An Oxford tour guide is protesting on Broad Street against Oxford City Council and Visit Oxfordshire over what he claims to be a monopoly funded by taxpayer money.

Alasdair de Voil, known locally and to tourists as the “Mad Hatter”, claims that Visit Oxfordshire do not offer unbiased or impartial information on walking tours in Oxford and that council tax is being used to prop up a monopoly and undermine local tour guide operators.

He believes that Visit Oxfordshire gives preferential treatment to the tour run by the Guild of Guides, which he says does not pay the fee of £360 plus VAT a year for the partnership scheme to which tour guides in the city can join for standard membership.

This membership includes benefits such as having leaflets on display in the Tourist Information Centre on Broad Street.

Mr de Voil says that this is a private company and yet is funded by £250,000 per annum in council tax funds.

He claims that 98% of the adverts on their website are for their own “official” tours, despite not paying the partnership fee. Due to this, he believes that Oxford City Council and Visit Oxfordshire are unfriendly, inept and corrupt.

He said, “The visitor information centre does not operate for or on behalf of either the interests of independent tour operators or the general public.

“If the visitor centre were run fairly and professionally without their own blatantly gross conflict of interest to do not much else than market their own selected ‘Official Oxford walking tour’, then the marketplace would be much more accessible to us.

“Like nearly all other enterprising local individuals who have paid Visit Oxfordshire a partnership fee, we are extremely unhappy with how Visit Oxfordshire delivers the visitor information service- which is supposedly a public function tendered to them by the local council.

“Tour operators like myself have paid them partnership fees and seen almost no return on investment at all. We have also sent random people inside to check out what their staff are telling the public. They usually won’t tell you about any other tours unless you ask them to do so and because the centre’s signage and windows and reception counters only offer you one choice, most people never realise to ask otherwise.

“In any business, one has competition and as guided tours is an unregulated industry, there’s also unfortunately lots of false advertising dominating our marketplace opportunity today too.

“Oxford’s small businesses are struggling enough without having to compete with a publicly funded public service, whose remit, almost anyone would have assumed, is to support and benefit businesses like ours. Instead, we have to compete with them. This is not fair and it’s corrupt use of public money to be propping up a monopoly interest.”

Giles Ingram, chief executive of Visit Oxfordshire, said in response to the allegations, “We are not in any way corrupt and we are very open in the way our policies and procedures work, which have been examined and all been found to be above board. We have been totally above board in all our dealings.

“Our website reflects our policies and the way in which we work, which again has been scrutinised thoroughly by exterior bodies. All of these issues have been set out in our policies.”

He said in regards to the Guild of Guides not paying the partnership fee “They do subscribe.”

A quality charter has been introduced on the recommendation of the Local Government Ombudsman to which all tour operators have been asked to sign up and all other recommendations have been met in full.

He reiterated that Visit Oxfordshire had been unable to come to an agreement with Mr de Voil and he has been offered a refund of his membership.

An investigation is underway at Keble after a group of former members of the Keble rugby team attended a college bop and behaved in an inappropriate and sexist manner. Some of the offenders have since been banned from any similar occasions in future.

The bop took place after the annual match between old and new members of the Keble rugby team, and all the inappropriate behaviour is thought to have been caused by the old members.

Shortly after the bop, the JCR’s Welfare Officers circulated an email stating, “We are writing to you about the events of the bop on Saturday night. It has come to our attention that some of the ex-members (“Ghosts”) who were present behaved inappropriately. This behaviour is unacceptable and an anomaly at Keble.”

The email continued, “If you were made to feel uncomfortable in any way at the bop, please contact a member of the Welfare Team…the college is fully supportive and wants to create a safe environment for its students.”

Meanwhile, JCR President Rosie Petersen commented, “Up until this year
there have not been any incidents which have resulted in these kinds of
complaints. The complaints that have been made about the behaviour of the alumni at the bop are highly unsettling,and action is being taken.

“We are putting in place welfare provisions with the co-operation of the welfare team, the decanal team, and the peer supporters to make sure that anyone who was affected by the incident gets the support that they need.”

Referring to actions which Keble JCR would take in future to prevent a repeat of these events, she added, “We are also looking into solutions for the future, with the options of either changing the timings of the bop or the rugby match, or just ensuring that the alumni are out of the bar before the bop gets underway.

“The alumni whom we have already been able to identify have been banned from future similar events, and we are working to ensure that all of the offenders are identified. We also strongly encourage people to report serious incidents to the police.”

