Tuesday 1st July 2025
Blog Page 2018

24% vote to RON in OUSU by-election

0

Beth Evans, OUSU VP-Elect for Graduates, received 24% RON (Re-Open Nominations) votes in Thursday’s by-election.

This is the largest percentage of RON votes of any OUSU candidate in the past three years.

Forty people voted RON, while 129 voted for Beth Evans, who ran unopposed.
The online by-election was held because nobody came forward to run for the position last term.

The turnout of 160 from a potential electorate of 8,101 graduates was higher than usual in an OUSU by-election.

New College cat comes home

0

New College’s pet kitten Otis has been returned home after being discovered in Cowley on Tuesday night.

The cat, whose disappearance was reported two weeks ago in Cherwell, is said to have been “unscathed but confused” when found by RSPCA workers.

Zoe Norridge, Fellow in African and Comparative Literature, who oversees the welfare of the College pet, has thanked everyone who helped in the search for Otis.

“Thank you for all the messages, help with putting up posters, late night walks around the University Club pitches calling out his name and so on.”

Otis, who had disappeared on Monday 8th February, is now said to be “purring and curled up on the sofa” . Norridge said, “We’ll keep Otis in for a week or so but look out for him around college towards the end of term!”

‘Sheriff of Magdalen’ appointed

0

Magdalen students suffering at the hands of an anonymous prankster have appointed a member of the JCR to protect them.

Matthew Shribman, a third-year Chemist, has been appointed as the college Sheriff, in order to catch the person behind the mystery persona of ‘John the Porter’.

The JCR motion granting him this position passed unanimously last Sunday.
The JCR was also mandated to provide the Sheriff with a badge, and to ask Dr Ralph Walker, Vice-President of the college, to present it to him.

The motion notes, “Someone in the college has created the fictional character of ‘John the Porter’ and has pulled stunts such as: (a) Calling numerous room phones, and telling undergraduates that they have to urgently report to the Porters Lodge to see John the Porter. The undergraduates in question arrived to find that John the Porter does not exist. (b) Turning furniture upside down in undergraduate rooms and leaving ominous notes such as ‘John the Porter is watching you’.”

Speaking to Cherwell, Shribman outlined the situation. “John the Porter is prolific. People have been affected in Magdalen, New College and Christ Church; he is growing ever more existentially portly and, though I’m doing my best, I cannot keep up.”
He further noted, “I am an experienced solver of idealistic college-based mysteries and a prolific vigilante.”

The motion noted that Shribman “would make an excellent Sheriff in solving this mystery.”

Shribman said, “The JCR voted unanimously in my favour, throwing all of their weight behind my bid to become Sheriff. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. I believe that the title of Sheriff will help me to speed up my investigations, especially at the more administrative end of things.

“Everybody takes Sheriffs seriously. There’s no namby-pamby with the Sheriff,” he said.

Confusion reigns over the identity of John the Porter. A number of members of college apparently believe that Shribman himself is the mysterious joker. However, the sheriff insists that those who know the culprit’s true identity are working to keep it under wraps.

“Not everyone is happy about my new appointment,” he said. “On Tuesday, just before noon, Hattie Huston, Lincoln College, attempted to crush me between the moving stacks in the Magdalen College library, stalling my investigation… of the stacks.”
Harry Maltby, a second year PPEist at Magdalen, confirmed that there was real fear surrounding this episode. “This John the Porter is no myth. Every time the phone rings I am terrified that it might be him. I am glad that college is talking the threat seriously in the appointment of the Sheriff. We students can now rest assured that something is being done.”

One Magdalen student however, who asked to be described as “a friend of John the Porter” said that Shribman would be ineffective, claiming that “John don’t fear no Sheriff.”

Tom Meakin, JCR President, was happy to see the motion pass, commenting, “I think it’s great that every once and a while colleges can take a step back and not take themselves too seriously. I wish Matthew every luck in his quest to pin down this elusive villain.”

