St John’s students, fellows and alumni celebrated the official opening of the college’s new £35 million quadrangle on Saturday.
Kendrew Quadrangle is named after the Noble Prize winner and former St John’s President, Sir John Kendrew. The quad will provide seventy student rooms, a law library, a gym, café, archives, music practice areas and an events room. It is one of the largest building developments undertaken by an Oxford college in recent years.

Taking nearly a decade of planning by the college, the new quad’s design has been praised for its cutting edge approach to energy consumption and sensitivity to local surroundings.
Its innovative technology makes it one of the University’s most environmentally friendly projects to date. Geothermal heat pumps and a wood chip burner mean it has just half the carbon footprint of a conventional design.

Matthew Thomlinson, a second year St John’s student, said, “The law library looks like a really great working atmosphere, it will really help with my learning. I like that its green and eco-friendly.”
A spokesperson for St John’s said, “Kendrew Quadrangle is a first-rate building in a modern idiom that responds sensitively to the unique context of the college and the city. These top class facilities will help us to continue to attract the most able students and academics.”

Current third years at St John’s will be the first ever residents of the quadrangle. Its thirty undergraduate rooms were, according to the college JCR, “snatched up by Finalists” in the annual room ballot.

The extra accommodation space will allow St John’s postgraduates and academics to live in college for the first time.

The new building forms part of a larger project which involved the restoration of older college buildings, including a seventeenth century barn which was converted into a new exhibition and performance space.

MJP Architects, who designed the quad, also created St John’s garden quadrangle, completed in 1994, and the 2004 extension of the Senior Common Room.

President’s Drinks at the Oxford Union will start charging members for entry, it was decided at Standing Committee this week.
The proposal, put forward by Union President James Kingston, was passed by seven votes to six at the Committee meeting on Monday evening.

Kingston said that selling tickets on a first come first serve basis would reduce “hack patronage” at an event that has often been the preserve of friends of Union officers and committee members.

President’s Drinks take place every week after the debate on the Thursday and offer members an opportunity to meet guest speakers.

A former member of Standing Committee told Cherwell that previously there had been a clear policy that members on Secretary’s Committee could bring one guest. Those on Standing could bring two, officers could bring “about five” and the President as many they wanted.

The new move will see forty tickets going on sale to Union members at a cost of £5 each, and members will only be allowed to attend two of the events per term.

Although a suggestion was also put forward to charge for attendance of the dinner that precedes the drinks, Kingston said it was “a little ridiculous” that officers who were obliged to attend and entertain the speakers should be charged to do so.
Further modifications to President’s Drinks were also proposed, including turning the Drinks into a smaller event with higher quality alcohol.

However, the Union President maintained that both speakers and members enjoyed the weekly event. Kingston argued against calls to reduce the size of the guest list, reminding the committee that they existed “to serve the members”.

The decision to introduce the £5 charge has been met with mixed reactions from Union members.

One member who attended President’s Drinks regularly last year said he had used the Drinks as a forum “to hack” and stopped going once he had been successful in achieving a committee position.

He agreed that charging people would hopefully attract guests “who actually wanted to meet the speaker”. This, he thought, would be “a lot fairer”.

However, another argued that the “patronage” of the President would still apply since he or she selects who dines with speakers beforehand. Those at the dinner can attend the subsequent President’s Drinks.

He also predicted that the Union would struggle to sell forty tickets for the Drinks each week and that this will lead to Committee members inviting along their friends.

He commented, “It will very much retain a ‘Members’ Club’ atmosphere”.

The ticket charge is set to be introduced in third week. Standing Committee will re-open discussions on the proposals at its next meeting on Monday.

The government spending review, released this Wednesday by Chancellor George Osborne, has announced cuts of nearly £3 billion by 2014 from higher education.

Oxford University stands to lose £6 million from its teaching funding this year. Funding for arts and humanities is likely to be hardest hit, with government support maintained for science, technology, engineering and maths degrees.

Oxford University warned the cuts in grants would wipe away the benefit of seeing the cap on tuition fees raised, with the university having to depend on benefactors to maintain its position as a leading international university.

Ruth Collier, a spokesperson for the university said, “Proposals to protect research funding for science are a positive development. The same cannot be said for the planned cuts to teaching grants, which represent a setback for the sector.

“Already, funds that would otherwise be spent on research, infrastructure and postgraduate support at Oxford are being diverted to support the university’s world-class undergraduate tutorial system. We do not believe this is sustainable in the long term.”

Collier noted that the university is increasingly reliant on the support of benefactors, and that without them, Oxford’s international reputation “will be increasingly at risk — an outcome that is not in the university’s or the national interest.”
Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of universities agreed that the cuts endangered British universities.
“We are concerned that the cuts will mean it will be tough to maintain the high quality teaching, learning and research environment our universities currently offer, even under the Browne system.”

Hundreds of political campaigners from Oxford joined in Bonn Square on Wednesday evening to demonstrate against the proposed government cuts.

“We want to show that there must be an alternative way of doing things. All that’s happening is “slash, slash, slash” said Ian Jones, one of the organisers behind the demonstration.

