Sunday 8th June 2025

Opinion

The fate of Oxbridge Launchpad shows only the University can improve access

The most rewarding thing I did in my first year at university was to sign up to Oxbridge Launchpad. During the Hilary break and in desperate need of something...

International students enrich, not endanger, our universities

The first line of the “About” page on the University of Oxford’s website makes...

Beauty without a purpose: Nature and the Oxford mind

Our recent spell of sunshine has offered a welcome opportunity to rediscover the natural...

Journalism: A ‘dying’ art

In Palestine, journalism is no longer just a profession. It is a final act of defiance with life and death stakes.

Calorific damage

CW: calories, eating disorders Many will be aware of the public concern which erupted when the government passed legislation making it compulsory for eateries with...

Conditional allyship? Queerness and censorship in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

CW: queerphobia Many gay people go through their teenage years realising who they are and, more often than not, coming to believe that it makes...

Oxford isn’t designed to change

"Oxford is doing what it is designed to do: reconstruct and renew Britain’s elite first, act as an educational institution second."

Access fatigue at Oxford: Letting ‘them’ in and letting ‘them’ down

"...my own feelings towards outreach are a lot more complex than they were when I first started."

Oxfess: Why the fixation?

Let’s imagine it’s night-time, you’ve settled in for an early one after a long old day, and you decide to innocently scroll through the...

What’s in a name? The social inequality attached to where we go to school

"If you go to a school with a widely known ‘name’ then, whether you want it or not, people perceive it to be one of your characteristics."

Linguistic hypocrisy: Rhetoric on refugees

"Refugees are considered political problems; they are viewed as contentious, voter-dividing subjects"

Sale of Blackwell’s: The long-term defence against Amazon

"There is a certain joy at browsing the shelves and displays of independent bookstores and reflecting on the individuality of the owners."

As a Palestinian NUS delegate, I say that tolerance of antisemitism within our student spaces must end

Anas Dayeh discusses the scourge of antisemitism within the NUS and beyond, and advocates standing with Jewish students in the face of prejudice.

There Ain’t No Party Like a Conservative Party!: Oxford, the Tories, and the preparation for life without consequences

"Boris Johnson...was fresh from a degree largely spent violently drunk, destroying property, mass-vandalising and harassing staff"

Calorie labelling is not a miracle cure for obesity, it’s proof that the government has failed those with eating disorders

Displaying calorie information on menus is a step towards furthering a culture that believes food is the enemy

Leader: Oxford SU must not fail to stand against NUS antisemitism

When Shaima Dallali tweeted ‘Khaybar Khaybar O Jews … Muhammad’s army will return’, the president-elect of the National Union of Students was being explicit...

Jashn-e-Riwaj and linguistic myopia

"There is, then, a truly outrageous hypocrisy in criticising companies for choosing Urdu names and in the same breath making daily use of Arabic and Persian vocabulary loaned into Hindustani."

Layla Moran MP: Oxford University students key to repealing Vagrancy Act

"I hope the success of the campaign against the Vagrancy Act gives hope to students everywhere that they really can make a difference."

The perils of historical comparison and the dangerous origins of Putin’s ideology

"Historical comparisons can reveal potential outcomes yet no hard facts."

Elitism and colonialism’s residue: Pakistan’s education system is in crisis

"With 35.1% of the population between the ages of 0 and 14, education standards must be improved or else the youth bulge threatens to hamper economic growth for several decades to come."

A recovery toolkit to anorexia

"Recovery is confusing - it is not black and white and there is no one who can do it for you. This is where specialist eating disorder services can guide and support you. Recovery is abstract - it is not the same for anyone but that is the beauty of it. ‘Abstract’ is not synonymous with ‘bad’; ‘hope’ is abstract, ‘peace’ is abstract, so too is ‘contentment’."

Student safety is not a joke: Clubs need to do better

"In the current climate, where discussions around women’s safety are finally getting the awareness they deserve, you would think the bouncers would have prioritised my wellbeing over their need for a power trip."

The political power of gender expression: Lessons from female dictators

"Current female MPs are expected to act as female politicians, not just as politicians. This pressure is incredibly unfair."

How meritocracy fuels Oxford’s burnout cycle

"The desire to simply breathe, to spend a day without a to-do list etched into your brain, is a completely natural response to our unnatural environment."

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