Sunday 5th October 2025
Blog Page 325

Coffee Culcher

Anneka Pink
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Coffee Culcher

Oxford has a historic and beloved café culture — in fact, the UK’s first coffeehouse opened in Oxford in the 17th century! Today, drinking coffee remains a popular student pastime. It can have many purposes, after all; it can be a casual way to initiate or strengthen friendships, provide the caffeine-hit to craft a tutorial essay, get you moving in the morning, and help you explore Oxford’s nooks and crannies. In short, coffee is your friend. Even if there are further lockdown restrictions in Michaelmas, fear not: lots of cafés have outdoor seating, and you can always get takeaway and walk. Make ‘We should go for coffee sometime’ your go-to phrase and you can hardly go wrong! With all that in mind, here are a few recommendations to start with:

Queen’s Lane Coffee House

Hours: 8.30am-6.30pm

Biased I may be, since this coffee house lies just across the road from Univ’s door —however, it offers excellent British and Turkish food and drink options, a lovely dark wooden interior, outdoor seating and takeaway (pandemic friendly), and is a family-run business. What more could you want? I especially recommend the Turkish coffee and Baklava. That stuff can rescue even the worst essay crisis. Coffee here also comes with history — the coffee shop is the longest serving in Europe, and prides itself on its history of being a place where people from different cultures come together. Pretty cool, right?

Missing Bean

Hours: Mon-Fri: 8am-4.30pm, Sat: 9am-5pm, Sun: 10am-4pm

A student staple, the Missing Bean could hardly be missed off this list. After all, the queue of students lining up every morning is a daily reminder of its enduring popularity. Note that there are actually two, both very conveniently located for a stop-off: one on Turl Street (opposite the entrance to Lincoln), the other in the English and Law Faculty building. I have to venerate the baristas of the Turl Street café, since one ran down the street after me to return the tote bag I left behind last year… not all heroes wear capes.  On a more objective note: the café also has good outdoor seating for a catchup with a friend, especially in summer. If you like this café, you’ll also love Jericho Coffee Traders on the High Street.

Pret

Hours: vary by which store! Longest open is in Westgate: 9am-8pm

Say what you will, but succumbing to basic-ness can come at a more economic price. If you do drink a lot of coffee/tea/smoothies, it may be a good idea to try the Pret subscription. At the risk of sounding like a paid ad, it’s five drinks a day for £20 a month, with the first month free. This seems steep, but when a coffee is £2 minimum it can be a good investment, especially if you time your free trial with term… However, the two locations on Cornmarket street can be very busy in the mornings, so it might be wise to choose elsewhere if you’re trying to meet a friend, avoid the hacks, or secure a table for work.

Gail’s

Hours: 8am-7pm

Located in Jericho, Oxford’s hip suburb, Gail’s boasts some of the best cakes and sourdough going (the cinnamon buns…). Top tip: it also sells ready-to-cook cookie dough. About fifteen minutes away from the RadCam, it can be a lovely walk in the morning and help you venture further afield. If you’re lucky you’ll even spot Hugh’s students out in the wild. It’s a popular working space for wizened second and third years both outside and inside the café, perfect if you want to be slightly off the beaten track.

Vaults & Garden Café

Hours: 9am-5.30pm

I hear excellent things about this café’s 14th century vaulted ceiling, although the pandemic did bar me from inspecting it myself. Sit under its beams or in the University Church of St Mary’s garden, right in Radcliffe Quad, and enjoy breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea. Again, like The Missing Bean, this café comes highly recommended by the loyal band of students who frequent its outside tables. Why beat them if you could join them?

Thirsty Meeples

Hours: Mon-Fri: 11am till late, Sat & Sun: 9am- late

A coffee is best shared — so why not enlist one or two of your new friends and go check out this themed café. Located in Gloucester Green, also the site of a fab open-air market, Thirsty Meeples is a board game café. If you love a good game of Scrabble or cards, you may never be seen again outside these premises. Pay a cover charge of £6 and access the game library of 2,700 titles including Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Uno and much much more… Whilst you’re playing you can also enjoy their menu, which includes coffee, cake and sandwiches. You heard it here first.

Notable mentions: Taylor’s (pasta bar!), Colombia Coffee Roasters (different flavours of hot chocolate), Café Nero in Blackwell’s (workspace), Waterstones Café (workspace), The Handlebar Café (cool theme)

Image Credit: Bex Walton via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

The 101 of Oxford’s Libraries

Anneka Pink
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The 101 of Oxford’s Libraries

There are genuinely more than 100 libraries in Oxford, making it the biggest library system in the UK! So, here’s the 101 on a few of my favourite study spaces…

[If you want a handy guide to every library in Oxford, check out this Cherwell article:

https://cherwell.org/2021/08/28/i-went-to-every-library-in-oxford-so-you-dont-have-to/]

RadCam

Built in the sixteenth century, the Radcliffe Camera, called the “RadCam” affectionately by students, is the iconic Oxford library. If you ever gazed wistfully at photos of Oxford before you applied, it’s very likely they were of this building. For many, gathering in the quad by this building during Matriculation or strutting up the path to the library is the moment you feel you actually go to Oxford… or as your photo is snapped by tourists, like a Kardashian. There are three places to study in this library: the Upper RadCam, Lower RadCam and the Gladstone Link. The domed ceiling of the Upper RadCam is famously spectacular, and the desks under it or on the balconies are possibly the prime study real-estate. However, don’t discount the Lower RadCam. In the evening, it’s really rather cosy, with warm yellow light and wooden bookshelves everywhere. The Gladstone Link is an interesting one. One Cherwell writer once described it as “like a jet-bridge, minus the HSBC branding — or, as though you’re boarding a January flight to Tromsø, minus any promise of natural light”. Harsh but fair. However, each to their own.

