Questions of dodgy dealing have arisen regarding the sale of
bicycles at the Oxford Union this week, following a complaint
from a student who claims that her own bike was sold there just
two weeks after it went missing. Eleanor Stringer, a second year at Lincoln, had her bike
stolen in Fifth Week of Michaelmas outside Lincoln’s sports
ground, only to see it locked up outside Jesus in Eighth week. After several more sightings she eventually found its new
owner, who told her she had bought the bike for £45 at the Union
bike sale in Seventh Week of Michaelmas. Stringer said that the
bike was “pretty battered” so she decided not to make a
complaint to the police. Just as the allegations were being made earlier this week,
links to the company running the bike sales disappeared. The
Union informed Cherwell that, unlike most other cases where
companies are allowed to use their premises, no formal written
contract existed between the Society and the bike company. The company was unavailable to comment on the allegations face
to face, and the weekly bike sale did not take place this
Wednesday, although a spokeswoman for the Union explained that
this was normal in the second half of Trinity. In normal circumstances the company does sell stolen bikes
that have been recovered by the police. Thames Valley Police explained that stolen goods that are not
claimed after three months are sold cheaply by the police to
raise money for victims support charities. A spokeswoman said, “The auctions are jam packed and
there’s usually a dozen or more bikes at each auction.”
She went on to explain that “bikes are particularly
problematic because so many students don’t report them
stolen and even if they do they don’t have them security
etched or know enough details about them for us to find their
bike from the hundreds on the stolen goods database.” Thus, while in normal circumstances the bikes on sale at the
Union are perfectly legitimate, questions still linger in the
case of Eleanor Stringer’s bike. Commenting on the matter
she said, “It is entirely possible that it was sold in good
faith, but I do wonder.”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

After a year in which OUSU made less than £5,000 from running
Entz, the student union has decided to create a position with a
salary of around £13,390 to try and boost its profits. In the past, OUSU has blamed its low profits on Oxford’s
collegiate system but recent figures from Cambridge’s
Student Union (CUSU) appear to contradict this: so far this year
CUSU has raised a £49,529 profit from entz and expect to make an
overall profit of £78,950 by the end of the academic year. In
contrast to OUSU, where the Business Manager, the VP Finance and
the President organise entz, CUSU employs a full time Entz
Manager. The proposal, which was drafted by OUSU President Helena Puig
Larrauri and VP (Finance) Rodrigo Davies, will be voted on in
OUSU Council today and both were keen to stress the benefits of
an increased income stream, an expected £50,000, from entz.
Quoting an internal Future and Finances Report that states
“attempting to further reduce costs would be detrimental to
the work that OUSU does” they claim that to continue to
provide services to students they need to increase commercial
revenues. They also argue that the only way to build up enough
funds to purchase a central student venue would be from greater
commercial profits such as from entz. However not everyone thinks the proposal will be successful;
one student at Cambridge told Cherwell that “given there are
so few clubs in Cambridge, it’s very easy for CUSU to
monopolise the market, but at least they do it well unlike
Oxford, from what I’ve heard.” There are also issues
about OUSU muscling in on the success of student-run Rock
Student. Manager Balreick Srai argued he was not worried:
“OUSU is not much of a competitor to us and never will be,
just look at their track record. They’re never going to have
the same incentive to make money that makes us work as hard as we
do, and anyway they should be trying to make entz cheaper not
squeezing more money out of the students they claim to
represent.” He called on OUSU to work with Rock Student
rather than “wasting money trying to compete”.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

