Cherwell

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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

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18/10/2024

Debate commentary: The Oxford Union voted that it has confidence in this government. Its annual motion “This House Has No Confidence in His Majesty’s Government” saw 116 voting against and 71 voting for last night. Prior to the debate, President Ebrahim Osman Mowafy passed sweeping rules changes with an emotional speech, followed by a long standing ovation and some objections. Before the main event, the chamber voted against the emergency motion “This House Would Vote for Donald Trump”.

🖋️Jacob Newby

Image Credit: David Hays

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

16/10/2024

Proportionally, Oxford has one of the highest rates of rough sleeping and a dearth of available council housing – it’s no secret that the students are one of the driving forces behind this increasing unaffordability.

🖊️ Faye Chang

Image credits: David Hays

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

16/10/2024

Imran Khan is not on the list of 38 candidates for Chancellor, according to a press release from Oxford University, despite Khan’s intention to run.

The University stated that applicants were considered solely on four exclusion criteria. Three of them – cannot be a student of the University, cannot be an employee of the University, cannot be a member or candidate for an elected legislature – do not apply to Khan. The fourth criteria states that the candidate must not be “disqualified from being a charity trustee by virtue of section 178 of the Charities Act 2011” and must be a “fit and proper person” as determined by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.

Cherwell has contacted Khan’s advisor for comments. When the University was contacted regarding which exclusion criteria Khan was disqualified for, the spokesperson declined to comment.

The former prime minister of Pakistan, Khan is currently in prison on remand due to a corruption charge relating to his time in office.

Other previously publicised candidates on the list include Eilish Angiolini, Margaret Casely-Hayford, Dominic Grieve, William Hague, Peter Mandelson and David Willetts.

🖋️Cherwell News

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

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15/10/2024

Incoming students at Keble College voiced concerns over the high living costs resulting from a lack of clarity or, in the case of a Foundation Year student, a lack of choice in their application process.

This comes after Keble scrapped fixed-price rent costs in 2022, allowing the college to adjust room costs throughout the duration of students living on-site. The cheapest room, which shares a bathroom with one other person, now costs £30.91 a night compared to £27.24 a night last year.

Such a room charges a total of £5,749.26 for three terms, while the minimum maintenance loan for students living away from home outside of London is £4,767 a year.

Keble students do not have kitchen facilities until their third year, so they must eat in hall or eat out instead of cheaper options such as cooking or meal preparation.

🖋 Mair Andrews

Image credits: David Hays

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15/10/2024

Oxford students have been protesting for centuries, for reasons noble and ignoble. It all started with the 1355 wine riots of St Scholastica Day and found success in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Last term's Palestine solidarity encampment adds to a long list of student dissatisfaction and furious University reaction.

🖋 Subhan Aslam

Image credits: David Hays

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14/10/2024

Lord Peter Mandelson was an architect of the New Labour movement, serving in various governmental and party political roles from 1985 until 2010. Most notably, he was the Labour Party’s Director of Communications from 1985 until 1990. He remains a Labour peer in the House of Lords, with links to the current Labour government. He is currently running for the Chancellorship of Oxford University, Having read PPE at St. Catherine’s College, matriculating in 1973. Cherwell spoke to him about his bid for the chancellorship.

🖊 .akram_

Image credit: World Economic Forum/CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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

13/10/2024

13,000 runners, many of whom were fundraising for charity, raced through Oxford’s streets this morning for the Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile route that took them from Broad Street to Summertown and University Parks before finishing at Parks Road. Spectators, live bands, and DJs lined the fences to cheer them on.

📷 David Hays

12/10/2024

‘When I was at uni and I was doing both, if one was going badly, I’d throw a lot more time into the other. If rowing was going badly, never mind! I’ll just do well at my degree, and one day I’ll run Tate Britain. If I wasn’t enjoying uni as much – well, I’ve got the rowing.’

Cherwell spoke to Team GB Olympic champion, Emily Craig, discussing her art history degrees, netsuke, and rowing-life balance.

