By Matthew Hackett FEARS that student safety on Cowley Road is at risk has prompted OUSU to launch a major campaign to have CCTV installed by the City Council.
OUSU President Martin McCluskey criticised the Council’s East Area Parliament, which recently rejected demands for greater surveillance due to the expected cost. “It’s shocking that they have blocked the installation of CCTV on Cowley Road,” he said. “I want to ensure that students and residents living in East Oxford are safe and there are adequate measures in place to protect their personal safety.
“CCTV would also allow the police to allocate resources more efficiently and ensure that the surrounding streets are effectively policed.”
Violent crime increased by 34.7% in the first six months of 2007, and last year there were over 900 crimes recorded in the Cowley Road area.
In September 2007, Superintendent Brendan O’Dowa called for the installation of eight cameras between Magdalen Bridge and Magdalen Road. City Councillors rejected the proposals, claiming that they would cost over £200,000.
“The local police are begging for CCTV,” McCluskey said. “In busy periods there can be as many as 3000 people spilling out of pubs and clubs, requiring a huge police operation.”
He admitted that OUSU had previously ignored the needs of second, third-year and graduate students who were living out in East Oxford. “We’ve been too college focused and just haven’t done enough,” he said. “Our call for CCTV on Cowley Road isn’t just to protect our students, but every resident in East Oxford.”
The campaign has the support of local Labour MP Andrew Smith, who represents the East Oxford constituency. Smith said that he was confident of success. “We’re going to fight for this all the way,” he said. “I have been struck by the level of support for CCTV among residents. This is a campaign that unites both town and gown.”
Chair of the East Area Parliament, Nuala Young, criticised OUSU and Thames Valley Police for their campaign. “The senior officers calling for cameras keep changing their figures. They previously said that things are getting better, but now they seem to have changed their minds,” she said. “We in the East Area Parliament are the elected representatives, yet they seem determined to act in a quasi-legislative role.”
Councillor Young said that she hoped to engage in a more productive debate with police chiefs. “I want to see less publicity-seeking and instead sit down for a serious discussion.
“Most of the crimes in question take place in side streets, which cameras would do nothing to detect or prevent.” She also fears the use of CCTV as a substitute for actual policing and outlined alternative solutions. “We would like to see more police officers on bicycles. This is quick and direct.”
The Green Party councillor also added that the scheme would involve further dangers. “We’ve had a whole summer of roadworks and businesses are really suffering,” she said. “The installation of cameras would require the road to be dug up again and do further damage to local commerce.”  
She voiced concern that the use of CCTV would infringe on residents’ civil liberties. “The UK is the most watched society in the world. We already have more CCTV than Africa and Australia put together, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” she said.
McCluskey responded to her criticisms, saying, “We’re taking measures to safeguard people’s privacy. Cameras would not be able to see into houses and there would be strict regulations as to who could view footage.”

 By Jake Whittall
Pembroke students have accused police officers of acting without proper care or consideration after dragging an unconscious student across the pavement and shouting at him.
Friends of the student were “shocked” by the officers’ actions after the individual fell heavily against a wall after drinking half a bottle of vodka at a house party in Cowley.
One eye witness, who wished to remain anonymous, described how the passing officers had shown little concern for the student.
“These two cops got out and told him to ‘get up mate’ and kicked him while he was down. I told one of them that we had called 999. He said he’s just drunk. But I told him that wasn’t the point. I said to him that he was drunk, but the reason he was on the ground was because he had knocked himself out.”
“He replied that the ambulance won’t take him like that because he’s drunk. They ended up just dragging him along the road to the side of the pavement,” he said.
Another student, who also wished to remain anonymous, added, “I was quite shocked by the actions of the police.”
According to witnesses, the student attending the end of fresher’s week party had downed half a bottle of vodka in order to impress freshers. One witness described him as being “out of it.”
“He was taken out of the house and banged his head,” one witness said. “It was serious. He fell dead weight and hit a wall. We lay him down on the side of the road. After we lay him down he lost consciousness, so we called 999 and they told us how to put him in the recovery position.”
The student, who was taken to the hospital by the ambulance crew as a precaution and placed under observation for a night, has since made a full recovery.
Thames Valley Police were unavailable for comment.

