Sunday 20th July 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...

Sir John Vickers on capital buffers and why they matter

Daniel Kodsi talks to the economist and Warden of All Souls about the need for the BoE to push for more stringent regulation

What the Scottish elections mean for the whole UK

Charles Clegg explains that last week’s results in Scotland reveal the extent of the damage Labour has sustained following its leftward lurch

How dare Oxford let common sense get in the way of moral outrage?

Daniel Kodsi argues that it is perfectly reasonable for the University to accept donations from the Qatari government

Why we should say #YesToNUS

At this year’s NUS Conference, Malia Bouattia was elected as NUS President. She was elected to lead a strong, united student movement; one that...

Unheard Oxford: Will Barker, assistant manager at the Duke of Cambridge

Another view on the dreaming spires. This week, Dan Sutton talks to the assistant manager at the Duke of Cambridge about big bills and espresso martinis

Britain should not give up on its collapsing steel industry

Harry Macpherson argues the ailing sector deserves the same help the banking industry had in 2008

OxPolicy and admissions: a review

Ben Evans attended the most recent OxPolicy event and found much to be admired about student attitudes to access

Interview: Tobias Jones

Alex Walker talk to the author and journalist about the ideas behind his woodland refuge away from today’s shallow cosmopolitanism

One thing I’d change about Oxford… Coffee shops

What would you change? This week in our new feature Amber Bal attacks the coffee outlets capitalising on our crippling need for extra energy

The NUS beyond the conference

Student campaigns, in Oxford and beyond, are now fighting a political context which attacks those struggling the most. They cannot fight it alone. I...

Interview: Alister McGrath

“I was a student at Wadham, and I was drawn there partly because it had reputation for being a really Marxist place in those...

Satireangst: why even comedians need protection from the powerful

Germany’s relationship with freedom of expression has long been a problematic one. The Nazi period followed by the GDR impressed the importance of it...

Trump: a blessing in disguise?

Antonio Gottardello argues that Trump's rise will help create a break towards the left in the US

Unheard Oxford: Dr Francesca Galligan, curator of rare books

Another view on the dreaming spires. This week, Alex Walker talks to Dr Francesca Galligan, a curator of rare books at the Bod

One thing I’d change about Oxford… Collections

What would you change? This week in our new feature Louis McEvoy bemoans the cloud hanging over the start of everyone's term: collections

Can art be effective as a means of student protest?

Indispensably inspiring or never as useful as a physical presence? Simran Uppal and Richard Birch debate the strengths and weaknesses of art as a form of protest.

A Guide for getting the Ball rolling

“It's going to be a white presentation of these places they're trying to represent, full of stereotypes, which is erasing and gross." This was...

In defence of my NUS referendum motion: a response to Luke Barratt

David Klemperer responds to Luke Barratt’s criticism of his NUS referendum motion

Everything wrong with the NUS disaffiliation motion

In a real car-crash of a motion to OUSU Council, David Klemperer, one of Oxford’s NUS delegates and a member of the ‘Oh Well,...

A referendum on the NUS

Harry Samuels speaks to NUS' naivety, calling the organisation "patently unreformable"

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