Throughout 6th week, St Hilda’s College is hosting its annual Gender Equality Festival, during which a wide range of free events will be hosted at the college.

The festival was established soon after the college became mixed in 2008. St Hilda’s Women’s Officer Alice Holohan describes it as “a way to celebrate the college’s inclusive history in a progressive and positive fashion”.

Daytime speakers include Dean Vivienne Faull, Dean of York Minster and the first female dean in the Church of England, who will speak on the position of women in the Church after a measure to allow women to become bishops was rejected in November.The college will also host evening events such as a life drawing class, a stand-up comedy evening and a JCR v MCR debate.

Helen Reid, a St Hilda’s student assisting with the organisation of the festival, commented, “It’s a chance for students to be confronted with questions of gender and sexual politics which we are all, perhaps often subconsciously, confronted with and which affect us on an everyday basis.”

Reid continued, “I hope the festival will spark thought and discussion about gender equality within the student body, through showcasing successful and intelligent men and women who believe in the principle and understand its complexity.”

Another recent student-run feminist campaign to attract media attention is the ‘Who needs feminism?’ campaign, organised by WomCam. Participants completed the slogan, “I need feminism because…” in whiteboards, and were photographed holding their responses outside the Exam Schools, Radcliffe Camera, Radcliffe Science Library and at a Wadham based WomCam meeting.

Following the success of the first event on the fourth of February, a second was held on the seventh, bringing the total number of photographs taken to just under 500. WomCam officer Rebekka Hammelsbeck, who organised the campaign, told Cherwell, “WomCam organised the “Who needs feminism?” campaign because we believe that feminism is still important – and not just in some abstract sense but important for us right here and right now. Feminism is a broad and diverse movement as well as positive and empowering, and that is exactly what the pictures show.”

Hammelsbeck detailed the “huge response” the movement gained online, adding, “On Facebook we “reached” about 200,000 people in the week after our photo-shoots, Mary Beard was tweeting about us and a couple of pictures circulated on Tumblr with over 70,000 notes.”

The ‘Who needs feminism?’ campaign was also staged at Balliol College as part of the JCR Welfare Week; women’s officer Alice Beech estimated the number of participants to be approximately 30-40. She noted, “There was quite a variety of people there – not just students who speak out regularly about feminism or sexism, but also some who might have unfairly been assumed to have no interest in the matter and that was especially encouraging”.

Emily Troup, also a women’s officer at Balliol, commented, “Additionally I think what the campaign exposed was the backlash feminists sometimes experience, particularly from other women. Feminism isn’t a dirty word and the movement itself affects everyone, regardless of gender; I think almost the unwillingness of some students to write a board showed more than those who did.”

During the JCR Welfare Week, Balliol also hosted an all-women’s self defence class titled, “Doughnuts in the Dojo”; Troup explained, “We all celebrated afterwards with a large amount of confectionery.”

Classical Honour Moderations, the tests which second-year classicists face in Hilary of second year, are widely known as some of the most gruelling examinations in Oxford. Yet this year, for the first time, Mods will take place over ten days, rather than the usual eight. The change in the exam format may spell the end of Mods’ reputation as the hardest set of exams in the world. 

Candidates will sit between 10 and 11 papers in the period spanning Monday of 7th week to Friday of 8th, with a break over the weekend, rather than between Wednesday of 7th and Wednesday of 8th with a Saturday exam, as in previous years. 

Last year’s Examiners’ Report explains the rationale for the change: “A number of candidates were identified as having Specific Learning Difficulties; markers were instructed to note this (explicitly, in their notes) in reaching their judgements. The Examination Schools has requested that the examination timetable should in future be extended, to avoid SLD candidates having two papers on one day; the Faculty has therefore agreed that from 2013 Honour Moderations should begin on Monday rather than Wednesday of 7th week. 

Apart from the entrance exams to the Chinese civil service, Mods were traditionally held to be the the most intense exams in the world. The New Statesman claimed in 1999, “There is some debate over which is the hardest exam in the world. Honour Moderations in Classics, again at Oxford, were the holders of the title for years, with their 12 three-hour exams over six days. They were usurped this century by the Chinese civil service entrance examination, a ten-day, all-day ritual.” 

The new extended time frame for the exams further weakens their claim to be amongst the hardest in the world. Charlie Greig, a second year at Exeter about to sit the newly altered Mods, expressed his disappointment, saying, “It would have been nice to have done ‘the hardest exams in the world’, simply for bragging rights.” He also pointed out that having more time is not necessarily better, as “It will make a shit time even longer.” 

