Scantily dressed men and women strutted down the catwalk at
the Union last Friday. The hallowed Debating Chamber, filled to
capacity with 350 onlookers, showcased designs modelled by Oxford
students. The event was held to raise money for Cry, a
children’s charity. The show’s grand finale was a revealing display of
lingerie, unprecedented in the Debating Chamber. The lingerie was
designed by a Merton graduate. This part of the show attracted a
great deal of attention from Hello, Tattler and a number of
men’s magazines One of the organizers, Oxford Entrepreneurs Press Officer
Kulveer Taggar, told Cherwell , “It was great to see
like-minded students coming together to put on the fashion show.
The team behind the event, Unique Fashionable Objects, set up
through Oxford Entrepreneurs, all gained excellent experience
especially relevant in the fashion world.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Residents of North Oxford have been protesting vigorously
against the property development plans of St John’s, fearing
the harmful effect on the community. St John’s plans to turn a former artist’s studio
into a five bedroom house, but residents claim that the road to
the property is too narrow for safe vehicle access. There is also
anxiety among residents that this is the first step on a slippery
slope to further potentially innocuous development by St
John’s and other colleges. Residents claim that children are particularly at risk from
the increase in traffic associated with the development, given
that there are nine schools in the local area. Many of the pupils
use the street as a shortcut when walking to school. The land agent of Balliol College however, who manages the
nearby Balliol nursery, has written to the council acknowledging
that “there are several institutions involving young
children established in close proximity to the site and their
welfare is of great concern to us”. Some residents believe the development is merely setting a
precedent for larger projects. St John’s bursar Anthony Boyce denied this, saying,
“We have no specific plans at the moment,” adding that
“one family house can’t be called cut-throat
development.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

A Bob Dylan expert who has not written a word of poetry since
his school days has been elected as Oxford’s new Professor
of Poetry. Christopher Ricks polled 214 of the 531 votes cast in
last Saturday’s election, beating his closest rival,
Australian poet Peter Porter, by almost forty votes. His election has sparked controversy, as many within the
university believe that the post should be occupied by a
published poet. New College’s Craig Raine believes that if
no poet can be found, then the post should be opened up to
playwrights and novellists, as well as Magdalen’s John
Fuller. Loon candidate and Oriel postgraduate, Marcus Walker, came
fourth of the five challengers. He polled twenty votes, beating
Ian McMillan, the poet-in-residence for Barnsley FC. He defended
Ricks, telling Cherwell that he “would rather see someone
who appreciates good poetry than someone who writes it
badly”. Walker described his own mood on hearing the results as
‘Tennysonian’: “Poets to the right of me, poets to
the left of me, poets ahead of me… but at least one left
behind.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Altered Radio has launched a cheeky competition as flyers
featuring six naked girls were distributed around colleges on
Saturday. Entrants are asked to display the frequency 87.7fm in
an original way for the chance to win dinner at QUOD, cinema
tickets or designer clothes. The photos were taken in Teddy Hall graveyard but models
became bashful after it became apparent that Queen’s
students were watching the shoot from overlooking rooms.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Animal rights campaigners protested against the
University’s plans for a new animal holding facility last
Saturday. Demonstrations throughout the week, led by SPEAK, ‘the
voice of the animals’, culminated in 150 protestors on Broad
Street issuing the University with a list of demands. These
include abandoning the £18 million building, which they believe
will lead to increases in animal testing, and the freeing of the
‘Oxford Two’, a pair of rhesus macaque monkeys who have
been in captivity for 15 years and subjected to artificially
induced brain damage. The University has dimissed both demands
claiming the number of animals tested should not increase and
that the ‘Oxford Two’ were terminated four years ago.
This claim was met with scorn by SPEAK, who have demanded
independent verification, saying the University will “have
to do better than that”. There were no arrests and the protest was described by an
eyewitness as “angry, but peaceful”. However, away from
the scene, contracters’ car tyres were slashed and paint was
poured over them.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

LMH JCR played host to an Anne Summers party last Friday
evening, which saw girls perusing the latest lingerie and trying
out sexual positions as well as being introduced to a diversity
of sex toys such as the famous Rampant Rabbit vibrator, edible
body paints and massage lotions. LMH lived up to its risque reputation as thirty students, all
undergraduates, attended the girls-only event which was organized
by Katie Beck, the female welfare officer, and held in the JCR.
An attendee who wished to remain nameless told Cherwell that it
had been “fun – a good chance to let your hair
down”. Although participants had been allowed to try out
some of the merchandise, they reported that the sizes were on the
whole, “too big.” A raffle also took place in which ticket holders had the
chance to win a prize ranging from chocolate body parts to the
briefest negligees. Unfortunately, no photos were taken, leaving
the male population of the college only guessing at what went on.
A source said, “It wasn’t in the spirit of the event to
take photographs; that was the whole point.” The party was designed to be a fun, “girly night
in,” and is billed on the Anne Summers website as being,
“the perfect opportunity to spend the night with your
girlfriends, catch up on the latest gossip and shop till you
drop…quite literally on the sofa…while having loads of
fun all from the comfort of your own home!” The event was a huge success with many ladies making
purchases. The organisers are now planning for a repeat of the
event party. The LMH bash follows other colleges who are already
purported to have hosted similar parties.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

The New College student who ran out in front of the car of the
Chinese Premier in a pro-Tibet protest last week intends to
represent himself as he faces criminal porceedings in July. Appearing before Magistrates on Tuesday, Matthew Sellwood, a
veteran protestor and activist, pleaded not guilty to offences of
public disorder. His trial will go ahead on Monday 26 July. Recent changes in the law meant that Sellwood was unable to
rely upon the assistance of the duty solicitor in the court-room.
He told the courts that he was unwilling to employ private
counsel and would therefore appear without representation in
July. A spokesman for the prosecution estimated that the trial
would take several hours to conclude. Speaking to Cherwell, Sellwood explained his intentions to
highlight supposed inaccuracies in “the police witness
statements and the charge sheets”. “I will also use arguments about the validity of
protesting against an authoritarian, repressive government and
for human rights.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Four expeditions are currently competing to find the body of a
former Merton student who may have conquered Everest before
Hilary and Tenzing. The expeditions hope to find conclusive proof
that Andrew Irvine reached the summit 80 years after he
disappeared on the mountain’s face. Irvine was 22 when he took time off from his degree to attempt
the climb with George Mallory, whose body was discovered in 1999.
It is hoped that Mallory’s camera would be found on Irvine
and this would provide the necessary evidence. Not enough is
currently known to settle the controversy conclusively.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

New research has suggested that Oxford’s admissions
policies is biased towards public school pupils. The findings of a report from the Higher Education Funding
Council for England showed that of students applying to the
country’s top thirteen universities with 28 A level points
(corresponding to two A grades and a B), 60% of pupils from
fee-paying schools were accepted by top universities in the
country compared with just 40% of state school pupils with the
same grades. Critics of the current admissions process assert that this
reflects the fact that state school pupils are discouraged from
applying, or are underestimated by teachers when awarded
predicted grades (the current basis for awarding university
offers). They also argue that the existing emphasis on interviews
favours pupils from fee-paying schools, who are well practised
and articulate. A spokeswoman for the University disputed thse claims. She
said, “We have a very active programme to widen access which
is backed up by a rigorous admissions procedure which ensures
that students are admitted solely on the basis of academic
ability and potential, irrespective of their social or
educational background.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004