Students at Brasenose received a mass e-mail Thursday evening advising them of an ongoing police investigation concerning “a recent incident involving an Oxford University student”.

The message, which was sent to members of both the JCR and HCR with the subject “Important Security Notice”, did not include any details about the investigation or the nature of the incident, but warned students to take extra precautions in Oxford after dark.

“We would advise all students returning to their accommodation late at night to not walk alone but with a friend. For those students living out, please do not answer your door at night without first checking who the person is,” the e-mail read.

Signatories included Brasenose’s head porter Andy Talbot, JCR president Henry Zeffman, and HCR president Jovi Wong.

The e-mail did not specify whether or not the student involved in the incident was a member of Brasenose. Brasenose Porters’ Lodge declined to comment.

Students who received the e-mail were encouraged to save Oxford University Security Services’s emergency number in their mobile contacts to ring if they felt “unsafe” whilst walking alone. They were told that the University Security Services could monitor their locations whilst on the line for their safety.

Students were urged to dial 999 if they felt in “imminent danger” whilst walking by themselves late at night.

Neither the Oxford University Security Services nor the Thames Valley Police could not be reached for comment.

MERTON has announced plans for hundreds of new student rooms, after ending a court dispute with Oxford City Council. The buildings, announced in collaboration with McLaren Property, are to be reviewed at two public consultation events scheduled for later this month.

The development comes after a High Court legal challenge last year in which Merton and McLaren led several other colleges in opposition to Oxford City Council’s social housing charge. The court case was brought after a proposed development to provide accommodation for a further 298 Merton students at Manor Place was deemed not viable by the college due to the scale of the charge. The Council’s policy of demanding a financial contribution for social housing, in return for permission to build new student accommodation, meant that the building project would cost £1 million more than planned.

Stuart Black, the Development Manager of McLaren, had criticized the policy stating, “The plan would stop dead student accommodation in Oxford that is done on a commercial basis”.

However, new proposals announce that “both partners have now withdrawn legal action and have stated their intention to work with the Council and local stakeholders to devise a scheme which fully complies with current planning policy and meets local need for student accommodation”.

Stuart Black of McLaren Property said, “McLaren has made a commercial decision to proceed with a revised plan which reflects the requirements of Oxford’s planning policy and helps to meet the growing local need for new student accommodation in the city.

“It is very important for us to create a scheme which meets local needs while respecting the rich heritage of the local area and the comfort of residents neighbouring the site.”

There have been further instances of disputes between the University and Oxford City Council over planning, most notably over the £20 million Castle Mill development. The University was recently found at fault by an inquiry which criticised them for not providing adequate public consultations.

The controversty over Merton’s plans follows the news that St Cross College’s attempts to enlarge the West Quadrangle were rejected after being recommended to the council for acceptance. 

Nevertheless, this issue seems to be of more interest to lawyers than student. One commented, “I honestly could not give less of a toss. Merton’s loaded, they’ve got the money to cover these extra costs and I don’t see why they need more accommodation anyway. I’m pleased they’ve stopped sniping in the courts and are just getting on with it”. 

Another criticised the focus on planning in Oxford, “Ever since Port Meadow, it feels like the University and colleges have been at odds with the council over so many building projects. I’m glad they’ve got it sorted out”.

An Oxford councillor has admitted to taking over £100,000 from Mrs Beryl gittens account in installments between March 2005 and January 2012. Gittens, an alzheimer’s sufferer was 92 years old when she died in 2012.

Michael roques QC for the prosecution told Oxford Crown Court that Morgan had stolen nearly £80,000 in cash and £75,000 through transfers into his bank account.

“There were a number of cash withdrawals, including some in las Vegas while the defendant was on holiday there,” he said.

“A number of withdrawals were made at motorway service stations and it transpires that these have £500 jackpot fruit machines at them.

“There was money going on casino slot machines and it became apparent that Morgan was using Beryl gittens’ money for gambling.”

The court was also told how John Morgan met Mrs. gittens and her late husband Bill at a pub they owned in hermitage, Berkshire, where Morgan was a regular.

She wrote a will in 2004 that granted Morgan and roger gittens, who lives in australia, power of attorney and specified that Morgan would get £5,000 from her estate as thanks for his friendship.

Mrs gittens moved into a care home in Wantage, Oxfordshire on the advice of doctors in the September of that year and it is believed that Morgan began siphoning money from her account six months later.

With her husband’s army pension, a State pension, life savings and £137,500 from the sale of her flat, the estate was originally worth nearly £250,000, the court heard.

Although Morgan admitted to taking the money, he denies acting dishonestly. The 75 year old claimed that gittens had asked him to gamble her money away after she died in 2005, in order to prevent her extended family from arguing over her inheritance. he claimed that Mrs gittens had said, “i want you to promise me that when i go, there is but a penny for those buggers to squabble over.”

Mr roques told the jury how “When asked, he said he made sure that all the money was taken out of the account, according to her wishes. he said she would have loved a visit but no family bothered. That is why they didn’t deserve any money.”

In court, Judge Mary Jane Mowat dismissed this point as a result of his gambling addiction, calling him, “a gambling addict with the addict’s capacity for denial and self-deception.”

