Recent proposals by St Hugh’s to ban students from bringing their own alcohol to formal hall have caused discontent among much of the student body. 88.8% of students who replied to a survey conducted by the JCR stated that the measures would damage their experience of formal hall.

The college asserted that the changes would “enhance the quality of the experience for everyone present, and address the issue created by a small number of students bringing excessive amounts of alcohol into Formal Hall and thereby creating difficulties for the serving staff.”

If the ban is enforced, hall staff will instead provide students with two glasses of wine or non-alcoholic fruit punch. To reflect this change, however, the college will have to raise the price of a formal hall ticket from £7.25 To £10.40.

Of the 170 students who replied to the JCR’s survey, the overwhelming majority were opposed to the changes. 91.4% replied that they were against the proposed measures, whilst 85% believed that the changes would not address poor behaviour effectively.

Incoming freshers are also unenthusiastic about the changes, with 80.8% of new students saying that they prefer the existing system. Overall 55.4% of those who replied to the survey went so far as to say that if the booze ban is implemented, they would not attend formal hall at all.

A third-year St Hugh’s student, speaking to Cherwell this week, said that the proposed changes to pricing are particularly unfair. He said, “The problem is that they’ve priced it at £9 for a bottle of wine, with no choice about the matter at all.”

The student also remarked that the proposed changes took him by surprise, saying, “Formal hall was sometimes rowdy before, but we never got any warning about it: if the college had made the situation clear, we might have changed our ways.”

When asked if he would stop attending formal hall in protest at the changes, the student said, “I probably will go, but not as often as before.”Another student condemned the proposal, saying, “It has annoyed almost everyone here. Far fewer people will go to formal hall as a result.”

St Anne’s College introduced a similar change last year, banning students from bringing their own alcohol to formal hall and limiting the amount they can buy from the college.

Andrew Mawer, a fourth year medic at St Anne’s, told Cherwell  that the change did not have a particularly negative effect, saying, “I didn’t really find any problems  with it myself: I’m a bit of a lightweight, and I find that three quarters of a bottle is enough.”

He added that there was an adverse reaction when the changes were introduced, but that this soon evaporated, saying, “We talked about boycotting formal, but nothing ever actually came of it.”

Katie Price, a.k.a. Jordan, will be speaking at the Oxford Union on Wednesday of 1st week.  The decision to invite the former glamour model and television celebrity has been received with mixed emotions from Union members and Oxford students.

Price will join the ranks of distinguished individuals invited to address the Union, who in the last year alone have included Sir Michael Parkinson and Sir Ian McKellen, and have previously included the Dalai Lama, Dame Judi Dench and Baroness Thatcher. 

The Oxford Union itself defends the invitation, describing Price on the Michaelmas term card as being “everywhere”, and adding, “You can’t help but know who she is.” The society also praises her resilience, claiming she has “consistently subverted the stereotype to which the media would have her conform”.

A Union spokesperson told Cherwell that the society is particularly interested in “the journey our speaker has made from being Jordan the glamour model to becoming Katie Price the brand”.  The spokesperson pointed out that the Union “welcomes entrepreneurs and people from the world of business”, and that “in the sense that she is a brand, Katie Price is no different”. 

One Union member, however, expressed his disappointment with the booking, telling Cherwell, “I don’t understand —  in the past the Union has delivered A-grade celebrities with real credit and worth attached to them. Bringing Katie Price to talk to us is distinctly underwhelming”. 

Another member stated ironically, “I want to know how she went about writing her book”. Price has produced a series of novels and autobiographies, the first of which, Being Jordan, was nominated for Biography of the Year in 2004. The member also expressed surprise at the choice of speaker, remarking that the decision to invite the celebrity wasn’t “very Union”. 

Others plan to treat the celebrity’s address to the Union next week as a joke. A second year historian from Pembroke announced her intention to attend the speech “for a laugh”. 

