Friday 27th June 2025
Blog Page 1791

Pembroke joins Living Wage campaign

Olivia Elder
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Pembroke joins Living Wage campaign
Pembroke has become the tenth college to back the Oxford Living Wage campaign after passing a motion in support of the initiative at last week’s JCR meeting. The motion passed with little opposition or debate, with just 2 people voting against. It pledges to send members of the JCR committee to talk with college authorities about increasing scouts’ wages.
Currently, scouts at Pembroke are paid £6.63 an hour, less than the £7.20 deemed necessary for an adequate standard of living.
 
Pembroke’s action follows that of several other colleges: Univ and St. Hilda’s voted in support of the campaign just last week. Balliol was the first to take up the initiative in 2009.
 
Caspar Donnison, who proposed the motion, told Cherwell that he was prompted to raise the motion now because he saw the campaign “lifting off” in Oxford and saw an opportunity to strengthen it. However, he also stressed that this is a cause to which he has been committed for a long time, “I have been a supporter of the Living Wage for a while. I strongly believe in the economic arguments such as higher morale in the workplace and fewer benefits being required if wages are higher. I see the OUSU-led campaign in Oxford University as particularly important as this is a city where the cost of living is very high”.
 
Donnison continued, “I do not claim that the Living Wage campaign is an ideal solution nor that there are not other factors involved but just that it is an improvement upon the current state of affairs. In London thousands of families have been lifted out of poverty because of the success of the campaign so it can really make a difference”.
 
The motion, which was seconded by Emma Kinnaird, News Editor of the Oxford Student, noted that Pembroke is lagging behind other colleges, including Corpus Christi, who already provide the living wage for their scouts.
The JCR resolved “to send a delegation of the JCR committee to meet with the authorities of college to discus reaching this standard of pay for our scouts”. Donnison was, however, quick to point out that there was a “cooperative stance” between the students and the college. It is hoped that this action will convince college to increase wages, though Donnison admitted that the JCR would also be satisfied by “convincing reasons showing that, though we do not yet have the Living Wage, special employment privileges and pension schemes put us in an near equivalent position to the payment of the living wage”. Further action will depend upon the outcome of the meeting.
Pembroke JCR appeared united behind the motion. There had been concern that there may be questions about possible ill-effects, such as rent rises, that increased wages could have on students, but the meeting remained relatively free from debate.
The Oxford Living Wage campaign, established in 2006 and endorsed by four academics, as well as Oxford City Council and Oxford University Labour Club, is currently gaining momentum. OUSU’s Sarah Santosham, Chair of the Living Wage Campaign, appeared positive, telling Cherwell, ‘We are hugely encouraged by the level of support generated across Common Rooms for this important community concern. We will support and encourage other Common Rooms who hope to follow suit. Pressure is mounting on both colleges and the University, and we are confident that there will be real progress on this over the year.’

 

Oxford pioneers vision treatment

Peter Fitzsimons
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Oxford pioneers vision treatment
A pioneering trial led by Oxford University has delivered a potential new treatment for a type of blindness which was previously thought to be incurable. The trial was to cure the genetic disease choroideremia, which affects up to 1,500 people in Britain and 100,000 people worldwide.
 
If the trial is successful, it may have significant consequences for neuroscience and for many other eye diseases as the virus employed could be used in future to create cures for genetic brain disorders.
 
Choroideremia is commonly detected in childhood, and leads to blindness, usually by the late forties. It is caused by a faulty gene REP1, which triggers the death of light-sensing cells in the retina called photoreceptors. The disease only affects males.
 
Jonathan Wyatt, a former barrister from Bristol, is the only patient to have undergone the trial so far. He will not recover his sight, but the procedure should stop his vision deteriorating any further- he would otherwise become totally blind in a few years. If the surgery is effective, the doctors aim to perform the same treatment on his right eye. They also plan to do surgery on twelve other patients.
The treatment was developed by Professor Robert MacLaren at Oxford University, and Professor Miguel Seabra of Imperial College.
Professor Seabra remarked that “the ability to offer a gene replacement treatment for these patients was the final objective of 20 years of intense research in my laboratory. This is a moment of fulfilment for us and a dream come true for all choroideremia patients.’”
Professor MacLaren, who also undertook the surgery, admitted that the outcome was “unpredictable” considering the possibility of removing all the remaining sight in Mr Wyatt’s eye. Mr Wyatt commented, “I assessed the risks and decided they were worth taking, both for me and for all the other people who have the problem.”
Professor MacLaren informed Cherwell “To say I’m very excited would be an understatement. I am also relieved. Relieved because we delivered the treatment without causing any harm, and relieved because we have proved that viral vectors can work.” MacLaren also told us of the pleasure of being able to convert his lab results into a working treatment.
The blindness charity Fight for Sight responded to news of trial that they were “absolutely delighted with the news that a clinical trial for choroideremia is underway.”
One medic, Imogen Welding, a first year at Corpus commended the research saying, “I think it’s really exciting that this kind of advance in technology can help people who otherwise can’t be treated.”
However, Jen Todd, a first year Balliol medic, had some tempering advice commenting, “It is really important, but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Restoring someone’s sight will be much harder than just stopping the vision deteriorating.”

