Hertford College is attempting to raise £1.2m in order to maintain the existing quality of History teaching in the face of unprecedented budget cuts.

The decision has been made following the announcement of Hertford History tutor Toby Barnard’s retirement at the end of the next academic year.

Hertford currently has 41 history undergraduates and is determined to continue to have two ‘CUF’ tutors within their history team. These tutors have a commitment to both the University and to a college, and a core element of their role is undergraduate teaching within tutorials.

Hertford’s JCR President, James Weinberg, told Cherwell his fear that without the fundraising project, “not only would the College have to cut its intake of History students, but the teaching costs associated with inter-collegiate tuition would also have to fall to undergraduates.”

David Hopkins, Fellow and Tutor of History at Hertford, told Cherwell that the problem arose when the government teaching grants to the humanities was completely withdrawn. With the University estimating a full undergraduate education to cost roughly £16,000, and only a maximum of £9,000 now able to be charged to undergraduates, “this considerable shortfall has to be made up somehow”.

As the particular post to be filled will be a CUF position, both Hertford and the wider University will be working towards maintaining this post. Hopkins explained that the fundraising drive “really is a combined effort”.

The University has established a ‘Teaching Fund’ as a symbolic gesture of commitment to the tutorial system. This will initially contribute to the provision of 60 teaching posts across the University, 2/3 of which are in the humanities.

A spokesperson for the University explained, “The University, with money from OUP, has created a £60m fund from which it will provide £0.8m towards endowed chairs at colleges where the college has raised £1.2m.

“These positions, funded in perpetuity from endowments, will help support the tutorial system – benefitting both the college and the University – and is particularly important at a time when government support has been reduced.”

It is hoped that the position will be supported for the forseeable future by the income subsequently generated by the endowment.

Second year Historian Agnes Arnold-Forster said, “while I appreciate Hertford’s efforts, we should not be in a position where alumni have to fund teaching.”

She added, “This one of the first examples of how government funding cuts are going to directly impact on our education.”

Hopkins stated that Hertford had swung behind the campaign without opposition, and that the ethos surrounding the project was one of community and solidarity.

He added that his “dream” was to raise all the money required by January, so that the post could be advertised and the position filled smoothly. He repeatedly stressed his desire to keep the quality of the tutorial system consistent and said that Hertford will “do what they can to ensure that history teaching continues at the college.”

While roughly a quarter of the fund may potentially have already been raised, both Weinberg and Hopkins emphasised the need for “vigorous” and “genuinely proactive” fundraising efforts.

Hopkins especially emphasised the role in which alumni and “people who have had the benefit from the teaching system” may play, and stated that while the offer of a contribution from the JCR was viewed as a warm gesture, any JCR funds would not be accepted.

Weinberg has indicated that there will be various other initiatives, such as “launch and promotional events in separate areas of the country” and “student-run initiatives from within college”.

While both Weinberg and Hopkins were optimistic about the prospect of raising the required funding, both were aware that could be only the first of many similar cases.

Weinberg insisted, “We are facing the greatest crisis in the recent history of higher education and it is only through concerted strategies such as this that we can continue to promote genuine excellence in education and scholarship for all”.

Oxford has its fair share of odd traditions, but not many can rival the strangeness of those which take place at Lincoln College on Ascension Day.

This Thursday began with students and the public hitting stones with sticks, and progressed to giving members of a rival college a deliberately disgusting pint of beer. At midday a large crowd watched a group of small children being bombarded with pennies.

As Lincoln JCR President Kevin Smith said, “Lincoln’s Ascension Day traditions are the kind of wonderfully bizarre curiosities one seems to only get in Oxford.”

The traditional Beating of the Bounds of the Church of St Michael at North Gate, of which Lincoln are patrons, is an ancient ceremony which defines the limits of the church’s parish by marking with chalk, and beating with willow twigs, the stones around its edge.

The ceremony pays no regard to modern development, with Wagamamas and Marks and Spencer both incorporated into the route

One second year Lincoln student who joined the procession said, “It is an interesting coming together of the old and new Oxford, although some of the shoppers did look slightly confused.”

