Balliol JCR has voted to ban Robin Thicke’s sexually explicit ‘Blurred Lines’ from being played at JCR events.

The song, which features the lyrics “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” and “not many women can refuse this pimpin’’, has attracted considerable controversy. The music video which has a top rated Youtube comment of “this porn has good music”, features two topless girls and provoked strong feeling within Balliol JCR.

JCR President Alex Bartram explained the motivation behind the step to ban the song. He said: “We want people to feel safe in the JCR, and for the JCR to feel like a safe environment. I support the motion that was passed absolutely and I want people to speak freely.”

Balliol is the first Oxford college to ban the song and may well set a precedent for other colleges; St. Anne’s are planning to debate the issue soon and other colleges likely to follow suit.

Sarah Pine, the OUSU Vice-President for Women, praised the JCR’s decision. She argued: “Balliol’s undergrads have chosen to prioritise the wellbeing of their students by not playing [the song]. This is a mature and respectful decision that respects survivors of sexual violence in their community.

“If other common rooms are considering rejecting the song, I’d like to applaud their commitment to the welfare of the one in four women that experience sexual assault during their time at university.”

She made her disapproval of the song’s message plain, saying, “The rape apology of the lyrics construct consent as something that could be bypassed” but added that it was for other colleges to “decide whether or not that’s something they want to include in their college life.”

Some were ambivalent towards the news. When asked for their opinion on the matter a St John’s first year said: “I just don’t care”. This attitude is perhaps unsurprising as the song’s sexism is in no way unique in popular music where sexually explicit lyrics are commonplace.

Since its release in March Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ has been banned by many student associations. The student unions of Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and some London universities have banned ‘Blurred Lines’ from being played at student union events.

The Oxford-based detective show, now entering its second series, will be filming in and around the university throughout October and November, with final production set to come to a close in January.

In spite of the weather, bystanders were able to get a close-up of actors dressed in 1960s costumes and the collection of vintage cars parked on Radcliffe Square. Unfortunately for autograph hunters, Shaun Evans, who plays the young Inspector Morse, was not spotted.

When asked why Oxford was such a popular location for detective dramas, one third-year Exeter historian surmised, “I suppose there’s a mystique about Oxford if you’re not familiar with the university. It seems like one of those places where there’s something really sinister and cult-like lurking beneath the surface. Of course in reality it’s all a bit boring, to the point where the occasional Morse murder mystery might actually liven things up.”

James Castle, a second-year St Anne’s student, said, “The best bit about Morse is that the director didn’t care in the slightest whatsoever to the real-world geography of Oxford. You’ll watch the actors walk out of a door in Exeter and then see them reappear somewhere in Magdalen. It’s both hilarious and disturbing.”

The original Inspector Morse series was an icon of British television for more than 10 years after it was first aired on ITV in 1987. The prequel Endeavour alsoproved a ratings-hit, with almost 7 million viewers tuning in to watch the return of young Morse earlier this year. The new series, made up of four 2-hour episodes, is set to hit our screens in early 2014.

Womcam, OUSU’s autonomous feminist campaign, is introducing “working groups” into colleges which look to change the way colleges approach feminist issues.

This new “Feminist Makeover” campaign has expanded at an unprecedented rate this term, prompting an important debate about whether there is a need for further feminist support in the colleges.

Chris Pike, a third year at Teddy Hall, has been running the campaign. He commented, “I’m delighted by the huge expansion in participation with WomCam which we’ve seen so far this term. We had an enormous turn-out to our first week event and loads of people signing up to be involved in working groups.”

These working groups work on a much smaller scale than the rest of the campaign, and will be taking motions to JCRs and MCRs, as well as setting up feminist societies and discussion groups within colleges. This campaign adds to the great number of existing societies within colleges. Eva Sprecher, Women’s Welfare representative at Jesus College told Cherwell, “We’ve found at Jesus increasingly everyone wants to get in on debating women’s issues, with the introduction of ‘feminars’ by the gender equality reps on our equal ops committee.

“We have good attendance from men and women to discuss issues relating to gender and especially after hosting Vagenda last Trinity it’s been great to hear the whole college getting involved in the discussion.”

Students at Magdalen College have had experienced success with the campaign and their new feminist group, ‘Raising Consciousness’, which meets on a fortnightly basis to discuss issues of misogyny as well as the possibility of restructuring the JCR committee to make it better equipped to handle the issues surrounding gender equality.