 BLUES FOOTBALL

Wednesday 17^th October

Northampton v Men's Blues

Loughborough v Women's Blues

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Premier Division

Results

Wednesday 17^th October, 2pm

Jesus v Brasenose

Lincoln v Worcester

New v Wadham

Oriel v Teddy Hall

First Division

Results

Christ Church 2-6 Balliol

Hertford 2-1 Somerville

LMH 8-1 St Hugh's

Keble 0-2 Magdalen

St Catz P-P Exeter

Monday 15^th October, 2pm

Balliol v Exeter

Magdalen v LMH

Somerville v Keble

St Catz v Hertford

St Hugh's v Christ Church

BLUES RUGBY

Blues 34-0 Trinity Coll. Dublin

Greyhounds ?-? Ox Brookes

U21s 18-28 Trinity Coll. Dublin

Saturday 13^th October, 2.30pm

U21s v United Hospitals

(at Iffley Road)

Monday 15^th October, 7.30pm

Blues v London Welsh

(at Iffley Road)

Wednesday 17^th October, 2.30pm

Greyhounds v Cardiff Medics

(at Iffley Road)

COLLEGE RUGBY

First Division

Results

Keble 72-0 St Hugh's

St Catz P-P Teddy Hall

St Peter's 12-21 Magdalen

Tuesday 16^th October, 2.30pm

Teddy Hall v Keble

St Hugh’s v St Peter's

Magdalen v St Catz

Second Division

Results

Worcester P-P Trinity/LMH

Wadham 17-10 CCC/Some

Christ Church 38-21 Exeter

Tuesday 16^th October, 2.30pm

Worcester v Wadham

Trinity/LMH v Christ Church

Exeter v CCC/Some

BLUES RESULTS

Men's Badminton ?-? Cambridge

Men's Basketball ?-? Aston

Men's Volleyball ?-? Nottingham

BLUES FIXTURES

Wednesday 17^th October

Bath v Men's Badminton

Warwick v Women's Badminton

Brunel v Men's Basketball

Nottingham v Blues Netball

Men's Volleyball v Ox Brookes, 7pm

Women's Volleyball v Nottingham, 5pm

Ox Brookes v Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey v Bath, 2.45pm

Birmingham v Men's Squash

Women's Lacrosse v Exeter, 2.30pm

Women's Tennis v Ox Brookes, 12pm

 By Matthew Hackett

Vice-Chancellor John Hood has attacked a Government drive to tackle religious extremism on campuses, warning that it could have dangerous consequences for academic freedom.

In his annual Oration speech, Hood called for debate on the Government’s demand that tutors "report" suspicious student activities.

"It is vital that public policy, designed to address the undeniably real security worries about terrorism, does not undermine that very scholarly endeavour which can help to build and propagate knowledge and understanding in society," he told assembled dons.

"There has already been talk, not all of it well thought through it seems to me, about the ‘policing’ of campuses. It is a subject requiring the most careful debate, a debate for which Oxford is, I believe, well qualified. The debate may be difficult, but it is also urgent, as politicians and educators alike have begun to acknowledge."

Hood also urged caution in assuming that University students are being exposed to Islamist extremism. "Well-founded or not, this perception may prove to have profound and challenging implications for academic freedom and for the way it is exercised in the years ahead," he said.

He claimed that an informed understanding of Islam was crucial to prevent academic freedoms being undermined, adding, "The exposure of young people to powerful ideas of all sorts is a fundamental and important part of the educational process."

Professor Anthony Glees, an academic at Brunel University who claimed in April that Oxford and other universities had been infiltrated by Islamic fundamentalists, condemned Dr Hood’s comments.

"I simply couldn’t believe that anyone in his position would have spoken in this way," Glees said. "His remarks were not only ill-informed and frighteningly superficial but more than that, given his position as Vice Chancellor of one of our most prestigious universities, they were utterly irresponsible.

"To urge dons not to keep their eyes and ears open for Islamist extremism on campus is to suggest to them that they have rights in our society which are not enjoyed by any other group, not doctors, not lawyers, none. What makes dons think they are entitled to be different from any other citizen? If they do, it is just one more indication of how far removed they’ve become from the real world."

Usaama al-Azami, President of Oxford University Islamic Society, supported the Vice-Chancellor’s criticisms of government policy. "I think if most people saw or heard something that troubled them, they would contact the people necessary to look into things if they deemed that necessary, and that applies to all citizens," he said.

"Tutors who are looked up to should not be the ones who are especially keeping an eye on their students. That would damage the vital tutor-student relationship that makes Oxford the world-class institution it is."

Al-Azami claimed that government pressure could have potentially negative effects on minority members of the University community. "I think it can amount to the targeting of Muslim students and intimidation. I believe extremism is a very real problem, but it should be dealt with in a more sober manner.

