Monday 4th May 2026
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Nuffield JCR condemns invite to controversial Israeli philosopher

Ned Remington
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Nuffield JCR condemns invite to controversial Israeli philosopher

CW: death, genocide

Controversial Israeli political philosopher Professor Daniel Statman has been invited to visit Nuffield College for Trinity Term, despite a JCR statement condemning the decision. 

The statement, approved by Nuffield College JCR on 12th March and circulated by the JCR President on 23rd April, accuses Professor Statman of producing academic work which “justifies genocide and war crimes” with “an underlying agenda – creating ethical justifications for Israel’s genocide”. Professor Statman was contacted for comment.

A Nuffield College spokesperson told Cherwell: “The college has given serious consideration to the concerns raised, and has taken the view that Professor Statman has not engaged in unlawful speech or conduct.”

Professor Statman is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa, Israel, and specialises in “ethics and political philosophy”. His time at Nuffield College forms part of a sabbatical from his work at the University of Haifa for spring 2026. 

The statement also quoted comments made by Professor Statman on an episode of the 18Forty Podcast released in October 2023, and recorded after the 7th October terrorist attacks by Hamas in southern Israel and the beginning of Israeli military action in Gaza. In a section of the interview highlighted by the JCR, Professor Statman said: “I don’t have this very strong moral revulsion or moral sadness or regret by the knowledge of the death of these civilians”, and claimed “it’s okay to kill them”, citing “the principle of collateral harm”. In the same conversation, he acknowledged that civilians in Gaza “don’t deserve to die”, even if they are not “completely innocent”.

In the interview, he also rebutted claims that civilians in Gaza had been left with no safe space from Israeli military action, saying, “I’m not very convinced by the claim they have nowhere to go to. They have places to go to. Orchards, the beaches and so on”.  He claimed there were “zero publications…in serious journals by Arab philosophers” and that Arab academics were “not part of the philosophical discourse at all”.

The JCR statement warned that Professor Statman’s presence at the college posed a risk to students and academics who were “visibly pro-Palestine in College, particularly those who frequently transit through Israel to visit friends and family.

In a comment, the JCR President told Cherwell: “The JCR and wider College community became aware of Mr Statman’s plans in Week 8 of Hilary Term 2026”, and that “the statement passed by a wide, near unanimous margin via anonymous vote [by Nuffield JCR members]”.

A Nuffield College spokesperson told Cherwell that the invitation to Professor Statman to visit the College was sent in “the summer of 2023…on the basis of his long-standing work on political philosophy”. The spokesperson described the invitation as “part of the College’s long-standing programme of regular academic visitorships, through which we host researchers from other UK and international institutions.

“As a College of the University of Oxford and an academic institution in their own right, we are committed to protecting lawful freedom of speech and academic freedom, and to providing an environment for rigorous academic engagement, open inquiry and critical debate within the law, where all members of our community are supported and treated with dignity, respect and civility.”Professor Statman has written several philosophical works. His book War by Agreement: A Contractarian Ethics of War was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. Outside of academia, he has served on public committees to revise the ethical code of the Israel Defense Force and to review requests for exemption from army service for Israeli citizens on the grounds of conscience.

Authenticity and the pop genre: Slayyyter’s ‘WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA’

Val Michael
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Authenticity and the pop genre: Slayyyter’s ‘WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA’

Originality could be dead in pop music. The genre is so self-referential that it feels like an endless borrowing game, buying into nostalgia for bygone times outside of our own. Artists’ branding in the 2020s has featured copious archival fashion pulls and pop culture iconography, while dominant music trends have included the excessive sampling of throwback hits and iconic melodies. This is an unavoidable aspect of pop, and not necessarily a measure of creative lack. However, it can either give long-forgotten tracks a necessary boost of life, or appear as a cheap way to chase the ever-elusive ‘hit’. 

Yet, as the decade is proving, generic boundaries are once again breaking down, with dance and electronic sounds becoming the pop standard, and people longing for artists at their most genuine. Of course, this was demonstrated most prominently by Charli XCX’s shift between the ultra-conventional Crash and the more personal and re-focused Brat. However, she isn’t the only person creating from a place of greater authenticity, over the pursuit of musical trends.

Catherine Garner, known as Slayyyter, has been chasing fame for almost ten years now. She started out making ‘lo-fi pop’ from her bedroom closet, before bursting onto the music scene in 2019 with a string of electro-pop tracks such as ‘Mine’, ‘Daddy AF’, and ‘BFF’. Though her songs all proved TikTok-popular, they never seemed to translate fully out of a chronically online space into the cultural mainstream. 

Slayyyter’s previous works were great projects that felt authentic within their self-aware pastiche, but all tied themselves to various personas; the music did not necessarily represent the creative voice behind it. Their inability to produce the success she’d hoped for, even when striving for commercial viability, drove her to make a decision – her next album would be the last, one final go at being a star before she called it quits. After an edgier sonic shift in a single she dropped in 2024 titled ‘No Comma’, Slayyyter began working on her third studio album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA. The first single, ‘BEAT UP CHANEL$’, was noticed by Columbia Records, allowing her career trajectory to finally change.

