Francis Alfred Lepper,
emeritus Fellow in Ancient History at Corpus
Christi, has died aged 92. Lepper
is remembered for his contribution to the study of the Ro­man emperor Trajan
and also for his extensive involvement in College life. During his time at
Corpus, Lepper served as dean, Senior Tutor, Senior Fellow and Vice President
(1953-55, 1973-75, 1978-80).His
published works includes Trajan’s Column (1989) and Trajan’s Parthian War
(1948). Lepper also wrote an Aristophanic play, The Bees, to celebrate Corpus’
450th anniversary. As editor of the College journal The Pelican Record (1952
and 1963), he famously wrote a ‘scholarly’ review of the Oxford telephone directory, follow­ing the
stipulation to write on a book related to Corpus or the University.Lepper
was praised as an outstanding tutor and lecturer and, in the words of a former
student, knew “that lectures had to contain material not found in books”. His
commitment to his students extended beyond mere aca­demic rigour as he generously
used his contacts as an ex-New College student to arrange regular reading week
trips to a chalet in the Alps.He
also always invited finalists to join him for a walk along the Thames the week before their exams. His en­thusiasm and
sense of fun meant the phrase “Steady, Lepper!” was fondly attached to him by
his wife Elizabeth and his students.He
is remembered as a formidable member of the College who insisted on gowns in
tutorials and, on one occasion in the Fifties, his actions prompted students to
burn an effigy of him after he allegedly hid behind the dustbins to catch
latecomers climbing over the walls. The
son of a Church of Ireland priest, he went to school in England before gaining a scholarship to study
Clas­sics at New College in 1932. He was awarded a double
first and became a lecturer at Corpus in 1937 and Fellow in 1939. During the
war he worked in Bletchley
Park analysing messages
passing between German Luftwaffe, the details of which have only emerged since
his death because of his contin­ued allegiance to the Official Secrets Act. He
died in his home in Trewol­lock, Cornwall
and is survived by a son and daughter.A
spokesperson for Corpus Christi
College said of Lepper:
“He was a dedicated scholar and a much loved tutor for many generations of
Corpus classicists.” A memorial service is planned to be held at Corpus on 28
January.ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Three Oxford residents have been found guilty of
stabbing to death Brookes student Arash Ghorani-Zarin. Chomir
Ali, a Bangladeshi waiter, and his two sons Mujibar Rahman (19), and Mamnoor
Rahman (16), committed murder after Ali’s daughter Manna Begum fell pregnant
with the victim’s child. Nineteen year old Arash Ghorani-Zarin was found dead
in his car on Rose Hill with 46 stab wounds on 20 November last year. The
relationship angered Manna’s father Ali as she had been arranged to marry
someone else. The
jury at Oxford Crown Court took four and a half days to reach a decision and
there were loud cheers in the court as the verdicts were read out. The judge,
Mr Justice Gross, said the defendants would incur life imprison­ment but
sentencing was adjourned while a pre-sentence report on the youngest defendant,
just fifteen at the time of murder and deemed by his lawyer to be “in denial”,
was prepared. Detective
Chief Inspector Steve Tolmie of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Team said,
“The murder of Arash Ghorbani-Zarin was a horrific, violent attack on an
innocent young man who had a lot to live for. No one has the right to take away
someone’s life, for whatever reason.”The
Oxford Brookes Student Union President, John Lucas, said he was "up­set"
by what had happened but stated, "The University has an independent Advice
Centre, a Counselling and Advisory Service, and an ecumenical Chaplaincy, all
of whom work on an appointment or drop-in based system. They are all open to
all students, of all faiths."Imran
Haq, who sits on the ISoc Committee, said there is a framework within Shariah,
or Islamic religious law, which delineates exactly how to deal with such a
situation in a proper manner which is fair and just for all concerned, and that
such practices as “honour killings” are “categorically forbidden”. He added,
“Such indi­viduals are nothing but straightforward murderers, and this concept
of ‘honour killing’ is nothing but a guise, allowing religion or culture to be
used as a means for justification.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Channel 4 has revealed details of a documentary that will chronicle Tony Blair’s time as the singer in a student band he fronted while studying Law at St John’sThe hour long ’rockumentary’, entitled “Tony Blair Rock Star” will portray Blair as a fame-seeking wannabe rock star. In one scene the future Prime Minister, played by ac­tor Christian Brassington, is depicted sporting leopardskin Y-fronts and very little else. The programme is a mix of documentary and
