Saturday 21st February 2026
Blog Page 4

Opening of Global Leadership Centre in Osney Power Station further delayed to summer 2026

Daniela Braw-Smith
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Opening of Global Leadership Centre in Osney Power Station further delayed to summer 2026

The Saïd Business School’s new Global Leadership Centre (GLC), located at the Osney Power Station, is set to open this summer after significant delays. The project was first mooted in May 2015, discussions with local residents took place in 2018, and the project was approved by Oxford City Council in 2019.

Plans resulting from the 2018 meetings set a target timeline for construction starting in spring 2019 and finishing in spring 2021. However, construction only began in 2021, with the opening successively pushed to 2024, spring 2026, and summer 2026.

At a price tag of £60 million, the GLC has cost twice the amount Wafid Saïd donated to establish the business school in 1996. According to construction company GRAHAM, the GLC is intended as a “mini campus”, cultivating “close links between business and management research and practice”. Complete with more than 120 ‘hotel-style’ bedrooms, various teaching rooms, leisure facilities and a gym, the building will house “short-stay residential courses for company executives”.

GRAHAM explained how the business school’s existing residential facility “no longer reflects its ambition”. They claim the new site would “inspire the next generation of global leaders through a space that blends heritage, innovation and sustainability”. 

Roger Goodman, Warden of St Anthony’s College, asserts that the GLC will provide a model for the development of executive education programmes across other University departments.

The Osney Power Station, which opened in 1892, is a Local Heritage Asset and powered the first electric lightbulb in Oxford. Located around a five-minute walk from the train station, the power station closed in 1968 and has since been used sporadically by the University’s engineering department and for museum storage.

The GLC is among a series of new built additions to the University, some of which have attracted criticism. A proposed three-storey lab in Headington was decried by Headington Heritage and the Highfield Residents Association, who pointed to potential decreased “quality of residential living” due to flood concerns and light spillage. 

Perhaps anticipating these criticisms, Environmental consultancy firm RIDGE has claimed that the development of the GLC will “form part of the regeneration of the west end of the city of Oxford, creating jobs and opportunities for the local community.” Based on meetings with residents in 2018 and the Considerate Constructors Scheme codes of practice, no works, deliveries or waste removal are to be undertaken during the early mornings, evenings or weekends. In addition, the GLC will not allow for car parking, instead encouraging visitors to use public transit or walk.
The University has argued that bringing a historic building back into active use “will be securing its long-term future for the benefit of the city”.

John Radcliffe Hospital hosts new institute for trauma, emergency, and critical care

Angelina Wu
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John Radcliffe Hospital hosts new institute for trauma, emergency, and critical care

A new Kadoorie Institute of Trauma, Emergency and Critical Care has been established within the University of Oxford. Based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, the new institution formalises a long-term collaboration between the Oxford Trauma and Emergency Care at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) and the Critical Care Research Team at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN).

The Kadoorie Institute’s close collaboration with its host, the John Radcliffe Hospital, is designed to enable research into clinical effectiveness. Matthew Costa, Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery at NDORMS and one of the Institute’s directors, told Cherwell that the department aims to streamline research into Emergency Departments, trauma operating theatres, and Intensive Care Units. The institute will analyse “these three acute care specialities together so that our research spans the whole patient pathway”.

Both research and education form the focus of the Kadoorie Institute. Professor Costa told Cherwell: “Our educational work aims to provide the ‘outputs’ from this research in a way that is easily accessible to healthcare professionals and patients, whether it be online materials or face-to-face teaching.”

The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, the Institute’s namesake, has played a pivotal role in its financial support. Professor Costa told Cherwell: “The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation has been supporting acute case research and education in Oxford for 20 years… Without their support, the Institute would not have been possible. We hope to continue this incredible relationship for many years to come.” 

The Institute’s launch comes at a time of increasing strain for the NHS, particularly in the field of emergency medicine. Costa told Cherwell: “Acute care in the NHS is seldom out of the press. Research to improve the outcomes for patients who need urgent treatments is therefore a key priority for the NHS. With ever increasing pressure on NHS resources, there is also a need to make sure that all new treatments are cost-effective as well as better for patients’ recovery.”

