An Oxford student was threatened with a knife following an altercation at Escape nightclub last Friday.

A man described as Eastern European took out a blade and pointed it at the stomach of Christchurch undergraduate Michael Taylor, after a row about a lost mobile phone.

Security guards at the club made sure the man was not able to leave until police arrived. However, he was not arrested.

Having searched the the man, police were unable to find a knife on his person.
Taylor told Cherwell that he was with fellow Christ Church student Joe Angliss. Both had been drinking, and Angliss had lost his phone, according to Taylor. The two went to the first level of the club in an attempt to find it.

They then met a group of two Eastern European men and two women. Angliss started talking to the group about his phone, and they took offence at what he had said.

“He was drunk so it may have come over worse,” said Taylor. “‘Why is he accusing us about his phone?’” he reported one of the men as saying.

Angliss described how he knocked over one of the group’s drinks and offered to buy them another one.

“I offered to buy the guy another drink which he accepted but for some reason he didn’t relax; instead, he became more aggressive and confrontational,” he said.

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Angliss moved to the bar to buy another drink, and this is when the pair claim that the knife was pulled out.

“It was whilst my back was turned to him just a few feet away that he pulled a knife on the friend standing closest to me, briefly holding it to his stomach and warning him to watch out,” Angliss said.

“I handed him the new drink unaware of the threat, but then two of my friends took me aside and explained what had happened; they both left straightaway, one particularly shaken.”

Taylor said how the man, whom he described as around five foot nine inches and with blonde hair, “took out a penknife and pointed it at me”.

Once Angliss realised what was going on, he came over to Taylor and said “He’s got a knife, let’s leave him”.

They then alerted the club bouncers, who made sure the man was not able to leave the club until the police arrived.

“They were searched, but a policewoman informed me that they could not arrest them,” Angliss said.

Thames Valley police confirmed that they had been called to the scene regarding a knife threat in the early hours of Saturday morning.
They responded to the call immediately and were on the scene within two minutes.

A spokesperson for the police service said that they took knife threats “extremely seriously.”

However, despite the confirmaiton of a knife threat by the students, no blade was found on the man by police. He was left without charge, the spokesperson confirmed.

Taylor described his feeling as “drunk and a bit shaken” as he left the club immediately after the incident, but said it would not put him off clubbing in Oxford. He claimed that Escape management dealt with the situation “very well” and that he had never felt threatened when out at University before.
Angliss said he was not upset by the incident, but was concerned that the police were able to take no action.

Police praised the quick response of the students and the Escape management, and advised anyone else involved in a knife threat to contact them immediately.

Escape and Varsity management were contacted but have not yet responded.

Last week Cherwell broke the story of an LMH fresher who faked 10 A-Levels and fabricated a personal statement to gain a place at Oxford. Now it has emerged that the student was also offering tutoring for Oxbridge applications.

Around the same time that he begun studying at Oxford,the student became involved at a high level with the website “Sucedo”, a company which sells coaching, tuition and advice to prospective Oxbridge applicants.

The Sucedo website boasts that the fresher is the only candidate who scored 100% on the TSA [Thinking Skills Assesment], a claim that the LMH Admissions Office have refused to verify. Sucedo offers to arrange an question and answer session with the student about the TSA, which it promises will be an “informal session” where “your questions decide the content”.

Sucedo is a relatively new company, set up in June 2009 by Alexander James McPherson. The Sucedo website claims that its users will benefit from being taught by past or present Oxbridge students.

But the current Company Director, 24 year old James Meller, is not an Oxbridge alumni, but a graduate from Manchester University.

The site charges £200 for a mock interview, £320 for a “Skills” package, and £950 for the fully blown “Meet and Greet” experience, where applicants would be accompanied to their interviews by Sucedo representatives. Elsewhere, Sucedo offers “hundreds of USD” to anyone who refers Cambridge or Oxford applicants to them for coaching.
Sucedo told the Telegraph in November 2009 that it had seen a “massive upsurge” in demand for help to pass admissions tests, particularly from state school students.

Owen John, the LMH JCR Access & Academic Affairs Officer, commented that companies like Sucedo are “a big concern to the College. It is not in their interest to have students who have had the best preparation, but are not necessarily the best. The one thing [Sucedo and other companies] cannot give you is the raw ability that Oxford is looking for. The case of [LMH student] shows that just having the right techniques for interviews and admissions test can’t get you through the degree.” Fresher’s school Headmistress described his academic record as “strong but not outstanding”.

The Sucedo website warns, “We’re here to see you succeed in the long-term…We’re not here to give you shortcuts that will make life difficult further down the line.”
A spokesperson from Oxford said, “Oxford has one of the most rigorous selection processes for students applying for undergraduate study in the country. All tests must satisfy a range of criteria before they are used for selecting students.”

Oxford takes an uncompromising stance towards companies like Sucedo, “The University does not endorse any commercial coaching activities related to the selection process – we are always keen to let candidates know that there is free advice and guidance available direct from the University, with sample aptitude tests available to download and practise.”

Owen commented, “It’s a sad fact that when someone like [the first year student] is prepared to lie himself into a University place he doesn’t deserve, he will sometimes get away with it. Had he hoped that he’d get through an entire degree course at LMH without having met the entry requirements then he was quickly proved wrong.”

On the penultimate day of Michaelmas term, the pupil was asked to see the Dean, who told him to leave LMH with immediate effect while the evidence against him was reviewed. So far this term, he has not returned.

Oxford University Officer Training Corps (OUOTC) have been accused of insensitivity, following their ‘Officers and Zulus’ themed fancy dress party last week.

