside these quibbles as I admit to the allure of a £1 bag of courgettes. All this to say: Oxford’s city centre needs a discount supermarket.

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