reconstruction, featuring interviews with the band’s Oxford friends and groupies.A spokesman from Channel 4 said that although the documentary had not been filmed on location in Oxford, Blair will be shown practising guitar in his room at St John’s through the “magic of television”. Blair’s Oxford band, Ugly Rumours, will also feature.The band only played a handful of gigs, including one at St John’s itself. In March 2003 Blair admitted in an inter­view that he had harboured real hopes of becoming a professional musician, saying “It wasn’t just a mere dalliance – it was a bit more than that for me.”Indie Music Society President Mark Taylor believes that the Oxford student music scene is not a natural proving ground for future statesmen, com­menting, “Political apathy grips the [student music] scene – certainly the days of Ugly Rumours are long gone.” He added, “John Colgan, the drum­mer [from a band named] November, is OULD Treasurer, he’s the most likely person from the current Oxford student music scene to climb the greasy pole.”The Oxford University Labour Club matched IMSoc’s sentiments. While their members are reportedly interested in music, none look set to follow Blair’s career path to the premiership via rock-stardom. Jack Graves, OULC co-chair, added, “The PM has set a high bar in terms of musical talent, although Ugly Rumours was more a case of ‘hair today, gone tomorrow’. I hope OULC can follow the PM’s lead in going forward not back to being more musically gifted in the coming years.ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

St Anne’s football team
has been banned from holding any team socials after an incident involving two
mem­bers of the team and the College’s deputy dean. On Friday 28 October,
several members of the football team returned to the College after their termly
social and one member of the group argued with the Deputy Dean, Susan James,
while another member of the team was verbally abusive towards her. The team had
been at an Indian restaurant and did not all return to College together.In
an email to the members of the football team the dean of St Anne’s, Professor
Peter Ireland, said that he was “appalled at the behaviour of two members of
the club”, and that he had also “seriously considered banning the football team
from representing col­lege. If there are any further complaints about the
behaviour of the football team I will discuss this option with the Principal.”
Football team socials have been banned for events organised both on and off the
St Anne’s College site until the further notice. Profes­sor Ireland added in
his email, “The individual who has argued with the Deputy Dean has had the
decency to step forward. The individual who verbally abused the Dean has not
done so… I will consider lifting the ban if the latter identifies himself.”Richard
Curran, the Captain of the football team, said, “St Anne’s football club deeply
regrets the incident and has cooperated as fully as possible with the decanal
staff to reach a satisfactory conclusion.” He added, “The club feels that any
punishments should remain between the decanal staff and and the individuals
involved.”Professor
Ireland told Cherwell that an incident had taken place “where a number of
students had conducted themselves in a manner that was in violation of College
regulations. Those involved have been punished. The College will not tolerate
abusive behaviour.”So
far the St Anne’s football club’s three teams are still competing in the
University’s JCR leagues. Curran added, “It would be pointless for me to
speculate whether further action will occur.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

OUSU Social Justice Committee
organised a walk around Oxford
on Wednesday afternoon to raise awareness about investment issues. Organisers
estimated that between 50 and 100 people joined the walk at various points.One of the organisers, Richard
Ollerhead, commented “There was a really good turnout… we got a really good
response from people in colleges, many genuinely shocked about where their
college had its money.”Campaigners have already amassed
a petition of 800 names calling for Oxford
to adopt a Socially Responsible Investment policy. A recent survey by the
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) revealed that Oxford has 1,357,123 shares in the arms
trade. St John’s College
was ranked as the second highest investor in the arms trade of all Oxbridge
colleges, one of seven Oxford
colleges in the top ten. In a survey carried out at St John’s, 75% of College members were found
to be opposed to arms trade investment. Balliol College
came fifth in the survey, and is amongst several JCRs to have already passed
motions demanding ethical investment. Anna Wolmuth, Balliol’s Mike
Woodin Rep responsible for ethical investment said “last term the Governing
Body voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a Socially Responsible
Investment policy, to be drawn up in consultation with the JCR, MCR and SCR.” The march coincides with the
announcement on Tuesday that Oxford
has entered into a patnership with QinetiQ, who specialise in defence and
security. A University statement argues that “The University is concerned to
uphold the highest ethical standards when considering all new research
collaborations, and the agreement with QinetiQ is no exception.” It adds that “Previous
collaborations between QinetiQ and Oxford
have included developing better diagnostics for dyslexia and translating the
ability of a Namibian beetle to collect water droplets on its back into a
marketable system for harvesting water in the desert.”Emma Norris, OUSU President, said the partnership: “It’s
just another example of the University’s deeply disappointing behaviour when it
comes to ethical investment. QinetiQ is heavily involved in defence
technology… Where will this end? Oxford
University should not be
financially endorsing companies and people who make money from warfare and
exploitation.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Discussions will take place at
OUSU council this Friday to review the number of schools invited to Open Days and Regional Events through the Target Schools Scheme.The Target Schools programme
currently aims to increase the number of students from state schools and
colleges applying to Oxford.