🖊️ Yueshi Yang

Image Credit: Albert Edelfelt, ‘Girls in a Rowing Boat’, via Wikimedia Commons

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

12/10/2024

Want to write for Cherwell news? Come to our weekly news meeting TODAY to pick up a story! Anyone can contribute — section editors will help you so no experience needed.

See you at 5:00pm in Cherwell’s offices. Directions: Google Maps “Oxford Student Publications Ltd” - cross Folly Bridge - go down stairs at Salter’s Streamers - go up stairs to Evelyn Waugh room - the door will be open.

11/10/2024

Last night, Oxford was treated to another spectacular display of the Northern Lights. For many students, this marked the second time this year they felt robbed, missing out on this natural wonder due to an untimely “early night”. The good news is that we’re still in a period of heightened solar activity, and you might have a third shot at getting your once-in-a-lifetime night in Oxford this year.

I’ve been privileged to see and photograph the Northern Lights both times they toured our city of dreaming spires, having also chased them in Alaska and Norway. Through this process, I like to think – or, at least my parents do – that I’ve become a (very) amateur heliophysicist. Here’s my crash course on why the Lights are showing up so frequently this year, and my tips for making sure you don’t miss their next visit.

🖋️ David Hays

Image Credit: David Hays

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

10/10/2024

CW: Sexual assault

It’s a funny thing to become a statistic. It all seems so binary before it happens to you. Are you the zero, or the one? Two distinct states of being, two entirely opposite sides. But what is unclear, is the wide expanse between - the grey area.

Amy Seal discussed self doubt and sexual assault in The Grey Area.

🖋️Amy Seal

Image Credit: Francesca Cruccu//Pexels License via Pexels

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

10/10/2024

Hertford College Principal Professor Tom Fletcher announced he will be leaving his role for a new appointment as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Relief and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, leading the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The date of his leaving has not yet been set, but it won’t be for several weeks, Fletcher told Cherwell.

In an email to Hertford, Fletcher recalled how his experience at Hertford “changed his life” in the years he’s been “blessed to see Hertford from every angle”: as a student of Modern History, a night porter, a barman, a JCR president, a summer school guide, an alumnus, an honorary fellow, and the principal.

After graduation Fletcher served as a UK diplomat in Nairobi and Paris, the foreign policy and Northern Ireland advisor to Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron, and the British Ambassador to Lebanon. Upon returning to Hertford as an honorary fellow, Fletcher was elected as the youngest ever principal in 2020.

He wrote: “On Monday, the UN Secretary General asked me to take [the OCHA role] on. Millions are in dire need of protection and support, including in regions I know and love. I hope you’ll understand why I must go.”

🖊Euan Elliot

Image Credit: Chatham House/CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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09/10/2024

Journalist, broadcaster and bestselling author of three books, James O’Brien has been leading Britain’s conversation for 20 years. His signature qualities – clarity, wit, intellectual honesty and a masterly style of interrogation – have earned him 1.4 million weekly listeners and the title of “conscience of liberal Britain.” Cherwell spoke to him at the studio at LBC.

🖊 .akram_

Image credit: Ula Soltys

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

09/10/2024

Oxford University clarified rules for student protests, encouraging them in an email to “make Oxford a welcoming and inclusive place” and to keep demonstrations “within the limits of the law.” Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) argues that some rules have changed to suppress protest.

The rules prohibit protesters from interruption of teaching, occupation of University property, disobeying a reasonable instruction from Proctors, or failing to identify oneself to any University staff. Breaching any provisions may incur punishments such as warnings, fines, or suspension.

Previously, the same rules were only found in Statute XI on University discipline, but now they have been copied to the Guidance on Demonstrations or Protests page.

The University also published a Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech, which supersedes the Code of Practice on Meetings and Events. Previously events required a seven-day notification period, which has now lengthened to 20 days. The new code added that an event may be refused permission if speakers can be reasonably believed to express views “contrary to law” or “highly controversial” – language not found in the older code.

A University spokesperson told Cherwell that the change in language is only for clarification, so policies “remain unchanged and will be enforced”.

