Speculation is mounting as to who will next fill the Oxford Professor of Poetry post in the wake of Ruth Padel’s resignation.

The University has announced it will renew its search later this year. Padel resigned after only nine days in the position, following the revelation that she forwarded negative information about her opponent, the Noble Laureate Derek Walcott, to journalists.

Walcott has stated that he will not stand again. Meanwhile runner-up Arvind Mehrotra has sought to distance himself from controversy, claiming he needed time to consider whether he would accept another nomination. Others, such as Australian ex-pat Clive James, have shown no reservation in vying for the Professorship. “It’s the only job I want,” James told the Guardian recently.

The three hundred year old position of Oxford Professor of Poetry has historically been occupied by figures such as Matthew Arnold and WH Auden. While the names of more traditional choices such as Simon Armitage, JH Prynne, and Oxford don Jon Stallworthy have been mentioned, some see the scandal as an opportunity to expand the search beyond the customary candidate pool which has been largely white, male, and British.

Various commentators, including novelist Jeanette Winterson and poet Jackie Kay, have expressed sadness that the tenure of the first woman to hold the position ended in disgrace. Women mentioned as suitable to take Padel’s place include Alice Oswald, who studied classics at New College, Oxford, and now works as a gardener in Devon. Oswald is noted for her lyrical, romantic nature poems.

Others have suggested that a non-English poet fill the post. Seamus Heaney, who held the Oxford Professorship from 1989 to 1984, has proposed Hans Magnus Enzensberger, widely regarded as Germany’s most eminent living poet and cultural commentator. Winner of the Pasolini and Nuremberg Cultural Prize, Enzensberger has explored civil unrest and middle class existence in his work.

Other potential foreign candidates include American Jorie Graham, who is the first woman to hold the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard, a position previously held by Heaney. Graham has been heralded as one of the leading poets in America for her metaphysical introspections.

The immensely popular Australian poet Les Murray has also been named as a possibility. Considered by many to be one of the world’s leading English-language poets, Murray’s work focuses on Australian identity. In his prolific output he has frequently championed the traditions and culture of indigenous Australians and rural life.

While the Padel scandal has rekindled debates over aesthetics and morality, the search for a new candidate invites discussion about whether nationality and gender should play a role in the nomination process.

Eloise Stonborough, secretary of the Oxford Poetry Society, applauds the idea of a diverse candidate pool. Ultimately, however, she feels candidates should be judged based on merit alone. “Inviting people as women or foreigners is missing the point.”

Construction work has been continuously disrupting the lives of students with some Oxford colleges providing no compensation for the distress.

Wadham, Somerville, Christ Church, St Peter’s and LMH have all been undergoing building works with the noise pollution disturbing students’ revision for exams.

The noise from the building site in Wadham’s back quad has prompted some students to request alternative accommodation arrangements, as the rooms close-by have proved impossible to work in.

One Wadhamite commented, “The noise during the day has driven one of my housemates out of our staircase, and the noise almost drove me out as I could not work in my room.”

He added, “No compensation was offered, or even talked about, which from a college the size of Wadham was unexpected.”

Residents of Staircase 9 have also suffered from visual pollution with the view on the lawn replaced by a dusky building site. The construction works have made access to the rooms very difficult.

One inhabitant of the staircase complained, “The works have turned our staircase from one of the best located, opening out onto a green lawn, to one of the most remote and inaccessible…Additionally, the view upon leaving the staircase is of the grey wooden fence which surrounds the site.”

The college authorities were unavailable to comment.

Somerville students have been disturbed by the drilling noise from the development of Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. The construction site backs onto Somerville College, and the early morning drilling has infuriated students.

Grace Benton, a 2nd year Somerville student complained, “My room backs onto it so when they’re doing drilling I get woken at eight by my room vibrating. Quite a lot of other people have said the same.”

Working in the library is not an option for those hoping for a quiet place to revise. Hannah McDougall, a third year historian pointed out, “It’s so inconvenient that every time you go into the library all you can hear is drilling. The desks shake.”

The building project includes the development of a new humanities centre, along with a Mathematical Institute and additional accommodation for Somerville students. The dates for completion of the project have not been confirmed, since the planning process is ongoing.

The University has explained that the work carried out is the demolition of existing buildings. “The work has been discussed with both the adjoining colleges, as part of an ongoing dialogue on all work we intend to carry out on the site. At Somerville, they have moved students nearest to the noise when particularly noisy work has been going on and they have been involved throughout the work and informed about what is happening when”, the spokesperson has explained.

