John’s students have been warned over their rowdy behaviour after it emerged that college staff complained about incidents at a recent Guest Dinner.

In an email to the JCR from the domestic secretaries, Mary Renton and Sophie Graham, it was revealed that wine had been stolen from the college kitchen during the dinner, and that those present had engaged in the throwing of decorations and food.

The

email stated, “College wine was stolen from the Garden Quad kitchen- this is very upsetting behaviour, especially considering we provided ample alcohol. As a result we have had to cover the costs.”

The email continued, “Food was being ‘splattered’ around which made a mess for the buttery staff to clean up. We have nothing to say on this matter apart from GROW UP.”

Renton confirmed that wine had been stolen, but explained, “The wine that was stolen was not a considerable amount (a few bottles) but it is the principle of the act that has lead to the current situation. We have liaised with college and come up with strategies to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

As a result of the theft, the drinks reception following the next Guest Dinner, which is usually open to friends of the diners, will be exclusively for those with tickets.

Renton added, “The general reports from the night were that it was a huge success so these complaints refer to a small minority.

“We have alerted the JCR to these events and warned that should this occur again there will be disciplinary action. All parties involved feel the situation will be resolved and we are all hoping that the next Guest Dinner (Friday 6th week) will run smoothly. At St John’s Guest Dinners are renowned for being great fun and we hope to continue this tradition.”

Martha Mackenzie, John’s JCR President praised the hard work of the domestic secretaries, pointing out that the dinners are very popular events within the college.

She added, “The recent reports of bad behaviour concern a very small minority. The fact that a stern talking to was the only sanction necessary proves that, as a whole, John’s students are trusted to behave well. Tomorrow’s guest dinner is still going ahead and having seen the decorations it is likely to be as fantastic as ever!”

Second year John’s student Charlotte Roberts did not think the night was ruined by the events which took place, “The incidents have been blown a little bit out of proportion…College reacted badly, as it was unfair on the staff, but I imagine it was how it is at most other colleges.” She added, “I thought it was a fantastic evening.”

The evening took place on the 5th of February, and cost diners £30. The theme was ‘Arabian Nights’, and guests were entertained by belly dancers from the Oxford Dance Society.

John’s Guest Dinners are bi-termly events organised by the domestic secretaries, with staff and food provided by the college.

Last weekend, detergent was poured into the fishpond in Trinity College’s Fellows’ garden, killing all but one of the fish.

The pond will need to be drained and cleaned as a result.

In an email to the college, Nick Barber, the Dean of Trinity, stated that he was “saddened” by the “cruel act of vandalism.”

He told JCR members that after a “swift and effective investigation by the Dean of Balliol, a group of students from that college has owned up to the act.”

Alastair Travis, Balliol JCR President, commented, “A few individuals from Balliol, meaning no serious harm, planned a prank to put some washing up liquid in a fountain in Trinity. They found their access to the fountain blocked – instead finding the pond (which, in the darkness, they were not aware as being a fish-pond). After the damage was reported to the dean, they quickly owned up to the incident and the associated financial and decanal punishments.

The Dean of Trinity warned students at the college that “Trinity will not tolerate any ‘reprisals’ against Balliol. Any action of this type will lead to significant fines – well beyond the ordinary punishments I have levelled for bad behaviour in the past.”

Students at Trinity have expressed distress at the attack.

Damien Conyngham-Hynes commented, “I’m disgusted and outraged. It frankly sickens me. Trinity have moved with the times and moved on from our rivalry. Bailliol palpably have not.”

“There’s the banter of college rivalry – and then there’s taking it too far. They’re so far past the line, they can’t even see the line!” stated another Trinity student, Fay Lomas.

Three intruders broke into a staircase at Brasenose college’s Frewin Court Annexe in the early hours of Sunday morning, and started attacking each other with fire extinguishers.

Two Brasenose students, Tom Wales and Matthew Bittlestone were forced to take cover in a nearby kitchen.

Bittlestone then confronted the intruders, forcing them off the Brasenose premises.
The break-in took place at around 3am on Sunday morning. The three intruders entered Frewin Court by walking in through the swipe-gate behind Laura West-Wilson.

The three entered the staircase where Wales and Bittlestone were sitting. Cherwell understands that the intruders were all in the mid to late twenties, and all with shaved heads.

West-Wilson said, “The guys followed me in. They said they were there for Abbie’s party. But there was no party and no one called Abbie.”

Wales explained the confusion that ensued. “Laura entered the staircase with these three boys,” he said. “We thought they were with her, and she thought they were friends of ours.”

The three intruders proceeded to remove fire extinguishers from the staircase and “mindlessly” attack one another.