Old Bod

Hogwarts meets Gossip Girl. There’s a reason Oxford was called “the city of dreaming spires”, and it certainly owes a great deal to the beautiful Old Bodleian. The library is not only the second largest in the UK and one of the oldest in Europe, but even houses a Christmas tree in its quad in winter! Inside the library proper there are many different rooms to choose from, all with great views of the city’s architecture and plenty of natural light. Wander past the Greek temple-esque entrance on Broad Street and you couldn’t be blamed for thinking the eternal Met Steps of Gossip Girl had been transported; students love to lounge on the steps and pillars of the Old Bod and the Weston opposite chatting, eating lunch and watching the world go past.  

College Lib

Your College Library is one of the best choices you have, so familiarise yourself with it. Each College has its own library (or two…) and they are usually stocked with loads of great resources; book and laptop stands, whiteboards, cushions, and of course, lots and lots of books. It’s your first port of call for any books you need, and I’ve always found mine to be very good. The librarians are also usually very friendly and often will order a book you need in if it’s important. To be honest, I have a bit of a soft spot for my College library — you can’t go without seeing a friendly face, and it also has a more relaxed vibe. Even PJs are acceptable library couture. Some libraries also have study rooms which are great for a study session with friends. Downsides include a very high risk of being distracted by friends and proximity to your bed.

Duke Humfrey’s

When I said the Old Bodleian = Hogwarts, I meant it. This reading room, part of the Old Bod, was actually used as the Hogwarts library in the Harry Potter films! It’s an absolute bucket-list library, partly for the beauty of the library itself, partly for the strict entrance rules (possessions in plastic bags and no food or drink). Some might consider it the epitome of the “Dark Academia” aesthetic. Some might just want to look at the medieval ceiling. However, consider yourself warned, with the current booking system, it’s nigh impossible to get in. Maybe time to consider that Masters?

Your room

Obvious you may say, but definitely convenient! With mixed learning, using your room for zoom tutorials rather than public libraries is standard practice, but don’t shy away from taking lectures and other non-speaking/no-camera classes in the library. Find what works for you and go with that. Some people just work in their room, others prefer never to work there. Personally I do a bit of a mix; sometimes early in the morning or late at night it is the best place for getting those deadlines, but the proximity to my bed, like the College library, is dangerous, so I like to set up at one of the various Bodleian libraries during the day.

Subject Library

Though I personally find the Sackler, the Classics library, an assault on the eyes, there is definitive subject pride and community in going to your subject’s library. First of all, it is genuinely useful for taking out specialised books, but it’s also quite special to work in a library full of books just on your subject. Besides, if you take a visit to the women’s toilets of the Sackler, you soon meet years of scrawlings with advice on the best Classical cat name  — Patroclaws anyone?  — to the crisis d’essay. Truly helpful? No. Amusing? Yes.

Image credit: David Iliff via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Academics

Daisy Aitchison
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Academics

After two years of getting used to learning over Zoom and Teams, a return to in-person teaching for everyone is hopefully within sight. Advice on Oxford University’s website states that “In line with the latest UK Government guidance, we are planning to provide most teaching in-person next academic year, as normal. This will be enhanced by high-quality online resources and, in some instances, online teaching. We will also have contingency plans if additional restrictions are in place or if local circumstances make this necessary.

Whatever combination of remote and in-person teaching the year ends up taking, university learning is generally done more independently, with more time spent on individual research rather than direct teaching. This is particularly true for humanities students, while those studying for science degrees typically have more contact time. It’s therefore more important to ensure that you manage your own time, as this is likely when the majority of your work will be done; for some people working “nine to five” might be the best solution, while others prefer to take a break between shorter sessions. If you have any questions, there may be a representative on your JCR who deals with academic affairs, or else tutors can help to answer any questions you might have.

The type of learning students do can also vary widely depending on the degree. For humanities students, the library might feel like a second home, with a reading list as the main guide for the week’s work. Weekly tutorials are the main point of contact, while lectures are also put on. For science students, there may be problem sheets as well as essays, as well as labs and more frequent lectures to attend. Every degree, however, involves tutorials, where a small group of students discuss their work with an expert. The best advice for tutorials is to dive in, even if you’re unsure of what a particular question is asking; tutors appreciate students who are engaged and making an effort to apply what they have learnt, and are happy to help you if you’re struggling. Tutorials are often a good way of getting to look around other colleges as well, but if needed you can request them to be held online.

The format of tutorials is similar whether online or in person, but when it comes to lectures, the recorded format means that you can often watch at your leisure. There is also an option to slow down or speed up a lecture, as well as pausing and rewinding. Staying focussed on a lecture is sometimes more difficult in your room rather than a crowded hall, but gives you more flexibility in deciding when to watch the lecture and how you wish to take your notes. Some people prefer to continue to ‘timetable’ lectures, even when they are online, to avoid having to panic watch several on x2 speed at once (of which I of course have no experience), but for those with better time management skills this might not be an issue.

Where you work best is something else to explore in your first year: some people prefer to work in their rooms, while some people find themselves less distracted in libraries. Check out the rest of this guide to learn about cafes, libraries, and other iconic spots for that inevitable essay crisis.

The past couple of years have been nothing if not unusual, and have put unique stresses on students. Although it will hopefully be possible to have a more normal university experience this year, Oxford is always intense. It is therefore important to keep a good work-life balance. Luckily, there’s plenty within the city and the surrounding areas to distract yourself from work. Covid permitting, this year should see more indoor activities opening up in time for Michaelmas (winter) term. For retail therapy, Westgate is the best bet, which you can follow up with ice skating at the ice rink opposite. There are also various colleges to look around and compare unfavourably with your own, as well as other university buildings such as the University Church, where you can climb the medieval tower. In summer punting is a popular and very ‘Oxford’ activity, with most colleges having a supply of punts to hire.

If you want to get out of Oxford for the day, Blenheim Palace can be reached by car or bus, and is great for picnics if you don’t want to go to Christ Church meadows or University Parks. The grounds of the palace can be accessed for free, although a ticket has to be bought to enter the building itself. Getting the train from Oxford to London is also relatively quick and makes getting to the capital easy.