Rusu, Farhan, Quan, Kola-Balogun elected to SU leadership amid low turnout

Cherwell News
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Rusu, Farhan, Quan, Kola-Balogun elected to SU leadership amid low turnout

The Oxford Students’ Union (SU) has announced the results of its 2026 election. Roxi Rusu, who ran unopposed, has been elected President for Communities and Common Rooms. Zagham Farhan was elected President for Undergraduates alongside David Quan, who was elected President for Postgraduates. Catherine Kola-Balogun will be the new President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion. 

The elections saw a turnout of 2,862 individual voters. Although this is higher than the turnout for last year’s elections, which was 1,471, this year’s turnout is significantly lower than the 2024 election, which had a turnout of 4,206. The SU represents 26,000 matriculated students at the University.

The incumbent President for Postgraduates, Wantoe T. Wantoe, who stood for re-election on a platform of continuity, was unsuccessful. Alisa Brown, the incumbent President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion, has been elected for the position of Student Trustee.

The election occurred amid concerns about the SU’s ability to carry out its democratic functions. At the end of last term, the Conference of Common Rooms – the SU’s main representative body – was unable to pass a motion due to insufficient participation from college JCRs. At the time, an Oxford SU spokesperson told Cherwell: “On this occasion, voting did not reach quoracy (30 common rooms) for this vote to be carried.”

Rusu ran unopposed on the promise of connecting Common Rooms, societies, the local community, and individuals through a shared contact list and calendar, and more informal social events. This is the first time in recent years that this role, which took over many of the responsibilities of the abolished SU sole presidency, has seen a candidate elected unopposed. Last year, two people ran for this role. 

Farhan, who ran his campaign with Quan and Morris, aims to “demand more” and promises to fight for a “serious external review into the sexual misconduct processes, greater disability support, [and] an online library capacity tracker”. This follows the recent probes by the media into the University’s mishandling of sexual misconduct cases. Quan, whose manifesto is built on the idea of “#OneOxford”, will undertake to advance “student food support” and “hardship transparency”. 

Quan, Farhan, and Henry Morris ran in a slate called “Demand More”, as joint campaigns are now allowed by SU Election Regulations. Morris ran for President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion, and was not elected. The slate was supported by various student political groups, including Oxford Labour Club and the Oxford Students Liberal Association.

Kola-Balogun’s campaign aims to “push for Welfare that Works, Equity that Delivers, and Inclusion that Lasts”. She has worked as JCR Access Officer at St Hilda’s, was the President of Oxford Law Society, and is a current Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Ambassador. 

Commenting on his unsuccessful re-election bid, Wantoe told Cherwell: “For me, this election was never about a title. It was about raising the standard of postgraduate representation. That work continues, and I remain deeply committed to it.” 

Speaking about his successor, Wantoe added: “David is passionate and experienced, and I am confident he will bring energy and commitment to the role. I will ensure a smooth and comprehensive transition, sharing insight into ongoing committee work and institutional processes so that progress continues without disruption.”

A number of part-time officers, which are voluntary representative roles, were elected as well. Valerie Mann was reelected as LGBTQ+ Officer. Sthapatya Saketh Kotamraju was elected International Students’ Officer, alongside Regn Pooley, who was elected Disabled Students’ Officer, and Janet Wang, who was elected Societies Officer. 

Apart from the International Students’ Officer role, all ran unopposed. The SU will hold by-elections for six roles, as no one was nominated to stand, including Class and BAME Officers. These officer roles are the primary form of advocacy within the SU for underrepresented communities, following the SU’s decision to discontinue student campaigns as part of its transformation period. 

Alisa Brown, Honcques Laus, and Isabel Hetherington were elected as Student Trustees, a two-year, unpaid position. The Oxford SU Trustee board oversees the SU and has overall legal responsibility for the charity. 

This was the first set of elections for the four Presidential roles, who will take up their roles in July. Last year, the four positions were elected as Officers, and were later renamed ‘President’. The SU leadership used to comprise six full time sabbatical officers. However, after a transformation period in 2024-25, this was replaced by the current flat structure with four sabbatical officers. 

A spokesperson for the SU said: “We have been delighted to see so many students engaging with the SU Leadership elections and thank all students who took the time to run for and vote for all roles, at a time where democracy and representation matter more than ever. We look forward to welcoming the President Elects to their roles in July 2026.”

