A leading Cambridge don has attacked the “toff image” of Oxbridge promoted by politicians and the media.

Professor Robert Lethbridge, Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, has warned that bright state school pupils might be put off from applying to Oxford and Cambridge due to outdated and harmful caricatures.

Lethbridge emphasised the importance that the two universities place upon access and equal opportunities. He commented, “I think we need to constantly stress that, at the very top of our education system, we are utterly meritocratic. We need to counter the self-deprecatory dimension of Englishness and we need to no longer retail the Brideshead Revisited, toff image of Oxford and Cambridge which some misinformed people find as a lazy target.”

Hannah Cusworth, the Vice-President at OUSU for Access and Academic Affairs, commented, “Oxford’s access work does much to combat this ‘toff’ image and the amount and quality of this work is improving every year. The best way Oxford can show the university is not full of toffs is to let students from a diverse range of backgrounds lead its access work.

“If Oxford wants to dispel this idea that all students here are toffs it needs to change the perception of Oxford undergraduates and convince the media to stop running silly stories that perpetuate this image. Another way, of course, is to make sure our access work is successful so that more bright students from ordinary backgrounds win a place at Oxford”.

An Oxford University spokesperson echoed Lethbridge’s sentiment and was similarly optimistic about Oxford’s access work. They commented, “Media coverage of Oxford does tend to be somewhat weighted towards the negative and stereotyped. However, the University is working hard to communicate the messages that Oxford’s recruitment and selection procedures are about merit, not background, and that state school students are in the majority at Oxford.

“As part of this, the University spends millions of pounds each year on outreach and access work, holding over 1500 events for potential students annually.” The Independent Taskforce on Student Finance has recently shown that Oxford offers the most generous financial help for the lowest-income students out of any university in the country, which amounts to over £22,000 over three years.

Leah Lazar, a fresher at New College, commented, “The social inequality found at Oxbridge is not down to its admissions process but is symptomatic of the British school system as a whole. Politicians need to stop Oxbridge bashing and start addressing the inadequacies in British schools.”

Brasenose students have voted in favour of a motion whereby students would have to gain permission from the college parents of the student they wished to ‘marry’ before proposing.

The motion, which was passed last Sunday and will come into effect in Michaelmas, aims to combat the “geographic gap” between first years living in college and second years residing in Frewin Halls, located next to the Union, which “hinders the fostering of relations between year groups”.

The motion, submitted by Brasenose student Russell Black, stated, “In this, Britain’s second ever Diamond Jubilee year, the power of traditional institutions has never been higher.” It added, “The University of Oxford is a bastion of colourful and archaic tradition.”

However, the motion also acknowledged the need to modernise certain traditions due to “patriarchal overtones” and thus will be completely gender neutral. Black also told Cherwell that the JCR had agreed on a pact of silence never to tell incoming freshers that the motion was new that year, but rather to pretend that it was always the case.

Louis Trup, who seconded the motion, told Cherwell that as part of the new rule, “freshers may court their partner’s parents with the purchase of a drink or gift”, explaining that the motion was put forward to increase mixing between first and second years, outside of the family structure.

He added that the motion would also prevent the “inevitable occurrence of unions between two bright-eyed freshers occurring in the drunken abyss of Park End which, 86% of the time, end up with very awkward college family events in the future” and that it would be unlikely permission would be refused unless due to “extreme circumstances”.

The motion appears to have been received favourably by Brasenose JCR. First year biologist, Alice James said, “I think we all reckon it’s a really lovely idea, it means not only that we’ll get to talk to our parents and other parents a bit more but that college marriages will be a more considered affair.

“It’ll also probably guarantee a stronger friendship with your spouse at least in the early lonely days of Michaelmas.” She added, “We don’t seem to do things by halves at Brasenose, so if you’re going to get married, do it properly!”

Trup, who also described the motion as “wonderful” and “a great opportunity for second years to get a free drink”, recommended that the idea should be rolled out to all colleges due to it being a force for the strengthening of relationships between year groups.

Members of the Brasenose JCR committee were contacted, but did not wish to comment.

