Accommodation belonging to St Anne’s College has suffered a break-in.

An unidentified individual was seen entering college property through an open window, after climbing the building’s drainpipe.

In an email to all St Anne’s students, Martin Jackson, the Domestic Bursar, described how a “young man” was seen “climbing up the drainpipe of one of the student buildings and entering the room via an open bedroom window”.

Despite immediately searching the building, the Lodge porters were unable to find anyone. Jackson stated that as the student whose window had been left open confirmed that he did not climb up the drainpipe himself, he could therefore “deduce that it was an intruder”.

He urged St Anne’s students to step up their vigilance for the safety of the rest of the college. His email stressed the need to “protect yourself and your colleagues”.

He requested that, as an “elementary precaution”, students living in road-facing rooms in college accommodation not on the main college site keep their windows closed when not in their room.

He added that the student whose room was entered via the open window was “in the habit of doing this at all times” but stated that “this will no longer happen”.

The incident is the latest in a series of security breaches at the college.

A tramp recently broke in to one of the college houses on Woodstock Road and was found in the kitchen eating the occupant’s food.

Another third year student at the college stated that the security at the college is insufficient. She cited as an example an occasion last Trinity when a female student’s ex-boyfriend visited the college and requested the location of the student’s room, and the code necessary to enter her building.

The porters readily gave him this information, despite having no proof of the student’s identity or of his association with the female student.

The porters refused to discuss the incident of last week, or comment on the quality of the security at the college.

However, several students have expressed their distress at the situation and expressed their belief in the need for security at the college to be tightened.

One fourth year said, “It’s really lax”, adding that “pretty much anyone can walk in and the porters hardly bat an eyelid”

Another third year complained that the security “could definitely be a lot tighter”.

However, JCR Vice-President Tom Lockton, JCR Vice President, denied that the security needed improvement, and instead praised it as “absolutely brilliant”.

No college officials were available to comment.

There has been an increase in applicants to Oxford. In 2008 a record high of over 15,000 students applied for approximately 3,000 places. However, the University is still struggling to attract students from poorer backgrounds despite spending millions on outreach schemes.

Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, praised the 12% increase on the previous year. He emphasised that efforts are being made to “make sure the process is as transparent as possible.”

He said, “In the last year, alongside doing over 1,000 outreach events, we have run sessions around the country for teachers and guidance advisors to demystify the admissions process so that they can encourage their most able students to apply.”

Oxford is under pressure to increase its intake from state schools. Gordon Brown has previously said that the Oxford admissions procedure is “more reminiscent of the old boy network and the old school tie than genuine justice in our society”.

Independent schools educate only 7% of the population but produce over a third of Oxford applicants. Crucially, they represent 44% of admissions, making an applicant from the independent sector 30% more likely to be accepted than a student from a maintained institution.

James Turner, Policy Director at the educational charity The Sutton Trust, suggested that popular misconceptions of the University might be responsible for the shortage of state school applicants.

“Universities need to work earlier on to break down some of the cultural barriers that prevent students from thinking that they’re going to fit in at Oxford. We’ve found that some teachers, especially at the poorest state schools, actively discourage their bright students from applying to Oxbridge.”

James Gillard, a fresher at Jesus College, attended “a bog-standard comprehensive school in South Wales” where “most people left school at GCSE level.” He said about Oxford, “my friends thought it was just intimidating. Really high standards and stereotypes of the English upper class.” He noted that teachers at his school struggled to support his application process.

“Students may be encouraged to apply but I don’t think Oxford is sending out the right information to schools and teachers. My head of year was not familiar with the Oxford application process at and I had to actively pursue it on my own. Applying to Oxford is just not part of the mindset of the comprehensive schoolteacher, let alone most of the students.”

The University has been keen to shed its elitist image with a series of new initiatives. Admissions tutors now take into account an applicant’s social background before deciding whether to offer them an interview while the additional £10 ‘Oxford application fee’ has been abolished.

James Turner argues Oxford should increase its role in the whole learning system: “There is a role for Universities to play in education outreach all the way down the education chain. Cambridge have talked about a foundation year, working on the idea that a student from a poorer background has showed potential but is not quite up to the mark, giving them an extra year’s tuition so they can start an undergraduate course.

Turner discouraged placing two much emphasis on state school figures. “We need to look beyond that to the lower social classes and kids from non-privileged backgrounds. It’s about aspirations but it’s also about attainment – unfortunately there are not as many students from poorer backgrounds getting three A-grades at A-level.”

Oxford University’s research budget is set to be slashed, as newer universities receive more government money.

Oxford might receive as much as £8.5m less over the next seven years, despite 70% of the University’s research judged to be world class or world leading, studies published in the Times Higher Educational supplement found.

Many newer universities, including several ex-polytechnics, are now rated highly enough to compete for research funding at the highest level, according to the latest Research Assessment Exercise, which determines how much funding universities get.

The University Press Office refused to comment on speculation that that Oxford’s funding would be cut, calling the predictions “purely speculative as no-one knows yet how HEFCE will calculate the funding.”

A spokesperson stated that the University was “pleased that the results reflected the world-class depth and breadth of Oxford’s research” and added that the University is “happy at this stage simply to wait and see what the funding outcome is”.

