Friday 26th September 2025
Blog Page 232

The pressure of choosing your degree

Sofia Della Sala
-
0
The pressure of choosing your degree

It might just be me, but I chose my undergraduate degree based on what subjects I was good at in school and which classes I enjoyed going to. Was this naïve? Maybe. Uninformed? Potentially. Do I regret it? Not really.

Many may fear that what you study at university locks you in for life: that since I studied chemistry, I must now be a chemist. However, I am happy to assure you that this is not the case. Degree disciplines are a lot more fluid than just the subject you study, as they should be. How are you expected, at 17 years old, to be able to decide on a lifelong career, especially given that you may not have ever even heard of half the subjects offered at university before?

Something I had to quickly learn was not to be scared of change. I embarked on a five-year degree in a subject which today I no longer pursue. And that is ok. I loved chemistry at school and did well in it, so it seemed like the logical choice for progressing into higher education, but, as I got into the nitty gritty of the subject, I realised that I didn’t want to stand in a lab working with molecules I couldn’t even see. Now I am entering the field of Earth Science, looking at rocks and oceans, areas which I have no experience in, which explains the catching up I have to do.

If you choose to go on to do a post-grad degree, it doesn’t have to be a continuation of your undergrad course. For some people it is, and it is great that they have managed to find what they like so early on; but if you are like me, you might be thinking that you are not sure you have a ‘passion’ like someone who has been obsessed with space since they were four. You can start afresh, and dip your toes into another pond to see if the water is to your liking.

The future is always scary – I get stressed about what I am doing next week, never mind next year. When I graduated from my undergrad, I was so lost that I applied to masters programmes ranging from archaeology to social security. I do not recommend that to anyone, but it highlights the non-linearity of where degrees can take you. You may, like me, have chosen a subject in high school on a whim, stuck through it for years, and are now unsure of where to go next. I wish there was some concrete advice I could give you, but I am just at the start of my post-grad adventure, so let me get back to you in a couple of years.

If you love learning and studying, then don’t be worried about changing fields and going off the beaten path. Sure, it might not be as well-lit as the others, but hopefully there will be people around you to help show you the way.

Image Credit: Ekrulila via Pexels.

Oxford applications fall for first time in eight years

Ashmeet Bhaumik
-
0
Oxford applications fall for first time in eight years

Amidst a cost of living crisis and cuts to the value of maintenance loan, Oxford University has seen a decline in admissions. There were just over 23,000 applications this year for the approximately 3,300 undergraduate places on offer, representing a 2.6% fall. It is not just Oxford however, that has suffered a decrease: there has been an across-the-board reduction in early applications through UCAS. Cambridge had a 5% decline and Medicine applications at Oxford reflected a 10% decline.

The decline comes during a burgeoning cost-of-living crisis and as changes in student loan repayment rules from 2023 have been implemented.

From the next admissions cycle, students will be required to pay back their student loans over 40 instead of 30 years and will start repaying at a lower threshold of £25,000 instead of the £27,500 it is set at currently. This, coupled with growing living costs across the country and retail inflation crossing 12%, is likely to have put off some prospective students from applying.

Applications from overseas students, which includes those from EU countries as of 2021, are in decline, not just this year, but over the past few years. Oxford University noted a 12.2% decline in EU applications for the 2023 cycle, along with a 6.4% decline in overseas applications as a whole.

The University’s decision to increase fees across the board, with an 8% increase for most humanities courses to £35,080, played a part. Visa regulations and threats from the government could also have put off many applicants, as the newly returned Home Secretary Suella Braverman had earlier threatened to restrict the number of graduate post-study work visas that can be issued. The programme, only re-introduced last year, allows students who have graduated with a UK degree to work in the country for up to two years after graduation, without the onerous restrictions applied to the points-based work visa regime.

The faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at Oxford is likely to deal with dropping numbers this year and in the future. Fewer students are opting to take two languages at A level, limiting demand for the array of dual-language options offered within the Modern Languages degree. This year, a fall of approximately 10% has been noted in applications for the approximately 160-170 places on offer for languages.

Professor Jonathan Thacker, the Modern Languages faculty chair, told Cherwell, “The Faculty is aware of the drop in numbers in taking some Modern Foreign Language A-levels in schools in the UK and has been addressing the issue with increased outreach work. We have a dedicated Schools Liaison and Outreach Officer as well as an academic Director of Schools Liaison. We have also developed pre-sessional courses for many first years who are beginning or continuing with learning a Modern Language at Oxford. We offer most of our languages from a beginner’s level so that those who haven’t had the chance to take a particular language at school can learn it from scratch at university.”

Speaking to Cherwell, Dr Jonathan Patterson, the coordinator of the UNIQ Summer School in French, noted that attendance to the programme had been strong this past summer, perhaps as an effect of post-COVID readjustment in the education system. He also provided an overview of the variety of outreach efforts undertaken by the faculty, including but not limited to, participation in the Opportunity Oxford Bridging Programme, along with targeting prospective students from Key Stage 3 at the secondary level. This might attract a greater number of students, as GCSE choices permit or limit language study at a higher level.

Demand for places remains strong, especially among UK students, who are applying in similar numbers to the previous admissions cycle (2021-22), while the drop is pushed down by EU and overseas applicants.

