In 2000, any hopes of a quiet start to the new millennium were dashed by a story so controversial it has its own Wikipedia page. ‘The Laura Spence Affair’ is the plight of one clever but unlucky girl from a North East state school. Spence applied for medicine at Magdalen, but despite perfect qualifications, was not offered a place because – according to the college – other candidates (of whom there were 22 for 5 positions) had equally good qualifications and performed better during the interview process. Gordon Brown was the first to lambast Oxford with accusations of elitism, calling Spence’s rejection an ‘absolute scandal’ and suggesting that she had been discriminated against by ‘an old establishment interview system’ which couldn’t possibly give Geordie comp students a fair chance. Quick to respond were Oxford’s dons, calling Brown “a hypocrite and a bully” and accusing him of “talking out of his backside”. Steady on chaps! Still, the debate forced us to confront some uncomfortable truths. Was it fair that only 7 per cent of pupils attend private schools but fee-paying students make up almost half of Oxbridge population? Laura Spence, incidentally, later went to Harvard. She did not study medicine.
2001: The year with three racial discrimination claims
2001 put Oxford University in the hot seat when it found itself embroiled in three court cases involving claims of racial discrimination. Chinasa Anya, a postdoctoral research assistant, claimed he was the victim of racial discrimination when he was denied a new post in favour of a white candidate in 1996. Ali Erdem, a Turkish postgraduate student, said the University had behaved inappropriately when it charged him with misconduct and dropped him from his banking law course. Nadeem Ahmed, a MPhil student studying medieval Arabic, accused the University of institutional racism after he alleged he was made to sit “flawed” exams which resulted in him being unfairly dismissed from the University’s Oriental Institute. To top it off, Mr Ahmed was subject to a racist email campaign by two not so bright history students. The emails told him that Asians should not be at university but “working in McDonald’s or on a building site” and asked “Why don’t you do a course in bricklaying?” Other emails made vulgar references to his wife and mother and contained pornographic photographs.
2002: The year of cash for places.
2002 Oxford’s attempts to rid itself of its pervasive elitist image were jeopardised in 2002 when an undercover journalist for The Times exposed the fact that Pembroke college was willing to offer students places in return for cash donations. The fictional banker, who worked in the US, was told by senior staff at Pembroke college they could create an extra place on a law degree course for his son. In the secretly taped interview, the Reverend John Platt, a senior fellow at the college, revealed that similar deals had been struck in the past. He said Pembroke needed the money because it was “poor as shit”. A year earlier, Booker prize judge Professor Valentine Cunningham of Corpus Christi had claimed that places across the university could be “bought” by wealthy families for their offspring, though the claims were widely refuted by other academics at the time.
2003: The Top-Up fee year
2003 was all about tuition fees, tuition fees, tuition fees. When will we hear the end of them? Students were up in arms in 2003 when Labour introduced top up fees, after declaring it would do no such thing. The cap on tuition fees was raised from £1000 to £3000. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised. This came from a prime minister who stated in 1997, “Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education”. Since 2003, there has been no going back, with even higher figures suggested including £10,000. In 2009, OUSU President Stephen Baskerville and his delegates made headlines when they successfully lobbied two Oxford MPs in Parliament who signed a pledge to vote against the raising of tuition fees. Oxford students rallied outside the Palace of Westminster alongside National Union of Students protestors to campaign for the government to listen to students on the funding of Higher Education
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image:Ronapainting.com
2004: The year when Bullingdon got in trouble
In 2004, Oxford’s merry band of blue-jacketed blue-bloods, The Bullingdon Club, hit the headlines when members were fined £80 for smashing seventeen bottles of wine, every piece of crockery and a window at the 15th Century White Hart pub in Fyfield, near Oxford. Few could predict at the time that such stories would soon become a major political issue, with the ascension of young, hip, Dave Cameron and his somewhat gormless sidekick George to the ranks of Conservative Leader and Shadow Chancellor respectively. Both were members of the notorious drining club; both, along with buffoonish Boris, were clearly visible in leaked photographs, looking odious in their £3000 tail-coats. Since then, the spectre of drunken expensive revelries – most of which they probably can’t remember – has proven impossible to escape for the Tory trio. Class is back on the political agenda, and many predict a particularly gruesome and personal election due, in no small part, to the Bullingdon legacy.
