Merton college has threatened to reduce the length of college BOPs if the students continue to break college rules by holding ‘inter-BOPs’.

The college issued the warning after the recent spate of ambulance calls to BOPs, linked to excessive drinking. It is thought that the Merton practice of ‘inter-BOPs’ had been a major factor in this.

Oliver Koo, Merton’s Charity Rep, explained, “Merton holds pre-BOPs before the BOP itself: one in the MCR and one in the JCR. These pre-BOPs are sponsored by the respective common rooms (free drinks are provided) and are a nice way for people to mingle and get in the right mood for the BOP.
“The JCR pre-BOP tends to end around 10:30… However, most Mertonians don’t end up going to the BOP till around 12am.

“In between pre-BOPs and the BOP itself, people tend to ‘inter-BOP’. Basically, this amounts to friends congregating in someone’s room, listening to music, playing drinking games etc.”

As a result, the college was concerned with people’s safety and threatened to reduce the time of the BOPs from 2am to 1am or 12pm unless this behaviour stopped.

In accordance with the college handbook any group of 10 or more people is classed as a party and must be authorised. Before the most recent BOP on Saturday night, the JCR sent out an email explaining that porters would be on patrol ready to shut down any interbops and fine those involved. Bouncers had been instructed not to let anyone in if they were too drunk.

Welfare Rep, John Brazier, commented on student reactions to this, “Obviously any perceived attempt to make BOPs less alcoholic is going to be met with negative student reactions.

“Being unable to stop students from legally drinking under uncontrolled circumstances, they instead crack down on unofficial gatherings; most of which have been regular events all year.”

However, he further noted, “I think it’s important to understand that what the College is doing is neither the end of BOPs, nor a real change of the rules in place. The rules were already there, they were just little enforced. The fact that the College sought first to warn, and didn’t simply have a crackdown, is highly telling; what matters to them is the appearance of the College and, ultimately, student safety and I think that we can all agree that its safer to have people enjoying themselves in a controlled environment.

Oliver Koo said, “I think this past BOP went extremely well, in spite of the negative attention surrounding it: attendance was high and there was a great atmosphere at both pre-BOPs and the BOP itself, no doubt a product of people spending more time together in the JCR/MCR, and not sequestering themselves in student rooms for a couple of hours for inter-BOP.

“No ambulances were called, so that’s always a plus!”

Keble students have been warned to remain vigilant after intruders broke in and stole a valuable candlestick from the college chapel in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The theft was accompanied by a noise disturbance as the intruders reportedly tried to open several doors of second year students, before promptly leaving the site.

The large candlestick, described by the college as a “very valuable item”, had been on display in front of the college chapel’s war memorial.

After the theft, the candlestick was subsequently found and returned to the college in what Senior Dean Stephen Payne described as a “seriously damaged condition”.

At present, both Payne and college Chaplain Jennifer Strawbridge have refused to comment further on the incident as investigations are still currently underway. However, in an email sent around the college on Friday, the Dean described the theft as one of “several incidents in college” in the early hours of Thursday morning. Payne was also thankful that “no-one was hurt”, as the college continues to treat the situation as a serious breach of security.

Much of the student body remains in the dark about the theft of the candle. JCR member Andrew Hall commented that “the student body in general (myself included) does not really seem to know what happened”, only informing Cherwell that the candle was “returned the next day”.

The college and its members have, however, flatly refused the notion that its own students were involved.

The incident has not yet been traced to any disturbance from within college. Keble rowing captain Paolo Spingardi explained, “That night the rowers didn’t have a crewdate going on,” explaining that the Keble crewdates that took place last week happened on Thursday evening, not Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of his rowers, Spingardi continued, “I am certain that none of them would have stolen a candlestick from church.”

Spingardi also shared the shock and confusion of his fellow Keble students, agreeing that “this was an awful and sickening event and I struggle to think who would think this was ever a good idea.”

Keble JCR president Sean Ford was quick to quash any suggestion that Keble students were involved, telling Cherwell that he was “almost certain” that it was someone from outside of the college.

Ford told Cherwell that at this point he didn’t think the police would be getting involved. However, the Dean has subsequently told students to take extra security measures. In his email to the college, he stated that “If any locks are not working properly, please report them as soon as possible”, and that “If you are propping or wedging doors open, please stop.”

The theft appears to be the subject of much rumour and speculation, and will continue to be so while the college’s investigation continues.

Oxford RAG has removed a video from its Facebook page, after accidentally posting a link to pornography.