A lucky Oxford audience salivated over a topless Jude Law and
bartered over Jonny Depp’s pants last Sunday to raise money
for terminally ill children. ‘Childish Things’, a £50-a-head star-studded event
celebrating the joys of childhood, was held at the Oxford
Playhouse. Hugh Laurie, Steve Coogan and Radiohead were amongst
the celebrity entertainers raising money for Helen House, a
hospice for children with life-threatening illnesses, which costs
£1.5 million a year to run. Over 600 attended the sell-out show, including celebrities
such as broadcaster Jeremy Paxman. Offerings included readings by
Hugh Laurie of childhood-related Dahl and Blake poems. Rory
Bremner received one of the biggest applauses for his trademark
political satire, particularly on the issue the Iraq war. Jonny Depp’s pants and other auctioned film memorabilia
alone raised around £10,000, the original target. A delighted
audience also goggled at heart throb Jude Law’s half-naked
body, after he sold the undershirt worn in blockbuster Cold
Mountain for £2,500. For the grand finale, an unusual
collaboration between Radiohead and Bill Nighy performed
‘Love Is Around Us’. One of the few students who could afford the fundraiser’s
ticket price, Adam Smith of Magdalen said, “It was a really
good cause.”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

An Oxford city councillor has called for a citywide ban on
smoking in public places, provoking anger from city pubs and
students. Susanna Pressel is urging the council to review the benefits
and dangers of smoking in pubs and restaurants, in light of the
successful implementation of such bans in New York and Republic
of Ireland. Oxford City Primary Care Trust has welcomed Ms Pressel’s
suggestions. Recent medical evidence suggested that smoking in
the workplace causes 700 premature deaths a year. Pressel did
express concern about the possible implications on the
city’s traders if such a ban was imposed, but said, “if
pubs and clubs can cope with the ban then I think it would be
very good idea.” Her suggestions have angered the
city’s pubs. “It would have an absolutely terrible
effect,” said David Benefield of the King’s Arms;
“In Ireland trade has dropped by 75%; there would be a
public outcry here.” St Peter’s finalist Christopher Hallebro, a non-smoker,
said that it was “an outrageous intrusion into people’s
civil liberties.” The anti-smoking group ASH applauded Pressel’s suggestion
and disputed Benefield’s facts. “The tobacco industry
has claimed that they have suffered a 30% decline, but the
hospitality sector dispute that there was any impact at
all,” said spokesman and Oxford graduate Ian Willmore.
Willmore said he was an occasional smoker during his time here at
Oriel. “I don’t think I was aware then of the dangers
to other people’s health.”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

Two men violently robbed an Oxford supermarket last Friday
night, escaping with a five-figure sum. The robbery occurred at approximately 10.30pm at the Coop on
Banbury Road, when the men bound up three workers with tape and
brandished a weapon, thought to be a shotgun. They also sprayed
pepper spray into the eyes of one male member of staff who had to
be treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital. A 29-strong team of armed officers and dog handlers were
immediately dispatched to the area after police were notified.
Detective Parsons of Oxford CID described the two thieves as
white males, both of a muscular build and dressed smartly,
wearing clothes “similar to that of night club
doormen”. One man, about 40, was of a very large build,
taller than 6ft, and bald. The other, about 30, was smaller.
Parsons told Cherwell, “One of the men was wearing
sunglasses, which might have stood out, considering it was night
time.” He also believes that one of the men may have smelt
pungently after his escape as the pepper spray would have hung on
his clothes for some time. A co-op spokesman said, “this was a very upsetting and
shocking incident for our staff.” Staff at the Co-op said
they had been told not to discuss the robbery. Anyone with
information should call 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800
555111.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

Oxford has finished runners up to Cambridge in The
Guardian’s league table of UK Universities for the second
year running. It scored 83.33 out of a possible 100, just
fractionally behind Cambridge who scored 83.40. Just last week,
Oxford topped Cambridge in the annual survey in The Times. The Guardian survey differs from its more famous Times’
counterpart as it mainly assesses an institution’s quality
of teaching and does not take into account any research data.
Oxbridge thoroughly dominated the survey once again, with the
universities ranked first or second in almost every subject that
they offered. Oxford once again showed its dominance in the Arts and
Humanities, topping the individual subject rankings in History,
Politics, Economics, Philosophy, Theology, Law and Management.
Teaching in Physics, Computer Science, Biosciences and Medicine
did very well too. Overall, Oxford was first in 12 out of the 27
disciplines offered. The rise of the less heralded universities, some of which were
former polytechnics, over their more established counterparts is
noteworthy. SOAS came a spectacular fourth while the relatively
unknown University of Aston was ranked thirteenth. The Times
1. Oxford
2. Cambridge
3. Imperial
4. LSE
5. Warwick The Guardian
1. Cambridge
2. Oxford
3. Imperial
4. SOAS
5. LSEARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

