An Australian Senator who compared legalising gay marriage to allowing polygamy and bestiality withdrew at the last minute from a speaking engagement last week at St Hugh’s.

Cory Bernardi, who was forced to resign as parliamentary secretary to the opposition party leader owing to his statements, was scheduled to speak at the European Young Conservative Freedom Summit but cancelled at the last moment, claiming, ‘I contacted the organisers yesterday to say that my attendance at their conference had become a distraction.”

He added, “I had intended to talk about Australia and the Commonwealth, but that message would be lost, and I don’t want to drag an unrelated issue into this important conference.”

Bernardi, who came under criticism earlier this year for making “anti-Muslim” statements, has not apologised for the speech he made in Parliament in which he stated, “The next step [to legalising gay marriage] is having three people that love each other be able to enter into a permanent union endorsed by society, or four people. There are even some creepy people out there, who say that it’s OK to have consensual sexual relations between humans and animals.”

Prior to Bernardi’s withdrawal from the conference, the organiser of the summit and chairman of Conservative Future, Ben Howlett, asserted, “As someone who has attended dozens of pride marches across the UK, I condemn his comments.”

Bernardi withdrew from the engagement the next day via a statement issued by summit organisers.

St Hugh’s JCR Vice President, Andrew Wilson told Cherwell the JCR Committee were “very happy that Mr Bernardi took the correct decision and did not address the EYC Freedom Summit after he expressed some frankly unacceptable opinions about homosexual marriage.”

OUSU President David Townsend agreed, saying, “Oxford is better off without the Senator’s presence, as his ability to contribute to intelligent debate is undermined by his inability to distinguish between on the one hand, two loving human beings committing to share their lives together, and on the other, a man having sex with a sheep.”

Simone Webb, President of Oxford University LGBTQsoc, said that although they “would have offered support to any students who felt threatened or upset by [Bernardi’s] comments”, they would not have protested the speaking engagement as the society is “non-political”.

She added, “On a personal level, I do not object to St Hugh’s allowing homophobic speakers; bad arguments, such as those which use the slippery slope fallacy, should be aired so they can be rejected.”

St Hugh’s LGBTQ rep Michael Holloway told Cherwell he “brought the issue to the attention of our JCR committee on Monday” and although he declined to comment on the behaviour of the college, he stated, “The LGBTQ community within college is very strong, and we do not condone the comments made by Mr Bernardi.”

This is not the first time a conference or speaker has caused controversy in Oxford in recent years. After last year’s protests and  petition sparked by Exeter hosting a conference of a reportedly anti-gay Christian group, the college reviewed its vetting measures for conference events and donated the proceeds from that conference to an LGBTQ charity. 

Owen Alun John, the LMH student who was first to raise concerns over Exeter’s conference, claimed, “Oxford still lacks a university-wide policy excluding hate preachers from its premises. As long as this continues, individuals like Mr. Bernardi will keep on coming.

“Oxford should stop running itself like some kind of lads’ holiday, where what happens in the vacation stays in the vacation. If colleges continue selling out to homophobes, hate groups and religious extremists, this is the business of every student whose education they were established to provide.”

Oxford Conservative Association were quick to distance themselves from Bernardi with President George Mawhinney stating, “His comments were rightly condemned by the Party and Conservative Future. The views of this Australian politician do not reflect the Association’s in any way.”St Hugh’s were unavailable for comment when contacted.

Mark Thompson, former Director General of the BBC, will deliver a series of lectures this November in his role as Humanitas Visiting Professor, before crossing the Atlantic to take up the reins of the New York Times.

Thompson will deliver his lectures at St Peter’s College, focusing on the importance of language in modern political debate. He will also take part in a symposium with Andrew Marr, David Willetts, Polly Toynbee and Gus O’Donnell, to discuss the ways in which language shapes and influences political discourse.

Thompson enthused, ‘These lectures spring from an abiding interest in language and argument but also from my more than three decades as a journalist and public service broadcaster wrestling with the challenge of how best to help the public understand and engage with the big policy questions of the day.’

He emphasised his attachment to the university, adding, ‘As an Oxford humanities graduate, it means a great deal to me to be asked to become the university’s first visiting professor of rhetoric and public persuasion.’

