Cambridge University has elected Lord Sainsbury as its new chancellor in the first real contest for the post since 1847. The millionaire philanthropist succeeds the Duke of Edinburgh who held the title for 34 years.

While the role is largely ceremonial, the recent choice was more contentious than usual after a number of candidates, including a popular local shopkeeper, were put forward.

Sainsbury is a Cambridge graduate and has donated millions of pounds towards science facilities at the university. He worked for the family business Sainsbury’s, rising to chairman, and previously served as government minister for science – a position he held under Tony Blair’s premiership.

The other contenders for the prestigious title were the lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, actor Brian Blessed and Abdul Arain, owner of Mill Road’s Al-Amin store. While Sainsbury gained over half of the vote, many students backed Arain’s campaign in a demonstration of solidarity with small shop owners.

Campaigning spread to the social networking site Twitter, with a plea that academics cast a vote for ‘Anybody but Sainsbury’. The Single Transferable Vote system used by the university means that a candidate requires a majority of first-preference votes to be sure of victory.

Speaking about his victory, Sainsbury commented, ‘I am pleased and honoured to have been elected as the next chancellor of Cambridge University and would like to thank all those whohave supported me, and the other candidates who have made this such a friendly election.’

Some students were unsurprisingly disappointed in that respect. Matthew Johnson, chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association said Sainsbury’s political background was “a drawback for my association”, though he added that he felt the new chancellor was a “charitable, intelligent and successful gentleman”. 

There was some disappointment with the level of turnout for the election. While the University had predicted that 8000 votes would be cast, less than 6000 made it into the ballot box.

Children’s minds can be “literally blown” by playing video games, warned a controversial Oxford scientist last Thursday.

Professor of Pharmacology Baroness Susan Greenfield said that spending too much time online gaming and browsing social network sites such as Facebook can lead to the development of neurological problems in young people.

“Screen technologies cause high arousal, which in turn activates the brain system’s underlying addiction and reward, resulting in the attraction of yet more screen-based activity,” she told pupils at the opening of the new science department of Sherborne Girls’ School in Dorset.

Baroness Greenfield, who is a Fellow of Lincoln College, added that “the brain’s neuronal connections can be temporarily disabled by activities with a strong sensory content – ‘blowing the mind’ – or they can be inactivated permanently by degeneration, ie, ‘dementia’. In both cases the mind then recapitulates early childhood development.”

She also said that the average British ten-year-old spends almost 2,000 hours looking at a computer screen over a year, and that in addition to ‘dementia’ other symptoms of gaming addictions include shortened attention spans and reckless behaviour.

The validity of her statement has been questioned by some members of the scientific community. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Psychology and Director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University said he had no knowledge of any scientific evidence linking online gaming to dementia.

“If anything the fact computer games are arousing can aid education by keeping children engaged,” he said.

However, Griffiths did not dispute all the baroness’s arguments, adding,“There is some evidence that when played to excess, video game playing can in some extreme cases be addictive, especially online video game playing where the game never pauses or ends, and has the potential to be a 24/7 activity.”

Dr Dean Burnett, a Cardiff University neuroscientist, disagreed with Greenfield’s view that gaming is harmful because it ‘blows the mind’, saying, “The constant deactivating of parts of the brain is vital to our functioning as normal cognitive beings. You could argue that Baroness Greenfield is referring to specific, damaging connections, but I can only be as precise in my comments as she is being in hers. Areas of the brain being shut down or deactivated is as normal a part of development as losing your milk teeth.”

This is not the first time that statements made by Baroness Greenfield have raised controversy. Earlier this year she was subject to harsh criticism over her claim that there could be a link between the rise in cases of autism and increased internet use.

Dr Burnett called Baroness Greenfield’s reasons for disliking video games “noble,” but contended that “this does not justify the use of junk science, or the public airing of overblown conclusions based on little or no evidence. With every unsubstantiated claim, Baroness Greenfield distances herself further from the scientific community that once had such respect for her.”

Upon finding out about the link drawn by Baroness Greenfield between online gaming and brain degeneration, one second-year biologist commented, “I definitely correlate time spent playing video games with lower essay marks. That may be a matter of time wasted though.”

Wahoo has introduced a new dress code banning certain items of clothing. The club has erected a sign prohibiting hooded tops, sportswear and steel toe capped shoes inside the venue.

A Wahoo spokesperson told Cherwell the club has put these restrictions in place because they are trying to maintain a more up-market dress code. He elaborated, “We’ve been having some trouble with bad customers recently, our club nights have been attracting local youth, many of them wearing these clothes.”

