Not time wasters
This week, Brasenose Tutor Marianne Talbot criticised Oxford students for wasting her time and theirs by working for money during term time. Oxford remains one of the only institutions in the country to insist that its students do not work during term, despite mounting evidence that this will only be harmful to students’ long term interests.
A recent survey found that 58 per cent of students now work during term in order to fund their studies, and over half of English universities now acknowledge that this is inevitable. The NUS estimates that even with a student loan, students will have to pay a further £5,664 a year from their own pockets to fund their university careers.
An investigation in this newspaper two weeks ago showed that, even with Oxford’s shorter terms, higher living costs would still result in a shortfall of £3,729 per annum. Meanwhile, tutors expect our vacations to be taken up principally by academic work (one of the reasons they insist on calling them ‘vacations’ and not ‘holidays’).
Where then, are we supposed to find the time to earn the money that is to fund us through university? If the answer is in the time not spent doing academic work (few students are so diligent as not to have any of this), when are we supposed to be able to relax, travel and spend time with our loved ones - in short, generally have time off from being a stressed, overworked Oxford student? On top of this, since 2002, 338 Government Access to Learning Fund applications have been turned down from Oxf
d, as well as 30 per cent of applications for the university’s own hardship fund over the same period. The truth is, of course, that students do, by and large, find ways to make the system work. However, in trying to do this, we remain one of the most stressed and overworked student bodies in the entire country. The university could do a lot by taking this burden off our shoulders and helping us to find ways in which term time employment could be compatible with an Oxford degree.
Given these arguments, one thing that Oxford students have to be good at is time management. In order to fit in academic work, extra-curricular activities, a social life and still have time to fund our way through university, we have to become masters at making every single hour in Oxford count double. This is why Marianne Talbot was wrong. If there is any group of people for whom wasting time is simply not an option, it is the students of Oxford.
17th Nov 2005