onfused with the Oxford University Student Union) hosts weekly debates and high profile speak

Rowing at Summer Eights, an annual intercollegiate bumps race
Sport is played between collegiate teams, in tournaments known as cuppers (the term is also used for some non-sporting competitions). In addition to these there are higher standard university wide groups. Significant focus is given to annual varsity matches played against Cambridge, the most famous of which is The Boat Race, watched by a TV audience of between five and ten million viewers. This outside interest reflects the importance of rowing to many of those within the university. Much attention is given to the termly intercollegiate rowing regattas: Christ Church Regatta, Torpids and Summer Eights. A blue is an award given to those who compete at the University team level in certain sports. As well as traditional sports, there are teams for activities such as Octopush and Quidditch.
There are two weekly student newspapers: the independent Cherwell and OUSU's The Oxford Student. Other publications include the Isis magazine, The Owl Journal, the satirical Oxymoron, and the graduate Oxonian Review. The student radio station is Oxide Radio. Most colleges have chapel choirs. Music, drama, and other arts societies exist both at collegiate level and as university-wide groups. Unlike most other collegiate societies, musical ensembles actively encourage players from other colleges.


The Oxford Union's debating chamber.
Most academic areas have student societies of some form which are open to all students, regardless of course, for example the Scientific Society. There are groups for almost all faiths, political parties, countries and cultures.
The Oxford Union (not to be confused with the Oxford University Student Union) hosts weekly debates and high profile speakers. There have historically been elite invite-only societies such as the Bullingdon Club.
Sports teams, but also other societies and groups constructed especially for the purpose, often take part in crewdates. These evenings involve 'crews' (often one of each gender, hence the name) going for an meal and consuming much alcohol, before heading to a nightclub.[112]
OUSU and Common Rooms[edit]
The Oxford University Student Union, better known by its acronym OUSU, exists to represent students in the University's decision-making, to act as the voice for students in the national higher education policy debate, and to provide direct services to the student body. Reflecting the collegiate nature of the University of Oxford itself, OUSU is both an association of Oxford's more than 21,000 individual students and a federation of the affiliated college common rooms, and other affiliated organisations that represent subsets of the undergraduate and graduate students. The OUSU Executive Committee includes six full-time salaried sabbatical officers, who generally serve in the year following completion of their Final Examinations.
Due to the importance of collegiate life, for many students their college JCR (Junior Common Room, for undergraduates) or MCR (Middle Common Room, for graduates) is seen as more important than OUSU. JCRs and MCRs each have a committee, with a president and other elected students representing their peers to college authorities. Additionally, they organise events and often have significant budgets to spend as they wish (money coming from their colleges and sometimes other sources such as student-run bars). (It is worth noting that JCR and MCR are terms that are used to refer to rooms for use by members, as well as the student bodies.) Not all colleges use this JCR/MCR structure, for example Wadham College's entire student population is represented by a combined "Students' Union" and purely graduate colleges have different arrangements.
Notable alumni and academics[edit]