Student rent charges are likely to soar even higher as the Estate Bursars’ Committee yet again places accommodation subsidies in the spotlight. An independent consultancy group is currently undertaking a real cost review of college accommodation across the University,, including figures such as capital depreciation. Their report will be presented to the Bursars’ Committee within the next couple of weeks. Dr Alex Hardy, Bursar of Oriel College, and leading advocate of the real cost review, has indicated to student representatives that this report will form part of the Estate Bursars’ ongoing decision over the proportion of college costs to be covered by students. Speaking to Cherwell, Dr Hardy was unable to deny the importance or the implications of this review, stating that “the consultants’ findings would be fully considered by all college bursars.” Helena Puig Larrauri, Student Union president, was fearful of the possible consequences of this further move to fix battels charges, saying, “it will be important to ensure the Estate Bursars don’t place the full burden of accommodation on students.” This move is made in the shadow of protest over the first wave of rent increases. With many JCRs locked into negotiations with college authorities, some are now considering rent strikes. Trinity College JCR is asking students to pay only the original charge after negotiations were broken off by the college authorities. The Trinity JCR President told Cherwell that “there was no agreed increase to recognise.” Trinity will begin a full rent strike if negotiations are not restarted by Hilary term.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Law academics at Oxford and Cambridge are to launch a national mediation service to solve clashes between students and staff. The new service will bring forward cases to discuss academic judgments, such as whether students have been unfairly denied the correct class of degree. A paper by The Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (Oxcheps), headed by New College fellow and bursar David Palfreyman, said that the new service would save a university years of senior administrators’ time and heavy legal costs as well as “[providing] a route to a win-win solution in which the institution and the student or member of staff can save face.” Until now, Lord Chancellors, Lord Presidents and bishops have all been called in for serious disputes at UK Universities but have more recently been hesitant in becoming involved in ‘alien’ academic quarrels. Oxcheps has complied a list of university legal cases and is putting together a group of mediators from university administration and professors specialising in education law. The first independent adjudicator is shortly to be announced by Universities UK, the vice-chancellors’ organisation.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Tony Martin will make his first public appearance since release from prison at the Oxford Union. Union authorities hope Martin’s appearance will encourage informed debate on the right to defend property, although the speech will be made without opposition.. Tony Martin was convicted of shooting a burglar on his own land, which he claims was in self-defence. With several speeches lined up, the Union appearance will kick-start a bid to place Martin and his case at the forefront of a campaign on the issues of rural crime and the use of lethal force to defend property. Union President Markus Walker said that “the Union is a forum rather than platform…If members are to be repelled, let them be repelled,” he added.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

University of Warwick Freshers in Warwick were conned into paying £400 this week for briefcases filled with bottled water. In four separate incidents, the students were stopped in the street and offered expensive new laptops at knock-down prices, only to find – once the money had changed hands – that the briefcase contained six bottles of Evian and an ‘insulting note’ from the vendors. Rough.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Jesus College, Cambridge A fellow of Jesus resigned over the summer after allegations of ‘extra-curricular activities’ in his college rooms with local prostitutes. Punternet, a web-based escort agency, credited the candid ‘reviews’ of the girls’ services to a mysterious ‘Pete C’, who ranked them between ‘excellent service’ and ‘not bad, quite reasonable’. Philosophy students at Jesus remarked that he was usually a great deal more scathing about their essays.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Imperial College, London A guide entitled “how to play responsibly with freshers” advocates locking them in a lecture theatre and drenching them with beer using Super Soakers. Other tips include abandoning male freshers on Hampstead Heath wearing gold thongs. Spokesmen for the University declined to comment, but a representative from the Student Union was officially ‘shocked,’ adding that ‘nasty things could happen, especially on Hampstead Heath’. No naked freshers have been seen with Ron Davies.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Un iversity of Milan, Italy An Italian student was given the cold shoulder last month after hitchhiking 1,250 miles to see the Swedish girl he fell in love with on his gap year in America. After going missing for three weeks, he was picked up by police at a service station only 110 miles from his destination. But after the girl’s father agreed to pick him up, he found himself being driven straight to the airport – as his Swedish girlfriend had decided he was nothing more than a forgotten holiday romance.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Merton fought off competitors and retained its position as Oxford’s topranking college in the Norrington Table. Matching its 2002 score, it sailed ahead to claim the top spot for the second year running. Wadham was the surprise ranking of the year, in second place,whilst traditional rivals Balliol and St John’s tied in fifth and sixth places. St. Anne’s did not match Merton’s consistency, losing its place in last year’s top six to claim tenth place. St. Catherine’s shared a similar fate, plummeting from fourth to fifteenth. Lady Margaret Hall remained at the bottom of the table. The publication of the table raised the inevitable debate over the link between results and college wealth. This year’s top six includes St. John’s, one of the wealthiest colleges in Oxford, as well as the famously rich Magdalen. Wadham defied this trend, being one of Oxford’s poorer colleges. Warden John Flemming attributed this year’s ranking to the College’s willingness to accept a wide range of students, many of whom are highly motivated. He said “Competition is a motivating force for people in the University.” However, dons repeated their criticisms that the table was not an accurate college guide. The University refuses to publish its own table.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

New Chancellor Chris Patten is to be joined by Dr John Hood, who has been nominated as the next Vice Chancellor, making him the first person in 900 years to hold the position from outside the University. Chris Patten was admitted as Chancellor of the University at a ceremony before this year’s Encaenia on 25 June. New Zealander Dr John Hood makes his way from a four year vice-chancellorship at the University of Auckland. A graduate of the University of Auckland, Dr Hood was an Oxford Rhodes Scholar at Worcester College in the late 1970s, where he gained an MPhil in Management Studies. He taught Civil Engineering at Auckland for several years. Dr. Hood said: “I am humbled to have been invited to lead Oxford, one of the world’s great universities. I expect that the greatest immediate challenge that Oxford will face in 2004 will result from UK national legislation following the White Paper that was published earlier this year.”ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003 

Plans for admissions tests to scoop the cream of Oxford applicants have sparked fears that students from non-traditional backgrounds will be deterred. With growing numbers of students attaining perfect A-level scores, a new entrance exam (the BMAT) has been introduced for prospective medical students. The admissions department has revealed that Oxford is also likely to introduce entrance tests for Law and other ‘popular’ subjects such as History. It is feared that tests would favour students from schools with a tradition of attending Oxbridge and that richer students could be coached. But with nearly 1000 applicants for 150 places, the University has argued that there is no other way of differentiating between medical candidates. Jane Minto, Admissions Director, said “The current process is not enough. A lot of people who apply are enormously well qualified; it is not possible to differentiate between academic achievements.” Oxford Admissions Coordinator, Dr William James, also defended the decision, saying, “If we took the test results and GCSE grades we could identify that half the applicants had no chance. It would be a kindness not to bring them to Oxford for three days.” But OUSU President Helena Puig Larrauri expressed doubts over the scheme. “The BMAT has a lot of problems,” she said. ’Students in schools without an Oxford tradition will be disadvantaged. It also has a fee, which many students may not realise. This is also a matter of image – we should be working to widen access.”ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003