Many students at the protest were concerned about how they would be able to fund their education. Helen Thompson, a first year social sciences student, spoke of her concerns about the effect of government’s cuts on education, saying “I’m lucky – I got a bursary for this year, but for the next year, who knows?”
“If the cuts are there and the funding isn’t the country will lose out. It does feel like a backward step. This is simply a short-term economy measure.”

Leo Wan, a former student of Oxford university and who is currently a departmental researcher, was also quick to point out that “cuts to education will lead to a huge impact on Oxford as a town as well as a university.”

Another protester, Lis Ledger said she felt “indignant” about the cuts.
“I am proud though that we can stand here and say things against the government. That free speech is the most valuable thing we’ve got.”
However one second year history and politics student at Regent’s Park felt that “lots of my friends have said they aren’t interested in the cuts because they won’t be undergraduates when they take effect, which is an opinion I find quite disturbing.”

An Oxford tutor, when asked before the protest whether he wanted to say anything on the cuts, replied, “No comment – I’d like to keep my job thanks.”

The Chemistry faculty at Oxford has admitted to purchasing iPads for a number of its staff, despite tutors having allegedly told students that it is running out of funding.

The iPads, which usually cost between £400 and £700 each, were bought for staff over the summer. The department has not disclosed how many iPads they now have.

The news of the purchases has caused anger among Chemistry students, a number of whom claim to have been told that there will no longer be enough funding for undergraduate fourth year projects.
Chemistry students are currently expected to dedicate their entire fourth year to researching a “significant project”. In the past all students have been eligible for a grant to fund this research, but some tutors have reportedly told their students that this will no longer be the case.

A spokesman from the University Press Office denied that there had been cuts to funding for fourth year projects, but confirmed that the iPads had been purchased.

“Demonstrators in the Department of Chemistry are using iPads and have developed a bespoke electronic grading system for practical classes together with online resources, to enable effective laboratory teaching and practical demonstrations”, she said.

One third year Chemistry student said, “This is a scandal. My tutor said that there wasn’t going to be any money for fourth years any more, but there seems to be enough to buy iPads.

“I can’t believe that the department thinks that fancy gadgetry is a more important investment than student projects. This won’t help us: their priorities are all wrong.”

Blues awards for the Oxford University Dance Team were released this week, sparking outrage among dancers.

Members of OUDT were shocked to find that some dancers’ awards had been downgraded as a punishment for taking part in a silent protest earlier this year. Meanwhile, others were awarded half blues, despite the fact that they had actually competed against Oxford for the majority of the year.

One of the requirements for receipt of a half blue, as explained on the Oxford University Dance Club website, is to have danced for the Blues Team at the Inter Varsity Dance Association.

However, three individuals who were awarded half blues this year did not represent the Blues at the IVDA competition. Instead, they represented the Featherwaits, an independent team, who competed against the Blues.

Formed in 2004, when a split took place within OUDC, the Featherwaits is made up of Oxford students, but is affiliated to Ruskin College rather than Oxford University. They are entirely independent from the Blues team, with separate training and sponsorship arrangements.

One of the dancers to have gained a half blue, despite dancing for the Featherwaits, was Tamasin Graham, current President of OUDC and captain of OUDT.

Some dancers fear that the Featherwaits are exerting undue authority over OUDC, and that this influenced the decision to award the three dancers with half blues.

As of Trinity Term of 2009, a change in the OUDC constitution saw the merging of President of OUDC and the captain of OUDT. This meant that the captaincy of the dance team is now cast by vote, of the several hundred members of OUDC, rather than to squad of dancers who represent the university.

Members of OUDT have long campaigned against the changes. These efforts came to a head at the Southern University Championship Competition in February 2010, where some dancers wore a white ribbon on their arm as an act of protest.

One participant in the white ribbon protest said, “We resorted to the white ribbons as we felt that all our routes of complaint were blocked, so there were no official channels we could go down.

“We had considered an official boycott but felt it would be unfair on other universities. So instead we chose to wear a discreet white ribbon.”

Following a complaint that was made about the white ribbons at the SUCC, the two Vice Captains had to appear before the Senior Member of OUDC and a member of the Sports Federation. However, no further action was taken at the time.

An email was circulated on Sunday to explain that a meeting had taken place with the Senior Member and the representative of the University’s Sports Strategy Committee. During this meeting, to discuss “how to deal with those who participated in the public demonstration at the SUDC.”

The email stated that the punishment for those involved in the protest was that their “awards have been reduced by one grade. This means that Blues have been reduced to Half-Blues, Half-Blues for men have been reduced to nothing and Second Team Colours for women have been reduced to nothing.”

A source close to OUDC said, “I think this is particularly unfair given that the white ribbon was a silent protest which did not involve any other universities, so it seems more like an attempt to clamp down on free speech.

“People have been stripped or downgraded based on hearsay, while others have escaped. What is even worse is the fact that many people have been awarded half blues despite not actually qualifying under the clubs and blues criteria.