The album is an advent of originality, reconnecting Slayyyter to her Missouri roots and the rawer and previously unseen parts of her life, while refusing to chase trends. She focused instead on her own interests and ended up producing her most unique work, unplagued by formula. She describes it as “iPod music”, a “sweet spot of 2010s indie electronic”, encompassing songs she would’ve curated in her teenage years, when individual songs were bought and not readily available as in the streaming era.

WOR$T GIRL is intrinsically tied to its DIY approach to visuals. Each song has a self-directed music video, while costumes are hand-made or utilise pieces from her own wardrobe. Nothing feels too put together; instead, it is a patchwork of influences, from her Midwestern upbringing, to Tumblr mood-boarding and her music and film literacy (note the frequency of Lynchian rabbit imagery). She is still provocative and ‘trashy’, but forgoes hyper-feminine glam and seeks imperfection, her lyricism newly exposing. This is not just an additional layer to the album, but helps to form its thesis. 

The album’s cohesive through-line does not prevent it from textural layering throughout its 14 tracks. Distortion is a sonic mainstay, with songs entrenched in grime and aspiration. The album’s opening track, ‘DANCE…’, cuts in at almost five minutes, its long intro crescendoing into a thumping bassline which transports its listeners to an unrestrained club atmosphere. ‘CRANK’, ‘OLD TECHNOLOGY’, and ‘YES GODDDD’ are aggressive, the sound dialled up to 100 with maximalist production, heavy bass, and gritty and intense synthwork. Slayyyter is keen to prove her own musical capabilities, the album paring back with dreamy indie electronic as in ‘GAS STATION’, and the wistful, nostalgic ‘UNKNOWN LOVERZ’, while ‘CANNIBALISM!’ is more rock-focused but vocally driven, oscillating between screams and hypnotic crooning. WOR$T GIRL seeks out the personal and sometimes ugliest parts of success, lyrically wavering between self-assertion and profound insecurity on ‘WHAT IS IT LIKED, TO BE LIKED?’ and the satirical, spoken-word hallucinatory journey of ‘I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS’. 

There is also something personal enclosed here, best represented by the final track, ‘BRITTANY MURPHY’. Slayyyter has remarked that it encapsulates the album’s overall feeling and reflects the message she tried to get across. Its summery atmosphere and almost-robotic vocals conceal an inner depth, with the artist at her most vulnerable, as she ponders on feelings of inadequacy and suicidal ideation. The patchwork of WOR$T GIRL finally converges here, allowing the artist herself to shine through.

Maybe pop is a borrowing game, but when influences are being used like in Slayyyter’s music, it is difficult to say there isn’t still something unique to be found. Perhaps the problem is not creative pastiche itself, but the constraints of formula imposing themselves in the streaming era, making the genre so homogenous. It seems as though audiences respond far better to work that doesn’t try to mould itself, but goes against the grain through the expression of artistic freedom. In Slayyyter’s case, authenticity is the motivator, and her refusal to conform seems to be paying off. 

DnB On The Bike travelling rave returns to Oxford

Hattie Simpson
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DnB On The Bike travelling rave returns to Oxford

Hundreds gathered on Broad Street in the afternoon of Sunday 10th April for the return of Dom Whiting’s travelling bike rave. Otherwise known as ‘Drum and Bass On The Bike’, Whiting has built a following of more than 800,000 across his social media by riding through cities on a custom-built bicycle with speakers and decks, turning public roads into a moving “community-driven explosion of positivity and high-energy music”.

The ride, which saw crowds amassing outside the Clarendon Building from just before 2pm, drew almost 1,000 people. Cyclists, skaters, and scooters all assembled in a loose crowd that soon stretched down to the Sheldonian Theatre, around to the Bridge of Sighs, and up towards Wadham College, with families, newcomers, and returning attendees forming a rather mixed group. The format is remarkably simple: Whiting and his DJ decks and speakers lead, and the crowd follows.

Simplicity is what has allowed the event to grow, gaining such rapid popularity. Since emerging in 2021 as what Whiting describes as a “creative outlet during lockdown”, the rides have exploded across the UK and internationally, amassing huge turnouts. Oxford was one of the first places where Whiting brought the concept. Addressing the crowd, he appealed to Oxford’s identity: “It is a cycling city, we can do bigger and better than last year.”

The event has grown into a well-managed and structured affair. Regular announcements were made over loudspeakers asking for the crowds to part to let cars through, while a set of ‘dos and don’ts’ was briefed before the group set off to, as Whiting described it, “set a good example and keep everyone happy”. The result is something that sits uniquely between spontaneity and structure.

Participants came from across Oxfordshire and beyond. One attendee remarked that he’d flown over from the United States to take part. One rider, who had signed up to Whiting’s newsletter and seen the event advertised on Facebook, said she had attended multiple times. “I’m a mother – I don’t get to go out to nightclubs. This is as close as I get.” Another attendee celebrated the chance to connect with others: “I like the idea of a critical mass more than the music.” Having lived in Oxford for several years, they described the ride as an annual fixture in their calendar.

