Cherwell

20/12/2024

Applications are now open for Cherwell’s Creative Team HT25!

Cherwell is looking for:

- Photographers
- Video Editors
- Illustrators
- A Cartoonist
- Puzzle Makers

Apply via the link in bio!

Deadline: midday 27th December

Good luck! 🖋️

13/12/2024

The results of Cherwell’s unprecedented investigation into students’ drinking habits are finally in. We received responses from nearly 10% of the University’s undergraduate body across every year, college, and course.

Data can now tell us conclusively which colleges and courses drink the most and the least, as well as students' favourite bars, pubs, drinks, and crewdate stories. No stone was left unturned.

🖋 Laurence Cooke and Victoria McKinley-Smith

Image credit: Jon Parise CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

11/12/2024

Timothy Radcliffe, a Fellow of Oxford University’s Blackfriars Hall, was created a Cardinal by Pope Francis at a ceremony at the Vatican on 7th December, making him one of four current English Cardinals. The position of Cardinal is the second highest in the Catholic Church and the College of Cardinals plays an important role in advising the Pope and Church administration.

Radcliffe lived, taught, and lectured at Blackfriars Hall, a Permanent Private Hall for graduate students at the University of Oxford that specialises in theology and philosophy and is operated by the Dominican Order. He is also an Honorary Fellow and alumnus of St John’s College.

Cardinal Radcliffe told Cherwell: “The Catholic Church is in a moment of profound transition” and that he hopes to help “make the Church more welcoming to everyone and (…) share the gospel with a world which is increasingly torn apart by war and violence.”

On his time at Oxford, Radcliffe said that he was “blessed with wonderful tutors” who helped him learn “how to engage with people with whom [he] disagreed”. Radcliffe added he hoped to continue to be based in Blackfriars as he found Oxford “a marvellously stimulating place to live” and that he will be able to “continue to visit the difficult places of suffering and poverty”.

🖊 Bryn Mollet

Image credit: Vatican Media

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

08/12/2024

04/12/2024

Cherwell’s News Shorts, fewer than 100 words each, report on events in Oxford and other universities that aren’t serious enough for a full story, but are too entertaining to miss. Here are the editors’ favourites from Michaelmas 2024.

🖊 Cherwell News

Image credit: Georgia Campbell

News shorts are in print only, so be sure to pick up our print issues next term!

30/11/2024

Anita Okunde running for the slate has been elected Union President for Trinity Term 2024.

The slate sweeped the officer roles. Anya Trofimova will be Librarian-elect. Rosalie Chapman will be Treasurer-elect. Raza Nazar was elected Secretary.

The following candidates were elected to the Standing Committee, from highest to lowest order of votes: Veer Sangha, Katherine Yang, Oliver JL, Jennifer Yang, Hamza Hussain, Prajwal Pandey.

🖊 Cherwell News

Image credit: David Hays

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

30/11/2024

Pre-Oxford, I was everything you would expect of a to-be Oxford student: top marks, homework always in on time, projects completed to the nines. It comes as a surprise therefore, that the Oxford workload, rather than triggering a stress response, has instead desensitised me to the fear of academic failure.

Stella Clark reflects on the strange exposure therapy to failure that Oxford University provides, and the freeing effects of this process.

🖋Stella Clark

Image Credit: Alexis Herman//Pexels License via Pexels

29/11/2024

The Oxford Union voted 278-59 for its motion “This House Believes Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide” tonight, with the society’s buildings surrounded by tight security and protesters rallying outside.

Speaking in Proposition were Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd, Union President Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, Israeli-American activist Miko Peled, and Palestinian-American poet Susan Abulwaha. Speaking in Opposition were British broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti, British barrister Natasha Hausdorff, Arab-Israeli journalist Yousef Haddad, and spy Mosab Hassan Yousef. Yousef is the son of terrorist organisation Hamas’ founder who then defected to become a spy for Israeli intelligence. He has been criticised for his hatred of Islam.

Outside the society’s buildings, around two dozen pro-Palestine protesters rallied on St Michael’s Street, their chants audible from the chamber. A protester told Cherwell that their reason is twofold: To show solidarity with Palestinian speakers, and to stand against the Union’s platforming of other speakers.

🖊 Cherwell News

Image credit: David Hays

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

27/11/2024

The Norrington Table, which ranked undergraduate colleges by their students’ degree results, has been discontinued by the Conference of Colleges on the grounds that it is not fit for purpose.

A spokesperson for the Conference of Colleges told Cherwell: “It was judged that the Norrington Table does not encapsulate the added value given by college teaching. Nor does it relate to differences at the level of specific degree courses.”

Senior tutors made the decision in Hilary Term 2024 in consultation with all colleges. Student representatives were also present at relevant meetings of the Senior Tutors’ Committee.

🖊 Ekam Hothi

Image credit: Joshua Fang

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

27/11/2024

The Convocation voted Lord William Hague as Oxford University’s next Chancellor after two rounds of voting, concluding their multi-month campaigns.

