Drinks prices in the Wadham bar have risen by up to 25 per cent for those paying in cash, after the college introduced a Bod Card payment system this term.

An email from the college bursar, Pauline Linieres-Hartley, outlined the introduction of the system. “There will be a two-tier pricing system. The lower price will be available for EPOS transactions and the higher price for any cash transactions.”

One Wadham student explained the noticeable difference in prices between the two systems. “Originally we were told that the difference in prices would be relatively small, but they have now altered the prices significantly for those who wish to pay by cash.”
He added, “I bought a double gin and tonic with cash, only to find out that it was £4.75 – as much as, if not more than, the King’s Arms – which is 25% more than paying by Bod Card!”

Another student was worried about how the tabs might be interpreted, “My concern is that if someone has a poor term academically, will they then have their bar tabs examined and be reprimanded or banned?”

St Hilda’s JCR voted this week not to change their name to Magdalen JCR.

A motion had been proposed to adopt the name as a show of solidarity with Magdalen after the Gryffindor name change controversy of last term.

There was an attempt to make the idea one with green credentials by stating, “Although the name ‘Magdalen College Junior Common Room’ is second-hand, it has nonetheless shown itself to be durable, hard-wearing and enjoyable.”

The motion continued, “It would be neither environmentally friendly nor ethical to consign the name ‘Magdalen College Junior Common Room’ to the dump.”

The motion was defeated by 25 votes to 10.

A light aircraft taking off from Oxford airport crashed close to Bladon at 2pm on Friday 15th of January.

The plane, which had taken off from Oxford airport, burst into flames on impact.
Two men were pronounced dead at the scene and there are no survivors. The men have been identified as Anthony Corr, 54 (a pilot for Ryanair since 2003), and his friend and colleague Richard Leonard, 44.

Corr’s wife and two daughters released a joint statement paying tribute to the “superlative pilot” who will be “greatly missed by all”.

On Saturday, an Air Accident Investigation Branch spokesperson said, “It is not possible to speculate on the cause of the accident at this stage.”

Oxford University Students’ Union stands to make a loss of about £61,000 this year despite budgeting for a £110 profit. 2008/9 saw the organisation lose £57,000 and OUSU predicts a loss of about £66,000 for 2010/11.

Stefan Baskerville, OUSU President argues, “OUSU is not funded to support its current operational structure”.

OUSU’s income this year was £366,101, sourced mainly from grants. Its total expenditure is increasing year on year.

To make up this deficit it has been proposed that OUSU ask the University for an increased grant of £390,000 for the year 2010-11, as the current grant of £233,000 is not sufficient.

When questioned at OUSU Council on the issue of autonomy when asking the University for a block grant, Baskerville stated, “How much autonomy do we really have when we’re predicting 66k deficits for the next year?”

The main sources of expenditure are elected officers (£121,182 per year) and buildings costs, which amount to £129,095. Baskerville admitted, “OUSU spends an excessive portion of its income on costs associated with its premises.”

He added, “OUSU would place a higher priority on maintaining services to students than on services costs.”

Some of OUSU’s costs are soaring – in 2008/9 OUSU publications only cost the organisation £120. This year OUSU estimates it will have spent £12,000 on its publications.

Elections are also costly, with £2,650 spent on them this year, £1000 more than estimated. These costs are generated from OUSU’s decision to use mi-voice software. Despite the introduction of this software and OUSU’s “Get Involved” campaign, voter turnout continues to be disappointing. The software is also used by several common rooms.

Officer training this year is set to cost £180, while next year OUSU will spend £3,710 on training. Conference attendance has set OUSU back £905 in 2009/10 and looks set to cost £1,235 next year. Lack of funding has prevented OUSU officers from attending conferences in the past and OUSU claim in their guide to the 2010/11 budget, “This means that we simply don’t find out about developments in other SUs and don’t therefore take advantage of initiatives which are being launched elsewhere.”

One third year Classics student said, “It would be nice if OUSU were more relevant than it is but it’s inevitable that it won’t be because of JCRs. People don’t know where their money is going and perhaps the University should split up these funds amongst JCRs.”