"Groups that have left extremism have done so as a result of extensive debate and discussion, and never as a result of forceful suppression. Dealing with this problem, first and foremost, needs education."

Banned extremist Islamic organisation al-Muhajiroun have been recruiting at universities across the UK, including Oxford, in the past two decades. In July Omar Bakri, second-in-command of al-Muhajiroun, admitted to speaking at meetings in Oxford over a 14-year period.

Bakri told the Spectator, "We used to have open discussion sessions inside the Student Union. We were there every Wednesday or Thursday, but we never used an Islamic name. We always had a variety of names: ‘peaceful society’, ‘shisha society’, ‘intellectual society’. No-one paid any attention to us. They didn’t see us as extremists but as intellectual students."In May, the University and College Union, the largest UK union for academics, voted to reject government plans instructing academics to report students with extremist views. They called for members to "resist attempts by government to engage colleges and universities in activities which amount to increased surveillance of Muslim or other minority students and to the use of members of staff for such witch-hunts."

 The Blues Rugby squad met at the beginning of September for a week of training in Oxford prior to a trial game against Henley Hawks. A two-week tour to America followed, with periods spent in New York and at a training camp based at Penn State University.

The benefit of the tough summer programmes provided by Strength and Conditioning coach Tom Tombleson was immediately obvious, as was effort put in by players in other areas to improve their performance off the field this year.

Johnny Chance’s intensive humour training has seen him rocket up the banter stakes to the point where he is considered ‘quite funny,’ an improvement on ‘nice' and now our physio Cath even knows his name. Bertie Payne has obviously been taking singing lessons, although forgot to supplement them with work on his French accent while Olly Tomaszczyk has been doing a part-time sports science course. Dan Rosen’s new techniques for sleep deprivation of others, perfected on poor innocent rats over summer, showed impressive improvement and TT has been working on his personal pronouns. Winston Cowie has, needless to say, been boozing.

As well as a great opportunity to put in some hard training without the various distractions of term time in Oxford, the tour was invaluable in getting to know new players, and was successful to the extent that boundaries were quickly blurred with distinctions between old and new all but disappearing.

How did we previously survive without Stu ‘The King’ O’Flanagan’s private detective skills? Without Tom Gregory’s choreography? Without Ricky Lutton’s 24 hour on-call fire service? Without the spiritual guidance and problem-solving of our two agony aunts, Jacko and Rupert Allhusen? I could go on.

Back in Oxford, the training regime necessarily slackens somewhat due to other commitments on players’ time, but the competition for places has ensured a continued intensity at all sessions, which in turn has led to convincing wins in our first two home games. As we enter a run of Monday evening fixtures, the squad is in good shape for the challenges ahead, which will culminate, of course, in the Varsity Match at Twickenham on 6th December.

By Richard Fine

Tootsies is spacious and sparsely-decorated; while aesthetically pleasing, unfortunately this made it feel much emptier than it actually was when I arrived with my girlfriend on Friday lunchtime. By the time we left an hour later, five or six tables had been filled, but we were left hoping for Tootsies’ sake that the place is more popular in the evenings or at the weekends. Was the menu just as sparse? The choice of starters was disappointingly limited, but it offered many mains to choose from. Tootsies bills itself as "the chargrill place," and accordingly the menu is largely populated by steak and chicken – vegetarians will have to content themselves with salads or the lentil burger.

While waiting for our food we ordered milkshakes to fill the hole, which were pleasant but quite thin and a tad on the small side.
The food arrived promptly and was well presented. My girlfriend’s salad was generously proportioned and the lettuce fresh and moist; the chicken was nicely flavoured (if a little dry), but we suspected that the Caesar dressing had come from a bottle. That’s not a cardinal sin, of course – some of the best salads in living memory have been bottled for our convenience, but there’s always a frisson of outrage to the discovery.

I had the Tootsies Classic burger, a 6oz beef burger with bacon and Monterey Jack cheese: tall to the extent that it was impossible to eat without dismantling it first, which is unfortunate as it made it harder to appreciate the combination of flavours. The patty itself was tasty, and the bacon pink and chewy, though it seemed they’d been a bit conservative with the cheese. The lack of oil from the cheese, the saltiness of the bacon, and the dryness of the beef (all their burgers are cooked medium-well) resulted in my reaching for my milkshake quite often.

