A motion to put a £200 official portrait of the Queen in Keble JCR has failed, with 54 votes against, 17 votes for, and 24 abstentions.

The motion, to “Spend £193.80 on purchasing an official framed portrait of Her Majesty The Queen for placement in the JCR”, was proposed by JCR member Alexander King as the Queen “has served this country gloriously all her life”. He said that there was a lack of “official recognition of this service in the JCR”.

It was suggested that “the placement of a portrait of Her Majesty in the JCR would be a fitting way of fulfilling such recognition.” However, concerns were raised by JCR members that a portrait of the Queen in the JCR could make some people feel “uncomfortable”, particularly prospective students who come to the JCR during interviews.

King told Cherwell, “I proposed the motion as I felt that in this Jubilee year it was important for the Keble JCR, specifically the JCR as a representation of the student body, to recognise the glorious service the Queen has given this country. It was voted down mainly on the spurious contention that it would be divisive, which I feel was propagated by a vocal minority of the Keble students at the meeting who swayed the rest of those present.”

He continued, “I feel very sad that on this issue Keble has shown itself to be woefully out of touch with the rest of the British population, 80% of whom currently support the monarchy, and feel indebted to the Queen for her service.”

Keble JCR President Basil Vincent disagreed commenting, “I think that some saw the portrait as potentially divisive, and with a special Jubilee Hog Roast this Sunday the general feeling was that enough is already being done to commemorate Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.”

One Keble student added, “Nearly £200 to support someone who was born into a certain family is not really economical use of money. Also, we have a lot of international students and it is not fair to show some kind of political allegiance they do not agree with.”

Oxford University Press has released some of the novels featured in its famous Bookworm Graded Readers series as iPod, iPhone and iPad apps.

The series provides classics of English literature adapted for students learning the language to help them learn outside the classroom.

The app allows users to read and listen to a range of texts, from Alice in Wonderland to Pride and Prejudice, graded by difficulties from stage 1 to 6.

Harriet Seymour from the Oxford University Press said “It’s incredible motivating for a student to discover they can read stories such as the Sherlock Holmes stories in English.”

She also said that the app had potential to attract new readers: “by making the stories available as apps we open them up to students who prefer using mobile devices to reading a book” .

The app provides colourful illustrations to engage learners as well as interactive vocabulary tests so that they can keep an eye on their progress.

Research by the Extensive Reading Foundation shows that reading texts at or just below students’ level of compete’nce is one of the most effective ways of improving their language skills.

Native English speakers are exposed to 7 million words a year whereas in the classroom students encounter far fewer words, typically about 10,000 in a year.

Reading works in the native language can increase this exposure to around a million words in one year.

A first year language student said, “The app looks very handy-reading literature in the native language has really helped me get to grips with the language.’

Another linguist, Adam Lambert commented, “The app sounds like a brilliant idea. I would have really appreciated literature with exciting illustrations to help me in my studies this year.’

Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Hamilton, has recently returned from a trip to Asia to forge and reinforce links in the region, particularly in the medical sciences.

Professor Hamilton spent a week in the region visiting Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo from the 12th to the 19th May, and met Chinese Minister of Health, Dr Zhu Chen, to discuss Oxford’s medical research collaborations in China.

Hamilton said, “It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the medical research collaborations between Oxford and China are changing global health.”

On the final day of his trip Professor Hamilton met with Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, who are both Oxford alumni.

A University spokesperson commented, “We are an international university with a global outlook, and there’s simply no international institution in the world now for whom Asia, and especially China, isn’t important.

“Oxford has many, many links with both China and Japan, and these go back centuries. Oxford had its first Chinese visitor in 1687.”

A team of researchers led by Oxford Professor of Archaeological Science Tom Higham have uncovered what are believed to be the world’s earliest examples of musical instruments. 

An excavation this month at a cave in Geissenkloesterle, Germany, revealed flutes made from either bird bone or mammoth ivory. Experts have speculated they may have been used for ‘recreation of religious reasons’.

The find’s location has thrown into question a previous view, held by many scientists, that modern humans only settled in the upper Danube region after an extreme climactic phase 40,000 years ago. 

Carbon dating has suggested that the instruments were made between 42,000 and 43,000 years ago.

‘Modern humans during [this] period were in central Europe at least 2,000-3,000 years before this climatic deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted’, explained Prof Higham.

‘The question is what effect this downturn might have had on the people in Europe at the time.’

It is widely believed that music may represent just one of several human traits that gave homo sapiens a natural advantage over the less developed Neanderthals.