The story will be updated as voting numbers for each candidate are published later today.

Reporting by Mercedes Haas, Archie Johnston, Arina Makarina, Gaspard Rouffin, and Stanley Smith.

Additional reporting by Joseph Rodgers.

The article previously stated: “Alisa Brown, the incumbent President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion, was also not re-elected despite having stood for the unpaid position of Student Trustee.” In fact, Alisa Brown did not stand for Presidency for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion and was elected as the Student Trustee

Oxford study projects population experiencing extreme heat to nearly double by 2050

Olivia Miller
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Oxford study projects population experiencing extreme heat to nearly double by 2050

Climate researchers at Oxford University have published a study in Nature Sustainability, according to which the population experiencing extreme heat is projected to “nearly double” by 2050 compared to 2010 levels.

According to the study, 41% of the global population will live in extreme heat regions by 2050, defined by the number and severity of cooling degree days, compared to 23% in 2010. This new data will be crucial for predicting energy demand for heating and cooling buildings as climate patterns change due to global warming. The data shows that heating demands will decline while cooling demands will increase as the average global temperature rises.

The data is essential for planning climate change adaptation, assessing geographic inequalities, and identifying vulnerable populations. According to the study,  the 20 countries with the most drastic increase in cooling needs are all developing nations, with the Central African Republic, Nigeria, and South Sudan topping the chart, whose socioeconomic development will further suffer from global warming.

Most increases in cooling demand will occur by the time the planet reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to pre-industrial temperatures (i.e. within the first half a degree of global warming going forward).

The study used heating and cooling degree days as quantifiable representations of human response to global warming. Heating degree days refer to colder-than-usual temperatures, which prompt people to use heating technology such as radiators to warm buildings. Cooling degree days refer to the opposite – warmer temperatures that prompt the use of cooling technology like air conditioners. This benchmark also reflects the energy use and emissions associated with heating and cooling systems.

The researchers visualised the dataset with 30 different maps that depict heating degree days and cooling degree days around the world according to three hypothetical increases in the average global temperature: one degree Celsius, one and a half degrees Celsius and two degrees Celsius, each compared to a pre-industrial baseline. The average global temperature increased by about one degree Celsius between 2006 and 2016. 

The data set is particularly flexible because it is temperature-dependent, rather than time-dependent: The results are not affected by when the warming happens, only by how much warming occurs. The findings are therefore especially helpful to policy-makers for planning, adapting, and preparing infrastructure in the face of uncertain futures; the data will remain relevant regardless of how quickly the planet warms.

The results can also pair with existing time-specific models of climate change. The researchers chose to cross-reference their data with Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 2-4.5, a popular moderate prediction of future climate change which sees a decline in emissions – without reaching net-zero – by the end of the century.

The Oxford research team included lead author and Associate Professor in Engineering Science Jesus Lizana alongside Senior Researcher Nicole Miranda, Associate Professor in Environmental Impact Sarah Sparrow, Professor in Informatics David Wallom, Associate Professor Radhika Khosla, and Professor of Energy Systems Malcolm McCulloch.

All buttered up: Broche, and the art of the perfect croissant

Luis Prenninger
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All buttered up: Broche, and the art of the perfect croissant

During these cold winter months, in which – thanks to that pinnacle of British construction, breathable walls – I wake up in a freezing room, I find great solace in hiding beneath my blanket. Very much aware of my spatially limited happiness. Beyond the edge of my bed, however, I have found another place of naïve joy, one that offers a time-out from some nuisances of everyday life: a tiny hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Jericho called Broche.

The moments of concentrated happiness sold at Broche take the form of unbelievably good pastries. Here is my ranking of those I have tried, from great to most incredible: Danish Three Cheese (£4.80), Croissant (£3.50), Pain au Pastrami (£5.60), Bostock (£4.40), Cinnamon Bun (£3.80), Chocolate & Cherry Croissant (£5.60), Pain au Chocolat (£4.00). But it is the Vanilla & Raspberry Croissant (£5.40) which stands out as my favourite. The crisp outside, the illegal quantities of butter folded into its dough, the luscious vanilla custard, the sweet-acidic raspberry jam with seeds: any Frenchman would be happy to claim Broche’s pâtissier as one of their own. Knowing that they must have worked relentlessly to learn the craft – and then to make these pastries daily before sunrise – the brazen price might very well be justified. But I don’t think we’re paying £5.40 for the croissant; rather, we are paying for the luxury of engaging in that luxury. This may be a little cynical, but it puts the Vanilla & Raspberry croissant into a different perspective, and perhaps a more honest appreciation. At least, I hope so.

