Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) have become embroiled in a dispute with the Oxford University Student Union over an incident at last week’s Freshers’ Fair.OUCA accused the Student Union of “political bias” after they were repeatedly asked to move a Union Jack flag that they were displaying behind their stall over the three day fair. The Student Union became concerned about “health and safety issues”. The Stallholder Regulations provided by OUSU for clubs and societies wishing to recruit at the Freshers’ Fair said, “You must not create any obstruction across floors, or projecting from under or over tables.” It continues, “This applies to both the vicinity of your stall and to gangways/doors. No obstructive exhibits are allowed.”Chris Allan, OUSU’s Vice-President (Finance) said, “I spoke to the organisers and they informed me that the flag was adjusted for health and safety reasons.”OUSU President Emma Norris, said, “During setup of the freshers’ fair OUSU organisers asked them to move their flag up because people were tripping up over it.”A press release issued by OUCA claimed that the Student Union’s treatment was unfair and that they felt aggrieved that neighbouring stands, which they claim also had low-hanging banners, were not made to adjust them.OUCA Publicity Officer, Charlie Steel, said, “OUCA is very disappointed with OUSU’s clear political affiliations during Freshers’ Fair.”He continued, “The Labour Club stand was directly behind us; its banner was allowed to be a lot lower than ours.”Martin McCluskey, Chair of Oxford University Labour Club (OULC), whose stand was adjacent to OUCA’s, said, “Their flag did drape onto the floor and over the floor space where our activists were standing.”He said that their flag had been “half the size and secured by sturdy poles.” He added, “Their flag was supported by bamboo canes tied together with electrical tape – I don’t call that safe.”Christopher Ware, OUCA President, said, “I was surprised at the OUSU officials’ sustained obstructive and abusive attitude towards the OUCA stand.”Ware maintains that the OUCA Union Jack did not impose on neighbouring stands, saying, “We used masking tape, we used bamboo shoots; emphatically there was no way that it could have intruded on anyone.”One member of OUCA, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The flag is an emblem of OUCA and cost over £400 to purchase.” He continued, “The flag is always present at every social event worth its salt, and I was disappointed that freshers were not able to see it in its displayed in its full glory.” Another member said, “Let us hope that this dispute has not spoilt the esteemed political reputation of the organisation, of which we are all proud to be members.”ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

Builders and decorators involved in the construction of the controversial animal testing laboratory on South Parks Road were sent anonymous letters over the weekend threatening to “target” them if they continued to be involved in the project.Over twenty cases of such letters have been reported to the police, who are currently investigating their origin. A statement issued by Thames Valley Police said, “It is believed the letters are part of a campaign by animal rights extremists who are trying to prevent work by Oxford University to build new laboratories in South Parks Road.”A police spokesperson confirmed that the letters had been received by companies who had previously been involved in the construction work. He said that “the letters warn that they will be ‘targeted’ but do not make detailed threats.”The police spokesperson added “although everyone is entitled to an opinion about this very emotive issue, it is just not acceptable to act in a way which intimidates other people and threatens their livelihood.”In an article published by The Daily Telegraph, an anonymous victim of one ‘poison pen’ letter said that he received a threat that work by his company for the university’s project would continue “at your peril.”Arrangements are being made across the University to heighten security in the wake of the arson attack on the Longbridges boathouse, owned by Hertford College, and the attempted attack on Corpus Christi Sports Pavilion.Hertford College Bursar confirmed that they “have made additional provision for security” although they declined to detail arrangements for risk of prejudicing their effectiveness.A spokesperson for the University said “the University and colleges take the safety of our students, staff and all those who work with us, and the security of our properties, extremely seriously.” “We continue to work closely with Thames Valley Police on security matters, but it would not be appropriate to discuss arrangements in greater detail” he added.Both Corpus Christi and the University Security Services declined to comment.One builder, who did not wish to be named, told the The Daily Telegraph, “To be honest, I thought it was a bit of a joke at first. We’re quite a small contractor and we only employ eight people. But we do some work for a few Oxford dons and we have done a bit of maintenance on the colleges.”In the same article Robin Webb, spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front, said, “If they are supplying Oxford University in any way and through that helping the progress of the proposed facility then they can be considered a target.” Construction was halted at the Oxford site on South Parks Road in north Oxford after the building contractor, Montpellier, withdrew from the project following the targeting of its shareholders by animal rights activists.Nursery group Leapfrog also received threats after they offered child care vouchers to animal testing group, Huntingdon Life Sciences, based near Cambridge. Leapfrog have since discontinued the scheme.ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