Following the Beating of the Bounds, all members of Brasenose College are invited into Lincoln for a pint of beer, as pennance from Lincoln to Brasenose.

It has been suggested that during a town-gown riot centuries ago a group of Lincoln and Brasenose students were being chased by a bloodthirsty mob. Lincoln refused to admit the Brasenose students into the safety of the college, and they were subsequently beaten to death.

Another account claims that it was a duel between members of both colleges in which the Lincoln student prevailed.

Whatever the true origins of this tradition, the stream of Brasenose students making their way through the door connecting the two college, said to open only for these ten minutes every year, were happy to make the most of the beer on offer.

The beer is flavoured with ivy so that Brasenose are not encouraged to overstay their welcome, though one Brasenose student claimed that the beer did “not taste too bad”.

However, another seasoned Brasenose student commented, “You get good years and bad years. This is a bad year.”

With the peculiar taste of the ale still lingering, the majority of students progressed to Lincoln’s front quad to watch the third, and perhaps oddest, ancient tradition.

A group of children from nearby Combe Primary School came onto the pristine grass in the middle of the quad. The JCR committee at the top of Lincoln’s tower then proceeded to throw handfuls of pennies into the crowd of children, who scrabbled around trying to pick them up.

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As more coins rained down, the throwers’ aims began to fail them as members of the crowd found themselves in the firing line.

Although one tearful young man also received a direct hit after an inspection from his teacher he was quickly back into melee.

The pennies used to be heated so that the children would burn their hands when they picked them up, thus warning them about the dangers of greed. Now there is no deterrent to the children picking up as many as they can.

A 72 year old philosopher plans to protest by sleeping outside Balliol College next week, in protest that his controversial theories on Plato have not been acknowledged by Oxford academics.

Dr Julius Tomin, a Czech philosopher and former fellow of Charles University in Prague, will protest in front of the college on the 8th to 9th of June in an effort to engage with students, and to persuade the university to allow him to present his paper on “Socrates and the Laws of Athens” to an audience of Oxford students and academics.

The philosopher, who has already staged one protest outside Balliol on 16th May, plans to return to the college with a placard bearing the message “A philosopher from Prague appeals to Oxford Academics: let us discuss Plato”.

He said that he chose Balliol as his place of protest because of his long-standing links with the college, which date back to the late 1970s, when Balliol academics were involved in organising Oxford visits to Tomin’s philosophy seminars in Prague.

Tomin told Cherwell this week that the theories which he is proposing, which will involve a profound rethinking of the dating of Plato’s dialogues, “radically challenge views which have been inherited from past generations of scholars”, yet claimed that although he sent his paper to various Oxford classicists and philosophers over a year ago, he has received no response from them as yet.

When questioned as to why he thought they had not replied to him, he said, “the answer is that they cannot defend their views, and if they tried, their patchy acquaintance with Plato’s work would come to light.”

Tomin expressed strong criticism of the treatment which he claims to have received, insisting, “I cannot understand how Oxford University can claim to be a true centre of excellence, if its Classics and Classical Philosophy departments are in such a sorry state, and how Oxford students, who will be paying off their tuition fees for decades to come, can tolerate such a state of affairs. I believe they deserve better.”

When asked what he thought the protest would achieve, Tomin replied, “spending the night in front of Balliol is not a prospect I am looking forward to”, but he also expressed the hope that “students will come and discuss the matter with me, and as a result will organise a meeting to which they will invite Oxford classicists and classical philosophers”.

Representatives of Balliol College were unavailable to comment on the imminent protest, while four members of the Philosophy Faculty, when contacted by Cherwell, also declined to comment on the situation.

However, a source who wished to remain anonymous pointed out that Tomin’s assertion that he has not been granted a platform for his views may not be totally justified: the philosopher has in the past had papers published in a widely read journal, Classical Quarterly, and was also invited some years ago to speak in Oxford.

A first year Classics student commented, “It seems likely that if he’s been published in the past, his claim that he can’t find a platform this time doesn’t hold water.”

OUSU Council passed a motion on Wednesday which noted that gender based themes, such as “vicars and tarts, fox hunts and pimps and hoes” can be upsetting to students who do not identify with traditional gender roles.