The pastries at Broche are not only damn good; they are also highly aestheticized objects of status through which customers define themselves. The evidence I have of this is some unprofessional observational ethnography I attempted, from which I can report that the ‘posh croissant’ functions as an accessory for the following: middle-aged women in knee-length down parkas (extra points if they are walking a dog; additional extra points if it’s a Chihuahua in designer dog-wear); elderly men in colourful trainers, sometimes accompanied by their sons in Japanese denim, beanies, French workwear, and the last remaining hipster beards; young professionals in body-toned kits with sleek £10k carbon racing bikes, who order V60 pour-over coffee. It is also a place where people who would ordinarily meet their future partners on LinkedIn meet them in person, I’m told. If Notting Hill had an official outpost, it would be the five square-meters making up the tiny shack that is Broche.

None of this is to say that you shouldn’t go. You should. If it happens to be sunny, cross the street and lean against the neighbour’s garden wall, as I usually do – Broche, unfortunately, sits in its own shade. Be cheap; get a plain croissant. Have a matcha latte. Enjoy a brief, luxurious moment of immunity from all things troubling. Like a retired man in a Minneapolis mall, vegetating on a vending massage chair while US politics unfolds outside. It’s awfully nice under the warm blanket, isn’t it?

West Oxfordshire District Council approves plans for carbon-neutral village

Siyeon Lee
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West Oxfordshire District Council approves plans for carbon-neutral village

West Oxfordshire District Council has approved plans for a new carbon-neutral village near Eynsham as part of the West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2031, a framework adopted in 2018 to improve infrastructure across the district.

The proposed development, Salt Cross Garden Village, will include 2,200 new homes, a science business park, and community facilities such as schools and employment opportunities, according to the council’s website.

A spokesperson for the West Oxfordshire District Council told Cherwell that Salt Cross “was one of a number of strategic-scale site options that were considered in order to assist neighbouring Oxford City with its unmet housing need”.

They added: “It will be an exemplar community built to garden village principles with the need to tackle the climate emergency running through its core.”

Promotional material for the Salt Cross described the neighbourhood’s philosophy as having “climate action at heart”, balancing the “benefits of vibrant village life with the beauty and delight of the countryside”. The material emphasised the village’s focus on sustainability, with  affordable homes and “opportunities to grow food locally… through community gardens, allotments, and edible planting in public spaces”.

In early January, a government inspector confirmed that the town’s Area Action Plan (AAP) met standards for approval. The inspector’s report, according to the Ducklington Parish Council website, “fully supports the Council’s strategy for delivering a climate-conscious, well-designed and future-ready community” and confirms that the council’s flagship Net Zero Carbon Development policy is “justified, effective, and fit for purpose”.

The approval follows protracted disputes between planning inspectors and local authorities over the village’s environmental obligations. In 2023, government inspectors published a report questioning the council on Salt Cross Village’s net-zero emission goals and whether it was consistent with national policy. Climate group Rights Community Action (RCA) subsequently challenged the report, taking legal action and arguing that the national policy was out of date.

A High Court judge then ruled in 2024 that inspectors “incorrectly applied national planning policy to proposals” for the homes in Salt Cross Garden Village”.

Asked how the plans for the village were altered between the inspectors’ 2023 rejection and recent approval, the West Oxfordshire District Council spokesperson told Cherwell: “Following the Inspector’s initial report in 2023 and the subsequent legal challenge, the council commissioned further evidence to support its zero-carbon ambition.

“The updated evidence considered a low-carbon option and a zero-carbon option, concluding that the latter was far more effective… but would be no more expensive to implement.”

They went on: “Based on this updated evidence, the council put forward a revised version of its zero-carbon policy which… retained the core requirements for 100% renewable energy and energy-based metrics.”

Construction on the village is planned to begin in 2030 and last for about 13 to 14 years.