A Keble student who wished to remain anonymous told Cherwell, “I was at the bop and I remember seeing some older guys around that I didn’t recognise. I thought they looked a bit dodgy, but I didn’t speak or interact with them.”

An activists’ conference designed to tackle the housing crisis in Oxford continued over the weekend following eviction from a University-owned building in Osney. It eventually had to move to Cowley Road Methodist Church.

The three day conference, termed ‘House of the Commons’, described itself as an forum for “examining the current context and drivers of the crisis with the aim to explore creative solutions to these problems”.

Campaigners, who initially occupied The Old Power Station, were evicted on Wednesday. The University said, “The Old Power Station is not a disused building, but it is used for storage for the University’s museums and has hosted art exhibitions in recent years. The people occupying left the building left peacefully and we consider the matter closed.”

However, reactions to the eviction were mixed from students and the wider community, with some students criticising the move.

Xavier Cohen, a member of the Oxford Activist Network, said, “Whilst the eviction is within the law, we need to question what the law is doing here. It’s facilitating the prioritisation of private property rights over allocating housing and space to those who actually need it and will make use of it.”

The Oxford Green Party also added its voice to the controversy. Ruthi Brandt, Councillor for Carfax Ward, remarked, “We feel that the University has really let down the wider community and has squandered an opportunity to join the housing debate.”

She continued, “The Old Power Station, a beautiful big building in such a central location, has no business being practically empty and out of bounds to the public. I hope that the recent squat by the House of the Commons will remind the heads of the University that the place has stood empty long enough, and it is time to consider how it can benefit the community.”

However, a University spokesperson told Cherwell that it “intends that all its buildings will be used and we are constantly re-viewing the status of our properties. A major priority of the University is to provide accommodation for as many of our students as possible in order to ease the burden on Oxford’s rental market.”

Despite the eviction, events went on as planned as the activists relocated to Cowley Road Methodist Church. The programme of events included talks and workshops on homelessness, fuel poverty and alternative housing models.

One participant termed the conference a “wonderful success”, telling Cherwell that “so many people — from very different backgrounds and with different experiences — participated, learning about the root causes of the housing crisis, debating radical solutions, and making newconnections which are the seeds for implementing these solutions.”

University members were among those who praised the conference. Sophie Terrett, a third-year undergraduate and member of the Oxford Tenants’ Union, told Cherwell that the protest was relevant to students, saying, “In a recent NUS survey, 50 per cent of Oxford students said that they had experienced delays by their landlord when in need of house repairs and 20 per cent have experienced an animal infestation in their accommodation. This is clearly unacceptable and reflects a wider problem with student housing in Oxford and beyond.”

Danny Dorling, Oxford Professor of Human Geography, also took part in the conference, leading a presentation on inequality and the housing crisis. He told Cherwell, “In most of the country, many housing problems can be solved, given the housing stock that currently exists, by using it more efficiently, as we used to use it. However in Oxford, and especially nearby in London, there simply is not enough housing for the population any more.”

Highlighting the structural problems that this causes in the community, he added that the “lack of housing makes it hard to run universities, hospitals and local businesses”.

The protest comes as part of an ongoing debate over housing in Oxford, with a recent study showing that this is the most expensive place to buy a house in the UK, with property costing on average eleven times the salary of the average Oxford worker.

On average, homes in British cities now cost 5.8 times the typical local salary, while the price of an average property in Oxford has risen t0 £340,864, according to a recent study by Lloyds Bank.

OUSU Council has voted to provide £200 of funding for transportation to a Free Education protest scheduled for Wednesday 19th November in central London. The vote took place on Wednesday night amongst much confusion with both the debate and the voting mired in procedural issues.

The original motion, proposed by OUSU Disabled Students Officer James Elliott and seconded by OUSU Access and Admissions Officer Annie Teriba, called for OUSU “to support free education as a policy and the NUS campaign against fees and debt”, as well as to provide financial and organisational support.

However, OUSU Council only agreed to provide the financial and organisational resources requested, voting to delay debating Free Education as OUSU policy until a vote in 3rd week. The decision followed complaints from several JCR Presidents that they had not been given enough notice about the motion to consult students on the issue.

