On Sunday night two members of the public allegedly broke into Lincoln college and made their way into a Lincoln student’s room.

Students have been expressing their concern at the college’s security following the incident.

Zoe O’Shea, a Lincoln fresher, woke up at 1.30 am after she heard her door open. Initially expecting it to be friends, she was shocked when two strangers were standing feet from her bed.

She described them as “stinking of alcohol and cigarettes.”

O’Shea said that the man and woman claimed to be looking for ‘Susie.’ They then asked if there was a party going on where they could find some alcohol.

When she asked them to leave, the pair headed for the JCR where the Superbowl was being aired. The two had been seen earlier in the evening looking into the JCR from Turl Street.

When asked about the incident, Lincoln’s Junior Dean commented that this was the first he had heard about a break-in. He said that there had been no official report made regarding the incident and therefore no statement could be made.

However, O’Shea claimed that she went to a porter to report the incident, and was told that “I should have locked my door”.

“She [the porter on duty] was quite stern and unsympathetic,” she said. Richard De Vere, a Lincoln mathematician, was watching the Superbowl when they came in, once again asking for alcohol. The pair this time claimed that they were friends of ‘Sarah’ and asked where the free drinks were.

He described the two as looking “poorly kempt” and being in their 40s. He also stated that they appeared very drunk.

Finally a student went to find a porter and the two were forced to leave the college.

James Meredith, JCR President, said, “I’m absolutely horrified by the incident, and intend to discuss it further with college authorities.”

“It is worth noting though, that I brought the fact that the security system at the bottom of staircase one wasn’t working to the attention of college last term.”

At present Lincoln uses a swipe card system at night. It is suspected that the intruders waited until someone else swiped their card, and then followed them in, otherwise known as ‘tail gating.’

Lincoln Bursar was contacted for a comment, but has not yet responded.

Oxford students shouldn’t have to always moan about decreasing University endowments as they are all benefiting from the most generous financial support in the country, a Cherwell survey shows.

£5,100 of Oxford Opportunity Bursaries, £1,100 worth of college grants and a further array of scholarships are up for grabs for the poorest freshers at Oxford.

In contrast, students at Manchester University can not claim more than £3,000 worth of grants, whilst UCL offers a yearly bursary of £2,775.

Just last week, college accounts were released which showed millions of pounds in losses this year, with LMH, Magdalen and Balliol among the worst affected.
Students complained of limits to student privileges, such as St John’s recent decision to cap vacation residence in the college at 21 days. Another claimed that he “currently [has] no lectures this term,” attributing this to University cutbacks.

Earlier this term New College Bursar David Palfreyman warned of some “unlucky” colleges who might be unable to replace staff if they were to leave.
But one former LMH language student who rusticated last year and took up a place with UCL, told Cherwell that Oxford students complaining of funding cuts should “stop whinging and get a job”.

“They’re trying to merge language departments here, which will mean that I might not even get grammar classes next year. I’m paying thousands of pounds for ten hours of contact time,” Robinson said.

Manchester University plans to make 400-staff redundancies, while a £10 million budget deficit at Bristol could lead to up to 250 university staff being fired, from caterers to academics.

UCL, which now ranks above Oxford in the Times World University List, plans to shed 15% of staff positions, a move that has led leading academics to warn of a decline in teaching standards.

KCL has come under fire for removing a number of high-profile academics, or forcing them into retirement.

Other universities are also unable to offer the level of student support open to Oxford undergraduates.

UCL offers a bursary of £2,775 pounds for students with a household income of £11,900 or less. This is comparable to the £3,225 offered in the Oxford Opportunity Bursary to students with a home income of less than £17,999.

However, once household income reaches £16,200, UCL offers students only half of the government grant.

Aside from government grants, LSE offers a student support fund for unseen financial difficulties and general student costs.

The maximum Bristol bursary is £1230, though there is also a top up of £1100 available, and a potential hardship fund of £2450.

