This coming Tuesday 24th November, a group of Oxford students plan to drive two vans of supplies to Calais to be distributed to refugees.

The initiative follows a recent fire in ‘The Jungle’ – a refugee camp – which destroyed 40 shelters and left over 150 refugees exposed to the elements.

The Oxford-wide scheme has involved representatives collecting supplies across most colleges and has also crowdfunded approximately £2,000 which will be put towards winter supplies for refugees.

Asked about the origins of the initiative, Alethea Osborne, Women’s Officer at St. Anthony’s GCR, commented, “It came out of a fairly casual conversation about the refugee crisis in Europe and what we could do to help and so was fairly informal really…then we made a Facebook page and crowdfunding page and everything just took off!

“I was contacted very quickly by people from different colleges wanting to help and we now have reps in 16 colleges and the response has just been amazing.”

A list of priorities produced by L’Auberge and Help Calais, updated on a weekly basis, has been used to make sure every donation is as valuable as possible. The top five ‘critical’ priorities are pre-made identical food parcels, volunteers, blankets, sleeping bags and tents. The Wadham donation team has stated it is specifically hoping for men’s trousers, boots and trainers, winter jackets, hats, scarfs, gloves and blankets.

Wadham has been among the largest college contributors to the Oxford-wide initiative, which has been co-organised by Osborne and Jack Clift, LGBTQA officer and bar manager at St. Anthony’s.

Earlier this week, Wadham representative for the initiative, Niamh Macintyre, told Cherwell, “Wadham will be collecting physical donations of clothes and blankets for refugees in ‘The Jungle’ this week and Seventh Week…as part of a convoy heading over from Oxford to Calais on the 24th. We’ve had a really great response so far from both students and staff.”

Following a nationwide investigation by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, it has been revealed that many UK university staff receive six-figure annual salaries. In staff pay league tables, Oxford is near the top. The university maintains this is necessary to maintain its high academic standards.

As part of a broad-based campaign to promote taxpayers’ right to transparently evaluate how their money is being spent, the Tax Payers’ Alliance has made a series of Freedom of Information requests to UK universities. The result of this investigation has been an unexpectedly high proportion of academic staff and offi cials receiving six-figure salaries.

Out of the 7554 employees earning at least £100,000pa, 622 work for Oxford University, approximately double the number of six figure salary staff at Cambridge. One Oxford payee, earning £630,000pa, took second place on the individual staff members’ high pay league table.

High pay is not restricted to Oxbridge, with London Metropolitan University’s former Vice Chancellor earning over £600,000pa.

A University spokesperson told Cherwell that high pay packages are necessary to remain the world’s second-best academic institution. As a consequence of its position as “a global leader for research and teaching”, the “exceptional minds” the University is looking to attract are “also sought-after by international competitors”. Protecting Oxford University’s acquired status of excellence and potentially rising up the league tables ultimately requires the organisation to “reward their talent appropriately”, the spokesperson said.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance warns the high tuition fees currently paid by students make it imperative that tax money is spent according to academic merit. Chief executive of the Alliance, Jonathan Isaby, told Cherwell, “It is vitally important that money is not wasted [particularly since] the tax burden is very high …for those on low incomes (including students).”

The Alliance values transparency in university affairs and insists on the importance of a system in which “hard-working taxpayers can judge whether they are getting value for money from the public sector’s senior employees”.

Last Saturday, 500 protesters marched across Oxford city centre place to fight against proposed reforms to children’s services across Oxfordshire. The potential changes notably include the closure of all children’s centres through cuts in funding to the Oxfordshire County Council’s Early Intervention budget.

The proposals would close all 44 childcare centres in Oxford to achieve a £8 million saving by the 2016-17 budget. Despite the extensive cuts to children’s services planned, the council would still be obliged to provide some services by law, such as services to children on child protection plans.

Although Oxford University students with children are currently able to use nurseries at Balliol, Wolfson, Somerville and St Anne’s Colleges, access across other colleges is limited. However since these nursery services are distinct from the children’s services currently offered by the council, even student parents at these childfriendly colleges would likely be affected by the proposed changes.

Replacing the existing centres would be eight ‘Children and Family’ centres, which the council claims would “support children and their families who need help and will integrate the work of the Children’s Centres, the Early Intervention Hubs and Children’s Social Care”. Many of Saturday’s demonstrators have been vocally critical of this measure, protesting that these new centres would be available by referral only. The current children’s services provide universal access.