As a fundraising activity to celebrate RAG Week the charity organised a burrito eating contest at ‘Mission Burrito’. Teams of five competed to complete the ‘Mission Burrito’ challenges with all money raised going to charity. In an attempt to promote this event, the RAG posted a YouTube video titled ‘Burrito Song [10 hours]’ on their Facebook page. It was captioned ‘In an attempt to find Burrito related entertainment on the internet, this cropped up… I don’t know how or why it exist, but there you go… You could be singing this next Thursday’. The video is ten hours of the Burrito Song, running on a continuous loop. Unknown to those who had posted it, after the three hour mark, the video becomes graphically pornographic for around ten minutes, as the caption appears ‘YOU’VE FOUND THE HIDDEN PORN!!!’. It has since been removed from RAG’s Facebook page.

Despite the site’s strictly anti-pornography policy, it has stayed on Youtube. It has garnered comments such as ‘FAP FAP FAP 3:19:40’ and ‘the nude girl btw nice tits but a little bit moore [sic]’. Another reads ‘Go to 3:19:40 kids! Coolest picture ever!!’, dubbing it ‘fappable’. Many have registered their appreciation with comments such as ‘Tits at 3:18 lloovvee it [sic]’. Some however were disappointed with the video, questioning ‘why the nipple so flat’. In response to the question of ‘what am I watching? A SHRIMP WITH A BURRITO!!!!!!!!’ the uploader replied ‘NO I ALSO PUT PORN IN IT SEE IF YOU CAN FIND IT LOL’.

It would appear that the RAG’s organising members are not the first people to mistakenly post such a video with one user commenting ‘whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt noooooooooooooooo( : go dam it [sic] now I have to take it down from fb’.

One of the Burrito eating competition’s organisers commented, “Unfortunately, it seems that in my search for a mildly titillating video about burritos, I instead stumbled upon tits. At lunch in college I was plugging the event, when someone in the conversation alerted me to the fact there was porn in the video, a few hours in.

“Obviously I didn’t believe it at first, thinking for a start that no one could possibly have survived that video for a few minutes, let alone a few hours, and that he could not have got so far into it. However, he explained that if you watched the video on YouTube itself rather than Facebook, the comments expressed a bizarre obsession with one small section of the video. So yeah, that was because of the porn.

“When I found out I was pretty shocked but could obviously see the funny side, and to be honest so have those on the RAG committee whom I have told. Apart from that one person who told me about the issue at lunch, there have been no comments so to be perfectly honest, I don’t think anyone else noticed. I suppose that in future I will check videos a bit more rigorously before posting them, but I think my naivety in this case wasn’t so unforgivable; I mean, who knew there was porn on the internet?”

The reaction from the student body has been mixed. One student commented, “That is honestly the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t understand what sort of person would have a children’s song on a continuous loop for ten hours then stick some pretty graphic porno in the middle.

“I feel bad for any kid who has watched it through. It’s fucking weird and makes no sense. Quite funny that the Oxford RAG didn’t realise what it was though but I doubt it’s been that big a deal for them.

“I mean who would actually watch the video through for three hours? It got annoying after ten seconds.”

Another mused that “The fact that people would find the porn at the three hours seventeen minutes mark means that they’d sat through three hours of it just to find the porn. And if they were willing to do that then they’d probably sit through for a further three hours to see if there was any more.”

Some students were adamant that this was not a big deal, with one commenting, “I don’t really know what all the fuss is about!”

The popular club night Fuzzy Ducks, which takes place every Wednesday at Wahoo, has attracted condemnation from members of the Oxford Activist Network after running the theme night ‘Country Estates and Council Estates’.

Alice Nutting, a member of the Oxford Activist Network and a former JCR equalities officer, told Cherwell, “Club nights like these breed a circus culture of casual snobbery. They play on cheap stereotypes, implicitly mocking people from low income backgrounds and ridiculing their supposed lifestyles. This is terrible from an access perspective and could easily alienate students at this university who are from council estates themselves.”

Nick Evans, a postgraduate student at Wadham and a member of the Oxford People’s Assembly and the Oxford Activist Network, also commented on the insensitivity of the event.

“This celebration of class division is especially offensive in a city dominated by an elite university, and yet in which twenty two percent of children live below the poverty line. In some areas nearly half of children live in poverty. This is set to get worse as we have just seen homeless support, adult social care and funding for children’s services slashed by the county council.”

The management of Wahoo nightclub stated, “All events, themes and content are discussed in advance and the Management team advise on the potential impact these may have with respects to the site specific and Mandatory Licensing Conditions.

“The theme ‘Country Estates and Council Estates’ is an established annual event that has been in operation for several years without cause for concern or complaint from the authorities and/or any other interested party. We will review its inclusion in the events calendar over the next academic year after your comments.”

“Please rest assured that neither Wahoo nor Fuzzy Ducks wish to cause offense or harm to any individual or demographic.”

