Acer Nethercott, regarded by some as the best British cox of his time, will have phase one of the new Iffley Road Sports Centre named after him.

He coxed three Oxford crews to victory over Cambridge in the Boat Race, steering the women’s boat in 2000, and the men’s boat in 2003 and 2005. He also won an Olympic silver medal and two World Championship bronze medals.

Glynis Evans, Dr Nethercott’s mother, said, “The idea of naming the new Sports Centre building after Acer is awesome – to use a word that he himself would have used.”

“It is a lasting source of comfort, as well as one of huge pride, to continue to hear of Acer’s lasting impact and I am deeply touched that the new Sports Centre will be named after him.”

Dr Nethercott, who died 2 years ago, was not only a successful sportsman. He also excelled in his studies, gaining a first class degree in Physics and Philosophy before pursuing a masters and then a doctorate in philosophy of language.

Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the University, commented, “Acer was the model of a ‘scholar-athlete’, as he not only achieved incredible sporting success but also excelled in his studies at Oxford.”

“Acer always strove hard no matter what he was aiming for. Consequently he succeeded on many levels, personal, academic and sporting,” said Andrew Triggs-Hodge, a friend and teammate of Dr Nethercott.

“I knew him through his endeavour to be the best cox he could be, a restless mission of self-improvement. He was respected for his work ethic, admired for his skills, and loved for his humanity. He brought out the best in those around him, who in turn helped him to get the best from himself. A true role model sportsman.”

Acer had been preparing for London 2012 when he was first diagnosed with brain cancer. “He’ll never receive recognition for the work he put into London 2012,” said Triggs-Hodge.

“However, through the gifts towards the Acer Nethercott Sports Hall he will be remembered, an inspiration and role model. He will continue to be a guiding light, the role he felt was most rewarding.”

The Acer Nethercott Sports Hall will be the first building to open as part of the £60 million redevelopment of the University’s Iffley Road Sports Complex.

The project will expand the space currently available for the University’s nearly 90 sports clubs, as well as providing better facilities for members of the local community.

Iain Dunn, a Univ fresher, told Cherwell, “First and foremost I’m thrilled that there’s going to be a much-needed redevelopment of the facilities at Iffley Road. It’s even better that Acer Nethercott’s achievements are being recognised in the process. Sports men and women should receive more recognition around the university. College halls are filled with alumni portraits, but so few of them are sports people.”

Subsequent phases of the project will include an indoor tennis centre, a combined rugby and rowing training centre, and a new grandstand incorporating a cricket school.

William Tilston, Merton Sports Captain, commented, “I think it’s a very fitting move by the University. Oxford churns through new students each year, but it is comforting to know that its brightest sparks, and those tragically lost too soon, don’t get forgotten. He has set all Oxford sportsmen and women a fantastic example of what can be achieved both in the boat and in the library.”

Construction work on the new sports centre will begin once the University has completed its fundraising efforts. It is hoped that the building will be completed in 2016.

A Keble Undergraduate ended up in the John Radcliffe Hospital earlier this week after his inability to remove an earring left him with pliers attached to the side of his head.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained to Cherwell that “a last minute and quite shoddy attempt to look respectable for a job interview the following morning backfired massively when I realised I couldn’t get my piercing out.

“After several failed attempts, I sought the assistance of [my friend] James who had some ‘big old pliers’ in the hope I could cut the bugger off.”

The friend in question, fellow undergraduate James Davies, elaborated, “The earring was a bead ring piercing, and supposedly could be removed simply by pulling the bead off. He tried all day and evening to remove it to no avail.”

Davies continued, “I tried for ten minutes to cut the ring to free his ear with no luck. Eventually, I got a safe angle and squeezed the handles very tightly until eventually they cut the earring and the bead fell off.

“I thought I had fixed it and told him it was sorted, but realised something didn’t feel quite right. I went to release the pliers but the handles just moved flimsily and it seemed the inner mechanism had completely snapped inside, jamming the pliers shut with the earring wire still jammed inside.”

He went on to explain his initial panic and then uncontrollable laughter on realising that his friend “literally had a huge multi-tool thing attached to his ear”.

A second friend of the “plier-ed” student then proceeded to call the Keble porters to seek their advice, as the realisation dawned that he had to leave for London in eight hours and he was stuck on the floor with a pair of pliers completely stuck to his ear.

Davies described to Cherwell how a Junior Dean arrived soon after to find the student sitting on the floor holding the pair of pliers to his head, as Davies sat on his chair with a coat over his mouth trying not to laugh.

“She phoned 999 as it was starting to bleed and we had no way of removing it.”

