OUSU will be debating an emergency motion today in support of
the two OxStu journalists who are facing a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction for serious breaches of the University IT
regulations. Patrick Foster and Roger Waite have been called before the
proctors after they violated the University regulations by
exposing flaws in the University IT security system in an OxStu
article published on 27 May. They face punishments up to and
including a £500 fine and rustication. Their hearings are set
for sometime between Tenth and Twelth Week, but may be as late as
September. Waite is said to have consulted a media lawyer with
regard to this matter. The OxStu said in a statement that although the two had
violated the regulations, it was not done with malicious intent.
“Foster and Waite were clearly acting in the public
interest”, they added. They hope the University will bear
this in mind when bringing charges against them. Foster told
Cherwell that he and Waite were “both distressed and annoyed
that the University is seeking to heavily punish us for actions
that we feel are beneficial to both students and staff
alike.” The OUSU motion includes a statement that the council
“believes that student journalists should be supported in
pursuit of issues that affect the lives of students” and
that the “editorial content of student newspapers should not
be subject to pressures from the University”. It also called
for the President of OUSU to write to the editors of Cherwell and
OxStu stating their support for student journalism, and to write
to the Chancellor and Proctors expressing their views. It was also confirmed to Cherwell that OUSU, as the publisher
of the newspaper, is responsible for any breaches of the law that
occur. However, the University is dealing with the matter as one
of student discipline and no legal action has been brought
against OUSU as of now. Waite also told Cherwell that he finds it ironic that
“the only evidence that the University has against us is the
evidence that we ourselves have provided” and that they were
not “caught in the act” but were being prosecuted for
“telling the University that they had broken ICTC
regulations to show them shortcomings in the system.”
Rodrigo Davies, the publisher for OxStu, affirmed that Foster and
Waite were both “outstanding young journalists and have been
a great asset to the newspaper over the past year”. The
University office said that as this was an ongoing investigation,
they were unable to comment on the matter.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Firefighters in Oxford are recommending a ballot for
industrial action at their conference on 15 June. Any industrial
action is likely to cause disurption to students, particularly in
curtailing library use. Andy Gilchrist, speaking on behalf of the Fire Brigade Union
(FBU), “we are angry and exasperated at councillors always
moving the goal posts”, in a statement on Wednesday. Closing time at the Bodleian was brought forward to 7pm for a
period of time when industrial action was going on last year,
provoking the ire of many students. If such measures were to be
adopted again, it would be especially difficult for exam
candidates. One firstyear History and Politics student at
Brasenose said the Bodleian was crucial to his revision and that
closing the libraries early would “undoubtedly have a
detrimental effect on my revision”. A strike would be particularly worrying for the University,
because of the historical nature of many of the buildings, which
makes them especially prone to fire hazards. The University said
that if a strike did occur it would “work closely with the
relevant authorities and take advice on how best to deal with the
situation.” They also remarked that “exams were
unlikely to be affected”.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

The quiet of the small South Oxfordshire village of Henley was
ripped apart this week as a father started shooting members of
his family at a Sunday afternoon barbecue. Stuart Horgan, a 39-year-old ex soldier, has been charged with
the double murder of his wife, Vicky Horgan, 27, and her sister
Emma Walton, 25, who both died from their gunshot wounds. Their
mother Jacqueline is still critically ill in hospital. The
murders were carried out in front of Hogan’s young daughters
Jade, 6, and Bobbie-Jayne, 3. Hogan will appear in Oxford Crown
Court on 17 June. Mrs Horgan had married Stuart Horgan in 1999 but they were
separated the following year after a series of domestic
incidents. On Sunday afternoon she arranged a barbecue in the
garden. It is not clear if Stuart Horgan was invited. He was
drinking in a local pub and spoke to his wife on the phone for an
hour. A short while later a man appeared, carrying a gun. The women ran inside the small council flat. The gunman
followed them inside and opened fire, shooting Mrs Horgan in the
head and the other two in their upper bodies. The attacker then
fled. However, local people have criticised Thames Valley Police for
not allowing paramedics to enter the house for an hour after the
shooting. Mr Gibson, a neighbour, ran from his house next door,
alerted by the shots. After finding the injured women he dialled
999. He told reporters: “Vicky took her last breath as we
tried to comfort her. There was no ambulance and no police
officer with us, despite my repeated reassurances to officers
that the gunman had long since fled. I think there is a very real
chance that Vicky and Emma could have been saved if the
paramedics had been allowed to the scene.” South Oxfordshire Area Commander Superintendent Jill Simpson
told Cherwell that the paramedics had to be held back in order to
assess the “level of danger”. She said, “Firearms
operations demand a calculated response in order to safeguard
members of the public, officers and other emergency service
personnel at the scene.”ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