It was also revealed that lately they have been confiscating as many as twenty IDs a night. The occasional student ID has been confiscated, but the problem has mainly been fake (or misidentifying) passports and drivers licenses.

“Students haven’t caused any real problems, the rule mainly applies to Saturday nights when many of the local youth are out. We understand that students want to dress up for theme nights, we aren’t going to make an issue about that”, said the Wahoo spokesperson.

Students appear not to be too worried about the new regulations, Mike Connolly, a first year at St Anne’s commenting, “To be honest, no one really wears hooded tops or sportswear when they go out clubbing.

“I’ve never felt in any danger [though after recent thefts and muggings] you realise Oxford isn’t as safe as it seems.” He claimed these incidents seem to occur mainly “when the townies are out.”

However, Jonny Rix, one first year historian claimed the restrictions are unjustified, stating, “people wearing hoodies aren’t all aggressive. The people who immediately assume that are just stereotyping. Eventually it’s not about the hoodie but about the person wearing it.”

Ryan Dunwoody, a second-year Varsity rep, argues rivalry between Oxford students and townies often causes problems for clubs stating, “Yes, there have been times when students have felt intimidated by the locals who are out. The townies have a grudge against Oxford students.”

Still, he believes the restrictions to be unreasonable asserting, “technically speaking Wahoo is a sports bar and that’s why it’s all rather ridiculous. If you can’t wear sportswear to a sports bar then when can you?

“A while ago, I was there with a friend to watch a football game and we were told we had to leave because we were wearing sportswear.”

No other clubs in Oxford have brought in a formal dress code although some, such as Camera, enforce standards on the door.

Wahoo stated, “we won’t turn everyone away, but we have to maintain certain rules. We don’t want to lose our license.”

An OxCAT organised flash mob in protest against sex trafficking took place on Cornmarket street on Tuesday afternoon.

The protest was in response to the jailing of two men by the Oxford Crown Court last month, for managing the “Fun Girls in Oxford” escort agency. At least three of the young women involved had been trafficked from Romania. It was designed to coincide with National Anti-Slavery Day.

At 1pm, students and townspeople gathered halfway up Cornmarket, dressed in black and wearing pink blindfolds, freezing for five minutes in silent protest. A mock market stall had been set up with girls standing in metal cages. The slogan, “Pretty girls for sale”, was spoken into megaphones by “sleazy salesmen”, as described on the invitation sent to several college JCRs.

OxCAT (Oxford Community Against Trafficking) represent various Oxfordshire churches. Their mission statement is “To expose modern slavery in all its forms and to fight any human trafficking”.

OxCAT volunteer Owen Gallacher commented, “Girls are often taken from those countries with abject poverty, given the dream job of their life, they think, and then they show up in Heathrow and they’re sold on to somebody else and the next day they’re working in brothels.” 

St John’s JCR sent a contingent of students, complete with pink blindfolds, to head down to the protest together. Second year John’s Historian Thom Jee said, “I got involved with the flash mob through St Aldate’s church. Owen told us about what was going on under our noses, and a few of us volunteered to come and help out. It’s sickening to think that slavery is thriving right here in Oxford – hopefully the event will raise awareness in the community so that sex trafficking can’t slip under our radar any more.”

Linda Ludlow, of Oxford Human Trafficking Group explained, “The blindfolds mean open your eyes to what’s going on around you. You might not know it but look for the signs.”“I think it’s fabulous. we’ve got so many people here and so much interest. I think by having this event, it’s actually opened people’s eyes.”   

One passer-by, who participated in the flash mob despite not having a pink blindfold to hand, said, “I thought it would be a really good way to make a visible impact. I hope that everyone who’s been walking past will have seen what’s going on and picked up a flier.”

According to the Home Affairs Committee there are at least 4,000 sex trafficking victims in the UK. The majority are girls aged 12-25.

The controversial opening of a new kebab shop directly opposite Lava Ignite on Park End Street is scheduled for the end of this month, according to City Councillor Sajjad Malik, a business partner of the scheme.

Though the Mediterranean and Turkish restaurant and takeaway will be “alcohol free”, police are concerned that it may become a congregating point for drunken revellers leaving local clubs at closing time. The Oxford City Centre Neighbourhood Police said, “The presence of a late night restaurant and take-away facility in Park End Street until 4am would have a severe impact on community safety. [It would] greatly increase the opportunity for violence, aggression and anti-social behaviour.”

The manager at a local takeaway restaurant agreed, noting that “it is a hard job for the police, which is only getting worse”.