The version of the motion passed at OUSU Council requires OUSU to organise subsidised transport from Oxford to the demonstration and to sell tickets for it. The planned protest was first called by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), and has since gained support from the National Executive Council of the NUS, the Student Assembly Against Austerity, the Young Greens, as well as a number of universities including Manchester, Sussex, Brighton, Royal Holloway, Sheffield and Aberdeen. However, other student groups, such as Labour Students, have said that they will not be supporting the protest.

Speaking about the motion, James Elliott, who is also a member of the National Executive Council of the NUS, told Cherwell, “I’m delighted the vote passed, and that OUSU is standing up for students in the fight for free education. While some argued we should have sat on our hands and done nothing, I encourage those who think education is about more than profit to join us on the demonstration.”

OUSU VP for Academic Affairs James Blythe, referring to the division of the motion over various meetings, commented, “I’m glad Council decided to spend its money to allow students who are passionate about their cause to demonstrate and be part of a significant, nationwide student movement. That is totally separate from the setting of OUSU policy on education funding, which we’ll be debating in 3rd week. I look forward to that discussion in Council. All those involved are committed to having a constructive, open and respectful debate.”

The motion, which follows the postponement of cuts to the Disabled Student Allowance and the student loan book sell-off, referenced the total abolition of tuition fees in Germany earlier this month. The debate over free education at OUSU Council also comes after comments by Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Andrew Hamilton in October 2013, which suggested tuition fees should be raised to up to £16,000 per year.

However, the passing of the Free Education motion was marred by disorder when, following an initial debate, voting on whether to adopt Free Education policy was moved to 3rd week, after a procedural motion. This delaying motion was initially declared to have passed after a majority voted in favour, with a large group of primarily pro-voters leaving the meeting shortly afterwards.

However, after many of the voters had left, the chair realised that the procedural motion vote had been wrongly conducted.

A revote thus occurred, with some college representatives missing. A period of confusion then followed and the motion was eventually voted on in parts, with the decision of OUSU to fund and organise the protest transport passing 32 to 15, with 7 abstentions.

Former Chair of OUSU Council Jack Matthews commented, “Wednesday’s Council was a complete farce. Putting aside the failures leading up to Council, which restricted Reps’ ability to consult Common Rooms on this most important of issues, the meeting itself descended into chaos. Members were left confused and frustrated — at one point several people left having been incorrectly led to believe the meeting had finished. There was a complete lack of leadership and guidance from the Chair.

“The first Council of the year is always full of first time attendees — I fear their experience on Wednesday will not inspire them to return and participate. Council has to be accessible and understandable, and instil confidence that the system works. I question whether the current Chair has the ability to deliver this.”

Hertford JCR President Josh Platt added, “Myself and some other JCR presidents were very concerned that we had not been allowed any time to consult our Common Rooms on such an important issue as free education. The agenda for the meeting was not sent round JCR presidents until late Wednesday morning, so there was no way we could have effectively represented the student opinion in our colleges. Now that the debate on the substantive part of the motion has been pushed back to 3rd Week, I’m looking forward to hearing the views of our student body on how education in this country should be funded.”

In response to concerns about how the meeting was run, Chair of OUSU Council Anna Bazley told Cherwell, “We take student feedback very seriously at OUSU Council and will take everything into account following the meeting last night.

“The complete agendas for all future councils will be sent out on the Friday before council to ensure that Presidents and Representatives are able to consult their Common Rooms beforehand. We will also ensure that all future councils have a projector to re-affirm our commitment to paperless Council and to enable any changes to motions or the agenda to be visible to all members of Council.

“Regarding the procedural motion, I apologise for the fact that due to a miscommunication, proper procedure wasn’t followed. Council processes are in place for a reason and I would like to apologise to anyone who was unable to vote or voice their opinion due to this mistake, and to anyone who felt alienated or confused by the lack of order that followed. I would invite anyone to attend third week council where the majority of the motion will be debated in full.”

The pledging of £200 of OUSU funding from the campaigns budget follows Balliol JCR on Sunday unanimously passing a similar motion to support the demonstration, which was amended to provide £100 in funding — double the original £50 requested by the motion.

