The Stand
For students, by students 

I found a really cute pastry shop, we should go there! A little reward for surviving my back-to-back lectures! This calls for a sweet treat! The ‘Little Treat Culture’ is everywhere. It’s on your Instagram feed and it is right in front of you at Spoiled. And personally, I am a big fan. I love walking around town and stopping in at a coffee shop to try their newest latte or even get a chunky chocolate chip cookie (gluten intolerance = successfully ignored). Friends of mine ev

Just a short bus ride over the Tay, and most of us write it off before we’ve been. We’re the ones missing out. View over Dundee and the Tay Bridge Photo Credits: @sam_and_her_cam Ask almost any St Andrews student about Dundee and you’ll hear a joke before you hear an opinion. For many of us, especially international students, the city’s reputation reaches us long before we ever visit. I think that reputation is lazy, and it's costing us. As one local puts it: “Dundee either

Credit: The Economist AI has grown tremendously in recent years at a growing rate that has led to a revolution in technology and productivity. It has been proven to be highly effective in many fields and is able to manage and analyze different things for all sorts of people. In the financial world, however, it has shown a different effect, as many are worried that it might heavily impact the future generation and take away jobs. The Current Effect of AI AI in the last few yea

Our lives have become dead set on stimulation. We have become so focused on us actually ‘doing something’ without any rhyme or reason behind it. Ultimately, we have lost the ability to accept boredom. We have become so uncomfortable with our reality that we feel as though we must fill every ‘quiet’ and ‘unimportant’ moment of our lives with some sort of stimulation. Boredom becomes so uncomfortable when you believe that the world around you is leaving you behind. It happens w

Credit: Pinterest ‘Men like it, and so it must be cosmically worthy’. This is the lament of Amy Dunne, in an early draft of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. She is criticising what to her appears to be the pointless conventions of American sports culture, and how in her eyes, the only reason people are expected to see ‘the poetry in sports’ is because it is something that predominantly men enjoy, and thus, is instantaneously granted cultural significance and authority. And alth

Photo Credit: Artist Collectives The Oxford Dictionary defines a friend as “A person with whom one has developed a close and informal relationship of mutual trust and intimacy." Throughout my life, I have been very lucky to experience this kind of friendship. From childhood, where spending hours together at school would blend into afternoon playdates, into staying one night or maybe two, never growing tired of talking or sitting or playing or being still, together. Into my ad

Photo credit: Pinterest We live in a society which repeatedly discourages people from dreaming big and tries to squash those who have high aspirations. We are told by parents, teachers, even friends that some jobs are unrealistic or useless because they won’t provide stability. They try to convince us to pick something more attainable. In a world obsessed with efficiency and hustle culture where it’s almost impossible to survive without a stable income, it’s no wonder so many

I made a challenge for myself when I moved to St Andrews: to go to the water once a day. Back home, I lived near a river, but hardly went. I never lived near an ocean or sea, and knew that the Fife coast is truly special. I took my walks, many solo, and explored the different beaches, snacks nearby, or ways to view the water from buildings (I recommend the Wardlaw Museum's balcony). These excursions are now an important part of my day, and I typically do them alone. On today'

Last year, at the end of second semester, a curious publication found itself in the hands of students entering the library in the run-up to exam season. While anyone unfortunate enough to be bestowed with this incoherent attempt at a newspaper could hardly assess it at first glance, closer inspection proved it a conservative (or perhaps more accurately, far right) mess of articles. As one anonymous student recalls: "Standing directly behind [The Saint’s library handout] were

My first year of university came with a rather horrifying realization: I could not focus on a single task for an extended period of time. I have always been a procrastinator, but even when I eventually got to work, I could barely go for forty-five minutes before looking for an excuse to take a break. Need I mention how sub-optimal this is when your deadline is only a few hours away? Credit: @pheebs on Pinterest Realising that my phone was a big part of the struggle, I started

Anyone who’s put the radio on in the past decade will have noticed a growing trend in pop music: lyrics that are openly critical of men. From the likes of Sabrina Carpenter to Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, much of their songs centre around criticising male behaviour - particularly in romantic relationships. The themes are familiar: emotional immaturity, infidelity and overall indifference. So, this raises a question: what has made female artists become so vocal about being

