Heather Mayer, a US national, was elected President at Hilary Sports Council. But she cannot take the year-long job as she has been refused a work visa.

In an email to the Sports Federation, the serving President Hannah McKay told members, “Unfortunately, in the past six months visa regulations have changed in the UK which affected Heather as a U.S. national.

“Despite the efforts of the University Visa and Immigration Department, Heather has not been able to fulfil the requirements to obtain a visa to stay in the UK to work for the Sports Department beyond October 2013.”

Mayer, a St Hilda’s undergraduate, discovered she was being refused a visa a week after elections due to changes which make the application process more stringent.

The new laws were introduced last year as part of the government’s effort to bring immigration down to “the tens of thousands” by 2015. However critics of the scheme have accused the government of “undermining” the higher education system. 

Mayer told Cherwell, “I am extraordinarily frustrated by the new laws. It seems they were enacted as an easy way to score political points without considering whom they actually affect…I think most people don’t realize that laws like these affect a lot of people whom they would probably like to have in the country.”

She continued, “Furthermore, it’s frustrating how close I was to the changes. Had this been last year, I’d be applying for a post-study work visa and there would be no problems whatsoever. But times have changed, and I can’t do anything about it.”

The OUSF President will now be Madeleine Sava, who came second in the election under the Single Transferable Vote system. The role involves managing OUSF, the organisation which funds and encourages university sport.

In an email to members, OUSF stated it will propose amendments in Trinity Term “to reflect these changes in immigration law and to avoid a similar situation for candidates in future.”

A spokesperson for Oxford University Sports Federation told Cherwell that “it is a shame the first choice candidate could not take up the role.”

However the federation insisted that “Madeleine was the next preference of voters and is a very good candidate and will do a fine job. We are going to clarify in our election procedures who is eligible to run for the post in consultation with the university work permit desk.”

DEBATE: Should Heather Mayer have been refused a visa? Sean Ford and Joe Miles make the case for both sides of the debate. 

The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin has reopened to the public following extensive restoration work.

The completed refurbishment, costing £5.5 million, officially opened on Friday 8 March. It marks the greatest change to the church building since the late nineteenth century.

The renovation included the restoration of the chancel and nave, the painting of the ceiling and the addition of a new ‘celure’, which recreates a celestial sky in paint. 

Improvements have also been made to the public access of the church, including the re-grading of the garden to provide wheelchair access and the installation of a lift designed to fit with the building’s historical structure.

The Reverend Canon Brian Mountford, vicar at the University Church, said in a statement, “We are delighted with the results of this restoration project and we hope our congregation and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors will be just as pleased with the Church.

“Our attention now turns towards our education project, which will celebrate the Church’s historic relationship with the community of Oxford and the University.”

The restoration took two years to complete, and was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Clore Duffield Foundation, University of Oxford and the Parish Church Council. The medieval building, which plays host to Oxford’s tallest spire, boasts an average of 300,000 visitors every year.

Rachel Hunter, a first year undergraduate, commented, “The Church is beautiful inside and made the long queue when I went up the tower significantly more enjoyable.”

Liz English, Christian Union rep at Hertford, told Cherwell, “Believers and passers-by alike would recognise that the Church is an integral part of Oxford. It helps to make Oxford what it is…For the cityscape and Christian life of Oxford, the University church was certainly worth saving.”

Oxford University Student Union has been shortlisted for the UK Adult Sexual Health Project of the Year by the UK Sexual Health Awards.

The Health Awards are hosted by the sexual health charities Brook and FPA and are designed to reward bodies which demonstrate the best, most creative and innovative work in the field of sexual health.

The eventual winner will be presented with the award at the UK Sexual Health Awards ceremony and dinner on Thursday 14 March at The Troxy, an art deco theatre and concert venue in London. Comedienne Kate Smurthwaite will host the evening, and the UK Sexual Health Awards tweeted, “We’re excited to announce that the brilliant @Cruella1 [Smurthwaite] will be our host at @SHUKAwards!”

Brook shortlisted OUSU’s Sexual Consent Workshops for the UK Adult Sexual Health Project of the Year. The workshops have created discussion amongst undergraduates and post-graduates, and sports teams are also able to contribute, with a version for under 18s which is used in local schools.

The workshops allow young people to discuss what they believe sexual consent to be and the myths surrounding sexual consent and abuse. In the past year, over fifty-one individuals were trained as facilitators to hold discussions throughout the Oxford Colleges and sports teams. 

Suzanne Holsomback, Vice President of Oxford University Student Union, said, “It is a great honour to be recognised by Brook for the work Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) has done on sexual consent in the Oxford colleges and throughout the University.

“OUSU is committed to creating an environment where consent is discussed, understood, and practiced. We desire for the University of Oxford to become a place where students respect themselves and each other by communicating consent, but more importantly, we hope that through these discussions, students will challenge the culture that perpetuates sexual consent and sexual abuse myths.”

On hearing about OUSU’s nomination, Keble’s Michaelmas 2013 Fresher’s Week President Emma Alexander said, “I’m pleased to see OUSU has been nominated for this award, and it’s a good example of the great work they do that perhaps isn’t well recognised by the student body.”