One PPE fresher said, “This news just reinforces my excitement at coming to Oxford. It has a worldwide brand that is able to draw big names in a way no other UK university can.”

One third year English student disagreed, complaining, “This is just another boring gimmick from a university that sometimes seems keener on attracting celebrities than true academic heavyweights.”

One of Oxford’s most famous crewdating venues, Jamal’s, has been sold and replaced by a new Indian restaurant.

The owners of the new eatery, Arzoo, have promised to retain a number of the perks which made the restaurant’s predecessor so popular among students, and have also undertaken a £200,000 refurbishment. They can now seat up to 186 diners.

A set menu will still be offered to groups of ten or more, and the restaurant will continue to run the BYOB policy which proved so popular among students, with corkage charged at £1 per head.In addition, around 18 new jobs have been created, while more than £10,000 was spent on creating a new menu.

Muhammad Ali, a partner and chef at Arzoo, told Cherwell that the new restaurant will “continue to welcome students at all times.” He also stressed that Jamal’s was not forced to close owing to its previous health and safety issues, but rather because the owners chose to sell. In March of this year, the restaurant was shut down by the council for a day after complaints of mice were received from owners of a neighbouring property.

Upon inspection, environmental health officers found washing basins had been disconnected, and ordered that the establishment be cleaned, sanitised and pest-proofed before reopening. Jamal’s will continue to sell online, however, and are offering a delivery service to their clients.

Mr Ali also spoke of how pleased he was to secure the restaurant, saying, “It has always been our dream to open a restaurant in Jericho but we could never find the right property. It is a very good market here and we really want the local community to come and try our food and see what we are offering.”

He added that his new restaurant is running a competition among the students of Cherwell Valley College to create a new dessert for their updated menu. “Indian restaurants are not known for desserts and we are looking to add a couple of new dishes to the menu which the students will then work on delivering in the restaurant, giving them great experience and helping their future careers,” he said. 

Mr Ali, a chef by trade, also owns the Spice Guru restaurant in Watlington, while head chef and partner Arzoo Miah runs the Arzoo restaurant in Bicester, and was the first winner of the UK Indian Chef Competition last year. 

Student reactions to news of the changeover has been mixed. One second year student from Exeter College welcomed the promised improvements, saying, “We have had some problems with Jamal’s, especially when it came to paying the bill at the end.”

He added, “I hope that Arzoo can improve on that aspect, and obviously on the health and safety standards too.”

One online commenter expressed his frustration at the new addition, posting, “Just what we need! ANOTHER Indian restaurant to add to Oxford’s 37 other outlets. Honestly.”

However, members of the notorious LMH dining society MMM were somewhat more optimistic, saying, “Jamal’s was great while it lasted, but  after the mice incident, we never really trusted them. To be honest, we didn’t really trust them before that, but it was home to many a good night. We hope to continue our streak of infamy in Arzoo, and welcome any potential suitors.”

When approached for comment on the changes to students’ dining experiences, Mr Ali told Cherwell, “It will stay exactly the same.”

OUP has sparked controversy by joining Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis in a lawsuit against the Rameshwari Photocopy Service at Delhi University regarding copyright infringement.

The lawsuit comes as a result of claims that the photocopying service has been duplicating and distributing OUP texts to students at a significantly lower price in an unauthorised and illegal manner.

The shop, and others like it on the North Campus, have since ceased from distributing materials following a notice from the Delhi High Court and pressure from the university. Although the case is directed specifically against the Rameshwari Photocopy Service, there are a number of similar establishments on campus which sell photocopies of books and book extracts at prices which students of the university can afford.

The Oxford Indian Society argues that this is the only way that some students are able to purchase materials which are essential for their courses and has urged its members to sign a petition to encourage OUP to withdraw the lawsuit to “express solidarity”.

Leading academics have also expressed concern over the issue, with Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen among those opposed to the move. Those whose works have been photocopied and distributed have also indicated that they are against the proposed legal action.

OUP author and director of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi based think tank, Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, called the move “self-defeating”, telling Cherwell, “Most of the students, particularly in state universities, are not very privileged, and library resources are few and far between. The effect on sales of publishers will be marginal. In fact I think publishers are being penny wise, pound foolish. By allowing access this way, they will create a long term readership for better books.”