As children, stories are central to our lives. Not only are they extremely beneficial for our development, but most importantly they allow us to expand our imaginations. They provide us with adventure, comfort, wonder, excitement, and empathy. I imagine every one of us (especially my fellow bookworms) will remember at least one or perhaps several favourite stories that they read as children. These stories have stuck with us throughout our lives and every now and then we redis

Mermaids’ student production of King Lear, directed by Eilidh Read, is an ambitious and moving stage production. Having seen both performances, it was clear the cast found their footing by the second night, settling into the rhythms of Shakespeare’s language and the emotional gravity of the tragedy. India Kolb’s Lear is at the emotional centre of the production. Kolb gave a driven and powerful performance as Lear; Kolb breathes life into every scene she is in, displaying re

Years ago, I heard a story about a woman in a university seminar who would start or end any contribution to the discussion with a “Sorry”. It was a “sorry” of the excuse-me kind, like when you brush someone with your bag while boarding a bus: saying, “I didn’t mean to, and I regret my intrusion”. One day, the professor, fed up, commanded her to “Stop apologising!” Automatically the woman replied, “I’m sorry”, froze, and put her head down on her desk. This apology was differen

Is the furthest you’ve travelled lately from the Main Library to Pret? Has your idea of “adventure” become doing the weekly food shop at Aldi rather than Tesco? Well don’t worry because luckily, BBC are offering the perfect opportunity to break out of the bubble that is St Andrews. The BAFTA-winning hit series Race Across the World is currently looking for Scottish students aged 18+ to take part in its next season, set to start filming this September. The show is searchi

Going home for Independent Learning Week never fails to feel like stepping into a time capsule. Like many parents, mine have turned my absence into an opportunity to transform my childhood bedroom into extra storage; each corner is now stacked with clunky cables and gadgets that haven’t been switched on in years. However, despite their long-dead batteries, these devices feel more alive than the technology I use daily to write notes, stream television and pay for a study-break

By Alexandra Ramsdale June 2011: that’s when I realised I had the autonomy to write whatever I wanted. I’d just been given one of those pink, sparkly, padlocked diaries for my 6th birthday. Barely legibly, I wrote my first line: ‘When I’m older, I’m going to marry [redacted]’... Source: Getty Images I wish it had been an academic statement. Or perhaps a philosophical declaration so I could claim myself a child genius. But there it was, plain and simple - a 6-year-old girl

I’d had too many trips to the highlands get stuck in the group chat. Last weekend, I put that right. Advice on accessible winter hiking was to stay low and south. Brief research brought me to our destination: Dunkeld, a historic village in Perthshire. Credit : Taybank Press Images The problem? St Andrews’s inevitably rammed social calendar meant finding a weekend which worked for all five of us would be a challenge. That weekend there was some university ball scheduled. We h

By Heather McLeod It is a unanimous fact among students (particularly us Gen-zrs) that there is never a reason too far-fetched to justify getting a sweet treat. Just survived an exam? Let’s go for a sweet treat! Made it to your 9am? You deserve a sweet treat! Managed to survive the week so far? (The fact that it’s only Tuesday is entirely irrelevant), sweet treat time! Perhaps it’s just my unrivalled ability to consume a superfluous amount of dessert without feeling ill but p

Towards the end of January, the Academy Awards nominations were announced. As usual, there were several snubs (some which I find inexcusable). There is often a lot of politics involved inside the Academy which explain why certain films were left out. This is certainly true of certain directors and writers. But my job here isn’t to shout my frustrations. I’m eager to make a list and point out films which should’ve made the list. Because if you’re frustrated about a snub, the b

By Sabrina Stevenson Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is, unfortunately, everything I thought it would be. (And yes, the quotation marks around the title are a non-negotiable addition made by Fennell, who claimed in an interview with Fandango it is not possible to adapt ‘a book as dense and complicated as Wuthering Heights ,’ so is instead making a ‘version of it.’) This quote alone confirmed my skeptical assumptions of the film based on the teaser back in September, w