A historic library owned by All Souls College was stripped of all its books and furniture in the early hours of last Tuesday morning. Council workers backed by the police cleared Kensal Rise Library between 2 and 3am, removing thousands of books and the plaque commemorating its opening 112 years ago.

However, the library was given a lifeline on Saturday after the council agreed to talk with campaigners about a possible community-run project. The project is also dependent on an arrangement being reached with All Souls.

In 2010 Brent Council announced that six libraries in the borough would be closed owing to “dwindling visitors and the state of the buildings themselves”. Despite the efforts of local campaigners, the supreme court ruled that no further appeal would be heard against the council’s decision.

A spokesperson for the college stressed that it was a purely legal process, stating, “We donated the property to the borough of Brent under the 1854 Literary and Scientific Institutions Act. There was only one condition: the building was to be used as a library and for no other purpose.”

He added that the college had warned the Council in the past, “If you close it, you lose it.”

Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, said, “Our libraries have to bear a share of spending cuts, and I make no apology for that. The deep reductions of over £100m in Brent’s budget imposed by the government mean we have to make difficult choices about all our services.”

The college has said that it never wished to be part of a local political debate. The spokesperson stated, “Our predecessors would be shocked: most people do not give back gifts.”

A motion calling for the immortalisation in bust form of all current and future Christ Church JCR Presidents failed to pass last Sunday.

Second year lawyer Thomas Potter tabled the motion, which resolved to commission a bust of JCR President Tosin Oyetunji, “preferably created by a Junior Member reading Fine Art”. This would then introduce “a tradition of commissioning busts of the JCR President.”

The motion noted that Deans’ portraits in Christ Church’s Great Hall “add an air of history and tradition which is extremely valued by senior and junior members alike.”

It went on to assert that a bust of the JCR President “would do much for the aesthetics of the [JCR] environment”, justifying the rationale for the buy on the basis that the President was “similar within the JCR to the Dean in the College”.

In defence of his proposed tribute, Potter insisted that the bust could “only add to the glory of Christ Church and its members.”

Potter added, “In the long term everyone in college will have their days brightened by constant reminders of our Glorious Ruler.

“The image and reputation of the college will be raised to new heights as we express our undying love for our President to Oxford and the world.”

An amendment involving the commissioning of caricatures for all JCR Presidents still at the college was eventually accepted. Another amendment suggested that stray croquet balls serve the same commemorative purpose instead.

“A few people were worried the JCR budget might go bust,” explained historian and first year representative Lawrence Houldsworth.

In response to the decision, Oyetunji stated, “The job is reward enough in itself, but I am humbled and deeply grateful to have this honour bestowed upon me. All I hope is that my work as JCR President has merited such an honour.”

Ceremonial busts have recently been in vogue, with Brasenose JCR considering a motion to turn the college into a constitutional monarchy under the bust of former President Paul Gladwell. However, the motion failed at the second hearing, with a number of students expressing their “disappointment” at the decision.

First year George Greenwood welcomed the amendment as evidence that Christ Church “are not slaves to fashion. And more importantly, that we have better ideas than Brasenose.”

Fellow Christ Church first year Jack Cottrell, however, was disappointed. He said, “With the heritage of the college, it would have been much more fitting and entertaining to have full-size, classically inspired sculptures.”

Magdalen historian Fred de Fossard drank to the proposal, saying, “There’s a certain glory to a bust which caricatures clearly lack.”

A candlelight vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre was held on Tuesday in Oxford. The vigil was attended by more than half of Hong Kong Oxonians and was the first memorial of its kind held in Oxford in recent years.

The student-led memorial attracted more than 60 undergraduates and postgraduates, more than attend the annual Chinese New Year gathering in Oxford. There are about 100 Hong Kong students at Oxford.

Dressed in dark colours and holding battery-operated candles, students mimicked the routines of a similar memorial held in Hong Kong every year since 1990. They observed a minute’s silence for the victims and sang songs of condolence.

