Two St Hugh’s students caused controversy after ‘blacking up’ at a bop last Saturday.

The bop theme was ‘Song Titles’, and the students – both freshers – arrived dressed as ‘Ni**as in Paris’, after the Kanye West and Jay-Z song. Their costumes included ‘blacked up’ faces and signs around their necks saying ‘In Paris’.

The bop took place on Saturday 20th April. Cherwell understands that after another student advised them to remove the outfits, one did so, while the other remained in costume.

One of the students told Cherwell, “I would like to express my sincere regret for my actions. In hindsight I see that what I did was wholly unacceptable and a terrible misjudgment on my part. My intention was never to offend and I am deeply sorry for the upset caused.”

The other student also apologised, stating, “I am extremely sorry for my actions. I realise now that it was completely inappropriate and I had no intention of being derogatory or offensive.

“I did not consider the consequences of my actions and I thoroughly regret any offence caused. As soon as it was expressed that my actions were inappropriate I proceeded to remove the face paint.”

St Hugh’s JCR are carrying out an inquiry into the incident. Thomas Pope, JCR President, told Cherwell, “St Hugh’s JCR condemns racism in all its forms.”
Pope described the costume choice as arrising from “a severe lack of judgement”.

Several students criticised the costumes. Melvin Mezue, President of Oxford Africa Society, opined to Cherwell that he didn’t, “find [the costumes] offensive personally.” Nevertheless, he continued, “While I do not think this was motivated by hatred…I do worry about the lack of cultural sensitivity and emotional maturity displayed here.

“Our experience is that such acts are not uncommon around the university; it is likely a product of the way students are taught to imagine other cultures – as foreign objects and topics for consumption.”

Mezue said that the university intake needed to “properly reflect the contemporary cosmopolitan era” and that he “feared we can continue to expect this kind of behaviour.”

Oxford University rejected criticism of Oxford’s alleged lack of diversity. A spokesperson stated, “The University strongly condemns any form of racism, or any action – whatever the intent – which is potentially detrimental to good race relations.

“The University’s aim is to provide an inclusive environment which promotes equality and values diversity, and we believe that the overwhelming majority of students and staff share this aim and these values.”

The spokesperson continued, “We refute in the strongest terms the allegation that Oxford students are ‘taught to imagine other cultures as foreign objects and topics for consumption’. Oxford has a global reputation for its advancement of the understanding of other cultures.

“It is also one of the most international universities in the world, with staff and students coming from over 140 countries.”

The incident comes after Oxford University was accused of “institutional bias” by Labour MP David Lammy in February. Lammy’s comments responded to a Guardian investigation which reported that ethnic minority applicants were less likely to recieve an offer.

The Guardian found that in 2010-2011, 25.7% of white applicants received an Oxford offer, compared with 17.2% of students from ethnic minorities.

David Cameron has also previously criticised Oxford’s admissions records. In 2011, he branded the university “disgraceful” for apparently admitting only one black candidate. The University responded by branding the allegation “incorrect and highly misleading.”

Katie Colliver, OUSU VP for Welfare ands Equal Opportunity, said that the two students “should consider attending OUSU’s Equality and Diversity Training”, which is run termly.She condemned the choice of costumes, stating, “‘Blacking up’ for a bop is incredibly culturally insensitive.”

One St Hugh’s student, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he “knows both people involved” and defended them as “not racists, not even in the slightest — they are just very young and very immature.

“Obviously had they thought at length and with sensitivity then they would not have dressed as they did.”

Nathalie Cooper, a second year History student, opined, “What I find most upsetting is that [one of the students] was told it was insulting so she knowingly caused offence – she can’t claim what she did was out of ignorance”.

A motion was proposed at Balliol this week to buy the Iron Throne featured in the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones”.

The “Motion of Thrones” was originally put forward by Angus Hawkins and Josh Jones. The two JCR committee members’ motion argued that the JCR needed the throne because “Balliol College JCR currently lacks authority in the realm of Westeros” and “an Iron Throne can be purchased for only USD $30,000, with free delivery.”

However, after intense discussion, the motion was defeated due to concerns over the effect it would have on the JCR’s finances.

