@TheOxStu
Trinity Term, Week 7 | Friday 13 June 2025
OXFORD STUDENT The
The University of Oxford’s Student Newspaper, est. 1991
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Oxford Pride bans political parties Yunzhang Liang
O The sit-in at Wellington Square last May. Credit: Cameron Samuel Keys
Jewish faculty urge Oxford to drop disciplinary proceedings Yunzhang Liang
O
n the morning of 10th June, 11 Jewish faculty and staff of the University of Oxford sent an open letter to the Vice Chancellor Irene Tracey, Proctors, and Chief Diversity Officer Tim Soutphommasane. Titled “An Open Letter from Concerned Jewish Faculty at the University of Oxford”, the letter details the individuals’ response to the University’s arrest of student demonstrators who occupied the University administrative building on Wellington Square on 23rd May 2024. Following the arrest of student demonstrators in May last year, the University’s official investigation into the matter commenced in early September, following a decision by Thames Valley Police to “take no further
action” on this investigation in August. Specifically, the letter from the faculty calls on the University to “drop disciplinary proceedings, commencing today, against the 13 students who occupied Wellington Square on 23 May 2024”. The letter also condemns the University’s investigative processes as “drawn-out” and “secretive”, referencing their decision to involve Thames Valley Police and the release of an “ill-advised statement that smeared participants with unfounded accusations of violence”. The statement in question – released by the University in response to the sit-in last spring – had claimed that the protesters engaged in “violence and criminal action”, and alleged that some of the protesters had created a “deeply intimidating en-
vironment” for Jewish students and staff at the University. “We objected then and now to this misleading and reductive allegation,” the faculty’s letter emphasises, “which threatens to prejudice the outcome of the current proceedings.” “Antisemitism is a serious and ongoing threat, but there is no credible evidence that the encampment, in which Jewish students were also actively involved, led to a rise in antisemitism or that it was experienced in a uniform way by Oxford’s highly diverse Jewish community.” The letter further details the “extensive harm” that the students have suffered as a result of the University’s handling of the matter.
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xford Pride, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights, has banned political parties from attending in light of the Supreme Court ruling in April, which defined the term “woman” in the Equality Act according to the individual’s biological sex. Oxford Pride has said that while any individual may attend the event, they were not allowed as part of a party and could not wear party branding. Similar bans have been announced at the Birmingham, Brighton, London, and Man-
chester events. The aforementioned organisations are four of the UK’s largest Pride organisations. They have suspended the involvement of political parties in their events to express “unequivocal solidarity” with the transgender community, and would not amend their decision until political parties demonstrated a “tangible commitment to trans rights”. In a joint statement, released on 12th May 2025, they clarified that the suspension was not a “symbolic gesture”.
Continued on page 4
Features
101 things to do before you graduate Azka Adziman
A
fter taking a look at MIT’s 101 things to do before you graduate, I decided to look up if Oxford had one…and unfortunately we don’t. All we have is a six month-old Reddit thread highlighting activities such as visiting the Magdalen deer park and exploring the libraries – but I bet I can do better. As an Oxford local of 12 years now, the RadCam had been a
staple I’d walked past without much care, but now that I’m a student, the Oxford playground has expanded greatly from just Uni Parks and Westgate. Going from Town to Gown, donning the subfusc uniform I had always questioned and watching my friends graduate – it all feels so surreal. It’s the small things that we overlook that I find the most beautiful about this place so here’s my collection of them so far! Continued on page 17
The Radcliffe Camera. Credit: Yunzhang Liang