Laurence Cooke

Coventry

Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Cherwell

Featured in: Favicon

cherwell.org Favicon

fortune.com Favicon

betanews.com Favicon

oxfordstudent.com Favicon

paymentsjournal.com Favicon

mytotalretail.com Favicon

pointofsale.com Favicon

ffnews.com

Articles

Former EiCs criticise OxStu independence decision

1 week ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke |Noah Robson

Oxford Student Union's (SU) announcement that The Oxford Student will begin the process of becoming an independent publication has prompted criticism from multiple former Editors-in-Chief of the paper. Currently, the newspaper is owned by the Oxford SU. A memorandum of understanding is in place with the organisation which guarantees its editorial independence. However, a Cherwell investigation earlier this year found that this editorial independence had been suppressed on at least one occasion.
JCRs launch 'Safe Celebrators' welfare scheme for post-exam celebrations

2 weeks ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

A new student-led peer support initiative was launched this week by Brasenose College and St Catherine's College JCRs. The pilot scheme, Safe Celebrators, provides bystander support to students during post-exam festivities. Student volunteers from a range of colleges will be on hand in Port Meadow from Week 7 to offer warm drinks, water, pastoral support, and signposting.
Ellie Goulding to perform at UN and Uni-backed climate concert in Oxford

3 weeks ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding will perform at Oxford’s New Theatre on Friday 6th June in a concert hosted by Oxford University and United Nations Human Rights. The event, ‘The Right Here Right Now Global Climate Concert’, aims to highlight the effect of climate breakdown on human rights worldwide. The show forms part of a of exhibitions, lectures, performances, and workshops centred on environment issues. Events will run until the 8th June, and will be held in different locations around Oxford.
Somerville first college to speak out since Supreme Court trans ruling

1 month ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Somerville College affirmed its solidarity with trans students in a statement today. The intervention makes Somerville the first Oxford college to react publicly to the Supreme Court’s April ruling on the legal definition of a woman. Only the central University had previously published an update which noted they were “carefully reviewing [our] policies and practices concerning transgender inclusion and equality… [including] existing facilities across our estate”.
Sue Black: From Skinning Rabbits to Crossbench Debates

1 month ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Cherwell spoke to forensic anthropologist, award-winning writer, and St John’s College President, Sue Black CW: Violence Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome certainly has a title which precedes her. The President of St John’s made her name as an academic and forensic scientist who worked to identify victims in conflict zones including Kosovo and Sierra Leone, and then later the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
SU postpones Part-Time Officer elections

1 month ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Oxford SU has postponed its elections for the part-time officer roles created under its Transformation Plan, according to a statement released this morning. They will now be held in Michaelmas. The roles, which include Equity Officers and Community Officers, have seen a “low number of candidate nominations” which the Student Union has attributed to Trinity being an “exceptionally busy term”.
Student Union co-CEO to leave in June

1 month ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Emilie Tapping, co-CEO of Oxford SU, announced her resignation last week, with a plan to leave in June after a year in post. Formerly CEO of Oxford Brookes Students’ Union, Tapping joined Oxford SU in June 2024 and oversaw a transformation period which produced a “flat structure” of four officer roles and a “conference of commons rooms” model.
Number of Oxford students declines for first time in a decade

2 months ago | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

Fewer undergraduates enrolled at Oxford University in 2023-24 than in the previous reporting year, new data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reveals. A decline of 500 enrolled undergraduate students compared to 2022-2023 was partially offset by a modest increase of 320 in the postgraduate student total. Nonetheless, the overall number of matriculated students across the University fell for the first time since 2015/16.
BMW freezes investment at Cowley electric vehicle plant

Mar 4, 2025 | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

German carmaker BMW Group has paused a £600 million investment in its Cowley factory. The project was expected to create 4,000 new jobs and expand the plant’s production capacity for electric MINIs. The factory still remains the largest industrial employer in Oxfordshire. BMW said that a reason for this is the “multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry” as the UK is seeing weaker demand for electric vehicles at a time of rising consumer costs.
Should ‘Orbital’ have won The Booker Prize? - Cherwell

Mar 1, 2025 | cherwell.org | Laurence Cooke

I have some reservations, but first, some reassurances: this review is not going to claim that Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, the 2024 Booker Prize Winner, is a work without merit. She really does manage to capture a remarkable synthesis of the galactic and the mundane. She excels in beautiful descriptions of our humble and yet majestic Blue Marble, rotating under the orbit of six ISS astronauts whose lives form the novel’s bedrock.