The bowl of chips that came with my burger was just the right size, and the chips themselves were very successful, being soft on the inside without being soggy, and crispy on the outside without being oily.
For dessert we shared a hot waffle, served with vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, and lots of maple syrup. Delicious and sweet, the waffle had absorbed much of the maple syrup, but there were still a few crispier parts keeping the texture varied.
Overall, I wouldn’t place Tootsies on my ‘must visit’ list, but they provide large portions of above-average quality food. It’s not a connoisseur’s choice, but if you like your meat it won’t let you down.

 By Jake Whittall 

Lawyers acting for animal rights group SPEAK have alleged that the University is accusing them of organising "a terrorist conspiracy."

The law firm Hickman and Rose are representing SPEAK in preparation for their forthcoming court case, in which they plan to fight Oxford University injunctions against them.

The injunctions date back to November 2004 and impose restrictions on SPEAK protests against the construction of a new animal testing laboratory on South Parks Road. An additional injunction was obtained in 2006 after SPEAK published the address of a University contractor on its website. A full trial next year will decide whether the injunctions will be permanent.

Lawyers for the group have posted an appeal on SPEAK’s website calling for "supporters of all varieties" to come forward in order to gather evidence against the University.

"We strongly refute their allegation that SPEAK is a terrorist conspiracy against the University," a spokesperson said. "Any restrictions should be proportioned and justified, and Mel Broughton and SPEAK should be allowed their lawful right to protest."

The University responded, saying, "We have not and would not describe or accuse SPEAK of being a terrorist organization or organizing a terrorist conspiracy."

SPEAK protest against the University’s controversial animal testing laboratory, currently being constructed in central Oxford. The interim injunctions limit the scope of action of the group, banning SPEAK from protesting within 100 yards of the construction site and forbidding intimidation and harassment of students, alumni, staff and contractors of the University.

Mel Broughton, founder of SPEAK, accused the University of attempting to bully the group into silence. "We’ve said it’s a worrying development all along as it is a serious encroachment on people’s human rights," he said. "The injunctions cast the net very wide, so anyone who comes to Oxford to protest is immediately under its jurisdiction.

"It's wide ranging and means if you turn up to protest you are tied into this injunction that potentially incriminates them if they fall foul of it. The intention of it was to frighten people away from protesting."Broughton claimed SPEAK are not deterred by the University and would continue to protest. "They are using the tactics of a bully, but I’ve got words for them. It's not going to work. SPEAK members are now more determined than ever."

By Laura Pitel
UNION President Luke Tryl has been forced to apologise for a “preposterous” publicity campaign that has been accused of discriminating against women.
The series of posters, found in the entrance to the main Union building and put up in college JCRs, includes photographs of Jeremy Clarkson, Michael Howard, Trevor McDonald, Boris Johnson, Pierce Brosnan and Winston Churchill, but not a single female speaker.
The posters have been condemned by women and womens’ groups across the University. Maegan Chadwick-Dobson, PR Officer for Oxford Women in Politics (Oxwip) said, “Oxwip are dissapointed that the Union has decided to advertise itself in this way.
“As a society that was set up in 2004, partly in response to the Union’s lack of female speakers, we feel that these advertisements both neglect the women who have addressed the Union over the years and, furthermore, dissuade a new cohort of female talent from making their contribution to the Society.”
OUSU Vice President (Women) Hannah Roe criticised one of the posters that advertised “world statesmen from only £99”. She said, “Benazir Bhutto (twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan) was actually a Union President, so there should be more awareness that women are heads of state too.
“Many organisations put special provisions in place to ensure that their diversity is part of their practices and old-fashioned cultures are changed, from the ‘Women’s networks’ of the ABC companies to the Ministers for Women in different governments.
“At the very least, I imagine the Union will now write some kind of guidelines for their advertising,” she added.
Third-year Wadham student Naomi Hirst tore down the poster she found in her JCR. “It’s a preposterous image, giving a false image of not only the Union but, by extension, the University. It’s irritating that this is the image of the University that freshers are presented with,” she said.
Hirst is not a member of the Union herself and said that she felt “vindicated” after seeing the posters. “This justifies every reason why I didn’t join,” she said.
Union President Luke Tryl described the incident as “a mishap and an oversight”. He said, “It certainly doesn’t represent any kind of institutional bias within the Union.
“I apologise for the oversight: it was organised by a junior officer, not myself, and we will be putting it right in future poster campaigns. I’m very keen that the Union is open and accessible. Three of our officers are women and we have equal numbers of male and female members.”
President Elect Emily Partington also defended the Union, saying, “These days people don’t have to worry about feeling subjugated. If you look at the termcard you can see that there are a lot of women involved in the Union.”
She claimed that being a woman had not impeded her rise within the Society in any way. “I’ve had incredible support from of a lot the men and women involved in the Union,” she said.
The Michaelmas termcard details 14 male and 14 female speakers due to speak.
Prominent women who have spoken at the Union in the past include Mother Theresa, Cherie Booth and Judi Dench.