If you ever need any extra support while at Oxford, there’s a range of services provided by the university and by the colleges. Members of your JCR should be able to point you towards resources and help, while the university also provides support. Counselling services can be booked and are available via video call, phone call and text. Information about welfare at the university can be found at https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare.

Image credit: Penn State via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Societies and Activities

Maurício Alencar
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Societies and Activities

It’s always worth joining at least one society during your time at Oxford. Whether that may be sports, music, drama, politics, student journalism, or joining a national society, there is nothing that you can’t do. You might try a new sport like modern pentathlon, or find a new interest in psychedelics at Psychedelic Society, or connect with people of shared faiths and backgrounds. Oxford’s collegiate system may seem claustrophobic at times, but there is nothing stopping you from branching out and meeting people from other colleges. Your CV may even look that little bit better.

Sports 

At school, you may have been forced to play football, rugby or netball. But at university, the world’s your sportster. The range of sports you can get involved in is vast, ranging from rowing to quidditch. The one thing that is certain about university sports are the friends you make; I’ve had one friend wisely point out that colleges are just a bunch of people thrown together into one arbitrary setting, whereas your friendships from sports clubs and other societies are more genuine because you have shared interests. So, what is a Blue? What is “shoe the tabs”? What are Cuppers? And what on earth are you waiting for?!?! Here are the answers to all your sporting dreams: 

University sports 

Sport at Oxford has a rich tradition. Oxford University is the only university to have won the FA Cup, and many Olympians representing Team GB previously studied at Oxford. There is pretty much a sport for everyone-volleyball, rugby league, chess, surfing, and so much more. Our main sports facilities are at Iffley Sports Centre, though many teams train and play at other sites such as at college grounds and local clubs. Most university sport clubs will compete in BUCS (British Universities and College Sports) leagues every week, normally on Wednesdays and followed by a big sports social night at Park End. The pinnacle of the sports calendar for any club is Varsity, which is when you play Cambridge. The aim, of course, is to beat our rivals. Winning Varsity is more informally known as “shoe the tabs” – ‘shoe’ is an old verb for beating someone and ‘tab’ is derived from ‘Cantabridgian’, the Latin for a Cambridge student.

If you play for a highly competitive sports club such as rugby or tennis in a Varsity Match, you will be awarded a Full Blue. You are awarded a “Discretionary Full Blue” should you meet certain criteria that varies in other sports like powerlifting and ice hockey, and a Half Blue for other sports such as eton fives or ultimate frisbee. These awards are special certificates that might get you some nice perks, such as eligibility to buy a Blues blazer, special funding from certain colleges, and just general Oxford clout. Sport clubs generally welcome players of all abilities and backgrounds, but sometimes you may have to trial to join a sports club, eg. football. Look up the sports club you would be interested in joining, and get messaging captains and club presidents!

College sports 

If you would not like to commit yourself to university-level sports, there is still the opportunity to play sport in a more laid-back environment at college-level. The scope of sports on offer are still varied, but perhaps more limited. There are opportunities to play college football, rugby, hockey, rounders, polo, and orienteering, to name but a few. Some of the colleges also have mixed teams, such as hockey, and some colleges have joined-up teams, like Merton and Mansfield play as one team, for example. Cuppers is the name given to the college sports tournaments; they may happen over a whole term or over one day. College rowing tends to be the toughest college sport to get involved in, but it is also seen as the most traditional and exciting one. College sports are probably the best way to escape the load of academic work and get to know the people within your college. 

Socials

The highlight of playing sports at Oxford are, more often than not, the socials that come with them. Some socials may seem like intense drinking events — and they certainly are sometimes — but a good night out is inclusive of non-drinkers as well. Sport clubs normally organise ‘crewdates’ before Wednesday nights at Park End, pairing up men’s sport teams with women’s sport teams (more below!). Most colleges will also have club socials; about half of the people who go to college sport socials do not even play sport! Sport teams also spend a lot of time at Vincent’s Club (a sport members’ club better known as Vinnie’s) on the High Street for other socials, while Atalanta’s is a sports society that works to promote women in sport. The Atalanta’s/Vincent’s end of year cocktail drinks is an event to look forward to in the calendar year. 

Important Oxford Sporting Fixtures 

Some Varsity fixtures throughout the year are especially important. The Varsity Trip every December is definitely one to look out for. This is when novice skiers and experienced skiers from Oxford University and Cambridge University essentially shut down a ski resort in France for skiing, watching the Varsity race, and après ski in December. It is dubbed ‘the largest ski trip in the world’. Rudimental, Calvin Harris, and Tinie Tempah are just some of the acts to have headlined the trip. The rugby union Varsity Matches are also a big deal; they are normally played at Twickenham in December, but they were played in the summer in Leicester this year due to COVID. Next year’s Varsity will be played in spring, and it is hoped that the match will once again be played at Twickenham.

The Boat Race is the world-famous rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge that is normally broadcast on the BBC, and watched by thousands along the Thames’ river banks. This year’s Boat Race was held behind closed doors in Ely, and it is not certain yet whether next year’s Boat Race will return to London. The after-parties for both the rugby and rowing Varsity fixtures are certain to be lively. 

Crewdates 

Crewdates. What beats it? Crewdates are drinking-infused social events held in some of the shabbier restaurants around Oxford (no offence to my friends at Jamal’s). Normally, crewdates pair up a men’s sports team with a women’s sports team, but you may find yourself at a subject crewdate of some sort as well. They involve a range of chaotic games and loud activities, and cost between 10 and 15 quid, excluding BYOB prices (cheap wine is the way). My favourite theme was Barbarians and Librarians… but everyone turned up as a Barbarian because no one got the Librarian memo. So, without further adieu, the next few sentences will roll you through some of the games played at crewdates: “Pennying” is just a bunch of flying penny coins, and if one lands in your drink, finish it you silly fresh; “I sconce anyone who [insert absurdly embarrassing memory but do not go too far or risk getting a minute’s outside without your phone]” is Oxford linguo for Never Have I Ever; “Mister and Missus” is when you stand back-to-back to your compatriot and drink when you think you are more likely to do whatever your friend has called out. Crewdates are a nice antidote to the serious academia at Oxford, but if they don’t float your boat, don’t worry — nothing is ever compulsory. 