2005: The SPEAK year
2005 relit the heated topic of animal rights when Oxford resumed construction work of its controversial £20m animal testing laboratory. The University had been forced to suspend the project in July 2004 due to the sustained campaign of protest of animal rights groups. Several building contractors pulled out during the years claiming their staff had been victims of intimidation and threats. However, work on the lab was finally completed in 2008. SPEAK, the animal rights protest group, has persistently fought against the construction of the lab and in 2008 their spokesman, Mel Broughton, was put on trial in connection with arson attacks to the University property in 2006 and 2007.
2006: The year St Hilda’s went mixed
In 2006 St. Hilda’s, the final single-sex college in Oxford (we don’t count the creepy PPHs, many of which are still all male) finally opened its doors to male students. Dons voted narrowly for the change, hoping it would attract talented applicants deterred by the single-sex environment. Money was a factor in the decision too, since abandoning single-sex status could boost the college’s shaky financial position and help plug a £400,000 budget deficit by bringing in world-class lecturers. Some students, though, were not so thrilled at the prospect, with one bemoaning that she could no longer get away with coming to breakfast in a “lacy nightie and skimpy dressing down”. Male students from other colleges, however, were reportedly delighted, since it meant that years of wall-climbing, fence jumping, and embarrassing fire-alarm situations had come to an end.
2007: The year of the Union scandals
2007was the Year of the Union Scandals (isn’t every year really?). In November, the Union hit national headlines when President Luke Tryl decided to invite Nick Griffin, the BNP leader and David Irving, the controversial historian and Holocaust denier to attend a debate on free speech. Hundreds of students protested outside the Union with Griffin branding them as a “mob which would kill”. The Union wasn’t so lucky in 2001 when the President, Amy Harland, was forced to cancel her invitation to Irving after mounted pressure from students and the public. Internal politics wrecked the Union in 2007 with a bitter battle between the presidential candidates. The newly elected President, Krishna Omkar, was forced to resign after his defeated opponent, Charlotte Fischer, accused him of electoral malpractice. She didn’t last long though, walking out of the contest after claiming to have received lewd texts from Union officers asking: “Fancy a f***?” Oh dear.
2008: The year of scandals and shocks
2008 held many juicy stories; not least the sneaky Proctors who used Facebook pictures of post-exam ‘trashing’ as evidence to tot up a £10,000 jackpot of fines, more than five times last year’s figures. Needless to say, students weren’t too pleased to know Proctors were just a friend click away. Naughty Oxide radio station was forced to close after a Cherwell investigation revealed that it had been operating as a pirate station for the last two years.
2009: The year of the inappropriate joke
And what of last year’s offerings? Here at Cherwell, we’ve come to dub 2009the Year of the Inappropriate Joke, for the number of scandals that arose out of démodé humour, misinformed satire, or just plain crassness. The “Bring-a-fit-Jew” debacle of late 2008 set the bar admirably high for tastelessness, but 2009 made an Olympian effort to outdo it. We had almost ubiquitous blackings-up, that joke during the hustings of “Disgraced former OUCA” (as they like to be known), and indeed a worthy performance from Cherwell in the form of Lecher, a gossip rag full of desperately unfunny in-jokes that led to the resignation of the then editors. When it came to insulting ethnic minorities, implicating people in paedophilia or mocking the holocaust, this truly was a golden year.
It was just over a year ago to the day when Billy Davies was announced to the press as Nottingham Forest’s new manager – their thirteenth since the acrimonious departure of the iconic Brian Clough. For Forest supporters, those were indeed heady days.
The Clough years elevated Forest to the pinnacle of the football elite, not only in England but in Europe. Under the often outspoken Clough, Forest won the English league championship, two consecutive European Cups and four League Cups – something which is simply unthinkable in the present climate.
For between 1975 and 1993, Clough added a new colour to the football palette. By combining three key ingredients; that of steeliness, total commitment and eye catching football, Clough had essentially fused present day Stoke City with Brasil. From the outset his football philosophy was clear: simplicity was the most effective weapon. Defenders defend, midfielders manufacture, strikers score.
His philosophy was reflected in his squad. Still, before embarking upon the creative side of things, Clough was focused on establishing a clear spine throughout the team. This was realised through the brilliance of Peter Shilton in goal, Viv Anderson’s no nonsense defending through to the wizardry of winger Archie Gemmill and Trevor Francis’s lethal finishing. Clough had laid down the blueprint for the perfect Forest Formula. Since his departure in 1993, a succession of relegations, instability both on and off the pitch and a sense of nostalgia has blighted Forest in their bid to once again relive the glory days of the Clough era. Yet, in the form of Billy Davies, the Reds may well have rediscovered the Forest Formula.