By Amy Lam If you placed a gun to my head 30 seconds before my research for this article, and asked me what ‘NFL’ stood for, I sadly wouldn’t be here to write it. If you then took pity on me (in this admittedly outlandish scenario) and asked me to name an American football player, I would only let you down again. And in all honesty, if you mentioned the extremely unambiguous term of ‘American football’ to me, I would think of the homonymous Midwest emo band, rather than the s

Which of these is the most performative? (a) Reading a book in public, especially while walking down the street. Bonus point if it’s a title that people will recognise for its literariness, like Giovanni’s Room . (b) Wearing paint-stained overalls with a beer bottle sticking out of your pocket. (c) Citing some great academic in class who wasn’t even included in the secondary reading —you skimmed an abstract three minutes before the tutorial—to show off to everyone how

By Sabrina Stevenson For much of his career, Michelangelo was not considered an artist. Painters and sculptors of the Renaissance period were instead classified as artisans, or skilled craftsmen. Art was a technical skill, crafted over decades of hard work in workshops with no expectation that anyone would even know your name. Yet, with the rise of humanism in the 16th century, artists started to be recognised for their intellectual and creative capacities as well, finally do

By Bethany Dowell It’s undeniable that the final season of Stranger Things looks and feels nothing like the show that premiered on Netflix a decade ago. Like many viewers, I felt disappointed after waiting so long for what proved to be a lacklustre conclusion. This prompted me to revisit season one and question whether nostalgia had blinded me. However, it hadn’t at all; there genuinely was a loss of visual charm as the show progressed. Source: Yahoo Entertainment Both the

Choosing the right song is key to ensuring your run is an absolute hit. Choose the wrong song, and you’ll come away feeling like a one- hit wonder. As a competitive runner, I always get struck with “Alex, don’t you get bored running?”. I usually dismiss the question, shrug and say no. Yet recently, I was asked the more engaging question of “What do you actually think about when you’re running?” This got me thinking. How do I manage to persevere when my lungs are burning, and

As I sat in my seat, waiting for the Barron Scriptwriting Competition Showcase to begin, I was pleasantly delighted to be surrounded by such a warm community. People were chatting amongst themselves, with writers and directors hidden in plain sight alongside casual theatre enthusiasts. This crowd meant for an inviting and creative atmosphere that was my initial impression of this event and I had high hopes. Five short performances were to occur, each written, directed and per

The Gilmore Girls re-watch is an annual ritual. However, many find Rory Gilmore, one of the main protagonists, quite infuriating and say the show becomes unwatchable after she leaves high school. So why is it that Rory goes from becoming everyone's favourite to everyone's most hated character? In short, what really leads to Rory Gilmore's academic ‘downfall’ and does she deserve the hate or are viewers being too harsh? Source: Pinterest Throughout Rory's entire life, until s

By Amy Lam It starts so slowly, you’d barely realise it. At first, the changes are subtle, and maybe even welcome after a long summer. You wear an extra layer one day perhaps, or a singular orange leaf falls on you on your way to class. Are you more tired than usual, or is that just your imagination? And then before you know it, you’re stepping out at 5pm into the pitch black, the nights feel longer than the days could ever be, and you’re wearing a full winter coat in your ho

By Bethany Dowell As October’s Halloween excitement fades and I’m pulled into the reality of deadline season approaching, my social media algorithms have been flooded with the idealisation of “locking in” for the final stretch of semester one. As a consequence, alongside completing readings, writing 3,000 words and attending society meetings, I feel burdened with the daily reminders to walk 10,000 steps, drink 2 litres of water and journal before sleeping for nine hours. On s

When she announced her engagement to the football player Travis Kelce on Instagram, Taylor Swift captioned the post: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” She echoed a lyric from her love song “So High School”: “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle.” But the origins of this particular self-styling are fairly recent. Swift had always been acknowledged as a talented lyricist, but, until around five years ago, “writer,” let alone writing teacher , h

For those who aren’t familiar with Gossip Girl , let me enlighten you: 121 episodes of a skilfully crafted, dramatic masterclass. The addictive show follows teenage billionaires Chuck, Nate, Blair and Serena as they navigate the skyline of New York’s 2007-2012 Upper East Side. Without giving away too much for those who have somehow survived (surely with difficulty) without seeing Blake Lively repeatedly muttering 'I have to go' upon their screen, Gossip Girl beholds affairs