The motion highlighted such gender related themes as a “welfare issue” on the grounds that they “stereotype men and women in highly objectified and/or sexualised roles”.

Katherine Terrell, OUSU Women’s Officer, proposed the motion. She said, “This came out of listening closely to students, many of whom care greatly about inclusivity and sensitivity but wanted guidance on how to deliver successful events, while taking welfare into account.”

St Anne’s college held a cross-gender themed bop to celebrate thirty years of being made a co-educational college.

Beth McKernan, a second year at St Anne’s, said, “The bop was done with the right intentions: we were celebrating sexual inclusivity in the context of mixed sex education, which is the exact opposite of excluding anyone.”

St Peter’s has an annual cross-gender themed bop. Hubert MacGreevy, a finalist at St Peter’s, said “I can’t see what people would find offensive about cross-dressing. I have dressed up as a girl before; If you can’t do wacky things when you are an undergraduate when can you?

“The guys who run OUSU aren’t stupid – I don’t know what they base all these politically correct motions on.”

However, others are more sympathetic to OUSU’s stance. A first year LGBT rep said, “I can understand why someone would find that kind of thing offensive. There is a difference between a bop that is themed to be particularly offensive to a minority and a generically themed bop which people can interpret how they want.”

This is not the first time Oxford’s bop and party themes have come under fire. In the past, Cherwell has reported on students ‘blacking up’ to Univ’s Safari Bop and the University Rugby Club’s ‘Bring a Fit Jew’ night.

One first year English student who recently attended a Bible Bop dressed as the ‘Spear of Destiny’, wearing a bejazzled t-shirt which read, “I’ve penetrated Jesus and he’s a very naughty boy”, said, “I suppose the whole point of a bop and costumes is that its supposed to be slightly tongue in cheek rather than purposefully controversial”.

MacGreevy, who is a former president of the Newman Society, an Oxford University Catholic Society, said, “It is right and important to be sensitive about costumes and themes which mock gender, religion and race. I may find some costumes distasteful, but I would not want to infringe students’ liberties.’

The motion gives OUSU’s recommendations on the matter of cross gender bops, but is not binding to JCRs. Terrell said, “OUSU can give guidance…especially to give voice to minority groups, such as trans students, who may not have a big say in common room environments.”

An email sent last Wednesday to students at Worcester revealed that the Library Committee was imposing a ban on “half naked half hours” in the college library.

The Breakfast Club, an ‘infamous’ group of students at Worcester, founded Half Naked Half Hour in 2009 and it has been observed regularly by members and other studiers since then. They describe themselves as an, “inclusive society at Worcester College of thirty or so members who really like a good breakfast” and “a great group of fun loving lads who just don’t want to let the monotony of finals get them down.”

The student who is “technically the President of The Club” stated that the edict “has quite literally left our college in a state of chaos.”

Between 3 and 4pm daily, up to forty students in the college Lower Library would (half) strip off, continue their work, and then re-dress thirty minutes later. The social norm was to be naked from the waist up so as not to cause offense.

Another member of The Club told us, “Half Naked Half Hour has long been a tradition at Worcester College as a way of breaking up the monotony of a long day’s revision and using the opportunity to cool down during the hottest periods of the day.”

“Participation has grown over the years to include most of the males who happen to be frequenting the Lower Library during the half hour of semi-naked fashion and a good few females too.”

The email from the Librarians at Worcester admonished the practice as unacceptable, a “distraction to other readers”, and cited “a number of complaints” on the issue. The Library Committee also pointed out, “It is not appropriate for groups of people to organise social or other kinds of events in the Library without the permission of the Librarian.”

The message further highlighted the fact that the library is used by visiting scholars or shown in tours to groups of visitors from outside the College.

Cherwell were told, “It came as a great shock to most of the college…and scenes in the Lower Library that day were those of confusion and disarray.” The Breakfast Club have since experimented with a “toned down Tie-less Ten Minutes” which has received no complaints, but according to high members of The Club, they still mourn the top-less environment they formerly enjoyed.

An anonymous member commented, “I am a big fan of Half Naked Half Hour and a very keen participant. I’ve been taking part for a couple of years now without there being any issues. Contrary to the Librarian’s claims, it is simply a harmless piece of fun where a small group of cracking looking fellas try to add a bit of light to what would otherwise be a dull day of revision… Half Naked Half Hour is not a distraction for people unless they want it to be.”

