Felicity Graham

Saturday

Felicity Graham

Why is going to Oxford being held against me?

From our UK edition

Should going to Oxford be held against you? In my experience, some employers think it should. A month before the first lockdown of 2020, I attended an interview with a prestigious company in London. With nearly 1000 applicants for each place on their internship scheme, the stakes were high; making it to the interview may have been a success in itself, but now it was time to impress the recruiters in person. After a frantic journey on the underground, I arrived at the interview location. Having spent the previous few days researching the interview process, I expected an hour of rigorous intellectual interrogation, followed by a brief case study assessment.  What I didn’t expect, however, was that in the first five minutes I would be told the odds were stacked against me.

Friday

Felicity Graham

Students are the forgotten victims of the pandemic

From our UK edition

University is supposed to be among the most enjoyable and formative periods of a person’s life. Spare a thought then for the class of Covid-19. This week’s lockdown announcement again dealt yet another blow to an already disastrous year for university students. Despite having paid the usual tuition fees – and forking out thousands of pounds for pre-paid accommodation – the majority are now stuck at home, learning exclusively through Zoom. Universities cannot be blamed for the seemingly unrelenting succession of lockdowns caused by the pandemic. But that doesn’t alter the fact that we students have been compelled to pay £9,250 for a programme of often poorly-organised video lectures, alongside limited access to books and libraries.

Friday

Felicity Graham

Am I the only student following the Covid rules?

From our UK edition

Returning to university last week, my experience has been anything but fun. Despite living in one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, in a room overlooking the picturesque Christ Church Meadow, I can’t help but feel a horrifying sense of entrapment. Rigorous Covid-19 measures in place throughout the university, and no face-to-face tuition, means my narrow room is to become my world for the next few months. Yet the most isolating aspect of life here is not Oxford’s Covid regulations, but my peers’ approach to the pandemic.  Despite their compliance to the guidelines earlier this year, the vast majority of students no longer seem to care.