Bittlestone said, “I heard a commotion outside so went to investigate. There were three guys, and two had got hold of fire extinguishers which they were spraying everywhere. When I first heard the noise, I assumed it was students from College. But close up, I saw that I did not recognise any of them – then it became more serious…I said to one of the men, ‘What are you doing here?’ and grabbed the fire extinguisher from him.”
Following Bittlestone’s intervention, the strangers left, and stole a fire extinguisher on their way out.

JCR President Paul Gladwell said, “I was surprised that someone had managed to intrude, but relieved that no harm had been done to individuals. Security measures at Frewin and throughout Brasenose are perfectly adequate, but they must be upheld by individuals.”

The Dean of the college, Dr Giles Wiggs, told Cherwell,  “Brasenose is a secure College and provides a safe living and working environment for students. Incidents of this type are extremely rare…If intruders are seen to gain entry then they should be reported at once to College authorities.”

In a separate incident, two first-year Brasenose students have been deaned following several drunken incidents in the college last Saturday morning.

The two involved allegedly trashed another student’s room, set off the fire alarm at approximately 4am, and threw a bottle of vodka at the night porter who came to investigate.

Speaking to Cherwell, one of the accused students said that the story had been grossly exaggerated. He claimed that the bottle of vodka was not thrown at the night porter; instead, it was flung away in panic when the student realised that the pair had been caught.He said it did not land close to its alleged target.

He also denied that the pair trashed a fellow student’s room. The room’s occupant was described as a “good friend” of the drunken pair, and the “trashing” amounted to little more than throwing the duvet off the bed.

Finally, although accepting that the fire alarm was set off, he claimed that it wasn’t intentional.

Dr Wiggs, commented, “I can confirm that an incident that took place in Brasenose on Saturday morning has been investigated and two students have been dealt with in accordance with College disciplinary procedures. I am not able to confirm the details of the case.”

One of the students involved said that although the level of punishment had not yet been decided by the college, he expected it to be “fairly severe”.

University Press Officer Katie Haines died on Thursday 18th February after suffering what is thought to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

She was discovered by her husband Richard as he returned to their home in Wokingham, Berkshire after work. She was 31 years old.

Both Richard Haines and paramedics attempted to resuscitate Katie, who was found lying unconscious in the bathtub of the couple’s home. Police and fire services were also called to the house in Barkham Road, Wokingham.

Katie had been working at the Press Officer since April 2008 and had regular contact with several Cherwell reporters. She had previously worked as a journalist, and had contributed to such papers as The Sunday Times, Daily Express and The Sun.

Ruth Collier, Head of the University’s Press & Information Office, said “Katie was a wonderful person and a very talented colleague. I and my press office colleagues loved working with her, as did everyone around the University she came into contact with. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Katie’s husband, parents and siblings.”
“She was always really helpful and reliable,” said Marta Szczerba, Cherwell editor.

Richard and his parents Gordon and Jackie, who were staying at the house, were also treated after inhaling the gas, along with six neighbours from two other homes. The couple’s cat was found dead in the hallway, and allegedly alerted Richard to the problem initially.

The Sun reported that Katie is “believed to have inhaled deadly carbon monoxide leaking from a faulty boiler after she turned it on to heat her bath water.”
Before training as a journalist at Lambeth College, in London, she had obtained a degree in English and French from Manchester University.

She married Richard Haines, 30, in December 2009 and had only recently returned from their honeymoon in South America. Her Facebook profile picture shows her and her husband in front of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas, and according to the NHS “even breathing in a small amount can cause loss of consciousness and death.”

Katie’s father, Gordon Samuel, who is co-owner of a renowned Mayfair art gallery the Osborne Samuel gallery, released a statement on her death along with his wife Avril, Katie’s husband and her siblings Adam and Lydia.

The family said “we have been told by the doctors

that she appears to have died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, possibly from a boiler, but do not wish to speculate on this until we have the result of further medical tests.”

They also said that “Katie was the perfect daughter who was as bright as she was beautiful. My wife and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect little girl. She never gave us a second of worry in her short life.” They said her career as a press officer was “a job she loved and was very proud to do.”

The Watford Observer, where Katie worked as a trainee journalist between 2002 and 2004, said she was “fondly remembered by staff as a sports lover and keen runner.”

On Thursday 18th February, nominations opened for the position of Oxford Professor of Poetry. Yet fears remain that the position’s reputation has been tarnished by last year’s scandal involving Ruth Padel and Derek Walcott.

Geoffrey Hill and Anne Stevenson are among the names of eminent poets currently being suggested as potential candidates for the post. However, the election will be different this year, in response to the 2009 competition for the post.

The election campaign saw Padel become Professor of Poetry, beating Indian poet and critic Arvind Mehrotra by 297 votes to 129.

But Padel resigned less than two weeks after her victory, after admitting to passing material to journalists which related to her rival candidate, Derek Walcott.