A man is in court for strangling his fiancée to death in an
Oxford hotel last year. He claims both he and his fiancée were
high on drugs at the time, and wants “mitigating
circumstances” to be taken into account . Stephen Ellis has been charged with the murder of Donna Rowe,
his fiancée, at the Travel Lodge Hotel, on 3 August. He claims
they had a couple of grams of cocaine, five or six ecstasy
tablets and were smoking cannabis throughout the night. The couple were in Oxford to attend the wedding of Ellis’
cousin at Headington Hall. Ellis later spoke of how he thanked
his cousin for “providing a dry run” after the wedding
and how he and his fiancée had been prompted by the wedding to
discuss their own ceremony, due to take place a month later,
including “what songs to play on the night itself ”. He
told police he “thought he killed Miss Rowe”. Ellis has denied murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by
diminished responsibility.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Large numbers of Oxford children, some as young as five, are
forced to care for their alcoholic and drugabusing parents,
according to figures recently released by Oxfordshire County
Council. The shocking statistics suggest that about 4,000 children
between the ages of five and 19 are looking after adults
classified as suffering from ‘mental health or substance
misuse problems.’ Furthermore, the work of these children is neither
acknowledged nor classified by the authorities, since they are
not included in the estimates of those with relatives who are
diagnosed with physical and mental illness or disability.
Officially, there are 54,435 unpaid carers in Oxfordshire, while
1,300 of those are young people. This figure, however, does not
take into account children with alcoholic or drug-addicted
parents. The estimate of 4,000 children acting as carers for
their parents was provided by the Social Services for the
district. Caring for disabled parents within the family saves the
state millions of pounds each year. In an attempt to ameliorate the situation, an officer has been
appointed for the support of children who find themselves in this
predicament.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Oxford witnessed an astronomical spectacle not seen in living
memory when Venus crossed the face of Sun last Tuesday. Earth’s closest planetary neighbour became visible as a
black dot on the Sun’s surface at 6.19am for the first time
in 122 years. The University’s Museum of the History of
Science and the Hanwell Community Observatory set up special
equipment, such as telescopes fitted with solar filters, in the
University Parks, where the transit could be viewed by members of
the public from ten to twelve o’clock. Viewing was aided by
good weather and relatively clear skies. Other events planned to mark the transit included an
exhibition entitled ‘The most noble problem in nature’,
about how astronomers hoped to use the event to measure the size
of the solar system, as well as a play at the Burton-Taylor based
on records from the last transit in 1874. The next transit
visible from Britain will be in 2247.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

A new book claims that life expectancy is linked to education:
the longer you spend learning, the longer life you will have. Sir Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology and public
health at University College London, has challenged conventional
thinking that genes and lifestyle choices such as smoking are the
key factors in life expectancy, and argues in a new book that the
key factor is actually social standing. Critically, he has collected data showing that people with
PhDs live longer than those with masters degrees. Those with a
masters live longer than those with an undergraduate degree,
while those with an undergraduate degree live longer than those
who left school early. Sir Michael calls it “Status Syndrome” and explains
that “the evidence is overwhelming. It suggests that higher
society position creates good health.” The social hierarchy
he talks of could be as simple as the various levels of education
within a university. Alternativley, they may be as complex as the
relative importance of individuals within the Civil Service. Sir Michael argues that an individual’s position in that
hierarchy is influenced by two things: how much control we have
over our lives and what role we play in society. “Do
individuals feel in control and have opportunities for full
social engagement?” he asks. He claims that income is relatively unimportant as long as an
individual is near the top of their social hierarchy, hence
impoverished academics can still live long into old age.
“More money does not buy better health, it is only important
as a marker. Income per se is not important.” Sir Michael has been part of an independent government inquiry
since 1997 which has explored health inequalities. He believes that, by giving people more control over their
lives and by ensuring that they play a full part in society,
health can be boosted and lifespan extended.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Three thousand women from Oxford took part in a charity race
to aid the struggle against cancer last Sunday. The organisers
hope that £180,000 will be raised for cancer research. The
‘Race for Life’ has been run in Oxford since 1996
around a 5km course in University Parks. Participants in the
event also released pink balloons to remember those affected by
the illness. Over the last ten years, a million women across the country
have participated in the ‘Race for Life’ campaign,
making it the UK’s largest fundraising event. During this
time, it has raised £50 million for Cancer Research UK. More
than a quarter of a million people are diagnosed with cancer in
the UK every year. The disease is the cause of over a quarter of
all deaths annually. Jane Tomlinson also passed through Oxford, last Thursday, as
part of a 2,000-mile charity cycle ride that has taken her
through Florence, Monte Carlo, Lyon and Paris. She has battled
through breast cancer to raise £135,000 on her ride for a number
of charities, including MacMillan Cancer Relief and Leeds Acute
Paediatric Services. She arrived in Oxford at 2.30pm ahead of an
overnight stay at the Oxford Business Park, in Cowley. Tomlinson was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 26 and
in 2000 was told that she had secondary metastatic bone cancer.
She was given six months to live. Throughout her ride she has
battled against her disease. “My illness doesn’t go
away,” she said, “it’s progressive and I have to
get on top of that.” Tomlinson has also run three marathons,
a half Iron Man triathlon and completed a cycle ride from John
O’Groats to Land’s End, raising over £600,000 for
charity. She arrived home on Monday.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

34 live shotgun cartridges were found abandoned in a green
Nike bag in Christ Church Meadows last Friday. The cartridges were found by a resident of Oxford’s night
shelter who approached a constable in Bonn Square to hand over
his discovery. The man later showed the police the exact spot between Christ
Church gardens and the Meadows where he found the shells in an
abandoned hold-all bag. How the ammunition got to one of the most
picturesque spots in Oxford remains a mystery. PC Treherne, the
man to whom the shells were handed over said that in his five
years of working in Oxford he had “certainly never been
handed anything like this before”. There has been no sign as yet of a weapon and the
cartridges’ discovery have not been linked to any other
incidents or crimes so far, but the police are still
investigating the matter. Anyone with any information can contact
PC Treherne via the Thames Valley Police.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Members of Mansfield College JCR have voted to continue to
allow students to smoke in the college bar. Passions were raised amid divided opinion between those who
believe smoking is an inalienable individual right and those who
support the ban because of the detrimental effects of passive
smoking. The current JCR policy won a vote with a majority of 63
votes to 44. The vote has checked a growing trend to ban smoking in public
places. Early this term, smoking was prohibited in Teddy Hall
JCR. On Tuesday the Health Secretary, John Reid, angered
anti-smoking groups by saying smoking is one of the few pleasures
the poor had left. He said, “The only enjoyment sometimes
that they have is to have a cigarette.”ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004