Camilla Simpson, another second-year, expressed her relief at the changes: “The format change is such a relief for everyone doing Classics. As impressive as the claim to being the toughest exams in the world is, I shouldn’t think there’s a single second-year Classicist who would rather maintain this title and not have the extended exam period.” 

Simpson’s greatest concern with the format is that the exams end on a Thursday rather than a Wednesday. “We’re being deprived of the last Park End of term, something which I’m sure will be more upsetting to most of us than the loss of the title,” she explained. 

Classicists who have already sat the exams were split in their opinions. Ronan Magee, a third-year classicist, said he had “No particularly strong opinions except that I’m very very glad not to be doing them again!” 

Tom Painter, in the fourth year of his Classics degree, commented, “I don’t think the extension of the period makes a huge difference; Mods are still very, very hard! One thing is sure, that objectively speaking 10 or 11 papers is still more than any other subject.”

One third-year classicist commented, “This is a sad development and will sap Honour Moderations of much of their rigour and prestige. Then again, I suppose tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.” 

Tutors have also pointed out that the exams remain extremely difficult. Professor Stephen Harrison, a tutor at Corpus Christi, concurred: “The extension of the timetable of Classics Moderations this year does not mean they are any less challenging for our students. There is still no longer or denser undergraduate examination known to me. I wish all the candidates (especially my own students!) the best in what Image: Ieva Maniustye remains a highly demanding test.”

Last Thursday’s debate at the Oxford Union took an unusual turn when Edwina Currie, former Conservative MP and Junior Health Minister, removed the Union Secretary’s time limit warning bell as she refused to end her speech. 

The debate, which dealt with the motion ‘This House Believes That We Are All Feminists Now’, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the admission of women into the Union, ran smoothly until Mrs Currie’s speech, which lasted longer than the time permitted for debaters. 

Union rules dictate that speakers during debates may speak for a maximum of 12 minutes, after which they can request extra time. An exception is made for speakers who have been invited personally by the President, who are allowed to speak for a maximum of 30 minutes. 

Hannah Dewhirst, a Mansfield student who was present at the debate, said, “It was evident Edwina Currie wasn’t quite ready to finish her speech as she ignored the first bell, told the secretary to shush when it rang a second time and when it was rung for a third time went round the desk, took the bell from the secretary and placed it on her own bench.” 

However, Dewhirst insisted, “The incident was more amusing than insulting though. Most of the chamber was laughing.” 

Currie returned the bell to the Secretary after her speech, and the incident was received with humour. Other speakers at the debate included Dame Tessa Jowell and Cindy Gallop, founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn, who both spoke in Proposition. Opposition speakers included Laurie Penny and Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett. 

Edwina Currie has been a  controversial figure  throughout her political career, best known for claiming that “good Christians” do not contract AIDs, among other  inflammatory comments. She resigned from her post as Junior Health Minister in 1988 after claiming that most British eggs contained salmonella, a comment which earned her the nickname ‘Eggwina’. 

She also featured in the 2011 edition of Strictly Come Dancing, and sung in a cover of Wham’s ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ with Declan Donnelly. 

Dan Hosegood, a PPE student at Magdalen, told Cherwell, “It seems clear that time is called for Edwina; she curries favour no more. To be perfectly honest I’ve always thought she was a bit of a bell-end.” 

Another Magdalen student, Graham Atkins, added, “The bell tolls no more thanks to her actions in the debating chamber.”

A JCR motion calling for the introduction of an anonymous online voting system was voted down at St Catz. 

The motion appealed to change the current procedure of voting at the open meeting into “a vote via the JCR website” and to extend the voting period into a full day from “9am on the day after the meeting until 10pm the following day.” The JCR IT rep would be responsible for supervising the online vote and the results would be “posted on the JCR website and emailed to the JCR by the secretary or IT rep within 48 hours of the poll closing.” 

Ashleigh Ainsley, St Catz Access Rep and proposer of the motion, told Cherwell the motion aimed to combat “low attendance at open meetings.” He explained, “It was prompted by discussions with members of the JCR body who are unable to attend open meetings because of work commitments or other reasons. It also stemmed from controversial motions where people have felt pressured to vote because of their friends asking them to vote for or against.” 

The motion itself was voted on via secret online ballot. 84 votes came through the internet, compared with the 35 votes made at the open meeting. Within the 84 votes, there were 50 for, 33 against, and 1 abstention. The motion failed to pass because a constitutional amendment demands a two-thirds majority of votes. 