The Terrorism Act 2000 could be used by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) against extreme animal rights activists and organizations. The Terrorism Act made it illegal for certain terrorist groups to operate in the UK and extended prescription to include international terrorist groups. It is possible for an extreme animal rights organization to be added to the list of outlawed groups. A spokesperson from the Home Office said, “If the Security Service presents the Home Office with a body of evidence which suggests that an organization is a terrorist organization, the Home Office will definitely look into the matter.”The Home Office spokesperson said, “Terrorism, as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, is the use of threat or action designed to influence the government, to intimidate the public or a section of it, in order to advance a political, religious, or ideological cause.”He added, “The interpretation of the Act lies entirely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. They can decide whether to pursue the actions of animal rights activists under other legislations or Terrorism Act 2000.” The Terrorism Act also gave the police greater powers to help prevent and investigate terrorism, including wider stop and search powers and the power to detain suspects after arrest for up to seven days. Further, a list of new offences were introduced allowing police to arrest individuals suspected of inciting terrorist acts, seeking or providing training for terrorist purposes at home or overseas and providing instruction or training in the use of firearms, explosives or chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Much animal rights extremist activity is covered by criminal law. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 could also be employed to charge extreme animal rights activists. The spokesperson from the Home Office said, “Legally speaking, the Terrorism Act 2000 is a perfectly feasible legislation to use against animal rights extremism. Whether to use it or not is a matter for the police and the CPS to decide.” A University spokesperson said, “The nature of any charges, if and when any individuals are apprehended, is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service. The University has no doubt that the CPS will have in mind all possibilities and that any charges preferred will reflect the gravity of the offences concerned.” A spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said, “We will select the appropriate charge from a whole raft of legislations that best reflects the evidence brought to us by the police.”ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

There is something quite paradoxical about a place which is one of the leading research centres in the world, where academics are constantly pushing the boundaries of what we know, helping to shape the way we will live in the future and what we think of the past, but which nevertheless seems quite happy to stay just as it is.Many of Oxford’s relics of the past, such as matriculation, sub fusc, May Day morning on Magdalen Bridge, and Oxford terminology are endearing little anachronisms that serve to remind us of what a unique place this is. But Oxford is also home to some other antiquities that we could probably do without. One is the enduring gender gap that we see each summer when the examination results come out and when we look over at High Table in Hall. Men continue to get more first class degrees than their female counterparts, and they continue to heavily dominate the high positions in academia. Still, you cannot have a ‘gender gap’ at an institution that members of only one sex can be a part of, and it is quite perverse to think that great advances have already been made in order to bring about a gender gap at all. Not until 1920 were women admitted to membership of the university and it took almost thirty years for a woman, Agnes Headlam-Morley, to be elected to a full professorship. A quarter of a century then passed before the first of the traditionally all-male colleges, Balliol, elected a woman as a Fellow and Tutor. Twenty years later in 1993, Professor Marilyn Butler, former Rector of Exeter, became the first female head of a former all-male college at either Oxford or Cambridge. Progress, one might say, though painfully slow.In 2001, the percentage of female Oxford professors was 8.5% and, after several years of highly public initiatives to improve this gender imbalance, a few months ago it stood at 8.6%. In the mathematics faculty, only three out of over twenty professorships are held by women; in the faculty of modern history the ratio is two to fifteen and in the department of chemistry only one professor is female. Five years ago 22% of men achieved firsts in finals compared to 17% of women. Feminists would be appalled, but could it be that men are simply more intelligent than women? Recent research carried out by Paul Irwing and Richard Lynn at Manchester University, claims that men are on average five IQ points ahead, and the gap widens as the higher levels are considered. At IQ scores of 125 – the level that they think seems to correspond with people getting first-class degrees – there were twice as many men as women. At scores of 155 and above – levels associated with genius – there were 5.5 men for every woman. But how are we defining ‘intelligence’ here?What we can definitely say is that men do better in tests designed by men attempting to measure one aspect of human intelligence – namely, spatial and verbal ability. This, however, is not what any Finals examination is designed to assess, and so we cannot use research on IQ scores to explain away the discrepancies between something like the number of firsts achieved by men and women at Oxford or Cambridge.Recent studies have shown that there are real gender differences which may be interpreted as putting women at a disadvantage: for example, the difference in the way that men and women approach certain challenges or the