Unlike many large gatherings outside the Clarendon Building, the tone of the event was not defined by politics but instead by a clear emphasis on shared participation. Attendees consistently described it as something anyone could join, regardless of background, with one noting that “anyone is welcome to come” – a sentiment reflected in the diversity of the crowd. Inclusivity is built into the event’s structure itself; there are no tickets and minimal distinction between organiser and audience. The result is a crowd that is unified by a shared decision to be part of a community, even if only for a couple of hours. 

At the same time, small pockets of political expression surfaced at the margins. One attendee referenced online posts suggesting far-right groups might appear, prompting informal calls to bring flags; they had attached a Progress Pride flag with a skull and crossbones to their bike. On the other end of the crowd, members of the Socialist Workers Party had set up a table after seeing the event advertised online. Nearby, someone held a sign reading “FCK ICE”.

The event was made even more striking by its overlap with Oxford Folk Festival, held on Broad Street that same day. The contrast was brilliant: as you moved between the two, traditional English folk music and Morris dancing bells gave way to drum and bass from portable speakers, each occupying different ends of the street. Despite their differences, both events drew substantial crowds with attendees drifting between them. Proximity produced a strange coexistence between these two distinct collectives, perhaps a testament to the shared demand for in-person gatherings that cut across genres and traditions. 

Sunday’s turnout demonstrates not just the popularity of these particular events, but the durability of public gatherings that emerged from the constraints of the pandemic. Events like the bike rave rely on high participation, creating spaces that are temporary and collectively sustained, simply relying on people eager to show up. 

As Broad Street returned to normal by the early evening, all that hinted at the day’s festivities were the scraps of confetti puddle floating outside the Clarendon. Nevertheless, the scale and variety of the crowd that day embodied something abstract, but lasting: a shift in how public space is used and experienced. Hosting the temporary convergence of people who might never otherwise occupy the same space, Broad Street witnessed a story of people brought together through shared movement. In that sense, the event falls naturally into the sports column; it represents the simple act of participating in something larger than oneself.

Spring at last

Barbara Kempny
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Spring at last

The skull-numbing alarm rang out in the darkness. I fumbled for my phone: 8.21am. The rain pattered against my accommodation window, and I could hear gusts of wind blowing outside. It would be a soggy walk to my 9am lectures, and a cold one at that. It was peak January. Swiping snooze, I lay in bed, wishing very hard I could hibernate.

The high point of winter is always Christmas. The preceding three or four weeks are filled with Christmas markets, mulled wine, and mince pies. And then it crashes. Following New Year’s Day, there is not a hint of winter festivity in sight, while freezing weather stubbornly remains for the next two months. Is it any surprise that up to 10% of people living in the UK experience winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?

Indeed, SAD is a recognised mental health condition, defined by experiencing depressive episodes during certain seasons of the year. However, although winter depression is 30 times more common than summer depression, it is important to acknowledge that SAD is not confined to winter months. SAD is typically characterised by persistent feelings of sadness and emptiness. In the winter, it can present as oversleeping, overeating (with a particular inclination to carbohydrates), and social withdrawal. These elements of SAD might go unnoticed, though, as they are reflected within broader elements of culture. For example, hearty, more filling meals are associated with colder months, and lounging in bed for longer periods of time is more socially acceptable in the winter.  

SAD is a multifactorial condition, with both genetic components and disruption to circadian rhythms, as a result of natural seasonal changes, thought to be potential causes. A circadian rhythm is the body’s biological clock, regulating a person’s sleeping and waking, as well as their metabolism and internal temperature. It makes sense that the changing seasons disrupt this. In the winter, it feels counterintuitive to wake up when it is still dark outside, and bizarre to leave the Rad Cam at 5pm to find out that night has already fallen.      

One of the biggest struggles of winter is that outdoor activities, some of the usual remedies for low mood, must be squeezed into a very narrow eight-hour window of daylight. One could go running after dark, but this is not always safe, especially when alone. And on top of lectures, practical classes, and tutorials during term time, it is nearly impossible to fit in a 5k run with such limited daylight. Another important factor to consider is the weather. It doesn’t matter if there is still daylight, or if I have spare time, if it is pouring buckets and five degrees. Not much could convince me to put on a skort and play netball at that point. It appears that the UK population and I are in agreement, as it has been reported that two in five adults spend less than an hour a day outdoors. As a result of less outdoor-seeking behaviour and lower UV levels, the NHS recommends Vitamin D supplementation for everyone during winter and autumn months. 

This year, the early weeks of March brought abnormally sunny weather. My friends and I ruthlessly capitalised on this, flocking to Trinity gardens and plotting our first Pimm’s of the year. Hilary term gave us a small, tantalising taste of what the oncoming term could offer: early morning rowing sessions with the sun reflecting off rippling water; days spent studying in college gardens; evenings topped off with cocktails on benches outside the King’s Arms. It sounds heavenly. 

As spring firmly takes root and Trinity term looms, I envision myself reincarnated. Gone are the days of thick jumpers and jeans worn for the tenth time in a row. Instead, they are replaced by pretty tops and white linen trousers. Gone are the days of carb-loading on jacket potatoes and cheesy chips. Now there are only smoothie bowls and salad. The longer days and shorter nights represent a new start, a self-renaissance of sorts. 

