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Pro-Palestinian students stage counterprotest at vigil for peace
News in brief: old feuds dredged up – from the boat race to disappearing dons
Fitzwilliam on fire after solar panel fault
Come along to our open evening on Friday evening for more information
The vigil was attended by pro-vice chancellor Bhaskar Vira
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Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.
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News in brief
A light-hearted round-up of Cambridge news last week, from new year speeches to old medals
The Union will host its first No Confidence debate on a Labour Government in 14 years
News
The Student Union looks to recruit new receptionists under ‘precarious’ part time contracts
The SU has called for the University to ‘handle’ sexual misconduct ‘with the severity it deserves’
8,704 students took out a tuition loan in 2022-23, while 8,774 received a maintenance one
Olympics
Imogen Grant talks perseverance, Olympic Gold and seeing the fruits of her labour manifest
Fumbles of a finalist
Alice Mainwood looks into the unglamorous heart of Cambridge
Lucie Debaig investigates the evolutionary rationale behind the ever-elusive female orgasm
Long-distance relationships make Cambridge easier
Head to head: Freshers’ Fair or Freshers’ Foul?
Cambridge’s new free speech code is a return to the culture wars
My college’s terrible gender imbalance has a lot to do with meritocracy
Laura Malaussene
Laura Malaussene asks how the EU should respond to the success of parties like Germany’s AFD
Sam Moore
Sam Moore argues that the University’s new free speech code creates problems for itself — and for its students
Max La Bouchardiere
Being long-distance with your partner at Cambridge allows you to swap feelings of academic pressure with idealism, argues Max La Bouchardiere
Daisy Stewart Henderson
Daisy Stewart Henderson argues Trinity’s meritocratic admissions system benefits dispraportionately confident men
Head to Head
Is Freshers’ Fair fit for purpose?
Rosie Roberts
Celebrities should neither be valued political resources nor points of validation, argues Rosie Roberts
Pooled and proud: reflections
Oxbridge tutoring: the insiders’ perspectives
Going the distance: how Cantab Couples cope with a summer apart
Redefining consent culture: beyond the basics
Pooling
Niamh Walters brings to light the misconceptions and positives to being pooled
Vintage Varsity
Resident Varsity archivist Vialli McComb reflects on past reactions to tuition fee rises
Sex and Relationships
Ria Patel speaks to those hoping to transform consent culture at Cambridge
Relationships
Isabella Steinmeyer speaks to Cantabs forced to go long-distance over summer
Vintage Varsity
Eleanor Dougan investigates the twenty-first century freshers who made Varsity headlines
Vintage Varsity
An investigation into the Cambridge student drug culture of the noughties
Tutoring
May Ho explores why being an Oxbridge tutor is more than just a transfer of knowledge
Vintage Varsity
Resident Varsity archivist Vialli McComb gathers past competitions and prizes
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
‘Coming to Cambridge was a risk’: Olympic silver medalist Tom George on the career gamble that paid off
‘If you want it enough, you’ll find a way’: Olympic Gold Medalist Imogen Grant on balancing being an athlete and medic
Freshers' Week
Grace Cobb chats to the app creators coming to Cambridge to revolutionise the university experience
Olympics
5am starts, 10 minute naps, and Bread & Meat
Olympics
Imogen Grant talks perseverance, Olympic Gold and seeing the fruits of her labour manifest
Olympics
Lauren Guye discusses finding your passion, teamwork, and Cambridge rowing firsts with Bronze medalist Jan Helmich
Ella Howard discusses writing, identity and metaphysics with award-winning writer Min Jin Lee
Fresh from Paris, Kyle Kothari talks representation in sport and plans for LA 2028 with Milly Kotecha
Anti-climax? The science of the female orgasm
So much doom(scrolling)
Research Round-up: what you missed over the summer
Not Built for This
Matthew Taylor dives into our relationship with social media and the digital world
Research Round-up
Maya Kunchur gets you up to date on some of the latest scientific discoveries
Lucie Debaig investigates the evolutionary rationale behind the ever-elusive female orgasm
Conservation
An interview with Shepreth Hedgehog Hospital
Ecology
Why culling badgers is not a black and white issue
Global Health
Putting our weapons against superbugs under the microscope
Dear past me: settling into life at Cambridge
Fumbles of a finalist: Venn diagrams, burnout, and the light at the end of the tunnel
Hot or not: Michaelmas 2024
Freshers’ Week horoscope 
Hot or not
Imaan Bilgrami tests the waters of the upcoming term to see what’s cold and what’s sizzling
Horoscope
Alex Brian turns to the stars ahead of Freshers’ Week
Dear past me
In a letter to her past self, Jessica Spearman offers some advice before the perils of Freshers’ Week
Fumbles of a finalist
Alice Mainwood looks into the unglamorous heart of Cambridge
Guide
Maddy Gordon-Finlayson cures your Michaelmas madness with her expertly curated ‘dopamine menu’
Notebook
Niamh Walters takes you on the Bilbo Baggins-esque Unexpected Journey of intermission
Lord Byron’s freshers’ week
Communion in a coffee shop
Feature
What’s the story behind the grey, brutalist buildings ?
