News in Brief
A Trinity JCR meeting ended in controversy last Sunday as President Martin Cooles demanded that honorary member Arkady Hodge "shut up or leave." Hodge, a Trinity MCR member, had been encouraging an amendment to an anti-rent rise motion which would have paved the way to rent strikes.
The JCR had invited the Domestic and Estates Bursars to justify the proposed 8% rent rises, citing factors such as September 11th to government pressures, although Cooles called their figures 'misleading.'
ALAN RYAN, WARDEN of New College, last week described the government's higher education strategy as "incoherent and stupid", favouring an approach more in line with the US. Ryan claimed that it was only his affection for New College that was preventing him leaving an "ill-paid, overmanaged, and increasingly uninteresting" academic life in Britain on sabbatical.
Reports of NUS plans to introduce a plastic swipe card for student discounts have met with resistance among student unions nationwide.
In September 2002, the NUS propose to issue swipe cards, which may lead to some retailers choosing to credit the student discount to bank accounts, with students paying full price at the time of purchase. Students will also have to register with NUS Online to use the cards, submitting their personal details.
Antonia Bance, OUSU VP (Women) and NUS committee member, has dismissed the accusations, stating that the change is "not an issue."
Oxford has received the highest amount of combined research income of any UK university, with an income of £211 million. Oxford was placed ahead of other leading academic luminaries, such as UCL and Imperial College, with Cambridge achieving fourth place.
Former Oxford University associate professor, Alvaro Uribe Velez was last week elected President of Colombia with a landslide victory. He won with a tough, populist stance against the increasingly powerful Marxist guerrillas, who have dogged the country in recent years.
13th Jun 2002