Other sport and exercise

If you’re not looking to play Oxford sports, and prefer to do stuff yourself, Oxford has plenty to offer. BuzzGym and PureGym are the city’s two main 24 hour gyms, priced between £18 and £22 a month, but watch out for joining fees and peak times prices. You can also pay for a membership at Iffley Road Sports Centre. There are some great running spots around Oxford, like at Port Meadows, Uni Parks, and, if you are willing to go the extra distance, Whytham Woods. If you like going to watch football, Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium is a 20-minute cycle from the city centre. If you prefer non-league football to League One football, Oxford City’s stadium is a shorter cycle from the centre. 

Oxford Union

Is it worth it?… is the question on everyone’s lips. The ‘hacks’ (let me try to summarise what they are first. ‘Hacks’ are Union members who spam you with Facebook messages begging you to vote for them. They come up with a series of pledges on how they will make the Union more progressive, but the truth is that things usually turn sour) will tell you it is worth paying the £150+ fee. Your friends will probably advise you against joining it. So, before you make your decision, I will try to give you a flavour of what to expect, having paid the fee myself. 

The Union is the university’s main debating society; it is not the Student Union (SU), and the Union is in fact independent of the University. The speaker cards are great, in fairness. They have had the likes of Diego Maradona, John Kerry, Akala, A$AP Rocky, Dr Fauci, Jeremy Corbyn, and North Korean refugees in the past. The Cambridge-equivalent is poor at best. If you like debating, sending way too many messages to people you barely know, and pretending to be the king of networking (and snaking), then you might even want to join the Union’s committee. The Union also has a quite incredible library and a pretty saucey bar which you only have access to if you become a member. But if you don’t mind watching some of the Union’s talks over Youtube rather than in-the-flesh, then it’s probably best you save your £150 or so for some good times out in Oxford. You will not be missing out on much and the political frenzy can be overwhelming. If you do become a member but don’t like the sound of hacks, it’s probably best you keep your head low. Word does tend to get out if you are a member, however. Good luck deciding, but do have a think about it before you do pay the fee. 

Politics 

Most of the country’s prime ministers and many of the world’s most important politicians studied at Oxford, so Oxford politics could not be more relevant. The bureaucracy in some of the university’s political societies can be exhausting, but there’s no better place to show off your party colours than in the university’s political societies. 

Oxford University Conservatives Association

The OUCA is here to disprove the perception that UK universities are left wing. You are sure to drink some port at OUCA socials and meets. The society also runs charity work, hosts special speakers, and campaigns for the official party. 

Oxford University Labour Club

OULC hosts popular socialist discussions and speakers. The Club also has its own publication ‘Look Left’. OULC’s cornerstone moment in the week is ‘Beer and Bickering’. 

Oxford University Liberal Democrats

The OULD is the oldest of the three political societies. Their weekly debate social is called ‘Spirited Discussions’ and they occasionally join up with other societies to host talks. The society is boosted by the fact that Oxford East’s MP is Anneliese Dodds, a Lib Dem politician. 

Student Journalism 

Whatever your subject, student journalism has something for you. With sections ranging from sports to tech, Oxford’s historic publications are full of opportunities. Even if you are not interested in writing for them at all, it’s still a great idea to follow newspapers on Instagram or Facebook so that you are up-to-date with the latest information. Some articles are so groundbreaking that national newspapers steal ideas. The university’s newspapers have no official political leaning. Cherwell, for example, has events on offer for students through the year. If you are interested in writing for one of them, look up how to pitch an article or how to apply for editor positions on each of the newspapers’ respective websites. Here are some of the best known ones: 

Cherwell

Cherwell is one of the country’s oldest independent student newspapers, founded 121 years ago. The paper contains a range of sections. The poet W.H Auden and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch are but some of its past contributors. Stories often reach national prominence. 

The Oxford Student 

The OxStu is another general newspaper with a range of sections. Like Cherwell, The OxStu‘s main rival, they publish print editions every two weeks, and they also post articles online. The paper was founded by the SU in 1991 and maintains a relationship. 

The Isis

The Isis is a termly magazine and the longest running student publication in the UK. The magazine is essentially the student hub for creative writing and art, giving particular focus to fiction, poetry, and culture. They also run interesting events throughout the year. Sylvia Plath and Terry Jones are some of the magazine’s former writers. 

The Oxford Blue 

The Oxford Blue is an online-only student newspaper, founded in 2020. The newspaper’s “Global Affairs” section gives voice to international news. 

Onyx Magazine 

Onyx is a creative magazine for Black students at Oxford. The magazine’s first issue was released in 2018, and it has branched out to bookshops around the country. Its meteoric rise has been quite sensational, and its next publication is eagerly awaited. 

Other Oxford Publications

There are a few other publications in Oxford, some which have come and go. Related to student journalism, Oxford Media Society is a hugely popular society that has welcomed speakers like Lewis Goodall from BBC Newsnight. The Tab, which was launched at Cambridge Uni and has since become a company providing student news at many universities across the country, had its short stint in Oxford. As there has clearly been a recent drive in student journalism at Oxford, there is clearly potential for publications to grow. 

International, ethnic minority, religious and LGBTQ+ societies

Oxford has a range of inclusive societies for people from a range of different backgrounds. Oxford’s Afro-Caribbean Society (ACS) is one prominent society which organises several exciting events through the year, including a Ball. There are dedicated societies for a range of nationalities. The Oxford LGBTQ+ Society is the largest higher education LGBTQ+ Society in the country with over 2500 members; its members often frequent exciting nights at Plush, plus other non-drinking Society events.

Image credit: Caroline Culler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Keep Off The Grass 2021

Irene Zhang
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Keep Off The Grass 2021

Hello and welcome to Oxford! Congratulations on getting here and starting the next chapter of your life in a place as special as this city; you’ve worked hard, and although there are more challenges ahead, this university has so much to offer.

