Monday 9th February 2026
Blog Page 4

Car Leasing Continues to Gain Popularity Among Drivers

External Contributor
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One of the most interesting things about the way people are driving in 2026 is that many drivers are getting on the road in a completely different way. Gone are the days when getting a new car was a choice between taking out a finance agreement or paying cash upfront. Today, leasing provides an attractive alternative that ensures the system finally starts working for each and every motorist. To make sure you’re not left behind and at risk of missing out, we’re going to guide you through everything you need to know. 

Lower monthly payments make your budget go further 

Paying less to get the same result is something we all dream of, and for good reason. When you lease a car, you are effectively taking out a long-term rental from a company that owns the car for the duration of the agreement. This means that you only pay off the depreciating part of the car’s price, avoiding having to cover the total cost of the car yourself. The result is monthly payments that are consistently lower and more affordable than those you will find for the same makes and models via traditional financing. 

Having access to the latest models provides options

The more you can choose, the more satisfied you will be with the end result. Leasing is a common way to get behind the wheel of the very latest models for a fraction of the price of having to buy a new car outright. Not only that, but you can easily change and upgrade every couple of years without having to worry about selling your existing vehicle to help fund your next purchase. 

Low mileage makes maintenance highly predictable

A brand-new or nearly-new vehicle will have none of the wear and tear that many of us are forced to take a chance on when buying a used car. The good news here is that this makes the maintenance, repair, and servicing cycles so much more predictable, allowing you to budget accordingly with the minimum of effort. In fact, there are plenty of leasing companies that will offer bundle deals that allow you to spread the cost of routine servicing across the length of the agreement. Ideal when you want to make sure that you can budget accordingly. 

The latest models are cleaner and safer to drive 

If you take a look at options like those offered by Vantage Leasing, you’ll see that driving the latest models is the norm when you take the smart move and lease. Gadgets, comfort, and entertainment systems may be the things that first catch your eye on a test drive, but it’s running costs and safety that really make the difference. The latest models have new engine technology that reduces fuel consumption and cuts air pollution, allowing you to do your bit to help save the planet. Not only that, but they also have brand-new driver assistance systems that help with everything from parking and turning in tight spaces to maintaining attention and staying safe on tiring motorway drives. 

Avoiding the depreciation problem is a real bonus 

Because the leasing company retains the ownership of the car (this is why there are mileage limits you will need to discuss with them), you’re not left holding an old car that is worth next to nothing. We all know the headaches caused by trying to sell a car that is well past its best so that we can put down a lump sum on a newer model, and now we all know that leasing ensures this is never an issue again. Perfect when you want to make sure that you can get on the road and stay on the road without an ounce of stress along the way. 

What’s your next move?

Speaking with a team of experts is the way to go, as it will allow you to hear all about your options quickly and easily. Getting on the road is quicker, easier, and more affordable when you consider a leasing model. It’s about moving away from the misconception that owning a car outright is something to aspire to and realising that, because of how quickly vehicles lose value, long-term rentals are always the best deal. 

By letting the leasing company hold the asset on their books, you make sure your money is always working for you the smart way. Exactly what you want to hear when it’s time to do more with less. 

The dating bio’s obsession with Oxford

Manya Singh
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The dating bio’s obsession with Oxford

As Michaelmas drew to a close, a dramatic conversation about Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, finding his partner on a dating app prompted my friend and I to try a dating app for the first time in the UK. It wasn’t that we weren’t familiar with the app and its workings in our home country, but this time we simply wanted to explore the demography! It goes without saying that the outcomes were not satisfactory. They are dating apps for a reason, and one cannot really rely on the prospects of finding London’s next mayor just yet. 

Still, what began as a light-hearted swipe soon took on the shape of an experiment. The aim was to make it the most non-academic experiment compared to  Oxford standards. As we went about playing the left-right game that night – sprawled across our CCR sofas, just two teetotallers checking out people (and not books), half-amused and half-delusional – we soon lost hope and decided to pause. I didn’t find a suitable match, but this delusion did turn into an experiment: that is how I came across the bio’s obsession with Oxford. And this wasn’t just true for dating app bios, but, surprisingly, even social media bios.

