Finalists : poisoned with just days to go?
AN OUTWARDLY REFINED tea party was held at St Hugh's last Friday to mark the long awaited opening of the new Maplethorpe Building by Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd, MP. But she may have been present for the beginning of the wave of nausea which has engulfed the college. The Senior Tutor, who was ill himself last weekend, maintains that the widespread illness is unrelated to the College's standards of catering - although the kitchens have already been closed once in the last six months by Health and Safety reps. He called the bug a "severe stomach disorder" which was brought into the college "by an outsider."
Finalists at the college were worst affected and at least three have had to miss exams due to the outbreak of sickness. A student at the College commented: "St Hugh's College, not content with building a crap building, leaving it unfinished, putting their finalists through three terms of noise and things falling apart, have finished the saga with gusto. They have poisoned us." In answer the Senior Tutor stated: "It's just a piece of rotten bad luck."
Although the college claims that the problem is in fact a "severe gastric virus", an element of doubt remains, particularly amongst the student body. The Public Health Inspector - who has been conducting the inquiry into the situation - has not yet issued a statement. It has been rumoured that even if the poisoning did not occur at the opening of the building, there is a possibility that the offending food was served up at the College's Schools Dinner, so explaining the numbers of finalists affected. The explanation offered by the Senior Tutor was that the Schools Dinner gave the virus an opportunity to spread.
"What college wishes to avoid is any hint that the offending fodder may have been served at the 'refreshments' held in honour of the opening of the new Maplethorpe Building," commented one student. Reasons for this may include the presence of Betty Boothroyd, or indeed that of Baroness Castle of Blackburn, who is almost 90 years old - "not the person one wishes to get violent food poisoning". The student went on to say that other guests included "old people with cash from whom the college wishes to exact financial contributions."
Much of the speech given by the Principal of the college at the opening of the building was indeed in praise of those who had donated money - members of whose families were present - which had allowed the "masterplan" to be "dramatically achieved."
The Principal thanked Mr and Mrs Maplethorpe, after whom the building is named, saying "Mrs Maplethorpe's last thoughts in her will were of graduates at St Hugh's." He also showed his gratitude to the parents of Howard Piper - a recent Maths graduate from the college - whose sudden death "caused great sadness." The Howard Piper Library has been named after this "remarkable" student. Betty Boothroyd stated: "It is my privilege to initiate this joint dedication."
Betty Boothroyd MP, Speaker of the House of Commons and an Honorary Fellow of the College grabbed most of the attention at the reception, though. She spoke amusingly of the progress women have made in male-dominated institutions, drawing comparisons between the House of Commons and St Hugh's College - both began as single-sex institutions. She cited as an example Winston Churchill's reception of Nancy Astor - the first female MP - into the House of Commons: "The presence of a woman in the House is as embarrassing as being caught in the bathroom with only a sponge." But she felt that both institutions
had taken the changes in their stride over the years: "I hope I will not be accused of gender-bending when I say that St Hugh's modernises and people follow."
Despite the gastric goings-on at St Hugh's, students seem relieved that the long-awaited accommodation block has finally been erected in the College's grounds. Ms Boothroyd and reporters from the Oxford Student appear to have escaped unscathed.
18th May 2000