According to recent Oxford Mail Reports, given the recent flooding problems in Oxford, significant progress was made this week after a first offer of funding was made to contribute towards the £125m project to build a flood relief channel in the city.

The Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee supported the Western Conveyance scheme at a meeting in Wandsworth. They put aside £12m for the project and have recommended that it be included in a six-year flood relief scheme set of plans. This funding comes from a local levy made to all the different organisations forming the committee.

The committee is designed to manage flood risk and is made up of representatives of organisations from areas across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, London and Hertfordshire. It is in a similar position to other committees across the country bidding to the Environmental Agency (EA) for project funding for other flood defence schemes. The EA previously said a further £30-£50m could be released for this scheme from the government on top of the £12m from the committee, subject to minister approval.

The scheme has attracted comments from a range of local MPs.

Bob Price, the leader of Oxford City Council, said that this marked the first of many financial commitments towards the project saying that, “over 100 homes and businesses were affected financially and domestically by the flooding.

“The Council is implementing the Government’s compensation scheme with supple tray funding, if required, from the flooding contingency that was included in the 14/15 Council budget.”

He further commented that, “This is a very important first step. It means that this is now a priority scheme which will lead to significant improvements.”

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood said, “It is great news that the committee has backed local residents and businesses and agreed with us that the scheme must go ahead. This is only the first hurdle we need to overcome but this decision sends a strong message to the EA, to the Government, to local authorities and other funders that this is the right flood defence project for Oxford and Abingdon and it is the time to commit to funding it.”

Andrew Smith, Oxford East’s MP highlighted that, “It is very good news and it is a further very welcome and necessary step. Obviously more money is needed and all the dominoes need to be in line for it to happen, but this is an extremely important one.”

This scheme comes to the relief of many who were faced with the wettest month since records began in January, according to Oxford University’s Radcliffe Meteorological Station. Many people across Oxford and Abingdon saw river levels rise, resulting in closed off roads and cancelled rowing fixtures.

One student at New College commented that, “The floods caused so much inconvenience for me in terms of my sporting commitments to rowing, so I am glad that measures are being put into place to ensure constant safe river levels.”

Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain visited Oxford last Tuesday as part of the celebrations commemorating the 700th anniversary of Exeter College.

Queen Sofia is an honorary fellow of Exeter College and the patron of the Queen Sofía Junior Fellowship, established to fund scholarship into contemporary Spanish literature and culture at the college. Exeter is also home to the King Alfonso XIII Professorship of Spanish Literature, established in 1927.

The Queen attended a colloquium on Spanish literature and its study in the University of Oxford, which was first cemented with the establishment of the School of Modern Languages in Oxford in 1905. At the colloquium, which was held at the Taylorian Institution, speeches were delivered by the current holder of the King Alfonso XIII Professorship, Professor Edwin Williamson, holder of the current Queen Sofia Junior Fellowship, Dr Daniela Olmor, and three students; Artem Serebrennikov, a DPhil student, as well as undergraduates Matt Stokes and Daisy Thompson. Each spoke about their personal experiences in the study of Spanish as well as their individual research interests in the field.

In a speech given during a formal lunch afterward at Exeter’s hall, Queen Sofia gave a brief speech in which he said, “I am truly happy to join you for the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of Exeter College, an august institution which throughout its history has contributed to the development of society through its remarkable educational vocation and its excellent academic achievement.

“Spain shares in the joy of this commemoration, not only because the Chair of Spanish Studies which, since 1927, has borne the name of King Alfonso XIII, but also because your university is one of the leading centres for teaching and studying Spanish, one of the world’s great languages, together with English.”

Her Majesty was then taken on a tour of the college gardens by college rector Frances Cairncross, during which Queen Sofia was introduced to Spanish students from the college.

Queen Sofia, who was born into the Greek Royal family in 1938, married the current King of Spain, Juan Carlos in 1962. She studied at Athens University before spending time at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge.

OUSU Council voted to cancel the Safety Bus on Wednesday night. The motion, supported by OUSU Council stated that it believed the current Safety Bus service was inadequate and failing Oxford University students.