Mowat went on to describe Morgan’s actions as one of the “biggest breaches of trust possible.”

Despite having taken the large sum of money from Mrs gittens, Morgan asked the council to pay for her funeral, rather than paying for it himself. The council agreed to do so, because her accounts were empty. Mrs gittens’s sister-in-law became suspicious after attending the low-key funeral service, and asked gittens’s son, roger gittens, to examine the accounts. Police were contacted upon the discovery that they were empty.

Det Sgt rachel Jackson who was involved in the case commented after the verdict, “Not only did Morgan defraud a vulnerable and elderly woman of a vast amount of money from the sale of her house, he also used his position on the council to arrange home care for her, lying about the victim’s financial affairs to cover the fact he had stolen all her savings.

“Despite pleading not guilty to the offence, a jury saw through his lies and found him guilty of stealing from the victim who thought he was a family friend and trusted him implicitly.”

Conservative councillor, Fiona roper told the Oxford Mail, “i’m shocked and saddened by what has happened to him.

“But it was a serious breach of trust and they had to make an example of him. it is such a big responsibility to have power of attorney.”

Morgan was the vice-chairman of Vale of White horse District Council’s planning committee, and had 21 years of experience working on various councils with no past record of dishonest behaviour.

Judge Mowat noted that spotless record, telling the court that it, “Stands in strange and startling contrast to the devious and shambolic way you dealt with Beryl gittens’ affairs.”

Morgan stepped down from his role as vice-chairman after admitting to the theft, but is still on the council. he has a 28 day right of appeal, after which he will cease to be a councillor if stripped of the position by a vote at full council.

Exeter student Tristan Mora commented,“it’s amazing what some people think they can get away with.

“It’s good he’s been brought to justice, but it doesn’t change the fact that this poor woman was manipulated for such a long period of time.

“It’s perhaps an awful insight into modern society that with families regularly divided by geography, people are often unable to give their relatives the care and attention that they might wish to, leading to situations such as this one where a vulnerable person was ruthlessly exploited.”

There will be a hearing on the 3rd of april to attempt to recover some of the stolen money from the defendant. The council lost approximately £76,000 towards the care of Mrs gittens in total.

By January 2011, her accounts were already so empty that the council had to pay the bills when she was moved to hungerford Care home.

Vale of White horse District Council declined to comment on the matter.

AN OXFORD STUDENT has been shortlisted for the Mars One mission, a controversial scheme that aims to establish a permanent settlement on Mars by 2025.

Third year University College physicist Ryan MacDonald beat nearly 20,0000 other applicants to gain a place on the 1058-strong shortlist for a one-way trip to colonize the red planet.

MacDonald cited meeting Tim Peake, the UK’s first astronaut, in 2010 as rekindling his childhood dream of going into space. “I saw it as an amazing opportunity to do something remarkable with my life, to truly get to be an explorer in the old fashioned sense,” he told Cherwell. “More than just personal allure, the benefits back home in terms of the potential to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers is something that I can’t turn away from.”

As a physicist, MacDonald believes he would be invaluable to the mission’s surveys. He stressed the importance of putting scientists on the surface on the planet, saying, “If we really want to definitively answer the question of whether there is life on Mars, the rovers alone will never suffice.”

The Mars One project has come under criticism from top scientists, many of whom describe it as unrealistic. Dr Colin Wilson, an Oxford academic involved in the European Space Agency’s 2016 ExoMars project, raised concerns about the project’s “unrealistic” schedule and projected cost.

“I’m happy that Mars One is again raising interest in exploration of space and planets,” Dr Wilson stated. He added, “Mars One has no support from the scientific community: it’s simply that none of us believe it will reach the launch pad, let alone land on Mars, let alone establish a colony. It is science fiction.”

MacDonald defended the project’s scientific integrity, however, referring sceptics to Mars One ambassadors like Nobel Prize-winning scientist Gerard ‘t Hooft.

“I don’t see any obvious problems to proceeding with the mission as laid out,” MacDonald said. “The true hurdle by far is the financial side of the project, which remains to be seen if it will work out as planned.”

“But even if the project fails, I see it as a success because it has got people talking seriously about future human habitation of Mars.” 

Mars One hopefuls, including MacDonald, will now proceed with a reality TV-style selection process. Dr. Wilson voiced concerns with this approach to space exploration, saying that he was “uneasy with the ethics of this project”.

According to Wilson, entertainment company and Big Brother creators Endemol, which will host the TV show, produced a 2005 TV programme called “Space Cadets” which tricked members of the public into thinking they were on a space mission.

“Endemol apparently is quite prepared to grossly mislead contestants,” Wilson said.

Instead, he says, “If Mars One’s proposed astronauts want to get involved in space exploration, there are a great number of opportunities to get involved, from rocket and balloon experiments to involvement in space engineering and research.”

MacDonald is nevertheless focused on contributing to a successful Mars One mission despite the possibility of giving up life on Earth. He said, “I will never be able to make physical contact with my family again, never be able to take a deep breath of fresh air and look at clouds above, never be able to eat chocolate again.

