The Oxford Student is a newspaper produced by and for students of the University of Oxford; often abbreviated to The OxStu. The paper was established in 1991 by the Oxford University Student Union and is published every Friday during term time. Articles are also published daily on the paper's and social media pages regardless of term dates. The paper is the University's most widely circulated student paper, with over 15,000 copies distributed across Oxford each edition.
Structure
The Oxford Student is owned by the Oxford SU and run through the Student Union's commercial subsidiary, Oxford Student Services Ltd. The newspaper's constitution grants the paper editorial independence. It enjoys close relations with Oxide Radio, also owned by Oxford SU. Two Editors-In-Chief are appointed each term by the Oxford SU Media Board, a panel of former Editors-In-Chief, student sabbatical officers, and SU staff. The Editors-In-Chief are current students of the University who have complete editorial autonomy over the paper. After their appointment in the finals weeks of term, they are responsible for releasing editorial team applications for the upcoming term, inviting applicants to interview. Applications are competitive, and a team of anywhere from 30-80 students are accepted to help publish the paper. Current sections of the newspaper include: News, Comment, Investigations, Features, Pink, Identity, Profile, Science & Technology, Culture, Food & Drink, OxYou, Puzzle, and Sports. In addition, there is a Broadcasting Team which produces video content for the paper's website and social media platforms. In response to the Covid-19 global pandemic and the resulting lack of sports fixtures within the University, the Sports section was temporarily changed to E-sports and Gaming in Trinity 2020.
Inclusivity
The Oxford Student is generally recognised for its efforts to promote equality and representation amongst the student body, chiefly through its platforming of minorities groups. In Michaelmas 2016, the newspaper introduced Pink as a sub-section of Features; due to its popularity, in Hilary 2017, Pink was launched as its own section. Edited and written by non-heterosexual or non-cisgender students, the newspaper regularly anonymises the Pink articles in order to protect the identities of writers who do not feel comfortable publicly authoring articles relating to LGBTQIA+ issues. In January 2020, new section was created called Identity, described as being "dedicated to spotlighting the issues, opinions and experiences of BAME students within the University". Structured similarly to Pink, the editors of Identity - as well as those who submit writing to be published in the section - are BAME students at the University.
Accolades
The Oxford Student was named "Student Newspaper of the Year" at the GuardianStudent Media Awards in 2001, was shortlisted in 2004 and 2012, and awarded the runner-up prize in 2007.
Controversies
In 2004, the newspaper gained national publicity when two reporters broke University rules to expose security flaws in the University's computer network; the student journalists responsible, Patrick Foster and Roger Waite, were rusticated by the University Court of Summary Jurisdiction, but on appeal their punishment was reduced to a fine. Foster now works as Media Correspondent for The Times, and Waite worked for the Sunday Times for a few years after graduating. In 2014, shortly after Amelia Hamer became editor, the paper ran a news story about the Ben Sullivan controversy which caused an outcry amongst students as it "reinforced rape myths in the press". It garnered negative attention in other student media, and also led to calls for Hamer to resign. Three months later, on 24 September, Hamer was removed from her role because of pressure from student activists. In 2019, the newspaper published articles about the Canadian-British poet Dr. Todd Swift, one of those in the contest to be appointed the University's next professor of poetry. The articles reportedly contained a number of serious and unfounded allegations against Dr. Swift, including allegations made by a former student from the University of Glasgow.
Politics
The Oxford Student expresses no political sympathies and has no party political line. As part of the SU, the newspaper prides itself on being an inclusive platform which welcomes all members of the University, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Contributors
Former contributors include Laura Barton and Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian, Mark Henderson and Rob Hands of The Times, and Karl Smith of The Independent.