On June 4th 1989 thousands of Beijing students and civilians were killed by the army following a peaceful demonstration for democracy in China. No one has been held responsible for the deaths, nor has there been an official death count. 23 years on, Hong Kong remains the only place on Chinese soil where people can mourn the victims without political intervention.

Oxford students had organised memorials for the victims in the early 1990s, but efforts subsided after. Franz Mang, one of the organisers, said, “We would like to continue the tradition here in Oxford. Last year we wanted to attend memorials in London, but found out that they were mostly linked with dubious organisations. We want to organise a politically independent memorial, solely for Oxford students.”

Timothy Chan said, “Since 1989 I spent most of my time in England. There had never been memorials of any kind, until this year.”

Dr Xu Zerong, a visiting fellow at St Antony’s College who had been jailed by the Chinese government for political reasons, was the guest speaker.

The organisers said they were encouraged by the enthusiastic turnout, and would like to involve mainland Chinese and students of other nationalities next year. Samson Yuen, one of the organisers, said, “Authoritarian regimes always want people to forget history. Remembering is our last defence.”

Students at St Hugh’s have expressed shock at comments made in a survey by their fellow students, which included “comparing flying the rainbow flag to flying a Nazi swastika flag”.

The survey was set up by the JCR President to gauge students’ opinions on whether the college should fly the rainbow flag for a few days during Queer History Month. A slim majority of students voted against flying the flag, with 50.2% of respondents opposed to the idea.

Sara Polakova, JCR President at St Hugh’s, expressed concern at comments made by a minority of respondents. In a message to the JCR she said, “Amongst the general comments in the survey I was, sadly, confronted with a few aggressive, negative and frankly quite worrying remarks.

“Comparing flying the rainbow flag to flying a Nazi Swastika flag and calling my and the committee’s efforts ‘disgraceful’ and ‘stupid’ is, in my view, not very appropriate for a 21st century Oxford student at what is supposed to be the most welcoming college in Oxford.”

Polakova stressed that these comments did not reflect the college as a whole, saying, “The survey was anonymous and I am not sure I even want to find out who made these comments; I just want to make it absolutely clear that these few individuals are NOT representative of the JCR, or indeed of St Hugh’s. We pride ourselves in being one of the most accepting and progressive colleges, and our history reflects that.”

Polakova added that most of the opposition to flying the flag was sensibly expressed. She told Cherwell, “95% of the comments were very reasonable, arguing that the floodgate argument and desire for neutrality from the College’s perspective is valid, and that instead we should put up the rainbow flag in the JCR only, leaving the flagpole dedicated only to the College and Union flag.”

Several St Hugh’s students expressed shock and surprise at the controversial comments. Second year English student Sarah Frontiera described them as “horrifying and truly disheartening”. She added, “To liken the LGBTQ flag to a swastika is ironic, given that Nazis executed gays in the holocaust, and I think it’s in very poor taste.”

Third year Archaeology and Anthropology student Lauri Saksa said, “I just don’t see the link there: it’s a pretty weird and extreme comparison. I would definitely be for flying the Rainbow Flag.”

Ollie Persey, the St Hugh’s JCR Male Welfare Rep., suggested that the JCR should move on from the issue of flying the LGBTQ flag. He commented, “There are other plans in place to promote LGBTQ issues, and ensure that this reputation doesn’t stick.”

The wider LGBTQ community in Oxford echoed the concern shown by St Hugh’s students. Simone Webb, incoming President of Oxford University’s LGBTQ Society, said, “While I haven’t myself read comments in the survey, I’m shocked and appalled to hear that students have compared the rainbow flag to the Nazi’s swastika flag – that sounds like a deliberately provocative and deeply offensive and hurtful comparison, especially as LGBTQ people were among the Nazis’ victims.

“While there are perhaps arguments against flying the rainbow flag (for instance, the argument that the college flag should be the only flag to be flown), it sounds from these comments as if bigotry has motivated the objections. A political movement such as Nazism is not comparable to a flag in support of LGBTQ rights.”