Hague was the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001. He also held the position of Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2014 during the coalition government.

In his interview with Cherwell, Hague said he is prepared for a “decade of change”. He discussed coming to Oxford from a comprehensive school and having his life “transformed”. He also hopes to help grow the University’s endowment through his links to the US so that it doesn’t rely too much on international students’ funding.

Hague was elected from a pool of 38 candidates, which were narrowed down to five – Lady Elish Angiolini, Rt Hon Dominic Grieve, Lord William Hague, Lord Peter Mandelson and Baroness Jan Royall. This came after 23,000 members of the Convocation, which comprises alumni and staff, cast votes in the first round.

27/11/2024

Walking past the Rad Cam, you’ll come to Exeter College. Home to undergraduate Phillip Pullman, it is the approximate location of ‘Jordan College’: Lyra’s fictional Oxford base in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

Look no further for the perfect afternoon dawdle, as you chase the ghosts of literary greats through the town.

🖊️ Maya Heuer-Evans

Image Credit: Geo3k/ CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

25/11/2024

Over half of those studying creative arts degrees at Oxford University are from “upper-middle class backgrounds” and 32% are privately educated, while only 5% of students studying these degrees are from “working class backgrounds”. The report, published by the social mobility charity Sutton Trust, highlighted “elitism” in Oxford’s creative arts.

A recent investigation by Cherwell found that over the last four years the representation of state-school students at the University has been on the decline. Meanwhile, the proportion of private-school offers has exceeded the proportion of private-school applicants, with increasing disparity. The University’s admission of private-school students in the creative arts is reflective of the composition of the student body as a whole.

🖊 Euan Elliott

Image credit: David Hays

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

22/11/2024

A pint of real ale in Oxford now costs £5.42 on average up from £5.06 last year, according to a survey of Oxford pubs. This comes after the new government budget’s promise to cut a penny off a pint.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) recently surveyed 25 pubs in central Oxford, excluding two JD Wetherspoon pubs that always sell at lower prices. CAMRA’s findings indicate a strong trend of pints rising in price, with the most common pint now costing £5.60 – a rise of over 24% from £4.50 in 2023. Additionally, 12 pubs now do not sell any ales for less than £5 per pint, double of the 6 pubs last year.

CAMRA also reported that the single most expensive pint of ale was found at the Head of the River, where a Fuller’s seasonal beer sells for £6.55. In second place was Turf Tavern, costing £6.45 for a Greene King special beer. Notably, prices at Wetherspoon pubs have decreased to £2.49 a pint, except for pints of Greene King IPA which are sold at £1.99 each. Outside of Wetherspoon pubs, the White Rabbit continues to sell the cheapest pints at £3.80.

🖊 Donovan Lock

Image credit: Donovan Lock

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

20/11/2024

Many of us have heard the dreaded ‘So… any idea what you’re doing next?’. It makes me a little irate, anxious, and on the verge of a minor breakdown, as you can probably tell. Two years of my undergraduate degree have somehow disappeared with the blink of an eye – I am older but seem to be none the wiser.

Katrin Shabgard reflects on the Catch-22 of wanting to be present for your last year at university, while simultaneously planning for the future.

🖋Katrin Shabgard

Image Credit: Philip Halling//CC BY-SA 2.0 via Geograph

18/11/2024

As Oxford’s newest music society explores ways to facilitate a much-needed space for hip-hop music, only one question springs to mind: where have they been all this time?

After a year of discussion, is finally in action, boasting a ten-person committee and a far larger number of supporters.

It’s safe to say that the society embodies more than just hip-hop - their love for music is palpable, as well the warmness and friendliness of their members. They suggest that starting with anything produced by the Alchemist or Mike Dean will stand you in good stead for a ‘spiritual musical experience’.

🖊️ Honor Thompson

Image Credits: Samarah Faci

Read the article in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

16/11/2024

Turl Street Homeless Action has three main functions: bringing hot drinks, food, and hygiene products to those sleeping rough; providing company and offering a listening ear for those who want it; and bridging the divide between students and the homeless community. With more and more people aware of Oxford's stark inequalities and the growing number of vulnerable people, student volunteering at organisations like THSA is on the rise.

🖋Subhan Aslam

Image credit: THSA

Read the story in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org

03/11/2024

A former Oxford Feminist Society President sat down with the leaders of Oxford's women's societies - from Wom*Cam to OxWoCS - to talk about everything from activism and community to career guidance and the place of men in female discussion spaces.

🖋Sophie Lyne

Image credits: David Hays and OxWIB

Read the article in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!

26/10/2024

I took part in an Oxford summer school funded by a billion-dollar movement whose goal was to change the world forever, for the better. An organisation whose overt purpose was to lower the probability of human extinction.

🖋 Laurence Cooke

Image credits: David Hays and Laurence Cooke

Read the article in full via the link in our bio or online at cherwell.org!