Shribman declared that he “will retain the title of Sheriff until The Land Before Time is brought out on DVD.”

Going Up Going Down

0

Going Up:

All things Alice

With Tim Burton’s latest 3D offering and London’s Selfridges featuring Alice-inspired Stella McCartney pieces it seems as if everyone’s favourite shrunken heroine is everywhere at the moment.

WhatKatieWore.com

Just been chosen as one of the top 10 fashion blogs by The Observer. The task is simple: Joe writes the blog. Katie, his partner, wears the clothes. The challenge is to wear a different outfit every day for a year.

Beer

The hoppy beverage may be good for your bones, according to research from the University of California. Apparently it is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for bone health.

Barefoot running

This year’s ‘let’s go back to nature’ fad is barefoot running. Fewer injuries, less strain on your feet and oh, that child-like feeling of running on the grass. Off to University Parks we go!

Going Down:

Lifts

The illusionist Mel Harvy’s attempt at breaking the record for the highest ever performed magic trick at the top of the Burj Tower in Dubai were vanquished due to a broken lift. He must hate heights.

Police

Gordon Brown has told police forces to keep a closer eye on their officers in an attempt to increase public confidence in the police. Less kissing and more patrolling in order then…

Ashley Cole

The latest Chelsea footballer whose private life has taken national attention. Cheating on the pitch is one thing but cheating on Cheryl Cole is just bizarre! ‘We’ve got to fight, fight, fight, then divorce…’ just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

 

Nowt so queer as Brasenose

0

Brasenose is to change its lesbian and gay JCR representation in the week following accusations of ripping down posters advertising queer issues around college.

The JCR  voted to make the position of LGBT rep an official subset of Welfare on Sunday, but decided that the role will still remain a non-Committee position.

The representative will be a part of the welfare team but not eligible to attend Committee meetings.

This has triggered a wider debate as to the level of LGBT provisions in different colleges and suspected homophobia in Oxford.

The motion was passed at a General Meeting last Sunday, but with several amendments to the original proposal.

In the run up to the Brasenose JCR meeting, posters put up by Fflorens Gamberton, Brasenose’s current LGBT rep, appeared to have been torn down.
But Pip Reeve, one of the college’s Welfare reps, said that she did not think the poster-tampering was indicative of homophobia.

“I do not believe that there was any discrimination against LGBT members prior to the motion in Brasenose,” she said. “For this reason I do not believe that the poster tampering was in anyway deliberate.”

The new LGBT rep will be selected by the Welfare reps and current LGBT reps in Michaelmas Term when other JCR positions are decided.

But the role will still not be a committee position, and the rep will not have access to the JCR mailing list.

Fflorens Gamberton, the current LGBT rep, proposed the motion and noted her gratitude for the JCR passing the motion.

But she also said, “It is one small step for Brasenose, not a giant leap for general Oxonian LGBT Representation.

“In a perfect world, there would be no minority representation of any kind, because the institutionalized inequality which exists throughout our society would no longer affect the lives of students here.”

She added, “I personally know people at three or four different colleges who have spent their entire undergraduate time in the closet because of the perceived backlash they would face if they came out.”

Gamberton pointed to the “‘laddish’ sports culture” where homophobia can erupt.

Grace Weaver, LGBT rep at Corpus Christi agreed with this. “The most pressing of these [unresolved issues] is the homophobic “banter” that occurs frequently, especially in sports clubs”.

LGBT representation varies from college to college, but most JCRs have a non-Exec LGBT representative.

Jesus and Somerville are among a small number of colleges who instead have a JCR Diversities Rep to represent a range of minority students in the JCR, including LGBT, international students and disabled students.

But Weaver argued the case for a single LGBT rep. “You know that an LGBT rep is going to have had some experience dealing with specifically LGBT issues,” she said. “It is much easier for a person to be helpful in this area if they have gone through similar experiences themselves.”