Hawkins told Cherwell, “Frankly, I’m shocked that it didn’t pass. I’m inclined to blame my co-sponsor Josh Jones, who betrayed me at the last minute and voted against the motion, in much the same way that the Mad King was betrayed by the Kingslayer, Jaimie Lannister. I subsequently removed his right hand in retribution.”

However, Jones argued in response “As important as I think it is for the JCR to own the Iron Throne, I will only ever pay the Iron price. As such, buying it using JCR funds would be against my Ironborn beliefs.”
The motion also sought to increase the power of Balliol’s JCR President, Alex Bartram.

In the wording of the motion, Bartam is referred to as “Alex of House Bartram, the first of his name”. Hawkins and Jones suggested “that strong Presidential authority is essential to orderly GMs” and that “The Iron Throne confers such authority.”

They further stated in the motion that Bartram was a far superior contender to the Iron Throne than Joffrey Baratheon.

There were mixed responses to the motion within Balliol’s JCR. Rebecca Hannon, a Balliol Game of Thrones fan, opined, “Although I would have loved to have seen the soughtafter Iron Throne of Westeros residing in Balliol, it was a lot of money so I can see why it wasn’t to be.”

The motion also contained a clause whereby a seven inch replica of the throne, costing £34.99 would be bought instead, if the JCR thought the life size throne too expensive. It was suggested by Hawkins and Jones that a smaller model “confers much the same advantages”.

However Richard May, a committee member of the JCR told Cherwell, “The motion said that the committee could buy the 7 inch replica instead if they judged the $30k one too expensive, but someone pointed out that it would be unconstitutional for the committee to overrule the JCR like that, so if it passed we’d HAVE to buy the $30k one.”

At the time of print $30, 000 is equal to just under £20,000.
Despite the expense many of the students supported the motion.

Richard further opined, “Half of us thought it would be hilarious, and the treasurer supported it too. But enough people were boring and sensible to kill it.”

Although the throne featured in the series is meant to be made out of swords, the replica version is made out of fiberglass. The HBO website boasts that it is seven feet tall and that “calling it ‘impressive’ in an understatement”.

The GM motion also said, “Winter is coming” and “Where are my dragons”.

A new report has found “a definite underlying subtext of racism” in British universities, according to its author, Dr Kalwant Bhopal, reader in education at the University of Southampton.

The paper, due to be published June, found that an overwhelming number of academics considered race to be the biggest barrier to career progression.

She said, “Speaking 20 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence I am surprised at how little progress has been made. There are signs of improvement, but we are progressing in small steps.”

She continued: “The statistics show that most ethnic minority academics are concentrated in post-1992 universities. But the problem of racism is widespread; it is not only confined to Russell Group or elite universities”.

Of the 65 individuals surveyed, only two had reported that they considered gender a greater barrier than race to career progression, both of whom were from a mixed race background. It is thought that only one university in Britain – Liverpool Hope – has a Chancellor from an ethnic minority group.

However, Bhopal said that her research had found that ethnic minority academics not only felt excluded from career progression, but discriminated against through more subtle means. She said that many of those surveyed reported that the body language or lack of eye contact of their colleagues had left them feeling excluded.

“One of the individuals I interviewed recounted that some people were surprised to find that she was black after speaking over the phone”, she said. “Such forms of racism are very hard to prove”.

A spokesperson for Oxford university told Cherwell, “We do recognize that black and other minority groups are under-represented at most academic levels. However, this is also true across most leading universities, higher education in general and in many other sectors

“The overall proportion of Oxford University academic staff declaring themselves as black and minority ethnic is 6.3%, which compares with national figures for academic staff of 6.7%. 7% of the UK labour force identify themselves as BME”.

In 2005, an internal Oxford report found serious failings in attracting minority candidates to administrative positions at Oxford, and recommended immediate action.

However, Dapo Akande, a lecturer at St Peter’s College of African ethnicity, told Cherwell “I have worked in several universities in the UK and the US and have found each of them to be pleasant environments to work in. I would not say that race or racial discrimination has been a barrier to career progression in my case.”

In recent months the university has undertaken a comprehensive audit of ethnic minority staff. The university also said that it reviews its Race Equality Policy on an annual basis, and has sufficient measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of its staff.

Ibaad Aleem, a British-Pakistani student studying at Hertford College commented: “I wouldn’t think anyone would find race a deterrent from academia in the modern world”. He added: “Personally I don’t really think about the race of the people around me”.