Hedgerows or hedge funds? Hitchens and Hannan at the Sheldonian

Luke Dale
-
0
Hedgerows or hedge funds? Hitchens and Hannan at the Sheldonian

Well, good—I was getting a bit worried there for a moment. That Liz, and her league of ideologues, setting everything alight with their strange economic ideas, which I didn’t understand as a humanities student, seemed pretty radical and scary. The media were reporting too many crises to bother reading about. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With a new leader proclaimed, a new era is promised. ‘Sensible’ Sunak will provide a balm for us decent folk for whom the “Kamikwasi” budget was a step too far. So it seems to some.

But what, beyond ‘common sense’, does Sunak stand for? Despite what his PR productions may lead us to believe, he’s not actually very ‘common’ at all. His personal wealth exceeds that of the King, making him, above all, a representative of the crushing defeat of aristocracy as the lucre-stained hands of the upwardly-mobile bourgeois. His avowed adherence to “Yorkshire values” is presumably an attempt to imply he’s just an average John; in fact, he is a Wykehamist and an Oxonian, and “Yorkshire values” are not real. Of course, his elite schooling should not be held against him—we in Britain have an odd prejudice against the best educated of us. But at least Boris had charisma along with his elitism. Rishi tries to hide the silver spoon.

With the evident absence of ideology at the helm of the Conservative party, then, it is perhaps unsurprising that hundreds flocked to the Sheldonian last Monday, the very day when Sunak’s victory was announced, for the public lecture titled After Conservatism. They were there first and foremost for Peter Hitchens, considered to be the nation’s premier soothsayer by Britain’s traditional right, who indeed has, in his later years, assumed the aspect of a prophet by virtue of his impressive grey beard. Hitchens was joined by Dan Hannan, Brexiteer extraordinaire, whose footing in the discussion that would ensue was admittedly weakened by the fact that his values broadly align with the collapsed Truss administration. Indeed, that both men identify as conservatives reveals the complete meaninglessness of the term: Hitchens is a King and Country patriot, a lover of fields and hedgerows, and deeply negative about the UK’s future. Hannan’s lifelong political goal has been Brexit and he prioritises hedge funds over their rustic cousins, so has more reason to be hopeful.

Hitchens is an Oxford towny. He talks about the urban fabric of the city with profound seriousness, verging on spirituality, as the endowment of our ancestors. But he argues that, for the tourists who flock through the sun-gilt streets, the city is little more than a Disneyland experience where modern fabrications are ignorantly treated as originals. This characterisation speaks to much of Hitchens’ view of Britain: a hollow façade of a nation, whose great monuments are of generations past and whose current inhabitants can, at their most benign, only preserve desperately, and at their most destructive, vandalise. One such vandal was Hitchens’ brother Christopher, whom he recalls graffitiing a builder’s hoarding near Trinity College in 1968. Peter too, as a student, was a radical: a Trotskyist, as he likes to remind us on every occasion he can—it was prominent on the Hitchens-bingo card a friend had put together for the talk. But, according to Hitchens, it is only having been among the thinkers of that leftist sect that one can understand the worldview of our politicians today.

One example is immigration. This issue was, as often the case among right-wing commentators left implicit in much of Hitchens’ address but came to the fore as he mused about his erstwhile socialism. “We [Trotskyists] supported immigration because we hated Britain,” he says. This attitude he links to Labour advisor Andrew Neather’s now-notorious comment that New Labour had pursued mass immigration to “rub the right’s nose in diversity.” Of course, speaking on the day Rishi Sunak had been confirmed as the next PM, it is evident that such polemic does not appeal to all conservatives. Hitchens’ idea of Britain is a deeply traditional one: he ended his speech with an emotional reading of the Second Collect for Peace from the Book of Common Prayer, which he cites alongside Shakespeare as the great national text. “Since 1968,” he contests, “the Left has been a moral, cultural and social project,” referring to Gramsci and arguing that immigration should be understood as one factor contributing to the kind of radical social change he had once pursued. 

Hannan tempered Hitchens’ despair with a call to hope. For him, Brexit really could represent a new dawn for Britain, a new international golden age. But the audience’s allegiance to the doomsayer was broadly unambiguous. It is indeed hard to be positive about British politics under current circumstances. But it is irresponsible, I believe, to slip from recognising the reality of our decline to preaching a disinterested millenarianism. For Hitchens, for the modern conservative in Britain, “the only honourable life for those of us who can stay and bear it is internal exile.” Like the predicament of Okonkwo, the tragic protagonist of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, social changes have destabilised his framework to such an extent that he lives in a world which he does not understand, a world that seems to operate according to values that are alien to him. But conservatism cannot simply die like Achebe’s character does; the weakness of Hitchens’ worldview is that it offers no way forward for those who agree with his premises but not with his pessimism.

Images: CC2:0//Billy Wilson via Flickr.

Birra for breakfast

Monty Jones
-
0
Birra for breakfast

The romance of my trip to Italy had been enticing – an expedition paid for by a studio committed to funding a film I’d written with the very intention of securing a free holiday. But a holiday this was not. My producer overlords had been very clear that this was to be a work trip, and, with just two days to complete their demands, what had originally promised to be an escape from Oxford’s crushing workload was looking increasingly work-heavy. Already a logistical challenge I was entirely unsuited for, I would also be responsible for two companions: Ellis, a photographer friend of mine, and his girlfriend, Liska. Both half a decade older than me, my attempts to assert my maturity and responsibility as the one in charge were almost immediately undone when it became clear that I had entirely confused Milan’s two airports. We were not in fact landing at Linate, a convenient walking distance to the required train station, as I’d anticipated, but Malpensa, an airport which was not just further away from the station but in fact lay a substantial distance outside the city itself. We subsequently missed the last train and spent the night roaming Milan, drifting from club to club until five in the morning, when we caught the train to the little town where we were staying. We finally arrived at the Airbnb, a rather grand villa, to be greeted by the owner Alberto, a well-dressed, white-haired man poking his head out of an upstairs window with a look that suggested he had not been expecting his tenant to be the hoodied teenager wobbling at his door. After confirming my identity he did end up letting us in and I promptly collapsed onto the sofa and into oblivion.