Opposition was mainly centred on the inefficiency of the system. Benson Egwuonwu, an ex-JCR President and third-year Law student, criticised the unnecessary slowdown of JCR affairs posed by the motion, stating, “By waiting at least 48 hours for voting results after every Open Meeting, JCR officers could miss the opportunity to raise concerns at various meetings with college staff, some of which are held before the voting results would even be released.” 

Egwuonwu continued, “There is a place for secret online ballots, for instance to consult students’ opinions about certain topics, or where the subject for debate is too complicated to frame in a motion. Otherwise, online secret ballots should be the exception, and not the rule. It is absolutely true that a JCR needs consent from students to function legitimately, but a JCR also needs to operate efficiently, and in this respect, the compulsory secret ballot motion would have been an encumbrance, rather than an advantage.” 

Another contentious issue is whether online voting would affect the attendance of Open Meetings and the quality of debates if people were not required to show up to have their votes counted. 

Mike Livesey, who seconded the motion, told Cherwell, “I am unsure whether allowing online voting for JCR motions would reduce turnouts and debates at Open Meetings. He conceded that “there is some credence in the fear that voters might be less inclined to vote upon an informed standpoint. The minutes of the Open Meeting would be circulated prior to voting, but that does not guarantee that every voter will read them. However, I believe the benefits of widening participation in the life of the college for Catz students vastly outweigh this comparably small pragmatic point.”

The Harlem Shake craze continues to grip Oxford. This week saw an Oxford-wide version filmed on Sunday 17th in front of the Rad Cam. St Catz, St Hilda’s and Wadham, among other colleges, have also created their own versions of the internet meme this week. 

These new interpretations of the globally popular meme follow the first Oxford University-based efforts made by Pembroke and Hertford, posted on the 10th and 12th February respectively. 

Roughly 130 revellers attended the Oxfordwide Shake filmed on Sunday outside the iconic Rad Cam. The event was organised by Brookes student, Freddy Millburn-Fryer and the film currently has over 16,000 views on YouTube. Filming began at 2.15pm and captured students from Brookes and Oxford University dancing in fancy dress. Two Oxford University students can even be seen “milking” themselves in full sub fusc. 

The first ‘Harlem Shake’ video was uploaded on the 2nd February by five teenagers in Queensland, Australia. Since then, over 40,000 versions have been uploaded to YouTube. The general pattern of the meme is of a 30 second video featuring the song “Harlem Shakes” by American DJ, Baauer. 

Generally, the video begins with one person (usually helmeted or masked) dancing alone, surrounded by others who are apparently unaware of his or her presence. The lone dancer is then joined by a crowd of dancers for the next fifteen seconds.

Collectively, versions of the Harlem Shake have been viewed over 175 million times and the craze caused the song to reach number three in the UK charts. 

In terms of views, St Catz is currently in the lead with nearly 30,000 hits. Millburn Fryer commented “As much as it hurts me to say it,
[St Catz] are beating my video on YouTube at the moment, so I’m livid about that as mine is clearly better.” He also added in relation to his version of the meme “I knew I could rely on the Oxford student demographic to bring their A Game and they surely did. The video is fantastically fun; I’ve had a lot of great feedback. It’s a crazy, undefinable moment that will stay with me forever.” 

Alistair Adams, who organised the St Catz Shake commented “there’s a fantastic community spirit here at Catz and I really think the video shows that… I’d have to agree with the poll on the Oxford Tab [according to which, Catz has the best Oxford College Harlem Shake Video], although the Pembroke MCR one is pretty funny.” 

Juliette Ginsberg, also of St Catz, told Cherwell that the film has “clearly cemented Catz in a strong position to win over allies and continue
our ongoing war with Magdalen!” 

Some students at Wadham have likewise seen the Shake as an opportunity to point to wider issues. The Wadham version sees students eating in hall, with the lone dancer, first year Bertrand Nzabandora, dancing on a table in a ‘V for Vendetta’ mask. He then is suddenly joined by about 150 students in fancy dress. 

Luke Buckley, who organised the film told Cherwell that the motivation behind the Wadham film was to “[…] go beyond the usual boundaries that separate people into groups that are essentially arbitrary, and to challenge the stereotypical depiction of Oxford students as overly studious, pretentious, bourgeois, arrogant, etcetera.”

“That was also what I felt made the Wadham shake different. We did it in our historic dining hall. So it was necessarily subversive in a way that doing it outside or in the JCR or in some other ostensibly uncontroversial area would not be.” 

Wadham was granted permission to film in their 17th century hall. However, at St Hilda’s, students face being “deaned” for making their film in the college library. The film organiser, who wishes to remain anonymous, commented “I hope there won’t be a punishment! It only took about 7 minutes to film and we did it at 11:30 on Sunday night so that minimal [sic] people would be disturbed and we asked the people in the library who weren’t involved if it was ok, so in my opinion we did nothing wrong.”