No. 20 Northmoor Road, the Oxford house in which J.R.R.
Tolkein lived for seventeen years and wrote The Hobbit, is up for
sale. It is expected to fetch £1.5million, despite having no
central heating or kitchen. The house has a rich history and was
originally built for Basil Blackwell, founder of the famous
Oxford Bookshop, while the Tolkeins lived next door to him.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

A couple have set out to travel from Oxford, England to Oxford
New Zealand in a 1954 Morris Oxford. They expect their mammoth
journey to take nearly a year and are hoping to raise money for
the Red Cross. Joanne Bowlt, 34, and Tim Nicholson, 36, met while they were
students in Oxford in the 1990s. Joanne, a former Queen’s
JCR President, studied PPE and Tim was at Oxford Brookes. After seeing publicity for the Morris Oxford’s 50th
birthday, the pair decided to journey from the city in which they
first met, to its eponymous New Zealand counterpart, in the small
old-fashioned car. They set off from Oxford on 5 May and hope to
arrive in New Zealand early in 2005. Cherwell caught up with them
in Marrakech, Morocco. They will now travel via Africa, India,
Asia, Australia and finally onto New Zealand. They have 10,000 miles to cover and their small black car,
which they call Florence, can reach a maximum of 65mph. And when
they finally arrive at their destination? “After a good
rest,” said Tim, “and a drive around New Zealand, we
plan to drive home!”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

An exhibition at this year’s Chelsea flower show has been
created to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Oxford and
Cambridge boat race. The Stonemarket Boat Race Anniversary Garden, designed by
Bunny Guiness, will be sunk 60cm (2ft) below ground level so
visitors can look down on the racethemed design which is based on
the rivalry between the ‘two blues’.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004 

Members of Queen’s College JCR have accused their
President of using a provision which ensures tall people do not
get attic rooms to fix the room ballot to obtain the best rooms
for himself and his “mates”. Ashley McDermott, the JCR President, has dismissed the claims
as “ludicrous” and, while admitting things could have
been handled better, he said, “my conscience is completely
clear”. He has responded to allegations that the process
“wasn’t fair and that it was an excuse to give some of
your mates good rooms,” by sending a 1,500 word email to the
whole JCR denying that there had been “an outrageous abuse
of power.” The ballot for rooms in the college was run by the Home
Bursar’s secretary instead of the Home Bursar for the first
time this year, along with McDermott. Following last year’s
ballot that left students over 6ft tall stooping for a year in an
attic room, the college invited submissions from students who
felt they had a justifiable need of a certain room. After only
one application was made on the grounds of height, the Home
Bursar’s secretary asked McDermott to name all the tall
people in college. He named several of his friends but he admits,
“Unfortunately there were people who I missed out, and I
apologise for this.” There was more dissatisfaction after it emerged that McDermott
himself had made a submission to the Home Bursar but had refused
to reveal the reasons behind it. He asserts that “as a
matter of principle and personal preference I would not be able
to stand up in front of the JCR and try to justify the personal
reasons for which I applied for any particular type of
room.” The requested room is in the illustrious Drawda Halls
and contains a double bed. McDermott claims that it is not a
particularly good room and that he is as entitled as anyone else
to apply under the new rules. Stewart Robinson, ex-JCR president
said that the JCR “should establish a proper policy” on
the ballot adding that it, “should be the luck of the
draw” for everyone, including the President. Amidst a jumble of double negatives, McDermott goes on in his
email to “categorically deny that I have gone against
neither the ‘spirit’ not (sic) the ‘letter’
of JCR policy,” and to promise that clearer guidelines will
be drawn up in the future.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004