The Union has in the past hosted several celebrities who have spoken on areas outside of their careers. Pamela Anderson spoke in Michaelmas 2010 about vegetarianism on behalf on PETA, the animal rights organisation.

Several Union members have speculated that Ms Price would do the same, one stating that the society had “set a precedent” in inviting Ms Anderson.

Katie Price’s past experience as a glamour model for The Sun under the name of “Jordan” has stimulated more debate. The OUSU Vice-President for Women, Yuan Yang, stated that “It will be intriguing to hear about Ms Price’s experience of the glamour modelling industry, given that the vast majority of women within it have no platform or trade union protection.”

Emily Cousens, a member of a feminist discussion group at Wadham College, denied that Price can be called a female icon, commenting,  “Women who, in a sexist world, pander to sexism to make their fortune are Vichy France with tits. Are you a 32GG, waxed to within an inch of your life and faking orgasms? Then you’re doing business with a decadent and corrupt regime. Calling that a feminist icon is like giving an arms dealer the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Nevertheless, the Union claims that Katie Price “is seen as a role model for single mothers from all walks of life”, fitting with the celebrity’s description on her website as “a strong, realistic female icon for many ordinary girls and women”.

A second year law student from Pembroke defended Price, saying, “she deserves credit for what she does. She successfully branded herself: not everyone will agree with how she makes her money but ultimately there is no denying she is a household name and a successful businesswoman, and I doubt she will stop any time soon.”

The student added, “Behind all of TV shows, makeup and hair extensions, she is still a human, and she does a great job raising her children, which people are quick to overlook”.

Harriet Baker, another Union member, agreed, saying, “Regardless of how she works, she’s certainly a very astute businesswoman.”

Two JCR committee members at Queen’s College are understood to have been temporarily banned from the college after they were caught climbing on buildings.

The JCR Vice-President and Social Secretary were denied vacation residence in their college rooms during Freshers’ Week as punishment for being found on the roof of a building in Queen’s last week.

The responsibility attached to their positions is believed to have contributed to the level of the disciplinary measures.

Oxford University Press is holding a book fair across Pakistan throughout October, offering discounts on a wide variety of their titles, including both local books and imported textbooks.

During the fair, held at 13 of their bookshops, 60,000 OUP titles in English and Urdu are being offered with discounts ranging from 20% to 30%.

The OUP publishes many school textbooks in Pakistan and their popular range of bilingual dictionaries are also on offer.

As part of the book fair, OUP is organising a number of events and activities for children at the bookshops, with the intention of promoting literacy skills and creativity.

The book fair is also part of a larger effort by the OUP to encourage children’s literacy skills, and they have joined forces with a Pakistan-based NGO to organise a children’s literacy festival at the Children’s Library Complex in Lahore this November.

Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Oxford explained, “The interviews are an important but often misunderstood part of Oxford’s admissions process. We want to show students as much as possible what they are really like so they aren’t put off  by what they might have heard.”

Questions revealed included, “Why do lions have manes?” for prospective biological sciences students, or “How hot does the air have to be in a hot air balloon if I wanted to use it to lift an elephant?” for those applying to do Materials Sciences.

Despite these seemingly unanswerable questions, Nicholson insists, “The interview is an academic conversation in a subject area between tutors and candidate, similar to an undergraduate tutorial. And like tutorials, the interviews are designed to push students to think, not recite specific facts or answers.”

An Oxford art historian is now “confident” that a portrait dismissed as an insignificant 19th century German piece was in fact drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci, in light of new evidence which emerged last week. 

A new Da Vinci has not been discovered for over a century.

Emeritus Professor Martin Kemp‘s book La Bella Principessa, which first outlined the claim, was published eighteen months ago. 

The initial argument relied on a host of scientific evidence, using techniques such as multispectral analysis. This seemed to show that the vellum the picture was drawn on was far older than the 19th century. 

