OUSU sell Radcliffe Camera
In an entirely precedented move, OUSU listed the Radcliffe Camera on the internet auction site eBay in order to highlight the growing debts caused by rent rises. Emma Norris, OUSU President, and Martin McCluskey, Rent Campaign co-ordinator, listed the iconic library on Monday, with a reserve price of £189million �" the total amount of debt owed by Oxford students. According to the listing, the pair “are selling our education to the highest bidder.
The auction attracted a bid of £10million, before it was removed from the website. The high bid was made by Dave Green, the student who last term placed Brasenose College on the website. He said, “I think that’s a reasonable price to pay, I could have turned it into luxury apartment, a theme park, a casino or maybe a nightclub.” “I’m disappointed I didn’t win, I’m sure I could have raised £10million fairly easily.
OUSU President, Emma Norris, said: “Student loans now barely cover rent costs because of such unreasonable rent rises. Colleges need to appreciate the very real effects such rises are having on the quality of life of their students, who are increasingly having to resort to unsecured credit to pay their way through university. ‘‘Universities, especially ones as asset rich as the University of Oxford, should not be forcing poor students into further debt.
However, eBay have reacted angrily to the prank. “They cannot sell something they don’t own. It contravened our rules and we took it down immediately. It is irresponsible.” A spokesperson for the University said, “This is clearly a stunt. The Bodleian is quite obviously not theirs to sell, and hence has been removed from eBay.” OUSU were lucky that the auction was removed.
If a bidder had successfully met the reserve price and completed the auction without attracting the attention of the administrators, then OUSU would have been contractually obliged to pay 1.65% of the fi nal value �" over £3million. The auction company confi rmed, “This fee applies whether or not you complete the sale with the buyer.” Green was fi ned £50 last year for listing Brasenose on eBay, and forced to issue an apology.
The proctors refused to comment whether similar punishment would be applied to Norris and McCluskey. The stunt is part of a wider and more serious campaign to highlight rent increases in Oxford. Oxford students have suffered rises of an average of 35% in the last fi ve years, compared to less than 5% regionally, according to the NUS. Andrew Smith MP for Oxford East presented a petition to Parliament last month against the rent rises.
He said, “Rent rises are a real blow, hitting students hard in an already high cost city. I believe this is a really important campaign and am very pleased to take the petition to Parliament.”
1st Jun 2006