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.”

Students from Wadham have suc­cessfully raised over £6000 for Kids’ Adventure, a charity run by a Wad­ham student, by walking from Ox­ford to Wembley Stadium in North London. The walk took place on the 2nd and 3rd of February, covering a total distance of 54 miles.

Sam Hurst and Josh Vivian devel­oped the initiative in order to raise money to support Kids’ Adventure, while the charity is organised by Au­gusta Higson, a fellow Wadhamite. Wadham footballer Jack Webb told Cherwell that the project came about as a result of his childhood prom­ise, “that [he] would get to Wembley whatever it took.” He added, “It’s a really great project that is responsi­ble for making a difference in a lot of children’s lives, even if it does mean that they are in college, screaming outside my window at stupid o’clock on Saturday mornings.”

Wadham’s JCR President, Jahnavi Emmanuel, said, “I think it was an amazing project and the fact that they were fundraising for a Wadham-based charity meant that the whole college really got into it.”

Higson added that the support has been fantastic and that “if anyone is interested in volunteering please email me on: kidsadventure@oxford­hub.org.”

StudentStudent – A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. →

Students at St Catherine’s College were informed of an attempted break-in on college accommodation on Saturday morning, although this has since been denied by the college, who claim it was a “complete misunderstanding.”

In an email sent out to all St Catz students on Saturday morning, the
Junior Deans wrote, “This morning at approximately 5.30 a student reported that a man had tried to enter their room, repeatedly rattling
their door before continuing to walk around the staircase.”

Despite the police being called and the college being searched, the burglar was not identified. The Deans also expressed concerns that a number of students do not lock their rooms, reminding students that “Catz is an open college, and while instances such as this are rare, they certainly need to be considered. It is very important that you lock your doors at night.”

Despite the email being sent out warning students of the reported  intrusion, St Catz Dean Adrian Smith sought to reassure students. Speaking to Cherwell, he maintained, “This has been tracked down and dealt with, it was not a break in. The email went out as a precaution and the student bodies have been made aware.”

A spokesperson for the college told Cherwell that the whole incident was a “complete misunderstanding”, although the college refused to develop further on the origin of the confusion.

This is not the first time that St Catz have experienced security issues. Back in 2009, a similar intrusion was reported, and items worth close to £300 were stolen from college premises.

A visiting Economics student at St Catz, told Cherwell, “I think it is important that students should feel safe and protected. But in an open college like St Catz, it is quite difficult for porters to check everyone who enters the college, so Catz students should be more cautious with leaving their doors unlocked. In my opinion, the college responded to this iincident quite effectively.”

Security measures at the upcoming Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race will be changed to avoid a repeat of last year’s incident, in which a protester jumped in the Thames.

Trenton Oldfield was sentenced to 6 months in jail following the stunt, which brought the race to a standstill and saw him narrowly avoid being struck by the oars of both teams. Released in December on the condition of wearing an electric tag, Oldfield has stood by his actions, and even claimed to be considering further action this year.

As a result, race organisers have decided to use new initiatives, and have confirmed that professional security companies will be involved.

Speaking to The Independent, David Searle, executive director of the Boat Race Company Limited, said, “We’ve obviously been looking very hard at security and we are making some changes. It is very, very difficult to police eight and a half miles of bank. We are taking additional measures this year and we have looked at all of our actions last year. We’ve reviewed them and thought about how we would react slightly differently, not much differently, if it happened this year. All I can and will say is that any who does it is taking their lives in their hands… we just say to people: Just don’t consider it.”

Organisers have made a point of emphasising the risk posed by such action – not only to perpetrators, but also to participants of the race (who could face hypothermia), emergency services, and the following flotilla. They have also encouraged the public and spectators to report anything suspicious on the day.

Jim Ormiston, President of Balliol Boat Club, said, “I think [race prganisers] should do all they can. However, I certainly don’t think they were too lax last year; nothing like that had ever happened before. I really hope that nobody does try to repeat the farce of last year.”

“It was horrendous to watch [someone] rob so many people, who have essentially given up a year of their lives for that race.”

The 159th Annual Boat Race will take place on 31st March at 4:30pm. The race is one of the oldest sporting events in the world.