In those few lines qualifying their life status, people refused to name their university; just writing ‘Oxford’ was enough. For instance, my friend came across a profile that announced “Graduated from Oxford” while their LinkedIn quietly named a university in Loughborough.One even went so far as to claim they worked in an MNC in Oxford – perhaps proximity to the University alone was considered good enough.. And since Oxford Brookes was considered too plain, just mentioning Oxford gave all the cues. This is the die-hard obsession with Oxford. 

As an international graduate fresher this year, I realised that Oxford is known far better as the home of the University of Oxford than as a historic town in its own right: one with a rich landscape, another university sharing a similar name, and a population that extends well beyond academia. These aspects are acknowledged, but often only secondarily. The obsession with Oxford is often more about belonging than the location itself.

As a student I can very well comprehend this obsession, but as a writer and researcher, I have to first ask some deeper questions: why the obsession? What kind of legitimacy or desirability does ‘Oxford’ signal on dating apps or social media? Is this a form of cultural capital being implicitly traded in bios and profiles? It seems we really are living in an age where people choose to validate their personality based on an academic institution. If I were asked to break down this mentality, what would it imply? That I’m a potential date because I’m officially a product of Oxford, specifically the University of Oxford, and hence I’m more credible than others?

I’m sure this isn’t unique to Oxford. Harvard, Yale, and Cambridge are all similar shorthands for ambition, wit, and success. But Oxford carries additional weight in the UK context, where it conveys not just academic achievement but also social arrival. It is the university of twenty-eight British Prime Ministers, of Stephen Hawking and Malala Yousafzadeh, of Brideshead Revisited and Inspector Morse. So, when someone writes ‘Oxford’ in their bio, they’re not just stating a fact but invoking an entire mythology. What makes dating apps particularly revealing is their economy of attention. You have seconds to sell value before someone swipes left. In that compressed space, ‘Oxford’ really does extraordinary work. 

I’ll admit: I wrestled with this myself. Should I put ‘Oxford’ in my bio? Would it feel like grandstanding, or would omitting it seem like false modesty? In the end, I left it vague. But I realised that when matches discovered I was at Oxford through conversation, the dynamic often shifted. Messages became more frequent, and questions became more intriguing. I hadn’t imagined myself to be more interesting than I had been five minutes earlier, but the institutional halo made me seem so. Half-conceding, I realised the obsession was real.

Let me give a cultural context. If, in the UK, Oxford signals both proximity and exclusion by shaping access to networks, traditions, and forms of cultural belonging, then for international students like myself, the dynamic becomes even more layered. Back home, Oxford often functions as a shorthand for upward mobility and success abroad. On dating apps it is seen as a golden ticket to certain social circles, a source of familial prestige. In short, the hesitation remains the same: whether I am on a dating app back home or here in the UK, putting ‘Oxford’ in my bio feels equally fraught.

Whether you’re reading this as someone who belongs to the institution or the location itself, here’s something dating apps won’t tell you: Oxford students are just as messy, insecure and vulnerable as anyone else. We procrastinate, we suffer from  imposter syndrome, we can’t keep calm about exams, we often resort to eating meal deal sandwiches. The institution is extraordinary; its inhabitants are just as human. The tragedy of the Oxford bio-obsession is that it trades on a myth that even insiders know runs on a trade-off: the institution creates quick desirability, but it also flattens people into a credential, often obscuring the messiness, pressure, insecurity, and ordinariness.

Perhaps the real experiment was to see just how deep the bio’s obsession can go on a superficial dating app. The theory is largely subjective but totally original according to Oxford standards! (Spoiler: I’d still prefer old school, blind date, chance encounters!)

Reuters Institute report highlights growing AI impact on global journalism

Anisha Mohammed
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Reuters Institute report highlights growing AI impact on global journalism

A major new industry forecast from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford has charted the forces set to reshape global news media in 2026. The annual Journalism, Media and Technology Trends and Predictions report finds that fewer than four in ten senior news executives are confident about journalism’s prospects this year, as publishers grapple with declining search referrals and persistent audience trust challenges.