“The best sports people should get the awards. A number of people who worked hard all year and brought success to Oxford were not recognised in the way that they should have been.”

Further controversy ensued shortly before this year’s Varsity match on 15th May. The former OUDC President stepped down, and was immediately replaced by the Vice President Tamasin Graham. Graham is also the Captain of the Featherwaits, and under the constitutional changes, she would become the captain of OUDT as well.

One dancer said, “This merging of roles means that the captain of OUDT is not necessarily someone on the dance team at all. OUDC and OUDT are phenomenally different organisations; no blues team anywhere else in Oxford would have a captain who is not even on the team.”

OUDC declined to comment at this stage. The Sports Federation confirmed that they were currently investigating the claims of unfair blues awards.

A spokesperson from the Sports Federation said, “If any member of an Oxford University Sports Club raises a concern with the Sports Federation about the operation of their Club, we are of course obliged to investigate. It is important to be aware that the awarding of Blues does not come under the Sports Federation’s general remit unless there has been a breach of a Sports Clubs’ constitutional requirements.

“Blues are awarded by the elected officer or officers, normally President or Captains, of OU Sports Clubs and the individual criteria set down for each individual awards are approved by the respective Blues Committees.

“However the Blues are not awarded by the Blues Committees, who simply oversee the sanctioning of individual Club statuses and the awarding of the Extraordinary and Discretionary Blues awards which fall out of the normal awarding process.”

One dancer commented, “We have such a strong team spirit and this has made us train even harder this past year, not for the Club but for each other. Oxford University had one of the most successful years ever last year, winning all team matches at the National Championships, and we also had a convincing Varsity victory.

Our team are international champions and we work incredibly hard; some of our dancers are top 25 in the country. Now having the Blues taken away makes people feel their efforts haven’t been appreciated. People have worked hard for this.”

A Cherwell investigation has revealed that it would be extremely easy for an Oxford student to open several bank accounts at once, opening the door to thousands of pounds of debt from overdrafts and credit cards.

It is against most banks’ regulations for students to hold more than one account, yet several Oxford branches of major banks failed to enforce this rule when approached by a Cherwell reporter.

NatWest, the Co-operative Bank, Santander and Halifax all omitted to ask the reporter whether they already held a student account at another bank.

Only Lloyds TSB and HSBC enforced the rule about multiple accounts, informing the reporter that they would have to close their current student account before opening another.

If a student were to open an account with all the banks which failed to ask if they already had one, they could find themselves with triple the level of overdraft they would receive from a single account.

A first year student making use of the full overdraft at each of the four banks that did not challenge the reporter could have access to £6,400 worth of overdraft.

This figure increases as a student moves through their studies, rising to a potential high of £9,000.

Most banks visited by the reporter asked only for identification, a UCAS letter as proof of study, and occasionally a proof of address before an account could be opened. Even when asked multiple times, they did not enquire about other accounts.

Although most student bank accounts offer interest-free overdrafts, rates usually soar as soon as the account holder leaves university. This means that someone holding multiple accounts in Oxford could find themselves facing severe debt within months of graduation.

Student bank accounts also frequently allow the account-holder to have a credit card with a limit of up to £500. Using the four potential bank accounts Cherwell identified in Oxford, this could add an additional £2,000 worth of debt.

The Co-operative Bank, which is near the Westgate Centre, offers a £1,400 overdraft for its first year student accounts. The reporter was told that their student loan would not even have to be placed in the bank account in order for them to use it and access the overdraft.

NatWest, which has branches on the High Street and Cornmarket Street, offers a starting overdraft of £1,500, which rises to £2,000 as a student moves through university. They also offer credit cards with a limit of £500.

First year students can claim an overdraft of £1,000 from an account at Santander, and up to £2,000 in following years.

Halifax, whose Oxford branch is in the Westgate Centre, offer a starting overdraft limit of £1000 in the first year. Their maximum limit rises to £3,000 over a period of five years.

None of the banks approached by Cherwell chose to comment on the problem of multiple student accounts.

However one second year student commented, “Almost everyone I know with a student loan went into their overdraft in their first year.
“It’s really scary how easy it is to get into loads of debt.”

It is in fact not possible for banks to know whether students hold accounts elsewhere, but their omission even to ask is a serious failing.

Advice to students on the website moneysavingexpert.com said, “When applying you can either be honest and tell the bank you have a student account elsewhere and risk being turned away, or you can lie to them if they ask you. It’s your choice.”

A number of the banks also offer additional incentives to lure students into opening accounts. NatWest offers free Young Person’s rail cards, while a Lloyds TSB student account comes with free membership of the Youth Hostel Association.

Santander offer mobile phone, gadget and laptop insurance, HSBC offer free travel insurance, and Halifax provide 25% off AA breakdown cover.

Only The Co-operative offer no discounts or freebies with their student current account.

With student debt set to rise considerably in coming years, the problem of multiple accounts and finance mismanagement is likely to become far worse.

A second year student from Christ Church College said, “It’s really embarrassing, but I just find it too daunting to try and keep track of my money – Oxford is an expensive city to live in.”