Saturday 16th August 2025

Opinion

The Encaenia is PR without the public (or anyone else)

Wholesale reform is the last thing Encaenia needs. If only people knew what it is, it would be a well-suited PR exercise for a modern Oxford.

This is how we combat the crusade against universities

It’s easy to think of an arts degree as a fruitless pleasure. But education and academic study are intrinsically valuable.

From pensioners to students, all should fear the Palestine Action ban

If you think this is a win for one side over the other in relation to Israel’s war on Gaza, be careful what you wish for.

Trashing rules save face, not students

Trashing is banned. But what does the banning achieve except pushing students further from...

Fun or fake?

Student politics is more like a pantomime than a place for proper debate.

Prelude to war or diplomatic overture?

What’s next for the United States and Iran.

“Black students don’t apply to Oxbridge because of a deficit of hairdressers”

It's time to debunk popular myths about race and Oxbridge.

Should we cancel reality TV?

Given the recent suspected suicides, should shows like Love Island and Jeremy Kyle be allowed on our televisions?

Christ Church is stuck in the past

The scholars' room ballot bump is archaic and elitist.

Income is the access elephant in the room

It will soon be time for Oxford to release its annual undergraduate admissions statistics. With all the big initiatives that Oxford has been...

Fiddling while the planet burns

Faced with a climactic crisis, we need action rather than further study.

Love will tear us apart

Jamie Johnson and Helena Peacock debate whether women should participate in the proposed sex-strike against US abortion law.

Polarising the free speech debate

The question of who deserves our attention does not allow us easy answers.

Interview: Peter Singer

Over Skype, Peter Singer is the consummate philosopher: calm, reasoned but possessing a distinct alacrity when answering questions pertaining to his work. It is...

Interview: Greg James

Joanna Lonergan speaks to the Radio 1 DJ on music, mental health, and Cornish pasties.

In praise of formal hall

The joys of Oxford's numerous halls are worth exploring.

The Conservatives are on the brink of collapse

Recent local elections show the scale of the problems facing the Tories at the ballot box.

Hungary’s Holocaust distortion

Orban’s project of misinformation risks erasing his country’s dark past.

Interview: Lucy Worsley

"I don't think history always 'gets better'": the historian and presenter on queens, clothing and curation

Counter-terrorism measures threaten democracy

Recent abuses of regulation lay bare the extent of its politicisation.

The Difference Between a Burnt Roof and 250 Dead

Why tragedies outside the West don't seem to matter.

Make your voices heard in the European elections

An open letter to Oxford's students from the presidents of the university's societies for EU nationals.

Mooncups are the future

We must take sustainability as well as empowerment into account when discussing period poverty.

Emails, you’re breaking my heart

Why email inboxes are the spawn of Satan.

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