The report is based on a survey of senior editors, executives, and digital leaders from news organisations in more than 50 countries. It examines how developments in AI, platform distribution, and audience behaviour are shaping newsroom strategy.

One of the report’s central findings concerns the growing role of generative AI in how people receive their news. It states that “the rapid shift from search engines to AI-powered answer engines is expected to reduce traffic to publisher websites”, with many respondents predicting a decline in referrals from search over the next few years. The report adds that generative AI tools are increasingly “intervening between audiences and original journalism”.

Senior editors and executives who took part in the survey said these developments were likely to place additional pressure on existing business models. According to the report, many respondents believe that AI will “make it harder for news organisations to maintain direct relationships with audiences”.

These concerns are reflected in recent industry action. The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging unauthorised use of its journalism to train AI models. This case has become a focal point in debates about how generative AI systems source and monetise news content.

The report received financial support from the Google News Initiative (GNI), as disclosed by the Reuters Institute. Google has invested heavily in developing artificial intelligence technologies, including AI-powered search and generative tools. The Google News Initiative also supports other Reuters Institute research, including the annual Digital News Report, which examines news consumption and trust across global markets.

The survey in the report also found evidence of a shift towards personality-led news consumption, particularly among younger audiences. The report states that “journalism is increasingly consumed through individuals rather than institutions”, with survey respondents pointing to platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, newsletters, and podcasts as areas of growing engagement.

In response to the wider availability of AI-generated content, many survey participants reported that their organisations were prioritising journalism that is more difficult to replicate. According to the report, respondents plan to focus on “investigative journalism, analysis, and distinctive reporting”, while reducing investment in more routine content.

The report concludes that the news industry is experiencing “ongoing adjustment rather than a single moment of disruption”, with the impact of AI and platform change expected to vary across markets and organisations in 2026.

Preparing for A Russell Group University Interview in English as a Second Language

External Contributor
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Preparing for a Russell Group university interview when English is a second language can feel intimidating, but it is absolutely manageable with targeted preparation and an understanding of how the process works. With the right strategy, your language background can even become a strength in the interview room.

Understanding the Russell Group university interview
Russell Group university interviews are designed to test how you think, not how perfectly you speak. Tutors care far more about your ability to reason, respond to new ideas, and engage with unfamiliar material than about having a flawless accent or native-level fluency.

For applicants whose first language is not English, this has several implications. You are not expected to speak like a native, but you are expected to communicate clearly enough to show your academic potential and respond thoughtfully to questions.

Building the right kind of English

The English that matters in a university interview is academic, precise, and flexible rather than idiomatic or slang-heavy. Focusing on language that helps you explain your thinking step by step will serve you far better than memorising complicated phrases.

Useful strategies include:

  • Practise “thinking aloud”: narrate your reasoning as you solve problems, summarise arguments, or analyse a text, even when studying alone.
  • Build a small bank of functional phrases such as “I’m not sure, but I would start by…”, “Could I clarify the question?”, or “On the other hand, one might argue that…”.
  • Read opinion pieces and features on topics related to your subject, paying attention to how arguments are structured and signposted.

If you use online language courses, choose ones that emphasise academic discussion and critical thinking rather than purely transactional conversation. Look for courses or platforms that allow you to practise extended speaking turns, not just short exchanges.

Using online language courses effectively

Many applicants turn to online language courses without a clear plan, and then wonder why their interview English has not improved. To make these resources work for you, they need to be integrated into subject-specific and interview-style practice.

Try to:

  • Adapt general speaking exercises into academic ones: if a course asks you to describe your day, describe instead an article you have read or a problem you have solved.
  • Ask tutors or conversation partners to challenge you with unfamiliar questions and to push you to justify your opinions.
  • Record your practice sessions, then listen back to identify recurring errors or moments where you lose your train of thought.

Deliberately seek out online language courses that offer small-group seminars or one-to-one tutorials, as these formats resemble the Russell group university learning style and help you become comfortable speaking under gentle pressure.