The injured undergraduate added, “[We] got a taxi to the JR, where police and other quite seriously injured patients seemed to forget their woes for a bit upon seeing a massive pair of pliers attached to my ear.”

The Accident and Emergency department at the John Radcliffe Hospital removed the pliers from the student’s head.

On the consequences of the event, the affected Keblite elucidated, “I did find it quite funny at the time, and a lot funnier now, but also had basically resigned myself to not going to my job interview and thereby messing up a potential career path, which, despite the hilarity of having pliers stuck to your head, is never great.”

The student suffered no lasting damage.

A motion has passed at Regent’s Park College to reverse the conversion of the only gender-neutral toilets on site into a male and disabled toilet.

The change comes following what certain members of the JCR called a “disappointing” decision by the college administration to make these toilets available only to male and disabled students over the Christmas holidays, which was not discussed with the undergraduate student body.

There was particular concern that the sign on the door discouraged disabled women from using the toilet, especially as it is the only disabled toilet in that area of the College.

Regent’s Gender and Sexuality Representative Will Tomsett told Cherwell that the initial decision by the college authorities was the result of a complaint by a male member of cleaning staff, who felt uncomfortable cleaning the unisex toilets whilst women were using them.

Tomsett, who proposed the motion, underlined the importance of gender-neutral toilets to the ‘welcoming and accepting body’ of the college.

He also underlined how they planned to tackle the issue that had caused the conversion in the first place, telling Cherwell, “At the meeting we discussed putting up a sign saying ‘These toilets are cleaned by male members of staff’, which would hopefully negate the awkwardness felt by the member of staff upon encountering women users of the facilities.”

The Welfare officer at Regent’s Park, Isobel Wilson, likewise expressed her satisfaction with the decision of the JCR, commenting, “Regent’s prides itself on its supportive and inclusive community, but to be so it is fundamental that we have a safe space for every member and guest of the college.”

“The toilets, which service the college hall, are deemed particularly important with the consideration of transgender guests who may be visiting the college for Formal Hall, as well as providing a safe space for any students of the college who are unsure or undecided of their gender.”

She went on to explain that she is now confident that the SCR will listen to the concerns of the undergraduate body over the issue and will reinstall the gender-neutral toilet with immediate effect.

JCR president Alex Rennison issued the following statement, “The reinstatement of the toilets as a gender neutral space will of course be a change for the better, with the JCR feeling strongly that a reversion to gender-binary use would be a step back for a community that prides itself on being welcoming to all students and guests alike.”

The motion could prove an important step to raising the awareness of the matters of sexuality across the university. Regent’s Gender and Sexuality Representative has expressed his hope that the decision acts as a stimulus for change and discussion.

He commented, “I’d like to see unisex toilets provided in other colleges as all too often it is easy to ignore the real issues that trans people are confronted with in the simple act of going to the toilet.”

“I welcome the recent survey conducted of college LGBTQ reps across the University relating to the provision of gender neutral toilets in colleges; creating a safe space for trans students and guests is a really important priority for JCRs to have, and I’m glad to see that this is being discussed across Oxford.”

An additional motion to turn the women-only toilets into gender-neutral toilets has also been proposed, but was yesterday rejected at the general meeting with the support of Tomsett.

Tomsett added, “I believe that to do so would be removing a safe space for female guests, as well as the fact that a number of female members of staff use these toilets to change into their work clothes at the start of the day.”

Second year English student Morgan Harries told Cherwell,“I am really glad that the JCR managed to pass the motion, especially as we were not consulted on the change in the first place. These gender-neutral toilets prove our our college’s attitude of acceptance and its inclusive environment.”

A new charitable social media craze that has been compared to the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ phenomenon was designed by two Oxford undergraduates, with a team of fellow students.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s #SmearforSmear campaign, which has been endorsed by a range of celebrities, from Stephen Fry to Rita Ora, is aiming to raise awareness and debunk myths about smear tests.

The charity is asking people to smear lipstick on their cheek, take a selfie and then upload the photo to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Pembroke linguist Marianna Spring and New College human scientist Katherine Tomsett designed the campaign during a Girls’ Day Schools Trust Young Leaders Conference in September 2013.

The Oxford students developed the idea with their team during the conference’s competition to design marketing campaigns for leading charities, including Jo’s Trust.

Inspired by the no make-up selfies that were circulating on Facebook and the connotations of the word smear with lipstick, the idea of #smearforsmear was devised.

Tomsett and Spring’s team’s idea went on to win the competition and left a lasting impression on the students and the charity.

Tomsett told Cherwell, “I am thrilled with the response the campaign has had online. Cervical cancer kills thousands of women each year, and leaves survivors infertile in a large number of cases.”