Manchester offers various student grants, though no student is allowed to claim more than £3000 a year. On top of the Oxford Opportunity Bursary, those from the lowest income bracket are entitled to £875 to cover the ‘start up’ of University, as well as the option of applying for an additional £1000 top-up later in the year.

The Oxford Opportunity Bursary is the most generous in the country without considering extra grants, which could give students a total award of £5,100.
Nick Jaques, Magdalen JCR vice-president, said that despite the University’s current economic difficulties, the amounts offered in student support should remain high.

“Student welfare is obviously a priority, so it is likely to be one of the last things ‘cut’,” he said.

Magdalen was shown to have one of the biggest falls in endowment funds, though the college still gave out £155,000-worth of support grants to 110 undergraduates this year.

Univ, the college reporting the highest gain over the period, in the last year handed out £130,000 in Oxford Opportunity Bursaries, £1,000 in Oxford bursaries, £15,000 in ordinary scholarships and, £5,000 in college prizes and £3,000 in book grants.

Most colleges still offer free book vouchers to matriculating students, and give cash rewards to those who achieve firsts in collections or mods.

“Oxford students want more money? But I thought that was what ‘collections’ were for?” said one London student.

The lowest paid workers at Christ Church are working for as little as £5.80 an hour, the lowest fixed wage of employees at any college, according to an investigation by the Oxford Living Wage Campaign.

The Living Wage Campaign has calculated that the lowest “sustainable” wage people in Oxford can live on is £7.01 per hour, yet at least six Oxford colleges pay some of their employees less than this “living wage” sum.

The Campaign submitted Freedom of Information requests to all Oxford’s colleges, but 25 colleges have thus far failed to respond.

Three colleges have refused to disclose the information. The Campaign is appealing this decision.

From the information gathered so far, Pembroke pays the lowest wage to any employees, with two apprentice chefs currently on £5.29 an hour. The college has explained however, that the wages are at this level for a probationary period of sixth months, and are expected to rise as the chefs gain experience.

At Christ Church the lowest-paid workers at the college are on wages of £5.80 an hour, despite the fact that Christ Church is one of Oxford’s richest colleges with an endowment worth over £260 million. Campaigners staged a rally outside the college on Wednesday morning to raise awareness of the low wages. Over the next three weeks campaigners will also visit 18 Oxford colleges to collect signatures for a university-wide petition for the living wage. Christ Church were unavailable for comment on the issue.

According to the Campaign, working in accordance with the City Council, OUSU and the Rowntree Trust, at least five other colleges pay below the living wage figure, with the wages per hour of some staff standing at £6.95 in Merton, £6.83 in Queen’s, £6.79 in St Antony’s and £6.60 in Jesus .

Stephen Bush, Director of the Oxford Living Wage Campaign, condemned the attitudes of colleges towards low pay.

“These figures reflect that no college cannot afford to pay a living wage,” he said. “It is simply a matter of priorities.”

A former Oxford student jumped to his death in London because he was accused of sending a prank email, an inquest has been told.

Anjool Malde, 24, jumped from the eighth floor roof terrace of the Coq D’Argent restaurant in central London with a glass of champagne in his hand, just two days before his birthday last summer. The incident was captured on CCTV.

He had been suspended by his bosses at Deutsche Bank two days before his death.

He was accused of posting a joke message in the name of one of the bank’s clients on a financial website, stating “I’m hot, I’m hot.”

Despite denying responsibility, the message was traced to Malde’s computer.
Two other emails were traced to Malde’s work computer, which had both been sent to the bank’s client. Sent under the name of Raj Rocks, the sender offered an apology in one and mentioned “feeling suicidal”, and in the other offered £500 to charity to “make the matter go away”.

A verdict of suicide was recorded by City of London coroner Paul Matthews.
Malde, known as Jools to his friends, read Geography at St Peter’s College. He worked as an online news editor for Cherwell, and frequently wrote stories for Cherwell and The Oxford Student. He was on Standing Committee at the Union. He also moderated the University gossip website OxGoss.

