A group of St Peter’s students are among the latest Oxford students to have promised to give ten per cent of their future income to charity.

The move comes as part of an international scheme called Giving What We Can, where people make a public pledge to “use part of [their] income to do a substantial amount of good in the developing world” and will do so “publicly, freely, and without regret”.

On their website, the organisation says it believes strongly in the necessity of making this public pledge as it “encourage others to join” and lets them “share advice” about how best to give.

Giving What We Can was first founded by Dr Toby Ord in 2009, who was the first to make the pledge and will give an estimated one million pounds over his lifetime.

Treatment coordinated by Oxford University has led to the first implantation of an electronic retina in a patient in the UK.

The surgical team, led by the Professor Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at Oxford University, inserted retinal implants in the backs of the eyes of two men.

The technology consists of a small microchip containing 1,500 tiny light-detectors, implanted below the retina, and a power source implanted behind the ear. The light-detectors, when powered, transmit a signal to the optic nerve, allowing restoration of some sight.

Professor MacLaren said there was some uncertainty about how much sight would be recovered, but that under “best conditions” patients might be able to see the top letter on an eye chart.

Dr Dolores Conroy, Director of Research at Fight for Sight, commented, “The news from this pioneering trial that some useful vision can be regained will be extremely welcome to those who are living with sight loss.”

Oxford students helped to make history as some of the first athletes ever to compete in the new London Olympic stadium.

Around 70 students from Oxford competed at the annual BUCS VISA Outdoor Athletics Championships, which this year also served as a test event for the Olympics.

The event was officiated by the same personnel that will be responsible for looking after Usain Bolt and other athletes this summer.

Stand-out Oxford performers included Clara Blättler of Univ, who took Bronze in the Women’s Pole Vault, Jessica Chen from Somerville, who came fifth in the Women’s 5000m and consequently tops the UK U20 rankings for 2012, and the Men’s 4X400 relay team, which is waiting for confirmation that it broke the OUAC record in the event.

Helen Hanstock, President of the Oxford Sports Federation, commented, “It was a pleasure to be involved. The organisation of the event was immaculate and I’d like to thank BUCS and the London Prepares series for providing this opportunity to all the student athletes who were able to compete.”

The competitors echoed Hanstock’s enthusiasm, telling Cherwell that the professional surroundings were an important factor in the high quality of the athletics on display.

Blättler commented, “Even while walking up to the stadium, it felt like we were approaching an exciting event. I think the atmosphere helped athletes raise their own standards, and I for one certainly felt as if I was centre-stage and performed to the best of my ability.”

Jake Shelley, a 1500m runner, agreed, adding that the venue made it “all the more exciting and nerve racking” He said, “It will be great to think that I was one of the first people to race at the Olympic stadium.”

There has been a major reduction in deaths involving a pain-relief drug since it was withdrawn in the UK in 2005, an Oxford University-led study has found.

The drug, Co-proxamol, was linked to a fifth of drug-poisoning suicides in England and Wales between 1997 and 1999.

Following concerns regarding its widespread use in suicidal poisonings, it was withdrawn from use in the UK between 2005 and 2007.

A previous study showed a reduction in the number of suicides related to co-proxamol suicides during this three year withdrawal phase and no evidence of an increase in deaths from other prescription pain killers.

The study showed that, following the drug’s withdrawal, there were 20 deaths related to co-proxamol per year, including suicides and accidental poisonings. It was more than 250 per year during the 1990s.

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research with support from the Oxford NHS Foundation Trust.

A team of black Oxbridge graduates has launched a scheme to improve the numbers of African and Caribbean students at the University.

The scheme, called Target Oxbridge, will mentor black students through sixth form and prepare them for the rigorous admissions procedures for Oxford and Cambridge.

Last year only seven black Caribbean students were admitted for undergraduate study at Oxford.

Raphael Mokades, founder of the organisation, explained, “Lots of black kids apply for the most competitive subjects like Law and Economics, when the ratio of applicants is lower for subjects such as Classics and Theology.” He claimed his project hoped to address this imbalance.

Naomi Kellman, an alumnus of Lincoln College, spoke last week at a conference hosted by Oxford discussing the problem of racial prejudice in higher education. She said that she hopes the programme will give black applicants “the help and support that their more privileged and connected counterparts are guaranteed both at home and at school”.