 

 

Corpus passes gender inclusiveness motion

Tristana Smith
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Corpus passes gender inclusiveness motion

Corpus Christi College JCR passed a motion this week promoting the use of gender inclusive language. The proposals form part of the wider Oxford University Genderless Campaign. The motion states that “Corpus should explicitly ensure that trans-identified people are accommodated by the JCR” and mandates the JCR President “to review all emails forwarded to the JCR mailing list and check for non-inclusive gender language”.

The motion also requires that gender-specific JCR events be open to anyone who identifies as that gender. It advises event organisers not to write phrases like “Girls wear dresses, guys wear suits” but instead to use working like “suits and dresses”.

Cristopher Bautista, a recent visiting student at Corpus who identifies himself as “trans”, praised the JCR for passing the motion. He told Cherwell this week, “The fact that Corpus Christi made the extra effort to pass this motion – that’s a big deal. That’s something a lot of schools don’t bother doing. We hear a lot about making universities more gay-friendly, but not trans-friendly. Corpus passing this motion is a rare example of a college that’s making the extra effort to be trans friendly. And for a lot of trans people, that’s important. We don’t take these safe places for granted. We seek out these spaces.’

Ivan Dimov, Corpus student, also had reservations about the proposals. He said, “I support the motion in spirit, but I had some issues with its initial statement – namely what ‘gender inclusive language’ constituted. The initial phrasing unwittingly came across, to me at least, as advocating some form of censorship.”

Frances Watson, the Trans Rep for LGBTQsoc and organiser of the Oxford Genderless Campaign, said, ‘Basically we’re challenging the binary gender status quo – that there are only two genders, male and female, and you belong to the same one as your genitals, end story. This isn’t true: there are people who strongly identify with the opposite gender to that which they were assigned at birth, and who transition to live their lives as a member of that gender.

“There are also people who do not identify as male or female. Someone might identify as one on one day, the other the next, for example; or they may identify as having aspects of both at the same time; or they may identify as having no gender at all.”

Gail Bartlett, a spokesperson for the Genderless Campaign, claimed that JCRs have an important role to play in making trans-identified people feel included. She said, “There have been instances of people in JCR’s failing to understand why strictly gendered events do exclude people. Most people do not have to worry about where they will fit in at gendered events or using gendered facilities, but for the effort it takes for the JCR to simply amend wording in entz or dress code they can save a great deal of distress and fear of humiliation.’

Ten other Oxford colleges have passed similar motions.

St Hugh’s compromise on formal hall

Eleanor Bley Griffiths
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St Hugh’s compromise on formal hall

St Hugh’s JCR voted on Sunday to lift their three-week boycott of formal hall for the rest of Michaelmas, after a compromise was reached with the college. The JCR has been protesting the college’s sudden ban on bringing alcohol to formal hall, which college authorities claim was a reaction to poor behaviour by students.

Earlier in the term the college banned the bringing of alcohol to hall, and upped the price of a formal ticket to £10.40, which included two glasses of college wine or fruit punch — a move which angered drinkers and teetotallers alike. The new system, which the JCR has temporarily accepted “in the spirit of compromise”, brings the cost of a ticket back down to £7.25 for a non-wine ticket and to £8.75 for a wine ticket.

The reduction in price has been brokered by the JCR, which will be sourcing cheaper wine to be served at hall, working out at just 75p a glass. Unlike the current system, unlimited additional glasses will be available for diners to purchase at the staff’s discretion.

The changes address many students’ concerns about value for money. One commented, “the agreement that the JCR can buy in its own wine is particularly good to see because that should stop formal becoming exorbitant.”

