Friday 22nd 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...

The hawks take flight over Syria

Gavin Fleming reflects on Trump's Syrian airstrikes and the imperative of avoiding conflict with Russia

Superpowered seagrasses: the hidden gems of the plant world

Ruby O'Grady examines how these humble plants are helping to thwart disease and combat climate change

Labour members must stay in order to save the Party

Keir Mather argues that, following Labour's failure to expel Ken Livingstone, membership is not only morally justified, but necessary

Tim Farron interview: “This is the very moment that the country needs a bold and competent opposition”

Jack Hunter dissects today's politics with the leader of the Liberal Democrats

Labour must expel Ken Livingstone to be serious on anti-semitism

Jordan Bernstein argues that Ken Livingstone's comments betray a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of Zionism

From another Bridge: On the Westminster attack in London

Carolina Earle reflects on the recent London terror attack, its impact on our society, and how we must respond when faced by traumatic events

Martin McGuinness is dead, but Northern Irish politics must go on

Eimer McAuley assess Martin McGuinness' mixed legacy and the future of Stormont without him

How scientists are fixing photosynthesis to combat the coming global food crisis

Edward O'Neill highlights the impending food shortage — and why GM rice is part of the solution

C+: Race and Access

Lowri Howard assesses the university's "encouraging" progress on race and access

C+ Investigation: Race at Oxford

C+ investigates the continued relevance of race and ethnicity to issues of access, fairness and human rights

C+: Migrant rights in Oxford

Emma Christie discusses how Oxford students have been responding to the ongoing refugee crisis

Battling uncertainty with uncertainty is reckless: Indy Ref Two must wait

The case for Scottish independence is just as poor as at the time of the last referendum, argues Emma Leech

How to make the best Oxford pub crawl route

Utsav Popat applies graph theory to the best of Oxford’s pubs to find—and prove—the quickest, most direct way to get your post-practical pints

Returning British countryside to its roots

Reintroducing wolves, elk, and other lost species will shape Britain for the better, says Ben Anketell

Profile: Ian Hislop

Ian Hislop on keeping people angry and a new era for satire

Letting out ‘The Monster’: modern drag at Oxford

Laela Zaidi dives into Oxford's queer subculture: modern drag at Haute Mess and student drag princes

One thing I’d change about Oxford… academic freedom

Michael Shao wishes that there was a little more choice in papers beyond one's chosen subject

Growing up in the segregated South during the Civil Rights era

Carolina Earle talks to Joe Martin about his experiences of growing up in Little Rock, and the search for equality

Shedding light on the star of cell biology

Calum Stephenson looks into the role of GFP in the laboratory and highlights its deep-sea origins

Oxford iGEM team goes to Royal Society’s conference

Zoe Catchpole provides a summary of ‘Synthetic biology: does industry get it?’, with the global leaders of the new field speaking on bacterial perfume, directed evolution, and biocomputing

Follow us