She added, “The scheme aims to make black students aware of the different opportunities and paths to success that the universities offer.”

Mentor Andre Flemmings hopes that mock interviews will be conducted in the impressive Oxford and Cambridge Club in London.

He said that many black students were put off by the universities reputations, arguing that “Oxford and Cambridge have that mystique that’s difficult to overcome.’

He also commented that many black potential undergraduates “self-select” themselves out of the process because they lack confidence and do not have a tradition of university attendance in their families.

Hannah Cusworth, the OUSU Vice-President for Access and Academic Affairs, welcomed the scheme. She commented, ‘I hope it’s a resounding success.’

She added that she hopes the scheme’s emphasis on helping prospective applicants should improve the number of black students both applying and being accepted.

A University spokesperson echoed Cusworth’s comments, saying, “We support efforts by groups such as Target Oxbridge to provide students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds with free information and support through the Oxford admissions process.”

However, they also highlighted the university’s own “extensive work” to improve diversity, explaining that the University encourages “bright students from all backgrounds to apply to Oxford and make the most competitive application possible”.

Oxford’s best known reveller wowed students with his “all out” dance moves when he made an appearance at Somerville bop earlier this term.

In an exclusive interview with Cherwell, Old Man Bridge thanked law student Krish Neelendra for his invitation to the event, commenting, “I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Krish and his friends for his kind invitation. I was very fortunate to take it up.

“I received an extremely warm welcome all round, and the dance floor was great. Indeed, I was asked by the resident DJ about his selections, and I was very happy to endorse his choices. Thanks also to a large group of Somervillians who came out to meet up with me a week later.”

Neelendra, who was responsible for inviting Mr Bridge to the bop, explained how he had first met him at a Christ Church bop, “I sort of struck up a bond with him after speaking to him. I had a found a friend indeed that night. I had found friendship in a hopeless place (Christ Church Bop).”

He added that on the evening of the Somerville bop, “Mr Bridge turned up fashionably early and grabbed a seat in our bar, eagerly anticipating the best bop on the college circuit. I dressed up, along with 10 pals, as those ‘hilair guys’ from Out of the Blue when they were on Britain’s Got Talent.

“OMB, because he is too meta for costumes, didn’t wear anything too significant. This didn’t stop him from having a ‘big one’ at the bop, with him making loads of friends and benefiting from the generously priced bop juices – only 50p.”

OMB refuted claims that his outfit was “conservative”, stating, “It was the first time I’d worn a leather jacket in a while, and as for the dancing, my moves were all out!”

He added, “A further unexpected pleasure at the bop was the opportunity to meet old college friends, with whom I have spent many happy hours on and off the field in the last term. I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to their experiences and success.”

OMB also attended Keble Ball on Saturday, after appearing in the ball’s trailer dressed as the Phantom of the Opera.

The Oxford SlutWalk Facebook group was the subject of controversy on Wednesday when “offensive” comments were deleted by moderators.

Some commentors posted links to the Ann Summers website accompanied by offensive comments and, according to Nicola Sugden, a student at Balliol, “made fun of the aims and nature of the event and were therefore considered offensive by most attendees”.

Sarah Pine, one of the administrators of the group, stressed that they had no problems with Ann Summers and added, “there were a mixture of comments, most aimed at trivialising the objectification of women. Some also used the word slut in a pejorative sense. I removed these because they threatened the safe space, trivialising sexual assault and rape apology.”

However, some were annoyed at the deletion of comments. Alex Bramham said, “What you meant to say was ‘Don’t bother typing, I’ll just delete it’.” Another user, Jamie Element posted, “Make an event to promote your opinion, don’t let others have theirs. Good job.”

Sugden, however, agreed with Pine, saying, “Sarah and the WomCam committee have been doing an excellent job of turning the page into a ‘safe space’, removing offensive content while facilitating discussion of the more controversial aspects of Slutwalk and making the event as inclusive as possible.

“Members of the Women’s Campaign are very open to discussion and debate on gender issues – it’s what we do, it’s what we enjoy doing. Trolling, however, is not debate: it is a waste of everyone’s time and distracts attention from the important issues we want to raise and tackle.”

SlutWalk, organised by the OUSU Women’s Campaign, will be held on Saturday 19th May and will see protestors walking through the streets of Oxford to show their resistance against the prevalence of sexual assaults against women and victim blaming.