While the boycott has been lifted and many JCR members will be heading back to hall when the new policy comes fully into force next week, the motion (passed by approximately 40 to 5) has an amendment, meaning that this could only be a temporary reprieve: unless a JCR meeting at the beginning of Hilary term permanently ends the boycott, it will kick back in.

Victor Greenstreet, the St Hugh’s JCR President, told us, “I do not think the compromise system is perfect by any means – in fact the motion makes it explicitly clear that I, as the President, will continue to push for a return to the bring-your-own system we had last year.” The JCR plans to make a submission to a scheduled review at the end of Michaelmas, and as Greenstreet explained, “the main reason for the amendment was to show the college that the JCR is prepared to return to the boycott if our views are not taken seriously.”

Popular opinion at St Hugh’s seems to be that the compromise is better than nothing. St Hugh’s student Joseph Williams said, “I fully support lifting the boycott… While a return to the old system is still our ultimate aim, the new rules are far more favourable.”

It is hoped by many that a display of good behaviour will work in students’ favour. Williams welcomed the opportunity for students to show the college that they “don’t need to be treated like children,” and was hopeful that the end of term review will bring a favourable result.

One St Hugh’s third year told Cherwell, “Although the ideal solution would be a return to bringing our own wine to formal, I think this is a good compromise and a chance for us to show college we can behave responsibly and with respect for college staff.”

Another remarked, “If the college don’t agree to a return to the old system in Hilary I’ll be disappointed, not least because I like rosé with some meals, and I’m not sure the JCR’s getting that in.”

Clemmie Shott, a second year physiologist, argued that progress had been made, saying, “I think that it’s a good thing that they’ve listened and have reacted to the boycott.” She nonetheless stressed her opposition to the ban, saying, “It’s unfair to punish the whole college — if there is bad behaviour, they should just ban the culprits. The whole charm about St Hugh’s is that it’s unpretentious and for them to start acting like this about formal hall goes against the spirit of the college.”

The college declined to comment on the issue, with the Dean, Peter Mitchell, saying, “I have nothing to say to Cherwell on this or any other matter regarding St Hugh’s, now or at any time in the future.”

LMH Dean warns against ‘harassment’ of female students

Dominic Parikh
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LMH Dean warns against ‘harassment’ of female students
The Dean at Lady Margaret Hall, Professor Christopher Shields, has issued a firm warning to undergraduates at the College about behaviour towards other students. In an email to the whole JCR, the Dean detailed two separate incidents of apparently inappropriate conduct towards female junior members, advising, “abuses which are deemed to constitute bullying or harassment will be dealt with extremely seriously.”

The first episode referred to an incident which took place after a bop earlier this term. In his email, the Dean stated, “apparently some female members of the JCR were virtually kidnapped one night a few weeks ago and essentially forced to go to a club in town when dressed in their nightclothes.”

There are allegations, however, that the seriousness of the incident may have been overstated. One LMH student took particular issue with the use of the phrase “virtually kidnapped”, saying, “It’s absurd to imply that somebody has been taken without their consent when nothing of the sort happened – it was just the usual banter.”

Abhishek Oswal, a first year medic at LMH, agreed, saying, “The situation has been blown out of proportion a bit, and nothing of note really happened. Obviously I don’t want people being kidnapped, but I think it was meant as a joke and should be taken as one.”

The second cause for concern raised by the Dean was the apparent compilation of lists by some students “of female members whom they found attractive”, and the placing of these lists “in the public domain.” JCR members were warned, “this is not acceptable, and could be viewed as harassment.”

Some students at the College disagreed with the Shields’ assessment. One male undergraduate told Cherwell, “It was just a bit of fun. They’re making more out of it than they need to.”

Rhiannon Sheridan, a second year Economics & Management student, was more balanced, commenting, “I understand that kind of thing causes offence, but we all talk about stuff like that. They should have been more discreet though and writing it down seems to make it worse.”

In response to allegations that these incidents were blown out of proportion, Shields told Cherwell, ‘I was just reporting what had been told to me. What the student body should be concerned about isn’t the precise wording of the email but the point that what happened put members of College in danger.’

At the end of his message to the college, Shields alluded to alcohol consumption as a reason that the College was falling short of “the general principle that consideration for others is always paramount”, telling students, “it is absolutely vital that members wake up to the fact that this culture of voluminous consumption is very damaging to the College.”