He also said that he was unconcerned by his own books being photocopied, saying, “A volume I edited, The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, is one of the hottest items on the “photocopy” market.  And I don’t particularly mind. We are simply urging publishers to not take action against students who photocopy. And the small photocopying shops are also really small, first time migrants trying to do a nice business.”

An OUP India spokesperson stated, “OUP produces a wide range of high quality academic and educational titles and while we strive to disseminate our publishing as widely as possible, this must be carried out within the framework of copyright law.

“This particular issue relates to the  creation of coursepacks. These packs include entire chapters of books from OUP and other publishers and were sold and distributed by a photocopying outlet operating out of the Delhi School of Economics premises without seeking copyright clearance to do so.  This practice is a clear infringement of copyright law.

“Indian Institutions can obtain photocopying licenses through the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO) which has set tariffs for India which are among the lowest in the world. For coursepacks, the rate would be as low as Rs 0.50 (£0.06) per page.“We would encourage institutions looking to provide coursepacks for their students to work with the IRRO. Doing so will ensure seamless, efficient, and affordable access to our titles for the student community.”

An inquest held by the Oxfordshire County Coroner last week concluded that the death of David Lord, a night porter at St Catherine’s College, was caused by suicide. His death in May came as a shock to his friends, co-workers, and students, who described him as “a truly great guy who will be greatly missed.”

This paper reported on the unexpected death of the twenty-three year old earlier in the year, but the investigation was yet to be completed so details were unknown. An inquest was concluded on Tuesday 25th September. Testimony from police, friends and emergency service workers was heard, along with the results of the post mortem examination.

The inquest heard that when Mr Lord did not come into work on the 5th of May, the St Catherine’s College called his home. Mr Lord’s housemate, Samuel O’Brien, entered his room and found him sitting at his desk, his head covered by a plastic bag. A suicide note was later found on his computer by paramedics attending the scene.

The post mortem examination found the cause of death to be suffocation. At the inquest it was revealed that Mr Lord had been unable to come to terms with the recent suicide of a close friend several months earlier, and had been taking prescription anti-depressants and tranquillisers.

St Catherine’s College has expressed its sympathies to Mr Lord’s family, and the college flag was flown at half mast as a symbol of mourning until his funeral, at the Master’s request. The Master, Professor Roger Ainsworth, said Lord was “always friendly, helpful and enthusiastic” and that he “will be greatly missed.”

His fellow porters expressed similar sentiments, saying he was “a valued colleague.” The College Bursar, James Bennet, said, “David’s death came as a great shock to us all at St Catherine’s. He was a much loved and well respected colleague and friend to many here. He will be very much missed by us all.”

Students also expressed their grief and shock at his death, with Gareth Morgan, a third year biochemist, describing him as “a very nice guy, very sharp and extremely intelligent” and adding that he was “really selfless.”

Oxford’s student union has been ranked joint worst in the country according to a student satisfaction survey published last week.

Results published by the National Student Survey gave the student union (OUSU) a student satisfaction rating of just 39%, placing it joint last with Oxford Brookes. At the other end of scale, the University of Sheffield’s student union had the highest satisfaction rating at 95%.

One second year English student said, “I’ve been here a year and apart from the response to the removal of the HFL (History Faculty Library), I can’t think of one significant thing that they’ve introduced. If OUSU wants support and input from the students they need to make themselves known to the students.”

Basil Vincent, ex-JCR President of Keble College, said, “I think that this survey reflects an unfortunate reality about OUSU. The excellent work it does is often unknown to students, who instead see the institution as a bit irrelevant. I’ve seen first-hand just how crucial OUSU is to maintaining student welfare in Oxford, and so I’m a bit disappointed to see it come last.” 

Unlike in universities such as Sheffield, Oxford does not have a central social hub as part of the student union, as that function is often provided by JCRs.The view that collegiate systems reduce student satisfaction seems to be backed up by the fact that Cambridge University student union received a similarly low satisfaction rating of only 46%.

Sam Allen, a Maths student from Sheffield University, explained why he believed his student union deserved the rating it received. “The building is smack bang in the middle of the university so it’s a great point to meet. All the staff are really helpful and informative and there’s everything there from club nights, to banking and coffee shops.”