Day 1

I woke, sore and dazed to Ellis shaking me firmly and to the realisation that my first obligation, meeting representatives of the local film commission in the nearby town of Crema, was due to begin in a quarter of an hour. I rushed frantically down to the villa’s courtyard and, noticing an available-looking old bike, grabbed it hastily and began peddling away on what I could only imagine from its rattling frame and screeching brakes must have been an ancient relic. Steering with one hand and holding Google Maps out in the other, eventually, dripping with sweat, I arrived at the café to find a group of men sitting outside chatting boisterously in Italian over red wine and cigarettes. They welcomed my arrival with raised hands and a chorus of “ciaos”, pulling out a seat at the table. I would spend the next four hours there, occasionally discussing my film, constantly being plied with wine. By the time the meeting had concluded the sun had begun to set and I was very much feeling the effects of the wine. I remounted the bike with some difficulty and started wobbling along the road as the amber glow that bathed the Italian countryside faded into darkness. Over an hour later, and having toppled over twice, I finally managed to make it back to the villa. Finding Ellis and Liska asleep, I sat for a moment on the couch to catch my breath and then promptly slept.

Day 2

Our second and final day started with another alarming revelation, that the checklist of shots required by my eccentric director of cinematography remained entirely unchecked. We rushed to the train station and into Crema with the list in hand. The apparently essential images took us all over town, and required multiple changes of clothes, the purchase of cigarettes, the accidental gatecrashing of a wedding, and, finally, a GPS location for a list of shots under the title “water”. The train took us as close as public transport could and still left us with a long walk to the remote red marker on Google Maps. After half an hour of trudging across fields and hopping fences, we finally arrived at an unremarkable clump of trees in the middle of a field. It was only as we walked through them that we discovered the oasis within, a pool of the most picturesque, crystal-clear water. We all stripped off excitedly and dove in before quickly reemerging to shiver on the banks –apparently the water gets pretty cold in October.  With a watery checklist still to complete, Ellis and I, fortified by several glugs of wine, plunged into the water once more and after some time (and a great deal more wine) it became almost tolerable. We had just about finished the required photos and most of the wine when Liska, reclining in the sun, alerted us to the time and the ten minutes left before the last train passed through the station. Still soaking wet we hurriedly pulled on our clothes, downed the last drops of wine and set off back across the fields at a slightly erratic sprint and, despite some extra difficult fence-hopping, made it to the station just as the train arrived to return us to town.

At four in the morning, after handing over the keys to a relieved Alberto, we took a cab from the villa back to the airport. It turned out to be a rather short journey that in retrospect could have easily saved us our night-long Milanese bar crawl – information I chose not to share with my comrades sleeping in the seats next to me. After we’d passed through security and settled down in a café, I opened my laptop to send off the completed reports and images. I took a moment to appreciate the impossibility that we had completed the entirety of the studio’s requirements in two days, which I could best recollect as a surreal, alcohol-tinted dream, as a waiter approached to take our order, turning to me last. I looked down at my inbox full of “high importance” responsibility and shut my laptop. “Birra, per favore”. Reality could wait a little longer.

Indeed, reality waited exactly until our plane took off whereupon I experienced one of the worst hangovers of my life and subsequently missed my train to Oxford. Please drink responsibly.

Image Credit: Gracie Oddie James.

Pierre Poilievre: Canada’s next Prime Minister?

Samuel Moore
-
0
Pierre Poilievre: Canada’s next Prime Minister?

American trends tend to reach Canada immediately after they’ve gone out of date – and right-wing populism seems to be no exception. In the February of 2022, a convoy of truck drivers from across Canada descended on the nation’s capital, Ottawa, blockading the streets and keeping the city’s residents awake with incessant honking. The convoy’s original purpose was to protest vaccine mandates, but it quickly evolved into a broader protest against the long-time and long-hated Liberal government of Justin Trudeau.

Everybody knows about Trudeau, and everybody has an opinion on him – even non-Canadians. To liberals, he is the standard bearer of progressivism, feminism, and multiculturalism. To lefties, he is a corrupt phoney enforcer of the neoliberal world order. And to conservatives, he is the demonic ultra-woke lovechild of Fidel Castro and a pawn of George Soros. But even the most ferocious, conspiratorial, foaming-at-the-mouth, non-Canadian critics of Trudeau seem to know virtually nothing about the leading man to replace him. Nor do many other politically engaged non-Canadians. This myopia is a shame. Canada’s internal power struggles may be insignificant compared to larger and more politically divided democracies, like India, Brazil and of course the United States – but by understanding this Canadian case study of right-wing populism, perhaps we can better understand why so many young people across the world are so enhanced by it.