Chinese man fakes Oxford degree

Anisa Kassamali
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Chinese man fakes Oxford degree
One Chinese man falsely claimed six million yen from his parents over six years to ‘fund studies at Oxford’ while living the whole time in Beijing.
 
The unnamed mans’ parents gave the equivalent of £595,000 to their son out of their income from a small silk factory.  The 31 year old claimed almost £100,000 a year from them, a third of which he spent on a girlfriend who left him shortly after he had spent all of his money.
 
The Dalian University graduate did originally intend to study abroad and spent some of the money on agencies who had promised him a place, or individuals who had guaranteed the same result through their personal connections. He never left the country however, and ran through his parents’ money until they could no longer support him.
 
At this point, he borrowed 400,000 yuan (£40,000) more from loan sharks which he was unable to repay, forcing him to finally confess to his parents the truth. He then threatened to kill himself over his unpaid debts.  
His parents called the police and firefighters to stop him. They commented that they had struggled to meet his financial demands and were furious over the deception, however, chose to forgive him rather than risk him committing suicide.

 

 

Students pledge future earnings to charity

Trisha Soneji
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Students pledge future earnings to charity

 

Oxford students have signed up to pledge 10% of their future income to charity after a talk by Dr Toby Ord of the Giving What We Can charity. PPEist Tom Rowlands, Atmospheric Physicist student Niel Bowerman, and DPhil student Simon Driscoll have all committed to an estimated £200,000 of donations over their working life.
 
22 year old Harris Manchester student Tom Rowlands was inspired to make the promise after hearing Dr Toby Ord, a Postdoctoral research Fellow and member of the Department of Philosophy, speak about his own generous donations.
Ord is the founder of Giving What We Can, an international society which encourages people to give a proportion of their income to charity. Its special focus is alleviating global poverty.
 
Rowlands commented, “The fact that Toby Ord was really ‘normal’ was what I found most compelling about the talk – despite giving away so much of his own money, it didn’t seem like he’d sacrificed much of what he enjoys.”
 
Winston Featherly-Bean, JCR President of Harris Manchester commended his actions, telling Cherwell, described the college as “very socially aware.” Adding, “We’re fortunate to have a college filled with genuinely interesting people who, like Tom, will throw themselves fully into their causes and pursuits.”
 
Ord himself, a specialist in the field of Ethics, donates all of his income above £20,000 a year, and works to encourage many others to make similar pledges. He said that it was reading one of contemporary philosopher Peter Singer’s papers that first inspired him: “I discovered that with a careful choice of charity, I could do an immense amount of good just by giving a part of my future salary.”
Rowlands agreed, stating, “I realised that the top 10% of my income can do a lot more good in cost-effective charities than it can in my pocket or in the luxuries we typically buy.” He further noted “It’s made me a lot less stressed about essays! Seriously, it’s quite liberating to know you can do a lot of good whilst still pursuing the things you really want to do as a student – I still enjoy a night out at Camera and having dinner in college with friends.”
Another Oxford student, Niel Bowerman, studying for a DPhil in Atmospheric Physics at Linacre has made the same pledge, and noted, “I had never realised that some charities give you literally 1000 times more bang-for-your-buck than other charities. You could give to a UK charity helping people with a rare form of AIDS and spend around £10,000 giving someone an extra year of life. Or you could donate to a developing world charity working on prevention in the worst-affected areas and spend about £10 to give someone an extra year of life. When I realised that I can give someone an extra year of life for the price of a pint or two, the real question is not ‘why bother’ but ‘why not!’
Simon Driscoll, also studying for a DPhil at Linacre, told Cherwell: “I give a 10% pledge of my income (which is my DPhil funding) to charity. I’ve recently joined Giving What We Can (GWWC), and am now a member on their research team looking into the cost-effectiveness of injections for diseases mainly in the developing world. I basically wanted to make a difference and decided I could easily live very well whilst taking the pledge.”
Undergraduates are also demonstrating altruism,  with one anonymous second year physiologist pledging to donate 5% of his income and then anything over £70,000 per annum, with a view to increase his donation when in full time employment.
Ord seemed happy with the progress the charity was making: “People are often very responsive to hearing some trustworthy numbers on just how much good we can do. There are often one or two people in the audience who decide that they’d like to join us. They have no problem turning this into reality, and starting giving.”
Nevertheless, some students had reservations. One second year thought the pledges hasty: “[They] don’t seem to be planning for the future. What about if [they] want to have kids? Those are definitely expensive. The point is people might need a lump sum of money at some point. Perhaps there are wiser ways of donating.”
Rowlands did not seem worried about fulfilling his pledge commenting, “I really don’t think that giving up the things I’d spend the top 10% of my income on – a fancy watch or a meal at The Randolph – will be too difficult to follow through!”