By Ella Prieto In middle school, I almost failed French. My teacher was this peculiar lady who taught yoga in her free time, spoke seven languages, and always enjoyed pulling me to the front of the class to call me an idiot. She would prowl into the auditorium where we waited before school to force us (her worst students) into extra grammar practice. She often called my mother to tell her what an awful student I was, without any sort of solutions nor empathy. Tears never mo

By Bethany Dowell Often when I hear that there is going to be a celebrity rendition of my favourite reality TV show, my heart sinks. However, when I found out that The Traitors UK was expanding to the celebrity domain, I couldn’t help but feel giddy inside. Despite only two episodes being aired so far, it’s already clear that The Traitors: Celebrity UK might just be the rare spin-off that works. Before any reality TV show airs, casting is the most significant talking poi

Sabrina Stevenson The Muppets has been a household name for as long as many can remember. Their first solo appearances were in the late 70s with The Muppet Show , featuring a variety of A-list celebrity guests. Today it might be best known for The Muppet Christmas Carol , an adaptation of the Dickens classic which has been a long time Christmas staple in my family. Yet every year as the credits roll, we find ourselves asking – why did they ever stop making these? While the fr

By Heather McLeod Why are kids these days struggling so much to read and write? Simple answer: they aren’t reading for leisure. Every day we are seeing more and more children who have fallen out of love with reading. Not only that, but they actively avoid picking up a book altogether. Reading is an essential, basic skill for anyone to successfully function in today's society. It develops communication and literacy skills which are needed in every aspect of life. However, we

I am pleased to write for The Stand in part because of its devotion to fashion, of which I am moderately keen about. Now don’t get me wrong, I am clueless as to the goings on of the St Andrews fashion societies; I am yet to achieve the “autumnal chic” of the university students; and I am so far off the clothing trends that I might as well be living on the moon — the corduroy and collar is generally my uniform. Yet, I still have an appreciation for these articles in The Stand

We are all chasing something, whether that be academic success, a perfect resume, athletic excellence, romantic attention. And what do each of these ambitions have in common? They grant a certain sense of validation that makes us feel more important. After all, doesn’t everybody want to be important? While these noble(ish) pursuits have been connected to human experience as long as historians have documented civilization, I can’t help but highlight one form of attempted fulf

Romeo and Juliet . Many of you will read that title and shudder: suddenly plunged straight back into your year 10 classroom, (AQA survivors stand in solidarity). Picture the scene: it's no later than 9am on a cold November morning - no - scratch that, January morning (to add to the air of depression I'm trying to recreate), and your teacher suddenly announces, “today we’ll be looking at Shakespeare”. There’s a collective groan, and the look you blazingly throw at the teache

TWO is a play about love, loss and betrayal – and Mermaids’ latest rendition left me suspended between laughter and stunned melancholy. Jim Cartwright’s script unfolds in a small-town pub, the lives of its drinkers and owners revealing the quiet tragedies behind everyday love. As I sat in the buzzing Barron for the opening night performance, my expectations were blank. The cartoonish set — a bar drawn in thick, newspaper-like outlines, with matching chairs and an all-green wa

When Trump was first elected, I was ten years old. I woke to the sound of my door slowly cracking open, my mother’s pained face...

By Bethany Dowell At the age of six, a typical outfit for me consisted of a Peppa Pig T-shirt, paired with a flowing skirt. Complimenting...

By Eliza O'keefe In one of my classes, the table has a rectangular hole in the middle, and you can look down the middle and see...

A review of the romantic tragicomedy Constellations.

Love, as described in the film as the last religion, has not been lost among all the modern noise. We just have to fight for it.

A guide on how to get glares and dismantle patriarchy, starting with your family.

Every hobby, outfit, or passing impulse must come with an algorithm-friendly tag and curated aesthetic which leaves little room for the contradictions and messiness of reality.

By Sabrina Stevenson The recent teaser for Emerald Fennell’s 2026 film, Wuthering Heights has sparked widespread controversy amongst...

On the 14th April, Blue Origin successfully launched and returned the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo...

It’s hard not to. Once upon a time, a very strong argument could be made that Grimes (aka ‘Claire Boucher’ or ‘c’) was the coolest person...