It also found a fragment of a fingerprint which appeared to match up with that on another Da Vinci piece.Now a 15th century book has been found in Poland from which the drawing was allegedly removed.

The vellum of the portrait appears to match that of the book and the three stitch holes in the margin of the piece also seem to correspond with it.The book had been produced to celebrate the marriage of Bianca Sforza to Galeazzo Sansverino in 1496.

This would mean that the picture is of a young Sforza, eldest daughter of the Duke of Milan, who would have been about thirteen years old at the time.

However not all the art world is convinced, with the National Gallery declaring there is “no general agreement” that it is a lost Da Vinci.

Some art historians, particularly those who favour connoisseurship over sometimes unreliable technical analysis, claim the style simply is not that of Da Vinci, as well as noting that he produced no other art on vellum.

The piece was originally sold at auction in New York in 1998 for $21,850 as ‘Head of a Young Girl in Profile to the Left in Renaissance Dress’.

If it is in fact a lost Da Vinci it could now be worth a nine figure sum.

Treasures of the Bodleian, a major exhibition highlighting the rarest documents owned by the library, has just opened. 

Treasures of the Bodleian, a major exhibition highlighting the rarest documents owned by the library, has just opened. 

Highlights of the exhibition include the 14th-century manuscript, Marco Polo’s travels, an illuminated Hebrew Bible from 1476, the Laxton Map of the sole surviving open-field system in Britain, Shakespeare’s First Folio from 1623, and part of Jane Austen’s first draft of her novel The Watsons.

The exhibition also features twentieth-century items such as telegrams from the Titanic and the handwritten original of Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Dead Youth (1917).

The chance to see so many unique documents is a draw for Oxford students.

Corpus Christi historian Joe Rolleston said, “I’m definitely planning on going. It’s almost surprising that something like the Magna Carta or Shakespeare’s First Folio, which are so influential and important that they’re almost legendary, actually exist. The possibility of actually seeing these things is incredibly exciting. For me it’s a dream come true!”

The items on display in the library will be complemented by a website launched in mid-October. Extra items online will include Handel’s conducting copy of Messiah and the only surviving poem by John Donne in his handwriting, with podcasts and video presentations bringing texts to life. 

Bodleian Librarian Sarah Thomas said, “We want our collections to be accessible to the public, for people to come and see them, admire, inspect and get close to them.”

Fred de Fossard, a Magdalen fresher, commented, “The sheer diversity of the exhibits being shown is what strikes me. It really helps to cement Oxford’s position not only in British history, but as a cornerstone of Western culture. I don’t think you could see the original foundations of the British constitution, the first concept of zero, or handwritten originals of modernism together in any other place. This will definitely be one of the first things I visit at Oxford.”

The exhibition will run until 23rd December. Admission is free.

Oxford University Student Union is finalising its highly critical response to the government’s Higher Education White Paper, “Students at the Heart of the System”, which was published for consultation in June.

Oxford University Student Union is finalising its highly critical response to the government’s Higher Education White Paper, “Students at the Heart of the System”, which was published for consultation in June.

The document, to be brought before the OUSU council, slams the government for suggesting that students should be consumers rather than partners in their education and for ignoring issues in postgraduate funding and student experience. 

The White Paper set out the government’s strategy concerning funding, student experience and social mobility.  OUSU however claims the government’s suggestions are “not a sustainable way to drive up quality or protect existing high standards.”

They conclude that “the White Paper offers a very incoherent approach to social mobility at both the undergraduate and graduate level.”

Hannah Cusworth, OUSU’s Vice President for Access and Academic Affairs, outlined one concern, stating, “The university should be getting the brightest students who have the potential to benefit most from an Oxford education and to be tomorrow’s researchers.” 

Similarly, OUSU President Martha Mackenzie said that “the headline figure of £9,000 may seem insurmountable” to those applying from non-traditional backgrounds.

OUSU have argued that the government need to take this more seriously, as “This radical change is unprecedented, and polling has shown that parents do not understand the new fees regime.”