Student opinion in Oxford was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of what the instruments could tell us about human history.

One anonymous music student, who identified the ‘musics and sounds of ancient times’ as one of his core interests, claimed that the flutes ‘could represent a major milestone in the history of music history.’

‘I might start playing with mine again’, he added.

Research by Oxford’s Dr Cliff Davies has found that the term ‘Tudor’ was hardly ever used in the 16th century.

Dr Davies, a History tutor at Wadham, has discovered that until the final years of Elizabeth’s reign, the term was very rarely used to refer to the governments of the kings and queens we now know as the ‘Tudors’.

Of the numerous documents, pamphlets, poems and plays studied by Davies, only a single poem was found which uses the term, which refers to the 1603 transferral of royal power from Elizabeth Tudor to James Stuart.

Davies argues that common references to the ‘Tudor Monarchy’ both by historians and in the arts has brought about a misconception by which the period has come to be thought of as unduly glamorous and unified.

Davies said, “The word ‘Tudor’ is used obsessively by historians, often as a quite unnecessary reinforcing adjective to add an appropriate ‘period flavour’ to their work, but it was almost unknown at the time.”

“While the Tudor name was celebrated in Welsh language writings, it was considered an embarrassment in England – Henry VII’s paternal grandfather Owen Tudor was played down and Henry VIII boasted instead of the ‘Union’ of the families of Lancaster and York embodied in himself.

“There is no sense in which the ‘Tudor’ monarchs thought of themselves as ‘Welsh’, or took pride in their descent from a Welsh adventurer.”

Davies said that the discovery was significant in that it shines a light on the disunity between the governments of Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

He added that the idea of ‘the Tudor people’ is misleading because it “gives a false sense of people identifying with their monarch. The very term implies a degree of automatic ‘loyalty’ which is unwarranted.”

Finally, Davies takes issue with the notion that the ‘Tudors’ believed themselves to be living in a specific age, distinct from the ‘Middle Ages’.

Fresher historian Alex Krook was less positive about Davies’ findings. “Inaccurate maybe, but I’ll let my historical judgment temporarily slide for an excuse to watch Jonathan Rhys-Meyers get his kit off.”

Police were called to the Bridge Bar and Club at around 2.40am on Saturday morning in response to reports that two men had been assaulted.

The victims were taken to be treated at the John Radcliffe hospital for injuries to the face. A 23 year old Oxford resident sustained severe injuries to his eye, while another man suffered broken teeth.

The officer leading the investigation, Detective Constable Karl Ralph, said, “This was a very nasty attack which might cost one of the victims the sight in one eye.”

Two men were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent, a 23 year old man from Oxford and a 28 year old man from Kidlington.

The Thames Valley Police informed Cherwell that the men have since been released on police bail and will appear in court in July.

The assault is believed to have taken place in the VIP area of the nightclub, which is a favoured spot for many student revellers on a weekly basis. When contacted by Cherwell, the Bridge declined to comment on the incident.

Emma Finlayson, a first-year student at St Peter’s, expressed relief that the incident had not taken place at a student event. She said, “I go to Bridge every Thursday so I’m really glad this didn’t happen on one of the big student nights.”

Finlayson added, “I don’t think this kind of thing would happen on an Oxford uni night. I haven’t ever seen a serious fight among students on a night out.”

The Thames Valley Police is currently appealing for witnesses to the assault to come forward with information.

Oriel’s victorious Men’s 1st rowing team hit a swan on their way to becoming Head of the River during the Summer XIIIs competition.

Phil McCullough, Secretary of Oxford University Rowing Clubs, said, “On Wednesday 23rd May, on the first day of Summer Eights, Oriel made contact with a female swan on green bank. OURCs used a launch to track the injured swan and contacted a local swan charity, Swan Lifeline.

“Under the instruction of the charity volunteer, OURCs used both of their launches and a number of committee to assist in the safe capture of the injured swan so that it could receive veterinary attention.”

The swan was found after a one and a half hour search and had to have its broken wing amputated. It now lives in Cuckoo Weir Island, a swan sanctuary in Windsor run by Swan Lifeline.

McCullough continued, “OURCs makes all efforts to avoid collisions with swans, and all events include the contingency for halting racing should a collision be likely. On Thursday, one race was halted to prevent a collision between a racing crew and a swan.

“Unfortunately, in this instance, a swan that had been safely tucked into the bank appears to have moved sufficiently to be struck by the Oriel crew before anything could be done to prevent it.”