“The majority of the time, it can be prevented if it’s picked up early enough, so the importance of attending smear tests can’t be stressed enough. I’m just happy that something of which I was a part could potentially save lives.”

Surrey economics student Rebecca Waters collaborated with the two during the Young Leaders Conference.

She said, “Working with Jo’s Trust helped me learn about the cancer and the statistics that come with it, all of which shocked me.”

“We ultimately designed a great concept that I personally feel very proud of, which has now been developed and actually put in place by Jo’s Trust.”

Maddy Durrant, Communications Manager at Jo’s Trust, worked with the girls at the Young Leaders Conference and helped launch the current trend to coincide with Cervical Cancer Prevention week.

She commented, “After the conference, their idea was on my mind a lot and I kept mulling it over for a long time.”

“Their contribution sparked my imagination and lay the foundations for what followed. It was such a great idea and I always knew that we had to use it in some shape or form.”

Durrant hopes that the #SmearforSmear campaign will encourage more women to attend their smear test appointments, citing the fact that one third of women aged 25-29 fail to attend planned smear tests.

She commented, “Hopefully this campaign will push boundaries of understanding and ensure more women go for smear tests.”

French and Italian student Emma Obertelli, who had her first smear test last year, said, “I’m really glad I went. Once you’ve seen the doctor for one intimate thing it doesn’t seem like such a big deal to go again.”

Lady Margaret Hall’s start of Hilary term bop has provoked controversy amongst some students.

At the event, some students allegedly wore tea towels on their heads, which, according to critics of the theme, was an example of orientalism. After the bop had taken place, students also raised the issue on the JCR’s Facebook page.

The bop, which had the theme ‘Arabian Nights’, was held on Saturday 24th January. Arabian Nights is the title of the English translation of One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of folklore and tales from the medieval Islamic world. Organisers contended that students were supposed to dress up as characters from these stories.

Charlotte Sykes, a third year English student at LMH, had concerns about the bop’s theme, commenting, “The event provided a space in which people wore stereotyped one dimensional ‘Arab’ costumes – at a time when Islamophobia is on the rise throughout Europe.”

She continued, “Much of the writing following Charlie Hebdo has focused on the damage done to minority communities when those in positions of power characterise them as reductive ‘othering’ stereotypes.

“We need to be aware of these issues, and our positions of institutional privilege as Oxford students, and ensure we don’t replicate these oppressive dynamics.”

However, some students responded negatively to the criticisms from voices inside and outside the college. Aadit Shankar, the JCR president at LMH, defended the college’s handling of the events, “The bop theme last Saturday was announced five days in advance, and was intended to refer to the collection of folk tales, One Thousand and One Nights.

“The JCR Executive received no formal complaint about this theme prior to this event. The JCR Executive is always prepared to remove anyone from a bop who is dressed in a manner that may be deemed offensive.”

He continued in support of LMH’s attitude to diversity, “The JCR Executive is proud that LMH is home to people of all races, genders, sexualities and faiths.

“To this end, since the start of this academic year the Executive has sought to increase its representation of equality-related issues by creating a new Equalities Committee. LMH is proud to host ‘A World at LMH’ starting on February 20th – a weekend of events celebrating diversity at our College.”

He also extended an apology to those who were offended by the evening’s theme, saying, “I would like to apologise on behalf of certain members of the JCR, who misinterpreted the theme, to all those who were offended by some of the costumes.”

The LMH Social Secretaries declined to comment.

The Arab Cultural Society reacted with dismay to the theme, issuing a statement saying, “To make ‘Arabian Nights’ a bop theme is not to celebrate genuinely another culture, but instead to reduce a diverse group of cultures into costumes. – represented in a manner which mocks and demeans them.

“Oxford students should be aware that they stand in a historically and presently unequal power relation to the many peoples of the Arab world who do not have a voice in the West. This event is as inappropriate as a supposed black cultural event in which people black up or dress as ‘African tribals’.”

Annie Teriba, a second year History and Politics student at Wadham, commented, “At a University which has such consistent problems with diversity, where several students of colour have reported that they have been made to feel othered, it is disappointing to see a racialised bop them and, yet again, an inability to treat PoC [People of Colour] identities with the respect that they deserve.

“The role of cultural imperialism, the otherising and caricaturing of PoC identities and the justification of this as simply cultural exchange has played a central role in feeding the racism still experienced by Arabs and Muslims both in the West and on the other end of drone attacks.

“It seems like harmless fun, but costumes like the one I saw reproduce and normalise those images. As I said to the Social Sec, it’s likely true that no one involved is a bad person but intentional or not, the effect remains the same.”