difference in their behavior, which in turn reflects their different goals. “Women who seek deep understanding will ask more questions than men, may advance more tentatively and are initially more receptive to the authority of teaching staff,” suggests Dr. Chris Mann, who carried out a three-year study at Cambridge looking into the issue. Men, in contrast, are more likely to make suggestions in tutorials, advance their own theories on subjects and challenge the opinions of tutors and other students. This “intellectual muscle-flexing,” the study argues, is typically seen as an indicator of excellence by a predominantly male teaching staff, rather than the “softly softly” approach adopted by many women. Men, perhaps as a consequence, generally have higher expectations of what they will achieve than women. This was the only factor that was predicative, albeit weakly, of finals marks in a study carried out in Oxford in 2000 by Mellanby et al. It found factors such as intelligence, differences in work ethic, anxiety, depression, happiness, academic motivation, competitiveness, exam strategy and risk-taking in revision unable to explain the gender gap in Firsts. “We therefore thought,” said Dr Mellanby, “that the gender gap must result from factors outside individual differences between sexes and was more likely to be related to a ‘male’ style of answers being deemed more worthy of First Class marks.”  Interestingly, the gender gap is also highly subject specific. For example, it’s big in PPE, English, History and Maths and non-existent in Engineering, E&M, Biochemistry and Geography. Surprisingly, there seems to be no evidence to support the popular notion that extended essays favour women more than ‘sudden death’ exam papers – subjects for which there is no coursework and the degree class depends solely on exams sat in the final year. They are part of the assessment in English and History here and in History at Cambridge, yet all three still have big gender gaps in favour of men  and so women have fared no better since the introduction of this system.What is it that gives men in general the confidence to aim for the very top? There is a danger of making sweeping statements that ignore men who advance tentatively and women who expect to do well and succeed, yet the research seems to agree that men and women appear to have different experiences of academia at Oxford. Perhaps the fact that most Oxford tutors are men is significant when considering that women achieve fewer of the degrees the higher class they are. Female undergraduates at Oxford, it seems, have fewer female academics to look up to and use as role models. Dr Mellanby suggests that “the whole Oxford experience might be more conductive to males than females excelling academically.” He continues, “People have talked of the confrontational tutorial being more likely to ‘put down’ females.”The gender gap in Finals is something that OUSU’s women-only Finals Forums each Hilary Term try to address. However, the effort seems like a drop in the ocean. Acknowledging this, Ellie Cumbo, OUSU VP (Women), said, “This year, Women’s Campaign is going to put the pressure on. We have compiled and formatted the most up-to-date results and plan to submit a paper asking the University to thoroughly investigate the Finals gap.” OUSU see the gender imbalance among the academic staff as the biggest problem and Cumbo went on to say, “As previous generations catch up with ours, the gender discrepancy among tutors is already evening out; it’s crucial that those in charge do all they can to speed this process up, however.” This situation is by no means particular to Oxford. The Times Higher Education Supplement published survey results in 2004, which reveal that female academics are paid less than male academics at every British university. The pay gap stretches to almost 25% at some institutions and 18% is average. Women were also found to be more likely to take on pastoral and teaching-based roles than the more lucrative research-led positions, which often lead to promotions. The roots of the problem, however, probably lie much deeper than just simple pay discrimination. Most importantly, commitment to academia is not conducive to a busy family life. Women who want to have children are forced to make compromises between the two, meaning they have less time to devote to research and networking – especially networking that is usually done over dinner. It is hard to resist the conclusion that in Oxford it is still largely a man’s world, and a woman’s success is to some degree dependent upon her ability to adapt. There seems to be something amiss at a university where research concludes that men get more first class degrees than women, but not because they are more able or work harder.The solution to this problem in the long run seems to be a better gender balance within the senior academic positions so that the University can move on from being so male-dominated. In the meanwhile, however, the current female undergraduates may just have to figure out for themselves what it is that men are doing proportionally more than women, the thing that the assessment system manifestly deems more deserving of the top degree.ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