Handling nerves and communication challenges

Interview nerves are normal, and they can be intensified when you are speaking in a second language. The aim is not to eliminate anxiety, but to ensure it does not prevent you from showing your ability.

Practical approaches include:

  • Prepare honest, concise ways to talk about your language background if asked; acknowledging that English is your second language can defuse pressure to sound “perfect”.
  • Practise pausing before answering, giving yourself a few seconds to organise your thoughts; a short silence is far better than rushing into a confused answer.
  • Learn a few repair strategies such as “Could I rephrase that?” or “I think I misunderstood; may I check the question again?”.

Remember that tutors expect you to struggle at points, especially with challenging material. They are looking at how you respond to difficulty, not whether you avoid it altogether.

Subject-specific practice and cultural familiarity

Because university interviews are heavily subject-focused, preparation in your chosen field is as important as general language work. Reading widely, engaging critically with material, and practising explaining concepts aloud will all help you bridge any remaining language gaps.

To strengthen your preparation:

  • Read English-language books, articles, and papers related to your subject, and summarise their arguments verbally as if explaining to a tutor.
  • Practise “mini tutorials” with teachers, friends, or other applicants, using past interview questions and treating every discussion as an opportunity to refine both your ideas and your English.
  • Familiarise yourself with aspects of university academic and student life through student newspapers and profiles, so that references to colleges, terms, and traditions feel less alien in conversation.

Approaching your Russell Group university interview in this structured way allows you to turn the fact that English is your second language into evidence of resilience, adaptability, and intellectual commitment rather than a disadvantage.

Turning your second language into a strength

For many applicants, a university interview is the first time they have had to think aloud about complex ideas in a second language for an extended period, under pressure. It is easy to walk away from a practice interview convinced that every hesitation or grammatical slip will count against you. Yet the reality, as admissions tutors repeatedly emphasise, is that interviews are designed to probe your intellectual potential, not to reward polished performance for its own sake. Fluency matters only insofar as it allows you to show how you approach problems, respond to new information, and adjust your thinking when challenged.

Perhaps the most important mindset shift is to recognise that your linguistic background is part of what you bring to the university, rather than an obstacle you must hide. Navigating education in a second language already demonstrates resilience, adaptability, and a capacity for hard work – qualities that tutors know translate directly into life in an intensive academic environment. If you can walk into the interview room prepared to think aloud, willing to make and correct mistakes, and ready to treat the conversation as a miniature tutorial rather than an interrogation, you will have given yourself a genuine chance to be judged on what really counts: your ideas.

Above all, remember that every thoughtful pause, every brave attempt to articulate a complex idea, is a step towards the place you want to be – so trust your preparation, back yourself, and good luck.

New study finds weight gain can be rapid once injections stop

Lara Murrani
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New study finds weight gain can be rapid once injections stop

CW: weight loss.

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford suggests that maintaining weight loss may be particularly challenging after discontinuing weight-loss medications such as Ozempic. The research, led by the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, found that many individuals experience rapid weight gain once treatment is stopped. 

The study, published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ), is a review and meta-analysis of 37 studies involving 9,341 adults who stopped weight management medicines after an average of 39 weeks of treatment. Participants were followed for an average of 32 weeks after discontinuation. 

Dr Sam West, the lead author, told Cherwell that the study “included any medication that has ever been licensed for weight loss. So this included older medications such as orlistat, the older GLP1 medications such as liraglutide and then newer GLP1 medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide”.

Across all weight-management drugs included in the review, weight increased by an average of 0.9 pounds per month after treatment stopped. At that rate, the researchers estimate people would return to their starting weight within 1.5 to 2 years after stopping the medication. For newer medicines such as Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, regain averaged 1.8 pounds per month, indicating a return to baseline by about 1.5 years. 

The review suggests that the regain following the discontinuation of medication occurred more rapidly than after ending behavioural weight loss programmes, such as exercise or dieting, by approximately 0.7 pounds per month. While behavioural support alongside medication was associated with greater weight loss during treatment, it did not slow the rate of regain afterwards.