 

New College in bar dispute

Sam Firman And Tristana Smith
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New College in bar dispute

Controversy has arisen in New College following recent price hikes in the college bar, and amidst fears that the College is looking to crack down on excessive drinking.

Lager rose initially by 95p to £3.00, but has since dropped to £2.50, although Olde Cider rose by just 5p. Pints of Boddingtons Bitter have risen from £1.95 to £2.30.

New College bar rep Oliver Coombe summarised concerns surrounding the price hikes. “Although we understand that torrid economic conditions have put a strain on the college’s resources, this sudden and unexplained price rise seems to be disproportionate and places New College bar as one of the most expensive in Oxford”.

JCR President Oscar Lee agreed, saying “prices have been varied” and “there appears to have been no clear strategy“.

Student bar manager Simon Teasdale commented, “raising prices at New College bar is not the way to make an ailing business more profitable. Ways to cut costs and draw extra business should be explored before hiking up the prices”.

“The bar is not competing against pubs like the Turf Tavern or the Kings Arms. It is competing against people drinking in their rooms.”

Teasdale argued that that students feel alienated, and not only by the price hike. “There was no consultation with any student, JCR committee member or otherwise. The students would be far less annoyed if the whole thing had been conducted in a less covert way. Student input has been reduced to zero. The college made no attempt to inform us that all student bar shifts and creative input would be removed. The Bar Committee and my position are entirely redundant. No explanation has been given and we feel somewhat cheated by the way college went about the whole affair.”

Caroline Thomas, the College Home Bursar, told Cherwell that the College did not have a student bar manager as the bar is now managed by College. She commented, “It is the responsibility of all College-run bars to promote responsible consumption and pricing is part of the mix of tools at our disposal to achieve this – the Designated Premises Supervisors (normally the Home or Domestic Bursar) have a legal responsibility to ensure responsible drinking and good order. Some college bars are shockingly cheap with historic pricing structures that would come under intense scrutiny if there were a serious alcohol-related accident in the college arising from consumption in the college bar.”

One New college student disputed such concerns, “College bars should be the hub of college social life. This does not necessarily mean heavy drinking sessions. Removing student input and rising prices is not conducive to creating a friendly and hospitable college atmosphere. Other colleges have cheap bars, and as a large college, so should we”.

Improvements have taken place in the New College bar such as price lists being established and glass replacing plastic cups. Teasdale noted that “Students have welcomed the decision to overturn the initial hike in the price of lager and bitter to a less egregious level, although this still constitutes an increase on Trinity 2011 prices”.

The new price of lager, although not as high as it initially was following the vacation, place New College at the top of price comparison table of the cheapest pints of lager available in college bars.

Bar prices have also gone up at Balliol’s ‘Crazy Tuesdays’. However third year “Tuesdays” fan Felicity de Vere said students “have not been put off. Drinks are still incredibly cheap. [I] thought that it would deter people and make it easier to get a drink!”.

Balliol student bar manager Simon Wood commented that the changes, which see the bar now charging 50p per pint of previously free mixer, are designed to “ensure the bar remains financially viable”.

Balliol welfare officer Alex Curran was confident that Balliol Tuesday’s can remain as a positive part of college life despite the price rises, saying, “Almost all students who come to “Crazy Tuesdays” know their limits and act in a responsible manner. The welfare team have no issues with “Crazy Tuesdays”, especially as it helps create a good social atmosphere for the college”.

JCR Dean Samuel Rabinowitz seconded such sentiments, saying that “taking things away that make people happy is not good. A new sign in system was introduced last year and, as far as I’m aware, there have been no problems since that was introduced”.

Wood added that “Crazy Tuesdays” have been a tradition since he can remember, and that the JCR quickly voted against ending the event last year.

Trinity in access outrage

Imogen Beecroft
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Trinity in access outrage

A Trinity College alumna has accused the college this week of not having an adequate access scheme. Rebecca Newsome, who graduated from the university in 2011, lashed out at Trinity in a letter to the college President, calling its access record “appalling”.