Oxford University has announced the construction of a new research centre focusing on Business Taxation. The centre has received £5 million in funding from The Hundred Group, and will focus on the impact of taxation on aspects of the economy such as business, public finance and international competition. Several doctoral fellowships will be created in the establishment of the centre which will be based in the Saïd Business School and is expected to be in operation by September 2006. Professor Colin Mayer, an acting director for the creation of the Centre, said “we are extremely excited about the potential of this Centre. This will be the first major research centre of its scale and type in Europe.” The centre will carry out a number of projects evaluating the structure of taxes including corporation tax, and determining how to achieve the optimum balance between business growth and government finance. Further topics of research will include the effect of taxation on international businesses. The Centre plans to research the effect that differing global tax policies have on multinational companies, who often determine the location of their business activities on the tax regimes that operate in a particular country. Professor Colin Mayer emphasised the significance of the Business Taxation Centre for Oxford University, saying “the Centre reflects the fact that beyond the university, outsiders appreciate the practical approach of this research and are keen to support what goes on here.” He added that “this centre demonstrates how well Oxford University can promote partnerships between academics within the university and practitioners in the outside world.”The Business School this month also sees the announcement by the University’s Vice-Chancellor of the creation of stronger links between the School and Templeton College, which specialises in management studies and international business. Professor Michael Earl, Dean of Templeton College, said “the combination of business school and specialist graduate college represents a unique and valuable differentiator in the field of management studies. This reorganisation gives Templeton a wonderful opportunity to focus on being a very modern Oxford college.”ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

His Royal Highness Prince Turki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia spoke in the Oakeshott Room of Lincoln College to an audience of approximately fifty students on Tuesday night, hosted by the Oxford University Philosphy, Politics and Economics Society (PPESoc). The event marked al-Faisal’s last address in the United Kingdom as Saudi ambassador to the UK and Ireland before becoming Ambassador to the United States later this year. He has held his previous position since 2003.In his speech, Prince al-Faisal stated “terrorism is the single biggest threat to peace and stability in the Middle East,” adding that terrorism “is the creation of twisted minds.”  He discussed numerous meetings he has had with Osama bin Laden during the 1980s, as well as attempts to capture the head of al-Qaeda.  The Prince was adamant to assert that Saudi Arabia has, not and does not support terrorists.  He also said that Saudi Arabia is as concerned about recent terrorist attacks, and about terrorists springing up across his country, as those countries that have suffered attacks.  Prince al-Faisal said he believes that the “deepest wound” fueling terrorism in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Following his speech, the Prince answered questions from the audience on topics including the war in Iraq, the influence of al-Jazeera television, education systems in Saudi Arabia, and accusations that the Syrian government are supporting terrorism.The prince served 24 years as the Head of the Saudi external intelligence service.  He is the son of the late King Faisal and brother of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.Mohan Rao, Magdalen College, President of the PPE society said “I thought that his talk was engaging and compelling – His Royal Highness covered a wide range of ground, and gave an interesting insight into the main causes of radicalisation among young Muslims today.” “It was also very kind of him to take part in a question-and-answer session after his talk – again, he showed an exceptional command of detail, and also a sense of humour and ready wit” he added.Last year, Prince al-Faisal won a case of libel against Paris-Match magazine over claims that he himself was linked to the 11 September terrorist attacks.ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

Oxfordshire’s mental health services have announced cuts in their psychiatric department, leading to criticism by a University psychiatric expert amid concern that this could lead to an increase in suicides across the county.Oxfordshire Mental Health National Health Service Trust has proposed plans to axe Barnes Unit’s psychiatric accident and emergency service, located at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, as well as cut back on 23% of its junior doctors and 12% of its consultants. Such cutbacks are part of the trust’s plan to save £6m, 10% of its budget. Professor Keith Hawton, the director of Oxford University’s Centre for Suicide Research, has said “this will undermine care for some of Oxfordshire’s most vulnerable people. There is potential risk for an increase in suicides.”The Barnes Unit cares for approximately 1,765 people a year who arrive at the John Radcliffe Hospital after self-harming or attempted suicide. Psychologists and medical staff at the unit provide specialist assessments, treatment and follow-up advice. Professor Hawton believes that students at Oxford will be particularly vulnerable to the cutbacks. “I think this could have major consequences for the service for students who are presented to hospital following self-harm.” Suicide is a particularly prominant issue affecting students of the University. In August of this year, a verdict of suicide was declared for a prospective student who was due to have come up last academic year, but was found drowned off Beachy Head just days before the start of term.Hawton took part in an influencial study published in 1995 which found that there was a significantly higher rate of suicide amongst eighteen to twenty-five year olds, compared to the general population over a fourteen year period. If the unit is axed, some of the services will be transferred to the Crisis Resolution Team based at Littlemore Hospital, which is located further out of the city centre, close to the Blackbird Leys area. Professor Hawton said of the transfer to Littlemore “I think it unlikely that any substitute clinical service which already has major commitments elsewhere will be able to give the time necessary.” Oxford University Student Union Vice-President (Welfare), Aidan Randle-Conde, expressed his concerns about the trust’s proposals stating that “with many students experiencing issues of self-harm and suicidal feelings the cutbacks will create major problems across the University.”ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