“OURCs would like to thank Swan Lifeline for their rescue of the swan and will be making a donation to the charity in the near future.”

All unmarked, wild mute swans are legally property of the Crown and therefore injuring a swan can amount to criminal damage, an offence which has been successfully prosecuted in recent years.

Ben Mansfield, Men’s Captain of Boats at Oriel College Boat Club, commented, “I would prefer to focus on the fact that we won the 2012 Headship and were absolutely delighted to do so.

“On Wednesday it was regrettable that we hit a swan. The field of view for our cox is quite limited as she sits low in the boat with a 6’2′ Dutchman a metre directly in front of her, so she only saw it moments before it struck our bow and three of our bowside blades, mine included.

Mansfield added, “There has been no fine levied by OURCs and I have not heard of any wider ranging repercussions.”

Austin Elwood, Men’s Captain of Pembroke College Rowing Club, who were attempting to bump Oriel for all four days of Summer Eights, commented, “If the racing line isn’t clear, either being blocked by a swan, other boat or swimmer, then it is up to the marshal nearby to communicate this to race desk and, if necessary, klaxon the division.

“No matter how much Pembroke would have wanted to take the headship, we most certainly would not have wanted to do this on the back of a penalty bump.”

Oriel’s Boat Club is the club with the most outstanding fines, owing £460 to the OURCs. This is £285 more than any other club owing fines.

On Tuesday JCR Presidents took part in a run designed “to help to get people talking about cancer, and the impact of cancer on people’s lives at university.”

JCR Presidents from eleven colleges, along with Hannah Cusworth, OUSU Vice-President for Access and Academic Affairs, ran around University Parks. Some ran for half an hour and others for longer. The presidents from LMH and St Hugh’s, Phil Schroeder and Sara Polakova, ran the first 1.5-mile lap as a three-legged pair.

The event was masterminded by Helen Robb, JCR President of St Anne’s. She told Cherwell that her motivation for organising the run was to remove taboos about discussing cancer and to raise awareness of ovarian cancer in particular. She also hoped she might be able to raise awareness of her own fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Relief and that she could get some of the other presidents running.

Robb explained that her interest in ovarian cancer derives from the difficulty of diagnosing the cancer, and from her mother’s experiences with it. Possible symptoms include “bloating, losing weight, gaining weight, feeling a bit sore, feeling a bit tired”, meaning that Robb’s own mother was only diagnosed after four or five visits to the doctor.

Robb said, “Events like this get people talking and help everybody to deal with their difficulties a little better, and be more aware of those problems which may affect others.” She believes that the taboo can cause “two months of feeling really alone” in cancer sufferers or those close to them, by preventing friends from understanding what they are going through.

Robb plans to run the Great North Run, a half marathon, in September. Her original fundraising target, £918 (the wages of a Macmillan Cancer Relief nurse for a week) has already been surpassed. Robb also writes a blog on her personal experiences of cancer.

Exeter President Benjamin Clayton commented, “This is a great idea from Helen. Hopefully we can do everything we can to raise awareness of something which affects nearly everyone, either directly or indirectly. I think that today we can hopefully raise a bit of awareness, and that people reading Cherwell will think they can get involved, no matter how much. I hope it’s a good day with some solid running.”

Beatrice Graham, Trinity JCR President, told Cherwell, “I think it’s really nice how frank and honest Helen’s blog is. Pretty much everybody is affected by cancer at some point in their lives, whether personally or through friends or family, and it’s really good to read about someone who’s having such a personal experience with it but is ready to share and break down the taboo that is still associated with it.”

Runners from Corpus, Exeter, Hertford, Jesus, LMH, New, Queen’s, St Hugh’s, St Anne’s, Trinity and Wadham took part.

Students at Balliol have been warned about swarms of wasps that have been occupying rooms in their accommodation on the main site.

In an email sent out on Sunday, JCR President Ben Marshall said, “Because it’s summer, I know loads of you have taken to leaving your windows open. Also because it’s summer, there have been lots of wasps around, and a large number of them seem to have invaded Dicey (Top floor of main-site accommodation).”

He continued, “If you want to avoid waking up to a face full of wasps (especially if you’re a finalist) as many people in Dicey and the floor below already have, please keep your windows closed. “If you love wasps, by all means leave them open. The Dean has suggested anyone whose room has been ‘occupied’ stay with a friend until the problem has been resolved.”

