FEATURED
A Closer Look: Egypt’s City of the Dead is Coming Back to Life
Nancy Gittus takes A Closer Look at the development of Egypt’s City of the Dead throughout history, and its future developments. Has help from the EU been enough, or will the City of the Dead continue to struggle? Image credit to Nancy Gittus.
WHAT’S NEW
Bilingualism and Shared Identities
Eleanor Harris writes about her experience as an Au Pair in France, and what she learned about bilingual language acquisition.
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Escapism that Brings us Home: The True Power of Fantasy
“Every time I have read fantasy I always emerge far more enchanted with my own world. What I had considered ‘meh’ before, glancing at it blurry-eyed, now held my gaze…
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How to spend your money whilst keeping your morals
Individual activism and creating small scale positive change can feel overwhelming and impossible. “Voting with your dollar”, however, and supporting independent businesses where possible, is a crucial and impactful form…
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Spotlight – A short-term joke, a never-ending nightmare: what is OCD?
As someone with OCD, it feels like there’s two voices in my head: my own, and my OCD’s. A voice that whispers intrusive thoughts to me that I must complete…
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The barrier didn’t fall. It moved: Who really ‘belongs’ at Oxford?
In 2024, state school admissions to Oxford stood at 66.2 percent, down from a higher 68.6 percent in 2021. These pupils are among the 93 percent of the school age…
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Anti-Muslim rhetoric contributes to anti-Muslim violence: On Tommy Robinson’s Oxford Union Invite.
Tommy Robinson’s recent invitation to the Oxford Union cannot be separated from the lived experiences of British Muslims and the fear we carry throughout our lives. Tommy Robinson is widely…
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Oxford
Council Candidates Face Students at ‘Town-hall’ Event
On Tuesday 5 May 2026, Keble College’s O’Reilly Theatre played host to a “town hall” style event, organised by The Oxford Student, in which several candidates for the Holywell and Carfax and Jericho wards of Oxford City Council laid out their cases and answered questions from a student-dominated audience. The candidates in attendance for Carfax…
A Night to Remember: the Jesus-Exeter Ball 2026
Music, churros, dodgems, and even a shisha tent! All of this and more could be found at the first Jesus-Exeter Ball, held on 25 April 2026. The ball was first confirmed in September 2025, following the discontinuation of the Somerville-Jesus ball. Following discussions between the then-JCR president of Jesus College, Samuel Owen, the DACC (Director…
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson says he is “coming” to debate Islam at Oxford Union
Christine Savino reports on far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s alleged invitation to debate at the Oxford Union. Image credit to Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
opinion
This House believes that the Oxford Union has lost its values: the downfall of Oxford’s “free speech” society
At least once a term, throughout my three years at this university, I have had friends and family members message me outraged at the Oxford Union. I have said “no, it’s not the student union” at least a hundred times. With a membership fee of £343, and an “access” membership free of £206 (yes, that’s…
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New Media: Have We Evolved to Think Less Deeply?
When we think of evolution, our minds tend to spring to the Darwinian theories of ‘survival of the fittest’, or the transition from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens. Yet, technological advancements have provided us with a much more subtle mode of evolution: media. In the 21st century, ‘new media’ operates as a cultural feedback loop, taking…
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The Sabotage of Modernity
In recent times, we seem to be intoxicated by the heady spirits of progress and modernity. A climate of optimism saturates the air as we continuously blaze untrodden paths in science, technology, and all the rest of it. So dramatic are these headways being made that there is a deep sense in which we are…
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Outside OX1 Week 2: Mali, the US, and the Hantavirus
Outside OX1 returns for Week 2, with this week’s topics addressing Mali, the United States, and Hantavirus.
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Outside OX1 Week 1: UAE and North Korea
This term’s first edition of Outside OX1 explores two contrasting topics. Lewis Haynes explores the announcement that the UAE have withdrawn from OPEC, and the economic consequences for the UAE and globally of the decision. Noah Allerton takes a look at a new report published by the TJWG on the use of executions…
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Outside OX1 Week 8: Chile, Nepal and Mandelson
Welcome back to this term’s final issue of Outside OX1! Hilary has flown by and Trinity with its blossoming flowers and sunnier days awaits. What a journey this has been. I want to extend a warm thank you to all of our regular readers, we hope to see you back with us in…
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COLUMNS
Second Draft: Times New Roman is a girl’s best friend
Eleanor Davies returns with reflections on Hilary, essays, and their likeness to relationships. Illustration by Eleanor Davies, used with permission.
Lady Grinning Soul: Record Store Day Rewind
Julia Blackmon explores how Record Store Day was celebrated in record stores around Oxford and how physical media is making a return.
Risk Appetite: On Trying British Classics as an American
Valerie Wu explores what it is like to try British food classics as an American in Oxford, and how one way of understanding a culture is through its cuisine.
CULTURES
Defying Far More Than Gravity: Cynthia Erivo at the Schwarzman
When news broke that Cynthia Erivo would be making an appearance as the inaugural speaker in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities’ new cultural programme, I knew I had to…
The Two Noble Kinsmen at Mansfield College Garden: Reviewed
“Is this winning?” Emilia pleadingly asks, querying what we all wish to know by the end of the play. Can there really be a winner after such futile, damaging quarrelling?…
Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party at the Burton Taylor Studio: Reviewed
“an intriguing interpretation of Harold Pinter’s classic comedy of menace” Nancy Pierre reviews The Birthday Party at the Burton Taylor Studio
LIfestyle
Spotlight – The End of a Year Abroad
“In Tallinn, I found my feet for the first time. First year had been a complete whirlwind, so it was on my Year Abroad that I truly understood the freedoms…
Ranking Every Coffee Shop in Oxford
“At the beginning of Hilary, I set myself two goals: turn all my essays in on time and visit every coffee shop in Oxford. Although I didn’t quite achieve the…
Resistance: Food That Refuses to Be Instagrammable
On social media, food seems to belong to a very particular visual world — bone china, ceramic bowls, wooden boards, linen napkins, candle-lit tables. Steel plates, tainted pressure cookers, slightly…
Identity
Excess and Essays: A Visiting Student’s Reflection
“This would be my third university in three years, and I was well-practised in the ritual of formulating one’s persona. Feigning the aloof disinterest one associates with the higher order…
The Motherhood Mandate: Fascism’s War on Bodily Autonomy
Katrina Roach discusses the connection between fascism and the restriction of women’s bodily autonomy through past and present cases of female oppression. Image credit to Conatw95, used under the Creative…
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