Corpus Christi’s annual tortoise fair took place this Sunday, raising £1048 for charity. The appropriately named ‘Zoom!’, from Worcester College, took first place in the tortoise race with a speedy performance which the race organiser claimed “may well challenge for an all-time record”.

Zoom! was followed by the Brasenose tortoise, Mr T, and Corpus’ Oldham came third. In a nail-biting conclusion, Univ’s Percy led slightly, but was undone as he turned away just inches from the finish lettuce.

Richard Carwardine, President of Corpus Christi and judge for the day, said, “Obviously it was something of a disappointment that the Corpus tortoises didn’t come in first and second as we had been training them to do. I have some doubts whether the drug testing regime was quite as severe as it should have been – I think one or two may have slipped through the net.”

All money raised was donated to Reprieve, a charity dedicated to protecting prisoners’ human rights.

Oxford University’s multi-million pound annual list of donors has revealed that two of the University’s major donors have been respectively accused of bribery and convicted of violating insider trading laws.

Three 2009 diplomatic cables from the then US Ambassador to Uganda, Jerry P. Lanier, released by WikiLeaks in 2010, contained allegations by rival British firm Tullow Oil that Italian industrial company Eni SpA had bribed senior Ugandan government officials.

Eni made a multi-million pound contribution to Oxford’s Saïd Business School in the 2009/10 University year. The record of donors who had given above £100,000 to the University in this period lists Eni as a donor who has given £1,000,000 – £9,999,999 to the University.

The cables Lanier sent to Washington DC claimed that Eni had bribed then-Security Minister Amama Mbabazi and then-Energy Minister Hilary Onek to favour Eni over Tullow Oil in the sale of recently discovered oil assets in the country. One of the cables read, “Tullow Oil claims senior Ugandan government officials were ‘compensated’ to support the sale of a partner/rival firm’s exploration and production rights to Italian oil company ENI.”

Lanier also said, “If Tullow’s allegations are true – and we believe they are – then this is a critical moment for Uganda’s nascent oil sector.” Onek is currently Minister for Internal Affairs. Mbabazi, the incumbent Ugandan Prime Minister, has been previously implicated in other corruption scandals. Both the two ministers and Eni SpA have denied all allegations.

A spokesperson for Eni SpA said, “We do not have anything to add to our position, which as we say we have already publicly expressed. With regard to our support for academia, Eni supports academic research at various different Universities around the world, including Oxford where our support is for scholarships, research and executive training initiatives.”

Meanwhile, George Soros, the famed investor and philanthropist, donated $5 million (around £3.2 million pounds) to the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), opened in April 2012 by Vice Chancellor Andrew Hamilton. Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School said that INET@Oxford will address “some of the greatest economic challenges we face.”

In 1989 the French stockmarket watchdog, Commission des Opérations de Bourse, concluded that George Soros had not violated insider trading laws, after he purchased a large amount of shares in Société Générale, a French banking group, just before its sale. The insider trading laws were amended in 1990 to include third parties, and Soros was convicted in 2002, the only one out of the three on trial.

The judges also ordered Soros to pay back the €2.2 million profits he had obtained from the share purchases and the following sale. The fine was reduced to €940,000 after a 2007 decision by France’s Supreme Court.

Following his conviction, Soros made several appeals to the European Court of Human Rights, basing his case in part on his claim that the law had been amended specifically because of him, and was thus unfair. The ECHR rejected all of his appeals, with the latest decision made in March of this year.

Michael Vachon, Advisor to the Chairman at Soros Fund Management (SFM), told Cherwell, “With respect to the Société Générale case, Mr Soros continues to maintain that he engaged in no insider trading.” Ron Soffer, his lawyer said, “The investigation started in 1989. The appeals trial occurred in 2004. How can you call witnesses and ask them about what happened in 1988?”

Soros has donated more than $8 billion (just over £5 billion) over the past 30 years to promote democracy, foster free speech, improve education and fight poverty around the world. He also recently declared that he would be donating $27.4 million over the next five years to the Millennium Villages program, a United Nations project based in Africa that aims to alleviate poverty.