Newsome is now an English teacher, having begun her career through Teach First, and teaches at a comprehensive school. e 65% of her pupils are eligible for free school meals, meaning that their household income is less that £16,190. 98% of the students at the school are from an ethnic minority.

Newsome apparently contacted Trinity to try and organise a school trip for pupils in year 11, as the school does not have a sixth form. She claims that she was informed “that Trinity’s Access policy only allowed school visits to students in years 12 and 13”, and thus to have been denied the visit.

In a letter to the Trinity College President, Newsome wrote, “Trinity’s record for access, as you are aware, is appalling. I find it outrageous that Trinity is not doing everything in its power to rectify the current abhorrent situation where very few undergraduates that come from comprehensive schools attend Trinity.”

She also questioned Trinity’s alleged policy of focusing its access programme on students between the ages of 16 and 18, arguing,“To enable more students from comprehensive schools to attend Trinity you must offer them help at the earliest opportunity: offering access schemes only to those in year 12 or 13 is too late for many pupils at comprehensives.”

Newsome’s accusations are not university-wide: she said that her students were “saved” by Corpus Christi College, which “has been extremely helpful and supportive”. However, she said, “I find it appalling that my college, the college that will be requesting me to donate money to its ‘access schemes’, refuses to help my students.”

“I received a very generous Trinity Bursary when I attended Oxford, but if such generous bursaries are given out at the expense of helping students which face huge barriers in accessing higher education, then I think Trinity needs to rethink its access policy”.

Sir Ivor Roberts, President of Trinity College, defended the college against Newsome’s allegations, making reference to the “wild remarks” in her letter.

He explained Trinity’s decision not to offer Newsome’s students an overnight stay at the college, saying, “the university asked the colleges to divide up the UK into regional catchment areas to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure that no areas were neglected, which we have done.

“Rebecca is working in the North West and asked  if she could bring a group of Yr 11 pupils to Trinity later in the year. Her school is not in our regional catchment area (Corpus where her pupils ended up DOES have responsibility for schools in Rebecca’s area).” Roberts also pointed out that “we did say that she would be welcome to bring her pupils to look round the college.”

Overall, he said, “I take issue with Rebecca’s language, although we applaud and share her concern to ensure bright state school students do consider applying to Oxford.”

Claudia Clarke, a second year physics and philosophy student at Trinity who attended a state school, defended the college against Newsome’s allegations. She told Cherwell, “A predominantly private-school background (are there any colleges where private students are in the minority?) is a university wide problem, which, I believe, stems more from a lack of state applications than a vendetta against them.”

She added, “It sounds to me like the trip was denied on the grounds of the age of the students, not any attempt to keep out prospective state school applicants and I’m sure that any equivalent private school trip would have been turned away in the same way; the website makes it quite clear that visits are intended for Year 12s, any of whom are welcome. So if Rebecca Newsome views this as detrimental to access, at least Trinity isn’t straying down the dangerous road of positive discrimination.

“At school, during the application process, I wasn’t warned ‘don’t apply there, they don’t accept state school applications’ but nor was I advised to pick another ‘state-school friendly college’. I chose Trinity neither lured nor put off by its access figures, weighing up factors that were actually important to me, rather than fretting over how many other state school students there were likely to be. I’m thoroughly happy with my decision and have never once encountered anything that seems to speak of discrimination.”

Anna Karenina film casts Oxford students

Hannah Grosskopf
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Anna Karenina film casts Oxford students

Open castings were held in Cowley on Saturday to find extras for the new Anna Karenina blockbuster that will be released next year.

The film is being made by Joe Wright, the director of Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, and will star Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Part of the filming will take place at a heritage railway centre near Didcot Parkway station which will serve as a mock Russian location.

For this section of the production the filmmakers wanted several extras ideally of Russian or Eastern European descent. The casting session was entirely open to the public but the producers did also specifically contact the Oxford University Russian Society to encourage students to attend.

Second year English student, Esme Hicks, told Cherwell that she went along to the auditions because of the prospect of “good pay and something to put on my CV and the opportunity to see a proper big-dog film director at work.”

Karis Alpcan, a Univ History and German student, explained the audition process, “When we got there, we queued for about an hour, then we had to fill in a form with our basic information, had our measurements taken and then had our photos done by a photographer there. The process took about 10 minutes.”

Those that are selected to take part in the filming will be paid £100 for each of the four days of filming which will begin on the 11th November.

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