Hertford JCR has voted to recreate the position of Women’s Officer.

A constitutional change was required for the proposal, with a two thirds majority required for the motion to pass.

The meetings did not go entirely smoothly, with an amendment tabled that caused a “heated debate”, according to a third year Hertford student. Though ultimately defeated, the amendment sought to alter the post to a ‘Gender Equalities’ role.

With 65 for, nine against, and eight abstentions, the proposal passed with a 79 per cent majority. This now allows for the election of a Women’s Officer. The role is yet to be filled.

Alice Vacani, who is chair of the OUSU Harassment Policy Working Group, carried out an anonymous survey of Hertford women that found the majority of women who have experienced harassment were in favour of recreating a Women’s Officer post.

She then proposed the re-introduction of the position, saying, “It was an important position that was currently not represented within the student body.”

With regard to the attempted renaming of the role to ‘Gender Equalities Officer’, Vacani says that such a title would have “simply confused members of the JCR as to the purpose of the rep” and that a Women’s Officer is required to lobby for women who are “still disadvantaged in many ways – from the finals gap to sexual violence, many issues disproportionately affect women compared to men”.

The Women’s Officer, according to the Hertford JCR constitution, is responsible for, amongst other things: lobbying for women’s right within ollege, ensuring policy is inclusive of women, liaising with the tutor for women and JCR Welfare Officers, and organizing consent workshops. The role can only be held by “an individual who identifies wholly as a woman or with a complex ender identity encompassing woman” and can only be elected by such individuals.

Aliya Yule, WomCam Officer, commented,“WomCam is so excited to hear that Hertford has introduced a Women’s Officer position in its JCR. It is vital that colleges introduce better liberation reps – including Women’s Officers, Disabled Students’ Officers, BME/ students of Colour Oficers, and LGBTQ officers – for better representation and to ensure that marginalised voices are listened to within the university.”

Helen Thomas, Women’s Officer for St Anne’s JCR, said, “I’m very pleased bout this great outcome for Hertford. Changing the title to Gender Equalities Rep would have done women at Hertford a disservice.

“It is really important for society to realise that discrimination which is levelled at men often comes about due to the systematic oppression of women,” she added.

Anna Bradshaw, the OUSU VP for Women, was present at the second meeting and commented, “The specific representation of women is essential in all common rooms, and I know that Women’s Officers and Reps in many colleges do some really fantastic work.”

Bradshaw informed Cherwell that New College MCR has also created a Women’s Officer role in their committee this term.

Analysis: Mary Reader argues that creating a Women’s Officer position should not be seen as “reverse sexism” 

We still live in a patriarchal society. University is no exception to this rule. 

The very institutional setup of Oxford, I believe, works to reinforce existing patriarchal assumptions and patterns of behaviour. Our society is still dominated by the idea of men as breadwinners and women as caregivers. Within academia, our adversarial style of discourse is generally catered towards self-aggrandisement rather than increased understanding. One of my friends was told by their tutor to “write more like a man” in their essays, because that’s the style of writing that achieves a First. 

No wonder 71.2 per cent of Philosophy academics are men. When women are mostly being taught by men, reading books written by men, and being told to write like men, it is hardly surprising that gender inequality exists in an academic context. 

This institutional sexism rests upon socially constructed gender roles. Patriarchal societal norms permeate all walks of life, affecting the way in which men treat women, the way women interact with one another, and the way women see themselves. 

It is undeniable that there is a ‘lad culture’ in Oxford – rugby crewdates, ‘sharking’ and sexual harassment – that requires active challenge.

When one in four women have had experience of sexual harassment at university in the UK, and a significant number of young people don’t understand the meaning of consent, it is absolutely vital that we educate people about these things, which disproportionately affect women. 

It is also imperative that we provide effective support that caters to the needs of those who are victims of sexual harassment, rape or intimidation.

This is why, given the fact that women are still structurally oppressed, we need Women’s Officers rather than the watered-down, less specific role of Gender Equalities Officers.

Some believe that by describing the position as a Women’s Officer entails a kind of reverse sexism. However, this is premised upon a misunderstanding of the aims of liberation movements; the idea of ‘reverse sexism’ is itself highly flawed. For sexism, like racism, is the result of both prejudice and power.

It is the same misunderstanding that causes men, and women, to refuse the label of feminist on the grounds that it means you somehow place women’s rights above those of men. In fact, intersectional feminism struggles for the liberation of all genders.

To a certain extent, we might ask ourselves “what’s in a name?” But so long as we live in a patriarchal society, having a specific ‘Women’s Officer’ in our colleges is a necessary measure to tackle gender inequality and oppression.