The ultimate conversation starter in primary school was a real antagoniser: “Which is better, winter or summer?” The winter faction would diligently argue their case: summer gets sweaty, sunburns are painful, and hot nights are a faff to sleep in. But I stand armed with my suncream and handheld fan. I’ll take summer any day.      

The blaring alarm rings out once more. This time, the sun falls through the curtains into my bedroom: 8.21am. I’m awake and ready, it’s spring at last.

Making the Most of University Life  

Olivia-Mae Butterfield
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Making the Most of University Life  

As I write this, I’m hurtling down the East Coast Mainline at 120 miles per hour – the speed at which I feel I’m travelling through my university experience. Only nine weeks to go, and that’s it: the final year. Things start getting serious.  

But, from my experience of the Oxford life thus far, this ‘seriousness’ is a thing worth keeping at a safe and respectable distance. As a bright-eyed fresher, determined to excel academically at one of the best universities in the world, I forgot to look for the things outside the curricular last year. I signed up for societies that I never went to, events that I would miss, balls that I was too exhausted to enjoy. The reality was that I forgot about the ‘normal’ university life, and pursued what I thought the ‘Oxford’ life should be. In the mind of my over-eager first-year self, Oxford was about the work, about the grind, about the one-hundred-and-one percent academic effort.  

To some extent, I still believe that this is true. The Oxford experience is slightly different from what most of us expected from university. We were told to ‘make the most’ of our time here, told that it would be the best years of our life. For lots of people, such a sweeping statement is overwhelming; it contains too much, it has the potential to spiral into a never-ending train of sports clubs, socials, projects, trips. But, for me, this sort of mindset was exactly what I needed after the burnt-out academic frenzy I had mixed myself up in throughout my first year.  

The demand on Oxford students is obviously immense, and I had convinced myself that university life at Oxford should be purely academic, that anything else was a distraction from the real reason I was here. I would be undeserving of the place I’d worked so hard to gain if I wasn’t wholly and completely committed to the degree. I would be lying if I said that I’m not a little sore about the comparative lack of work my friends at other universities have – in my mind, other universities were about drinking, socialising, and exploring. Oxford had no time for that. Here, I stand corrected. I have been thoroughly surprised by the wealth of things people get up to at this university. It turns out that even clever people get drunk.  

When I began my second year, I was determined not to make the same mistake again. This time, I would commit myself to the societies I had abandoned last year. I would go to the events, I would take on all these opportunities. I threw myself into everything that I thought I would never have time for, just to prove my past self wrong. And I realised that it was possible to thrive academically as well as to have an enjoyable life outside the tutorial. I joined the college choir, wrote articles, edited student publications, took days out in the Cotswolds, joined independent bands. All of this, and I have actually achieved better grades than last year, and had more time off. Now, more than ever, I feel that I am living the true ‘university experience’, and I haven’t had to sacrifice any sleep, or grades, to get it.  

But, the truth is, no matter how many societies we join, how many clubs we attend, articles we write, or places we go, many of us will still feel as though we aren’t fully taking advantage of the vast wealth of opportunities that Oxford has to offer. For everything you try, there are five things that you haven’t. With such short terms it can feel impossible to taste every flavour of university life. And that’s because it is.  

At this point in my degree, I’ve come to accept that the most important thing to figure out is what you want your university life to look like. Whether that’s pure academic commitment, exploration of societies, or developing skills beyond the degree. I know people who are involved in more societies and sports and social events than me. I know people who are involved in less. Yes, it can be exhausting to even consider every possible way to spend your time at university, especially at Oxford. But, isn’t it just as bad rotting away behind a laptop screen staring blankly at a document titled ‘Week 6 Essay’? For me, taking a step back from the academic side of university life and learning to explore the world outside books was the best thing I could have possibly done for myself; the benefits have been enormous. I’ll never remember an afternoon spent tucked away in the Rad Cam, pouring over PDFs. But the memory of a trip to Charlbury, spent wading through mud on a cold day in February, will stick with me even after I graduate. Others may find the opposite, but, at the end of the day, nobody is missing out.  

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. You can learn what it is that you want to remember from these ‘golden years’. And that’s the beauty of university life – there is no one way to do it.  

Set to bloom: The return of the floral print

Cerys Bennison
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Set to bloom: The return of the floral print

“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.” So speaks the withering sarcasm of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, condemning all flowery fabrics to uncoolness even ten years after its release. Her dismissal implies that the floral print is basic – the horror of all fashion’s avant-garde. Oxford’s seeming aversion to pattern shows leftovers of this logic, with style shown through outfit styling rather than design details. Textiles often fall secondary to an ensemble’s overall impact, with florals seldom regarded as revolutionary. Yet in Oxford’s wealthy male-centred microcosm – and well beyond it – they prove to be a tool of subversion, intentional or not. Flower prints are muddy with complexity, and ripe for revisioning.  