The themed party concluded a series of training sessions focusing on the military tactics utilised by the British in the 1879 Zulu Wars and was an extension of the ‘military history’ syllabus due to run throughout Hilary term.

The invitation announcing the event stated that “the evening’s aim is to celebrate the martial prowess of both sides in the campaign”.

Yet the event has sparked much controversy within the Oxford University community.

In an email before the party, OUOTC advised attendees, “In order to avoid sullying our good name, please refrain from using body paints (you know what this means in practice).”

One member of Lincoln College was shocked by the party. She stated, “It strikes me that there may be something a teensy bit offensive about a group of future British Army officers (who all happen to be white, by the way) dressing up as a group of colonial invaders and the ‘savages’ they defeated.

“This sort of thing horribly trivialises not only another nation’s culture, but also the oppression and subjugation of that nation as a result of British colonialism.”

Others labelled the theme as ‘lacking in taste’, comparing it to Prince Harry’s infamously ill-chosen Nazi costume. A second-year English student argued, “For cadets to dress up as colonial soldiers, in order to attend a party- it’s just really disrespectful. Of course that’s going to cause offence.”

Attendees defended the party, arguing that it was thematically related to the day’s educational activities.

Patrick Page, a member of OUOTC and student at St Benet’s Hall commented: “I don’t think there is any question that the OTC were celebrating some sort of colonial victory. If it were, I certainly would not have gone.”

Captain Christian San Jose of OUOTC added that the group were interested in examining the Zulu wars from an “Entirely military viewpoint as opposed to political or moral, we were looking at the military tactics used by the British infantry.”

He conceded, “We’re not so naive that we are not aware that there is potential for offence and we made note to cadets that they should exercise restraint and that fancy dress should not emphasise any political undertones.”

“People get offended about all sorts of things”, he added. “There wouldn’t be any point in not holding the evening in case we offended people. I certainly didn’t hear any complaints about it from within the OTC.”

He suggested the possibility that those criticising the party may simply be trying “to get at the OTC” but stated that complaints probably came from people who “weren’t at the evening and had no understanding of what our aims were.” 

A motion has been passed by St John’s College JCR and MCR in favour of adopting a tortoise as a College pet.

Undergraduates are now awaiting final approval from college authorities before purchasing the animal which will inhabit the College gardens and ‘boost the collegiate spirit’.

Commenting on the new addition to St John’s, JCR President Martha MacKenzie commented, “Everyone was very enthusiastic about getting a pet… The MCR went on to pass a motion in favour of a tortoise so it was brought back this week and there was much excitement. The motion passed without any objections and with lots of enthusiasm!”
 
St John’s student Rachel Dedmen stated “We chose a tortoise because they are relatively low maintenance, and could live quite happily in our gardens, with dedicated Tortoise Reps to guard their welfare.”

She added, “The tortoise will only enrich the St John’s experience, and quickly be a source of College pride – taking part in the annual Corpus Tortoise Race – and becoming a figure in St John’s history, (it will outlive all of us).”

Jeremy Evans, also a student at St John’s College stated “I’m fairly neutral to the tortoise”, but commented “The extent to which it would alter my St John’s experience would probably be going to see it once or twice.”

Though funds are yet to be finalised it has been agreed that the start-up expenses, as well as an annual running cost, will be shared between the JCR and the MCR.

It is hoped that the tortoise will help to create closer ties between the JCR and the MCR. 

Funding cuts announced on Monday will slash university budgets by £518m.

The first university budget cuts since Labour came to power in 1997 will see £215m cut from teaching budgets, a real terms cut 1.6%. Capital spending will be reduced by 15% for the academic year 2010/11.

These cuts come at a time when applications for Universities were ‘surging’, stoking fears of vast cuts in student numbers and a hiking of fees in order to balance their budgets.

Already universities are experiencing an unprecedented rise in applications, with some reporting increases of up to 40%. Steve Smith, president of the Vice-Chancellor’s group Universities UK, estimates that some 200,000 people could lose out on place.

Fears about place cuts have led the President of the National Union of Student (NUS) to condemn the announcement.

Wes Streeting argues that the cuts will cause “irreversible damage” to higher education. He stated, “Singling out universities for cuts of this kind seems to me to be an extraordinary act of self harm by the government”.

The vast cuts have also led to fears amongst students about the quality of teaching and fees.

Oxford students have widely condemned the government’s decision to cut the Universities budget with such ferocity.

“The scale of these cuts is bound to have an effect on teaching. Larger tutorials, larger classes and less of them will surely be the result”, Kate Travers commented. “The plans will only serve to blunt nation’s competitive edge in the labour market.”

Camilla Jones, a finalist, commented “access is surely going to be hit by this decision. All the work that Oxford and other universities have done to improve social mobility will be undone. Fees will have to rise considerably to meet this shortfall and will put the poorest off applying.”

With universities receiving their individual budgets in the coming weeks, Oxford will have to brace itself for a huge swathe of cuts. The University already has to provide around 50% of the teaching costs for its students.

The announcement of cuts can only add to fears that there will be a rise in student fees. With student debt already at record highs in the UK, a rise in fees could worsen the situation.

It seems now, almost inevitable that fees will have to rise, and by a large extent. This is especially true if the government want half of the population to meet to attend university, whilst considerably cutting the HE Budget.

This will not only hit price of the education available, it is also bound to negatively impact on subsidies, with many Oxford Colleges heavily subsidising food, rent and accommodation amongst other things.

There are worries that wealthier colleges will be better able to subsidise their students in while students at poorer colleges will be hit harder by the government’s decision.