Ukrainian students have expressed outrage over the attendance of Victor Pinchuk, a major financial supporter for ex-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, at an Oxford panel moderated by the University Chancellor.

On 14 March, St Antony’s College will play host to a panel discussion on Ukraine and its place in the world. Panellists will include former President of Poland Aleksander KwaÅ›niewski, Dr. Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and Victor Pinchuk, who is listed on the invitation as a “Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist”.

A group of Ukrainian students at Oxford who wished to remain anonymous due to security concerns have opposed Pinchuk’s attendance. The group cited his alleged financial support for the ex-president as making him an inappropriate and immoral speaker for an Oxford audience.

One student opined, “Many people in Ukraine think that if Pinchuk had used his connections earlier, this could have resulted in fewer or no people being killed in Kiev.” The student criticised the choice of Pinchuk to represent Ukraine at the panel, saying, “There are speakers from Ukraine, like the journalist Sergii Leshenko for instance, who would be more capable of defining the place of Ukraine in the world.”

The Ukrainian students added that they found it “very surprising that this controversy is not reflected at all in the speaker’s biography, provided along the event’s advertisement. Particularly, given the fact that the discussion will be moderated by the Chancellor”.

Pinchuk is a steel magnate estimated to be worth about £2.7 billion. He is married to the daughter of Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s former president. Pinchuk has a long-standing presence in the UK as a donor to Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. His philanthropic foundation also partially funds some Ukrainian students in Oxford through the World Wide Studies Programme.

The group of Ukrainian students opposing Pinchuk’s visit has the support of Oxford University Amnesty International. An Oxford Amnesty spokesperson commented, “We are concerned St Antony’s has chosen to invite Mr Pinchuk, a man heavily associated with corruption within Ukraine.” However, given his NGO’s focus on conciliation, the spokesperson added: “We look forward to hearing Mr Pinchuk’s comments and hope he joins us in calling for an end to the violence and a prompt investigation.”

Not all Ukrainian students oppose Pinchuk’s attendance at the panel. One commented, “Although Pinchuk is a shady oligarch I don’t see him as directly responsible for the bloodshed in Kiev. Having him at the discussion is rather a nice opportunity to question him.”

Pavlo Smytsnyuk, a Ukrainian student at Campion Hall, has even questioned whether or not Pinchuk can be condemned as a sponsor of Yanukovych’s regime. He commented, “Generally, people in Ukraine believe there’s no Ukrainian oligarch who’s immune to corruption, and I don’t think Pinchuk is an exception. However, the TV channels under his influence were showing the events on the Euromaidan live and objectively enough.”

Pinchuk was among the first oligarchs to officially support the anti-government demonstrators in December and published an article in the Financial Times earlier this week expressing his admiration for ongoing popular protest in Ukraine. In recent months, Pinchuk has appeared to distance himself from Yanukovych as the former regime became increasingly repressive.

St. Antony’s has defended its choice of Pinchuk as a panellist. A College spokesperson stated, “This event was first arranged at the start of last term in relation to the Vilnius summit and its significance for Ukrainian-European relations. Mr Pinchuk was behind the formation of the Yalta European Strategy in 2004, which is aimed at promoting public dialogue between Ukraine and the European Union. Through his involvement in this initiative, the College was able to put together a panel of speakers who have been concerned about the question of Ukrainian EU integration for many years.”

Pinchuk appears to have been aware of the potential for controversy in his appearance.“Mr. Pinchuk was actually first very sceptical about the panel and St. Antony’s had to try hard to convince him”, a spokesperson from the Pinchuk Foundation told Cherwell, adding, “It was Doug Schoen and Anders Aslund, both St. Antony’s alumni, who were asked to endorse the invitation and persuade him.”

Both St Antony’s alumni who endorsed the panel’s choice have close connections to Pinchuk. Schoen is currently one of his advisors, while Aslund works as an expert at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, on whose the board Pinchuk has been for many years.

Speaking to Cherwell, Schoen stressed the intention behind the invitation of the controversial business leader. “Mr Pinchuk was invited because of his position as a leading Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist in light of the on-going political and economic crisis,” Schoen said.

The Ukrainian student group is nevertheless resolute to protest near St. Antony’s during the 14 March panel discussion.

They also have plans to write a letter to Chancellor Lord Christopher Patten in order to highlight the controversy surrounding Pinchuk and air their concerns amidst ongoing upheaval in Ukraine.

The Chancellor was not available for comment regarding his moderation of the panel.

A series of pidge thefts at St Hugh’s has put students and staff on alert over the past week. Multiple instances have seen items being stolen from pidges and people’s belongings going missing in college.