This is done by inviting students from all state schools to Open Days and
Regional events organised by the Target Schools scheme. The open days are
hosted by Oxford colleges whereas the regional
events are held further away, including Northern Ireland.The scheme has come under
criticism as some schools which are being invited to the open days already send
students to Oxford
University on a regular
basis. The agenda for the council meeting states that this is an inefficient
use of resources.OUSU Vice-President (Access and
Academic Affairs), Charlynne Pullen, said, “As [colleges and departments] run
their own well-attended open days, Target Schools felt it was inappropriate to
use its own resources to duplicate this work. Target Schools aims to encourage
applicants from state schools and we felt the best use of our resources would
be to focus on schools which have no Oxbridge tradition.” The agenda defines a
school with an “Oxbridge tradition” as one “which has had four or more students
accepted to study at Oxford
annually, taking an average of the previous three years”.Pullen also added that the
proposed motion “wouldn’t stop us sending [invitations] to grammar schools,”
reasserting the equality between schools that Target Schools is trying to
achieve. The decision of what schools are invited to Target Schools open days
is not affected by whether they are grammar schools.The aim of the motion is to
change the role of Target Schools from one of increasing applicants from state
schools to one of increasing applicants from state schools specifically without
an “Oxbridge tradition”. The motion does not specifically address the issue of
private schools that do not have an “Oxbridge tradition” yet are still not
invited by Target Schools to open days and regional events. Such schools are
not currently actively aided by the scheme.Pullen said that encouraging
applications from private schools without an Oxbridge tradition is “not an
access initiative, that’s normal recruitment and the University does it already”.ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Exeter’s
security came under scrutiny last Friday after its JCR bar was van­dalised by
an intruder. The
culprit gained access to the bar during the day as it was left open for
students to use its facilities. He subse­quently vandalised the bar by break­ing
into the pool table and jukebox with what is believed to have been a crowbar. The
matter was discovered by the assistant domestic bursar and re­ported to Thames
Valley Police, who sent officers to Exeter
on Saturday to examine the scene of the crime. A spokesperson from Thames
Valley Po­lice confirmed the incident on Friday as “a break-in through an
unsecured door; cash was stolen from the juke­box and the pool table”. Eric
Bennett, Exeter’s
domestic bursar, said: “Around fifty pounds were stolen. The College has to pay
for that. The same goes with dam­age to the machines, which might be something
like a couple of hundred quid.” A
porter at Exeter
informed Cher­well that a similar incident happened in third week. On
that occasion, four machines in the lounge area were bro­ken into. In both
cases, the perpetrator was caught on the College’s CCTV. From video footage, it
appears that the intruder could have been the same person. The Police
spokesperson describes him as “a white man, around 30, 5’10” with balding
ginger hair.”The
break-ins have raised questions about security, although James Rob­inson, Exeter’s bar officer,
said: “The worry is not massive. The bar break-ins were isolated cases in the
sense that one man spotted a loophole in security and exploited it. And so far,
there hasn’t been any incident where student rooms were broken into.” The
porter said: “We try our hardest to keep an eye on who goes in and out of the
College but the large number of visitors from outside… and the fact that they
do not need to report to the Porters’ Lodge make that task diffi­cult.” Bennett
said: “We have planned long before the incident to set up a barrier by the
entrance so that all visi­tors have to walk through the Lodge. But that means
