Students living in Brasenose College’s Frewin Annexe, which adjoins the Oxford Union, are soon to benefit from the installation of Wi-Fi due to the donation of £2,000 from a college alumnus.
The former student of Brasenose, who matriculated in 1999 and has since gone into IT, was contacted by second year James Johnson during a Telethon which took place in March.
The alumnus explained why he had decided to donate the money to Brasenose, saying, “I had always intended on ‘one day’ donating to Brasenose, and it so happened that I could afford to make a donation this year, so I decided that I would.
“I didn’t want to make a donation just for it to be added to a big pot of cash and disappear – I wanted to feel that by donating, I could make something happen that otherwise would not have happened.
“I was at Brasenose when ethernet was installed in student rooms, and I remember that when I went to Frewin in my second year, the ethernet rollout didn’t catch up until after Christmas. For me and friends, being able to have a fast, reliable internet connection made a huge difference to our university experience.”
James Johnson, who studies History and Politics, told Cherwell, “The installation of Wi-Fi in Frewin is a very exciting development from the College, and many Frewin residents are grateful to the alumnus and excited for its inception.
“It was fantastic to speak to the alumnus over the phone and I greatly enjoyed being a part of the Brasenose Telethon which, as well as other similar projects across the university, underpin such beneficial improvements to student and college life.”
The alumnus added, “It’s good to hear from current students, and I felt James did a good job of chatting about life around the college and what’s changed since I was there (and what’s stayed the same).
“The Telethon is intrusive, yes, but it’s not unexpected and if the students making contact are friendly and engaging, not just reading off a script, then it’s pleasant enough.”
Brasenose student and Frewin resident Frances Gosling said, “It’s great news, and as a Frewin resident I know it’ll have a really positive impact on academic and social life.”
The Frewin Annexe houses second, third and fourth year undergraduate students. The Wi-Fi is expected to be installed at some point in the next academic year.