The case for doing nothing (on holiday)

Trevor Lee
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The case for doing nothing (on holiday)

The greatest part of gallivanting around Europe? Not the ancient churches steeped in culture, nor the towering spires in which you have to pay £20 to gain the privilege of climbing up hundreds of steps, and certainly not the historic castles, which you suspect have seen more starry-eyed tourists than actual battle. 

No, my best memories were of parks. They were found in the tranquility of self-reflection as I enjoyed the serenity of nature, clutching my too-expensive coffee and watching the ducks swim about in the river as the cold winter wind whipped the fallen leaves off the ground beside me. And so it was that I soon discovered a strange new hobby: I made it a point, in each major city I went, to try visiting a park. 

My parents were dumbfounded by this. They could scarcely believe that I, having flown 13 hours from sunny Singapore to live and study in a foreign land, would squander a magical European holiday just sitting around. Surely, they argued, I ought to have taken it upon myself to visit the ‘must see’ tourist attractions of these wonderful places. 

Perhaps they had a point. But, in my defence, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Having obsessed over  trying to do precisely that in the earlier part of the winter break, I soon found myself wondering what the point of it all was. What does it even mean for a tourist attraction to be a ‘must see’? Is it truly the culture and history that lies behind them? The sheer volume of tourists that are drawn to them in droves? That they were featured on websites and travelling blogs (read: other people said it should be visited)? Or, is it, as I came to suspect, simply the expectation that one must see it, just to tick it off the list?

At any rate, I was quickly fed up. I didn’t enjoy waking up early to have a head start. I didn’t enjoy going to see yet another cathedral for what must have been the third day straight. I didn’t enjoy posting aesthetic pictures on Instagram so that everyone who probably scrolled past my story in less than half a second would know I had a good time. So why did I feel a need to do so? 

There is a strange irony in that even on holiday – the ultimate exercise of our free will – there is a particular ideal or prescribed way to spend it. We feel obliged to optimise everything, to feel productive, and to make the most of our leisure time – even when we are meant to be in our most relaxed state. 

This pressure to do things that we are told we ought to do, rather than what we actually want to do, is not unique to travelling. In fact, it manifests in most aspects of our daily lives. It is what drives us to go partying or clubbing for the fear of missing out, rather than because we want to, or to enter a relationship because we feel we really ought to have done so by now, or to default to choosing the most prestigious career options available, because our educational pedigree behooves us to do so.

Being cognisant of this, it is worth taking a moment to pause and reflect. Is this something I really want to do or something that I feel like I should be doing? Granted, in some cases perhaps we really ought to do certain things – those tutorial sheets and essays are not going to complete themselves, nor will your body thank you if you pull constant all-nighters and eat meal deals every day.. But, I suspect, in more situations than we might realise, we are unwittingly swept along by these dominant social narratives and cultural pressures. And, in letting ourselves be carried by these currents, we run the very real risk of losing sight of what makes us, well, us.

Perhaps I cannot convince you, dear reader, to relook at every aspect of your life. Perhaps some of these pressures are too deep-set to simply be cast away by sheer force of will. Perhaps, having just entered the cusp of adulthood, we haven’t a sufficiently strong sense of self to distinguish our own desires from those which others and society impose upon us.

But, we can, and should, start to try. Change is possible, and at the very least, it should start with how we go about having fun. Go crazy. Visit parks instead of tourist traps. Put down the Phenomenology of Spirit and start kicking your feet whilst reading  a trashy romance novel (no one will judge you, I swear). Sit by the marina and watch the warm rust-red hue of the evening light fade away into an unfamiliar metropolitan skyline . 

Have fun doing what you genuinely enjoy. After all, once you’ve seen one ancient European church, you’ve basically already seen them all.

The King appoints Wim Decock as new Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford

Siyeon Lee
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The King appoints Wim Decock as new Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford

Last week, the UK government announced that the King has approved Professor Wim Decock, Professor of Roman Law, as Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford.

A Regius professorship is considered the most prestigious professorship in the nation. Positions have been historically restricted to a “handful of the ‘ancient’ universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland” and appointed only by a “Royal patron”. Founded in 1504 by King Henry VIII, the professorship can be endowed to scholars of Divinity, Medicine, Greek, Hebrew, Civil Law, Modern History, and English Literature. 

