Student union's race policy faces shake-up
IN THE WAKE of the controversy surrounding David Irving's invitation to speak at the Oxford Union and the subsequent interview with him in the Oxford Student, a "no platform" motion is being put to OUSU council this Friday. The aim is to prevent a debacle similar to what happened last year, when John Tyndall, then leader of the British National Party, was invited to speak at the Union in an event organised with the OUSU Anti-Racism Committee....
News: It's a fair cop - no more bowlers
THE UNIVERSITY POLICE - alias the Bulldogs - are usually only encountered outside Exam Schools when students "get overexcited" and unleash the desire to chase one another down Merton Street brandishing foaming bottles of champagne. Perhaps the Bulldogs, in their quaint bowler hats, do not inspire us with quite enough respect. This is the view of Inspector Richard Hartley, the new University Marshal, who is conducting a review that will determine whether the University Police can attain what he terms "a higher profile role" to make the Bulldogs more like a "proper police force."...
News: Bursar predicts dark future for colleges
WHAT DOES THE future hold for Oxford's colleges? Possibly not what you might expect, argue David Palfreyman and Ted Tapper in their new book. Palfreyman, Bursar of New College, and Tapper, Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex, describe a likely '25-year shift' away from the traditional collegiate system....
News: Martin: I'm very sorry, but I haven't a Clunes
TV STAR Martin Clunes shocked fans after nearly running over a cyclist in Catte Street on Monday. They were even more stunned to discover that he was on the run from two murders. But the comedy Oxford Story-style extras and huge crowd film crew gave away the secret.
News: No Saxon please - we're English!
ENGLISH STUDENTS IN Oxford will be heaving sighs of relief, following the news that Anglo-Saxon is likely to be abolished from undergraduate courses.
News: Oxford reaches for the skies
GIANT FRUITS AND sweets invaded Oxford's skies last weekend when the Oxford Worldlywize Balloon Fiesta took place in South Park for the third year running. Balloons in the shape of Bertie Bassett, a huge Chubb fire extinguisher and an oversized Samsung printer were among those launched. They were joined by an Energis balloon which incorporates a mobile office with the latest in audio, video and data communications facilities. Despite an unpromising start - the balloons were initially earth-bound due to fog - they finally took off mid-morning....
News: New member alleges forgery at the Union
MORE PROBLEMS AT the Union emerged today with allegations by one student that Union staff forged his signature on a standing order. Adrian Lloyd, first year in Oriental Studies at Lincoln, alleges that the signature on the standing order form is not his. "I sent off my cheque for life membership of the Union last summer. Two weeks before the end of the Easter holidays I received a letter from the bank stating that there was an error in a standing order form that I had sent them, and could I correct it. I spotted the error quite quickly, but then realised that the form was not in my handwriting. There was nothing unusual in that, because someone could have just filled in a form for me to sign, but then I noticed that it wasn't my signature at the bottom of the form." Adrian was very worried by what had happened and unsure of the best course of action. "My first reaction was one of shock. I discussed with my family about what to do: they told me to go to the Union when term started to find out what they said. In first week I went to the Union Secretary, who appeared shocked by the event. She fetched the Bursar, who said that it was very unusual for such a thing to happen, but that it was not the Union's fault: it was due to someone that they had hired. She added that if I liked, they would send me a formal letter of apology. That was two weeks ago, and I haven't received anything, which is basically the cherry on top of the cake."...
News: Students cane it down Oxford's streets
A MOTION IS to be put forward at OUSU's council meeting on Friday, to suggest that OUSU extend its stance on the legalisation of cannabis and to lend support to a pro-cannabis march.
News: Too much talking?
MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING in schools leaves pupils unprepared for undergraduate work, language lecturers claim. Speakers at a conference on the future of language teaching that took place last week at Aston University blamed the "communicative" approach employed in schools for the decline in students' grammatical skills. They claim that too much emphasis is placed on practising comprehension of the spoken language, with the result that accuracy suffers and first year undergraduates struggle with the grammar....