Having escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth at the end of the 2008 / 2009 campaign, expectations for the 2009 / 2010 campaign were relatively low. However, the summer brought with it drastic changes. Nine players were bought in for a total of £6 million – big money given the financial structures within the Championship.
Admittedly the season did not start off the way Davies had hoped for. Forest were playing well but failing to get the results many thought their performances deserved. Ironically though it was the East Midlands Derby victory over Forest’s fiercest rivals Derby County, a former club of Brian Clough’s and currently managed by his son Nigel, in August which has provided a kick-start to a magnificent run of eighteen games unbeaten in both league and cup.
It is highly unlikely that Davies will ever be spoken about in the same breath as Clough but Davies football philosophy is akin to that of Clough. Of course nowadays there may not be any familiar names in the Forest teams like those of days gone by; however Davies has managed to skilfully build a well oiled machine.
There is an impressive blend of youth and experience, steeliness and creativity within the squad and crucially a positive vibe in the dressing room which has translated itself to the supporters.
Some will point to the money spent by Davies as a big factor in Forest’s rejuvenation however crucially, unlike others, he has spent extremely wisely. The acquisition of twice capped England left back Nicky Shorey on loan from Aston Villa, the defensive and leadership qualities of Forest captin Paul McKenna, the creativity provided by Rados³aw Majewski and the steady supply of goals from Dexter Blackstock are among the highlights.
Unlike his predecessors, Davies has placed round pegs in round holes. Having established a strong spine, Davies has introduced a new dimension to the Forest team: that of fast flowing absorbing football. Above all though, Davies has brought something with all Forest fans have been craving for for many years: stability.
Having seen the chopping and changing at both board and ground level at Portsmouth and most recently at Manchester City, it is clear that football is now more and more becoming a results-orientated game. However, Messers Ferguson and Wenger have shown that with the backing from the right people and a desire to head in the right direction that success will eventually come. Forest fans will be keen to see that the same faith is manifested in Davies.
Davies maintains that his team are not yet ready to go up. His torrid time with Derby County in the 2007 / 2008 Premier League campaign is still a painful memory. Yet, if Forest’s scintillating form continues, they may well end up back in the big time.
In the City Ground, Forest currently boast the tenth largest stadium outside the Premier League and with plans to build a new 50,000 stadium should England win the right to host the 2018 World Cup, they are certainly moving onwards and upwards. The infrastructure for the present and future is there and the support has been unwavering throughout. The days of Clough are still talked about and will never be forgotten. But one thing is for sure: by being the first manager in many a year to crack Clough’s elusive Forest formula, Davies may well be on the way to writing himself into the Nottingham Forest history books.
Oxford professor Susan Greenfield was controversially removed from her post as director of the Royal Institute last week after the position was scrapped following a “governance review”.
Greenfield, who is currently professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, has been in the role at the RI since 1998. Her 18 year contract was not due to run out until 2016.
It is understood that the Institute could no longer afford the position due to financial difficulties. The charity is reportedly struggling with £3m worth of debt brought on by the expensive refurbishment of the RI’s base in Mayfair. Greenfield was the first woman in the job, and has been widely praised for freshening up the image of the prestigious scientific institution.
Oxford research has revealed that fat around your bum and thighs is not only healthier than round your waist, but actually protects against heart disease and diabetes.
A recent study shows that pear-shaped people have a health advantage over apple-shaped people.
Fatty acids stored in the abdomen are more likely to be released and float around the body, causing harm to other organs. However, fat in the thighs and bum is used for long-term storage of such fatty acids, and may even secrete more beneficial hormones than other fat.
However, Dr Manolopoulos, one of the researchers, emphasised that fattening your thighs would not help, as this will usually lead to a bigger waist too and offset any positive health effects. “Control of body weight is still the best way to stay healthy, and the advice remains the same: it is important to eat less and exercise more.”
Oriel is the first Oxford college attempting to become carbon neutral.
The college is offsetting their carbon emissions by sponsoring a tree planting project based in South America.
The project has been set up to support farmers in the Manu national park in Peru in the replanting of trees and selling of crops produced by these additional plantations. This would lead to the college receiving carbon neutral status as the trees they sponsor to grow would in theory cancel out the carbon emissions produced by the college.
Mark Jesnick, Oriel JCR President, stated that he is “delighted Oriel has taken such a bold step… We are proud to be one of Oxford’s most sustainable colleges, but hope that other colleges will take similar steps towards environmental activism.”
Different companions require different restaurants. You have to choose your restaurant carefully, based on whom you’re taking. Dinner with friends, is, oddly, one of the hardest. You have to choose somewhere not too romantic, lest they think you about to make a pass, and not too businesslike less they die of boredom. But Oxford has a few suitable places.