Students at Christ Church have also struggled to cope with the noise pollution. The renovation work to the library on Peckwater’s quad has caused many difficulties to finalists. One Christ Church historian commented, “though I understand the necessity of the work, its timing, which so neatly coincides with a hundred students’ finals, is impeccably awful – some people still manage to work in the library, but god knows how. Builders’ chat whilst leaning against your window isn’t exactly helpful either.”

Students have not been compensated for the inconvenience.

Other colleges have been more responsive to the demands of students. St Peter’s offered reduced rent for the renovation work done on a college staircase.

JCR President, Sanjay Nanwani explained, “The entire project was very professionally run with adequate signage and notice given to students. Prior to the work, there was an agreement that there may be a need for compensation for any inconvenience or disruption to students.”

LMH students have also been disrupted by the ongoing construction work, which started in February 2008. Although the building of new undergraduate accommodation has already run over schedule, it is thought it will be finished later this year.

Arrangements were made by the college to minimise disruption by ensuring the noisier work was scheduled over the vacation periods. Students were also made aware of the likelihood of disturbances in accommodation close to the site before room selection took place last year.

JCR President Sourav Choudhury expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the college carried out the process, explaining that the college has accepted applications for rebates from students. He pointed out, “each application was considered on a case by case basis with myself present to ensure transparency and fairness.”

“As well as this, the domestic bursar sends a weekly email detailing the progress on the buildings project, and he has come into a few JCR meetings to field any questions or concerns that the students may have”, he added.

A fund has been set up for Kentaro Ikeda, an Oxford University student who was brutally assaulted last summer.

The collection was initiated by Mary Clarkson, Oxford’s new Lord Mayor. She said the fund will be put to uses that will strive to improve Ikeda’s quality of life and ease the burden of medical costs faced by his family.

Clarkson said the Ikeda family invested a substantial portion of their savings in their son’s education at Oxford, and are consequently ill-equipped to deal with the costs of on-going treatment.

Although planning is still in its early stages, Clarkson hopes to raise money by holding an event in Town Hall and securing sponsorship.

Friends and acquantances of Ikeda expressed approval of the plan. “I totally support the idea of a fund,” said Chern Oon, a postgraduate student at Merton College. “Kentaro does not deserve to be in the condition he is in right now; we can only help him and support him in any way we can. I am sure the knowledge that he has the support of family, friends, and the Mayor will help him remain optimistic and hopeful.”

As the former ward councilor for Marston, Clarkson felt a special responsibility to the student, who was attacked in Marston by town residents. “It happened in Oxford, in my patch”, she said.

She reported that Ikeda remains in a rehabilitation centre and his widowed mother has had to leave her teaching job to care for him.

Clarkson said many of her constituents had also felt shocked by the attack.

“The local community was just appalled,” she said. “People in Marston got in touch with Kentaro and sent him cards.”

She added that a local Japanese family had initially suggested the idea of a fund a way to channel this sympathy.

Clarkson stated that Peter and Mieko Galpin, the owners of the restaurant Edamame on Hollywell Street, brought the former St. Edmund Hall student’s plight to her attention. Through their connections with the Japanese community, the Galpins established contact with Ikeda’s mother and brothers and sent Clarkson an email, prompting the idea for the fund.

“Traditionally the Lord Mayor chooses a couple of charities to support during the year,” she explained, “and this was one that was close to my heart.”

Kentaro Ikeda came to the University in November 2007 to read for a Masters degree in Educational Studies at St. Edmund’s Hall. He was assailed by two teenagers while cycling home from the Teddy Hall library along Mesopotamia Walk in the early hours of the morning.

The two pulled Ikeda from his bike, bludgeoned him with his bike lock and stole his rucksack, bike and laptop. Knowles and Mack, both 18, were sentenced in February to a total of sixteen years in jail for robbery and grievous bodily harm.

Ikeda, who was discovered unconscious by passers-by, was rushed to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he underwent four emergency surgeries. He remained in critical condition for weeks before being airlifted to Japan.

Oon, who was at the Radcliffe Hospital following the attack and met Ikeda’s mother there, described the situation as a “nightmare”.

“When we finally got to visit him, tears rolled down my cheeks,” she recounted “seeing his condition: unconscious, his bright future dimming out.”

Despite her faith that Mrs. Ikeda would “overcome the odds” to care for her son, Oon noted that “the fund would be very helpful for the family, for a mother who has given up her profession.”

Asked if she sensed that the local community felt somehow responsible for what had happened to Ikeda, Clarkson responded, “In terms of the sense of guilt, it’s people out in the suburbs, in the town part of the city, that feel that.”