Dr Sam West, said the results “sound a cautionary note for short-term use without a more comprehensive approach to weight management”, adding this “isn’t a failing of the medicines” but “obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition”. Senior author Associate Professor Koutoukidis then suggested one reason for faster regain may be that people using drugs “don’t need to consciously practise changing their diet to lose weight”, so they may not develop strategies that help maintain weight loss once treatment ends.

The analysis also raises questions about how these drugs are used in practice. The team noted that an estimated nine in ten people currently using weight loss medicines in the UK are purchasing them privately, often without the clinical oversight and behavioural support that the NHS usually prescribes. Professor Susan Jebb, a joint senior author, said that the findings “underscore the need for a more holistic and long term approach to weight management”, alongside greater emphasis on prevention of weight gain.

Dr West told Cherwell: “The findings can allow patients and practitioners to make fully informed decisions about what treatments is best for weight management. The new medications are very effective in helping people lose weight but people need to be aware of the rapid weight regain after they stop taking the medication.”

A love letter to authenticity

Abigail Christie
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A love letter to authenticity

Mirrors often occupy an uneasy place within the collective consciousness. A reflected replica of this world, not quite false, but not entirely real either. The liminal ambiguity lends itself well to folklore, legends, and myth; regaled tales of wandering eyes and flickering lights. Yet the most unsettling thing about a mirror is perhaps not the murky unknown that slinks in the shadows. It is more the fear that the face we see reflected back at us is, indeed, our own: unaltered, unedited, and unfiltered. Raw and candid – your authentic self.

Having spent the better half of my teenage years obsessively fixating on my appearance, I now feel a stranger to any semblance of authenticity in my twenties. The vanity in my bedroom can certainly attest to this. Resembling an ambitious Victorian apothecary, every crook and crevice is crammed with antidotes to the inevitable. Anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, and anti-frizz; serum for plumper lips, a concoction for brighter eyes, or cream for a smoother complexion. These promises I took as gospel, neatly arranging the tiny bottles in votive style around my mirror, in some delirious hope that these offerings would change what I see looking back at me.

But these insecurities bleed, and sharks can smell blood in the water. It doesn’t take long for social media algorithms to catch on. Endless pages of influencers preach ‘self-care’ with a siren-like hypnosis that sucks me in. Each clamouring for your attention through the screen, showcasing the newest, shiniest cosmetic product on the market. All of them brandish their version of the crème de la crème of the industry, a colourful rotation of more than 1000 ‘must have’ products – and you simply must have it. Can you afford the price of beauty? They implicitly ask. No answer is required, their profits will speak for you.

Yet the notion of ‘self-care’, and all the images of tender softness it conjures, is entirely misleading. A trending buzzword that hides the authenticity it should champion – being content with your appearance doesn’t necessarily work for a brand image. Beauty becomes defined by what sells out first and the buyer’s market is saturated with our feelings of inadequacy, broken down and churned out into capitalist fodder. So chasing the consumerist high of the wholly unattainable can only end in disappointment. Inevitably, the only winners in this rat race are the companies that prey and profit off manufactured insecurities. If we’re not starving, how will they eat?

But, the knowledge that we’re lambs to the slaughter doesn’t really do much for self-confidence, and being aware of capitalist ploys certainly does not heal a festering wound. However, the resentment I felt on behalf of my teenage self towards this breed of influencer has become to feel misplaced. Although complicit in a system that is rigged to exploit insecurity, under the surface, they are perhaps no different to me. We are together stuck in this rut; discontent with our appearance, wishing to look like another. Draining your bank to fill the pockets of another avaricious corporation will not change the feelings that burn inside.

Despite these revelations, my reflection has not changed and my vanity table remains the same, so I will not pretend there is some magic cure-all remedy for this. But a labour of love has begun to take place; to be content with what I see in the mirror, I first have to mend the despair I have felt from within. This kind of metamorphosis is one I can gladly yield to – a transformation I will greet like an old friend.