This week saw the launch of the campaign zine ‘It Happens Here: Stories of Sexual Violence & A Victim-Blaming University’. The booklet features analysis of the situation in Oxford and stories from survivors of ‘rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, relationship abuse, and other forms of personal violation’.  

An event held on Wednesday at Hertford college saw campaign organisers speak on issues of sexual violence in Oxford and encourage students to become part of a campaign committee to help fight rape and rape-culture in Oxford.

Yet due to the extent of existing support at college level, some students have queried why there is a need for a large-scale campaign from OUSU. Sarah Pine, Vice President for Women at OUSU, explained that this is not just a “top down” campaign.

She said, “The content of the college-based projects has come from the membership of the campaign, not from the committee. Also, there is more autonomy for different groups of women through the working groups. For example, the committee doesn’t tell queer women, women of colour or disabled women what their liberation looks like; this comes from those communities themselves.”

On a practical level, this means that the ‘working groups’ are designed by individual colleges to suit their own needs. Because of this there is  generally a great deal of support for WomCam from colleges’ independent societies.

Yet Miriam Goodall, who runs the Magdalen ‘Raising Consciousness’ campaign, stressed that there is still work to be done.

She said: “I would like to say we are 100 percent successful in our aims but I still believe there’s a lad culture which proliferates throughout the college and the university. That is why I wholeheartedly think that there is a need for an OUSU campaign and for all the other feminist groups working within the university. People often criticise OUSU as being bureaucratic and ineffective but I would support any organisation which is raising its voice against sexism.”

Individual colleges have had successes with the campaign, but there are clearly still challenges that a centrally organised but locally administered initiative can face. Instances like the ‘Mr. and Mrs. Christ Church’ competition in Trinity 2013 that ended with “get your tits out” chants show that sexism is yet to be eradicated from Oxford.

 “Open Your Eyes” was the slogan of a recent protest urging shoppers on the streets of Oxford to stop and think about the reality of sex trafficking.

The demonstration, organised by the Oxford Community Against Trafficking (OXCAT), was held on Cornmarket street to mark Anti-Slavery Day (18th October). It aimed to raise awareness about the ordeals faced by the victims of sex trafficking through a variety of music, drama and dance performances.

OXCAT is a community group of volunteers which was set up by various Oxfordshire  churches. It aims to offer support to victims and make more people aware of human trafficking by engaging with the wider community through education and the arts.

This protest hit to the heart of the city which was shocked by the discovery of a sex trafficking ring in 2012. Earlier this year, the ‘Bullfinch trial’ saw seven men convicted of the  abuse of six young victims and sentenced to a total of 95 years in jail.

Danny Scott, an OXCAT spokesman, professional performer, and Artistic Director of PointZero Physical Theatre, said: “The details surrounding the Operation Bullfinch case have been horrifying.

“But it has been going on right under our noses; in our streets, outside our schools and behind closed doors in Oxford homes and hotels.

“This is not an isolated case, more and more incidents are being uncovered across the country. We cannot just sit back and accept this kind of abuse in modern day Britain… we encourage everyone to Open Your Eyes.”

Supporting the protest was Oxfordshire MEP and Patron of OXCAT Catherine Bearder, who has launched a campaign for an anti-trafficking commissioner. She has worked with OXCAT at many events and says “…they’re getting bigger and better each year.

“Events like this are so important because human trafficking is still a crime that the majority of people know nothing about.

“These events do make a real difference because they arm the local communities with the tools to fight trafficking. I always say, human trafficking is happening in our communities and it can be tackled by our communities.”

She notes that it is important to educate people about how to recognise the signs of trafficking: “Whether it be children in the streets when they should be in school, unusual movements from properties at odd hours or shops that continue to stay open with apparently no business. If there is anything that seems suspicious to you then please let Crimestoppers know.”

Moreover she says that preventing this crime is up to everyone: “Students, like everyone have a role to play in Opening their Eyes to the signs of human trafficking”

Oxford student Claire Paulus, who briefly saw the protest, said that the impact was not that effective: “I wasn’t even aware they were acting out trafficking, it just looked like lots of people in pink. It’s probably not the most appropriate way to campaign about it”.

Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed to an extent with Paulus. He told Cherwell, “The dancing was very erotic. It was a semi-naked man weaving around some barbed-wire, and he looked a bit like he might have done time in the past. However, he clearly had very strong views against sex-trafficking and for that I respect him.”