Woven, printed, or embroidered, flowers are easily the most familiar motifs in fashion history. They have become associated with opposing constructions of femininity, with Christian Dior’s ‘flower women’ of the post-war period, petal-skirted in their essentialist embodiment. However, it was his floral-printed day dresses that influenced a generation of women, reaffirming nip-waisted body ideals and linking flowers as pretty, domesticated visions of nature with the ‘domestic goddess’ housewife trope. This is reflected today through a resurgence in the trad wife aesthetic, coupling homemade bagels with flowery, floaty gowns. Celia Birtwell’s sheer chiffons show 1960s reactionism to Dior’s ‘New Look’: the Hippie generation sought to shake off their mothers’ fashioning of femininity, with Birtwell’s prints evoking psychedelia and Pop Art through a feminist lens. Indeed, her Mystic Daisy print is a model for how cool florals can be, outfitting every It-Girl under the sixties sun. Jane Birkin famously wore it for a Vogue photoshoot (back when it was acceptable just to wear one outfit for your fashion call) and Liza Minnelli dons a Mystic Daisy shirt in Cabaret. However, for Anna Wintour, florals are fundamental in crafting her timeless elegance, becoming a motif that is reconfigured and coloured to fit current modernities. Each new series of Bridgerton makes this clearer, with florals used to connect Regency dress with contemporary fashion – and the more diverse narratives that come with it. Bridging nature and art, these biological bouquets have dressed ideological divides, making floral prints unexpectedly contentious.

Rich with jewel-toned realism, the Ashmolean’s In Bloom exhibition captures how flora has afforded creative and economic agency to women specifically. In the museum collection, Rachel Ruysch’s still lifes convey how studies of natural subjects enabled women access into the patriarchal art world without violating their prohibition from art schools. Flowers presented a readily available subject: symbolising female propriety, such blooms – exotic or commonplace – also allowed women to exploit Enlightenment interest in botany. Mary Moser’s flower still lifes gained her enough acclaim to become one of the two female founders of the Royal Academy of Arts and even established within the royal court, demonstrating flora as an entry point into traditionally male professions. Indeed, In Bloom displays a coloured engraving by Maria Sibylla Merian. It depicts a banana blossom with the life cycle of a Bullseye moth, capturing the utmost biological detail in unique composition. Retrospectively, Merian is considered one of the earliest entomologists. Yet the agency afforded by flowers to women shaped the art world’s dismissal of floral depictions. The association between flowers and femaleness has helped and hindered women, extending to their bodies through fashion.

High fashion has recently revamped the floral print. Springing from Paris’s latest catwalk extravaganza, Sarah Burton’s Givenchy collection problematised the prejudicial concept of Old Masters, dressing the modern woman in the Dutch Golden Age world of Rachel Ruysch’s paintings. The standout dress sees jewel pigments of tulips run in embroidery threads, effectively turning flowers into fringing. No daintily-coloured pastels to be seen here – these flowers are wonderfully gothic, outstepping their assumptions as passive embellishment and giving movement and flair to the wearer as she walks. If Jonathan Anderson’s fall/winter Dior show is anything to go by, the floral reformation is set to colour accessories too, romping all through summer in gorgeous water lily heels. This is a welcome step away from literalising the feminine flower at Dior, leaning into a more tongue-in-cheek, youthful use of the founder’s sourcebook. Riotously rosy, Dries Van Noten also saw men in floral-printed splendour, showing how flowers are dying out as binary statements of outmoded fashionings of femininity. This may not seem all that revolutionary in 2026, but in a city that still appears surprised to see a female physicist, the floral print still has a place as a vehicle of gender subversion. Come Trinity, the floral print poses a destabilising antithesis to Oxford’s unpatterned fashion staples, rooted in upper-class fashionings of male exclusivity. Floral fabrics are more than ready to be reclaimed from bastions of prairie-dress-wearing trad wives. They still have the power to be groundbreaking, regardless of what The Devil Wears Prada 2 might soon have to say.

Oxford-led study develops ‘SimCells’ to target antimicrobial resistance

Melissa Eddon
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Oxford-led study develops ‘SimCells’ to target antimicrobial resistance

Researchers led by University of Oxford academic Dr Wei Huang have successfully created biologically engineered cells, designed to target antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. 

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the study involved developing and testing two types of nonreplicating therapeutic cells named “SimCells” and “Mini-SimCells”.  Dr Huang’s team describe these cells as smart “bioparticles” that can selectively eradicate drug-resistant bacteria, whilst sparing non-pathogenic cells.

The testing process saw SimCells targeting a multidrug-resistant strain of E. Coli. Within six hours, the SimCells eliminated more than 85% of the target bacteria, whilst the mini-SimCells eliminated more than 97% within 48 hours. The team utilised a ‘plug and play’ design to create a multipurpose cell that can be reused to target different pathogens by changing the nanobodies on its surface, without rebuilding the basis of the cell. 

The study seeks to counter the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which sees microorganisms like bacteria and parasites evolve to resist drugs developed to eradicate them. According to the World Health Organisation, AMR has emerged as “one of the top global health and development threats”, as antimicrobial medications such as antibiotics and antivirals become less effective. 

Huang and his research partner, Yun Dong, told Cherwell: “The conventional antibiotic pipeline is failing to keep pace. Our SimCell (simple cell) platform addresses these challenges by offering a new way to fight dangerous drug-resistant bacteria.

“Because they cannot replicate and do not work like standard antibiotics, Sim Cells could provide a safer and more adaptable way to strengthen our diminishing antibiotic arsenal against the world’s most serious AMR pathogens”. 

