Cambridge psychologist warns against blanket social media ban for under-16s
University support staff strikes end after month of action
Applications to lead the paper are open until Thursday 4 June

The SU voted to support the strike action, stating that ‘staff working conditions are student learning conditions’
Support Varsity
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.
Read more ...
Professor Sander van der Linden has argued that such a ban would have numerous unintended consequences

News in Brief
A light-hearted round-up of this week’s stories, from Royal Society recognition to a prize for climate research

Stand Up To Racism Cambridge claimed the event was cancelled due to ‘pressure from our community’

A new report suggests AI systems overvalued weaker essays, while failing to recognise exceptional ones

Lucia Requejo Tabares explores the role of college families

The SU voted to support the strike action, stating that ‘staff working conditions are student learning conditions’

Review
Raindrops on a White Pear Blossom is a promising and emotionally compelling new play, argues Millie Wooler

Opinion
Isabel Adair corresponds with her friend about the lost art of letter writing

Amanda Gardiner investigates what caffeine does to our bodies, from exam-term energy boosts to post-coffee crashes

Heidi Lewis discusses the production of 2026′s sharpest sci-fi film with art director Tim Browning
One big happy (college) family?
The language of optimisation and the architecture of merit
Land Economy – what’s that?
‘It was genocide, not a civil war’ – Cambridge University Tamil Society remembers the Sri Lankan Civil War
Lucia Requejo Tabares explores the role of college families

Mimi Ronson questions the pressures around Cambridge’s culture of academic performance

Dara Osinowo speaks to finalists torn between chasing ambition and choosing financial security

Yulianna Nunno investigates our evolving relationship with digital technology and interrogates its role in shaping modern life

Emy Bengtsson speaks to the volunteers who make up the charity Convoy4Ukraine

Dhruv Shenai talks to Tamil students about how the legacy of the Sri Lankan Civil War impacts them

Amelie Rothwell talks to students who used to be locals about what the town-gown divide really means

Frida Bradbrook talks to students about how periods impact their time at the University

Commercial Feature

Commercial Feature

Commercial Feature

Commercial Feature

Commercial Feature

Commercial Feature
Bible Scholar Mattie Mae Motl: “God is a woman”
‘Thank you for the music’: ABBA Support Society on friendship and managing stress through fun
Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner on political realism and the ‘politics of grievance’
How sustainable is your college? CLOC on their college ranking system
Phoebe Leung discusses a new perspective on God and biblical masculinity with Mattie Mae Motl

Quickfire
Isadora Vargas Mafort speaks to the committee about the story behind the society and what they hope to provide the Cambridge community

Labour MP for Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner, on what he believes matters in Cambridge today

Quickfire
Rosalind Howell discusses how CLOC holds colleges accountable from the inside

Sister Dr Sr Gemma Simmonds on challenging injustice through kindness in Cambridge and beyond

Quickfire
Kamilla Khusnutdinova talks to comedy Tik-Toker Auden Barnes about the ins-and-outs of content creation
Can exam stress sabotage your memory?
Wired and tired: the science of caffeine
Amanda Gardiner investigates what caffeine does to our bodies, from exam-term energy boosts to post-coffee crashes

Interview
Yu Tong Lim sits down with Kavya Neeba from the Centre for Science and Policy to discuss connecting researchers with decision-makers

Amanda Gardiner explores the science behind exam stress and why it could harm both our academic performance and long-term health

Interview
Benjamin Pine speaks to Professor Andrea Ferrari about how CamGraPhIC’s graphene transceivers could help solve AI’s growing energy crisis

Pooja Gada investigates if your college dinners are putting your health at risk

Seyan Dattani explores the wild and wonderful history of London Zoo
Blind Date: ‘I should’ve changed my socks’
What kind of punter are you?
What kind of studier are you?
Guide
Emilia Deighton shares her tips for managing the dreaded room ballot

Quiz
Ola Kiezun anticipates how you’ll fare on deck this summer

Quiz
Emma Gower predicts which revision methods serve you best

Blind Date
In unideal weather conditions, fourth year Carly and PhD student Felix meet at the Maypole

Feature
Scarlett Prunty wonders why our goals change

Quiz
Charlotte Thomann predicts your Easter term: the good, the bad, and the beastly
To the letter
The rise and fall of the Lit-girl 
Opinion
Sophia Jaffer learns the art of portraiture from John Singer Sargent