Pierre Poilievre, the poster boy of the anti-vax trucker convoy and brand-new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, was first elected MP in 2004 at the age of 25. He quickly gained a reputation as the Tories’ “attack dog”, frequently engaging in profanity and unruly behaviour in the House of Commons. When the Liberals gained power in 2015, Poilievre postured himself as Trudeau’s most outspoken and uncompromising critic, lampooning big government, corruption, “Justinflation”, and political correctness. Cleverly exploiting YouTube, Poilievre developed a robust online presence, firmly wedging himself into the hearts of discontented culture warriors, disheartened by the moderate Conservative establishment. Canadian politics tends to be quite mild and it is very rare to find quirky and flamboyant characters in Parliament, so Poilievre’s witty bluntness and tendency to engage in attention-seeking stunts came across to many as refreshing. Fusing his unrelenting criticism of Trudeau with an irreverent yet jolly disposition, he jokingly assured the media, “Oh c’mon, I’m a very nice guy!” when accused of being too partisan and radical. When Trudeau was embroiled in a conflict-of-interest scandal, Poilievre held a press conference during which he tossed supposedly damning government documents into a crowd of journalists. After announcing his bid to lead the Tories, Poilievre released an unscripted, blooper-filled video of himself eating breakfast while talking to a camera. In between taking jabs at Trudeau’s vanity and choking on his own food, Poilievre incredulously listed the inflated prices of each food item, exclaiming that a single mom would be better at managing the economy than Trudeau. These stunts endeared him to the right-wing base, sick of the pretentious ultra-scripted language of Trudeau and the meekness of the insufficiently conservative opposition. In this sense, Poilievre very much emulates his American equivalent, Donald Trump.

After two botched attempts by mild-mannered moderate Tory leaders to unseat Trudeau in 2019 and 2021, Poilievre rode to an overwhelming victory in the 2022 Conservative leadership election, thanks in part to young voters – a traditionally left-wing demographic. On the one hand, this appears idiosyncratic as Poilievre embodies many archetypical conservative beliefs. He advocates supply-side economics, opposes a carbon tax to curtail climate change, and constantly bashes woke culture. But like other successful right-wing populists, Poilievre has fused these conservative views with broader cross-ideological complaints. As part of his platform, he denounced big banks and corporate lobbyists as “gatekeepers” in cahoots with the business-friendly Liberal Party to raise the prices of food, housing, and other services for ordinary Canadians. Offering right-wing libertarian solutions to these typically left-wing anxieties, Poilievre has promised to slash government regulations, which he claims are propping up corporate monopolies. Canadian companies have long relied on economic protectionism to avoid competition with American markets, and Poilievre’s platform of deregulation appeals to many consumers. Moreover, in a way that distinguishes him from Trump and other right-wing populists, Poilievre’s social policies are progressive. He is pro-choice and pro-LGBT rights and has actually criticised the Trudeau ministry for not being pro-immigration enough, belittling the inefficiencies of the current immigration system as yet another example of big government “gatekeeping”. Reiterated repeatedly in his campaign for the Tory leadership, he declared his intentions to make Canada the “freest nation on earth”. And unlike US conservatives, Poilievre appears to be consistent, applying this “freedom” mantra to both economic and social issues. These syncretic policies explain why, despite being such a viciously partisan politician, Poilievre is currently poised to take Trudeau’s job.

But despite Poilievre’s populist posturing, he in many ways embodies the very “gatekeeping” he himself criticises. Elected to parliament at the age of 25, Poilievre is the quintessential career politician. Mudslinging for Conservative leaders, he gradually ascended through the party ranks. And despite the apparent grassroots support for his campaign, he, for the most part, has the goodwill of the Conservative establishment, who ousted their previous leader fully knowing that Poilievre would be the replacement. Unsurprisingly, his attacks on “gatekeeping” corporations don’t extend to the oil industry which has long obstructed efforts to shift Canada towards renewable energy. In fact, he accuses Trudeau of “promoting foreign oil interests”, a stark contrast from his anti-gatekeeper attitude towards other protectionist measures. And while Poilievre has postured in video ads about his commitment to ending Canada’s housing crisis, he has yet to release a full plan on how he intends to do this. Consistent with his platform of “freedom”, Poilievre has vaguely promised to reduce building permit fees and processing times. But this laissez-faire policy of “just build more houses” ignores that the chief cause of the housing crisis is not a lack of housing – there are over a million vacant homes in Canada – but rather low affordability. In fact, despite casting the Liberal government as inactive, Poilievre’s proposals are significantly less comprehensive than the current actions of the Trudeau government, which has at least banned foreign investors and provided financial aid to homebuyers. Poilievre’s agenda of tax cuts, deficit reduction and privatisation, despite being bundled in populist garb, regurgitates the same tried and tested neoliberal policies of Reagan and Thatcher, which, as Truss’s fall demonstrates, is hardly anything to be desired in this economic climate.

Along with these conventional neoliberal attitudes towards economics, Poilievre has incorporated his own erratic crackpot plots into his platform, such as his enthusiasm for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In his leadership campaign, Poilievre vowed to make Canada the “blockchain capital of the world” – a position which he has since remained silent on now that he has clinched the leadership. And despite his progressive stances on social issues, Poilievre has catered to the conspiratorial Canadian hard-right. Not only was his very rise to power predicated on the anti-vax “Freedom convoy”, but he also has made frequent attacks against the World Economic Forum and their COVID-19 recover plan, dubbed the “Great Reset”, a favourite target of antisemitic conspiracy theorists in Canada. Equally alarmingly, Global News recently revealed that at least 50 videos on Poilievre’s YouTube channel featured the hidden tag #mgtow, invoking the alt-right anti-feminist online community. Though Poilievre claimed he was not aware of the tag, apologised, and had his staff remove it, the fact that his campaign team sought to court these voters in the first place is deeply concerning, and reflects poorly on the movement.