Matriculation

• Matriculation and Matriculash, 18^th October– compulsory for all new students, Matriculation consists of a short ceremony by the Vice Chancellor in the Sheldonian, full subfusc required. Matriculash will take place in the evening, and your college will likely have organized a pub crawl for it

Drama

• The Oxford Imps, 13^th October- returning to Oxford after their annual show at the Edinburgh fringe, the Imps will be enlivening their usual venue The Wheatsheaf with entirely improvised comedy based on audience suggestions: light-hearted, fast-paced, and only £3.50 to watch
• The Furies, 15^th to 18^th October- performed just once every three years, Oxford’s Greek Play is a rare opportunity of experiencing classical drama in its original language – although the English subtitles will be helpful for most. This year Aeschylus’ The Furies, will be showing at the Playhouse, concluding the Oresteia trilogy with the tale of Orestes’ pursuit by the terrifying Furies in revenge for his murdering his own mother

Sport

• OURFC Blues v Nottingham, 14^th October- our Oxford University Rugby Football Club will take on Nottingham on home ground, playing at the Iffley Road sports centre
• Varsity Horse Race, 17^th October– the inaugural Varsity Horse Race, between Oxford and Cambridge, will take place at the end of the week. It will take place at the Newmarket Racecourse, near Cambridge, and tickets cost £10. Although far away the organizers will arrange transport for Oxford students wanting to support our Blues

Music

• Nick Mulvey, 12th October – pursuing a well-received solo career after his debut works with the Portico Quartet, folk and rock artist Nick Mulvey will be playing Oxford’s 02 Academy this Sunday, featuring songs from his Mercury Prize-nominated album. Tickets £12.50
• Anne-Sophie Mutter, 13th October– world-famous virtuoso violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will be joining the Oxford Philomusica orchestra in a rendition of Bruch’s 1st violin concerto that promises to be as technically masterful as it is emotionally stirring, followed by Tchaikovksy’s brooding 6th symphony.  Tickets start at £15. Earlier in the day, Anne-Sophie will be running a masterclass for real violin aficionados. Both events will take place in the Sheldonian Theatre

Political

• Jan Brewer, 14^th October- governor of Arizona, Brewer is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and takes a hard-line on illegal immigration. She will give a short talk at the Oxford Union and take questions after
• Nicky Morgan MP, 16^th October- Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, Nicky Morgan will host an informal women-only event, after which she will give an address open to all OUCA members. The event will take place in Christ Church
• No Confidence debate, 16^th October- the Oxford Union’s traditional No Confidence debate will take place this week, still open to non-members. Notable speakers will include Hilary Benn MP, Baroness Shirley William and  Alan Duncan MP
• Andrew Smith MP, 17^th October- the Oxford East MP, previously Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will be visiting OULC at Corpus Christi and answering questions from students. OULC’s fresher drinks will take place earlier in the week also at Corpus Christi, on the 14^th of October

 Nicky Morgan MP will visit OUCA on the 16th, before attending the No Confidence debate at the Union. Image: Flickr

Talks and academic

• Black History Month lecture, 14^th October- Esther Stanford-Xosei, an internationally acclaimed reparationist and radio broadcaster , will be speaking at Pembroke College on the topic of ‘Women’s contribution to the fight for equalities.’ Entry is free
• Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, 15^th October- executive chairman of google and the ex- Senior Vice-President for Google Products respectively, the two will come to the Oxford Union to discuss their new book, “How Google works”
• The Invention of Modern Science, 17^th October- a panel of speakers composed of Melvyn Bragg, the host of the In Our Time discussion series, Nobel prize winner Sir Paul Nurse, astrophysicist Joanna Dunkley and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy will gather in the Sheldonian to give some lectures. Entry is free but booking is required  

Art

• Ai Wei Wei exibition, all week– in an ongoing exhibition, Blenheim palace has on display an inspirational collection of Ai Wei Wei’s latest works in a variety of media, including photography, textiles, pottery, woodwork (in the form of a table made from wood reclaimed from temples dating to the Quing dynasty) and metalwork. This is a chance to experience the work of one of the most influential cultural figures of this century in beautiful surroundings

Town

• Oxford Beer Festival, 16th to 18th October – Oxford Town Hall will host the 17^th annual Beer Festival featuring, among a huge selection of others, 140 varieties of real ale. £2 admission, with beer paid for at the bar using tokens bought at the festival

 Societies

• Fresher drinks, all week – Many societies will host freshers’ drinks or welcome events this week, so check your emails if you signed up at freshers’ fair. Alternatively most events will have been publicized on society websites and facebook. In particular be sure to make it to Cherwell freshers’ drinks, Monday at Worcester

The preview for 2^nd week will appear on Saturday the 18^th. If you would like to bring an event to our attention for possible inclusion, please get in touch with [email protected]. If you would like more details about any mentioned event, please also get in touch