I went to four. In one evening. I’m just that dedicated. Actually, it was partly a mistake – I meant to book three, but after ringing round a few, couldn’t remember which ones I’d actually booked, meaning that I accidentally scheduled two for the same time and got a plaintive call at ten past eight from the second one asking where I was, and had to quickly rebook for the end of the evening, when I’d been planning to be back at college with a mug of tea and an old West Wing DVD.
When I announced this slight hiccup to the girl I was with she called me the worst restaurant critic in the world, which is probably true. She also threatened to sue me if I named her in this column, so I’ll restrict myself to noting that she’s called Beth and does History at Lincoln. Also that she doesn’t like spicy foods, which was a bit of a problem at the first restaurant we went to, Sojo on Hythe Bridge Street, which is a Chinese with a fondness for Szechuan cooking; the hottest and fieriest kind of Chinese. Hot and fiery and excellent, though, and they can also do some pretty decent Shanghainese stuff, which is sweeter and milder. The pork belly we had was, said Beth, too fatty, but of course that’s the whole point of pork belly. Pretty wonderful salt and pepper squid, too, even if it’s hasn’t been fashionable in London for two years now. This is probably the best Chinese in Oxford, so go.
Next we struggled up the road to The Big Bang on Walton Street, Jericho, which wasn’t big at all, but tiny. It’s a bangers and mash place, so a bit of a one trick pony, but it’s an excellent trick: sausages and potato just like your mum used to make (or not, in my case). Watch out for the Venison sausages though, which are too far too dense, tasting a bit like Bambi accidentally got caught in a car crusher.
Then on to Al-Shami Lebanese over the road in Walton Crescent. You get a big plate of fruit and vegetables to play with while you’re waiting, and then almost certainly the best Lebanese food you’ve ever had, partly because you’ve almost certainly never had Lebanese food before. It was good though, vine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spices, being a particular highlight, the sweet leaves hiding an intense, spicy filling. But the real reason to go is the Arak, a white, aniseedy spirit tasting like the strongest Sambuca you’ve ever drunk, which you dilute with iced water and sip while eating. Split a bottle between a few people, order a few plates of the excellent food and you can’t fail to have a good time.
And finally, three hours and probably five thousand calories after we started, we staggered over to Little Clarendon Street, which has more gastronomic gems per square foot than anywhere else in Oxford, and fell in to Al-Andalus, the Spanish tapas place next to Pierre Victoire. Beth, who had been before, started bouncing up and down in her seat as soon as I told her we were going, and (for once) she was absolutely right, for Al-Andalus is quite possibly the most perfect little restaurant you could ever imagine. We had fiery Pollo Chorizo, dates wrapped in bacon, the salty covering giving way as you bite to a sweet, gooey centre, goat’s cheese and honey cakes, and half a dozen other things that, after the sherry and white Rioja from the short but decent wine list, I was far too drunk to remember.
Go. Take all your friends. It’s hard to imagine a better evening.
About: Leeds-based, full of chat, Pres of Cardies and HerbSoc (and therefore uber-lad) would like to meet a caring mum replacement to keep him grounded during all-you-can-drink events…or a girl with quite big boobs.
He said: Felicity introduces herself as from Wales and – in her own words – from one of the relatively uninhabited valleys. These are not the words you wish to hear on a blind date. Origins aside however, she is fun and charismatic, armed with invaluable hitch-hiker anecdotes involving lesbian fifty year olds and older men carrying pictures of their dead wives. Aspirations of immigrating to French Polynesia are refreshingly original and reveal a confident character unafraid of life after Oxford. Park End war stories helped our time together pass unnoticed. Felicity comes across as an entertaining and intelligent Jerichite. Unfortunately, her Magdalen College love affair, and 4th year finals make a second date unlikely. I hope however, that she doesn’t retire to the library too soon…
About: A gorgeous fourth-year cheerleader with an attitude seeks a man who will keep up with her mental (and physical) capabilities. Already entangled in a romance, but her willingness to explore knows no limits.
She said: It wasn’t a standard trip to the Grand Café – trudging through snow, an awkward hello to a stranger and an immediate pose for the invasively large Cherwell camera. As is inevitable in a conversation with a stranger, we didn’t veer off the path of amusing anecdotes into revealing debate; not necessarily a bad thing, but there wasn’t enough soul-searching for us to be soul mates. Neither of us had opted for the comfort of a stiff drink, so perhaps the question and answer format of the conversation would have developed with the addition of a gin or two, but given the sobriety our date was unexpectedly relaxed and by the end I’d forgotten that it was our first meeting. Sparks didn’t fly, but I had fun and with a shared love for Park End (because let’s face it, we all love Park End) there’ll undoubtedly by that gin-fuelled chat some time soon.
