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Student societies condemn reports of Oxford Union invite to Tommy Robinson

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who self-identifies as Tommy Robinson, has reportedly been invited to speak at the Union's Week 5 debate on Islam.

Comment

Features

‘It happens here and it’s our responsibility to stop it’: Oxford’s anti-sexual violence campaign

For the co-presidents of It Happens Here, Aparna and Maddie, literacy about consent and sexual violence is needed now more than ever.

The Oxford donors in the Epstein files

The appearance in the 'Epstein files' of the names of a number of Oxford University's most prominent donors raises questions about the University's sources of funding.

‘The only woman in Hall’: Gender and college governance

When Baroness Alexandra Freeman became Principal of Hertford College last month, she did not initially realise she was the first woman to hold the role.

The essay and its long history in Oxford

In 1811, a student at University College published a pamphlet including an essay titled ‘The Necessity of Atheism’ that he later distributed to the Heads of Oxford Colleges. The student, after disputes with the Master of University College at the time, was “sent down” on the grounds of “contumacy” (disobeying authority). This student was Percy Shelley. 

Who Owns Net Zero? Climate Action in a Collegiate University

Oxford University’s sustainability ambitions are increasingly visible. At the central level, strategic commitments articulate ambitious targets, governance mechanisms, and investment frameworks. In built form, newly completed University buildings such as the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities and the Life and Mind Building are presented as low-carbon exemplars of Passivhaus design and biodiversity integration.

Bridging the gap? Oxford’s fight against wealth inequality

The life of a student is rarely one of luxury. Pot Noodles for dinner, Vinted bids in place of new clothes, and the widely-prized Tesco Clubcard have become small but vital saving graces as the cost of living in the UK continues to soar.

Profiles

‘I’m not campaigning for any particular point of view’: Sam Freedman on government, the Conservatives, and writing with his father

As a writer and Fellow at the Institute for Government, Freedman has the opinions of a journalist and the knowledge of a policy maker.

‘We’re hurtling into a new era’: James Marriott on books, broadsheets, and a changing Britain

The Times columnist James Marriott sees the decline in reading in Britain as part of a wider trend of rising populism and the death of liberalism.

‘My aim is to make everyone equally unhappy’: Catherine Royle on Somerville, the Foreign Office, and the importance of pragmatism

Catherine Royle explains how a career in the Foreign Office and NATO is shaping her approach as Somerville College's principal.

‘There’s a difference between impartiality and neutrality’: Lewis Goodall on politics, podcasting, and the prime minister

Organisations like the BBC have "a completely hollow view of impartiality", says Lewis Goodall, host of The News Agents.

Culture

Peacocks

Their grounds abut a large colonial on Staten Island: Five or six of them Swaggering along verdant lawns, Brick walkways, man-made ponds – Such bravado. What pretty boys! Pets of somebody, clearly. They preen each other, The astonishing blue of their feathers, Slashed with generous reams of gold and emerald. They make spectacles of themselves – oh the...

All in a day’s Work.txt: Metatheatre’s extremes

I first heard about Work.txt when I was asked by a friend (or coworker?) if I was free Saturday night. And this was a gilt-edged proposition I just couldn’t turn down.

What I learned from Tracey Emin about regeneration

CW: Abortion I left the Tate Modern’s latest headline show, Tracey Emin: A Second Life, feeling unmoved by the artworks. I found the paintings somewhat derivative and the neon signs plain tacky, and lots of the text featured on her artworks struck me as faux-poetic and edgy. That is not...

In sickness, health, and wrongdoing: ‘The Drama’ in review

CW: Gun violence. “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” is the driving question of Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama. The film centres around a couple whose otherwise perfect relationship is abruptly destabilised by the revelation of a shocking piece of information, mere days before their wedding. Simultaneously thoroughly thought-provoking, highly...

Life

How places are made: A meditation in the City of Love

Places are formed from memories etched into streets, from ghosts which dwell in between moments. They’re shaped by the dreams and aspirations which have been poured into quiet, hidden hollows, like that shop in Paris.

The cult of radical self-love

You don’t need to understand the mechanics of a triple Axel to be able to see the pure, unfiltered joy on Liu’s face during her victorious Olympic free skate. 

Spring at last

"If you’re feeling happier in the new season, there might be a scientific reason for that."

Making the Most of University Life  

You cannot be in control of the rapid pace of Oxford life, but you can be in control of your own pace,: in control of what you can and can’t take on