Other colleges such as LMH plan to shake in the near future. However, some are already getting sick of the craze. Ben Cohen, who filmed both the Catz and Wadham shakes told Cherwell “‘I am just really tired of that song now.”

A postgraduate applicant who claimed St Hugh’s College refused to admit him on the basis of financial means has told Cherwell he is “prepared to appeal all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if [he has] to.”

Damien Shannon, 26, filed a claim against the College last month after he was unable to demonstrate that he could meet living costs of £12,900 on top of his master’s tuition fee, thereby forfeiting his offer.

He claimed that students were being selected on “on the basis of wealth, [excluding] those not in possession of it”, meaning the less well-off were “disproportionately discriminated against.”

After the hearing on 15 February at Manchester County Court, Judge Armitage QC reserved judgment, and will deliver it with written reasoning at a later unspecified date.

St Hugh’s have argued that fulfilling the University’s ‘financial guarantee’ guards a student’s wellbeing so that there is no risk of academic focus being distracted by money worries.

During the hearing, Oxford’s director of graduate admissions, Dr Jane Sherwood, said she had been mistaken in suggesting that other universities such as Exeter and Goldsmith’s College, London, assessed applicants’ means in the same way as Oxford.

Shannon accepted the admission of false comparison, but told Cherwell he was still of the opinion that “refusing access to those who cannot afford nightclubs etc. is manifestly unreasonable and cannot have been the outcome of any kind of expert analysis.”

The University, a separate legal entity from St Hugh’s, gave an explanation for the size of the guarantee. A spokesperson said, “The core of the minimum recommended amount for annual living costs comes from a survey undertaken each year of domestic bursars in every college.

“Domestic bursars manage accommodation, catering etc., and have expert knowledge of the local costs of core items of students’ living costs and expenditure. The survey provides estimated costs of things like accommodation, food, utility bills and other items, as well as estimates of costs for future years.”

They stressed that the £12,900 figure still lies below the £13,726 national minimum doctoral stipend provided by the UK Research Councils, which “gives us confidence that it is not an overestimate.”

Shannon contested that “the expertise of the bursars must be tested by cross examination.” In his court submission, he highlighted what he called “optional” costs, including “an unspecified amount for ‘sport and leisure activities’ – I wonder whether this includes punting.”

“Every single [cost] is intended to support a typical lifestyle,” he continued. “None of them have anything to do with being financially able to complete study.”

Shannon demands the financial guarantee be struck down or comprise “essential expenditure based on actual research of likely living costs”. He commented, “It is absolutely insane that people are turned away for not having money they do not need.”

Shannon maintains that he is being denied his human right to education as prescribed by the European Convention on Human Rights, making him a “victim” under the UK Human Rights Act.

“Oxford is in the very fortunate position of having enormous resources at its disposal, but precious little of this serves to widen access among postgraduates. Saying “go away and earn the money and come back in a few years when you are wealthier” simply isn’t good enough,” he told Cherwell.

The University vigorously denies this. Pointing to announcements such as last year’s £26m Ertegun donation for graduate humanities study, it stated, “Oxford offers more postgraduate financial support than almost any other UK university, and has been proactive in highlighting this national issue by fundraising for scholarships and lobbying for a national loans scheme. The Vice-Chancellor wrote about the issue in The Times in March 2012.”

St Hugh’s College declined to comment on the case so far.

Wadham College has announced its acquisition of two tortoises in preparation for the 2013 Corpus Tortoise Race. 

The two Hermann’s tortoises, called Archibald and Theodore Manshell, have been donated to the college by Connie Bloomfield, a second year classicist at Wadham.

Bloomfield told Cherwell, “For me the tortoises are really special. I was given them as a present from my family for my seventh birthday. I thought it would be something really nice I could give back to college. Plus I’m not at home very much, so I’ll be able to see them more at Wadham. And perhaps I’ll even see them when I come back to visit Wadham, when I’m ancient and they’re ancient.” 

Although the tortoises will not arrive at Wadham until the start of Trinity Term, the college has not hesitated in preparing for Archibald and Theodore’s arrival. 

In a recent motion Wadham College JCR elected Joe Williamson, a second-year biologist, as Tortoise Officer, whose duties are to include seeing that the tortoises are fed and looked after, setting up enclosures, and escorting the tortoises to a JCR meeting to vote on motions.