The Safety Bus service is run in partnership with the Oxford Brookes University Students’ Union, and costs OUSU £12,000 per year to run. The service provides a safe means of transport for students late at night.
However, no information is available about the number of Oxford University students that use the bus, despite OUSU repeatedly asking Brookes Union to collect the information.

A survey conducted two years ago, by the then OUSU Vice-President for Charities and Community, found that 70% of respondents had never used the bus during their time at Oxford University, while 20% had used it once and 10% had used it more than once. The average waiting time for the bus was found to be 16 minutes, with 17% of users having to wait more than 20 minutes for the service. A small number of users who had used the service found the volunteers “confrontational”.

The Safety Bus is run with the help of student volunteers from Oxford Brookes who are given training by Brookes Union. However, one of the key concerns raised was that volunteers are not asked to sign any form of contract or agreement regarding their expected conduct.

Another concern with the service is that it does not run for 25% of the full Oxford University term. In Trinity term of 2012, OUSU Council mandated the Vice-President for Charities and Community to ensure that the Safety Bus runs the duration of the Oxford University term.

The Current OUSU VP for Charities and Community, Daniel Tomlinson, told Cherwell, “Recently, I have been in discussions with Brookes about the Safety Bus and it became clear that they were not able to require the volunteers on the bus to sign codes of conduct for their behaviour, about which we have had concerns. They also won’t look into or keep a record of the number of University of Oxford students that use the bus.

“OUSU now has £12,000 to spend on an improved safety scheme, or other things that students think are important. I’ve been mandated to report back to students before the end of term on progress of finding an alternative, and I’ve already started speaking with local taxi companies and Common Room Presidents about potential alternative schemes.”

In the debate on the motion, concerns were raised that bus and taxi companies might be reluctant to transport students who were seriously drunk. However, a lack of willingness to reform the current service led to the Council voting to cancel the bus.

A first year historian said, “Without the safety bus, I don’t know how I could’ve got a member of my college home one night. They were helpful, and knew what they were doing.”

Students at Hertford College were left with ringing in their ears after a mishap with the college’s fire detection system caused alarms to sound continuously for nearly two hours, disturbing students until after midnight last Sunday.

The sirens were first activated at around half past nine on Sunday morning on Hertford’s two residential quads, which house first years and some finalists. Students sheltered from the morning drizzle in staircase porches before being told by porters that the alarm would likely be ringing for up to an hour, awaiting the arrival of an electrician.

An email sent to students from the Home Bursar on Sunday morning offered apologies for the disruption and stated, “As you might be able to hear, we’ve suffered a fairly serious issue with the fire detection system on the main site this morning. We are trying to correct it ASAP, but are awaiting specialist engineers.”

Florence Kettle, a first year studying English, noted the disastrous timing of the disturbance. She said, “Hertford students put in an excellent showing at the Purple Turtle on Saturday night, and this brutal disturbance of the required Sunday morning recovery period is very serious indeed.”

Though the alarms had stopped ringing by mid-morning, students were again forced to vacate their rooms at around quarter past eleven that evening as the electrical error, thought to have been fixed, persisted.

A fire engine was spotted outside the college and students also took shelter in the college library or in the nearby King’s Arms as the sirens sounded for a further hour. There were reports of students attempting to sleep in corridors to escape the noise of the powerful alarms installed in their bedrooms.

Another fresher, who did not wish to be named, expressed despair as the fiasco disrupted his meticulous study regime, complaining, “When are we supposed to write our vacation essays if Hertford sounds like it’s preparing for a nuclear apocalypse all night on Sunday of 0th week? It’s outrageous.”

A spokesperson for Hertford College told Cherwell, “The college has systematically updated its fire detection systems over the past few years, across both its residential and non-residential portfolio. With over 500 bedrooms, and in excess of 600 fire detectors, we have occasional failures, and they are usually addressed quickly. Such repairs take longer outside of ordinary working hours, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Candidates husted for forty minutes, before the start of OUSU Council, on Wednesday night. The hustings took place in Magdalen College’s auditorium. A motion to arrange the hustings was approved unanimously at 7th Week OUSU Council of Hilary term.