Keep Off The Grass, our guide for freshers, attempts to reflect as much of this as possible. Every Michaelmas Cherwell (our favourite Oxford student newspaper) compiles a pamphlet full of insightful advice, meant to induct you into Oxford-local status in eight tabs.

Thank you to our lovely and talent team of editors and illustrators. We hope that this is a handy guide as you dive into the thrilling adventure that is Oxford life, and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions!

Yours sincerely,
Sasha and Irene, Co-Editors in Chief

Contributors: Anneka Pink, Clementine Scott, Daisy Aitchison, Katie Kirkpatrick, Maurício Alencar, Sara Hashmi
Editor: Irene Zhang
Illustrator: Aleksandra Pluta

An Oxford-to-English Dictionary

Societies and Activities

Academics

Libraries

Cafés

Date spots

Pubs

Creative Pursuits

Traditions

Cover illustration by Aleksandra Pluta.

Image credits (top to bottom):

Caleb Roenigk via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Caroline Culler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Penn State via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

David Iliff via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Bex Walton via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Kin Mun Lee via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Jim Linwood via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Fabrice Florin via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sheng P. via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

An Oxford-English Dictionary

Sara Hashmi
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An Oxford-English Dictionary

0th Week (noughth week)

  • the week before term starts, when most people move back to Oxford. This is when collections typically happen.

Battels

  • your bill for the term ahead. Normally you get this at the beginning of the term, and pay the upcoming charges. Charges from the previous term can also be ‘batteled’, so put on the next bill. E.g. “The stash will be batteled.”

Bod card

  • your student card, identifying you as a member of the university. Used to access libraries (hence ‘Bod’, after the Bodleian Libraries) and to get into some buildings. E.g. “Uh oh, Ayesha’s lost her Bod card again.”

Cherwell:

  1. the main river flowing through Oxford.
  2. Oxford’s best student newspaper.

Collections

  • college-administrated mock exams you take to consolidate the work of the term just gone. They don’t count for anything, but can be a good indicator of where you’re at. Different tutors have vastly different opinions on collections, so keep that in mind! Eg “Collections? They’re just an Oxford fetish I think, I’m not picky about them.” (an actual quote from my tutor)

Cuppers

  • any intercollegiate college competition, but most commonly used for sports fixtures.

Entz

  • short for “entertainment”, fun organised by your college.

Fifth week blues

  • the general slump in mood in 5th week. Just past the halfway point in term, this is the point where all hope is lost and term seems nearly endless. But, worry not, because colleges often hold welfare week in 5th week to combat the blues!

Hack:

  1. someone running for a position in a political society, most commonly the Union. Hacks can typically be found standing in plodge or in your Facebook messages, inviting you for a coffee and a chat about why you should vote for them. 
  2. to hack: to campaign for a position in a society.

Hall:

  1. the grand building in the centre of college where you eat your meals. Some colleges are almost entirely catered, whilst others have more flexibility.
  2. the food you eat from Hall. Eg “Do you wanna grab Hall together tonight?”

Hilary:

  • the second term of the academic year, running from January to March.

The Isis:

  1. the part of the River Thames that flows through the city. Home to the rowing boathouses, competitions, and the dread rowers feel getting up at 6am for training. Can be found at the end of Christ Church Meadows.
  2. a student magazine full of poetry, culture and writing, published termly.

JCR:

  1. a room for all the undergraduates of a college to socialise in.
  2. the name given to the collective body of undergraduates at any given college. Eg “I’ve gotta go to the JCR meeting tomorrow.”

Michaelmas:

  • the first term of the academic year, running from October to December.

Mods:

  • short for “Honour Moderations”, these are the first exams for some subjects, like Law and Classics, and take place in Hilary term. They don’t count for your overall degree mark, but they differ from Prelims in that you get a classification.

Oxfess:

  • a popular uni-wide Facebook page, used to post pretty much anything anonymously. E.g. “Did you see the Oxfess about Keble?”

Oxlove:

  • a key pillar in Oxford love life, a Facebook page dedicated to romance. Normally directed towards individuals by referring to their initials and college (e.g. HB @ S).

Oxmas:

  • Oxford Christmas! Because our term misses almost all the festive season, Oxmas is celebrated on 25th November.

Pidge:

  • your pigeonhole. Here you’ll find all your post, messages from tutors, and any university mail. E.g. “Hang on, I’ll just check my pidge.”

Plodge:

  • porter’s lodge. The beating heart of every college, porters will normally be the first port (get it) of call for any issues you may have.

Prelims:

  • short for “Preliminary Examinations”, these are the first exams for most subjects, which often take place in Trinity term. They don’t count for your overall degree mark.

PPH:

  • Permanent Private Hall, an institution very similar to a college, except a little bit smaller and affiliated with a Christian denomination. 

Scout:

  • a member of staff who will empty your bins and clean your room once a week, and should be thanked profusely for it.

Quad:

  • coming from ‘quadrangle’, normally a square courtyard with buildings around the edges, often with a well-manicured patch of grass in the middle. A cornerstone of Oxford architecture. E.g. “And if you go through here, that’s Chapel Quad.” 

Rad Cam:

  • the Radcliffe Camera, History Faculty Library and the most iconic building in Oxford. The go-to spot for any violently Oxford Instagram content.

Rustication:

  • a year of temporary suspension from academic studies, normally due to personal reasons.

Sharking:

  • the act of an older student hitting on a fresher, like a shark searching for prey.

Stash:

  • any merchandise for a college, society, team, etc. Eg “We have lanyards for stash this term!”

Sub fusc:

  • Latin for dark brown, this is the formal outfit you wear to events like matriculation and year-wide exams. Consists of a gown, mortarboard, and suit-like wear. You can buy this from Shepherd and Woodward on the High Street.

Tab:

  • from “Cantab”, a nickname for people from ‘the other place’ — Cambridge.

Trinity:

  • the third and final term of the academic year, running from April to June.