A letter sent out to the JCR stated, “This evening saw the last Deans’ Dinner of the year. Over the past few months we have invited all first-year undergraduates to dine in the New Room as our guests. At each din­ner several decanters, stoppers, and other items of College property have been removed without permission.

“We would be grateful if these items could now be returned. The same applies to any items removed in previous years. Often, as tonight, it has been obvious what has been happening, but we have turned a blind eye to those involved on the as­sumption that these items would be returned quickly and safely.”

The letter added that stolen items could be left anonymously outside the door of the Senior Dean in a sort of amnesty programme. It conclud­ed, “If we do not receive the removed items we will have to consider wheth­er we should continue to hold these dinners next year.”

JCR President Millie Ross implied that individuals could be punished as well, writing on the JCR Facebook group, “the staff often note who they spot with what (you’re less subtle than you think!) so I wouldn’t take the risk if I were you. It’s fine as a harmless prank of course, and it is a bit of a tradition now, but if the stuff isn’t returned they won’t be able to host them next year and that would be such a shame for the next cohort.”

She later wrote, “The Deans have notified me that if they don’t have the items back from Deans’ Dinner TODAY then they will have to believe they were stolen (rather than taken as a prank) and act accordingly. They are even still missing big items like fruit bowls and decanters.”

First year English student Frank Lawton quipped, “Other than the small matter of it technically being theft it seems to be to be a great and noble tradition. After all, I feel like I’ve been robbed every time I open my battels sheets, it’s only fair that we even up the score now and then. Furthermore, I thought University encouraged education and equip­ping us with the skills we’ll need for our careers? Personally I would like to be a bank robber or a high profile art thief.

“Dean’s Dinner is essentially glori­fied fieldwork for such aspirants. The full dining set was an impressive ac­complishment, although I think try­ing to steal the Deans themselves was pushing it a bit too far. But I guess that’s all just part of the learning curve.”

A first year historian commented, “I think traditions like this are great as long as they’re just a bit of fun and don’t end up costing the college or depriving others in the future. I myself, along with many others, removed a rather large number of items on Friday night, which I re­turned to the Deans over the week­end. I was impressed when returning my decanters to find an antique table and a silver tray had also been left there.”

“I can understand why it was necessary to request that the items be returned but I very much enjoyed the dinner and hope they will be held in the future; and they wouldn’t be anywhere near as fun without the added thrill of everyone trying to subtly cram cutlery and tableware into their pockets!”

In an email to the JCR on Monday, Ross reported, “the Deans are very pleased to see a large majority of the items returned and it’s unlikely they’ll have to take any further ac­tion!”

Last Saturday, a petting zoo visited The Queen’s College as part of a series of events run by the JCR welfare team to relieve 5th week Blues. The animals that visited the Nun’s Gardens at Queen’s were Grahame the sheep, Cola the goat, Rex and Queenie the chickens, Splash the duck, Blackberry the rabbit, and Amber the sheep. 

Queen’s Welfare Rep Mark Holmes explained, “When it was suggested that we get a petting zoo, I dismissed the idea out of hand to put the JCR off the scent but then we quickly began googling like mad. I just thought it was fun and had great potential to get people talking during 5th week and spend our budget on an event that would really attract people away from the libraries for a while; even if just out of curiosity.”

“What I expected to be the biggest hurdle, getting college permission, really wasn’t a hurdle at all! The Home Bursar was really receptive once she had realised that this had been fully thought out. Logistics were a nightmare initially, but the company and the college were flexible. When I arrived at 9.30am to a transit van with a trailer attached, the bleating of Grahame the sheep was certainly a little bit surreal.”

Female Welfare Rep Maria Newsome, told Cherwell, “The petting zoo visited us for four hours on Saturday, and it felt like almost all of our members couldn’t resist coming out to stroke and pet the animals. Who can really be stressed when cuddling a rabbit?”

While the petting zoo was a 5th week favourite for nearly all who attended, for students facing exams it was particularly welcome. Second-year classicist Christine MacVicar said, “It was just nice to get outside for a bit; I definitely want another one! It really helped calm me down.”

Jane Cahill, The Queen’s College JCR President, said, “Holding that rabbit was the best thing that’s happened to me all term. The JCR will look to procuring more soft, fluffy things in the future.”