FEATURED
Joint Honours Degrees: Double the Work or Double the Indecision?
Joint honours students deserve more respect. Why, you might ask, when they are clearly just dithering between two subjects? As one particularly blunt tutor put it, I must only care about history to a limited extent compared to my single honours compatriots. When even tutors view joint honours students as less committed to their cause,…
WHAT’S NEW
The Sympathetic Ear: Growing Up Around My Mother’s OCD
I remember walking home one autumn evening when I was eleven years old, holding my mother’s hand as tears welled up in her eyes. Though I did not have the…
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A Big, Beautiful Irony: DJT Climate Warrior in Wolf’s Clothing?
When Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, rolled back drilling restrictions, ordered the expansion of coal mining, and dismissed the authors of the Sixth National…
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High Table: Reviews by The Blue | New College
‘There’s nothing that screams “Oxford” quite as much as the formal dinner. After all, there aren’t that many places where you can get dressed up and head over to a…
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No Mauling Here: Heads Held High in Blue Defeat to Tigers
OURFC held their own at Iffley against a professional Leicester Tigers side. Image by Thomas Yates, used with permission
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Chekhov’s The Seagull: A Review
Rooted in a modern-day setting, Lighthouse Productions’ vision is creative and clever. Director Alys Young uses the vast playhouse stage to her full advantage; she creates moments of quiet intimacy,…
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The Joy of Commuting
Like many second-years from Turl Street, I don’t think I realised how lucky I was to live in the city centre as a fresher. I was spoilt last year with…
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Oxford
Stand Up to Racism Unity March Draws Hundreds
Behind chants of ‘say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here’, there was the high energy of a marching samba band – setting a morale-boosting rhythm to the parade. Pedestrians passing by also joined in by cheering and expressing their support, with significantly fewer hecklers. Image by Ben Taylor. Used with permission.
Oxford Half Marathon Attracts Record Turnout
On Sunday 11 October, 15,000 keen runners braved a very early start to run through the streets of Oxford for the annual Half Marathon, with many raising money for their chosen charities. Image by Matthew Hoser, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oriel College Lecturer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Possessing Indecent Images of Children
“Dr Lola Salem, 33, was suspended in June by Oriel College, where she has been a lecturer of music since 2022. In a statement to Oxford Mail, Oriel confirmed that they were “made aware” of the charges in June 2026 and have subsequently suspended Dr Salem “pending the outcome of legal proceedings” Oriel College in…
opinion
We should have left ‘whimsy’ in 2025
Whimsical. Around a year ago, this word (and all its variations) sprouted roots on the internet. It somehow blossomed amidst the backdrop of heightened global seriousness, with people using it to share creative projects and spontaneous endeavours. It was not long before brands latched on, and the word started popping up in adverts, in TikTok…
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Britain’s prophet steps forward
“Oh, oh! Agony, agony! Again the awful pains of prophecy are on me, maddening as they fall… What if no man believe me?” Thus cries the tortured Cassandra in Aeschylus’ seminal tragedy Agamemnon. Cursed by Apollo with a gift of prophecy which is never to be believed, Cassandra is one of the most tragic figures…
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Call the violence in Belfast out for what it is: Pogroms
I refuse to use the phrases “anti-immigration riots”, “violent disorder”, “disruptions” or “unrest” to describe what ethnic minorities and those who present as visibly Muslim, have been experiencing in Belfast over the last few days. And this is not the first time we have lived through this. A quick Google search shows that a Pogrom…
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Outside OX1 Week 1: Indonesia and Mexico
Welcome (back) to Oxford, and to our first edition of Outside OX1 for the academic year. Whilst Nancy investigates the toxic smoke coming off wildfires in Indonesia, which has coated parts of Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Dillon reports on the kidnap of three police officers in Mexico by the Pueblos Unidos gang.
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Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 15 Years As Accusers Embrace In Court
On 23 September 2026 Harvey Weinstein was sentenced at the New York County Supreme Court to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting former television production assistant Miriam Haley at his Manhattan apartment in 2006.
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The Firewall Against The AfD Is Faltering
The recent state elections in Germany are an important indicator of Germany’s current political environment. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won in Sachsen-Anhalt. In Berlin, The Left Party (Die Linken) prevailed. For the first time, the established Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) will not sit in a government. What does this…
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COLUMNS
Second Draft: Teary-eyed goodbyes
“For the past 20 minutes, I have been staring at an empty word document. This was categorically not the plan. When I started writing my first column way back at the beginning of Michaelmas, I had a vision of myself sitting demurely in the Radcliffe Camera, gently tapping away on my keyboard with an effortless…
Risk Appetite: On Gratuities and Goodbyes
“All the courses add up to something, and by the time dessert comes, you know your meal is coming to an end. It’s bittersweet.”
Low Concept: Pursuit for its Own Sake
“My thesis is not one implying a value to decentring work or academic commitments. It is one concerned with giving enjoyments and pursuits for pleasure the priority that they are due.”
CULTURES
The Misanthrope: A Review
In this article, Hazel Morpurgo reviews The Misanthrope translated by Martin Crimp, put on at the Royal National Theatre in London.
Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro: A Review
In this article, Natalie Perera reviews Oxford Opera’s production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, put on at the Oxford Playhouse.
Who Gets to Remember?: When nostalgia becomes dangerous
“At the individual level, the mismatch between memory and history appears fairly harmless. For the collective, it can be terrible. The present, the only actuality, is firmly rooted in our…
LIfestyle
Reap the Benefits of Freshers’ Week (And Sports) with Plush
Freshers’ Week has come and gone, and with it, the introduction of hundreds, if not thousands, of new students to Oxford’s diverse nightlife scene. As a 2nd Year watching both…
Saying Goodbye But Never Moving Away
“I never knew that playing Piano Tiles, a nostalgic game I downloaded on a whim, could evoke such intense feelings of homesickness for a place I don’t live in. For…
The Queerest Day of the Week: The Art of Tuesgays at Plush
Mya Sidhu discusses the etymology of Tuesday, its ‘queer’ links, and how best to embody the day at Plush. Crowd Image Credit: Vyacheslav Argenburg. CC BY 4.0 Collage by: Mya…
Identity
The Experience of a ‘Country Bumpkin’
Molly Finch discusses the experience of a ‘Country Bumpkin’, and how it could co-exist with the bustle of the Oxford-mindset.
In Defence of the Bachelor Life
An anonymous author writes about their experience of being aromantic in a society that values romance above other types of love.
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