New 0 – 0 Wadham

With New College among the favourites, to take this year’s title and Wadham newly promoted, one could be mistaken for thinking the only thing close between the two, is the short walk down Hollywell Street.

But for New, without a single training session under their polyester drawstrings, what should have been a walk in the park, turned to war of attrition, where second touches were a luxury. They appeared ring rusty and struggled to gel, resorting to route one from the kick off.

This tactic gave New the upper hand in the opening exchanges, with Wadham initially trying to pass the ball around on the deck, but they soon switched to clearing their lines by hoofing it long before the home side fashioned the first chances of the match. A shot by New’s left winger, James Sutton, was deflected behind for a corner, which resulted in a header going wide at the back post.

But as Wadham worked their way into the match, it became an intense and scrappy affair, with tackles flying in from all angles, players from both sides being afforded little time on the ball and no one managing to string three or four passes together. Both sides traded speculative pot shots at goal, but still the ‘keepers were seldom tested. At times they made work for themselves, a poor goal kick from New stopper Sam Evans falling straight to a Wadham attacker who beat the 'keeper, but also the far post.

Set pieces appeared to be the best chance of troubling the score, with both sides creating a reasonable amount of havoc in the opposing penalty boxes. New threatened to break the deadlock, and would have done if it wasn’t for two woeful misses towards the end of the first half. The first of which came when captain Robin Cantwell managed to miss from eight yards out and the second, as another Sutton cross from the left flank created more problems for the Wadham defence, led to the unmarked attacker’s shot somehow missing the far post.

Any hopes that the second half would be an improvement were soon dispelled as both sides appeared to play for territory, with defences consistently opting to kick and chase and the increasingly weary forwards bearing the brunt of the work. And it was this tactic which appeared to end any chance of one side leaving with all three points, both sets of attackers gave up on chasing lost causes, and relieving defenders of any extra pressure.

Both sides did, however, have late chances to snatch the win. With Mazdak Sani latching on a through ball he beat the defender for pace, but could only find the side netting. Then New started to push Wadham back in their own half, and created the best chance of the game, where another cross from the left came in and the otherwise excellent, Tommy Stadlen, couldn’t beat the Wadham No.1 from six yards.

Both sides will have thought they could have snatched the maximum, but a draw was the deserved result, with neither side doing enough in front of goal, and all twenty two players showing their lack of match practice after the summer break, and the fortunes of these two teams and their spectators, that had better be true.

By Natasha Vashisht 
CHRIST CHURCH’s Junior Censor has banned college bops indefinitely and room parties for four weeks in an ‘edict’ issued to the JCR, following complaints of disruptive behaviour during freshers’ week.
Richard Rutherford told undergraduates, “It is clear to me that guidelines laid down for both freshers’ drinks parties and the bop got seriously out of hand. There has been a great deal too much noisy disruption of others, drunkenness and resulting misbehaviour. I have no alternative but to adopt appropriate disciplinary measures…College bops are banned for the foreseeable future and parties involving alcohol are banned for the first half of term.”
Rutherford’s decision came after intoxicated undergraduates allegedly tried to assault one of the porters after the ‘Fears and Fantasies’ themed bop. Members of the rugby team were also fined £200 for misbehaviour.
One Christ Church student, who wished to remain anonymous, complained that College authorities were overreacting.
“The general consensus is that the edict is a rash way to go about it. They’re being very strong-handed, but we do understand that you can’t have a member of staff virtually assaulted like that,” he said.
Third-year Julian Robinson suggested that the Junior Censor had exaggerated the situation. “I think everyone’s a bit annoyed,” he said. “Someone threw something in the porter’s direction and that’s the reason for this edict, because one person got too drunk. Rather than fining the individual concerned, they’re punishing the whole JCR. It’s an overreaction.”
After the Fourth Week ban on room parties is lifted, the College has also ruled that alcohol will still be banned.
Although the Junior Censor’s office was unavailable for comment, some of the student reactions to their new Junior Censor have been hostile.
One student noted, “It was Freshers’ Week and room parties are what happen. There may have been some bad behaviour but it’s not going to happen again. It’s not exactly a normal week at Christ Church. I can see some merit in their decision, but we don’t feel we have any say in it because the Censors run the College.”