Ahnaf Abdul, the Equal Opportunities and LGBT Rep at Merton disagreed, and said that one general Equalities rep could work, as long as there is “at least one openly LGBT peer supporter in each college.”

Abdul added, “I feel Oxford is fairly tolerant, though not necessarily friendly to or educated about queer issues.”

Analysis: Self-rustication

0

I self-rusticated early last year, following a fairly lengthy period of depression. I had already taken a year out partway through my first year and this was due to be a second, but I decided fairly early on that I did not wish to return to college.
I found the tutors at Balliol to be very helpful for the most part, and I thought the college generally did well at balancing the academic and pastoral support I needed. However, I think this may have largely been due to the general excellence of the history tutors, rather than any official policy of Balliol. I can only imagine how hard it would be for someone in my situation faced with less sympathetic or able tutors.
I would agree with the quoted student that tutors may not be aware of any problems going on. In my case, it could often be up to me to report a problem which would obviously be a tremendous difficulty for many, and could well lead them to merely be regarded as shirking their work.
There are other elements I would criticise about how I was treated. There often seemed to be a degree of punishment, even when college was generally sympathetic – you are dissuaded from returning to college during years out and at one point I was even told that I would be “letting Balliol down” if I didn’t do the requisite work for a class. Clearly a more consistent university-wide policy would prevent at least some of these problems occurring, and hopefully would mark a shift in attitude away from apparently blaming the student for their problems.
The amount of support really depends on how much the tutor is willing and able to give. And, in my experience, the onus was very much on me to sort out any extra help I might have needed. Also very little thought seemed to be given to the fact that I might have enormous problems when it came to my prelims, especially as some modules I had not studied for over a year, and had struggled with at the time anyway. That definitely led to more stress and possibilities for mental health relapses.
I do not doubt that many tutors and officials want to help students, and indeed do so, but so much more can be done, especially if students actually have some idea of what to expect when they are struggling with mental health problems. At times I had no idea if Tutorial Board was going to send me down or not, and the waiting for the result was truly horrible. Still, I am glad for all the help I did receive and glad that this issue is being discussed more.

When it gets too much: a year out

0

Oxford students who are medically unfit to study are receiving inconsistent levels of support across colleges, an investigation by Cherwell shows this week. Freedom of Information act requests were sent to every college for the numbers of students taking time out of their courses for non-academic reasons.

An University-estimated average of six hundred and eighty undergraduate and post graduate students suspend their studies each year for non-disciplinary reasons, such as mental wellbeing.

Statistics obtained by Cherwell, however, indicate notable discrepancies in the attitudes of Colleges towards students who wish to intermit, or suspend, their course.

Averages calculated from University records of students who have intermitted over the past five years reveal great differences between Colleges. While at some it is usual for only two or three students to take time out, others averaged as high as fifteen students intermitting per year.

Both St Hilda’s College and New College have an undergraduate intake of four hundred and twenty students, yet in the past five academic years a total of sixty-one students temporarily withdrew from St Hilda’s, compared to twenty-seven undergraduates at New College.

These findings come as the University’s ‘Fitness to Study’ panel has announced that it is now considering the establishment of a body responsible for adjudicating between student and Colleges in cases where there is disagreement as to a student’s wellbeing and potential need to intermit.
All Colleges questioned by Cherwell stated that they had no ‘policy’ regarding the criteria required to intermit but that cases were treated on an individual basis.

Lucinda Rumsey, Senior Tutor at Mansfield College explained, “We treat all students on an individual level, looking at them on a case by case basis.”
She added, “we would never let students have time out simply because they couldn’t manage the work load – that would not be fair to other students.”

The lack of protocol can be bewildering to students, and results show disparities between Colleges regarding the circumstances under which undergraduates are allowed to suspend their academic studies.

Commenting on the University’s current approach to intermissions Dani Quinn, Welfare Officer for OUSU, said that “there can be confusion or difficulty for students who wish to appeal the College’s decision. It is usually the decision of one member of the SCR, and little is stated about where the student should go next.”

