OUSU, ever the whipping boy of right wing colleges, got one in
the eye this week as it found itself sabotaged from within. No
dear reader, not by a loss-making shop, sabs besieging a lecture
hall or a referendum that backfired – this time the student
union found it had to debate a suicide motion. After beating the OUSU camp senseless in the Oriel
reaffiliation election a fortnight ago, David Follows held his
nose against the stink of urine from the stairwell of OUSU towers
(‘so left wing’) and dived into the murky world of OUSU
Council motions to hit his enemy on home turf. Oh the cheek of the boy in calling for the mighty student
union to affiliate to puny Oriel JCR for the princely sum of £2
per year in return for a kick in the teeth and a free Milkybar
per OUSU gimp. Follows smirked as he told your loyal servant he wanted to
“have a bit of fun and relieve the tedium of council for
once”. Perhaps he’s missed the biweekly musical chairs
as OUSU delegates sneak off to the pub after five minutes of
Council drivel, or forgotten Tim Ayles’ scandalous use of
OUSU recycled paper (‘so hippie’) to print his OUCA
presidency posters instead of “Save Our Squirrels”
campaign material. OUSU President Helena Puig- Larrauri, ever the politician,
stared the motion down and decided to play dirty: “This
motion just shows how serious David Follows took the OUSU
affiliation campaign in Oriel.” “Mais-non”, retorted Follows, “I’ve spent
a lot of time and energy working on more mundane means of
reforming OUSU”, like offering to throw in 25 copies of the
indispensable publication The Guide to Comedy Motions to help
OUSU find its sense of humour perhaps? As the Daily Mail will readily concur, everybody loves to
hate. And both OUSU and Oriel need each other to justify their
own existance, as a means to magnify their respective
revolutionary and reactionary characteristics. But at least those
reactionary old buggers at Oriel have tradition on their side. In
a stand-off between these forces, one must always come down on
the side with better drinking habits.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Yesterday’s local and European elections were shrouded in
controversy across the country as the postal vote system was
lambasted from all sides and arrests carried out over alleged
abuse. In Oxford, many students took advantage of postal votes to
enable them to vote in their home local elections as well as the
Oxford ones, especially students from London who wanted to take
part in elections for the Mayor of London and the General London
Assembly. David Adams, who lives in Richmond, told Cherwell, “I
wanted to vote for Ken Livingstone because the Mayor of London
will represent me for several years after I’ve left Oxford,
and so postal voting saved me trekking back home yesterday.” While Oxford seemed to avoid problems with malpractice and
delivery, there were smaller cases of confusion. Some students
were unaware that it was illegal to vote in the European
Elections twice. The confusion seems to have risen because both
local and European elections were held on the same day, and
students assumed that the rules were the same for both, despite
posters at the polling stations warning of the illegality of
voting twice in the latter. A spokeswoman for the Electoral
Services Department said that if individuals were found to have
voted twice, they would be reported to the police and prosecuted. Hiren Naik complained that “it was all far too confusing.
I only realised I was allowed to vote on the ballot paper for the
local elections but not the one for the European elections when I
got to the voting booth. I’m sure some students must have
mistakenly voted twice.” In Lancashire, police are questioning 60 people about 170
proxy vote applications while Greater Manchester Police are
probing malpractice claims. Elsewhere, problems with printing and
postal systems left voters without sufficient time to return
ballots and so emergency polling stations were set up in areas
including Bolton. Postal ballots were intended to boost turnout,
and early indications suggest that they may have done so by as
much as 25% in some parts of the country.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

Two central Oxford bookshops are set to close this year,
because of ever increasing rent rises from the “utterly
ruthless” colleges which own the premises. Other shops in
the city talk of the struggle to keep up with property prices and
the difficulties imposed by transport restrictions. Unsworths bookshop in Turl Street is to close down in July
after six years. The establishment, which specialises in selling
scholarly and antiquarian books on the humanities, cannot afford
to pay increased rent rates for the premises. The rent increases
are a part of a rent review by Lincoln College which lets out a
number of properties on Turl Street. John Kinnane, senior
assistant at the bookshop, explained, “There is not a
massive profit margin on books, and when you put together a rent
increase with business rates and other overheads it means that
business here is no longer sustainable.” Charles Unsworth, manager of the Unsworths chain, said that he
had spent 15 months negotiating, but that Lincoln were
“intransigent in discussions” about the issue. Neighbouring store, the Classics Bookshop is also set to close
this year. Proprietor Anne Powell-Jones said that they feared
rent rises this autumn would be as much as 20%, rendering the
business no longer profitable. She has run the bookshop on Turl
Street for 15 years, and another bookshop had previously traded
on the premises. The Bursar at Lincoln College was contacted by Cherwell
regarding the rent increases but said that he was “unable to
make any comment”. Powell-Jones did point out that “up
to now Lincoln have been good landlords and it’s not just a
question of blaming them. Transport has also been a
problem.” Many central businesses say that have been
permanently damaged by the transport limitations introduced in
the city in 1999. Small shops in Jericho are also struggling as a result of the
high rents imposed by Oxford colleges. Walton Street Cycles
manager John Wilson said, “All the colleges are totally
ruthless and local businesses never know where they stand.”
St John’s owns much of the property in Jericho and North
Oxford. Wilson said that the college has been “completely
and utterly unhelpful – they just hoick prices up when they
want.” Staff at Jericho Books expressed disappointment that
more local businesses were facing difficulties. The closure of the bookshops is a disappointment to many
tutors and students who have bought books from the shop.
Christopher Guyver, a D.Phil. student at Keble opined, “It
is a real shame that Unsworths are closing: it was a good place
to get quality academic books at a low price and the staff were
always friendly.”ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004 

A New College student has been called up for a disciplinary
hearing, after he ‘replied-all’ to the Law Soc
mailing-list with a single abusive word. Oliver Wilson, a
third-year New College Law finalist, has received a decanal
summons to explain why he sent what university regulations
classify as an “abusive email”. Halina Wielogorska, the Publicity Secretary of the society had
accidentally sent out an email advertising the “Barristers
and bevies” evening which enabled all recipients to reply to
the whole list, as opposed to the usual undisclosed recipients
list. Wilson, it seems, clicked on reply-all and sent an email to
all 600 members with the single word spelled out in block
capitals, “CUNT.” Wilson refused to speak to Cherwell, but a close personal
friend claims that he is “upset” and suggested that a
hacker may have sent the email. Another student, Ben Eyre, a
first-year Lawyer, took the opportunity to advertise the annual
Greyfriars invitational 5-a-side football tournament on the list.
Speaking to Cherwell, Eyre said he had made “a genuine
mistake” by confusing the reply and reply-all options. Another email was later sent from the Law Society apologizing
for the “rogue emails” that had been circulating and
advising no one else to reply to the list. “Disciplinary
proceedings have been initiated”, it continued. The email
also detailed the fates of other students, who in 1998 suffered
rustication and fines ranging from £50 to £500 for similar
offences.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004

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