Each party had one candidate to represent them in the husting, with the candidates present all contesting wards containing at least one Oxford college. Candidates representing the Conservatives, the Greens, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Monster Raving Loony Party were all present. Issues discussed included the Oxford Covered Market, immigration and whether the candidates would commit to tackling violence against women.

Elections for the City Council are taking place on Thursday 22nd May 2014 from 7am-10pm (4th Week of Trinity term), with half of the city’s 48 councillors up for re-election across 24 City Council wards.The majority of students live in the Carfax and Holywell wards, which encompass the entire city centre from the Magdalen Bridge until St Giles divides.

Dan Tomlinson, OUSU Vice-President for Charities and Community, who organised the hustings commented, “With half of Oxford City’s Councillors up for election, OUSU Council decided it would be a good idea to hold hustings to find out more about the local issues and the candidates running.”

“There were heated discussions on some local policy areas including the management of the Oxford Covered Market, decision making on the County Council’s homelessness cuts and the City Council’s current policies affecting student housing in Oxford.”

“Students have more power when they vote, and even registering to vote can make politicians more likely to take our concerns into account. We have until May 6th to register, students can visit the electoral commission website for more information”

Following an open extraordinary Standing Committee Meeting held at 16.30 this afternoon, the Committee voted to withdraw a controversial motion passed on Monday, which agreed to cover £1,000 + VAT legal expenses for the Oxford Union President, Ben Sullivan. 

The original decision to cover the President’s legal fees was passed by a Vacation Standing Committee meeting last month, following an article published by the Oxford Tab which contained allegations which Ben Sullivan considerered “demonstrably false”. This decision was then ratified at the committee meeting held this Monday, where the motion was passed in camera by a vote of nine against two. 

Today’s decision to overturn the motion covering the President’s legal expenses followed the presentation of a Special Adjournment Motion — signed by 39 members — calling for the issue to be discussed openly in the Union chamber on Thursday evening. 

The meeting, which was overseen by the Senior librarian, Senior Treasurer and the Union Bursar, was also attended by members of the student press as well as prominent Oxford Union members, among them last term’s President Polina Ivanova, former Returning Officer Joshua Atkinson and President-elect Mayank Banerjee. 

At the meeting, Ben Sullivan admitted to members that he had “made a mistake” by allowing the motion to pass on Monday. Speaking to Cherwell he said, “the Standing Committee made the decision to withdraw the expenses claim this afternoon in response to opposition from a number of Union members. We stand by the fact that, in principle, covering these expenses is something the Union should be able to do, but the standing committee is always happy to listen to members’ concerns”. 

Today’s decision to withdraw Monday’s motion was passed with only three votes against, in a heated meeting held in the President’s office. The original motion to cover the President’s legal expenses was passed by a margin of nine votes to two. 

The Special Adjournment Motion was proposed under Rule 45h of the Union’s Rule book, which claims that “Any decision by any Committee … may be reversed by the House by means of a Special Adjournment Motion, signed by at least 30 Members, notice of which must be given to the President in writing at least 50 hours before the time of moving.”

However, some members expressed concerns at the meeting that the Standing Committee are not entitled under the Rules to withdraw the original motion before it has been openly discussed by the house. 

According to the Rules, “Any decision by any Committee which is challenged by means of an Adjournment Motion under this Rule of which notice is given within 24 hours (excluding Sundays) of such publication shall be suspended from operation until such time as the Motion has been discussed by the House. No Member may withdraw a Special Adjournment Motion moved under this section after notice has been given.” (Emphasis ours)

Speaking after the meeting, an anonymous member of the Union claimed that “Ben Sullivan effectively abused his office and used his position of power to interpret Rule 45h in his favour. He packed out the Standing Committee meeting with people on his slate and former allies in order to break the rule and reject the motion that was backed by over 30 Oxford Union members.

“The Union at the moment is not a healthy working environment, with committee members being targeted for their moral principles” 

This criticism was challenged at the meeting by the President and members of the Standing Committee, who claimed that once the original expenses claim was withdrawn, the Special Adjournment Motion did not need to be discussed by the House. However, they stressed that any member is free to open a public discussion by following the appropriate procedures.