OXCAT are currently working on another project in conjunction with a theatre company and in Summer will be running a film campaign with the anti-trafficking charity ‘Unchosen’.

Mike Nicholson, Head of Admissions for the University of Oxford, has criticised the government’s proposed A-level reform scheme in a speech at a conference in London

Under these government plans, all A-levels will be sat in a linear fashion, with AS levels remaining a stand-alone qualification. Nicholson believes such changes will hinder people from disadvantaged backgrounds in applying to and getting into Oxford.

In his speech, Nicholson, described the changes as, “another great example of the Government’s tendency to meddle in things they should probably really leave alone.” He highlighted how there was concern from both the secondary and higher education sectors about how reforms to GCSEs and A-levels occurring at the same time could have “tragic consequences” for widening access to Oxford. Improving access is something he has very much supported since joining Oxford.

He told the forum A-level change was not a necessity due to “limited evidence” supporting it. Commenting on the linearization of A-levels and access efforts, he said, “the loss of AS levels will have tragic consequences for widening participation and access to university. AS levels are excellent because they give students a very clear indication of what they are capable of achieving. The real danger is students will plough on believing that they may not be capable of applying to a highly selective course – but equally (others) believing that they are capable of applying to a highly selective and competitive course.”

In a more recent development, Education Minister Liz Truss has responded to the speech by writing an open letter to Oxford University, in which she defends the government’s changes from an academic and access perspective. She commented that the plans were “encouraging core academic subjects”, reversing the Curriculum 2000 changes, and went on to say, “We’re making changes not because we feel like it – but because qualifications have gradually eroded in value, debased by endless modules, resits and ever-rising pass rates.”

These changes had seen the integration of AS into A-levels, and resulted in less students choosing to study what are traditionally considered to be more academic subjects. For example, following the changes the number of students studying maths dropped by twenty percent in a single year.

Truss praised the government for increasing language entry significantly, and asked whether students doing chemistry, history and languages – the most valuable and respected subjects according to her – were to be frowned upon. She claimed that the plans enhanced the prospects of those from lower incomes by giving them the option to study more academic subjects.

However, many sources support the view as put forward by Nicholson and the University of Oxford. The university’s official position is that, “Along with other universities, we have expressed concerns about the impact of removing AS levels in the consultations on proposed qualifications reforms in England.”

Rachel Pickering, OUSU Vice-President for Access and Academic Affairs, very much agrees. She said, “We still don’t know what the impact of the £9K fee has been on undergraduate access, let alone what effect scrapping AS levels could have on participation in higher education from disadvantaged groups.

“I agree with Mike Nicholson that recent government plans to reform A-levels – making them linear and leaving AS Levels a stand-alone qualification – could have tragic consequences for widening participation efforts.

“AS Levels allow students a clear indication of what they then can achieve at  A-level, helping them to make an informed choice as they apply to higher education institutions and aiding progression of those from disadvantaged backgrounds to higher education.”

Stephen Purkess, a first year Oxford student, agreed, commenting that his AS grades were what motivated him to consider Oxford.

However, another first year student claimed that changes wouldn’t have affected their decision to apply, and believed the changes would increase the number applying to Oxford as many students are disappointed with their AS level results and therefore didn’t apply.

Oxford has released its annual offering of sample interview questions in an attempt to demystify the application process for prospective students.

The sample questions were revealed on the Tuesday 15 October, the same day as the UCAS deadline for those applying to study at the University of Oxford in the next academic year.

Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Oxford, Mike Nicolson, says, “There are many myths surrounding Oxford interviews, and they can be the most anxiety-provoking part of the Oxford application process for students.

“We want to show what it’s really like having an admissions interview at Oxford, as they are such a unique and important part of our admissions process.”

One question provided by Dave Leal, a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics tutor at Brasenose College, asks students to distinguish between the meanings of ‘lie’, ‘deceive’, and ‘mislead’.

Leal states that, “Questions of this sort help us to test a candidate’s capacity to draw nuanced distinctions between concepts, and to revise and challenge their own first moves in the light of different sentences containing the key words. Discussion may well lead into areas which could crop up during a degree in philosophy, including questions in ethics, the philosophy of mind and of language. It’s not, though, a test of ‘philosophical knowledge’”.

Maria Coyle, Press Officer for the university, says, “We want to try to show potential candidates what the process is like so they aren’t put off by what they might have heard.