Mackenzie commented, “In the new fee climate students will expect a high quality of education but this will not be achieved through a simple financial transaction. Far more important is that students are seen as genuine partners and are given real influence to share their education.”

The response recognises that demand for places will always exceed supply, so consumerist motivation cannot incentivise improvement in educational standards. 

Oscar Lee, New College JCR President, supported Mackenzie’s stance, arguing, “It could be dangerous to turn students into de facto consumers who are only able to ameliorate the quality of their education by complaining until something is improved.” 

OUSU stated that positive change “has come through representation, the relationship (between student and tutor) and trust”, rather than value-for-money complaints, citing continuing postgraduate dissatisfaction despite paying fees up to £30,000 per year. 

OUSU officer Jacob Diggle suggests this “special relationship between students and academics” can lead to positive action, such as the no-confidence motion against David Willetts last term. He fears this relationship could be lost if fees push students to view their tutors merely as service-providers. 

Second year Regent’s student Ben Hudson was more critical of OUSU, suggesting the idea of a partnership is preferable to a marketised system, but that this “fails to address the problem of unfair access to this partnership.”

He suggested that OUSU’s response “lacks the combative edge,” accusing them of attempting to “conciliate the government by agreeing with certain parts of the White Paper”, meaning that “the main point behind the debate is lost.”

Diggle denied that OUSU was moderate but suggested that the gentler tone they were forced to use was due to the lack of an effective mandate from the student community pushing for real change.

Colin Jackson, co-chair of Oxford University Labour Club, agreed, arguing, “Making a case against the current policy is only the start – now the student body must come together to reach a clear consensus on how we would rather see our degrees funded.”

There was no response to requests for a government defence.

Ex-Blues rower Simon Hislop, a member of last year’s winning boat race crew, has posed naked in a photo shoot designed to make men more aware of the risks of cancer for the Blue September campaign.

The other men photographed are from Warwick University rowing club, including one cancer survivor. According to organiser and photographer Angus Malcolm, it is ‘bolder and sexier than the standard Blue September campaign.’

The project was organised by Malcolm for free. ‘Everybody [did] it in their spare time for goodwill … any money we had, we spent on paint and beer’.

He describes himself as ‘interested in how you can use erotica for the public good’, and hopes that the photo shoot will ‘demonstrate  that you can always turn to your friends’.

Hislop has himself recovered from testicular cancer, with the first symptoms appearing only weeks before his final exams. Now a doctor, he says, ‘Young guys need to check themselves regularly – and they should definitely pester their GPs if they suspect something.’

Other members of last year’s Blues rowing squad have shown support for Hislop’s efforts. Daniel Harvey said, ‘I think it’s great that Simon is using the popularity of rowing and the boat race to raise awareness of testicular cancer.’

Karl Hudspith commented, ‘His attempts to raise awareness by stripping off for a photo shoot show that men should not be embarrassed about knowing their own bodies and getting help from others if they think something is unusual.’

Men are 40% more likely than women to die of cancer, and 70% more likely than women to die from a cancer which can affect either gender. 81,000 men die from cancer in the UK each year.

Dr Emily Power at Cancer Research UK told Cherwell, ‘It’s important that men get to know their bodies so they know what’s normal for them and can spot any changes more easily. Spotting cancer early can make a real difference, so if men notice any unexplained or persistent changes in their health it’s important to get it checked out by a doctor.’

Chief executive of the Men’s Health Forum, Peter Baker, warned, ‘Too many men are dying unnecessarily because they take risks with their lifestyles and ignore symptoms.’

A mailing list mess up by the Admissions Office has led to anger among prospective students and sparked a mass email debate which has degenerated into profanity, racism and abuse. As a result of the hundreds of thousands of emails generated by the mistake, Microsoft blocked all mail from Oxford University accounts to services including Hotmail and Windows Live for almost a week.