The past seven years of Trudeau have exhausted many Canadians, and with the continuing post-pandemic recession, coupled with the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many Canadians are looking for a change in leadership. Poilievre, who has injected much-needed energy into the political landscape and has rallied not only conservatives but disaffected liberals and leftists, to his cause, poses a serious threat to Trudeau in the next general election. This past year, both Sweden and Italy have thrown out their long-time governments in favour of coalitions led by or including right-wing populist parties. Canada could very much be the next country to follow this trend. Poilievre has the charisma, the platform, and the grassroots support to win – but does he have the competence and temperament to govern?

Image: CC1:0// Andrew Scheer via Flickr.

Ranking Oxford Clubs

Jack Twyman
-
0
Ranking Oxford Clubs

Oxford nightlife is a unique experience. While all the clubs in Oxford struggle to compete with the rest of the country, we have what we have, and my relative ratings of each are below. If chosen properly and approached in the right way, Oxford can definitely ensure you have a very fun night out.

1. Hanks Cocktail Bar, 10/10

Free entry most weekdays means this club takes the top spot. The banging reggaeton music makes up for the lack of lights and guarantees a good night of dancing. This is an attractive venue, with plenty of comfy seating, elegant ceiling lights, and friendly bouncers – make sure you bring your ID and you are good to go. Drink prices are eyewatering, but other than that you are guaranteed a good night. Slight disclaimer that this club does attract an older cohort of graduate students and the like, so some may think it odd, but this is no different from the weekends at Atik or Bridge when the locals descend in droves.

2. Atik, 9/10.

Perhaps the biggest club in central Oxford, Atik is one of my personal favourites. There is something for everyone here – the Cheese floor with its light-up dancefloor, the Curve room with rap, and the main floor with a variety of music genres. There are lots of sofas, a few bathrooms, and lots of bars. If you make the most of Broke Mondays, it’s a very affordable night – just be cautious on Park End Wednesdays and over the weekend. Atik loses a point for the long queue that forms outside it, and for the dismal smoking area, which is just a fenced-in area of pavement. A good attribute is their impressive security, with metal detectors and wallet searches which mean it should in theory be safer than clubs like Bridge or Plush, which lack these extra measures.

3. Bridge, 8.5/10

Bridge, whose clubbing experience I call “clubbing in a corridor”, has a certain charm even in and amongst the crowded dancefloors. Downstairs is a nightmare for any sober clubber, as the lack of personal space is enough to be unsettling. Upstairs has a more generous dancefloor area, and lots of seating. Added to this is the huge smoking area outside which is a standout feature of Bridge –  its trellised walls and canvas roof mean this is an all-weather outdoor area and can be perfect for taking a break from the heat and intensity inside the club. A new bar has just opened outside too – what more could you want?

4. Bullingdon, 8/10

Renowned for its themed nights, the Bullingdon makes up for its average appearance with a healthy calendar of events that has something for everyone. From ‘Fluoresent Adolosecent’ to ‘Haute Mess’, this club really goes the extra mile to entice you into Cowley. Unlike Glamorous, the walk is well worth it. While drinks are pricey, the two rooms of the club offer variety: the packed dancefloor, though “pushy and shovey” as some have described it, has great vibes, while the other room offers a more relaxed social area with sofas. Just be prepared to have no personal space on those themed nights, and also to encounter many Brookes students – if for some weird reason that’s an issue for you.

5. OXO Bar, 7.5/10 (for pre-drinks)

Cheap cocktails and decent music. OXO isn’t a club, but it is a good warm-up stop for pre-drinks, and really has lots to offer. The seating and theming are rather boujee, and I approve of its proximity to the Four Candles, Atik and Bridge. A great location, and great prices, at least from Sunday to Thursday. The student deal includes cocktails for £2.50, a real bargain for Oxford prices. It might be difficult to find a table on some evenings, but not impossible.

6. O2 Academy, 7//10

Apart from the regular silent disco or a music gig, there really isn’t much reason you would end up at the O2 Academy on a night out because, quite simply, you can’t. However, this venue a notable mention as it offers to Oxford what no-other place does. A proper large-scale live music venue. It is located in Cowley but is definitely still walkable, and the generous selection of kebab vans along the way will help you on your walk back.

7. Plush, 5/10

While I should love Plush, I find it hard to enjoy. The club is located in the basement of the Oxford Union, and as a result is cramped and crowded. The dancefloor is tiny – genuinely really small – and on some nights it gets so hot that sweat gathers in droplets and drips from the ceiling. The vibe in this club changes drastically with the days of the week – from ‘Tuesgays’ and music to match, as well as events like ‘Drag and Disorderly’, to the weekends with a mix of people – think rugby lads.

8. Spirit, 5/10

I still haven’t worked out what this club is meant to be, other than that you can get to Bridge through it, and, in doing so, skip the Bridge queue. I am unsure if it counts as its own club, but with an entrance next to Atik, it is nearer to there than to Bridge.

9. Glamorous 2/10

Aside from the venue’s recent controversy, I don’t know how to describe this place. It is half-club, half-bar, with a basement floor open only on select days. The drinks aren’t too expensive, and the music isn’t too bad, but there’s nothing to justify walking into Cowley just to go to this club. It is free. But so it should be.

10. Thirst,1/10

Thirst is my go-to club if the queue for Atik is too long and the winter night is feeling particularly cold. It has handy glass walls which allow you to assess the queue for Atik before you decide to brave it. Other than its warmth, Thirst is a no-go. Tiny, awkward and hardly warranting the title “club”.  