Now, when I glimpse the crinkle around my Dad’s eyes as he laughs, and the curve of my Mum’s smile, I suddenly cannot bear the thought of not looking just like them. My face, as I see it now, is a tapestry of all those who love me. And if I pull at the threads, will the whole thing unravel? This uncertainty is enough to sate my curiosity. So, now, when I scrutinise my appearance in the mirror, I do not just see my own reflection staring back. I see the laugh lines that have formed from years of joking with my sister, I see the creases on my forehead from a lifetime of pulling faces with my parents, and, above all, I see myself.

Oxford congestion charge records 31,000 fines within two months

Oskar Doepke
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Oxford congestion charge records 31,000 fines within two months

Oxfordshire County Council has issued 31,588 fines to motorists who failed to pay Oxford’s temporary congestion charge as of January 7th, a Council spokesperson told Cherwell. 

Introduced on 29th October last year, the scheme requires drivers without a permit or day pass to pay a £5 fee to enter Oxford through six charging locations. Motorists who do not comply are fined £70, reduced to £35 if the fine is paid within 14 days. Enforcement began 10th December, after a six-week grace period. 

The temporary congestion charge – which aims to reduce traffic and reinvest in the county’s bus service – has already raised £728,825 from 135,297 total payments, including £22,085 in fines. Despite the high number of fines, Oxfordshire County told Cherwell that “there is no cause for concern”, as enforcement costs were included in the scheme’s financial model. 

Nevertheless, the leader of the Conservative opposition group, Councillor Liam Walker, said the number of fines and money raised “doesn’t tell the story the county council might want it to”. He said the scheme looks “less like a transport solution and more like a tax on those who rely on their cars”. 

Likewise, Pete White – an Oxford resident who organises the ‘Anti-Traffic Filters and Congestion Charge Oxford’ group – told Cherwell: “From the perspective of many Oxford residents, the congestion charge has very little to do with climate action or clean air, and a great deal to do with revenue generation.

“The scale of fines is telling. Tens of thousands of penalties don’t indicate success; they indicate widespread non-compliance and disengagement.”

White added that “a clear majority” of Oxford residents oppose the congestion charge. During the council’s initial public consultation, nearly 74% of respondents said the scheme would have a negative impact, while separate petitions opposing the charge’s implementation reached 13,500 and 2,500 signatures, respectively. Another organisation, Open Roads for Oxford, is attempting to initiate a judicial review against the congestion charge. 

Responding to criticism, Councillor Andrew Grant, who is the Cabinet Member for Transport Management, told Cherwell: “As with any new scheme, there’s a bedding-in period as residents, visitors, and businesses adjust to the temporary congestion charge. We are monitoring the scheme’s impacts carefully and are reporting monthly on the data available to us.”

Grant added that the scheme’s free park and ride – which allows drivers to park outside Oxford and travel by bus for free – “is proving extremely popular”, with 179,000 more journeys in its first two months than in the same period last year. The temporary offer – which has been extended to March – has given Oxfordshire “more choice and convenience when it comes to bus travel and accessing the city, including major hospital sites”, Grant told Cherwell. 

Further, Grant said the “fantastic take-up” in bus ridership will lead to cleaner air, reduced traffic, and safer streets. 

The Oxford temporary congestion charge scheme is set to run until August, when Botley Road reopens. The scheme will then be replaced by a traffic filter trial, where motorists without a permit will be charged £70 for driving on the same six roads. 

New year, same me?

Freya Robson
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New year, same me?

We’ve all been there: gathered around on New Year’s Eve, each exchanging resolutions, describing the person that we wish to miraculously transform into the next morning. But by the time mid-January rolls around, that inspired figure full of hope from just weeks earlier has seemingly vanished. The idea of having resolutions, let alone keeping them, becomes almost laughable. Whether it be exercise, relaxation, or the oh-so-naïve ‘Dry January’, the idea of resolution-making is one that has become a redundant activity (even if we forget this by next New Year’s). However, whilst most have no chance of maintaining such deranged promises, the academic rigour of Oxford makes students even more likely to give up on resolutions before feeling their benefit.

