by Joanna Engle Unknown to many, North Oxford is the home to one of the UK’s ten immigration removal centres. Campsfield opened in 1993 and its detainees have included refugees, asylum seekers, foreign national offenders, and ‘overstayers’. All of them are held without charge, without a time limit, often without legal representation. Around 25,000 people […]
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by Martin Yip Would you agree with the claim that all freshers are fortunate? Each year, about 3200 undergraduates are admitted to Oxford, which comes to a 17% admissions rate. That percentage is slated to decrease, as the number of applicants has been increasing over the last few years, while the number of places has […]
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by Michael Angerer This, dear readers, would usually be the place to share with you some etymological musings on the word ‘spark’. Usually, we might inform you that according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it rather unremarkably derives from Old English spearca, meaning ‘a small particle of fire’; and that, more interestingly, it eventually also […]
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by Michael Angerer The beauty of Fantasy – and, in part, the reason why it was chosen as this issue’s theme – is both how varied its meanings can be and how close they ultimately are to the etymological root of the word. A quick glance at the Oxford English Dictionary, preferably in its […]
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by Amanda Higgin Xanda and I are on the bus heading from my home town into Oxford. The skies outside are grey, a welcome cool after months of heat. I’m wearing jeans for the first time since June! A few seats in front of us, I spot Boris Johnson’s scruffy form on the front page […]
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The Psycho-Social Implications of the EU-Turkey Deal on Greek Islands. by Jacob Warn At the edges of Europe, there are borders you can cross, borders you cannot cross, and borders you may cross if you so wish, and to which you may or may not return. If you’re seeking refuge in Europe, the chances are […]
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by Aidan Chivers Aidan reflects on a recent conversation he had on his year abroad in central France. ‘You’re such wonderful people!’ There’s excitement in her voice as she recognises that accent that I’ve been trying so hard to suppress from my French. * ‘Admittedly I’ve only ever spent one weekend in England, but […]
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