Oxford Brookes Students’ Union faces similar challenges. Adam Frost, a second year student at the university, claimed, “The union definitely has a presence at Brookes; however for my part I have never had to deal with them.” 

He continued, “I feel that there is more that could be done to improve the union. I for one don’t even know whether an SU bar exists at Brookes, or what it is responsible for. It needs to make itself and its services better known to students.”

OUSU’s current President, David Townsend, stated “OUSU has difficulties with student engagement, and the NSS score reflects that. OUSU can’t blame these idiosyncrasies for all of its problems.”

However, he was positive about OUSU’s capacity to address these problems, claiming that the chance to do so was “one of the big reasons why the current year’s sabbatical officers chose to run for office.” He also said that, “Where students have interacted with OUSU and know what it does, the numbers are overwhelmingly positive, so it’s clear that OUSU has to get better at communicating what it does and at supporting students’ departmental representatives, as you would expect of a Student Union at any other university.”

Townsend also suggested that an improved communications strategy and ongoing professionalisation of its operations will lead to an “upward trend” in student satisfaction.

Felix Neate, former Corpus Christi OUSU Officer, disagreed with the survey, commenting, “I don’t think the fact that OUSU is irrelevant to the average Oxford student makes it the worst student union. No one actually wants to hear from them, so the fact that they’re inaudible really works in their favour.”

Oxford educated businesswoman Cindy Gallop has unveiled MakeLoveNotPorn.tv, a website which aims to challenge the accepted standards of pornography by promoting videos showing sex between real couples. The website runs on user-generated content and makes ‘real-world’ sex shareable online.

The website, which is still “in beta, darling. Invitation only” and has 66,000 people on the waiting list, is a platform for sharing and enjoying erotic videos. The sex in the videos must be contextualised, cliché-free and consensual.

Cindy Gallop, who read English at Somerville, where she had a “whale of a time”, says she wants to “separate the myths of hardcore porn behaviour from the reality of healthy but hot sexual relationships.” She believes that too many people, young men in particular, base their sexual expectations on the hardcore pornography that is widely available on the internet.

The 52 year old advertising executive turned website entrepreneur first introduced the idea at a TED talk in 2009. She claims dating younger men exposed her to the fact that “there is an entire generation growing up that believes that what you see in hardcore pornography is the way that you have sex.”

Gallop believes there is a “complete lack of open, healthy dialogue around porn and sex” in homes, schools and society at large which means “hardcore pornography de facto has become sex education.”

“This message is not anti porn, I’m a fan of hardcore porn” she adds, “but porn tends to present one world view. I want to help bring the creativity, individuality and self- expression back to it. It’s not about performing for the camera, we’re looking for the comical, the messy, the ridiculous. We’re looking for the real.”

However, some Oxford students were less excited by the promise of ‘real-world’ sex. One second-year said, “I don’t know if I can deal with the real thing. Who wants to see a fat Swedish couple having sex on their kitchen floor?

“The fact that MLNP.tv is open to everyone, not just industry professionals, also means that you could come across your friends having sex.”

The website, described by The New York Times as “Youtube for the erotically unabashed,” consists of videos uploaded by members having “#realworld sex.”

Members are charged $5 to post a video, viewers pay $5 to watch and 50% of proceeds go to the contributor.

Each video comes with a back story. MakeLoveNotPorn.tv’s first offering was created by Lily La Beau and Danny Wild, a “real life couple” who work in the pornography business, and the video shows them having sex at home.

La Beau explains in their introductory video, “In porn we are every day asked to do crazy positions and really stupid things which look great on camera but don’t always feel as great as they look. Cindy wanted us to fuck just like we want to fuck.”

Wild, who edited the video, says, “I kept thinking I don’t know how to show real sex. As performers in the porn industry every time you bring out a camera that means it’s not real anymore. But this is not like porn, I hope you like it, you see a lot more of our connection which I think is the point.”

Built on the idea of sharing and enjoying sex, the website pushes the boundaries of social media. For Gallop, “Sex is personality. How we self-identify and self-express sexually is as much a part of us as any other talent, skill or trait we currently publicise on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram. It is a sign of success for any social media network or platform when your community reaches the stage where they feel comfortable using you to express themselves sexually.”

