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Headlines

Oxford Union votes against flying LGBTQ+ flag for Pride Month

News Noah Robson -
The Oxford Union has rejected a proposal to fly an LGBTQ+ flag for Pride Month every year. President Anita Okunde had put forward the Standing Order change but the Standing Committee – made up entirely of students – voted 7-4 against the move. During a meeting today (5th May), the motion was tabled which would have required the President to fly the pride flag “throughout June every year”. It would have given the President the discretion to waive the requirement...

Comment

Features

Twelve points to politics: Eurovision is more than it seems

Jan Maciejewski -
Brits don't care as much as our continental cousins. Still, mixing glitter and geopolitics, Eurovision is more than a laughable song contest: it's a cultural flashpoint.

Orange paint, green promises, and Oxford’s climate conundrum

Victoria McKinley-Smith -
Oxford has fulfilled its 2020 divestment commitments. But some activists see hypocrisy, as it continues to hold millions of pounds in indirect investments.

University developments and Oxford’s common ground

Sara Rourke -
With the University having outlined a plan to work with the community, its ability to preserve Common Ground will be a test its commitment.

“All faiths and none?”: What college chapels can offer their students

Archie Johnston -
The rustle of a scholar’s gown. Dappled evening light glowing behind a stained-glass saint. The crackling of a candle being lit. The college chapel can easily feel removed from the 21st century university that surrounds it, with its breakneck pace and crushing deadlines. The robes, Latin hymnals, and retention...

You wouldn’t steal a Cherwell article: AI and copyright infringement

Chloe Smith -
Hello, Cherwell reader! Think this is a good article? A TikToker probably thinks so too. ‘Korean Consultant’ posted a TikTok on 5th January 2025 titled “What your university says about you - Russell Group Part 3”. It featured nine universities – each briefly described on a slide – and...

Much ado about funding: Financing Oxford student theatre

Lilly Law -
Last term, I performed in my first show at Oxford University, and I couldn’t stop talking about it. Everyone I knew was subjected to my monologues about rehearsals and costumes and casting, and most of my friends met this with remarkable patience. One friend of mine was also in...

Profiles

Ex-Student Spotlight: Catherine Hoskyns, author, academic, and feminist

Billy Jeffs -
Hoskyns speaks about her experience in 1950s Oxford, reporting on African politics and working towards the recognition of women's unpaid labour.

Character of Mr Hitchens

Hassan Akram -
I  It is a cool smoky morning in January outside Taylors deli on St Giles. Peter Hitchens padlocks his bicycle to a lamppost and accompanies me indoors, where we sit down with a Portuguese tart and a pile of his books on the table between us. We begin to talk....

Samantha Shannon: ‘My mantra with the series is ‘Don’t be afraid to take big risks’ and so far, I’ve stuck to it’

Charlie Stevens -
Samantha Shannon is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, and an alumnus of St Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the author of two ongoing fantasy series: The Roots of Chaos, and The Bone Season, in which her latest novel, The Dark Mirror, is the fifth novel....

Ever wondered about the man singing on Cornmarket Street? Meet Richard

Sydney Walter -
CW: Drug or alcohol abuse You may not know him by name, but you’ve definitely heard him. If you picture the Wasabi on Cornmarket street, what may also come to mind is a man in front with a microphone and a speaker. On most days, you can find him with a...

Culture

Why reading for pleasure still matters at Oxford

Ruby Tipple -
The idea of students reading for pleasure during term time has sparked much debate. Simply put though, Oxford’s intensive schedule makes it near-impossible. The natural consequence of eight weeks of unrelenting academic work is for some hobbies to fall in priority, and reading for pleasure is often the first...

The Pasts Contained in Preloved Books at the Oxford Premier Book Fair

Maya Heuer-Evans -
Although post-collections celebrations usually involve nights out, followed by long, long lie-ins, I spent Saturday morning taking the bus to the Oxford Brookes Headington Campus. Why? Because the Oxford Premier Book Fair had come to town – a rare and fleeting gathering of sellers of antique novels, aged children’s...

Review of ‘Intermezzo’: Chess, law, and the philosophy of language in yet another Rooney masterpiece

Peter Chen -
I thought it perplexing that critics felt Intermezzo similar to other works by writer Sally Rooney. Certainly, it shares some familiar ingredients: it’s set (mostly) in Dublin, explores personal relationships, and the characters seem to have perpetually miserable lives. Yet the resemblance stops there. Rooney’s new book is a...

Review: Oxford Opera Society enters the bullring for Bizet’s ‘Carmen’

Eleanor Hamilton Clark and Francois Cloete -
If you recall Pixar’s UP, a comedy where an old man balloons with his dog to South America, a funny moment appears in Carl’s morning routine: the agonizingly slow stairlift in his house. What makes this scene funny is the tune we hear, all its tension, frustration, and sauciness...

Life

A homely solution to stress

Morien Robertson -
Sometimes the strangest methods are the most effective.

Ssh…here’s the debrief on gossip.

Amy Lawson -
Gossip – does it have redeemable qualities, or is it simply inexcusable? Amy Lawson discusses.

Zero social anxiety?

Ben O'Brien -
Tiktok is helping us see what it might be like to have no social anxiety. But is complete disinhibition something we should all aspire to?

Stuck in a loop: Are you balancing your studies with your cycle? 

Maddie Gillett -
The menstrual cycle is not a disadvantage – understanding and accommodating it can bring huge advantages.

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