Oxford goes Cup crazy
OXFORD SHRUGS OFF its stuffy, otherworldly image and joins the rest of the nation in gearing up for Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup. Around the university, times of tutorials and other events are being rescheduled to accommodate students' desire to see their country play.
After the competition gets under way on May 31st, many students will miss lectures and classes scheduled at times that clash with matches they want to see. Lecturers are expecting low class attendance on Group F match days, especially when England is playing.
The England team will play Argentina on Friday June 7th. The 12.30pm kick-off has meant that OUSU Council, which was scheduled to meet at 2pm on that day, recognising people's desire to see the outcome of the England v Argentina game, will instead begin at 2.30pm. Rodrigo Davies, Council Chair, said he thought the delayed start was an "appropriate gesture" considering the degree of interest in the World Cup.
It is not always the students who are asking for tutorials to be rescheduled. St Edmund Hall economics tutor Outi Aarnio has put forward a revision class by two hours so as not to interrupt England v Nigeria.
Of course, not everyone greets the coming World Cup with the same level of enthusiasm. New College Senior Tutor, Mark Griffith said students should not allow extra-curricular activities - such as watching the World Cup - to interfere with their degrees. When asked, history tutor Joern Leonhard of Wadham stated he would not change the time of a scheduled tutorial: "One may not believe it, but this is still primarily an academic institution."
6th Jun 2002