having to open up a door in the wall and because is Grade I listed, the plan
was refused permission by the City Council.” Emily
Pull, Exeter JCR President, said: “I think it’s awful that the City Council is
obstructing attempts to im­prove student safety.” Bennett added: “Our newest
plan is to set up a swipe card system so that only members of the College can
get in; others have to report to the Lodge. But it’s question­able whether even
that would have prevented cases like this from happen­ing. The person whom we
think was the thief looked ordinary and not at all scruffy and if he says he’s
a tourist most people would believe him. From the CCTV footage I actually
thought at first that he was an academic! “People
like him know the system well – they know what to say when they are questioned,
how not to at­tract unwanted attention and so on. So one can see that even with
check­ing non-members by the entrance is not going to be 100 per cent secure.”Exeter students have been
informed by the College since the incident that the bar will be shut during the
day and any College member who wishes to use it will have to collect the key
from the porters’ lodge.ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Emma Norris, President
of the Uni­versity’s Student Union (OUSU), has been accused of abusing her
position to prevent the forthcoming “Students for Students” referendum. Alex
Young, an ex-Returning Officer of the Union
and one of the leading proponents of the the referendum, said “OUSU as an
institution, and Norris in particular, have done their level best to prevent
this referendum even from reaching the ballot box.” Young accuses Norris of
improperly trying to sway the decision of an OUSU Junior Tribunal. The tribunal
convened last Thursday (3 November) to decide whether the referendum could go
ahead or not. The tribunal was attended by Young, OUSU’s Returning Officer, six
tribu­nal members and Norris, who took minutes. According to Young, “emma
Norris exploited the OUSU constitu­tion to turn up to the Junior Tribunal ‘to
take minutes’, and then proceeded to attempt to exercise improper influ­ence
over the tribunal and sway the panel members against me.”Norris
described this accusation as “absolute rubbish”, adding that “I can’t be
bothered to be drawn into this pointless bitching.” She insisted that she did
not try to influence the panel, and said: “The only point at which I did speak
was to ask for clarification of a few points made, so I could minute them correctly.”
However, one mem­ber of the tribunal, who asked not to be named, said that
Norris “made re­peated interjections and was acting as if she was a member of
the tribunal. If she was there to observe she shouldn’t have said anything at
all.”Young
said that following his depar­ture from the room, “Norris muscled in on
proceedings. Fortunately for de­mocracy the room the tribunal was in had glass
windows.” To prevent what Young considers Norris’ unconstitu­tional behaviour,
he held up a piece of paper against the glass, on which he had written, “Why is
talking so much?” The tribunal was called follow­ing the submission of a
petition for the “Students for Students” referendum. The OUSU Returning Officer
initially refused the referendum because the petition was handed in one hour
and twenty minutes after the noon deadline. Young said that “they cited some
vague rules in their Swiss cheese constitution. They were looking for excuses.”Young
brought the Returning Offic­er to the tribunal to repeal the decision, with
five out of the six members voting to overrule the decision, thereby allow­ing
the referendum to go ahead. The Returning Officer then told Charlie Steel, a
member of OUSU’s part time executive who proposed the “Students for Students”
motion, that the peti­tion was three signatures short of the 500 needed. Steel
went through the list with the Returning Officer and even­tually 511 signatures
were validated. “We feel like they’re throwing up every single possible
obstacle,” said Steel.Last
week the Returning Officer fined Steel £25 for speaking to Cher­well while
still a candidate for the part time executive, a breach of OUSU regulations.