Chloe Cesar, a fresher at Worcester, told Cherwell she was not at all in shock about the new rules, saying, “I can see why the college decided to ban [half naked half hour]. For visitors to the library I expect it must have seemed a bit weird and I’m not surprised college took the action they did. It was just a bit of fun though for people who were revising so the restrictions are annoying, if not entirely unexpected.”

A female Medicine finalist us, “I fully support the Breakfast Club. I think having a bit of fun during finals is a great way to boost morale…I personally have participated- other girls have as well- and this was purely my own choice, no pressure from the boys.”

“I equally understand that if the library has received complaints, they should act upon them but if they’re from the student body, some people need to lighten up…a few topless bodies really shouldn’t be distracting at our age, and if it helps people work, then why ever not?”

Several students interviewed on the subject by Cherwell claimed that temperatures in the Lower Library necessitated bare chests as it frequently became, “hotter than the Sun” due to a lack of air conditioning and sunshine “beaming through the tall windows and actuating the greenhouse effect for a good few hours.”

Furthermore, members of The Breakfast Club have asserted that half naked half hours have never been more than the name suggests, for although, “There was once held a Three Quarters Naked Three Quarters of an Hour by a small rebellious offshoot of the Half Naked Half Hour followers,” this was soon “quashed by its founders.”

While the email asserts half naked half hour, “may have seemed like a piece of harmless fun,” it goes on to say, “we ask you please to stop this kind of behaviour in the Library…If inappropriate behaviour continues, Library staff will refer the matter to the Dean.”

When subsequently contacted, the Library staff at Worcester did not wish to comment further on the issue.

The Breakfast Club are far from beaten however, and tell Cherwell that their other clothing conventions, “Beachwear Wednesdays, Suit Up Thursdays and Hat Saturdays have all had remarkable success and an amended motion is expected to pass through the next Worcester College JCR Meeting to cover the expenses of a business lunch for finalists who are dressed in appropriate attire on Thursdays.”

A previous motion regarding an expenses account for anyone who “suited-up” to eat on a Thursday at Fire and Stone failed to pass at a JCR Meeting last week with a vote of 23 for, 32 against, and 16 abstentions. Unperturbed, The Club, very active in the filing of JCR motions, has vowed to try again.

Julien Anani-Isaac, JCR President of Worcester declined to comment in depth on the matter but did say, “I don’t think widespread nudity is a problem around college.”

This summer, The Bodleian Libraries will launch the first in their series of apps for Apple and Android mobile devices.

The apps will ‘highlight items from the Bodleian’s world-famous collections as part of the Libraries’ aim to share their manuscripts, books, maps and periodicals with a worldwide audience’.

As the first batch of finalists finished their exams on Tuesday, University officials renewed efforts to regulate Oxford’s tradition of ‘trashing’.

When the finalists emerged, they were cheered by many students lined up with banners, balloons, confetti, and champagne.

One student told a reporter, “Our theme for the trashingof my friend was Royal Cream Tea. We trashed him with Cava, scotch eggs, whipped cream, jam and scones.”

Another undergraduate said, “people hide their things onside streets and drag friends down there to trash them. Last year my friend was pulled down a side street and tied to a tree and had things like old milk and liver thrown at her.”

In an email sent out by the Proctors to all students, it was said that, “safety and public order are our core concerns. We therefore need your help in keeping people safe, and stamping out the abuse of all foodstuffs.

‘No flour, no eggs, no beans, ketchup, let alone rotting food or worse. Rotting food, vomit, broken glass and other items causing litter are simply not what any of us wants to see. They are a disgrace and potentially dangerous. The Proctors will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who break them.”

Proctors and security at the scene were collecting bags full of confiscated trashing products before students even came out. However, many described Tuesday’s trashings as tame, believing that they would get worse as the exam season went on.

Guidance on the Oxford University web site says that anyonewho breaks the trashings code could be fined a minimum of £80 By the University, the City, or the Police. The Proctors or their officers can also give students a fine on the spot.