However, they stressed their hope that “HEFCE will ensure that its financial allocations will properly reflect the quality and the volume of the research assessed.”

Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor John Hood applauded the University’s achievement in gaining a higher overall number of researchers rated 3* or 4* than any other institution. He called the outcome “a genuine reflection of the breadth and depth of Oxford’s research activity.”

Other traditionally research-oriented institutions, including the London School of Economics and Imperial College London, are also expected to lose out as the money is redistributed.

Cambridge is predicted to lose a similar sum to Oxford, despite narrowly beating it to top the tables with 71% of its research rated world class. A relatively poor showing by Imperial, meanwhile, particularly in the field of medicine, has seen some sources suggest that it could receive as much as a third less funding.

Among the new universities to have made surprising gains were the University of Central Lancashire, which was ranked higher than Oxford for research in Linguistics, and De Montfort University, a former polytechnic in Leicestershire, which ranked equally with Cambridge for research in the field of English literature.

New government guidelines advise that funding should be spread more evenly. After the last RAE, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) gave 82% of its available money to just 29 universities.

The rate at which more money is given to higher rated departments is expected to be less this year, meaning that larger amounts of funding will go to 2* and 3* researchers, often in universities with less of a tradition in research.

An Iranian millionaire has been jailed for two years after he confessed to stealing pages from 150 rare books belonging to the Bodleian and the British Library.

Farhard Hakimzadeh, a respected businessman, publisher and intellectual, cut pages from priceless books using a scalpel or razor and inserted them into his own copies, the Wood Green Crown Court in North London heard last week.

The court heard that Farhard Hakimzadeh, boasted that his personal library was the fourth best of its kind in the world – inferior only to the Bodleian, the British Library and a university library in the United States.
The combined worth of the pages stolen from the Bodleian and the British Library is estimated at about one million pounds. A map cut out of one book is worth an estimated £30,000.

Judge Peter Ader condemned the offences as “very serious,” whether or not they were motivated by financial profit.
He stressed that Hakimzadeh’s background made him entirely aware of the damage he had caused to the books he defiled.

He told Hakimzadeh, “as an author, you cannot have been unaware of the damage you were causing. You have a deep love of books, perhaps so deep that it goes to excess.
“I have no doubt that you were stealing in order to enhance your library and your collection. Whether it was for money or for a rather vain wish to improve your collection is perhaps no consolation to the losers.”

Hakimzadeh’s barrister, William Boyce, had claimed that the theft was motivated by a psychological condition. He argued that the wealthy businessman had no need to steal the items for financial gain and his crime was solely the result of his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Richard Ovenden, the Bodleian’s Keeper of Special Collections, slammed Hakimzadeh’s actions as “cultural vandalism.”

He said, “most of these books suffered the deliberate removal of pages, and the damage caused will be permanent. The cost of the damage he caused to future scholarship in these fields is therefore significant.”

A University spokesperson stressed the long-lasting damage that had been done to the Bodleian’s collections due to Hakimzadeh’s actions. He said, “it would take a lot of staff time to restore the books.”

Hakimzadeh initially claimed he had bought the books from second-hand market stalls. Maria Colye, the Bod’s press officer said, “the thefts from the Bodleian Library were discovered when staff examined data relating to his use of the collections, based on reports from the automated stack request system.”

She added, “the Oxford University Library Services has initiated a review of security in the light of this theft; however, the Bodleian Library has to strike a balance between allowing readers access and ensuring its materials are kept securely.”

There are claims that Oxford undergraduates are part of the increasing trend amongst UK university students to turn to cognitive enhancing drugs to stay on top of academic work.

Drugs such as Ritalin (methylphenidate), Adderall and Modafinil are prescription stimulants usually used to treat neurological conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Narcolepsy.

However, there is a growing demand amongst students for these drugs to help them get through exam revision, or weekly essays.

Earlier this month, Professor John Harris, of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester has called for these “smart drugs” to be available over the counter to students.

A study by Cambridge academics has identified that it is now more common for students, and even tutors, to turn to drugs aiding memory, concentration and planning for non-medical purposes.

One student from Lincoln College explained that they would never normally consider taking illegal substances but stated that she could “definitely understand why students would look for something more than Red Bull to keep them going when they’re in the library at four am.”

Cambridge’s study speculated that the drugs, readily available on the internet, could come to replace caffeine as a means of raising energy levels.

However, it also noted that the effects of “long-term use has not been monitored in healthy individuals”.

A spokesperson for Oxford University stated that the University would “strongly advise students against” taking drugs that have not been specifically prescribed to them, calling it “dangerous” and “illegal”. They also urged students to report to the police anyone trying to sell drugs.

Professor Philip Cowen of the Psychopharmacology Research Unit at the University of Oxford stated that use of the drug raised the “ethical question” as to whether everyone would be starting off on a “level playing field”.

However, some Oxford students have dismissed this question. One student commented, “I don’t feel it’s cheating because if some people get extra time, why can’t I take performance-enhancing drugs?”

A spokesperson for Oxford University stated that students who are struggling with stress and are tempted to turn to drugs should instead use the “range of support” offered by the University’s welfare systems.

He said, “They should talk to their tutors, their college welfare officers, OUSU, their GP, or the University Counselling Service.”