Notable mentions:

1. Freud

Events at Freud are amazing if you manage to get tickets to one. Normally costing around £10 for entry, this venue offers you a black-tie fantasy for a fraction of the cost of a ball. String lights dangle from the spacious chapel room, while the old stained-glass windows are a subtle nod to its history. With live jazz bands and plenty of space, tables and facilities, there isn’t a reason not to love it. Don’t be put off by Freud’s appearance in the daytime – at night it is transformed to become my favourite venue in Oxford. If your ticket includes a free drink, be very grateful; the drinks here are some of the strongest on offer in Oxford and make surprisingly good value.

2. Wetherspoons

Spoons is the only place other than college bars that is affordable on a student’s budget. Whether to visit the Four Candles or the Swan and Castle is always the question. Indeed, you may find yourself moving between the two in your search for a table. Personally, The Four Candles has an aura of grandiosity, which can be charming, but it normally remains packed and trying to get to the bar can be a challenge. The Swan and Castle is more modern and has music – apparently a normal thing, just not where I’m from – and this one has a more chilled atmosphere. However, with both being about the same distance from Atik and Bridge, there isn’t much between them as a pres spot.  

3. The White Rabbit

They have reasonably priced pizza on demand and heated outdoor seats lit with pretty lights.

4. The Mad Hatter

Any Alice in Wonderland fan will adore this bar and its theme. Usually hosting live music events, they have a nice variety of custom cocktails and normal drinks. While it can be quite cramped, the atmosphere is worth it.

Image Credit: Arvind Shakya via Pexels.

Correction: Changed the wrongful attribution of ‘Drag and Disorderly’ from the Bullingdon to Plush where the event is actually held (4th November 2022).

Return to in-person lectures causes accessibility problems for students

Alicia Martínez Patiño
-
0
Return to in-person lectures causes accessibility problems for students

The end of COVID-19 restrictions at Oxford University has brought about the return to in-person learning. Students now have to get used to attending lectures in actual theatres and auditoriums instead of their own rooms, which has caused accessibility issues for some.

As we revert back to our pre-pandemic lifestyle, most departments have resumed in-person lectures, but only some of them have resorted to the harsher measure of removing previous  recordings from Canvas, Oxford’s online learning environment. The University’s actions have had various effects on different students and courses.

Instead of a unified strategy, different subjects approach in-person and remote learning in different ways. Cherwell found that some humanities, like History, grant full access to lecture recordings on Canvas. On the other hand, sciences like Chemistry and Biology have most of their lectures in person, but these are recorded, so students are still able to re-watch the material on their own time. Mathematicians have described a “hit-or-miss organisation” of their teaching hours. In principle, classes are generally recorded, but calendars have become unreliable, with some lectures being left out of official schedules, and therefore not  uploaded to Canvas. PPE is one of the most disparate courses, as only Economics recordings are available online, while the Faculty of Philosophy and the Department of Politics organise their lectures exclusively in person.

Quick and effective technological progress might be considered the silver lining of the switch to remote learning after the pandemic, so some are asking why are its positives being overlooked in favour of in-person teaching.

The reasoning behind this is explained by the English Faculty’s statement on the topic. Even though they were available on Canvas at the beginning of the term, English lectures are no longer being uploaded. An exception has been made for those with Student Support Plans, who will be provided with these materials. An official email has been sent to all other students reminding them that they are “not permitted to make recordings of Faculty lectures” even on their own accord. These measures, according to the Faculty, aim to preserve “the interaction between the lecturer and the audience” and to help students develop skills such as “listening” and “notetaking”.

Are students convinced of the benefits of strictly in-person lectures? An English student told Cherwell that the lack of recordings does not help in terms of reaching the work-life balance on which the University places so much importance: “It makes it difficult when there are extracurricular clashes, like sports commitments”. Some students are left to rely on their peers’ willingness to collaborate, which could vary across colleges. “My cohort is nice enough to give lecture notes to anyone who’s missed things, but that’s a privilege that probably doesn’t exist in colleges where it’s more competitive between students,” one student says.

Conversely, a Modern Languages student told Cherwell that having lectures available to watch online helped her organise her day in a way that fits her commitments and schedule. However, she also feels that “going to lectures in person is good for specific topics that [she] is interested in or could benefit from brushing up on”. In any case, she appreciates flexibility.

Another way to look at the matter of lectures is through the eyes of disabled students at Oxford. Returning to full, in-person learning can become an even bigger change for those with a disability. Mobility issues are just one of the many possible obstacles, and different circumstances can pose serious difficulties in travelling to or attending lectures. Being asked about this, one student considers the removal of lectures from Canvas very challenging: “While I have permission to record lectures, I’m expected to physically go and do this myself, which, in my mind, entirely defeats the point. I can’t record it myself if I’m suffering symptoms or at the doctor, but no option exists for anyone else to record it for me.”

The benefits of keeping lectures online were clear from examining students’ experiences and personal circumstances – from disabilities to time-management. Even an Oxford study has recently highlighted the benefits of remote learning as a tool to familiarise ourselves with the digital realm. The University seems, however, to be set on discarding most of the advances that COVID-19 was able to push us into adopting.

