Second year Arabic students are set to return to Cairo to continue their year abroad after being flown back to the UK three weeks ago amid widespread protests and rioting before the fall of President Mubarak.

This comes as the Foreign Office relaxes travel advice for British citizens heading to Egypt this week.

The Foreign Office’s advice, put in place on 28th January, previously advised against “all but essential” travel to Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.

Now, it continues to warn the situation across Egypt is “unpredictable and may change quickly,” reminding British citizens there is still a “high threat” from terrorism. It says, “Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in public places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, such as hotels and restaurants.” A nationwide curfew is also still in force in Egypt.

Gabby Odah, a second year Arabic and French student from St Catz, told Cherwell, “I have booked my flight back on 2nd March. I consulted the Oriental Institute before booking the flight back to Cairo; staff were due to have a meeting to discuss what we should do on Friday. I was also waiting for the Foreign Office [advice] to change. After this was changed, I checked with the University again, who said it was fine to book flights back.”

However, the University has advised all students returning to Egypt to obtain Syrian visas, so that if Egypt becomes violent again, students can go straight to Syria and continue an Arabic study programme there.

Odah continued, “I was upset to have to fly back from Egypt. As I got to the airport and got on the plane I realised how much I would miss Cairo. I am happy to be going back, although I have mixed feelings, as I will miss home.

“We are not worried, and now we are prepared with our Syrian visas. We are all really looking forward to getting back. One student is already back now, and the rest of us are flying out in the next few days. At the time, I was really glad to get away from the violence – I did not think we were in danger while we were there, as we left just before things became really violent in Cairo.”

Other language students are on progammes in Syria where concern over the prospect of civil unrest is rising. So far the country has remained calm.

President Bashar al-Assad has promised to push through political reforms after inheriting power from his father, Hafez, in 2000, after three decades of authoritarian rule.

A brain imaging study carried out at Oxford has shown that patients’ prior expectations can significantly alter their responses to pain-relief drugs.

The research into the placebo effect, and its opposite, the nocebo effect, led by Professor Irene Tracey, showed all of the impact of a drug  could be undermined by poor expectations of pain relief beforehand.

Equally, when patients mistakenly believed that the dosage of pain relief had been increased, brain imaging scans showed that they really did experience less pain, despite constant administration of pain relief drugs.

The researchers have proposed that doctors confront patients’ beliefs and expectations before they administer a drug, in order to optimise the outcome of the treatment.

John le Carré has announced plans to donate of his entire literary archive to the Bodleian Library.

85 boxes of books, manuscripts, papers and digital material arrived at the Bod last summer and a selection will be on display on 3rd March as part of the World Book Day celebrations.

The collection includes very early manuscripts of his famous novela in which the lead character, Smiley, like le Carré himself, is an old Oxonian who goes on to work for MI6.

The author of 22 novels said, “I am delighted to be able to do this. Oxford was Smiley’s spiritual home, as it is mine.”

Richard Ovenden, the Associate Director of the Bodleian Libraries, said, “We hope the collection will also be appreciated more widely, through exhibitions, seminars and conferences as well as through digitisation initiatives.”

NUS President Aaron Porter announced this week that he will not stand for re-election.

He said he feels the Union needs a “fresh start” and “there needs to be a new President to lead the student movement into that next phase”.

As leader of the NUS since July 2010, Porter played a central role in the student activism over the tuition fees increase. He said in his blog that he was proud of his achievements and claimed that the student response would “go down in the history books”.

Porter has received increasingly personal attacks from those who desire a more radical student response.

He said that “the challenge for the new President will be great”. His successor will have to lead the response to the cuts whilst negotiating calls for militant action from what Porter terms “factional groups”.

The new President will be elected at the NUS National Conference in Newcastle in April.

Oxford University students have been warned that if they do not complete their census forms, Oxford City and County Councils could lose out on thousands of pounds worth of funding.

The census data is used to work out funding for services as diverse as education, transportation and health. 

According to the Q&A document produced for students, this “will ultimately benefit the living environment of all Oxford residents – which includes the student population.”

James Bennett, Home Bursar of St Catherine’s College and the Chair of the Domestic Bursars’ Committee said, “It is vitally important that students living in colleges (and in private rented accommodation) understand and participate in this process.

“The data collected in the census are used to underpin decision-making on the allocation of resources to local authorities.”

Mr Bennett also met with OUSU President David Barclay with a view to spreading information through JCRs and MCRs.

Barclay encouraged students to get behind the census, commenting, “This year’s census is more important than ever for students, because the data collected will be used to inform how resources are allocated to local Councils.

“At a time of massive cuts to their funding, its crucial that Government gets a true picture of the population of Oxford, and particularly its student population.”

The census takes place every ten years, meaning that the last census, in 2001,occurred when most current undergraduates would have still been of primary school age.