After graduating in 2005 aged 20, he came second in the UK Graduate of the Year awards.

Success after university followed. Malde was the co-founder of Alpha Parties, a firm which specialised in arranging social events for graduates and young professionals.

He had invited friends to a birthday party in Spain, in his recently-purchased £300,000 penthouse apartment.

Malde attended a party the night before his death with friend Irra Khirivskaya, a model. She said that although they went, he was very withdrawn and they left early.

She said that he “didn’t much care about being in the bank”, as he told her about the disciplinary meeting he faced at work.

Miss Khirivskaya commented, “His actions can’t be explained as the actions of the Jools I know. He was someone who temporarily lost his wits.”

However, she did concede that “The efficiency of his actions, their style and precision, were all very typical of Anjool.”

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, Michelle Gathercole, said that Mr Malde had not been suspended. She added: “We are deeply saddened by our colleague’s death and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this time.”

Tabassum Rasheed, a second year PPEist interviewed by Malde last year for an Easter internship at Deutsche, described him as an “animated, friendly guy” and added, “He was really helpful and seemed genuinely interested in the lives of the people he was interviewing – not just doing it for the job.”

Those working in the area around the Coq d’Argent described a “really awful” scene after Malde’s suicide jump.

Malde was not the first person to commit suicide from the restaurant. In April 2007, Richard Ford, a City marketing executive, also jumped from the terrace, landing on top of a number 76 bus.

Eighty per cent of men and almost seventy per cent of women will be overweight by 2020 according to a study by Oxford University’s Professor Klim McPherson.

Unlike childhood obesity rates, which according to a previous study have now peaked, adult obesity is expected to continue to rise.

The study predicts that 41 per cent of men aged 20 to 65 will be obese by 2020, along with 36 per cent of women.

McPherson stated, “We are being overwhelmed by the effects of today’s ‘obesogenic’ environment, with its abundance of energy-dense food and sedentary lifestyles.” He warned, “The Government needs to redouble its efforts to tackle obesity.”

New College’s pet kitten Otis has been missing for several days, prompting great concern amongst College members.

The cat, which is six months old and marmalade, was last seen in New College eleven days ago, on Monday 8th February. Since then he has been spotted on Mansfield Road and it is thought that he may have walked towards Manor Road.

Zoe Norridge, Fellow in African and Comparative Literature, who oversees the welfare of the College pet, has encouraged the public to report any possible sightings to the New College porters.

She commented, “Otis is much missed by all the college. If you see him please do try to pick him up and give us a ring. He’s been lost for nearly two weeks now and we’re really keen to have him home.”

An Oxford University spokesperson has quashed rumours that the University is planning to launch a perfume and aftershave range.

The denial was prompted after national papers reported that perfume bottles featuring the University coat of arms were soon to be on sale. It was claimed that the University was seeking new ways to exploit the Oxford brand.
A University spokesman confirmed that the idea had appeared on a ‘mood board’ produced by Oxford Limited, which works to promote the University’s name, but stated “The University of Oxford has absolutely no plans to produce a perfume.”

“All products created by Oxford Limited are designed to be relevant to the history and accomplishments of the University of Oxford… We do not feel that a product such as perfume would be relevant.”

Communal condoms have been found vandalised in St. Edmund Hall.

The condoms, which were kept in the JCR Welfare room for members of the college, were found to have holes in them, which appeared to have been made with a sharp object.

John Pierce, a student at Teddy Hall, claimed to have discovered the vandalism when using the condoms to make jelly ice cubes. He commented, “I went to check on them and every single one of them had a sort of spurt out of the top.”

Eloise Stonborough, Teddy Hall’s JCR Welfare Officer, expressed anger at the actions.