“Every effort is made to ensure that all applicants, whatever their age, social or educational background, are given an equal chance to demonstrate their academic potential. The interview is only one part of the Oxford admissions process, but for many students it is the part that makes them the most anxious.”

Current students recalling their interview experiences had mixed responses.

One second year physicist recalls his interviewer waving a CD in front of a lamp, before asking him, “What do you see?” Other memorable interview topics included the discussion of a piece of metal for Material Science, and the questioning of whether ‘The Waste Land’ is a moral poem for English.

However, students also remember that most interviews were almost entirely subject-based, often using pieces of text or problems as prompts, and some reported that their interviews were indeed very similar to their current tutorials.

ALL SOULS SUBMITTED plans last month to Barnet County Council for the development of a luxury golf course on land it owns near London.

The Local Residents Association has reacted angrily to the news and has started a petition against the plans. As of Wednesday, 1,400 people had signed the petition, which has also been backed by Hendon and Golders Green MP Matthew Offord.

The Residents association vice chairman, Ralph Simon, said, “At the moment we can walk through here unhindered. It’s one of our best assets and it would be a real shame to lose it. I don’t want this to be the end of our farm – it’s a beautiful, picturesque and peaceful patch of green belt land.”

The land has been owned by All Souls College since the fifteenth century, and has a farm on it that currently employs two people. All legal footpaths will be protected within the current planning application.

A spokesperson for All Souls College stated, “We’re currently putting forward a planning application and doing so within the legality of green belt regulations. We hope that those who oppose it follow the statutory regulations for doing so.”

The total land size is 450 acres and about a third of it will be leased to a developer to build the golf course. Concerns have been raised about whether the area needs another golf course, as there are twenty-one others within a five mile radius of the proposed site.

Other applications for change of use of this land have been denied in the past. This included a plan for a cemetery, which was rejected after local concerns were raised.

Balliol college member and Environment and Ethics officer James Rainey commented, “The local residents association are opposed to plans for a golf course, and I wish them the best of luck.

“Oxford colleges must recognise that their land holdings can be valued assets to local people, and that projects which restrict enjoyment of their surroundings should not be considered further.

“Conversely, plans for the site to improve its value for wildlife should be welcomed, and undertaken regardless of the planning application outcome.”

Barnet County Council stated that they were unable to comment while the application process is in motion.

Pembroke College Rugby Football Club (PCRFC) has apologised for an email sent to its members with the subject line, “FREE PUSSY”. In the email, the club’s Social Secretary provided details of plans for a crew date where each male guest should “pick” a female fresher of their choice. The sender of the email has since stepped down from his position.

In the same email, sent on Monday 21 October, he went on to propose a “challenge” to all male guests. He said, “please bring TWO bottles of wine – one for yourself and one for your guest”. The email continues, “You must open the bottle in advance, and include a substance of your choice. It may be spirits or food or anything you like.”

He added, “Please be as clandestine as possible in your deed”. The email further stated that the theme of the crew date was “VILLAINS” and that “Villains must be discrete [sic] in their work.”

The rugby club’s annual crew date with female freshers at the college was arranged for the evening of Thursday 24 October. Members of the rugby club were asked by the social secretary to ensure they had “picked [their] lady for the night” and the email noted that “every fresher in Pembroke is quaking in their boots thinking they might be picked as our date.”

One member of the team was instructed in the email to, “Please bring a positive pregnancy test. This task shall be ongoing until you succeed.”

Last term all rugby teams in Oxford were invited to attend workshops run by the Good Lad campaign, launched by the Oxford University Rugby Club, promoting ‘positive masculinity’, but the Pembroke rugby team did not take up this invitation.

However, after the content of the emails was made known to other members of the college, a large proportion of the team was present at a sexual consent discussion forum at Pembroke on Wednesday night. The forum was organised by members of the Pembroke JCR committee in conjunction with representatives from OUSU and the governing body of the College.

The team’s profile on the website crewdater.com states, “Hi we’re Pembroke Rugby and when we’re not noshing on each others [sic] crotches, we like to show you ladies a good time! Apply accordingly.” Their page on the Pembroke College JCR website describes them as “notorious on the crewdating scene.”

In the wake of the response to the email, the email’s sender has resigned as Social Secretary of the Pembroke College Rugby Football Club and the proposed crew date was cancelled.