Ultimately, Clarkson said she hoped that the fund will heal rather than highlight any tensions that may have arisen as a result of the incident.
“I would like to think that the University and the town can come together on this and do what’s best for Kentaro and his family. If it brings University and town together, so much the better.”

A group of student protesters marched through Oxford streets last Monday, demanding climate action both within the University and throughout the country.

Cycling under the joint banners of Climate Rush and OUSU’s Environment and Ethics (E&E) Committee, the students were dressed as suffragettes and chanted “Deeds not words”.

The choice of a bike-mounted protest was to criticise the government’s decision in promoting electric cars as a green solution and their proposals for four new coal fired power stations.

Jake Colman, a member of the E&E committee, praised the demonstration, saying “Bikes, drumming, chanting and saving the planet – I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon!”

The protests began in Wellington Square, with the protesters demanding that the Vice-Chancellor employs Sustainability Officer, a position which has been unadvertised for the past six months. They also wanted the University to follow a year-on-year emissions goals in order to meet a 20% reduction by 2020.

Julia Koskella, chair of the E&E committee said, “We are asking for concrete, achievable changes in the University and town. The suffragette costumes are drawing a lot of support for our campaign – it’s a positive, engaging stunt.”

After riding around the city centre, the Climate Rushers finished on Cornmarket Street to highlight the energy wastage of High Street shops which leave their lights on at night.

The protesters had sent letters to each of the shops which had left their wares well-lit the night before. They asked the shop managers to “Switch Off Climate Change”, by saving energy through switching off their lights at closing time.

Two shops responded, Pret à Manger and Snappy Snaps, and these were awarded with Certificates of Appreciation. Those shops which did not heed the protester’s requests were given Certificates of Disapproval.

Lighting accounts for 20% of the UK’s electrical energy usage. That’s
equivalent to 10 coal fired power stations, or about 73 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Lucie Kinchin, a 2nd-year Pembroke student involved in organising the protests, said she was appalled by the actions of shops who had decided not to switch off. “Lighting that advertises products to empty streets at four o’clock in the
morning is not only completely unnecessary, but totally irresponsible in the
face of catastrophic climate change. These companies need to switch off.”

“Since climate change is happening now, positive change must
happen now.”

One passer-by commented, “The certificates are a great idea! It’s a really good action, as it’s achievable and fun. Using humiliation and ridicule to get stuff done is very effective.”

The University spokesperson commented on the protests, “The University upholds anyone’s right to protest, as long as that protest is carried out peacefully and within the law.”

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Britons have less freedom and privacy than East Germans did twenty years ago, according to an Oxford University Professor.

Professor Garton Ash warned that civil liberties in the UK had been eroded to the extent that those who lived under Communist rule in the 1980s were “more free” than we are.

“People have to fight back on that front and on others to claw back some of the freedoms we have lost,” he said.

He backed the idea of a written constitution for Britain and asserted the need for separation of powers and the importance of people to “mobilise for change”.

Derek Walcott has been offered the position of Scholar in Residence by the University of Alberta, after withdrawing from Oxford’s Professor of Poetry elections amidst allegations of sexual harassment.

He will teach intensive poetry courses and act as a mentor to staff and students.

Alberta University provost Carl Amrhein said it was an “easy decision” to appoint a “Nobel laureate who wants to work with undergraduate students.”

Oxford English Professor Elleke Boehmer commented, “You can’t reduce poetry to a character contest.”

Walcott plans to take up the three-year post in Canada from this autumn.

The benefits of long-term use of aspirin for healthy people do not outweigh the risks, researchers at Oxford University have concluded.

While aspirin reduces the risk of a non-fatal heart attack, it also increases the probability of strokes in healthy people. This is not the case for those who have cardio-vascular problems, for whom taking aspirin is beneficial.

The authors of the study concluded, “Aspirin is of clear benefit for people who already have cardiovascular disease, but the latest research does not seem to justify general guidelines advocating the routine use of aspirin in all healthy individuals above a moderate level of risk for coronary heart disease.”

Christ Church JCR has voted in favour of a proposition to “baptise” new JCR Presidents.

The motion, proposed by Tom Morris, stipulated that “Every new JCR president has to be baptised in Mercury at the start of the term in which they take office.” Mercury is the iconic college fountain in Tom Quad.

The baptism would involve “a dunking in the ceremonial font or, at the very least, a bucket of aforementioned font water being poured on their head.” They added, “The ceremony should be done as publicly as possible.”

The current JCR president, Alan Howard-Rimmer, will not be dunked; he pointed out, “this will go ahead well after my tenure has come to an end.”