Venkat Kondragunta, the college’s JCR President, told Cherwell, “There has been a small increase in the past few weeks of informal, word-of-mouth complaints about students’ personal belongings going missing in college. This is obviously unacceptable if it turns out to be more than just ‘they used some of my milk for a cup of tea’.

“We have set up a formal procedure of reporting such incidences in the hope of gauging the extent of the issue.” Kondragunta added that the JCR is currently liaising with college staff to prevent further thefts.

The Swan, the St Hugh’s JCR newspaper, has run an announcement informing students of the procedure for reporting thefts.

In a statement to Cherwell, a spokesperson for St Hugh’s said, “As a community we take any report of theft seriously, and the College, JCR and MCR work closely together to investigate and resolve any such reports.”

Theodora Bradbury, a student at St Hugh’s, stated, “The general feeling in the JCR is disgruntlement; we have had quite a bit of food theft as well recently so people are a bit upset.

“That said,” she continued, “as the Vice President said that only one person has officially reported a theft to her so far, and between the lack of reporting and difficulty of knowing whether something’s been taken from your pidge or just got lost in the post, it’s uncertain as to whether we can really take useful action to deal with the issue.”

St Hugh’s has previously experienced some petty theft. Large amounts of food were stolen from the residence’s kitchens in Michaelmas, term which led to intervention from the college.

Three Oxford University chaplains have signed an open letter in protest against recent guidance from the Church of England that banned all clergy from officiating same sex marriages.

The letter was written by Durham University’s Reverend Dr Hannah Cleugh and signed by 45 other clergymen under the age of 40. It argues that this guidance will widen the disconnect between the Church of England’s official position and the views of its members, and reinforce an image of the Church as a “toxic brand”.

The Pastoral Guidance note, which banned same-sex marriages in the clergy, was published by the House of Bishops, one of the three houses of the General Synod, which is the decision-making body of the Church of England. The note stated, “It would not be appropriate conduct for someone in holy orders to enter into a same sex marriage, given the need for clergy to model the Church’s teaching in their lives.”

Alongside heated pastoral debate, two Oxford academics have written a letter to The Telegraph, objecting to the premise stated in the note that “There will, for the first time, be a divergence between the… definition of marriage in England as enshrined in law and the doctrine of marriage held by the Church of England.”

Hannah Cleugh, Chaplain of University College, Durham, told Cherwell, “Obviously, it’s not true that only liberal churches grow – conservative churches and traditional, Catholic churches can be very popular with young people in Oxford. What makes a difference is the teaching and preaching and how welcoming the church community is. The Pastoral Guidance note is clearly a restatement of the Church of England’s existing position. However, following a recent report commissioned by the church, it has committed itself to a process of conversations across the Anglican Communion. The timing of this announcement is therefore unfortunate, and seems to be preempting some of these conversations.”

Andrew Allen, Chaplain at Exeter College, is among the clergy who signed the open letter protesting the new guidance. He pointed out the role of the Church in life at secular institutions like Oxford where chaplains are often students’ first port of call for welfare.

“The Church should remember that secular colleges choose to employ Chaplains and it seems that the Church has lost its lead on issues of morality and ethics,” he stated. “The point of Jesus Christ is that God comes to earth to meet people where they are in their lives; whilst some students may struggle with their own sexuality, many do not see this as an issue that the church should be concerned with.

“At Exeter we have a thriving Chapel community, not all who ‘sign up’, but who value what the gospel has to offer and the Church’s guidance on sexuality seems to run contrary to their experiences of religion and faith. Historically the University has often been at odds with the Church, and it is my hope that we will continue to challenge some of the views of the Church.”

Daniel Inman, Chaplain at Queen’s, said, “Although the Church is still in the early stages of rethinking its approach to gay couples, the new Church guidance was a document that gave us the sort of legalese that Jesus regularly mocked during his ministry at a time when we desperately needed to find ways of communicating that love and commitment are actually rather good things. I hope that changes soon, as the very peculiar limits that are currently set upon who can be blessed in our college chapels will surely become deeply problematic for Christian life here in the long term.

“If we’re willing to bless a Royal Navy battleship, why not a same-sex couple who are promising to cherish each other and be faithful to each other for as long as they both shall live?”

Anna Appleby, a Christian from St. Hilda’s identifies as LGBTQ+ and founded the Oxford students’ group ‘Faith and Diversity’, which focuses on issues such as the relationship between Christianity and sexuality. She said, “I believe God calls diverse people to the priesthood and therefore it is not up to the House of Bishops to assume who God might or might not call, or to deprive the Church community of LGBTQ+ people’s gifts and experience.”

However, one first year historian said, “For me, this is an issue of logical consistency. The Church of England isn’t legally allowed to conduct same-sex marriages. If its clergy can have same-sex marriages but not conduct them, it’s one rule for them and another for the laity.”