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The Snowdrops of Oxford
Though the cosiness of winter is often longed for during the height of summer, the novelty soon wears off when it arrives in full force. There are only so many hot chocolates one can drink, so many rainy walks one can take before the damp sets into our bones, and the taste of cough medicine…
WHAT’S NEW
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…
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The Lifestyle Lowdown: Day Trips
If you’ve got some free time as week 8 draws to a close, why not use it to explore Oxford and its surroundings? Here are some of our favourite spots.…
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Oxford’s College Portraits: A Personal History
Evie Williams explores the ‘gallery of Oxonian history’ on every college’s walls, and asks what college portraits tell us about Oxford today.
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Lady Grinning Soul: An Interview with Chris Barker
“I’ve been very lucky to be around people who are really nice and understanding and conscientious. I tend to see those kinds of people do really well, so getting rid…
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The Tradwife Illusion
Isobel Phillips discusses the fallacy of the “tradwife” trend online, and the irony that is inherent in the marketing of this lifestyle by influencers.
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First Business Magazine Launched in Oxford
There are a multitude of societies and student publications at Oxford, but, until recently, there has not been a business-focused magazine. This term, The Radcliffe, a new business magazine, released…
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Oxford
Wadham Holds Panel in Honour of International Women’s Day
On Friday 6 March, in Wadham’s Hollywell Music Room, a panel discussion was held in honour of International Women’s Day. The panel consisted of Lucy Lake, CEO of Campaign for Female Education, and Tehila Sasson, Wadham-based Associate Professor of Modern History. Within these blue walls, the discussion ranged from feminism in practice to the future…
Catherine Xu Elected President of the Oxford Union for Michaelmas Term 2026
Catherine Xu has been elected the President of the Oxford Union for Michaelmas term 2026 with 629 first preference votes. Liza Barkova was the runner-up with 470 first preferences, whilst Gareth Lim received 326 first preferences and Hamza Hussain received 144. Unusually, this term, the presidential election was a four-way race; typically, it is only…
Conference of Common Rooms Meets for the Second Time this Term
The Conference of Common Rooms (CCR) met in the HB Allen Centre on Tuesday 3 March. This consisted of representatives from both the Junior Common Rooms (JCR) and Middle Common Rooms (MCR) of Oxford’s various colleges, and it was the second meeting of the term (the first one took place in Week 3). The meeting began at…
opinion
Bombings destroy, not build: the radical uncertainty of Iranian democracy
On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched a comprehensive air campaign against Iran. Striking over 1,250 targets in the first 48 hours, they claim to have killed 49 members of the Iranian senior leadership, including the former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump described Khamenei’s…
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Are some colleges better than others?
For many of us, studying at the University of Oxford was the ultimate goal — it was Oxford or nothing. But after getting into the university of our dreams, the fact that you’re at Oxford quickly becomes secondary to which college you go to. “Brookes or Uni of?” is replaced in the daytime by an…
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Should we really be turning Trump into a meme?
The meme account Saint Hoax describes “humour as a Trojan horse for fascism”. This is a provocative claim, but one worth considering in the age of arguably our first ‘meme president’: Donald Trump. On one hand, memes can play a democratising function. Publishing a meme is of low reputational cost, they are easy to replicate,…
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Outside OX1 Week 7: Iran
Welcome back to another issue of Outside OX1! This week, the news has been dominated by one rather nuanced and complicated story: Iran. As such, to do the best coverage possible, the Global Affairs team has covered three angles of this conflict: the war, the response, and the repercussions. First up is the…
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Who is a Terrorist in 2026?
Terrorist. Are we allowing our fear of what this word represents to make us complicit in the growing imposition on free speech? Or worse, as justification to let people starve to death? All through 2025, the UK witnessed growing discussion and unrest about the meaning of ‘protest’ and ‘terrorism.’ Tens of thousands gathered…
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Four Years On: Is an End Anywhere in Sight for Ukraine and Russia?
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine. Four years on, the “special military operation” by Russian President Vladimir Putin continues. Yet, “continues” is an odd way of describing a war that has virtually been at a territorial stand-still for almost three-quarters of its duration. The fighting continues, and…
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COLUMNS
Risk Appetite: On My Oxford Week, Told Through Food
“Whenever I eat something that surprises me in a good way, I remind myself that there are great food options in Oxford if you’re willing to venture out for them. They’re sometimes obscured by the all-consuming stress and emotional blues that have oftentimes characterised my time here.” Valerie Wu takes us through a week’s worth…
Second Draft: Melodramatic Fearmongering
“What I do know, however, is that my younger self was a voracious reader and writer. Albeit with a slightly quirky imagination. If I could have told her that she would be spending her afternoon researching the lyric self in the Old Bodleian, she would have been pretty chuffed.” Eleanor Davies reflects on her previous…
Borders and Belonging: Writing my Full Name
“What motivates me to keep on writing is seeing my full name, because I write for every Ahmadzadeh Noughani and every Ahmadi Moghaddam before me who never had the chance to see their names written in Oxford University newspapers.” Saba Ahmadzadeh Noughani shows us how names can be a powerful reminder of identity, heritage, and…
CULTURES
Prince Consort Ladygirl at the Keble O’Reilly: Reviewed
“How far will you go to save the one you love? It’s a question commonly asked in fiction, but I’ve never seen it approached quite like it is in Prince…
Little Women at Pembroke College’s Pichette Auditorium: Reviewed
“Pembroke’s drama scene does not get nearly as much attention as it deserves” Rohit Ghosh reviews the musical ‘Little Women’, staged by Pembroke College at their Pichette Auditorium this March.…
Continuous Music and Altered States: Lubomyr Melnyk in concert at the New Space (featuring an Interview with Nathan Adlam)
Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk, aside from holding two world records for being the fastest pianist in the word, has amassed much critical attention, primarily for developing a ‘new language for…
LIfestyle
How jarring can silence really be?
“I wonder whether this need to complement every menial task with music is a way to convince myself that every minute of my time is being used in a worthwhile…
Namaste Village – Oxford’s Authentic Gujarati Restaurant
Keen to expand their offering to students, Namaste Village currently offer – alongside their already affordable menu – a generous 25% student discount, the terms for which are available on…
Telltaylor: By a Lancashire Farm Shop, I Sat Down and Wept
“I was always a muse, a magician’s trick, bending my own image to enhance his own. He seemed to compliment me only if the words fit his rhyme scheme.” Alicia Taylor…
Identity
“We are their legacy”: Blue Stockings and the Path Paved So Far.
Isobel Gurnett discusses the history and resonance of St. Hilda’s new student production of Blue Stockings ahead of International Women’s Day. Image by Jyotsna Singh, used with permission.
From the Inside Out #2
Avani Rao reflects on how chronic back pain has affected her time at Oxford, and the stigma that is attached to people with disabilities, particularly those that are “invisible”. Image…
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