The finances for OSSL, a subsidiary of OUSU that is responsible for running Freshers’ Fair, Oxide Radio and various publications including The Oxford Student and the Oxford Handbook look much healthier. The OSSL report, however, doesn’t provide any running costs and only shows estimated costs for 2009/10 and next year’s budget.

The OxStu’s projected income for this year is £9,000 and OSSL predict it will almost double next year to £17,000. OSSL have cut printing costs for their publications and seen improvements in advertising, which they consider to be a direct result of employing a long-term Advertising Co-ordinator.

However Oxide has a deficit of £1,500, and next year the station is expected to cost a further £1,000. Oxide has faced financial difficulties for years and in 2006 OUSU cut Oxide’s budget of £5,700 completely. This resulted in presenters being forced to pay for their own shows.

One third year St. Hilda’s student said, “Sadly, I don’t think anyone would really notice that much if they got rid of Oxide”.

In an e-mail to fellow MCR presidents, St. Catz MCR co-president Ben Britton described the OUSU budget as “an improvement on last years offering” but “still substantially lacking and fundamentally flawed”.

He continued, “The current income streams are not sufficient to cover costs, which will compound OUSU’s perilous financial situation. This will only force OUSU to rock up, bowl in hand, and ask our University for a vast grant or loan, no doubt sourced from our University fees, with many potential strings attached”.

Stefan Baskerville, OUSU President, has revealed his proposals for fundamental changes to the way the Student Union is funded and organised.

The plans include ending funding from Common Room affiliation fees and depending instead upon a large block grant from the University. The changes are designed to give an institution currently leaking money a stable financial model for the future.

Other proposals include a change of premises from Thomas Hull House to somewhere less expensive with better access for wheelchair users. A location on George Street is being considered.

At the moment, OUSU gets its funding from a mixture of University grants, Common Room affiliation fees and profit from its commercial wing, Oxford Student Services Limited (OSSL). However, OSSL’s income fluctuates year on year and affiliation fees are both unreliable, with regular college disaffiliation, and insufficient.

Current University grants are not making up the difference, leading to losses of thousands of pounds every year.

The proposed block-grant solution would remove the issue of cost from Common Rooms considering their affiliation status and would further end the current two-tier system of service provision. At the moment only affiliated colleges pay for services such as the Safety Bus and Student Advice Service which can be used by all students.

However, the plans have already drawn criticism from some Common Room Presidents, frustrated that their tuition fee money will be spent on an institution they feel does not listen to them.

Ricklef Wohlers, President of Keble MCR said, “I was shocked to have been told that OUSU has a funding problem, rather than a spending problem…I think the OUSU representatives do not understand why common rooms are disaffiliating: OUSU is simply too expensive.”

He believes that many OUSU services are duplicates of services already provided by Common Rooms. He added, “Asking for more is not the solution. It’s spending less.”

Rob Shearer, MCR President of disaffiliated Linacre, argues that OUSU is behaving as if Common Rooms do not exist, and that this proposal “institutionalizes OUSU’s unwillingness to respond to genuine democratic messages.” He described it as a move “to permanently enshrine the status quo. As the increasing ranks of disaffiliates will attest, the status quo is the problem.”

The changes further raise serious questions about OUSU’s autonomy and independent status. Baskerville insisted, “There is no evidence to suggest the Unviersity would want to interfere with students decision-making. Almost every other Student Union in the country is funded by a block grant. Student Unions always need to make sure they are representative of students and maintain their autonomy of decision-making.”

Sabbatical officers have stressed that decisions on all these changes need to be made urgently, and will be taking the proposals to a vote in OUSU council in 3rd week.

Shearer described the tight schedule as paying only “lip service to consultation,” arguing that “this is the kind of consultation that precipitated the Lincoln MCR disaffiliation.”

There is no certainty that OUSU will be able to negotiate block-grants from the University, particularly considering the failure last year of an alternative funding model.