A mailing list mess up by the Admissions Office has led to anger among prospective students and sparked a mass email debate which has degenerated into profanity, racism and abuse.

As a result of the hundreds of thousands of emails generated by the mistake, Microsoft blocked all mail from Oxford University accounts to services including Hotmail and Windows Live for almost a week.

The glitch resulted in everybody who signed up online for a copy of this year’s prospectus online being added to a mailing list which all other members could, and did, reply to.

“An email list was created but misconfigured in such a way that recipients hitting ‘reply all’ responded to all users on the list, which normally is not permitted on this kind of list,” said a University spokesperson.

“Many list members external to Oxford [replied to the whole mailing list] and it resulted in more than a million email messages being sent.”

The barrage of emails sent to the whole list triggered furious responses.One commenter, Mayur Patel, launched personal and xenophobic attacks on other members of the list.

Patel sent the message, “wat part of shut the fuck up do you not understand” and later replied to criticism from another commenter saying, “fuk yu too kazernovsky…dont chat to me like you bloody know me…fukin prick comin here stealing our jobs and claiming benefits fukin up the whole system of this country”.

Oxford University declined to comment on the content of emails circulated via the list.

By the time Admissions realised the problem and shut down the mailing list on September 26th, members had received between 400 and 500 hundred emails each. Thousands these had been destined for Hotmail, Live and MSN email addresses.

Microsoft responded by barring all emails from Nexus accounts from September 27th, causing further frustration amongst students.

As of Monday 3rd October Microsoft has lifted its ban on emails from University accounts, though one student commented, “I started getting emails through this morning although they’re sporadic, not in order, and some of them still aren’t through.”

OUCS explained, “We believe the Microsoft blacklisting has been removed but we have to be extremely careful not to re-trigger it with too much mail too quickly. OUCS intends therefore to start releasing the queued mail in batches.”

Cherwell was told, “The University apologises unreservedly for the inconvenience caused to recipients. The problem was resolved very quickly and is not ongoing.” 

Initially, the mailing list became aware of the glitch when one prospective student made the mistake of pressing ‘Reply All’ when sending the Office an email asking why his prospectus had not been delivered. 

The message read, “Thank you very much but I have not received the prospectus yet despite ordering it online twice? If you need to phone, please can you contact my Dad, Many thanks, Will Archibald” and was sent to all the list members, generating numerous emails from others wondering why they received that email.

One current student had signed up to the list earlier this year to order a prospectus for his sister and on September 25th was surprised at the volume of emails he was receiving.

“Emails were arriving at the rate of two or three per minute. After a couple of hours of people asking why they were getting everyone else’s emails, the vogue shifted to demanding very loudly that they be taken off the list, as if some great email overlord was watching the entire clusterfuck and toying with us,” he said.

There soon evolved a vicious e-circle of futile emails being sent to the mailing list.

“In the anarchic space of the internet, the hivemind of prospective students lost all sense and became entirely devoid of reason. Many replied whining about how bad Oxford is. Many, many people replied saying something along the lines of ‘Look guys, I know this is hypocritical, but if you all stop replying, this will stop.’ For an hour or two, my inbox was filled constantly with people excepting themselves from their rule to suggest, often in caps, that others stopped replying,”

“All told, by the time that Admissions realised what they had done and killed off the mailing list for good, I’d received maybe 400 or 500 hundred emails (including one from Andrew Archibald, apologising for what his son had unwittingly set in motion),” recounted the student.

In a separate yet similar case, PPE students got an irritating surprise when they were forwarded, more than 80 times, one email from Daniel Wilkes to Liz Frazer regarding lectures on Bentham.

“This dude, Daniel Wilkes, sent me 84 emails. I thought I was really popular for a second there,” commented St Hilda’s PPEist Ana Bonnington.

Accounting for the error, the University said, “There was an error in the WebLearn archiving process; such technology glitches happen occasionally and the department apologises for the inconvenience caused.”