A University of Oxford spokesperson told Cherwell: “Oxford recognises that some students will have particular requirements in regard to how they best access on-course learning materials.  A wide range of individual adjustments and study support is therefore available for disabled students, through personalised Student Support Plans via the Disability Advisory Service. Additionally, we have published our first Educational Recordings Policy, which recognises that publishing recordings to supplement in-person teaching can support learning by enabling students to review and revisit material. It also explains that lecture recordings in particular are a significant step forward in making teaching more inclusive for disabled students. Departments take this into consideration when deciding what recordings to make available, alongside the suitability of recordings for specific subjects, topics and approaches to teaching.  Despite the return to in-person teaching, Panopto usage at Oxford remains more than double that of 2019. Given the prevalence of recordings, students are encouraged to find out how to make the most of recorded lectures to enhance their study strategies.”

Too old?: Claims of age discrimination relaunched against University of Oxford 

Olivia Boyle
-
0
Too old?: Claims of age discrimination relaunched against University of Oxford 

A group of professors have launched an age discrimination claim against the university. There will be a tribunal in November. This comes just three years after it was found that Physics professor, Paul Ewart had been unfairly dismissed on the grounds of his age. 

The current campaign aims to get rid of the university’s ‘Employer Justified Retirement Age’ policy that states that all academic staff have to retire the September before their sixty-ninth birthday. In his campaign against the ageist treatment of his retirement, Paul Ewart stated that this was not a matter of money or status but simply of the “dignity of continuing employment”. 

Though the revitalisation of the university’s workforce is vital for research and for the health of the academic institution, completely axing staff older than 68 does raise questions. Should there be a modified role put in place for academics of retirement age to allow for replenished staffing as well as the continuation of important work? 

In 2017, English Professor John Pitcher lost his claim of unfair dismissal under the university’s retirement policy. These cases of ageism do beg the question why Oxford hasn’t got a more appropriate solution to retirement when over a decade ago the retirement age was abolished under the Equalities Act. Since then the university has continued to quietly dismiss staff only due to their age, it seems to be easier than ever to be banished to the sidelines of the academic world. Nevertheless, the need to renew the university body of academics and researchers is fundamental to the pursuit of groundbreaking work. This was evident in the 2017 Congregation vote on the retirement policy which was maintained by 1,142 votes to 538.

Image Credit: [Prosthetic Head]/[CC BY-SA 4.0] via [Wikimedia commons]

Feta, tzatziki, and olive oil: the delights of Greek cuisine

Katerina Lygaki
-
0
Feta, tzatziki, and olive oil: the delights of Greek cuisine

Hello, I’m Katerina and I’m Greek. Now that we’ve established 90% of my personality, I’d like to take you on an imaginative journey through my favourite dishes from the motherland. Before going any further, I do have to give a little shoutout to my mum for being the best cook out there, and to Akis Petretzikis for creating really accessible recipes for Greek traditional dishes that have also been translated into English. If you are curious to make anything that I mention, do go on his site because his recipes are delicious and are quite authentic. Without further ado, here’s my definitive ranking of Greek cuisine.

  1. Χωριάτικη σαλάτα (Choriatiki salad)

This dish is better known as a ‘Greek Salad’, with tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, raw red onion, olives, capers, feta, oregano and, of course, olive oil. A Greek family whips up this salad pretty much every single day. My favourite part has always been the ‘papara’ where you dip fresh bread in the olive oil at the bottom of the bowl, but beware, do not attempt to make this at home. The vegetables in the UK just do not hold their own compared to the produce in Greece, and any time I’ve attempted to make this in Oxford, I’ve been rudely surprised.

2. Γεμιστά (Gemista)

The literal translation for this dish is ‘stuffed’. Stuffed what, you may ask. This dish is a labour of love, hollowing out aubergines, zucchinis, green peppers, onions and tomatoes; stuffing them with a rice mixture; and slow-cooking them in the oven until the tomatoes and olive oil caramelise to perfection. The best part of this dish is definitely the left-over rice in the pan. It is best enjoyed with a big slice of bread and, of course, feta.

3. Γαριδομακαρονάδα (Garidomakaronada)

This is a shrimp pasta dish that involves a lot of garlic, tomatoes and shrimp. It is best enjoyed on a Greek island, overlooking the marina on a hot summer evening.

4. Παστίτσιο (Pastitsio)

When I described this dish to my mum as Greek lasagna, she hit me with her shoe. Now, I’ll let you be the judge. This dish starts with a layer of fat bucatini, then a layer of Bolognese sauce (the Greek way which includes a lot of cinnamon, bay leaves and clove), and topped with a layer of bechamel sauce. This dish is even better than ‘mousaka’, and its components of pasta Bolognese inspired one of the greatest Greek pop songs of all time: ‘Ela mou’ by Sakis Rouvas, in which Sakis entices his potential lover by singing ‘I will cook you pasta Bolognese to eat’.

5. Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες (Kolokithokeftedes)

These zucchini balls are made from a zucchini, feta and herb mixture that is fried in olive oil and is perfectly fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They are the perfect addition to any Greek spread— the most common way to eat Greek food is meze style— and it couples perfectly with some fresh fish or a Greek salad.

6. Γαλακτομπούρεκο (Galaktomoureko)

I admit that this is a desert, so please don’t come for me, but it is so delicious I could not omit it. This is a milk custard that is wrapped in filo and baked. It is then doused in a lemony, cinnamon syrup and it is truly to die for.

7. Σουβλάκι (Souvlaki)

This is the ultimate street food. Ignore all the food trucks in Oxford because souvlaki is the perfect drunk food. Usually priced around 2 euros per wrap, the combination of pork (or chicken), fries, tomatoes, raw red onion and tzatziki has a very, very special place in my heart.