Gallop sees sex as a social currency like any other. A Facebook timeline will celebrate relationships in all its shapes, like pictures of a kiss, an announcement of a relationship, or wedding photos. “MakeLoveNotPorn.tv enables you to celebrate that one final dimension of human relationships and humanity that no one else will,” says Ms Gallop.

As for making her own video, “anyone building a start up should be using their own platform, but right now it’s so early in our life cycle it would be too distracting for any of the team to be on there. So not for the time being, but further down the line, who knows?”

Gallop worked for British advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and moved to New York in 1998 to open its US office. In 2005 she started her own projects ‘IfWeRanTheWorld’ and now ‘MakeLoveNotPorn’.

A soldier who served in the Corps of Royal Engineers and graduated from University College with a first-class degree in Engineering and Computer Science was repatriated to RAF Brize Norton last Thursday following his death at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, on Friday 21st September.

Captain James Anthony Townley, who died the day before his 30th birthday, was brought back with Sergeant Jonathan Kups, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, who died on the same day. Townley was on his third tour of Afghanistan, which he had volunteered for.

He is reported to have died from gunshot wounds to the head in what appears to have been an ‘individual act’. Investigations into their deaths are still continuing and the MoD has said that neither death is believed to be due to hostile action.

Townley, who rowed for University College during his time at Oxford, was described as “an exceptional officer, a great character and unbelievably clever” by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chas Story. He leaves behind his parents, brother and girlfriend.

Lieutenant Colonel Jack Nicholson said, “His tragic loss has stunned the Regiment, and we are all trying to come to terms with this awful event.’

The plane bringing back the two bodies landed at 1.30pm at RAF Brize Norton, where a small chapel service for the family was held. The cortège then travelled through the village of Brize Norton, where a Royal Marines parade took place, on to the Memorial Garden at Carterton where family members paid their respects.

It then made its way to the ‘Final Turn’, the junction of Headley Way and the John Radcliffe hospital, before finishing at the hospital’s special Armed Forces Department of Pathology.

Approximately 145 members of the public and over 45 army veterans and their families were present at the ‘Final Turn’, with many more lining the rest of the route. John Walker, a veteran of the Royal Dragoon Guards told Cherwell, “A large group of servicemen there were thinking of Townley’s connection with Oxford during the ceremony.’

Walker also told Cherwell that the cortège was permitted to drive much slower than normal at the Final Turn in order to allow a young girl related to Sergeant Kups to place roses on it. “It was very, very sad and awful to see,” he said.

He added, “The Final Turn has been happening here for four years now, but not many people seem to be aware of what goes on there.’

Stephanie Jenkins, a local resident, commented, “The hearses seem so unreal. We have become used recently to associating the Union flag with the Olympics and joy, so it is weird seeing it draped over the coffins of young men.”

The latest update to the iOS6 iPhone and iPad operating system is causing confusion in Oxford, after several attractions on the new map application disappeared or changed their location overnight.

The program appears to have made several errors, such as marking the location of the Radcliffe Infirmary, despite the building having been partially demolished since it closed five years ago. The application also mixed up the positions of several Oxford colleges, locating Magdalen College in the River Cherwell.

A spokesperson for Apple acknowledged the limitations of their new map service, stating, “Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.”

Some of the errors have already been addressed by Apple, including the omission of the town train station which had been replaced by the Golden Harvest Canton Restaurant.

Tourists have been caught up in the confusion at a time when the city has experienced a downturn in visitor numbers. According to the Oxford Mail, there was a 43 per cent drop in tourist numbers at the Oxford Visitor Information Centre between May and August of this year, compared with 2011.

Susi Golding, director of Visit Oxfordshire, hoped that tourists will get past the confusion by relying less on their phones and choosing more traditional methods of navigation, such as asking staff at Broad Street’s tourist information centre.

In addition to the map application, pedestrians can make use of a new navigating system, Oxford Explore, which is being made available throughout the town centre this October. The program gives directions to various landmarks along more obscure routes, allowing visitors the opportunity to explore more of the city.

Second year historian Henry Baker commented, ‘I think Oxford as a cohesive unit would be much better if it really was the case that Magdalen and its stuck-up students were miraculously drowned in the Cherwell. I would of course save the deer; they never did anything to deserve such an end.’ Second year Maths student Elizabeth Rendle added, ‘I hope the tourists can swim!’