These concerns were corroborated by the West Area Planning Committee, who suggested that the restaurant’s application for planning should be refused as it would attract “potentially rowdy and intoxicated people to it rather than encouraging their safe dispersal from the area.”

However, clubbers outside Park End on Monday night seemed altogether in favour, with student Kimberley Nash pointing out that it may help decrease disorderly behaviour as “it would mean catching a taxi straight from the club, meaning less drunk people walking through town.”

Charlotte McKenty, another student at the club on Monday, added, “it would be great as it wouldn’t involve walking to Maccy’s in town, and so would get loads of business. The police officers would know where everyone would be after closing time.”

Mr Malik defends the takeaway against accusations of promoting unruliness, saying, “Rowdiness and drunkenness is brought on by the establishments that sell the alcohol. Food is scientifically shown to sober people up.” In Malik’s view the only way to cut down on disorderliness is to reduce the licensing hours of local clubs and bars. He pointed out that the Bodrum Kebab House on Cowley Road, whose owners are also involved in the opening of the new shop, has been open and “trouble free” for 23 years, despite being close to the Regal and O2 Academy.

Most other kebab vendors in the area seemed relatively unconerned about the prospect of new comptition. Hasan on Broad Street said, “It will not affect my business – good luck to everyone!” Hussein, situated on St Giles, further noted that “each business which starts afresh will be busy” but after this it “depends on the market”. However, one vendor did add: “it would affect my business and there will be a lot of trouble there: I agree with the police.”

Most people concluded that the prime position of the new restaurant opposite Park End meant that it would be the first port of call after leaving the cheese floor on a Wednesday night.  Somerville first year Rebecca McKie claimed, “I would probably go on the way home.”

Nevertheless, for some people the setting up of another kebab vendor in Oxford seemed nonsensical in what is already a saturated market. One student noted that because everyone already has a favourite van, the new restaurant would be “commercially unviable”.

Others seemed sceptical of combining a takeaway joint with a restaurant. One first year student commented, “It would depend on how posh it would look”. Undergraduate Ben Turnbull suggested that “something different that people hadn’t tried before – such as Polish or Jamaican cuisine, like on Cowley Road – would be better.” 

Henry Faber, a second year Modern Langages student at Balliol, has landed a starring role in a feature-length adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV.

The film, to be aired on BBC2 next year, will see the student playing the part of Prince John of Lancaster, with his father King Henry IV being portrayed by Jeremy Irons.The adaptation, which condenses the narrative of Shakespeare’s two Henry IV plays into one television film, was created by Sir Richard Eyre, who will also be directing Faber and the rest of the cast.

Faber has only had acting representation for eighteen months, using this time to audition for both stage and screen roles, but sees this as his big opportunity to break into the acting world. He spoke to Cherwell this week, saying, “I acted a lot at school and realised I wanted to act both at university and after. Right now I’m just trying to put myself out there and get as much experience as possible with the hope that things might just work out if I’m lucky!”

His role sees him as an ambitious but loyal and dutiful son to King Henry, highlighting his brother Hal’s (played by Tom Hiddleston) apparent failings. Later his character is revealed as cold-veined, shrewd and ruthless, although whether this is through loyalty to his father is left uncertain. The character features in around one third of Eyre’s adapted screenplay.

Faber’s production schedule involves a week of rehearsals later this term, and then an intermittent three-week period of filming in Hilary. With the flexible nature of filming schedules, however, he is uncertain how much time playing the role will take. He commented, “I’m very grateful that my tutors have been supportive,” and stressed his ongoing commitment to his academic work, saying, “My degree comes first and I’ll be carrying on my modern languages work from outside Oxford when I’m not here.”

Faber is a well-known actor in Oxford productions, having previously taken on the role of Konstantin in The Seagull and also appearing in A Streetcar Named Desire during his first year. This week he is appearing in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Playhouse, in his final role before he begins work on the BBC adaptation. Producer of Dorian Gray, Edmund Singer-Kingsmith, referred to Faber as a “perfect professional” and a talented actor, commenting, “We are very lucky to have him.”

Professor Andrew Hamilton, Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, has welcomed a new report which suggests that one-year postgraduate courses should be funded by government loans.

Under the report’s proposals, the government would lend prospective students £10,000 up front, and then reclaim it via the tax system. Students would only begin repaying their loans once they were earning an annual salary of £15,000.

The Vice-Chancellor described the report, which was produced by the CentreForum think tank, as “a timely contribution to the vital policy issue of UK graduate funding”, and though not wholeheartedly endorsing the scheme, said, “I hope that it will be given serious consideration”.

