Oxford’s major student publications are so widely publicized that they are impossible to miss. The juiciest diaries, however, are shrouded in secrecy. Their existence is ominously revealed to first years during Freshers’ Week, with no mention of them online and an exclusive readership.
College publications generally focus only on the life of that college (or, less charitably, its gossip). They often satirize its members, which to an unconscious eye can seem cruel. But these journals are extremely beloved – even by those on the receiving end of ridicule – and are considered an integral part of university culture. What keeps readers coming back for more?
![Alt = "The Phoenix, The 40th 'special' edition, Letters from the editors"](https://www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/phoenix-1-jpg.webp)
To begin with, New College The Phoenix is the most scandalous of the lot. Its copies (exclusively printed) will mysteriously appear mid-term in the pidges and at the college bar. The Phoenix names and shames his subjects, for something as slight as a shark or as serious as Atik’s misspelling in the freshmen group chat. The romantic entanglements born of the most recent bop are no longer limited to Plush’s smoking area but remain forever etched in the ION (eye-on) section. Ubiquitous spies observe rowing incidents and roommate dramas, JCR elections and crew parties that must be recorded for posterity by the scathing pens of the perpetrators.
Other colleges tone down the teasing or omit gossip sections altogether, but the vast majority have at least one section, mostly respecting anonymity, devoted to humorous commentary on college affairs. that of Worcester Source WoostaLincoln The imp and other more serious publications still devote some space to humorous commentary on the antics of college pets or the fiascos of JCR meetings. The Oxymoron goes even further by devoting its entire publication to satire and humor centered on life at Oxford.
The mockery flirts with insult but never crosses the line into malice and is clearly affectionate even in its most cutting forms. Even stories about minor embezzlement of JCR funds, blatant misappropriation of Freshers’ reputations, and one girl’s (actually successful) quest to get close to every member of a lineage aren’t enough. The Phoenix real enemies. Phoenix editors ask college members before each edition if anyone wishes to be omitted or consulted before publication, but according to former editor Lewis Fisher, only about 30 people opt for this each time, fewer than ‘a tenth of the college’s undergraduate students. The Phoenix is almost universally loved by the college and receives generous funding from the JCR each term. Maybe it’s just that the Oxford university system, with its insular communities in enclosed spaces and its work-hard-play attitude, is the perfect breeding ground for gossip, and people are impatient to delve into the new batch of information about their comrades’ various embarrassing shenanigans.
![Alt = "Zac dressed for the occasion in jeans and a jacket. I can only assume he stole from Amelia Earhart. Afraid of going out with a man dressed like a female pilot, or worse... I was relieved to learn that Zac had agreed to this date simply out of spite. He continued to share a list of pre-prepared insults, revealing that he had as little confidence in the outcome of this meeting as I did. Nor could he have been so upset with me when he revealed that he was prepared to abandon his zero-drugs policy and "express mail magic mushrooms, so that he can astrally project himself into a universe where this conversation is interesting"...."](https://www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Broadsheet-the-author-is-Issie-Dover-jpg.webp)
But gossip proves time and time again to be a way to bond. This is particularly the case in large colleges where the “university spirit” may be declining; Gossip magazines became a way to foster academic unity and bring people together. The content of gossip magazines becomes a topic of conversation in college bars and bops, the common embarrassment of being exposed in the college newspaper (or the relief of being left out) makes it easier to engaging in conversation and connecting with other members of the university.
This sense of camaraderie appears in many of Oxford’s sillier traditions: ‘shoeys’, sconcing and Oxfess also use embarrassment, mockery and gossip to bring students together, from sports teams to lecture halls. Sharing a common joke or collectively making fun of a well-known institution or person can actually be a good thing.
Trinity’s quarterly online magazine, The large format, takes self-satire to another level: There’s no mercy, with union hackers, finalists, and freshmen unwittingly placed in the authors’ extremely funny spotlight. Articles mocking the academic achievements of a certain prolific trade unionist or the strange nocturnal activities of a staircase add to the outrageously funny tales of blind dates between a feminist anarchist and a clueless Etonian.
![Alt = "Phoenix advice for Valentine's Day in Welfare Corner"](https://www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/387472062_1688599811624474_2102214039200957362_n-jpg.webp)
A particularly, shall we say, observant contribution to The Broadsheet records the list of the most recent staircases. The authors “praise the wine fanatic for her humanitarian work to promote international relations and for the impressive scientific research a classicist did to rank every college freshman girl based on her appearance.”
Anthropologist Robin Dunbar goes so far as to say that gossip is the human equivalent of mutual grooming in that it allows individuals to maintain and strengthen their relationships: gossip has allowed humanity to expand its tribes and make them more stable. Satirical university publications can fulfill the same function: perhaps this is why it is mainly the large colleges, where it becomes impossible to follow the gossip from the first week, which have the juiciest newspapers.
![Alt = "The ION section of the Phoenix"](https://www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/phoenix-2.png)
The apparent obsession with self-satire and mockery can, however, seem strange, even cruel, to outsiders. Some say this fits with Oxford students’ tendency to humor and not take anything seriously to save their lives. Irony and sarcasm are at the heart of Oxfess humor: the university-wide Oxfess inside jokes (Nutkins the stuffed squirrel remains an Oxfess character, and the tradition of Oxford to this day) are a fun part of the culture and a sort of Shibboleth, immediately bringing strangers “in the know” closer through shared reference. Likewise, the stupid arguments between roommates or born from the gladiator ballots, recounted in meticulous detail by The Phoenixsurely helps everyone involved forget any hard feelings and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Whatever the type of university publication, whether an innocent chronicle of the term’s events or a scathing overview of the College’s most scandalous events, it remains a crucial and beloved part of university life. The unsung heroes are the writers and editors themselves (many of whom have been incredibly helpful in putting together this article), who, by making fun of everything and everyone, often including themselves, brings communities together and make life in Oxford a little better. entertaining.