Between last-minute tutorial essay writing and mad rushes between lectures on opposite sides of the city, Oxford really does not leave its students much time for healthy habit-making. Granted, the idea of “not having time” is simply a matter of priorities, but with so much academic pressure it would feel ridiculous to focus our limited energy on small acts of self-improvement rather than our work; I struggle to believe that any tutor would accept an incomplete essay because you simply had to do that online guided meditation. The intellectually challenging environment which we are constantly surrounded by at Oxford is just incompatible with resolutions. How can we aspire to keep healthy habits when 24/7 libraries populate the city and pulling an all-nighter to finish a piece of work is as much an Oxford tradition as matriculation?

This is not to say that welfare is lacking at Oxford, because support for student wellbeing is abundant, reaching a crescendo when the horror of Week Five Blues rolls around. Yet resolutions are supposed to be a preventative method of bettering ourselves, rather than a reactive response to what is going wrong. Instead of dedicating time to our own pursuits of self-improvement, we choose to drown in a crushing workload, using welfare resources as the life ring keeping us afloat.

Even the setup of Oxford life gives us no chance of being well-equipped for resolution keeping. It becomes incredibly easy to fall into laziness when a scout is cleaning your room each week and every meal is catered for. The entire Oxford lifestyle is built so that we as students don’t have to concern ourselves with household tasks in order to maximise working potential, making our lives easier but stunting our ability to take care of ourselves. Every college comes with its own micro-community, a safe haven that seems isolated from the real world, equipped with all the resources you could ever need – making it easy to never leave. But what comes with that sense of familiarity is a lack of drive, meaning that pursuing any kind of self-improvement becomes hopeless.

However, a lack of drive is not necessarily what Oxford students are associated with; some may object to this pessimistic perspective on the promising prospects that a New Year brings. Surely as driven students we can defy the odds and dedicate ourselves to healthy habit-making as well? But as we all well know, dedication and intelligence don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with common sense. Quantum mechanics students using WikiHow to cook pasta; scholars of 19th Century Gothic literature forgetting to separate their laundry and wondering why all of their white t-shirts are mysteriously pale pink. These quirks of Oxford students are plentiful, demonstrating clearly that basic life skills do not correlate with intellect – so what chance do we have to keep any resolutions? 

So whilst Oxford students may have met their match when faced with the prospect of resolution-keeping, there is still hope. Resolutions are not restricted to the 31st December, so we can always wake up and try again. Yes, we may fail countless times in this process, and no, we won’t magically wake up one morning as the perfected version of ourselves which we envision.  But the course of self-improvement never did run smooth, as Shakespeare (should have) said, so be kind to yourself this January – your resolutions might be broken, but may your spirit never be!

Navigating Oxford’s social media footprint

Emma Heagney
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Navigating Oxford’s social media footprint

How do colleges maintain a social media presence when competing with 40 others? From access Instagrams to society Facebook groups to JCR-run TikTok pages, you’d be hard-pressed to find a corner of the Internet not touched by an Oxford University college. But, in a sea of similar profiles, it isn’t easy for colleges to stand out.

For a year, I managed my college’s access page on Instagram. This would be fun, I thought. But when I tried to make an infographic explaining student life, I quickly found that not all college profiles are made equal, and engagement is not a given.

Being an unofficial profile, the outreach staff had no involvement in the Instagram page, which meant I was alone in my research. Part of the reason I got the role was because I understood the need for an access page: I was the first from my school to go to Oxbridge and from a very deprived area. I didn’t expect to suddenly have to know all of the information I was barred from accessing myself – like formal etiquette, for instance. I went from being the target of access initiatives to being expected to share this information with the children I was once one of, as if a few terms here taught me a lifetime of experience.

But would it be unethical for someone without this background to take on this online persona? Would it be seen as patronising? Out of touch? In my opinion, yes. It would be unethical, and for good reason. So, the issue of my lack of knowledge persisted. A potential solution would be to ensure that students in charge of representing the college online are properly trained and supported by staff. The difference between college-run and student-run social media (as the two rarely mix) is often palpable, and the latter could learn a lot from the former. 

But the lack of training is not the only issue that plagues student-run pages. First, the quick turnover of student pages often creates inconsistency in aesthetics and long gaps between posts, affecting how well posts perform. This may be no problem for college Entz and society pages, but access posts, which are designed to reach a wider audience, are significantly affected.