The 2001 census showed that over a quarter of the working resident population in Oxford were full-time students, which was the highest percentage in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Figures from December 2010 showed there were 21,535 students at Oxford University.
The nationwide date for the census is 27th March 2011. However, for students living in college or University communal accommodation in Oxford, the census will take data from those resident between 3rd and 7th March 2011 in order to avoid a clash with the Easter vacation.

The 2011 census campaign includes initiatives endorsed by the NUS, such as a photography competition to help raise awareness among students.

Oxford University Labour Club have defiantly renounced their affiliation from ‘Labour Students’ following a vote last Wednesday.

Labour Students is the national umbrella organisation for all student Labour clubs and is responsible for their co-ordination and for building bridges between them and the central Labour party.  It holds annual conferences, arranges social events and campaigns and sets policy stances.

OULC voted 19 votes to six to end their association with the organisation. The decision was taken with co-chairs Kat Shields and Jack Evans abstaining, believing that the decision should rest with the club membership.

In an open letter to the organisation, OULC said, “This was not a course of action we were happy to take, or one we took lightly.”

The transparency of the Labour Students’ internal democracy appears to have been an important factor in determining the vote. The letter, which appears on OULC’s web-
site, stated, “we could no longer remain within an institution whose democratic failings we feel increasingly threaten to undermine its positive work”.

OULC noted that every position on the Labour Students Exec had been elected unopposed in this year’s elections. One student was also supposedly told not to oppose a particular candidate, as the lines of succession had already been pre-determined.

The letter also questioned the lack of availability of Labour Students’ constitution to members, asking, “How can individual clubs be expected to argue for change if they can’t even consult the constitution?”

OULC also stated that during the recent election, the official campaigning materials OULC received from Labour Students were insufficient, forcing OULC to create and finance their own.

The disaffiliation has, however, provoked hostile reactions. Wes Streeting, Ex-President of the NUS who stood as the Labour Student’s candidate, tweeted the following day that he hoped “no Labour MPs will now speak at the club”.

Criticism has also surfaced in Oxford. A letter signed by three former OULC chairpersons claims that the disaffiliation has left OULC “cast adrift” and states that while Labour Students may not be a perfect organisation, the work that they do and the resources that it presents to OULC are invaluable.

Kat Shields, current co-chair of OULC, has responded to the criticism by stating that the vote was not taken out of spite and that previous efforts to alter the dynamic of Labour Students from within had simply met too much opposition.

Hoping to re-join as soon as significant changes had been made, Shields stated that the vote was not simply a protest vote but one designed “to inspire a discussion and bring about reform”..

It has also been questioned why Tony Blair, who distanced himself from student politics while at Oxford, was recently made an honorary member of the OULC. The co-chairs of OULC stated that the honorary membership was largely out of recognition for his career in national politics.

Oxford Council have published a provisional decision to reduce the opening hours of popular student club The Bridge, following violence around the venue. The club could formerly stay open until 3am, but under new regulations will be forced to shut an hour earlier for a three month period.

The Council stated on their website before Tuesday’s hearing, “Thames Valley Police are seeking a review based on the grounds the operators are not upholding their obligations under the four objectives of the Licensing Act most notably the prevention of crime and disorder.”

Police licensing officer Alex Bloomfield said the decision to request a review was made after an incident at Halloween. The club has had many problems with disorderly and anti-social behaviour outside the venue. In October, four men were arrested after a brawl outside The Bridge, which saw two people being taken to hospital, one with serious head injuries.

The Council said that the committee questioned whether the problems were circumstantial or caused by poor running of the premises and said that the Committee came to a decision based upon the evidence provided by both parties.

The news has been met with disappointment from students. St Hugh’s first year Teddy Mears said, “Going to Bridge on a Thursday is an integral part of the week for any St Hugh’s student, and it’s a good way to get to know everyone at college, so it would be a shame if it were to close earlier.”

Phil Davidson, the manager of the club, told Cherwell, “although we have attended a recent review of the club’s licence no finite decision was reached as we indicated that we wished to appeal the panel’s findings. Until such time as that appeal has been heard our opening hours remain the same as they are now.

“Our view is that we fail to see how an hour lopped off our trading times will have any impact on perceived problems at the club, particularly as according to the police statistics over 50% of our ‘problems’ relate to lost/stolen items.”

A third of Oxford Opportunity Bursaries awarded to current first years were given to students from independent schools, Cherwell can reveal.

This comes just weeks after tutors at the University’s Congregation called for a “radical” overhaul to Oxford’s approach to Access Schemes, which many tutors feel still do not go far enough to reach students beyond a certain “cultural and social elite.”

The University had not intended to publish the statistic that one third of bursary recipients are educated within the independent sector, but Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, recently disclosed this figure during comments he made at a Teach First presentation in Somerville College last week.

The statistics were later confirmed by the University Press Office, who stated that “Of students coming to Oxford University with household incomes under £25k, who then automatically qualify for a full Oxford Opportunity Bursary, 31.6% are from schools in the independent sector.”