The motion in question, which will be up for referendum next Thursday, states:
“OUSU should have no policy on issues which do not di­rectly affect Oxford students in their
capacity as students unless approved by a majority of common rooms affiliated
to OUSU.”Norris
has visited several JCR meet­ings to speak about the potential draw­backs of
the “Students for Students” campaign. She is also one of three offi­cial
campaign agents for the “No” cam­paign, which will run against the mo­tion. She
said, “I am in a good position to outline exactly how this referendum will
affect the students. If I strongly believe this would detrimentally affect
student representation, it is my duty to let students know.”She
explained that “such a motion would have to be passed though rough­ly 16 JCRs
and 16 MCRs – a total of about 32 common rooms. This would take considerably
longer than just bringing a motion to OUSU Council.” Steel says that his motion
would re­duce the distance between OUSU and the students they represent. “The
aim of the referendum is to make OUSU truly representative of student views and
to prevent clique views being im­posed in the name of the majority.” He
explained that “OUSU just wouldn’t be able to pass a motion in the name of
every single Oxford
student without consulting all the JCRs. We want some sort of practical direct
consultation with the student body.”Norris
said “Who is going to define what a ‘student as a student’ issue is?… OUSU is
there to represent students on the issues that matter to them – ALL of the
issues that matter to them.” Young dismissed this, saying “common sense has to
prevail. Manifestly something will either affect students or not.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

The JCRs of Exeter, Lincoln and Je­sus have united in retaliation against an article printed last week in The Oxford Student entitled “What’s the point of… Turl Street Colleges”.JCR Presidents Ollie Munn (Lin­coln) Emily Pull and Simon Hacking (Jesus) hit out against the ar­ticle with the declaration: “Given the high standard of reporting and com­mentary that the story encapsulates, perhaps we should instead be asking ‘What’s the point of the OxStu?’”In a letter to the editor of The Ox­ford Student, the Presidents of the three colleges propose that “a fight to the death between the combined might of the Turl Street colleges and the occupants of OxStu Towers would arguably serve a greater social function, as well as, we’d like to think, providing a damn sight more enter­tainment.”The letter was inspired by controversial observations, includ­ing: “There are enough dull people in the world already. Turl Street doesn’t need to provide three colleges full of them.”Ollie Munn told Cherwell, “When the story appeared, reaction in Col­lege was divided. There were those in Lincoln who thought we should pick a fight and take on the Ox­Stu. And then there were those who thought we should just massacre the scoundrels, one by one.” He added, “Lincoln’s been at war with Brasenose since about 1549 – we know a thing or two about conflicts.”One of the article’s main criticisms was that “someone needs to reassure Turl Street’s inhabitants that the air is breathable beyond the safe confines of that cosy road.” Pull said of Exeter’s perspective on the newspa­per’s attack, “OxStu will regret this – we will take them down brick by brick if necessary, even if it means stepping out of the confines of Turl Street.”One Jesus second year said in de­fence of his turf, “I love Turl Street; it’s small but perfectly formed, more than can be said about the OUSU buildings.” Munn continued, “The OxStu can bring it on. We’ll show them what Turl Street’s made of. Tar­mac, mostly.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

Five out of six
positions for this year’s OUSU executive elections will be uncontested. Only
one candidate was nominated for each of the Vice Presidential positions:
Finance, Wel­fare, Access and Academic Affairs, Graduates and Women. The
position of President is the only contested post, with two candidates
nominated. As
these positions are not contested the current nominees will automati­cally be
elected unless students vote to re-open nominations. This position is similar
to that of last year’s election when only two positions were con­tested, and
two VP posts (Women and Graduates) initially had no candidates nominated.Jo
Lee Morrison, ex-JCR President of Christ
Church, considered
running for a position in this year’s OUSU elec­tions but decided against it.
Morrison stated that the attitudes of those already involved has “ended up
alienating the people most qualified” to run in this year’s election, and
specifically noted that they had not built up relations with JCR Presidents,
who are the most likely to stand for OUSU posts. Ex-JCR
President of Somerville Nick Bell also contemplated running for OUSU, but
echoed Morrison’s sentiments, saying that “strong runners early on” had meant
he was deterred from running, believing that “scare campaigns” were mounted
early on to discourage other nominees. Bell
as­serted that this was “unconscious” and that it was natural for key
candidates to be very enthusiastic about running from an early stage, making
people reluctant to contest positions against them. Additionally, Bell suggested that a
perception of OUSU as a “clique” led to a “feeling that you can’t really change
much”. OUSU’s
Vice President for Access and Academic Affairs, Charlynne Pul­len, believes low
levels of participation in OUSU to be caused by Oxford’s collegiate system. “People get
involved in politics on a JCR level rather than on an OUSU level” she said. She
did however note that, although OUSU is “never satisfied with low levels of
participation”, there is at least one nominee to run for each position and that
at the moment OUSU is “doing very well in getting people involved in
sub-committees such as Target Schools.”Bell stated that he is happy
with the standard of candidates running and believes that “it will be a good
team of Sabs providing RON doesn’t win.” Bell
commented on OUSU’s successful ventures such as Zoo and Oxide Radio, and
suggested that these could be used as vehicles to get more students involved.Oliver
Russell, VP (Graduates) said “I am not aware of any underlying reasons why only
seven students have nominated as Sabbatical candidates this year. The elections
have been well advertised and many current exec officers involved in raising
awareness… of the opportunities available as elected officers.” Russell
thinks, however, that this situation will result in “the major­ity of focus
going on the Presidential campaign”, and reiterates that OUSU “have always
advertised the elections to the best of [their] ability and will continue to do
so in future years.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005