In addition to a lack of clarity regarding the options available to undergraduates, busy academic staff can fall short of meeting the pastoral needs of their students, particularly when there are problems relating to an individual’s mental health.

A second-year student who has now returned to the University after intermitting commented that her tutors were completely unaware that she had any mental health problems right up until they were informed she had suspended study.
She said that, when notified that she was intermitting “[they] replied that they had ‘no idea’ this had been going on, despite the fact that I hadn’t been handing in essays, was turning up to tutorials obviously unprepared, and so on.”

She said, “I think perhaps they were at a bit of a loss as how best to support me.”

Undergraduates who had been successful in taking time out from their degree were content that Colleges had been fully supportive of their decision and described receiving help with financial matters.

Yet many commented that they were less satisfied with the levels of assistance available upon their return to College.

Academic support in particular was highlighted as an area in which Colleges were failing to accommodate students. Undergraduates who had previously spent time away from University stressed that it was vital that they were able to carry out preparatory study prior to resuming their place in college, yet many students experienced difficulties even in accessing academic resources.

Students often found College authorities uncooperative, with one undergraduate recalling their experience of asking to return early to University. “I asked just so I could use the libraries and so on – I come from a small country town with essentially no usable library facilities”, but she explained “it was college policy that I couldn’t come back before the prearranged time.”

An undergraduate who has recently resumed his studies after recovering from illness emphasised that there can be little support for students needing to catch-up with studies, “I had some difficulty contacting busy tutors and obtaining material for the Michaelmas term when I was away, to the point that I decided to come up to Oxford midway through term to speak to them directly.

“In one of the disciplines I am still very far behind and the onus to catch up seems to be entirely on me. On the other hand, in another subject my tutor has been fantastic in giving me catch up tutorials.”

Statistics suggest that the likelihood of students withdrawing completely from University after having intermitted fluctuates across the collegiate system. A sample from the past five academic years indicates that over thirty per cent of students intermitting at Christ Church subsequently withdrew from their studies altogether.

This compares with three per cent of students at New College and eight per cent of undergraduates at Jesus or St Hugh’s who left the University completely after having undergone a period of voluntary suspension. University wide figures indicate that around eighty-eight per cent of the students who intermit will return to complete their studies.

OUSU passes motion on paid internships

0

A motion demanding that interns are paid was passed at OUSU Council on Wednesday night.

The motion, proposed by Ben Lyons, notes that unpaid work is “essentially inaccessible for those from lower income backgrounds.”

The MPs for Oxford East and Oxford West were also contacted to raise awareness of the issue through a letter signed by 15 JCR Presidents.

Lyons is co-director of the Intern Aware campaign, which is supported by the NUS. He recently set up a Facebook group “Interns Must Be Paid The Minimum Wage” and “was amazed when in a very short time over 2,000 people joined.”

Lyons said, “The answer to the problem of social mobility lies not in kitemark standards or small-scale loans to interns. It lies in the Government’s own National Minimum Wage legislation. Currently interns are being treated as employees, without their rights – or, crucially, their wages.

“The Reading employment tribunal ruled in November that expenses-only internships are illegal. Intern Aware believes it is only through clarifying and implementing this law that real change can be made.”

The letter to MPs states, “It is a basic principle that no career path should be closed. It is an even more basic principle that people doing work should be paid for it.
The current system of internships depends on geographical, social and financial advantages that prevent social mobility and will lead to ever increasing inequality within our country.”

Jonny Medland commented, “It’s great news that Oxford students are leading the national campaign to end unpaid internships. Many students want to take up internships but are unable to do it as they need to support themselves and their families. Ensuring that the valuable work which interns do is recognised with a decent wage is crucial both for social mobility and to ensure that leading professions are open to all.

“It’s also important that internships are publicised effectively – the danger otherwise is that regardless of how well interns are paid, only a narrow subset of society will even know that internships exist in the first place”.

