FEATURED
COP30: Behind the Scenes
Elana Roberts explores the importance, impact and limitations of COP30, which took place in Brazil. She first traces the historic significance of COPs before interviewing three COP30 attendees to shed a light on their experiences and reflections. Images taken by Merna Elboghdady.
WHAT’S NEW
In defence of the assisted dying bill
My grandmother died in 2020. At the end of her life, she held on for months. Not because she wanted to — that much had become all too clear —…
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The Physicist Behind the Turl Street Orchestra: In Conversation with Dr. Felix Tennie
“If I had no music, I wouldn’t be as productive of a physicist. Whenever I don’t get to make music for a time, I become a bit exhausted in physics.…
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Snow
‘If something is frozen we say it’s unchanging — that it stays.’ Nina Sablan’s creative piece about snow and its effects on our landscape. Image Credit: Nina Sablan.
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Who am I? Finding my identity between two languages
That person, no matter what they do in the present, will always be defined by what they did. In the country where I was born, my past is my present.…
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Outside OX1 Week 8: End of Term Special
The Editor’s Note As the end of term is finally here, many will be lacing up their skiing boots; or enduring painstaking journeys home around the country and around the…
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Second Draft: Notting Hill and table football
“I was practically raised on Richard Curtis’ oeuvre and have seen Notting Hill more times than I care to admit. I can quote unwieldy chunks of it. In fact, if…
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Oxford
Protesters Gather in Oxford to Protest the Proscription of ‘Palestine Action’
On Tuesday 18 November, a group of around 30 protesters met outside the Clarendon Building in central Oxford to protest the government’s proscription of the group ‘Palestine Action’ in July. Jude Wood reports from the demonstration.
Oxford Stand Up To Racism March Crosses the Length of the City
On Sunday 16 November, a “unity march” across Oxford organised by Oxford Stand Up To Racism took to the streets. Noah Allerton reports on the march from the scene.
The Chancellor’s Intervention: Hague on “Safe Spaces”, Gaza, and Ukraine
A year on from the first round of the election of the new Chancellor, its victor, William Hague, took to the Cheltenham Literature Festival in mid-October to comment on his ideals for the University, the current Starmer Government, and the development of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan. Noah Allerton explores the Chancellor’s remarks.
opinion
The society trap: when finding yourself becomes losing yourself
At this year’s Freshers’ Fair, I signed up for tennis and touch rugby with the unmistakable arrogance of someone who has never experienced the workload of Oxford University. We’re one term in, and both my racket and rugby boots are sitting gathering dust, while I wrestle with Lev Vygotsky in the upper reading room of…
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Why I Refuse to Wear The Red Poppy
It is the 11th of November again, the date when the guns fell silent in 1918, when an armistice was signed in France marking the end of more than four years of devastating conflict. This is why we all remember the war on November 11th with an artificial red poppy to commemorate the military personnel…
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Do different languages change the way we think?
According to the legend of Babel, the existence of different languages on Earth began as a punishment. Humanity, daring to build its tower skyward, was scattered by God and condemned to mutual unintelligibility. Later centuries imagined a return to the lost original language. The 17th-century philosopher Francis Bacon, for instance, thought Chinese characters might offer…
Keep readingGlobal Affairs
“A City on Fire”: Hong Kong in Mourning After Deadly Tai Po Inferno
Hong Kong is in collective mourning. On 26 November, a catastrophic fire tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in the Tai Po district. At least 128 people have died and hundreds are still missing. This is one of Hong Kong’s deadliest residential disasters in decades. Within hours, the blaze tore through…
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The Politics of the Prop: Analysing Hanson’s Parliamentary Pageantry.
On 24 November, Pauline Hanson, a long-serving far-right Australian senator and leader of the far-right anti-immigration One Nation party, wore a burqa in the Australian Senate. This is the second time that Hanson has used the burqa as a political prop, attempting to pass a bill which would ban face coverings in public,…
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Generation Z Protests in Mexico: Anti-Violence or Pro-USA?
Lola Dunton-Milenkovic explores the recent Generation Z Protests throughout Mexico, evaluating their anti-corruption and anti-violence sentiments, as well as their potential political motivations which might be fuelling a right-wing agenda. Image Credit by JellyFish.19.
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COLUMNS
Rare aesthetic: being humbled by study influencers
“Whilst I was spending hours in the library on one essay, they were sauntering through assignments in infuriatingly short time-stamped minutes.” Téa Sand talks about the unrealistic standard set by study influencers, and trying to break free of it. Image by Leon Moorhouse used with permission.
Return Flight: Spying on my old self
“I assumed things would feel different this year – fewer friends, more stress from impending finals – but I didn’t realise I would feel so different.” Esmé Hubbert discusses the differences from the simplicity of first year and the changes that come with moving out of college. Illustration by Leon Moorhouse used with permission.
Risk Appetite: On Relationships with Food and Food Influencers
“I thought spending mealtimes studying instead of eating would give me some sort of leverage over my peers, who weren’t spending that time being ‘productive’ in the traditional sense” Valerie Wu discusses the relationship between eating and studying and how LA and food influencers helped improve it. Image by Guian Bolisay, CC BY-SA 2.0 ,…
CULTURES
‘Moments drawn out fine’: Sitting With Gwen John’s ‘The Convalescent’ and Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage
“To sit and look at Gwen John’s ‘The Convalescent’ is to become acutely aware of one’s own body, “the shape and weight of each limb”.” Image by Esme Gutch, used…
Meta-Whorf-asis: on litost and translated fiction
‘The term depicts a feeling “as infinite as an open accordion, a synthesis of grief, sympathy, remorse, and indefinable longing”, which begs the question – does the language in which…
Fleet Foxes: an album worthy of attention
“Fleet Foxes’ eponymous debut album is the gift that keeps on giving for lovers of acoustic, vocally-interesting tunes”. Olivia-Mae Butterfield discusses her favourite underrated album. Image by Olivia-Mae Butterfield, used…
LIfestyle
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…
Telltaylor: Everything I Learnt From A Mackerel Fillet
“I suddenly became afraid of forgetting the year which may turn out to be the most important of my life.” In the debut article of her column, Alicia Taylor gives…
Proust’s Madeleine: The Hidden Power of Food.
“We have always known that food is a lot more than its taste, texture, and nutritional value. Every meal is an intense social and sensory experience that serves to nourish…
Identity
Growing Up: The Beginning of an Oxford Experience
“It is not a loss to forget some of my old routines and habits, but a privilege to learn new ones, and to share my identity with so many new…
The Power of a Label – Not Just A Stereotype
“How does it make me feel when I say ‘I’m autistic”? The answer is I rarely ever say it. Saying those two words is really difficult for me and always…
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