The University admitted that the bursaries are “automatic, based on income” and they are “blind to all other factors.”

This statistic carries implications for Oxford’s access schemes. Some tutors have expressed concern that Oxford is not going far enough in targeting its access policies at those who need it most.

Bernard Sufrin, Fellow and Tutor in Computer Science at Worcester College, said, “While quality education in schools is rationed by price it’s not really surprising that low-income families that believe in the importance of education will do their best to find their way past the rationing machinery; and who can blame the tiny numbers of such families who can do so, for taking advantage of every available scholarship, grant, or bursary?

“But these individual ‘rags-to-Oxbridge’ narratives allow our ruling elites to continue pretending that any poor child can succeed academically as long as they have the innate talent.” 

Sufrin continued, “Our ruling elites have never put enough resources into building an education system which provides appropriate pathways for the talents of every individual to be nurtured to their full potential. So taking the message ‘think Oxbridge’ at people who hadn’t is never going to affect the educational chances of more than a handful; and I think we need to do a whole lot more than that.”

The University stress that bursaries are “simply a function of household income”.

The Press Office maintain that “the purpose of bursaries is to assist with living costs for those whose parents won’t be able to help them out in that regard.”

A spokesperson said, “You get [bursaries] automatically based on your household income. The University does not ‘choose’ who to give them to”.

John Parrington, a Fellow and Tutor in Physiological Sciences at Worcester College, also voiced concern that Oxford’s undergraduates are still being selected from a narrow pool of applicants.

He said, “I think is the central problem with the whole fees and bursaries question. The big difficulty with having huge fees compensated for by bursaries to the ‘deserving poor’ is that one will inevitably get into these debates about who is most deserving of such bursaries.

“There’s a danger in assuming that even if Oxford did dramatically increase its intake from state schools, if these are the highly selective type, it could still mean a huge proportion of school students out there in Britain at non-selective state schools are not really getting a look in when it comes to getting to Oxford.

Parrington continued, “Oxford still has a long way to go really to reach out to students from less privileged backgrounds. It would make a huge difference if we could go back to the more ‘level playing field’ that I had the benefit of when I was an applicant to Cambridge, and without which it is doubtful that I would be sitting here in Oxford as a University Lecturer and Tutor.”
A spokesperson from the University Press Office was quick to stress that these statistics merely demonstrate Oxford’s commitment to recruiting the best and most able students.
She said, “At most independent schools, bursaries and scholarships are given on the basis of strong academic talent as well as need.
“People on low incomes who have been supported through independent school are therefore by definition likely to be particularly able, and therefore well represented at top universities.”

Hannah Cusworth, a third year History and Politics student, gave an impassioned speech before Congregation about her own background, where she mentioned not only how an Oxford Opportunity Bursary had enabled her to come here, but how financial assistance had allowed her to go to an independent school.

Cusworth said, “I was surprised to learn that a third of full Oxford Opportunity Bursaries go to students who come from the independent sector.

“I suppose this shows that not everyone who goes to private school is from a very well-off family. A lot of students educated in the state sector

who are now at Oxford went to very high achieving selective state schools.
“But I still believe that, one the whole, the state/independent divide says a lot about the educational advantage and support that student likely received.

“Almost every student with AAA is applying to Oxbridge so we need to work more closely with the more disadvantaged state schools whose students have the grades and are applying to Oxford but who miss out on a place.

“Bursaries should ensure that any student who is bright enough to come to Oxford, whatever school they went to, isn’t put off by the costs.”

Alex Bulfin, OUSU VP for Access and Academic Affairs, admitted that given “national statistics on progression from school to university and elite university”, it was “self-evident” that students from independent schools, will have been more exposed and encouraged to pursue higher education at top universities such as Oxford, than students from state schools.

Asked whether bursaries should be used to encourage those who have been educated within the state sector, Bulfin said, “The primary aim of bursaries is not recruitment but student support. I think there are far more significant cultural barriers that prevent people from making an initial application or even picking up the prospectus to see what bursaries we offer.”

Bulfin shifted the debate away from access, to one of financial support. He said, “The primary purpose of bursaries is to ensure people have enough money to live on while at university and that no-one has to decline their place for financial reasons. To that extent they are less about access than student support.

“However some enhanced bursaries, such as the current Oxford Opportunity Bursary, also give students the possibility of reducing the amount they have to borrow from the Government, which does give them an element of access and student recruitment.”
Oxford’s access schemes have come under close scrutiny recently, as many feel the rise in tuition fees could deter bright students who are from less financially able backgrounds, if they are not encouraged to apply by their school or family.

Oxford are expected to announce the level at which they will set their fees for students beginning university in 2012 in early March. It is believed that Oxford will follow Cambridge’s lead in raising fees to the highest cap of £9,000 per year.