🖋️Jacob Newby

Image Credit: Selina Chen

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

08/10/2024

Jewish Society (JSoc) and Islamic Society (ISoc) will organise antisemitism and Islamophobia training sessions at over a dozen colleges this Freshers’ Week. Twelve colleges accepted JSoc’s offer while 16 accepted ISoc’s offer; it is unclear which colleges only accepted one society but not the other.

Over summer, JSoc contacted all JCRs and MCRs offering to send a representative to deliver a presentation “on the Jewish community, the history of antisemitism, how to identify it, and how to report it,” according to the society’s email. JSoc president Kai Ogden told Cherwell that most colleges that declined cited timetable issues.

Meanwhile, ISoc contacted colleges to arrange workshops with freshers and is providing information to the EDI team for a University staff briefing. ISoc president Aman Sultan told Cherwell: “Islamophobia has indeed become a more pressing concern within the University over the past year. We believe that a lack of education on the topic for both staff and students has allowed the issue to persist. Many Muslim students have personally faced Islamaphobic comments, discrimination, and even harassment within the university and city, which highlights the need for proactive measures to address this growing concern.”

🖋️Jacob Newby

Image Credit: David Hays

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

07/10/2024

A year after the 7 October attack, around two hundred Oxford residents attended “Vigil for Peace, Remembrance and Unity” yesterday, organised by civic, community, and faith leaders at New Road Baptist Church. Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey was also in attendance.

Tracey said in her speech: “There is a lot of kindness in Oxfordshire reflected here tonight. Many in our respected communities are struggling to make sense of the ongoing conflicts and desperately want to do something to help those who are suffering. Let us guide their empathy into action for good. Let us build on that kindness and trust between all of our communities as we encourage respectful conversations and a deepening of our relations.”

Led by Bishop of Oxford the Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft, Imam Monawar Hussain, and Vice President of Oxford Jewish Congregation Louise Gordon, the vigil brought together a diverse group of religious leaders. Each held a prayer in their faith and spoke of the death and tragedy in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. Attendees also sang along to the anti-war song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

🖋️ Roy Shinar Cohen

Image Credit: David Hays

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

30/09/2024

Cherwell can exclusively report that chancellor candidate Lord Peter Mandelson, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, and fashion designer Vera Wang are among those to speak at the Oxford Union this term. Other speakers include Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, Trump aide-turned-critic Anthony Scaramucci, streamer Hasan Piker, rapper-actor Jaden Smith, and Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin.

Noteworthy debate topics include Israel-Palestine, Kashmir independence, rejoining the EU, and abortion rights.

On the social side, the Union will be hosting its termly ball themed The Sands of Time and a US Election Night Watch Party.

🖋️ Ila Banerji

Image Credit: Peter Mandelson, Imane Khelif, Humza Yousaf, and David Shankbone/CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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28/09/2024

Government officials drafted plans that would see tuition fees rise to £10,500 – or 13.5% – over the next five years, a Whitehall source told The Times, and that maintenance grants would be restored for lower income students to shield them from the impact. These plans are still under discussion, not yet approved by the chancellor.

The advocacy group Universities UK, of which Oxford University is a member, had called for increasing home students’ tuition fees this September, citing inflation as a major cause for the need for such a rise. Home student fees have been capped at £9,250 since 2017 and have not kept up with inflation. A 2024 Office for Students (OfS) report suggests that the real-term value of income for teaching students has decreased by approximately 25% since 2015-16.

Multiple students told Cherwell that it’s important to know whether the loan repayment scheme, which was altered in 2022, will change, but that is unclear as of now.

🖋️ Bryn Mollet and Ila Banerji

Image Credit: Robert Cutts/CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

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28/09/2024

Meet our Senior Editorial Team for Michaelmas 2024🌟

27/09/2024

Meet the Editors-in-Chief for Michaelmas 2024📝

25/09/2024

Are you a fresher joining Oxford in MT24? Are you interested in the world of journalism?
Consider attending the Oxford Journalism Summer School to build skills and learn the ins and outs of Oxford journalism.
Register at the link in our bio. Deadline is tomorrow (26 September).

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