“I am furious about this, and quite upset that there are individuals in college who, for whatever reason, have decided to put their fellow students in danger.”
She further commented, “I am really sorry for the extra worry that this idiot’s actions may have caused.”

Dani Quinn, OUSU VP for Welfare, also condemned the action. “I feel concerned for the students who might have been affected in a bad way… I don’t understand why someone would do it, and I think it’s a cruel malicious thing to do.”

Quinn advised students who were worried about STIs or pregnancy to use the available Sexual Health Services in Oxford.

She recommended the GUM Clinic in Headington and the Alec Turnbull Family Planning Clinic in Cowley as places where, “students are treated really respectfully and you can expect excellent and non-judgemental service.”
Quinn also stated that she felt Colleges should support Common Rooms in purchasing discrete ways of distributing condoms, such as dispensers, as they could not “reasonably afford to buy them themselves.”

This is not the first time that communal condoms have been vandalised. Similar actions occurred in Wadham in recent years. Condoms kept in a bowl in the Women’s Room were sabotaged, leading to the use of dispensing machines.

Stonborough sent an email to all members of Teddy Hall JCR which stated, “I don’t know who did this horrible thing… but I hope you are all aware that this is incredibly anti-social and despicable behaviour.”

The email continued, “Teddy Hall, and the University at large, not to mention the country that we live in, promotes using condoms… I hope whoever did this realises that their actions are not going to stop people having sex, but rather are going to put people who are attempting to be responsible about their bodies at unnecessary (and possibly great) risk.”

Other JCRs were also warned to be vigilant against such actions by students. Students are advised to take the time and care to check their condoms.
Most colleges provide free contraception, and colleges affiiated with OUSU can buy supplies directly from then at discount.

Oxford University has come down in favour of raising tuition fees in a report advising the government.

The report is a response to the first phase of the government-commissioned Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance.

The University argues that fees should rise to allow universities to continue working at the level they do, and that bursaries can be used to counter potential negative effects on access.

It points out that “participation by under-represented groups has not been adversely affected” by the current fee regime.”

However, OUSU has responded to the Browne Review’s call for evidence with its own report against raising fees. They argue that research by universities, think tanks and the NUS all point to “fear of debt” putting off many potential university applicants. The report argues that this fear is likely to increase if the current cap on fees is lifted even if it comes with an increase in bursary provision.

Jonny Medland, OUSU’s VP for Access and Academic Affairs said, “The mantra of “raise fees and bursaries” ignores the fact that students will be put off by higher fees while not fully understanding improved bursary arrangements.”
The review itself, led by Lord Browne of Madingley, “is tasked with making recommendations to Government on the future of fees policy and financial support for full and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.”
It launched in November 2009 to investigate the impact of the introduction of “variable fees” in 2006, and Oxford’s response to its first call for evidence was completed last month.

The University’s report was split into analysing the “impact of current arrangements” and looking at “issues for future policy”. Broadly speaking, the University is concerned about the costs of the current scheme to the Treasury, and would like to see fees increased in order to help maintain the quality of Oxford and other universities in the UK.

The report notes that the current arrangement of additional fees have provided much needed income for universities to counter the fall in “average public funding per student… by 40% in real terms during the 1990s.”

However, there are worries over government costs, given the current fiscal climate: “subsidy is expensive [for the Treasury] while student support is not effectively targeted at those with greatest financial need.”

The report says that in the future, “maintaining the exceptional quality of Oxford’s provision will be a formidable challenge, if fee income is capped at the current level, while public funding is cut and fundraising remains extremely challenging.”

Oxford stresses its wish for autonomy on bursary provision and other attempts to increase applications for “high performing school-age students from groups currently under-represented at Oxford.”

However, OUSU believes there is a better way than raising fees. Medland said, “A sustainable and progressive funding system should be introduced – a graduate tax [for instance] will remove the incentive for graduates to take the highest paying job they can and ensure that those who benefit the most from university will pay the most for it.”