Banter: 7/10 Looks: 7/10 Personality: 8/10 2nd date? For a chat, not a liaison!
Each week, we set two students to meet each other and review the date. Want to meet someone special or think your friend needs to? Email: [email protected]
Future Fashion Now New Design from the Royal College of Art Exhibition LONDON, Victoria and Albert Museum, until 31.01.10 Exhibition by graduate students of the Royal College of Art features over 50 outfits and accessories including womenswear and footwear designs. In order to give the viewers an insight into the design process from the very beginning to the finished garment preliminary sketches and illustrations will be on display in addition to the clothes themselves. This event is open to the public. Fashion Rock Night
BERLIN, Universall Hall, Gotzkowsky str. 22, 22.01.10 (9pm) – 23.01.10 (6am) Advertised as an event at which ‘rock music meets rock couture’ Fashion Rock Night will feature MOKE by Karl Lagerfeld combined with live music by famous DJs. The event is sponsored by Absolut Vodka and Schweppes so good fun is guaranteed. It is open to the public, for tickets see www.fashion-rock-night.com
Week Three
Fashion Week by Berns STOCKHOLM, 01.02.10 – 03.02.10 The catwalk shows will include brands by designers from Denmark, Iceland and Finland, as well those better known to the international public (likes of Acne and Cheap Monday). Young Fashion Industry Award will be given to the best new Swedish designer. Too bad this event is buyers, press and VIPs only. www.fashionweekbyberns.com
Week Four
New York Couture Fashion Week NEW YORK, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, 12.02.10 – 14.02.10 Two days of exquisite couture, great performers (Kimera – a controversial opera-pop singer and Alexander Markov to name a few) and exhibitions of fine art and luxury products. Dress code: black tie. Tickets are available on the website: www.couturefashionweek.com
Week Five
London Fashion Week LONDON (it is held at various venues, for details see: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk. 19.02.10 – 24.02.10 This winter catwalk shows and presentations include Matthew Williamson, Burberry Prorsum, Sass&Bide, Twenty8Twelwe and Mulberry. Enough said.
Week Six
St. Andrew’s Charity Fashion Show 2010 ST. ANDREW’S, 27.02.10 – 28.02.10 It might be only an evening long and organised by a University that calls themselves the ‘Oxford of Scotland‘ but the St. Andrew’s Charity Fashion Show will feature designs by Prada, Luca Luca, Crombie, Emporio Armani and DKNY. Add a charitable cause (the proceeds go to Watoto – a non-profit organisation that supports orphans in Uganda) and big names (JK Rowling, Alan Hollinghurst) on the guestlist and our very own Oxford Fashion Week might be facing a strong competition. Ticket prices are yet to be confirmed, but keep your chequebooks ready for when the details come up on www.standrewsfashion.co.uk!
Week Seven
Semaine De Mode – Montreal Fashion Week MONTREAL, 01.03.10 – 04.03.10. The 18th edition of the Montreal Fashion Week is something to look forward to. Exhibitions, runway shows and parties look promising and if you can’t be there, at least see the video coverage on the official website www.montrealfashionweek.ca
Week Eight
The iD Dunedin Fashion Show DUNEDIN, Dunedin Railway Station, 13.03.10 The final event of the iD Dunedin Fashion Week is a show held at an unusual venue. It will be the culmination of the Emerging Designers Award competition (which, is still open for entries so get your sewing machines ready!).
Marc Kidson shows you how to make Sausage Cassoulet – the perfect winter warmer to get your term started with a bang.
Recipe Re-Cap:
Ingredients:
6-8 sausages of your choice 1 large red onion, roughly chopped 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 red chilli, finely chopped A handful of mushrooms, sliced 1 tin baked beans 1 tin chopped tomatoes Salt and pepper Cheese to garnish
1
. Gently fry sausages until brown all over, then set aside. 2. In the same pan fry the onions gently until soft, adding oil and a little water as needed. 3. Add garlic, chilli and mushrooms, then season and fry for another few minutes. 4. Layer the bottom of a casserole dish with the onion, mushrooms, chilli and garlic. 5. Arrange the sausages on top, and then pour over the chopped tomatoes and baked beans. 6. Put in the oven, preheated to 180C/Gas Mark 4 for 40 minutes or until the sausages are cooked all over and the sauce is bubbling.