“Taken separately, there are many little things I would miss, but together they add to a big change in my life. I am prepared to give these up in order to make this mission a success.”

The warden of Merton College has apologised for noise caused by Merton Winter Ball.

The ball, which took place on 30th November, may have been a resounding success among attendees, but complaints by local residents about noise levels have dampened the mood of its organisers.

On the night of the ball, residents of Divinity Road, over a mile away from the college, complained of loud music disturbing their sleep. Several complaints were made to St Clement’s Liberal Democrat councillor Dr. Graham Jones, who wrote to Sir Martin Taylor, the Warden of Merton College. Jones explained, “I told him about the noise we get from thoughtless students in East Oxford and asked him to make sure his college gave a good example.”

Sir Martin promptly apologised on behalf of his college. Writing to Dr Jones, he said “It is certainly not my intention to allow Merton College to disrupt by noise or indeed any other fashion, the life of the citizens of Oxford. Certainly for the future we will be looking very carefully at the arrangements for the evening, in particular, sound levels and programming.”

“I do again apologise for the disturbance that the ball caused on this occasion and do hope that this reply will give you the confidence that the college approached the question of the potential sound pollution in a responsible manner.”

The Merton Winter Ball Committee also issued a statement, saying they were very sympathetic to those disturbed, but that they had taken a number of council-approved measures to minimise disruption.

“It is our belief that we took all reasonable steps to avoid such concerns,” said Chairman Tim Foot, though he admitted that there were “forces at work beyond our control”.

Dr. Jones did acknowledge that the noise levels were not entirely down to the college, commenting, “Part of the problem was low cloud – but sound engineers should be experienced enough to realise this and turn down the amps. People a mile away who lost their sleep will welcome Sir Martin’s apology – and hope his promise is heeded when Merton has its 750th anniversary ball later this year.”

However, The director of the production company employed by Merton insisted that, “the sound levels were monitored throughout the night and we worked to our usual levels for Oxford: 85 decibel average”. Sir Martin also claimed that the power output was significantly less than the Trinity and Magdalen summer balls.

Students and members of the college seemed surprised by the complaints. “I don’t remember it being excessively loud, although I don’t remember that much of the ball, to be honest,” said one first year attendee.

Another guest appeared more sympathetic saying, “I’m sure everyone regrets that people were disturbed. It definitely wasn’t anything any of us set out to do”.

One student who lives on Divinity Road questioned Dr Jones’s complaint commenting, “Living on Divinity Road and having to walk into college every day, I can tell you that it’s a bloody mile away and I just can’t believe you could hear the Ball from that far away.”

This is hardly the first time noise levels from student activities have drawn criticism from residents. Oxford City Council promised to investigate Oxford Brookes University after complaints were made in November last year. Oxford student clubs and pubs are also a regular source of noise problems for inhabitants of the city centre. Reports suggest that the elderly are the most likely to ring the police complaining of disturbed sleep.

In the light of its upcoming 750th anniversary and a filled programme of events this year, Merton has vowed to become more conscious of its neighbours. Sir Martin explained that noise pollution policy, telling Dr Jones, “You have my assurance that this will be reviewed very carefully when arrangements are being considered for our next Winter Ball in 2016, as well as for our 750th Anniversary ball in 2014”.

A Merton undergraduate was similarly keen to console those affected. “I’m sorry some families in East Oxford didn’t get much sleep that night, but if it makes them feel any better, I’m not sure any of us did either.”

Univ’s Senior Tutor has apologised after college officials emailed the 50 lowest collections results of students to the entire JCR.

Dr Anne Knowland, Senior Tutor of the college, said, “We would like to apologise to all students affected by this inadvertent disclosure for any distress this has caused and reassure them that we are investigating exactly how this happened and are determined to make sure this does not happen again. University College takes the treatment of sensitive data very seriously.”

The individuals concerned are said to be “mortified” over the incident, according to JCR President Abigail Reeves, who also commented that the college had handles the incident “incredibly well”.

The spreadsheet including the week’s collection timetable unintentionally included another tab disclosing the results of students who achieved a 2.2 or below last Michaelmas, along with their name, subject and percentage score. This included the marks of nine engineers and six law students.

Another email was later sent out by the same member of staff trying to recall the previous message. It asked Univ students  to “[please] delete the one previously sent out” as “it contained inaccuracies.”

Dr Knowland also wanted to remind students that collections do not count towards a student’s final degree but that they play a key role in “identifying problems and give students an opportunity to practise sitting examinations, improve exam techniques, and understand methods of assessment and marking criteria.”

Otamere Guobadia, a second-year law student, and whose results were disclosed on the list, said, “I don’t feel as though there’s any pervasive feeling or undercurrent of betrayal. Someone made a mistake, shit happens. I’ve gotten over it. When the story went national, the press seemed to lose the context and value of collections.”

Some of the brightest people I know are on that list, and conversely you have people like me. Failing a collection doesn’t make you stupid, and the staff member in question is absolutely lovely and ruthlessly efficient – frankly I feel sorry for her. Lord knows I’ve done far more stupid things.”