It was revealed that Padel had sent emails to two national newspapers alerting them of claims of sexual harassment against Walcott, the Nobel laureate, who had already pulled out of the race.

There have been changes to the voting system for the 300-year-old professorship. Under the old system only Oxford graduates could vote in person on one particular day. The current system allows graduates to vote online over a period of time.Hopeful candidates must be nominated by twelve or more graduates by 5th May.

Other candidates which have been suggested for the post include Oxford’s own John Fuller, Michael Longley, and Alice Oswald, along with American writers such as Jorie Graham or Robert Pinsky.

Blake Morrison and former poet laureate, Andrew Motion have both ruled themselves out of the running. Motion has commented, “Hill would get my vote.”
Stevenson seems a strong candidate having won the Lannan prize for a lifetime’s achievement in poetry.

Disputes over the credibility of the position have been widely covered in the press since the events last year.

Broadcaster and writer Clive James commented last July that he “would rather throw himself off a cliff” than take the job. But he did concede that “the botched election might have made it a poisoned chalice, but what a chalice it is.”

Dr Seamus Perry, Deputy Chair of the English Faculty board, disagreed with the idea that the position had been tarnished. He told Cherwell, “The events of last year were obviously regrettable, but I think the Chair itself has emerged unscathed,” adding, “in an odd sort of way… the whole sorr

y kerfuffle helped to advertise the Professorship and to remind everyone of the distinction of its long history.”

He praised the changes to the voting system and the new opportunity to vote online, saying that the position being “appointed by such a wide potential electorate (something like 300,000 people) is a good [thing] because it recognises that poetry, while it matters to academics, matters to more people than just academics.”
It is unlikely that Mehrotra will run again after last year’s failure. He joins the likes of C. S. Lewis, F. R. Leavis and Robert Lowell as past unsuccessful candidates for the position.

The professorship was established in 1707 and comes with a £7,000 stipend. It has previously been held by Matthew Arnold, W. H. Auden, Robert Graves, A. C. Bradley and Seamus Heaney amongst others.

Providing that more than one candidate is put forward, the winner of the position will be announced on 18th June after voting. They will take up the position in the academic year beginning autumn 2010.

Drunken and violent behaviour has caused Clare College, Cambridge, to officially complain to Oriel College, and call for an end to their exchange program.

Oriel students on exchange at their sister college have been accused of various actions, which included, “excessive drunkenness before hall, excessive drunkenness during hall, shouts and insults directed at Clare fellows during grace and the meal, damage to Clare property including urination on staircases”.

There was also an accusation that a Fellow had been physically assaulted, but this has not been confirmed.

Last Sunday’s Oriel JCR meeting was dedicated almost entirely to discussion of the accusations, as members claimed that the level of misbehaviour was “exaggerated” by Clare, an opinion noted by the Oriel Dean, who was present at the meeting.

Those present on the exchange disputed every accusation except the rowdiness in hall. There were further claims that the damage was “just as, if not more, likely to have been caused by Clare students”, who had been “just as badly behaved during proceedings.”

This was contrary to perceived implications within the letter of complaint that Clare students took no part in the misbehaviour whatsoever. Some members of Oriel suggested that while an apology “was necessary”, Clare’s failure to take their share of the blame meant they wouldn’t want to resurrect the exchange program anyway.

However, it was agreed that a letter of apology should be sent to Clare College.

The first draft of this apologises for the students on exchange who “took their behaviour a little too far”, and were “perhaps a little immature.”

Explanations for this behaviour were that “the visit was highly oversubscribed… those who managed to go turned up in very high spirits… In respect to the issues with the wine, we unfortunately brought too much, being told by our vice president to provide wine for us and one Clare student for the meal.”

However, they maintained that “the behaviour of both us and our Cambridge compatriots during the dinner was boisterous”, and whilst taking the accusations “extremely seriously”, made no admittance of damage to property or assaulting a fellow.

The Oriel College Dean had threatened to “inflict a punishment on the whole of the JCR” if those responsible do not “come forward and take responsibility.”

A JCR vote unanimously opposed any such punishment at the meeting. The Dean has since backed down, conceding that “the College will not be punishing the JCR collectively”, adding “your points [in the JCR meeting] were well considered and taken on board.”

In relation to the accusations against Clare, JCR members had cited the fact that only 40 people went on the exchange, and that the exchange was not organised with JCR control.

However, the Dean continued to press for “a preemptive gift to the hall staff at Clare”, to be paid for and organized by students who were on the exchange.

There were fears of such collective punishments as a precedent has already been set in Oriel. Last year the JCR was fined for the overriding focus on club-nights in fresher’s week events, whilst the college bar has previously been closed following damage at a bop.