Corpus Christi College’s £1 million auditorium was wholly funded by a donation from Saudi-Austrian businessman Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa al Jaber. Mr al Jaber is a UNESCO special envoy, and has backed female education in Saudi Arabia. His personal foundation, the MBI Foundation, has pioneered a scholarship programme that enables Israeli and Palestinian students to study together.

The MBI al Jaber Building was opened in 2009. In recognition of his gift, al Jaber was awarded an honorary fellowship by the college. Presenting the accolade, the University’s Chancellor, Lord Christopher Patten of Barnes, praised al Jaber as, “a man of the highest distinction in business and educational philanthropy”.

Other recent large donations include the £75m donation by Russian-born US citizen Leonard Blavatnik in 2010 towards the new Blavatnik School of Government, and £26m this year from Mica Ertegun, the widow of the founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun, to support postgraduate humanities scholarships.

In 2008, the University ran the risk of losing one of their most prominent donors after refusing to accept a £1 million, four tonne, ten foot monument of Conservative MP George Cooke, from Israeli multi-millionaire Zvi Meitar. The Times reported that the tycoon was threatening to withdraw his support after the University rejected his offer.

When vetting donations, the University takes into account donors who might be seen to have a “tarnished reputation”. Their policy states, “The University will consider gifts from that donor if the behaviour which led to the donor’s reputation being tarnished has clearly ceased.” The guidelines also include more specific regulations. For instance, donations from those “actively working in the tobacco industry” will not be accepted.

The University declined to comment when contacted by Cherwell.

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Freedom Of Information (FOI) requests made by Cherwell also revealed that during 2009-2011 there were 517 total donations made to the University over the amount of £10,000. 83 out of these donations were made wholly or partly to the Ashmolean Museum. This is over 16% of all donations made to the University.

Meanwhile, 74 out of the 517 donations made to the University were for the Bodleian libraries. In particular, donations were directed to the Bodleian Law Library. Most of the donations were directed towards a specific faculty (again the Faculty of Law achieved over 30 donations) and the larger donations towards larger institutions such as the Saïd Business School (there were three donations over £1 million made to the School).

However, some more specific donations were directed towards “the archiving of the Tolkien papers both at the Bodleian Libraries”, “for the Heberden Coin Room at the Ashmolean Museum” and “for the acquisition of the Kafka Letters to Ottla Archive at the Bodleian Libraries”.

Overall, the University has received 162 donations that are each over £100,000 in value. Donations of this size must first be approved by the University’s Committee to Review Donations (CRD), which, amongst other guidelines, ensures that donors have a good reputation and wholly genuine motivations. 356 donations of less of £100,000 each were accepted outside of CRD scrutiny.

In the majority of cases, the University has been hugely successful in attracting philanthropic aid. Oxford Thinking, the University’s fundraising campaign passed its initial target of £1.25 billion earlier this year, having currently raised £1.3 billion. Established in May 2004, this is the shortest time taken by a European univer- sity to reach such a target. 36% of this total came from previous alumni, with some of the most prominent donations emerging from those with no previous affiliation with the University.

Individual colleges are also capable of attracting similar sums. Cherwell reviewed the amount of money donated to Oxford colleges over the past three years and discovered that out of the college responses Christ Church received the highest amount in donations with an average of £1,278,500 donations a year. Balliol came a close second with an average of £1,125,500 a year and University College was third with an average of £1,027,750.

St John’s received a surprisingly low amount of donations, only receiving £188,250 on average over the past three years considering that their financial endowment in 2010 was valued at £313,319,000. Donations of over £10,000 to Jesus College increased from 17 in 2008/9 to 31 in 2009/10.

Christ Church JCR President Oluwatosin Oyetunji commented, “We have a very strong Alumni relations office, and I am glad to see positive results. I suppose people enjoy their time at Christ Church and are happy to donate after they leave.”

Correction: This article has been amended to accurately reflect the philanthropic work of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and the MBI Al Jaber Foundation. Cherwell apologises for any distress caused to Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and the Trustees of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation by the original version of this article.