Dr Tim Leunig, author of the report and reader in Economic History at the London School of Economics, dismissed the idea that the scheme is economically inviable. He said, “People who graduate with a first or 2:1 and have a masters degree overwhelmingly earn good incomes later on.

“As such they are a relatively safe bet to invest in. That is why this scheme is unlikely to lead to large losses for government.”

Jim O’Connell, OUSU’s Vice-President for Graduates, gave cautious support to the proposals, describing Dr Leunig’s plan as “a good start.” He told Cherwell that “obtaining funding for a masters degree is often incredibly difficult” and stressed the importance of encouraging postgraduate courses “at a time when graduate courses are increasingly needed for access to the professions and to enable our workforce to compete globally.”

A White Paper released by the government in June 2011 appeared to rule out any changes to the graduate funding system, saying, “At this stage, we propose no further changes to how taught postgraduates are funded.”

However, the Universities and Science Minister David Willets called the recent report “the latest in a series of timely and thought-provoking reports on higher education from CentreForum”, and promised, “We will consider the recommendations carefully.”

Funding is a problem for many postgraduate students in Oxford. Lotty Davies, a current masters student, told Cherwell that for her course “there isn’t really a system in place that means I could get funding.” As a result, she said, she is “burning through savings and also working a part-time job at the same time.”

Davies added that if a loan had been available, “there would be more security this year in terms of making rent and being able to eat all year.” She feels that a masters is important to her career, claiming,  “other people are trying to get work in the area without a masters and finding it near impossible.”

Alex du Sautoy, a current finalist at Wadham, claimed that financial issues are crucial to his decision of whether or not to carrying on studying next year, telling Cherwell, “When I’m trying to decide whether to apply for masters or to look towards the working world, pretty much the only thing holding me back from a masters is the problem of funding.”

He argued that a government loan would be “far more manageable” than a commercial one, saying, “A lot of people doing postgraduate study get development loans of up to £10,000 which require you to start paying back the next year. This puts a lot more pressure on the student to find a more or less well paying job straight after finishing.”

Some postgraduates, however, had reservations about the proposals. Sam Bowers pointed out that “Master’s degrees tend to be a profit-making enterprise for universities” and asked, “would all these extra degrees offer value for money?”

Helen Tanqueray, meanwhile, questioned the wisdom of expanding the number of masters degrees on offer, saying, “it may start to degrade the perceived worth of a masters.”

Particularly controversial is the question of whether humanities and science postgraduate courses should receive equal funding is particularly controversial, as humanities funding is particularly hard to find at present.

Third year physicist Brandon Jeffrey argued that science masters are more essential for students than those in humanities, saying, “I don’t see much difference between a bachelors and masters in arts, to further knowledge in sciences you need a masters.”

Biochemistry researcher and masters graduate Eleanor Williams disagreed, saying, “I think that loans should be on offer to both arts and science subjects.”

An electrical fire at Christ Church last week has caused significant upheaval,and has left a staircase uninhabitable for two weeks.

Students and staff were forced to evacuate Peckwater Quad at 10.30amlast Thursday when the fire broke out. They were prevented from reentering the building for around an hour, as fire engines attended to the flames.

The damage caused by the electrical fire has left Staircase 2 temporarily uninhabitable, and the 16 students who live in that part of the building have had to be relocated. Eight have been allocated alternative rooms on site, but a contentious decision to rehouse the other students in the Liddell Building on Iffley Road has prompted annoyance from some of the student body.

Christ Church Steward Pauline Linières-Hartley explained how the blaze began, telling Cherwell, “The fire was caused by a faulty ceiling fan in a bathroom. The adjoining shower and some of the electrics were damaged.” She added, “There were students in the building at the time, but all were evacuated safely. Some will be spending two weeks in alternative Christ Church accommodation.”

George Huntley, a Christ Church student who lives on the staircase affected by the fire, stated, “I was just leaving the building as the fire alarm went off, and thankfully everyone else got out quickly too. Five fire engines managed to get to the college pretty quickly.”

He described the state of the building in the aftermath of the fire,saying, “Whilst there was no damage caused to personal possessions there is a lot of soot in my room and a strong smell of smoke. The college has moved us out for what they say is a maximum of two weeks whilst they thoroughly clean rooms and replace burnt bathroom units.

“Fortunately the fire was contained within the bathroom area and did not spread to my room –which was next door – or to anyone else’s rooms.”