Williamson added, “They will be dressed up in fancy dress for SU meetings and we will endeavour to have weekly socialising sessions with the tortoises for people who do not like the welfare officers and need a reptile friend.” 

Yet the primary role of the Tortoise Office will entail getting Theodore and Archibald in shape for the Corpus Tortoise Race in the spring. 

Williamson outlined his expectations of Archibald and Theodore in the upcoming challenge. He stated, “The goal for the races is to win. We will accept nothing but victory. If we can only enter one tortoise, the less athletic individual will be a cheerleader on the day.” 

Last year, Worcester’s tortoise, Zoom, claimed the victory title in the Corpus Tortoise Race, leaving slower participants from Brasenose, Corpus and Jesus in its wake. 

Wadham JCR President Jahnavi Emmanuel commented, “Wadham has been very positive about the tortoises in general, and everyone is very excited to meet them – our newly elected Tortoise Officer has already received several queries from interested Wadhamites!” 

It has been alleged that the Wadham tortoises that competed in prior races at Corpus have since gone missing, been stolen, or gained entry to a better and unearthly place, which has complicated Wadham’s ability to participate in recent races. 

“We hope that in the summer months, they’ll live in an appropriate cage in the gardens. During winter, they’ll have to live inside – we’re in the process of working out exactly where,” Emmanuel added. Theodore and Archibald lived mostly outdoors at Bloomfield’s family home just north of Brighton. 

Each year the Tortoise Race is held at Corpus Christi College midway through Trinity Term. This tradition seems to have begun in the 1960s, though the first accounts of college tortoises at Oxford date back to the end of the nineteenth century. 

In recent years the race has raised money for a number of charity organisations, including Maria Veliko’s Bulgarian Orphanage and Oxford Aid to the Balkans. The 2011 event raised £2000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

A recent ban on muddy sportswear in Keble Cafe resulted in an emergency motion being added to the college’s JCR meeting agenda. The motion, proposed by rugby player John Harkness, stated that, “This ban constitutes a draconian violation of our freedom of expression, at odds with Keble’s reputation as a fair and inclusive college.” It concluded with the assertion that the JCR President James Newton should make a  eversal of the ban his “top priority.”

An amendment was proposed, suggesting that a reversal should simply be “a priority” for Newton. A vote was eventually taken on the amended motion, with first results coming back as 24 for, 14 against and 26  abstentions.

However, due to the vehemence of the rugby players present, a re-vote was called, and the motion with results finally standing as 26 for, 13 against and 22 abstaining. Harkness told Cherwell, “I was obviously delighted when the motion passed, despite the President’s attempts to gazump it. A victory for justice and common sense.”

In an email to Keble students the next day Newton said, “It is only muddy sports clothing that is banned. Please feel free to go in there in whatever sporting attire you so wish.” He told Cherwell, “Keble is renowned worldwide for its sporting prowess. It is therefore of great relief that our stash-clad heroes are still able to access their much deserved flowerpot muffins – so long as they learn how to shower first…”

Oxford City Council has announced plans to collaborate with the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes in order to help improve the literacy and numeracy of primary school children in Oxford.

The new ‘Leadership for Learning’ campaign is funded by Oxford City
Council. It will provide training days for staff and governors at eleven Oxford primary schools, as well as inviting parents to partake in a series of public seminars on issues relating to the education of their children.

The programme was initially queried by Craig Simmons, an Oxford City Councillor, who expressed concerns over whether the programme was funding work which is already being carried out by Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities. He was quoted in the Oxford Mail last Friday as saying, “This is a huge issue. The council is strapped for cash and should not be subsidising the university to do things it should be doing anyway.”

Yet after consulting the City Council on the specifics of the programme, Simmons told Cherwell, “Although some of the City Council money WILL go to the universities, it is to be spent on improving educational attainment in primary schools, which would constitute a clear extension of the outreach work.”

He also commented, “I think thatmthis work is essential in widening access to higher education. I very much support the current Oxford City Learning Partnership which is spearheading this work.”

However, Simmons also expressed a continuing concern to ensure that the programme is effective in achieving its stated aims, commenting, “I will, however, continue to liaise with officers to ensure that maximum benefit is gained from the additional City Council investment.”

Anna McIntyre, a college access officer, told Cherwell, ‘‘I think it’s wonderful
that both Oxford universities are getting involved in planting the first seeds of high aspirations in children that would otherwise perhaps not be recognised as needing it until late in their secondary school life, which is too late.”

She qualified this, however, adding, “I feel the council should be doing more to directly help these schools themselves and not just pull in universities to help out: the universities will be using government funds, not their own money.”