Olivia Cocker, who lives in Dicey, commented, “I went up to my room in Dicey at about lunchtime to get some things from my room. As I went in I saw that there were about 40 wasps, mainly crawling on the windows and the wall. My window looks out above a church and there were literally thousands flying around.”

She added, “I called my friend to come and help me get them out of my room and at first she thought I was exaggerating. They were really really agitated and kept flying towards us as we tried to get into my room. Then we realised that we were no match for the angry wasps and we ran away.”

However, after pest control had been called the angry wasps retreated. Domestic Bursar Jo Roadknight said, “They swarmed in, so we called pest control, but within an hour they had made their own exit.”

The JCR President called the invasion “short lived”, saying, “Someone from pest control came out on Sunday and the wasps seem to have vacated.”

Students are planning a protest today at the Carfax Tower in support of hunger strikers at Campsfield House, an immigration removal centre situated to the north of Oxford.

Large numbers of Oxford students are expected to attend, with Wadham student Rebecca Sparrow, who is heavily involved in the Close Campsfield campaign, “hoping for a big turnout.”

Alistair Johnson, of Oxford University Amnesty International, told Cherwell that they were protesting “to remind those detained in Campsfield that they haven’t been completely forgotten, and to show the people who run Campsfield that we are against what they’re doing.”

The protest comes as a result of reports from campaign group Close Campaign that six Darfuri asylum seekers, held in detention at Campsfield indefinitely without charge, have been on hunger strike for six days. The strikers have been held for varying periods of time, the longest time being six months.

A statement on Close Campsfield’s website said, “At least one of the strikers is also a confirmed torture survivor with visible torture wounds. Torture survivors are not supposed to be held in immigration detention under UK law, but campaigning groups say that this law is regularly flouted by the UK Border Agency.”

Whilst the hunger strikers’ demands are that they all be released and granted asylum, they have also expressed a desire to be removed to a safe place, and have claimed that they are being held arbitrarily with no time limit. They have complained of their treatment inside the centre, saying that they came to Britain asking for refuge, and instead have been locked up.

A report on an unannounced inspection of Campsfield by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in May last year revealed, “Health care staff received no training in recognising symptoms of torture and trauma.”

Concerns have also been raised over how the centre’s management have dealt with the issue, after those who attempted to visit the strikers, including Oxford students, were denied access earlier this week.

In an official statement concerning the attempted visits on Wednesday evening, the Close Campsfield campaign commented, “The hunger strikers requested visits; [additionally] various supporters from Oxford independently organised visits for the evening of 30 May. Despite pre-arranging visits, each of the visitors was turned away on different spurious reasons (some with no reason given) once detention centre management realised they were visiting Sudanese men.”

The group added, “Supporters have vowed to try and visit the hunger strikers again to support them and intend to submit a complaint alleging that detention centre management attempted to cover up the hunger strike and illegally refused and lied to visitors, to the company who manage Campsfield (Mitie), to the Independent Monitoring Board, to the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and to the Minister for Immigration tomorrow (31 May) through their local MP.”

The news of the strikes has caused concern among a number of Oxford students. Tilly Hill, a second year medic at St. Anne’s who plans to attend the protest, said, “How can you lock away a man that has been forced to leave his family and life behind and flee from his home country?”

After the denial of visiting access, channels of communication with immigrants have come under scrutiny.

Sparrow said, “One of the reasons Campsfield House gets away with what it does is that communication with the outside world is so difficult. People just don’t know what’s going on and there is so much denial of responsibility as these centres are run by private companies for profit.”

Many students also expressed the opinion that the events at Campsfield were a result of problems with the asylum system more generally. Brasenose student Rachel Rowan-Olive commented, “The current system is labyrinthine and bureaucratic at almost every level; it seems to me that Campsfield and centres like it are symptoms of its inadequacy. Asylum seekers’ wellbeing and rights are low on the priorities list.”

In an investigation into Campsfield earlier this term, Cherwell reported that in 2010, 147 of the 216 detainees went on hunger strike. The Home Office told Cherwell at the time, “Immigration removal centres like Campsfield are vital in helping us to remove those with no right to be in the country. HMI Prisons confirmed last year that Campsfield continues to be a particularly well-operated centre, and that it provides a safe and secure environment for staff and detainees.”

A UK Border Agency spokesman said, ‘Six detainees at Campsfield House are currently refusing prepared meals. However they have access to food at the centre’s shop, and healthcare teams have no concerns over their wellbeing.

‘Staff at Campsfield continue to monitor the situation, work with detainees and listen to their concerns.”