Opinion
Isabel Adair corresponds with her friend about the lost art of letter writing

Interview
Ben Bailey interviews the organisers behind the event and reflects on the college’s arts scene

Opinion
Cambridge’s artistic communities are too scattered, says Jessica Leer

Feature
Ludovica De Lorenzo explores Renaissance debates through Kettle’s Yard artworks

Opinion
Katrina Brigmane argues against the ridiculing of women’s self-fashioning
From princesses to PAs, power dressing is nothing new
Looking back on Met Gala 2026
How to manipulate your Vinted algorithm 
Fashion
Katie Ballingall explores the different forms power dressing can take

Fashion
Sadie Nicholls asks whether the Met Gala can survive its politics

Ellie Duff reflects on the fashionable potential of the iconic music festival

Fashion
Lily Forster explores how style experimentation can restore joy

Arushi Dattani details some of the most useful hair accessories to save a bad hair day

Opinion
Catherine Min illuminates some of the misconceptions about this notorious compliment

Heidi Lewis discusses the production of 2026′s sharpest sci-fi film with art director Tim Browning

Feature
Freya Compton dives deep into the history of the car brand’s movie stardom

Review
Sophie Winch argues for lovers of Good Omens to approach its finale with nuance

Review
Sofia Jaffer explores how the folk horror film overcomes shortcomings of the genre

Review
Peter Adams reviews Brian De Palma’s neo-noir through the lens of Alfred Hitchcock

review
Georgia Gooding reviews the long-awaited sequel to The Devil Wears Prada
We need to talk about Kendrick
Soundtrack your life
Daniella Adetoye considers rap and the politics of respectability

Review
RAYE’s newest album proves that genre-melding can still stay emotionally grounded, as reviewed by Lauren Quinn

Feature
How to time-travel through musical memories with Sophia Jaffer

Interview
Jasmine Heddle-Bacon meets the lead singers of nouveau student band, Out of Orbit

Interview
Jemima Peterson sits down with Rick McMurray to talk solo-projects, songwriting and hope in the twenty-first century
Bold beginnings in the Corpus Playroom
CUMT’s The Wind in the Willows brings a classic to life
A trip back to Hundred Acre Wood: The House at Pooh Corner
A reimagined classic: Medea proves timeless at the ADC
Review
Raindrops on a White Pear Blossom is a promising and emotionally compelling new play, argues Millie Wooler

Review
Ella Hardy praises this charming musical production that reminds us why the beloved story continues to endure 4.5 stars

Feature
Millie Wooler reveals her top tips for writing the next great student play

Preview
Lauren Quinn sits down with director Thomas Gladstone to uncover what will make this production a walk down memory lane

Review
Nikita Vajrala praises this compelling exploration of identity and the search for belonging 4.5 stars

Review
Barney Sayburn reflects on his evening watching CUMTS’ offering for the Camden Fringe
Caius beat Magdalene in last-minute thriller to clinch mixed netball Cuppers final
Fitzwilliam narrowly regain Cuppers trophy in tight affair with Selwyn
St John’s clinch Cuppers Plate, while Homerton fall to Vase defeat despite clinching Shield
Match report
Sam Ho reports on mixed netball Cuppers finals day

Nicholas Hall questions whether more Cambridge sports teams should compete on a national level

college football
Harry Mclusky reports on the Plate, Vase and Shield finals

Match Report
Harry Mclusky reports on the college football fixture of the season from Grange Road

Match report
Joss Heddle-Bacon reports from Lord’s on a dramatic 2026 Men’s T20 cricket Varsity

Match report
Joss Heddle-Bacon reports from the home of cricket as Cambridge overcome Oxford
COMMENT
Skye Wavamunno
Top of the slops
Skye Wavamunno exposes the classist undercurrents of Downing’s dining culture
Jasper Finlay Burnside
The Cambridge drift
Jasper Finlay Burnside comments on the logistical nightmare of walking around Cambridge
Troy Francis-Brown
We must support our strikers
Troy Francis-Brown argues that students have a responsibility to support the rights of those who keep Cambridge University running
Jake Altmann
The no man’s land between triposes
Jake Altmann argues that interdisciplinary study must be made easier for students
Olive Watt
The personal cost of reporting sexual violence at Cambridge
Olive Watt exposes the systematic inadequacies of reporting sexual assault at Cambridge
Holly Farrell
An ode to the school exchange
Holly Farrell explores the benefits of school exchange programmes within Europe