Cumulative projections from the Global Burden of Disease study suggest over 39 million deaths between 2025 and 2050 that would be directly attributed to AMR. The WHO predicts AMR to be the trigger for the next global pandemic, on account of the range of infections and diseases that will be immune to modern medicine. Procedures like cancer chemotherapy, caesarean sections, and organ transplants will also be inhibited. Estimates from the World Bank suggest AMR could result in $1 trillion in additional healthcare costs, and a cumulative global GDP loss of $100 trillion by 2050. 

Huang and Dong told Cherwell that rather than the “current paradigm of developing a new small-molecule antibiotic for each resistant pathogen”, the “universal base” of the SimCell makes it not only more effective than antibiotics, but also more efficient. The ‘plug and play’ method bypasses the time and cost-intensive research process for antibiotics, and has the potential to “accelerate the response to AMR outbreaks, reduce development costs, and ultimately contribute to a shift in infectious disease management”. 


Huang and Dong told Cherwell they hope to see their work deployed in treating “recurrent urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, or gut decolonisation of MDR carriers”. Whilst the development of new antibiotics has been stagnant since the 1980s, the team believe advancements in synthetic biology have “the potential to reshape how we conceptualise antimicrobial intervention”.

Twelve Oxford colleges do not pay all staff the Oxford Living Wage

Oskar Doepke
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Twelve Oxford colleges do not pay all staff the Oxford Living Wage

At least twelve Oxford colleges were not paying all staff the Oxford Living Wage (OLW) as of their most recent financial year, Cherwell can reveal. 

Balliol, Brasenose, Harris Manchester, Oriel, Regent’s Park, St Anne’s, St Catherine’s, St Edmund Hall, St Hilda’s, St Peter’s, Trinity, and Wolfson all paid their lowest-earning employees less than £13.16 per hour, the OLW set for 2025-26. Reuben has not yet responded to Cherwell’s Freedom of Information request. 

The OLW is a voluntary hourly rate, distinct from the government’s minimum, that, according to its website, reflects the “real cost of living and working in Oxford” – the UK’s secondmost expensive city. Introduced by Oxford City Council in 2018, the OLW is set at 95% of the London real Living Wage, a different hourly rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. 

The OLW stood at £13.16 per hour in 2025-26, rising to £14.06 per hour in April 2026-27. Meanwhile, in 2025-26, the UK real Living Wage sat at £12.60 per hour and the London real Living Wage at £13.85, before respectively increasing to £13.45 and £14.80 per hour for 2026-27.

In 2020, the University of Oxford committed to paying all staff at least the OLW. However, as Oxford colleges are independent employers, the University’s pledge did not extend to them. 

Among the twelve colleges that did not pay all staff the OLW, the share of staff receiving it varied. At St Peter’s and Wolfson, just 46% and 54% of staff were paid at least the OLW, while 98% of staff at St Catherine’s and Trinity were paid it. 

Who gets left out

The headline figure, however, obscures variations in pay across staff groups. Across the twelve colleges, academic and administrative staff were mostly paid at or above the OLW threshold. Pay below the OLW threshold was concentrated predominantly among casual employees – non-permanent employees typically without guaranteed hours – and, among them, those who work in catering, facilities/maintenance, and security. 

For instance, Wolfson paid casual security employees £12.21 per hour, but their full-time and part-time counterparts at least £15.55 per hour, with a ceiling of £21.68. At St Hilda’s, casual catering, facilities/maintenance, and security staff earned £12.60 per hour, even as equivalent permanent staff made at least the OLW of £13.16 – a difference of 56p per hour. 

Staff in catering, facilities/maintenance, and security were among the lowest-paid groups in 13 of the 20 colleges that provided sufficient data. For the remaining seven colleges, some administrative employees earned the same as, but not less than, catering, facilities/maintenance, or security staff. 

The colleges that did not pay all staff the OLW also tend to rely more on casual employees. For example, excluding St Catherine’s, which did not provide a full breakdown by contract type, the non-OLW colleges employ 321 of their 542 catering staff – 59% – on casual contracts. In comparison, among colleges that met OLW, 40% of catering staff are on casual contracts. The same colleges also employ 17% of their security on casual contracts, compared to 31% at colleges that do not pay the OLW. 

The casual hourly rate, moreover, does not capture the full extent of the pay gap. Cherwell’s data found that casual workers across a number of colleges are excluded from benefits above the statutory minimum. At St Hilda’s, for example, all staff but casual staff have access to free eye tests, healthcare, dental care, a contribution towards glasses, and a cycle scheme. 

Research by the Living Wage Foundation has found that casual and other insecure employees are as disproportionately likely to be younger, older, and from minority ethnic backgrounds. Accommodation and food services – the sector that most closely maps to college catering and facilities/maintenance work – also accounts for the second-highest percentage of insecure work in the UK. Cherwell does not hold data on the age or ethnic makeup of casual employees at Oxford colleges.

The bigger picture

Of Oxford’s 39 colleges and four permanent private halls (PPHs), 16 hold formal accreditation as OLW employers from Oxford City Council. Accreditation, which is overseen by the council, requires employers to pay all staff based in Oxford at least the OLW and implement the respective annual pay increases. Accredited employers are also listed publicly on the council’s website.