The ‘Save Oxfordshire’s Children’s Centres’ campaign, “a concerned group of parents with young children, child minders, grandparents and the general public”, has also emerged to condemn the proposals. In a recent statement, the campaign raised concerns about the ambiguity of any departure from the current system, stating, “there is no information on who will be able to access the services if any of the three proposals is implemented”.

Tamsin Browning, a childcare service user and campaigner, highlighted the plight of parents who move to Oxford for work and careers. “Lots of people who move here for work only have networks relating their jobs. After having a child, this means people can become very isolated and at higher risk of post-natal depression.”

Browning also raised broader concerns about the implication of proposals, telling Cherwell, “I don’t think the government really understands the pressure they’re putting the council under by cutting services like old people’s homes or subsidised bus routes – these are really important services. I think it will lead to so much more need in the future. I want to live in a society that looks after the most needy. The children’s centres were a lifeline to me and are one of the few places you can go to with a community. That’s the kind of world I want my son to grow up in, where people care for each other through these centres.

Another childcare service user, Jah Huish, highlighted the particular issue of accessibility in Oxfordshire, with its mix between urban and rural. “We want to see all 44 services open. You are supposed to be able to walk to your children’s centre.”

Huish went on to suggest what the longer term effect of the cuts could be. “By the time my daughter gets to primary school children will be so bogged down which should have been caught by child services. There will be less time to actually teach. It will also create a huge strain on nurseries which will have to provide 30 hours of care per child.”

Oxford University research on children’s centres was recently published in a report on child services entitled ‘Organisation, services and reach of children’s centres’, concluding that children’s centres are an effective means of reaching vulnerable children.

Students at Pembroke have expressed concerns to the college over security and safety at Pembroke’s off site accommodation, the Geoffrey Arthur Building (GAB), following a number of bike thefts just outside and a lack of lighting on the towpath and Folly Bridge on St Aldate’s.

Residents of Pembroke’s annex have also raised issue with security cameras outside of the building, which do not work. However, the GAB does have an ‘airlock’ double gate entrance to avoid tail-gating and there have been no thefts from within the grounds of the GAB for three years. Pembroke College has been corresponding with students regarding those issues raised.

Helena Gilchrist, a third-year undergraduate living in the GAB, told Cherwell, “I can understand that crime rates may not be higher in the area in comparison to around college, but that does not mean that the crime rates are low. In college it is very easy to get to the porters quickly, whereas here it is much harder. The walk – which is lit for the entirety of the journey-back suggested by college is sensible, however we feel that it is unrealistic to expect all students to walk back this way as it adds an extra 10-15 minutes to the walk.

“Apparently they don’t have lights on the bridge because 15 years ago people didn’t want the added light keeping them awake. I think it’s ridiculous that the issue hasn’t been addressed in 15 years when safety is an on-going issue. The same goes for the redundant security cameras. I think that our perception of safety is important, regardless of statistics. Being students at university with little other option of places to live, feeling safe is important to minimize stress levels in an already highly pressurized environment.”

JCR President Joseph McShane commented, “We have been promised cooperation on the issue and this is the approach that we really want to take as working with the council on issues such as these is considerably easier with the support of college.”

The home bursar at Pembroke, Mike Naworynsky, commented, “On an annual basis we ensure that all students are given advice and information about safety and security in and around the city centre. As part of that process we give specific advice to students who live in our Annex, mainly due to the proximity of the river, and we point out the potential risks of travelling alone at night anywhere in the city. We strongly recommend certain routes and sensible precautions in line with experience of the area. In addition, we have resident Junior Deans who are available to talk to students if necessary and we engage with students on a one-to-one basis if there are any particular concerns.

“There have been no reports of serious crime in the area of our buildings; in September 2015, there were three reported minor crimes in the area close to our Annex and three reports in the vicinity of the College main site. We have suffered from issues such as bike thefts, which are endemic in Oxford, and we offer excellent advice on how to prevent bikes being stolen as well as providing secure bike racks within our sites and access to discounted high security locks.

Pembroke also added, “Ad Hoc meetings are held as required (with the next meeting due to take place on the 23rd November) where students can raise concerns directly with the Home Bursar.”

On behalf of the City Council, Councillor Bob Price told Cherwell, “No one from Pembroke has raised safety issues with the local councillors. The City Council has no real locus on safety issues: the County Council deals with street lighting and highways/footpath matters and the police with ASB (Anti-Social Behaviour) and fear of crime. “There is a considerable incidence of drug dealing in that area and the police do what they can to disrupt it, but the cuts in their numbers have definitely resulted in less patrolling