A Professor of Roman Law, Legal History and Comparative Law, Decock is currently teaching at Université Catholique de Louvain and the University of Liège, both in Belgium. He will assume his position on 1st October and become a Fellow of All Souls College.

Decock told Cherwell: “I was deeply honoured – and, I admit, rather humbled – by my appointment as Regius Professor of Civil Law. The chair carries an extraordinary historical and intellectual legacy stretching back to the time of King Henry VIII. To be entrusted with a role that has been held by scholars who helped shape the study of civil law in Britain and beyond is both an immense privilege and a great responsibility.”

He also told Cherwell that he aimed to “strengthen Oxford’s position as a leading centre for the study of civil law in its historical, doctrinal, and comparative dimensions” and said that he was confident in realising this ambition. 

He added that he was deeply committed to the chair’s educational function precisely because “civil law is an essential part of the law curriculum”.

The Regius Professorship is especially important for communicating the “grammar and vocabulary of law to undergraduates, while simultaneously opening their minds to the international dimension of law and to its historical, philosophical, and cultural moorings”.

Having been raised in a small village in the Flemish countryside and gifted the Oxford English Dictionary as one of his first books, Decock told Cherwell that the honour was a “childhood dream come true”.

“I have spent many years living and working abroad in beautiful and stimulating places… but I am confident that Oxford will surpass them all.” Decock sees the opportunity to form part of Oxford’s community of scholars and teach “some of the best students in the world” as an exciting prospect.

Palestinian ambassador speaks to Oxford students

Leo Jones
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Palestinian ambassador speaks to Oxford students

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot, delivered an impassioned speech at an Oxford Speaks event held at St Anne’s College on Thursday 5th February.

Appearing before an audience at the Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre, the talk marked the end of the ambassador’s tour around British academic institutions, to publicise the work of UK Friends of Palestinian Universities. The ambassador recently appeared in speaking events at Cambridge University and the London School of Economics (LSE).

Zomlot’s appearance was underpinned by a call to stand against “scholasticide”, in order to protect academic spaces in Gaza and the West Bank. Experts at the UN have expressed concerns that educational institutions are being targeted by the Israeli military’s “assault” in Gaza. 

Zomlot has served as Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom since October 2018. The Embassy of the State of Palestine was inaugurated in London on 5th January, after the UK government took the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood in September last year.

Zomlot opened by expressing it was “genuinely good to be back in Oxford”. He went on to describe university environments in particular as spaces “where conscience is sharper, where power is questioned, and where young people refuse to accept injustice as normal”. 

The ambassador’s speech was tailored to its university audience, thanking students for “fighting to speak truth to power” and comparing recent protests about Gaza to student opposition in the United States during the Vietnam War. He said: “Your voices matter, I ask you to continue – to ensure that the arc of history bends towards justice, because it does not bend on its own.” 

Zomlot made reference to a raid by the Israeli military on his alma mater, Birzeit University, in the West Bank last month. Israeli soldiers fired live rounds and tear gas at students who had gathered for a planned screening of the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab. Eleven students were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Having just returned from the West Bank, including a visit to Birzeit, Zomlot remarked that “90% of schools in Gaza have been damaged”. He said that “what happens in Palestine does not stay in Palestine. The dehumanisation must end. That is peace”. 

Responding to questions about how Palestine is portrayed in Western media, the ambassador told Cherwell that “the media wants to deliberately strip things out of context”. He drew parallels with the role Palestinian young people have played in reshaping public perceptions of the nation through social media.

Following the ambassador’s speech, Oxford Speaks President Hussain Jeddy interviewed him, focusing on the subject of Palestine’s future. Jeddy told Cherwell afterwards that he was conscious not to “regurgitate any of the talking points that [Zomlot] always combats”. Jeddy brought up an October 2023 interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, in which Morgan repeatedly asked Zomlot whether he condemned the actions of Hamas on 7th October that year. 

Jeddy stated that organising the event was “quite difficult” due to security considerations. However, he told Cherwell that the event was ultimately “very orderly,” reflecting the value of open academic discussion without having “people constantly trying to attack [Zomlot’s] views”. 

Reflecting on the value of the event, Jeddy told Cherwell: “Education is very important, because it helps people remember what has happened so that we don’t repeat it again.”