Beyond the 16 accredited employers, a further 15 colleges and PPHs pay all staff the OLW without formal accreditation. As a result, the number of collegiate OLW employers has grown more than fourfold since 2020, when Cherwell previously found just eight to be paying all staff the OLW, although that figure includes St Benet’s, a PPH which closed in 2022.

Several colleges also noted that, while they did not pay all staff the OLW, they met the threshold for all permanent employees. For instance, a spokesperson for Harris Manchester told Cherwell that the college has a “policy of paying the Oxford Living Wage for all full-time or part-time members of staff”. St Anne’s, St Catherine’s, and St Hilda’s referenced similar policies. 

More colleges also said they meet at least the real Living Wage threshold for all staff. A spokesperson for Regent’s Park told Cherwell the real Living Wage “is the minimum we pay to all staff, irrespective of contract type or age”. St Anne’s, St Edmund Hall, St Hilda’s, and St Peter’s likewise confirmed to pay all staff at least the real Living Wage. 

A spokesperson for Brasenose, meanwhile, told Cherwell that “the college is committed to ensuring that pay levels remain fair, competitive, and appropriate to the roles undertaken”, adding that it undertakes regular benchmarking and at least one salary review per year. “While not all roles may align precisely with the Oxford Living Wage”, the spokesperson told Cherwell, the college still provides “a range of additional benefits … that are highly valued by staff which go beyond basic pay”, including generous leave, pensions, and free lunches. 

Likewise, a spokesperson for Regent’s Park told Cherwell the college “places the highest value on its staff and recognises the essential contribution they make”, and that the college is “committed to fair pay for everyone who works here”. 

In response to Cherwell’s findings, Councillor Chewe Munkonge, Cabinet Member for a Healthy, Fairer Oxford, told Cherwell: “When employers commit to paying the Oxford Living Wage, they’re making a meaningful difference to the lives of thousands of local people and we want as many businesses as possible to sign up. 

“Many Oxford colleges are already accredited and, as major employers in our city, this is fantastic for the thousands of people working there. I would encourage any colleges that are contemplating it to speak to those already doing it or reach out to our team to find out more. Together, we can make Oxford a fairer city for everyone.”

Balliol, Harris Manchester, Oriel, St Edmund Hall, Trinity, and Wolfson were contacted for comment.

Best Digital Sales Rooms Reviews 2026

External Contributor
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The way companies sell has changed dramatically over the past few years. Buyers are more informed, sales cycles are more complex, and expectations for personalised experiences are higher than ever. In response, businesses are adopting new tools to streamline communication and improve collaboration with prospects. One of the most impactful innovations in this space is the digital sales room—a centralised environment where sales teams and buyers interact, share content, and move deals forward efficiently.

Often referred to as deal room software, digital sales rooms bring together documents, messages, videos, and analytics into one unified platform. Instead of relying on scattered emails and attachments, sales teams can create a dedicated space for each deal. This allows stakeholders to access all relevant information in one place, improving transparency and reducing friction throughout the sales process.

What Is a Digital Sales Room?

A digital sales room (DSR) is a secure, personalised online workspace designed to facilitate collaboration between sellers and buyers. It acts as a hub where sales representatives can upload proposals, presentations, contracts, and other materials, while prospects can review content, ask questions, and engage directly.

Unlike traditional sales tools, digital sales rooms are interactive and data-driven. They provide insights into how buyers engage with content—such as which pages they view, how long they spend on each section, and when they are most active. This data helps sales teams tailor their approach and improve their chances of closing deals.

Why Digital Sales Rooms Matter in 2026

In 2026, the sales environment is more competitive and digital-first than ever before. Buyers expect fast responses, clear communication, and easy access to information. Digital sales rooms address these expectations by providing a seamless and organised experience.

They also support remote and hybrid work models, enabling teams to collaborate across different locations without losing efficiency. By centralising communication and content, digital sales rooms reduce misunderstandings and keep everyone aligned.

Key Features to Look For

When evaluating digital sales room platforms, it’s important to focus on features that enhance both productivity and user experience:

  • Content management: Organise and share documents, videos, and presentations
  • Real-time communication: Chat and messaging features for instant interaction
  • Analytics and tracking: Insights into buyer engagement and behaviour
  • E-signatures: Ability to finalise agreements within the platform
  • Customisation: Personalised branding and tailored experiences for each client
  • Integration: Compatibility with CRM and other sales tools

These features help create a smooth and efficient sales process.

Best Digital Sales Rooms in 2026

1. Getaccept

Getaccept is one of the leading platforms in the digital sales room space. It combines document sharing, video messaging, chat, and e-signatures into a single solution. Sales teams can create personalised deal rooms, track engagement in real time, and close deals faster.

One of its standout features is the ability to see exactly how prospects interact with content. This allows for more targeted follow-ups and improved conversion rates.

2. DealHub

DealHub offers a comprehensive digital sales room solution with strong CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) capabilities. It is particularly useful for businesses with complex pricing structures.

The platform also includes collaboration tools and analytics, making it a solid choice for enterprise sales teams.

3. Dock

Dock focuses on creating collaborative workspaces for clients and sales teams. It emphasises simplicity and ease of use, making it ideal for companies that want a straightforward solution.