A statement on behalf of PCRFC said, “Pembroke Rugby Club accepts that the emails circulated earlier this week about our proposed Crew Date were entirely misguided and represent a serious case of poor judgement.

“We would like to clarify that the “challenge” proposed in advance of the intended Crew Date was intended to be a harmless drinking game joke, and was in no way intended to mean that the team member should lace their dates’ drinks with anything illegal and/or to engage in any sexual abuse. A leader of the club confirmed, in a follow up email, that what the joke was supposed to involve the player adding another drink or food to their date’s wine (e.g. tabasco), and if the date guessed correctly what had been added then that player would then have to drink the wine.

“The rugby club and its members want to take this opportunity to apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding that arose from this.”

One member of the rugby team, who was one of the initial recipients of the email, said, “In light of actually reading the incredibly long original email, the social sec is clearly a fool to have said what he said. It is also a shame that all the Pembroke lads are smeared with the same brush, when what he said is obviously not representative.”

He added, “As a general comment I am deeply saddened this has happened, throughout my time at Pembroke the social side of rugby has been for the most part truly enjoyable, and I have made great friends. I haven’t been aware of any problem like this before, and find it such a great shame the actions of a few have offended so many people.”

A statement (full statement here) on behalf of Rebecca Howe (Pembroke JCR President), Sarah Wilmshurst (JCR Women’s Rep) and Alexandros Tsaptsinos (JCR Sports Rep) said, “We fear that the rugby committee do not seem to have grasped the seriousness of their offences, and will shrug this off as an overreaction of a female-led JCR committee. However, it is to the great credit of Pembroke that so many people have found the email completely unacceptable, and have spoken against it.”

The statement continues, “The captain and [former] social secretary will be issuing an apology to the JCR, and plan to speak about the issue at our next JCR meeting. A constitutional motion to introduce measures to formally sanction each club or society wishing to be affiliated with the JCR is being considered. We will also reconsider the JCR’s contribution to the funding of PCRFC if this behaviour continues.”

They also commented, “This incident does not – and must not be seen to – reflect the vast majority of sentiments in college towards women. We are an inclusive and respectful JCR, and we will not tolerate the actions of a minority threatening the welfare of our members, or indeed the reputation of our college.”

The statement concludes, “We are committed to ensuring that misogyny does not prevail at Pembroke, and that basic disrespect towards our female members will not continue to be excused as ‘banter’.”

Dr Clive Siviour, Dean of Pembroke College, said, “I am aware of the e-mail sent by a member of the Rugby Club. The content of this e-mail is completely unacceptable, and I am taking the appropriate action on behalf of the College authorities. These actions of a small number of students have been met with universal condemnation from their peers. I understand that the event referred to in the e-mail has been cancelled and the organisers intend to apologise fully to the JCR community for their actions. It is the responsibility of all of us at Oxford to create a community in which our students behave responsibly and with mutual respect; for this reason we fully support the excellent sexual consent workshops which OUSU are running in a number of colleges, including Pembroke, and the enthusiastic engagement of our own students with this initiative.”

Will Brown, a third-year student at Pembroke, told Cherwell, “I, like the vast majority of students at Pembroke, was disgusted by these comments. They represent an ugly, corrosive form of misogyny that simply shouldn’t be tolerated in any level of society, and that can’t just be dismissed as yet another supposedly harmless juvenile ‘joke’. This incident highlights the dangers of a ‘lad culture’ that has been all too dominant at Pembroke in my time here, and shows that commendable initiatives like sexual consent workshops are vital to ensure that our colleges and common rooms remain inclusive, safe environments for everyone.”

Lottie Sykes, editor of feminist zine ‘Cuntry Living’, said, “This email is another example of the sinister misogyny that encourages targeting younger female students through college crew dates. It’s incredibly disheartening that the furor over similar mass emails seems to have been ignored- [the email sender’s] proposal reinforces predatory, sexist values that are too often associated with Blues sports, and affirms an entirely negative stereotype. We have to shake off the idea that this kind of behaviour is funny or harmless- common justifications for refusing to acknowledge the gravity of misogynistic actions.”

One Pembroke student commented, “The concept of being ‘picked’ or ‘quaking’ at the thought of being invited to a meal isn’t the way to ‘welcome’ freshers to the university.” She continued, “Pembroke is such a great college and it’s a shame that a minority feel it’s acceptable to behave like this.”