Questioned by a member of the audience about how to prevent radicalisation in Palestine and build a stable peace process, Zomlot dismissed the idea of deradicalisation through education alone. He repeatedly stated that the solution to political instability in Palestine was to “remove the core cause”, which he argued was Israeli occupation. 

“People are reawakening,” Zomlot added. “Oppression has globalised, but so has resistance to it. That’s why I still have hope.”

UK Friends of Palestinian Universities, formerly known as Fozbu, has been in operation since 1978 and is dedicated to building “UK and international academic solidarity, partnership, and exchange with Palestinian higher education institutions facing systematic attack”.

Oxford is making you childish

Finlo Cowley
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Oxford is making you childish

Oxford is often separated from other universities in the public imagination, a result of this city’s illustrious history of academic excellence, sporting prowess, and gleaming architecture. Perhaps we should add another reason to the list – the infantilisation of Oxford.

You arrive aged 18, ready to start your independent, adult life, and are instantly thrown into a setting that resembles a vast boarding school. The childishness is glaring. The tone is set during Fresher’s Week when the standard fare of drinking and club nights is complemented by a range of non-drinking activities that bring back flashbacks of secondary-school icebreakers. Talk to an Oxford graduate of the 80s and they would be amazed to hear about a movie night in the first week of university rather than a night in the college bar. Living in halls, with its attendant niceties, inevitably means Oxford students do not undergo the typical student rites of passage. Scouts clean your rooms, put your bins out, and tidy your kitchens, not that you need to use that lone microwave available to you because your college dining hall will feed you seven nights a week. And this for the entirety of your course since nearly all colleges now offer accommodation for all years– student life sans energy bills, pesky landlords, or unblocking drains. 

Oxford students are actively discouraged from having a job during term time lest it distract from their degree, leaving those students who do need to work both academically stigmatised and socially isolated from their peers. And could there ever be a more telling sign of the willing regression of a group of nascent adults than the obsession with college puffers? Oxford students leave school complaining about school uniform and embrace the next best thing as soon as they get to university, cosplaying tourists wearing University-branded sweaters. 

Perhaps the infantilisation of Oxford is part of a broader trend of 20-somethings increasingly aspiring to be more childish. A generation that prefers to work from home as it means we can watch Netflix between meetings and don’t have to have awkward conversations at the water cooler because we’ve all developed social anxiety in lockdown. A generation that needs ‘adulting’ guides to help us with complicated tasks like doing laundry or navigating a supermarket. A generation that just needs to get a grip, or so we are told in the press.

Or maybe what we’re seeing is actually the excessive mollycoddling of university students à la américaine, whereby adolescents raised in an age of ‘helicopter parenting’ and Covid lockdowns have reached university age and found themselves unable to deal with opposing or upsetting views. Degrees are dumbed down. Trigger warnings are given for anything from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. It is not a leap too far to go from being infantilised in your college living arrangements to being patronised in your degree.

This would all make sense applied to Oxford. Describing his undergraduate years at Oxford, Balliol academic John Maier writes of his college JCR that ‘‘many of those in power behaved with a kind of wounded officiousness that suggested they had been bullied too much at school, or perhaps not enough’’. Enter into this febrile mix a crushing workload and you have a recipe for an increasingly childish and self-regarding student population. The prime evidence of this are JCR meetings where the very worst stereotypes of student politics come to the fore. Funds are allocated on the basis of virtue signalling by self-important committees so pleased with themselves to be elected that they forget that the point of their roles is essentially to hand out money to students.  

It is tempting to hark back to some imagined glory days in Oxford’s past where students spent their evenings sipping pints instead of scrolling and discussed Tolstoy rather than Twitter. But Oxford has always been childish – then, the scouts didn’t just take out your bins, they served you your port too. 

Might there be some benefit to this infantilisation? The university would certainly claim that scouts and college catering fosters an environment in which students can focus as much energy as possible on their academic work. After all, Albert Einstein reportedly wore the same suit everyday so that he wouldn’t waste mental energy deciding what to wear. The mathematician Paul Erdős could work for 19 hours a day precisely because he never learned to cook.

It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. Oxford is still full of brilliant students, willing to engage critically with their subjects and consume vast amounts of beer while doing so. But the University community would do well to remember that there is more to student life than churning out essays or winning JCR elections. There is more to life than Oxford.

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