Opinion

A year abroad for all

There is something liberating about being somewhere where nobody knows your name, your college, or your subject. While abroad, I am no longer simply an Oxford student navigating the same routines of term-time life; I am an outsider, and, most importantly, a beginner again. The world suddenly feels much bigger than the few square miles I had grown accustomed to calling home.

The quiet guilt of upward social mobility at Oxford

Freshers’ formal. The first black-tie event I attended at Oxford. The golden glow of...

Unsilenced: I reported Damian Howard, too

When looking back on abuse cases that have plagued the church, some of the...

We should hate more

Oxford students hate C*mbridge. Or at least, we’re supposed to. We call them Tabs, occasionally ‘shoe’ them, and inherit a rivalry as soon as we matriculate. There’s only one problem: most of the time, nobody seems particularly bothered.

What’s in a name? The social inequality attached to where we go to school

"If you go to a school with a widely known ‘name’ then, whether you want it or not, people perceive it to be one of your characteristics."

Linguistic hypocrisy: Rhetoric on refugees

"Refugees are considered political problems; they are viewed as contentious, voter-dividing subjects"

Sale of Blackwell’s: The long-term defence against Amazon

"There is a certain joy at browsing the shelves and displays of independent bookstores and reflecting on the individuality of the owners."

As a Palestinian NUS delegate, I say that tolerance of antisemitism within our student spaces must end

Anas Dayeh discusses the scourge of antisemitism within the NUS and beyond, and advocates standing with Jewish students in the face of prejudice.

There Ain’t No Party Like a Conservative Party!: Oxford, the Tories, and the preparation for life without consequences

"Boris Johnson...was fresh from a degree largely spent violently drunk, destroying property, mass-vandalising and harassing staff"

Calorie labelling is not a miracle cure for obesity, it’s proof that the government has failed those with eating disorders

Displaying calorie information on menus is a step towards furthering a culture that believes food is the enemy

Leader: Oxford SU must not fail to stand against NUS antisemitism

When Shaima Dallali tweeted ‘Khaybar Khaybar O Jews … Muhammad’s army will return’, the president-elect of the National Union of Students was being explicit...

Jashn-e-Riwaj and linguistic myopia

"There is, then, a truly outrageous hypocrisy in criticising companies for choosing Urdu names and in the same breath making daily use of Arabic and Persian vocabulary loaned into Hindustani."

Layla Moran MP: Oxford University students key to repealing Vagrancy Act

"I hope the success of the campaign against the Vagrancy Act gives hope to students everywhere that they really can make a difference."

The perils of historical comparison and the dangerous origins of Putin’s ideology

"Historical comparisons can reveal potential outcomes yet no hard facts."

Elitism and colonialism’s residue: Pakistan’s education system is in crisis

"With 35.1% of the population between the ages of 0 and 14, education standards must be improved or else the youth bulge threatens to hamper economic growth for several decades to come."

A recovery toolkit to anorexia

"Recovery is confusing - it is not black and white and there is no one who can do it for you. This is where specialist eating disorder services can guide and support you. Recovery is abstract - it is not the same for anyone but that is the beauty of it. ‘Abstract’ is not synonymous with ‘bad’; ‘hope’ is abstract, ‘peace’ is abstract, so too is ‘contentment’."

Student safety is not a joke: Clubs need to do better

"In the current climate, where discussions around women’s safety are finally getting the awareness they deserve, you would think the bouncers would have prioritised my wellbeing over their need for a power trip."

The political power of gender expression: Lessons from female dictators

"Current female MPs are expected to act as female politicians, not just as politicians. This pressure is incredibly unfair."

How meritocracy fuels Oxford’s burnout cycle

"The desire to simply breathe, to spend a day without a to-do list etched into your brain, is a completely natural response to our unnatural environment."

The question of protest in a post-pandemic world

"After months, years now of isolation, our pent-up anger has found a way to spill over."

Covid and the crisis of compassion

"Our government may represent a morally bankrupt failure of leadership; but that means we must lead ourselves."

Collective security and individual freedom in the Covid era: how clear-cut of a conflict is there?

"Genuine political savviness should complicate our outlook on the inveterate clash between universalism and particularism that the Covid era has brought into fresh attention."

The world ain’t so bad after all

"It was the social interaction that we craved, the personal connections formed that couldn’t be fostered behind a screen."

In a tale of Eastern European democracy, all unhappy families are alike

"The strength and vulnerability of democracy, in short, is about trust."

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