Oxford Union

A Student led debate club in Oxford University

Written by Yunxuan

Since the beginning of the first term, Michaelmas term, the Oxford Union was already filled with bustle. The new president Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, who is the first president with a Middle East descent, is trustworthy enough to reform the rules within the union, fulfilling his manifesto. To be honest, despite it’s only a student led club, it would seem so extraordinary for one candidate of such political process to actually do what he promised, particularly in the current political climate. I have an Italian friend, whose favourite phrase whenever he talks about election would always be: “In Italy, we don’t vote for the better, we vote for the less worse.” The history of Oxford Union is fascinating and thrilling. There were famous speakers including but not limited to: The Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, Scientists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. These are all exciting opportunities for students to learn something extra special than those within the curriculum.

They also open up a whole new world if one has never had the chance to be listening to and asking questions to such prominent figures in the world. In my limited few visits to the Union, I’m satisfied with the experience of listening to some prominent people in their own fields. Examples are Jeffrey Sachs, an economist and Lord Mandelson, Member of the House of Lords.