Secondly, the resources available to students are often much less than pages with college support or management. I could not tell you the amount of times I stalked the Pembroke College access page, admiring the beautiful clips compiled into semi-viral reels. I had a degree to balance, and there was no way I could dedicate this much time to filming, editing, promoting, and monitoring. Likewise, camera equipment and even Canva Pro were far out of budget for our JCR. These financial disparities also exist between colleges with vastly differing endowments.

Consequently, engagement suffers. Do prospective applicants know about these pages? Do they even care? During one open day, I did everything I could to advertise the access Instagram, from etching the handle on chalkboards to talking directly to students. The response? No one had heard of it, much less followed it. I understand this completely – coming from a school where academic success was not exactly great for social status, following a bunch of Oxford pages was probably a bit (dare I say) cringe. In the end, the follower-base remained the same: entirely students of my college.

Is meme-ification the way to go? It seems to gain the most attention right now, to the extent that the current government is posting Keir Starmer sigma edits. Brasenose JCR’s TikTok page is one of the rare examples of a student-run page actually achieving success, pairing trending audios with open day footage and student life, and averaging thousands of views. Their approach certainly works, with accessible, relatable memes that do not bombard the unfamiliar viewer with Oxford lingo. However, the perhaps lightning-in-a-bottle success of Brasenose JCR may not translate to other colleges, especially for those whose social media reps do not want to affect their digital footprint for the future.

Oxford’s reputation precedes itself, and for this reason the University is perhaps less reliant on social media than other higher education institutions. Yet, Oxford is faced with a unique problem: so many colleges yields so many social media profiles. While the University’s central social media thrives on platforms like LinkedIn, individual college pages, especially those which are student-run, may not be able to compete with the funding and time poured into their official counterparts.

Oxford University Press issues apology for book published 20 years ago

Maya Heuer-Evans
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Oxford University Press issues apology for book published 20 years ago

The Indian division of Oxford University Press (OUP) has apologised for statements made in the book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, published in 2003. The work, written by American historian James Laine, examined the history of Shivaji Shahaji Bhosale, a 17th century regional sovereign whose legacy has particular cultural and political significance in the state of Maharashtra and is widely celebrated by Hindu nationalists.

Udayanraje Bhosale, an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and descendant of Shivaji, filed a complaint in 2005 against Sayeed Manzar Khan, the then Managing Director of OUP India, over the book’s misrepresentation of his ancestor. The criminal defamation proceedings against the latter and three others were quashed by the High Court’s Kolhapur bench last December in favour of a public apology.

This apology, issued 6th January in two Indian newspapers on Khan’s behalf, “acknowledged that some statements regarding Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at page nos. 31, 33, 34 and 93 of the book were unverified”. “We sincerely regret publishing those statements”, it continued, apologising to “Shrimant Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bohsale and the public at large, for any distress and anguish caused to him”.

Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India was subject to widespread criticism upon publication, with a passage on page 93 that alluded to Shivaji’s parentage seen as having disrespected the memory of his mother Jijabai. The book was banned by Maharashtra in 2004, and withdrawn from circulation later that year. The same year, officials from the state sought to arrest Laine, and more than 150 protestors from the Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha activist group, targeted the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune for what they saw as its complicity in his research. 

The ban on the book was lifted by the Bombay High Court in 2007, and this decision confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2010. But this is not the first time that Shivaji’s legacy has caused controversy in the context of mounting Hindu-Muslim tensions in India: in 1993 there were calls for the author of an article printed in the Illustrated Weekly of India to be publicly flogged for misrepresenting the ruler. 

An OUP spokesperson told Cherwell: “The title in question was published for a brief period more than two decades ago in India. In response to concerns about the title’s content which were raised at the time, we took prompt steps to recall the title and withdraw it from circulation.

“Our products and services support education and research across the world. We always seek to consider cultural sensitivities and context carefully to ensure that our products can be read and enjoyed by as many people worldwide as possible.”

James Laine was contacted for comment.

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