I    study publishing here, which is quite a mixed, skills-based course. I applied to this after Eton; it’s a strong basis for going into marketing or advertising. Our workload involves about thirteen to fourteen hours of lectures and seminars a week, which are very interactive and geared towards group-based work. Other than lectures, we have about three personal reports as well as two presentations to do a term. Most people here work very hard; certainly most people I know here are very, very motivated. The publishing course at Brookes is very well respected, and the business school is also very, very popular. Most people I’ve talked to in the city reckon that Brookes is one of the best new universities, and I’ve met a lot of alumni who have all got very successful jobs. I don’t think that Brookes is marketed more towards upper-middle class students: I’d say 60% of our student population haven’t paid for their education. Brookes does have a reputation for Sloanes and husband shopping, but it’s a reputation that I think is ill-deserved, assumed through most people coming up and seeing people with blonde hair. True, there are quite a number of them to see, but I’d say last time I was up in Newcastle that kind of population was a lot more dense.We’re big drinkers as much as any other university. There are quite a lot of large nights out – we go out to clubs three or four times a week, Brookes’ favourites being Escape, The Bridge and Clementines. I’ve heard a couple of wild drunken stories about breaking into Oxford colleges, although for the record it wasn’t me! But let me just say that four or five of the colleges have walls that are very easy to scale. As to which ones, I couldn’t possibly comment. You can sense a different vibe between Brookes and Oxford nights. Brookes students seem more enthusiastic and chatty. This could be because the people there have more things in common and possibly less to prove, but admittedly that’s merely speculation. Do Oxford students have superiority issues? I think that’s something you have to judge on an individual basis. I don’t think you can ever make a generalisation about Oxford students – certainly my friends at Oxford aren’t like that at all. Concerning how we feel about them, there are absolutely no hard feelings whatsoever; everyone I know at Brookes has at least two friends at Oxford anyway. To us, Oxford University is just the place down the road. I think there is actually a lot more animosity from Oxford towards Brookes students than the other way around. To be honest, most people have chosen to go here as their first choice, so have no hard feelings about anything. We’re supposed to be the fittest university in Britain. From personal experience I’d say that’s true, although the types are actually a lot more varied than just the blonde hair and short skirts. Well, a lot of people I know, to be fair, have blonde hair and wear short skirts. Indeed, that’s the stereotype that may be applied to Brookes girls, accompanied by signet-ring wearing, shirt-and-jean wearing, long-haired boys. Degree of superficiality? I’d say no more than any other university. It’s very much a case of “you can’t judge a book by its cover”. People are generally very quick to judge short skirts and bleached blonde hair, but I think there’s a lot more to the look then that. I mean, maybe you’ll have this girl who will wake up tomorrow and think “I’d like to dye my hair blonde” – I don’t know, I don’t know why I’d dye my hair blonde. But I think to take a look at that phenomenon and think they’re all clones would be a gross underestimation.ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005

The former Master of the Household for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall has been appointed by Trinity as its new estates bursar. Kevin Knott has worked for Prince Charles and Camilla since 2002.  He was the deputy secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall and later served as Master of the Household. Knott will take over his new post in January and his election as a Fellow of the College will take place soon afterwards. As Master of the Household, Knott was responsible for domestic arrangements and staff, as well as the catering and official entertaining at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences. His new job as Trinity’s estate bursar will bring together the College’s financial, budgetary, asset and fundraising management into one full-time post. Trinity College president Michael Beloff said, “The College is pleased and proud to have attracted someone of Mr Knott’s distinction and ability to be its senior administrative officer,”Knott played a key role in organising the wedding between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in April. He became controversial following a BBC Panorama documentary, “A Right Royal Shambles?” which revealed that there had been a mix up over the venue; dissent within the Church of England; the Queen’s decision not to attend part of the big day; a disastrous gaffe by the Prince in the media; and the possibility of a clash with the Pope’s funeral. A Clarence House spokesperson said, “Kevin Knott is leaving the household to take up the post of estate bursar at Trinity College, Oxford. “After 21 years of working for the Prince of Wales in various capacities Kevin felt it was the right time to move on. We are very sad to see him go, and we wish him well in his new job.” ARCHIVE: 1st week MT 2005