Huntley implied that those residents of the staircase who have been relocated to properties outside of college are somewhat resentful of the treatment, saying that the eight students who have been transferred to Iffley Road are there “much to their anger”.

He also remarked, “All 16 of us have been given £50 compensation by the college, which somewhat sweetens the inconvenience of moving all of our belongings having only just unpacked them.”

Caroline Ames, a second year Engineering student who also lives on the staircase in question, told Cherwell that the “Drag Suite”, the nickname used by Christ Church students for one of the shared sets in Peckwater Quad, has suffered a certain degree of damage as a result of the fire, and that the staircase basement, where some old books were apparently being stored, was flooded.

Though the incident has forced her to move out of college temporarily, Ames was optimistic about the situtation.She said, “All of us were relocated to college accommodation and hope to move back to our rooms by the end of the week. The college has also kindly given us some money ascompensation for the disruption.”

A false rumour that a first year student was responsible for the fire, having joked about his past as an arsonist and stated his desire to be “like a mythical beast of Christ Church, causing havoc wherever I go,” has been investigated by Cherwell. No evidence has been uncovered suggesting that the fire was deliberately lit.

The Lodge, Oxford’s only adult entertainment venue, is opening on the 17th November after receiving a licence to operate outside the town centre.

In April this year it lost its licence to host strippers and lap-dancers when changes to the law classed such acts as a form of sexual entertainment. Its previous location, near the Westgate Centre in the centre of town, was denied the special permission needed after extensive lobbying by OUSU, feminist groups, and St Ebbe’s Church, which stood just fifty yards away.

It has since obtained a licence for a new venue near Oxford Ice Rink on Oxpens Road. Al Thompson, the manager of The Lodge Gentlemen’s Club, commented that the new location was “absolutely perfect”, that they were “very happy with the outcome” and that “the club will be more popular, have a better layout, and be even bigger” than it was at its former premises.

“It will be much much much much much more spectacular!” Thompson enthused.

The Oxford Feminists Network however, remain unhappy about the club, spokesperson Andie Berryman telling Cherwell, “I am whole-heartedly against the opening of a lap dancing club in Oxford, I don’t believe a city like ours which is cosmopolitan, progressive and indeed full of the finest minds in the world should permit such a retro-sexist, exploitative practice.

“It doesn’t matter whether the club is in the city centre or on Oxpens road, if it exists it’s a major problem. Oxford Feminist Network will continue to protest and challenge this licence.”

Thompson responded to such criticism by stating, “We are meeting the needs of a client base in Oxford and if there wasn’t demand then we wouldn’t exist. I think we’re good operators, we run a fine business, and we add something to the nightlife of Oxford.”

St Ebbe’s Church, which was amongst the most vocal dissent groups earlier this year, have said that they will not challenge the latest decision stating, “We recognise the Council has now made a decision and we do not wish to give the club any more publicity.”

Rector Vaughan Roberts did comment that “our position has not changed” and that he believes “[The Lodge] demeans God’s good gift of sex and undermines marriage.”

Some members of the St Anne’s and St John’s rugby team took a more light-hearted approach to the issue, simply commenting “Yes!” upon hearing the club was re-opening.

OUSU Women’s Vice-President, Yuan Yang however, was angered by the news, claiming,  “Debates about the morality of lap-dancing clubs too often centre on the visitor, not the workers. The Women’s Campaign is most concerned about the working conditions facing lap dancers. The sex industry as a whole is hugely under-unionised and lacks the protection necessary for such high-risk work.

“Lap dancers compete for tips; they are actively encouraged to break rules about keeping distance, keeping safe, and keeping sane, so that they will be noticed and favoured by the men who pay them. ”

Some students are unbothered by the plans however, Joe Lea, Entz rep at Magdalen commenting, “If people want to take their clothes off, that’s fine with me.”

Christian Allen, an engineering student at New, told Cherwell, “I wouldn’t say it will be popular, more of a one off thing, but I think people will go. I’ve not been before but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the question. There have certainly been opportunities to go with groups of people from college.”

All girls working for the club are described as independent workers who are self-employed. The venue will employ on average thirty girls a night and will offer special services, such as personal lap dances for the groom at stag dos, VIP rooms for birthday parties or corporate events, and private nude dances on request.  

Kath Tolentino, a post-grad feminist defended the club saying, “There are plenty of people out there who enjoy watching this kind of thing and plenty of girls who don’t mind doing it. I don’t see a problem with having it there.”

The opening three nights of the club will be celebrated by burlesque shows and other unannounced acts.