The Intern Aware campaign has some high profile supporters, including Phil Woolas, Nick Palmer and Glenda Jackson.

An amendment to the motion was also passed, which highlighted the importance of increasing access to internship opportunities through improved publicity. All discussions and motions resulting from this motion must now also consider access.

Hannah Cusworth, OUSU’s Academic Affairs Officer, who proposed the amendment commented, “While I think it is admirable that the motion is highlighting the lack of social mobility raised by the Milburn report, my biggest issue is with lack of access.”
She explained that for many people the problem is a lack of information about what is on offer, as “internships are often done on an informal basis, and rely on connections”.

Scenic View: Serbia

0

You are slightly in trouble, in Serbia, if you cannot read the Russian alphabet. You are in less trouble if you can read the Russian alphabet, but actually, it doesn’t really matter either way, because you will definitely get lost as all the signs are in Serbian Cyrillic anyway.

This was the second lesson I learnt upon my arrival in Serbia. The first was that booking flights which cost less than a Domino’s Pizza – with an airline whose name sounds like someone clearing their throat of phlegm – will never, ever mean a luxury flight, and just might result in the boarding staff writing their phone numbers on your boarding passes (they did).

Our not-so-brief spell of wandering round the city of Belgrade, in the dark, with a map that was about as useful as a London Underground map would be to navigating the streets of London, ended when a kind couple took pity on us and decided to walk us to the street that we needed. The hostel was not promising – behind huge cast iron gates was an enormous, dusty council block. But as we got closer we saw the glimmer of fairy lights and the sound of laughter (ah, bring on the travelling clichés).

We, of course, after dumping huge rucksacks that we had prided ourselves on filling to their full capacity (error), did what most students do when they find themselves lost, uncomfortable, or in the company of strangers: accept the first alcoholic drink going, and precede to make merry. On local spirits. That the hostel had made themselves. That could quite possibly have been pure ethanol. Luckily, the fact that is was so unbelievably pungent meant that one glass was enough to be polite, but was also enough to make us very keen to try out the famed Belgradian nightlife. Reputably, every night in Belgrade is a Friday night, and whilst I’m unsure quite how that works, it was praise enough for us to want to go in search of that ‘Friday feeling’.

The most recognizable nightlife feature of Belgrade are the floating river clubs or barges (called ‘splavs’) that are spread along the banks rivers. In summer they form a party centre on the Makiš side of Ada Ciganlija Lake. We arrived, found one club absolutely rammed and decided by virtue of popular consensus that this was the place to go. It opened out onto the lake, which was a good thing in hindsight, because it was hot, sweaty and full to the brim. Everyone had come to enjoy what we discovered to be a live act, singing what appeared to be folk songs to dance tracks.

An ageing boy band reject was in the spotlight, wearing a lot of tight white, with a few too many shirt buttons undone and my companion and I entered, fully expecting to turn to the people surrounding us and have a bit of a joke at the poor man’s expense. Oh no. Everyone – and I mean everyone, including bar staff and surly bouncers – was singing along, with gusto. We were embarrassed not to know the words. I have been struggling to think of an English equivalent, and the only thing I could come up with was everyone in Bridge, militantly singing along to a remix of Jerusalem. It wasn’t quite our scene, but it summed up Serbia for me: taking you out of your comfort zone, but in the friendliest and most inclusive of ways.

Serbia, with its rather turbulent past, has yet to come within most people’s radar as a potential travel destination – the idea of travelling there is certainly not within most people’s comfort zone. The most exciting spot is undoubtedly its capital – a gritty, energetic city. It’s not a beautiful city by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s well worth a visit. Promise.

 

All-time Classic: Oxford stun Tabs 7-6 in overtime after last-minute rally

0

Thirty more seconds, and the book was ready to close on one of the most dominant dynasties in Varsity Ice Hockey history in front of a capacity crowd at the Oxford Ice Rink on Saturday afternoon. 

 

Fortunately for the defending national champion Dark Blues, forward Jarrad Aguirre had other plans. 