Tutes:

  • short for ‘tutorials’, these are discussion based teaching sessions with your tutor. Normally an hour a week, these include one tutor and up to three students.

Vac:

  • short for ‘vacation’, the name given to holidays between terms. The Christmas and Easter vacs last about 6 weeks, while the summer holiday, called the Long Vac, lasts about 3 months.

Varsity:

  1. any sports fixture between Oxford and Cambridge.
  2. the annual Oxbridge ski-trip.

Image credit: Caleb Roenigk via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Inside Pandora’s Box

Charlie Hancock
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Inside Pandora’s Box

It has been five years since the Panama Papers blew the lid off the secretive world of offshore finance, revealing its scale to be far bigger than imagined. This week, the release of the Panama Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists builds on that legacy. It is a triumph of collaborate reporting. But its important revelations risk being lost in the complexity of its background.

The scale of the investigation is immense. 2.94 TB of data have been leaked from fourteen sources, including 12 million files consisting of 6.5 million documents, 3 million images, and 1.2 million spreadsheets, among other pieces of evidence. In terms of information storage, this is the equivalent of nearly a million Bibles. This has been poured over by over 600 journalists in 117 countries, from Mongolia to Mozambique, to Pakistan and Paraguay.

The Pandora Papers are not a single story. It is more manageable to think of them as a collection of stories, which will trickle out to the public over the coming weeks, linked by the shadowy world of offshore finance. This is a world where the super-rich can reduce the amount of tax they pay, or even hide their assets, using tax havens and anonymous shell companies. Among them are 35 current and former world leaders.

Revelations include that the King of Jordan has amassed a global property empire worth $100m, and the extent of the London property empire of  President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan. The Queen’s crown estate has now launched an investigation into how it paid £67m to President Aliev’s family to acquire one of his properties.

The leaks also raise questions for the Conservative Party. Not because the Prime Minister has been found to be keeping money offshore, as was the case with David Cameron in 2016. But because multiple donors have been found to hide their wealth in offshore companies. One was found to have advised on a telecoms deal which turned out to be a £162m bribe to the daughter of the President of Uzbekistan.

The leaks reveal staggering hypocrisy of some politicians who rode into power with pledges to combat corruption. It turns out that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who assumed office on an anti-corruption platform in 2019 (four years after playing a history teacher who did the exact same thing in the political satire Servant of the People), transferred a 25% stake in an offshore country to his friend and advisor during the campaign. 

The Pandora Papers will pose uncomfortable questions for the Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, who is fighting an imminent General Election. Babiš, who has a net worth of £2.7bn, used a convoluted network of companies based in the British Virgin Islands, America and Monaco to buy a £13m chateau near Nice. He also campaigned for office on an anti-corruption ticket.

A lot of what has been exposed by the Pandora Papers, and the exposés which came before, isn’t even illegal. Avoiding tax by restructuring one’s assets to minimise the amount of tax paid is legal, and highly profitable for countries which allow themselves to become a centre of it. It is no coincidence that most tax havens are small island nations or microstates. However US states such as Delaware, and European countries like Switzerland and Ireland have also facilitated these activities.

It is easy to think that the financial affairs of the global financial and political elite are their private business, and thus should not concern ordinary citizens like us. But the consequences of this do matter, and have knock-on effects for the taxpayer. When Tony and Cherie Blair saved £300,000 in property taxes by purchasing a £6.5m Mayfair office and mansion via a shell-company in the British Virgin Islands, they kept £300,000 from the exchequer. The estimated amount of tax HM Revenue and Customs lost to tax avoidance and evasion in 2018/19 stood at £1.7 billion and £4.6 billion respectively. While this happens, the Conservative government has increased the tax burden on working people by raising national insurance rates and lowering the threshold for the repayment of student loans.

Globally, tax havens cost governments over $500bn in lost corporate tax revenue a year. Lower-income countries are disproportionately hit relative to their GDP, meaning that the offshore world is a threat to their development.

It is yet more evidence that a two-tier system exists. The ultra-rich have access to a completely different rulebook, leaving ordinary people to foot the bill. Journalist Oliver Bullough likened the shadowy world of offshore finance to its own country with its own set of laws – ‘Moneyland’. Want to set up a shell company far away in a tropical tax haven? You can hire a London-based financial advisor to help. While you’re at it, you could pick up Antiguan citizenship – and thus visa-free access to 130 countries – for a $500,000. 

London, with its booming service industry and streets lined by mansions owned by shell companies, could justifiably be considered the capital of Moneyland. The UK is simultaneously on the biggest enablers of Moneyland, and one of the biggest losers in terms of lost tax contributions.

The ICIJ state that not everyone named in the papers is accused of wrong doing, including the Blairs. But the same systems which allow the super-rich to reduce their taxes can be used to launder profits from illegal businesses, and even finance terrorism.

Will the Pandora Papers change anything? We can look to the fallout from the Panama Papers to get a clue. According to an analysis by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a fifth of countries implemented some kind of reform to address problems exposed by the papers. How effective those measures have been is a separate question. What does seem possible is that citizenship-by-investment schemes such as those in Malta and Bulgaria will come under greater scrutiny after the Cypriot programme shut down.

The Panama Papers also led to an increasing public awareness about what is going on in the corridors of power, and beyond the bomb-proof doors of central London mansions. You can even go on kleptocracy tours through the city, where journalists and anti-corruption campaigners tell you about the shell companies which own unimaginably expensive properties.

The Pandora Papers, like the Panama and Paradise Papers before, have shown it is unlikely that action will be taken to prevent these activities, since the very people with the power to clamp down on tax havens sometimes benefit from their existence. World leaders pledged to crack down on money laundering at the 2014 G20 Summit. And yet, nothing. After the release of the Panama Papers, the British government announced plans to force the owners of shell companies which own property in the UK – such as the one the Blairs used to buy their mansion – to reveal their names. These promises are yet to bear fruit. 

But an absence of a global reckoning does not mean that the Pandora Papers will be inconsequential. The Chilean national prosecutor’s office has announced that it will investigate President Sebastián Piñera over his stake in a mining project in the country, and could potentially lead to charges of bribery. It is likely that more consequences will emerge over the coming weeks, or even years.