Feature
Ben Birch looks back at the great poet’s first week in Cambridge
Feature
Amie Brian questions the slow secularisation of religious spaces in Cambridge
Postscripts
In this first instalment of term, Eve Connor discusses moving out and making space with Joe Wright
Review
The American artist is given the curatorial keys to the Fitz, which he uses to go to places never visited by the gallery before
Comment
Amie Brian explores why we are obsessed with ruins, and why it is essential that we are
Fancy Dress 101: How to ace costume parties this Michaelmas
Effortless or exclusionary? The problem with the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic
How to matriculate in style
A fashion guide to freshers clubbing
Guide
Sophie Ennis explores how to master fancy dress this Michaelmas
Style guide
A Varsity style guide to mastering your matriculation wardrobe
Opinion
Ava Connors explores how the ‘clean girl’ trend may carry harmful connotations
Opinion
Rebecca Raybould disects the legacy of BRAT girl summer
Guide
Rose Beedle on what to wear in Freshers Week
Opinion
Wilf Vall reflects on why working dress codes are so hard to get right.
A beginner’s guide to the Cambridge film scene
Student Film
The best ways to get involved with the Cambridge film scene
Watchlist
Foreign-language films are a way to expand your cinematic worldview, argues Salome Gakwaya
Opinion
Sex and the City isn’t hitting the same for Gen Z
List
Stella Williamson shares a watchlist for life’s big moves
Opinion
Salome Gakwaya questions the value of reality TV’s often imperfect depiction of love
Sax and the city: on a summer spent busking in Cambridge
What’s the problem with Cambridge’s band scene?
The ultimate moving in playlist 
Joan Armatrading: unscripted and unstoppable
Playlist
Alice de Groot soundtracks the moods of a recently moved in student
Interview
Ava Fitzhugh in insightful conversation with Joan Armatrading on individuality, limits, and the power of love in music
Jack Marley narrates the challenges and joys of his summer spent busking in Cambridge
Head to head
Has pop music got a new buzz, or has it finally lost its hit?
Opinion
Danny Petrie on why Cambridge’s student bands are missing the creative spark they need
Review
The new album from one of the UK’s most important Jazz acts reveals the liberating power of dance
The ultimate guide to backstage roles 
Newcomers highly encouraged? An overview of Cambridge’s next year of theatre
Freshers Guide
Eloise Davis gives you the run down of all the roles available behind the curtain
Feature
Lily Butler looks ahead to a new term of Camdram, hoping it brings fresh faces and new and improved kinds of theatre
Camdram diaries
Elsie Hayward has finally bagged a show for next term – only to begin work from the isolation of the long vacation
Fresher's Guide
Gina Stock walks you through written application to pitch your very own Camdram show
Feature
Jack Marley dives into the college theatre society’s fruitful past
Freshers Guide
Incoming freshers: Here’s how you can turn theatre tickets into plane tickets
Tokyo Travels – A Review of Cambridge Athletic’s Trip to the Japanese Capital
Freshers guide to Cambridge sport
FPL forfeits for when you lose the Varsity league!
Report
Barney Blackburn speaks to some of Cambridge’s leading athletes who had the opportunity to compete in Japan last month
Captain's Corner
Romilly Norfolk talks to Trampolining co-president Millie Heathcote
Blues Football
Romilly Norfolk breaks down the world of BUCS football and previews Blues fixtures for Michaelmas term
Sport
Romilly Norfolk provides a comprehensive explanation of the odd structure of Cambridge sport
Golf
Will Jonas explores the petrifying mentality of Donald Trump, and how his nasty politics can be seen in his golf game
Commonwealth Games
Romilly Norfolk looks into how the cost of hosting the Commonwealth Games may lead to its death
Cambridge’s new free speech code is a return to the culture wars
Sam Moore argues that the University’s new free speech code creates problems for itself — and for its students