4. PandaDoc

PandaDoc combines document management with digital sales room functionality. It allows users to create proposals, track engagement, and collect e-signatures.

This platform is especially popular among small and medium-sized businesses due to its affordability and versatility.

5. Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce offers digital sales room capabilities as part of its broader CRM ecosystem. It provides powerful customisation and integration options, making it suitable for large organisations.

While it may require more setup, its scalability and feature set make it a strong contender.

6. Seismic

Seismic focuses on content management and sales enablement. Its digital sales room features allow teams to deliver personalised content and track engagement.

It is particularly effective for organisations with large volumes of sales content.

7. Showpad

Showpad offers a combination of training, content management, and digital sales room functionality. It helps sales teams deliver consistent messaging and improve performance.

Its analytics features provide valuable insights into what content drives results.

Benefits of Using Digital Sales Rooms

1. Improved Buyer Experience

Digital sales rooms provide a structured and user-friendly environment for buyers. They can access all relevant information in one place, making the decision-making process easier.

2. Faster Deal Cycles

By reducing back-and-forth communication and providing instant access to documents, digital sales rooms help accelerate the sales process.

3. Better Collaboration

Multiple stakeholders can interact within the same space, ensuring that everyone is aligned and informed.

4. Data-Driven Insights

Analytics allow sales teams to understand buyer behaviour and adjust their strategies accordingly.

5. Increased Conversion Rates

Personalised experiences and timely follow-ups lead to higher chances of closing deals.

Challenges to Consider

While digital sales rooms offer many advantages, there are some challenges to keep in mind. These include the need for proper training, potential integration complexities, and the time required to create high-quality content.

However, with the right strategy and tools, these challenges can be effectively managed.

The Future of Digital Sales Rooms

As technology continues to evolve, digital sales rooms will become even more advanced. Artificial intelligence will play a larger role in personalising content and predicting buyer behaviour. Automation will further streamline workflows, making the sales process more efficient.

In addition, deeper integrations with CRM and marketing platforms will create a more unified sales ecosystem, allowing businesses to operate with greater precision and agility.

Conclusion

Digital sales rooms are transforming the way businesses sell in 2026. By centralising communication, enhancing collaboration, and providing valuable insights, they enable sales teams to work smarter and close deals faster.

Platforms like Getaccept, DealHub, and Dock offer powerful solutions that cater to different business needs. By choosing the right tool and implementing it effectively, companies can gain a significant competitive advantage in today’s digital-first market.

FAQs

1. What is a digital sales room?
A digital sales room is an online space where sales teams and buyers collaborate, share documents, and communicate during the sales process.

2. How does deal room software work?
It centralises all sales materials and interactions in one platform, allowing for better organisation and collaboration.

3. What are the benefits of digital sales rooms?
They improve buyer experience, speed up deal cycles, and provide valuable insights into customer behaviour.

4. Which companies offer digital sales room solutions?
Popular options include Getaccept, DealHub, Dock, PandaDoc, and Salesforce.

5. Are digital sales rooms suitable for small businesses?
Yes, many platforms offer scalable solutions that work for businesses of all sizes.

6. What is the future of digital sales rooms?
The future includes AI-driven personalisation, automation, and deeper integration with other business tools.

Rhodes Scholarship suspends Global Constituency applications

Siyeon Lee
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Rhodes Scholarship suspends Global Constituency applications

The Rhodes Trust announced earlier this month that the Rhodes Scholarship’s Global Constituency will be suspended for the 2026-2027 application cycle. 

The Rhodes Scholarship, established in 1902, is a “fully-funded postgraduate award which enables talented young people from around the world to study full-time at the University of Oxford”. The merit-based program offers scholarships for graduate study to around 100 scholars yearly. The scholarships cover all tuition fees, a living expense stipend, and round-trip travel to Oxford, where the Rhodes House is located. 

Established geographical constituencies for the scholarship include the United States of America, Canada, Southern Africa, and India. There is a defined number of scholarships to be awarded in each area, with 32 Rhodes Scholars selected from the United States each year, making it the largest constituency. However, several world regions do not have constituencies, including South and Central America, North Africa and most European nations, with these areas instead covered by the “Global Constituency”, which has two scholarships every year since 2018.

On its website, the Rhodes Trust specified that the suspension of the Global Constituency scholarships was due to the organisation’s shifting “strategic priorities”. 

Asked for more details on their changing priorities, a Rhodes Trust spokesperson told Cherwell: “As the Rhodes Trust looks ahead, the Board of Trustees has undertaken a careful review of how best to fulfil its charitable mission and deliver the unique Scholar experience that defines a Rhodes Scholarship. Following this, the Board has decided to focus the Trust’s Scholarship provision within its established constituency network, and will not be awarding Global Scholarships going forward, including in the current cycle.” 

Candidates who are ineligible in an established Rhodes constituency may also have the option to apply for Inter-Jurisdictional Consideration for the scholarship, available if a candidate is “strongly connected to two or more Rhodes constituencies” but not eligible to apply in any one area.

In their initial announcement of the suspension, the Rhodes Trust acknowledged that “this will be disappointing to those hoping to apply to the Global Scholarship this year”.

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