It is important to recognise that there is also the potential for a backlash against journalists involved in uncovering uncomfortable truths. A reporter for an outlet which was friendly to the Venezuelan government was fired because of his involvement with the ICIJ, the consortium who analysed and publicised the Panama Papers. Censors in China have reportedly instructed news agencies to remove articles about the Panama Papers. The backlash has also been felt in the European Union, where countries typically score higher on press-freedom indexes: the Finnish tax authorities threatened to raid journalists homes to seize documents. Chillingly, in Slovakia and Malta, journalists have been assassinated in connection with their involvement in the Panama Papers and other investigations into corruption.

Regardless of their consequences, the release of the Pandora Papers should be celebrated as a show of unified force from investigative journalists across the world. As we enter what Reporters Without Borders call a “decisive decade” for journalism, the ICIJ investigation reiterates the value of a free press to told the powerful to account. Moneyland still has many secrets to reveal, some of which will be highly consequential. But as citizens, it is our duty to arm ourselves with an understanding of how this world works so we can ask the right questions of our leaders.

Image: stevepb via pixabay.com

Gender abolition: Why it matters

Anonymous
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0
Gender abolition: Why it matters

CW: Transphobia, ableism

“Gender equality” is a fashionable phrase. Neoliberal feminism would have us believe that gender equality is a suitable end-goal for feminism. Certainly, this is a convenient assertion, and doesn’t require a huge amount of critical thinking. It is, however, painfully short-sighted and inadequate. To advocate for gender equality, and simultaneously ignore the structural foundations of the patriarchy and endorse the existence of oppressive gender roles, is paradoxical. The solution cannot be simply equality. It must be the dissolution of gender as we know it.

Gender is not innate, nor inevitable. Gender is a socially constructed class system in which the class of man benefits from the systematic oppression of the class of woman (as anti-trans ‘feminists’ have appropriated some of the language of gender abolition, it is important to make clear that this category of women absolutely includes trans women). While sex refers to physical and biological characteristics, gender is a term to describe behaviours and attitudes assigned to these features. We gender biological sex characteristics just as we gender toys, clothing and colours. There is nothing inherently masculine about the colour blue – yet since we have a concept of gender, we assign cultural significance to that colour. 

Similarly, we assign arbitrary roles to biological sex. Males are expected to fulfil a masculine gender role just as females are expected to fulfil a feminine gender role. People who deviate from these culturally enforced norms are subjugated. Transgender and non-binary people, for example, are subject to unjust levels of violence and abuse for “violating” the dominant gender ideology. It is also critical to note that while gender roles have existed for millennia, the modern gender binary is a narrative of Christianity, colonialism and capitalism, and proliferated wildly with British colonialists’ criminalising of non-binary existences throughout their colonies. Simultaneously, many marginalised groups such as women of colour and disabled people have been systematically excluded from modern conceptions of gender. Normative femininity, for example, has been traditionally tied to whiteness and ableism. 

Gender abolitionists call for the dissolution of gender roles and associated cultural norms. A utopian society, for the gender abolitionist, would involve an elimination of the gender class system by ceasing to socialise people into arbitrary roles based on biological sex. One’s sex characteristics would ideally become culturally insignificant. So long as the social classes of man and woman exist (and females are socialised into femininity and males into masculinity), the existence of gender is inherently oppressive. 

But what if I want to keep my gender? This is an important question, particularly when considering the impact of gender abolition on the identities of those in marginalised groups, such as transgender and non-binary people. It is important to note that gender abolition is about dismantling the basal structures of the patriarchy, not about barring people from expressing their identity. So although the elimination of socialised gender roles is, in theory, the eventual elimination of gender itself (for example, the social classes of man and woman are abolished), gender abolition does not prevent people from engaging with masculinity and femininity and constructing their identities around those concepts. Rather, any conception of gender would arise from within, and be part of one’s self-identity, rather than a tool used by society to prescribe a role or identity. Hence, these identities would no longer emerge from or reinforce structures of power and no one would be forced into a rigid binary. 

The very idea that we can prescribe a positive set of behavioural characteristics to one’s sex is inherently flawed. Human brains are not sexually dimorphic. The idea of a ‘male brain’ and a ‘female brain’ is a product of neurosexism, and has been discredited. This is not to say that some sex-based differences don’t exist outside of socialisation – but rather that these differences are patterns and resist dimorphic categorisation. Sex itself, in fact, is not a binary, but a biological spectrum. Nevertheless, even if we entertain the idea that certain traits are linked to biological differences – such as aggressiveness being linked to the concept of maleness – this does not automatically justify the existence of a set of socially enforced stereotypes dictating how males or females ought to act. We can and should still want to rewrite cultural narratives for males and females and relinquish a gender binary which cannot capture the intricacy and diversity of human behaviour.

What, then, is the way forward? Firstly, we must acknowledge that the total abolition of gender is, at this point, a utopian dream. Because gender is influenced by, and enshrined in, religion, medicine, law, culture and so on, its abolition involves the revision of the most foundational aspects of society. Policy action has the ability to limit the material divisions of gender – for example, through universal healthcare, universal housing, prison abolition and bureaucratic reform. Individually, we can and must start to recognise and dissect the ways in which we have undergone gendered socialisation from our family, friends, education and the mass media. Why do we, as women, feel ugly if we do not wear makeup or shave? Why do we assign arbitrary cultural significance to anything from colours to shampoo bottles? Why do we force gendered stereotypes onto our own children? Furthermore, gender abolitionism cannot exist in isolation. Women and gender nonconforming people of colour have a unique experience under the patriarchy, and eliminating oppression based on gender must pay attention to intersections of race and gender.

“Gender equality” under the patriarchy – which by definition is a relationship of dominance – is fallacious. We must deconstruct our archaic belief in gender itself.

Artwork by Mia Clement.