8. Μπριάμ (Mpriam)

This is another dish that highlights the importance of good ingredients (and olive oil) in Greek cuisine. It involves potatoes, aubergine, zucchini, onions, carrots, tomatoes and garlic tossed in oil and baked in the oven. The outcome is beautifully steamed vegetables that melt into each other.

9. Κοκορέστι (Kokoretsi)

Only eaten on Easter Sunday, this dish is basically a big skewer of organ meats that are wrapped in intestine lining and slow-roasted over an open fire. The meats become so tender and juicy that a simple side of Greek salad suffices in creating an excellent dish.

10. Λουκουμάδες (Loukoumades)

Saving the best for last, this is the best on-the-go dessert out there. It is the ‘crème de la crème’ of Greek cuisine: fried dough balls that have been dipped in honey and cinnamon. They are the perfect end to a summer day.

Image Credit: Katerina Lygaki.

Turtle Bay review – The Caribbean arrives in Oxford

Oliver Hall
-
0
Turtle Bay review – The Caribbean arrives in Oxford

Character is something hard to foster and maintain in a restaurant that is part of a chain, especially one that now numbers 48 in the UK — the fact that Turtle Bay manages to achieve that alongside great quality food is perhaps its biggest achievement. It brings a Caribbean ‘vibe’ to central Oxford and is genuinely unique in the city in its food, style, and atmosphere.

That Caribbean character doesn’t come through by accident either. Managers David and Csenge tell me that it is the result of careful design and planning that comes right from the top of the organisation. Founder Ajith insists that the open bar is the first thing customers see when they enter every restaurant, likewise with the open kitchen and its grills. These are placed in the service window, front and centre for everyone to see them used for all of the Roti dishes.

The menu itself is truly eclectic, drawing on all areas of the Caribbean with an eye to authenticity tailored to the UK market. During our visit we were able to sample a wide range of dishes from all parts of the menu; stretching from the famous bottomless brunch, to currys, jerk pits, buddha bowls, soul food, and burgers. The one thing that was the same across all areas was the power of the flavours. Almost without fail, everything we ate was punching full of a brilliant mix of spice, heat, and freshness.

Bottomless brunch is definitely what has made the restaurant most well-known and after trying the Honey Bunny Yardbird I can see why. The dish is a Caribbean take on American-style chicken and pancakes and consists of three soft and fluffy roti pancakes, topped with brilliantly succulent fried chicken, cream cheese, and maple syrup. Served with watermelon for another tropical spin, the combination of flavours works eerily well and I was left going back time and time again for more.

Yardbird

Among the starters, the crispy squid and the ‘Trini doubles’ stood out. The squid are thin and only very lightly battered — a welcome change from the pub-style ‘calamari’ that you often get in the UK. They are drizzled with coconut milk and chilli sauce — two sauces that combine brilliantly. The Trini doubles are intriguing — two roti with curried chickpeas, cucumber relish, and coconut. They have a deep backstory but are definitely plainer tasting than some other things on offer.

Squid and ‘Trini doubles’

When most people think of Caribbean cuisine, jerk chicken is what jumps out. Turtle Bay’s is seasoned with thyme, which is a nice touch, but the chicken breast itself was less juicy than in some of the other dishes. The slaw that came alongside was a good balance of creamy and fresh but not overdoing it whilst the side salad stared with beetroot, tomatoes, and a truly unique but delicious coconut-infused dressing.

Jerk Chicken

Fish fry features as a nod to Barbados and consists of more of that brilliant squid and a chunky piece of skin on salmon alongside fries. The squid were just as good as before and the skin of the salmon was irresistible but the meat itself was slightly overdone and lacking in flavour as a result. The spicy mac and cheese is a good accompaniment, bringing a welcome chilli kick to a dish that most don’t bother innovating on.

Fish fry and that chilli mac and cheese

Another signature here is the curried goat and boy does this one live up to the hype. Cooked for five hours in a delicious sauce, the meat falls apart as a result and is packed full of hearty flavour and warmth.

Curried goat

Elsewhere, the buddha bowls present a fresher and lighter alternative to soul food. Having said that, you certainly won’t be left feeling hungry with each one including brown rice. These dishes are real eye-catchers, made up of lettuce, watermelon, pineapple, cucumber, tomatoes, mushrooms, squash, beetroot, avocado, and more before getting finished off with your protein of choice. It’s almost impossible to get a complete bite but, if you make the effort, the combination of flavours is well worth it! Burgers are also on offer but if you are to make the trip I’d definitely advise sticking to the classics.

The eye-catching Tofu Buddha bowl

Drinks are of course where Turtle Bay has really made its name. Open all the way through from breakfast to midnight, the restaurant morphs into a late-night location after nine with a second happy hour and great ‘late-night-eats’ deals. The music amps up and the result is an atmosphere tailor-made for cocktails and rum sharers!

Speaking to staff, it is clear that they are more keen now than ever before to draw students in before going out to clubs and house parties. They are currently offering all students a free £10 to use after 9 PM and, together with the attraction of 4 cocktails and 2 small plates or sides for just £24.50, Turtle Bay makes a great spot to settle in for the evening or stop off at before a night out.

Scan for the student offer!

Overall, the remarkable thing about Turtle Bay is how it manages to cater to so many different customers and markets successfully. From breakfast, to brunch, to lunch, to dinner and beyond, the food is unique and flavourful throughout. If you are looking for a totally different experience from anything else on offer in the city right now, this is the place to go.

Images: Oliver Hall.

1...231232233...2,522Page 232 of 2,522

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by Jamie Ashley