 

Positioning himself to the right of Cambridge goaltender Carl Mazurek, Aguirre deftly netted a rebound off a slapshot from Oxford player/ coach Landis Stankievech to tie the game at 6-6 in the last desperate moments, sending the 800-strong crowd into paroxysms of celebration as the Dark Blues clawed back into the game and forced overtime. 

 

The pressure could not have been higher for the home team on this rain-soaked “Olympic” weekend in West Oxford. Burdened with the expectations that come with home ice, a five-year run of Varsity success, the 100th anniversary of the ‘Oxford Canadians’ (arguably the first ever Team Canada), and a crowd packed with team alumni from as far back as the 1950s, the pre-game tension in the dressing room was palpable. This was compounded by the fact that the team had been dogged by injury over the course of the previous few weeks, and the knowledge that this was perhaps the strongest Light Blue side to be iced in over half a decade. 

 

An instant classic being hailed as one of the finest ice hockey Varsity Matches in memory, the excruciating tension of the game, in which neither team ever held a two-goal advantage and in which the lead changed five times, came to a sudden and dramatic end when Canadian MBA student Parker Carney scored three minutes into overtime to secure Oxford’s 62nd Varsity victory.

 

The shock of the reversal of fortunes in the closing seconds was etched on the faces of the visiting team as Oxford’s squad burst into celebration at centre ice.

 

The Light Blues had come into the game with clear intent, and despite an early goal by the home team, they held a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes. The Tabs set the tone for the match from the outset, playing a physically punishing game that left Oxford reeling. “They outworked us for a lot of the match, they played physically, and they didn’t give up any more than we did” said Oxford captain Ruben Leavitt after the game, adding “they were the best opponent we’ve played in my time at Oxford.” Forward Julian de Hoog concurred: “Cambridge played smart, tough hockey, and won many of the individual battles.”

A brace of penalties by the Light Blues early in the second period allowed Oxford’s powerplay unit to go to work, resulting in a tying goal by Tennessean sharp-shooter William Bruce. The visitors regained the lead with a smart wrap-around goal less than a minute later by Daniel Tavana, who in scoring completed a hat-trick. A perennial clutch performer, Oxford’s Stankievech was quick to redress the balance, potting two even-strength goals by playing with characteristic tenacity around the goalmouth. After the smoke had cleared at the end of 40 minutes, the score was level at 4-4, despite a dramatic late surge by Cambridge during which they rang a shot off the post.

 

Throughout the season, Oxford’s top line of Carney, Bruce and Stankievech have dominated the league scoring charts, and been pivotal in every one of the Dark Blues’ victories. On this night, the line combined for 6 goals and 14 points. “Landis’ performance was the single most outstanding individual performance I have seen by a hockey player in any game, ever” said de Hoog. “He left it all on the ice, and we would never have won this game without him.”

However the damage could have been far worse, with Oxford’s big guns being denied more often than they are used to by the often sublime goaltending of Mazurek for Cambridge, who put on a show with his quick glove and faultless positioning to keep the game close, making one brilliant save after another.  

 

The overtime victory marked the end of an era for Oxford, as only two of the current squad are eligible to play in 2011. For de Hoog, who was playing his fifth and final varsity match in front of family who had flown in from both Germany and Canada, it was clearly a good note to end on: “the best crowd I’ve played in front of, and it was fantastic to receive such support” he enthused. Leavitt was equally exuberant: “raising the Cup over my head with a huge roar from my teammates and the crowd…I won’t ever forget it. Best match of my life.”

Notes:

Oxford outshot Cambridge 51 to 37 in victory.

Match MVP went to Landis Stankievech, who had two goals and four assists. Cambridge’s Man of the Match was captain Luc St-Pierre, with his Oxford counterpart being goaltender Calum Nicholson.

With the win, the Oxford Blues secured second place in the BUIHA southern division, setting up a semi-final match-up with, ironically enough, Cambridge.