Oxford housing charity Edge Housing holds 10-year anniversary event

Maurício Alencar
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0
Oxford housing charity Edge Housing holds 10-year anniversary event

The local housing charity for homeless people, Edge Housing, held an event to celebrate its 10 year anniversary at the Rooftop Terrace at Marriot Hotel Oxford. The event set out the charity’s “10 x 10 Campaign Goals”. 

The conference was attended by volunteers, business leaders, ex-homeless people, and educational leaders across Oxfordshire. A number of Oxford University students volunteer for the charity. This includes Esthy Hung, who was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Award. 

At the same time as the event was held, Edge Housing’s Support Team Leader ran a half marathon throughout Oxford to raise awareness and funds for the charity. 

Edge Housing is a charity which mainly “provides safe homes with support from a team experienced in mental health and addiction issues”, as well as career support. Its central ethos is that “none are beyond help”. 

The event at the Marriot Hotel.

Edge Housing currently houses up to 31 ex-homeless individuals and provides support for residents to get into employment through courses and vocational training. Support is individualised with “trauma-informed professionals trained and experienced with dealing with mental health and addiction problems”.

Edge Housing is preparing to open their tenth house for rough sleepers. This was set out in the charity’s “10 x 10 Campaign Goals”. 

The charity also hopes to raise over £10k, funding a support worker for the charity’s first women house. This will be one of the first women houses in Oxford.

Edge Housing is looking to build connections with educational and corporate institutions in order to continue to promote their presence around Oxford.

Images credit: Edge Housing

Science’s addiction to plastic: Something needs to be done

Rhian Gruar
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0
Science’s addiction to plastic: Something needs to be done

Are scientists complicit in the increasing amounts of plastic waste polluting our earth? Or is the waste generated by research an unavoidable by-product of scientific progression? These are questions which struck me during my summer placement in a bioscience research lab. I was shocked by the sheer amount of plastic waste that can be generated from the simplest of experiments. Day in, day out I end up discarding countless single-use plastics: a pair of gloves here, dozens of plastic tubes per failed cloning attempt and an endless heap of pipette tips. 

I like to consider myself an environmentally conscious person but does my reusable water bottle and thrifted clothes really mean anything in the face of the massive volume of lab waste I’m generating? 

In the wake of the IPCC’s 2021 climate report that unequivocally attributes recent increases in extreme weather events to human action, I believe that the scientific community needs to take a stand. And I’m not alone. Researchers from the University of Exeterestimated that bioscience research may be responsible for up to 1.8% of annual global plastic consumption. Scientific researchers themselves need to think carefully  about the rate at which they consume plastic. A one litre plastic bottle takes two litres of water to produce and 450 years to decompose. By 2050, plastic may outweigh fish in our oceans. 

With  so much research funded by  government and public money, do researchers have a duty to limit their environmental impact and be held to similar standards as any other government funded project? Or is plastic a necessary evil to keep the cogs of scientific research running smoothly? 

Plastic’s durability, mouldability and cheapness makes it a versatile product that can survive in the hands of even the clumsiest scientists. Single-use plastic is also an easy work around for the eternal issue of contamination that plagues bioscience research. Contamination could be chemicals, left over in a test tube from a prior experiment, interfering with results or different strains of bacteria mixing while they are being grown. Simply disposing of equipment after an experiment greatly minimises these risks. 

Contamination doesn’t cease to be an issue once a piece of lab equipment has been discarded. Biological and chemical contamination is a major complication in dealing with lab waste. Material that has been exposed to harmful chemicals or biological matter cannot simply be sent to a local landfill. It must first be sterilised by high pressure steam in a process called autoclaving which requires a large amount of energy and water, exacerbating the negative environmental impact of research. According to the University of Oxford’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, “laboratory buildings are responsible for over 60% of total energy consumption and carbon emissions across the university”. Labs are packed with equipment that demand  high energy supplies. For example, older models of lab freezers can consume four times more energy than the average UK household.  A move towards more sustainable energy sources may help mitigate some of these costs. 

Despite all this, science cannot be stopped. From medicine to sustainable eco-technology; we depend on the work  carried out in labs for almost everything. Researchers who are investigating plastic eating bacteria which  may help cleanse the oceans of plastic waste must utilise the very single-use plastic that they are aiming to eliminate. Of course, if they are successful, the eventual benefits will far outweigh the temporary costs.That’s still a big if. 

This issue may seem hopeless but there are measures that can be implemented today to help make science more sustainable. Scientists should be encouraged to return to the three Rs that have been drilled into us from primary school: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

Reduction can come by sharing resources with neighbouring labs, so nothing goes to waste, or opting for suppliers that limit unnecessary packaging. A switch back to glass equipment should be made in instances where contamination between uses is not an issue. 

Contamination makes reusing lab plastic more complex, but some companies aim to change this. Grenova, a lab supply company that focuses on sustainability, has developed a washer that sterilises pipette tips for reuse. Tips can be reused up to 40 times without compromising the quality of experiments. With this innovation, almost 1 billion pipette tips have been reused to date. 

Similar issues surround recycling lab waste as  reusing equipment. Most recycling plants are hesitant to receive lab waste due to contamination. Some specific services exist, such as a program that recycles lab gloves, but more work needs to be done in this area. 

As with all sustainability efforts, individual action is not enough, and change must come from an institutional level. The University of Oxford’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy aims for net zero carbon emission by 2035. Oxford labs need to work to find solutions to the problems of plastic use in their own labs in order for this goal to be reached. Advice is available to scientist on running a sustainable lab and there are opportunities for labs to gain sustainability accreditation. Funding bodies also need to exercise their power by favouring labs meeting certain sustainability checkpoints, to steer scientific research into a new, more sustainable age. 

Science labs will continue to work in this way  for the foreseeable future, churning out academic papers, new technology and tonnes and tonnes of plastic waste. Our understanding of climate change is due to the work of scientists, and many of our hopes to halt or reverse its effects also rest on the shoulders of scientists. They, and the institutions supporting them, need to turn some of their focus to how their own actions are damaging the planet and set an example to all those looking towards science for hope.

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