As well as the award for Sexual Health Project of the Year, there are six other categories in the UK Sexual Health Awards. These include Sexual Health Professional of the Year, the JLS Young Person of the Year and the Rosemary Goodchild Award for excellence in sexual health journalism. An award for Lifetime Achievement in sexual health will also be presented. 

The motion stated that “All delegations to [NUS] National Conference must include at least 50% women, rounded down. Where a union is only entitled to send one delegate and this delegate is not a woman, the union’s free observer place must be taken by a woman.”

In a straw poll taken after the discussion 17 voted in favour, 44 were against, and 11 abstained. The poll is non-binding, meaning that OUSU’s seven NUS delegates can vote according to their own will on this motion when it is brought before NUS’ April 2013 conference.

OUSU currently sends seven delegates to NUS’ annual conference.Five delegates are elected in Michaelmas, and the OUSU President and President-elect are ex officio selected as the final two delegates. The motion would mandate that of Oxford’s five elected delegates, at least three would have to be female, in order to ensure that three of the seven total delegates are female.

The 2013 OUSU delegation to NUS conference consists of three elected women, two elected men, President David Townsend and President-elect Tom Rutland.

The motion was opposed by OUSU Vice President for Women Suzanne Holsomback, who described the motion as “insulting and patronising.” She told Cherwell that whilst the motion “address[es] symptoms of gender inequality and imbalance, it does not tackle the root of the problem.

“The roots lie at the individual student union level and it needs to be addressed at that level. We need to examine what barriers block women running for high level position or seeing themselves in positions of power. Exploring this will create the interventions that will address the root problem. We all want the best delegates go to the NUS Conference and not just the women near by that can fill quotas.” 

Wadhamite Emily Cousens supported the motion, pointing to the results of Scandinavian countries with similar ‘top down’ approaches. She added that it is patronizing to women to say that good quality candidates would not emerge from a quota system. An opponent of the motion countered that OUSU should not seek seven good quality delegates, but the best seven available.

OUSU President-elect Tom Rutland supported the motion, saying that female representation was vital when the NUS considered issues such as abortion rights. 

40% of delegates at the last NUS conference were female. Jack Matthews, a student at University College, said that the number “not good enough, but it hardly constitutes a chronic failure.”

A Somervillian stated that she was “not opposed to positive discrimination itself but to the restrictions this motion would place on a democratic vote”. She remarked that “it flies in the face of democracy to use quotas to restrict a popular vote”.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills delivered a talk on Thursday evening at St Anne’s on the dangers faced by gay men and women in Uganda.

The 38-year-old radio personality was invited by Exeter LGBTQ Society to speak to students about his 2011 documentary The World’s Worst Place to Be Gay?, which won an award from Stonewall, the UK’s largest LGB rights organisation.

The talk was held at St Anne’s after Exeter LGBTQ Society had to rearrange the venue at short notice.

Mills, who is himself gay, insisted his sexuality was “not a big deal”, saying, “I don’t really ever want it to define me.” Nevertheless, he is no less passionate about his achievement. He continued, “I would do it all again tomorrow. I am really proud of what we did out there.”

Filmed in a week in late 2010, the BBC Three documentary exposed the endemic nature of anti-gay attitudes in Uganda, where it is illegal to be homosexual.

An ongoing anti-homosexuality bill in the small African state seeks to increase the level of punishment imposed on gay citizens. It has attracted widespread international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama describing it as “odious”.

In the capital city of Kampala, Mills met gay campaigners such as Frank Mugisha, and described his futile search for pro-gay voices in the community – which are practically non-existent in Uganda’s deeply conservative social and religious culture.

Mills also met highly vocal Ugandan figures, such as anti-gay preacher Solomon Male and the proposer of the latest bill, MP David Bahati. The politician attempted to arrest Mills after an interview for the documentary. “It did feel as though we were in some film. I’ve never been that scared,” he recalled. “He told our fixer that he was going to search every hotel in Kampala, seize the tapes, and arrest us.”

On Uganda’s future, Mills was pessimistic. He was sceptical of any viewership of the documentary in the country, and noted how, shortly after filming, one gay contributor was beaten violently to death with a hammer. He commented, “It was really scary at times, and actually quite depressing, because it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon.”

He did, nonetheless, affirm that the experience left him feeling “very lucky” by comparison.

As well as the film, Mills took questions regarding his career in radio. Talking about casual homophobia in the media, Mills defended BBC colleague Chris Moyles, who was criticised for using “gay” as a derogatory term live on air in 2006. “I know Chris very well, and I know it’s a cliché thing to say, but he loves the gays,” he remarked. “I remember the press calling me that day going: ‘Your friend’s a homophobe!’ and I was like, ‘He’s not.’ But he was right to apologise.”

Audience members were very positive about Scott Mills’ appearance. Fourth year St Anne’s linguist George Hicks thought the presenter was “very well informed” and noted, “He was obviously committed to portraying the situation in Uganda accurately and sensitively.”

Second year musician Toby Huelin found the talk “insightful”, commenting, “Scott is the jewel of Radio 1 and it’s fantastic that he is using his media power to highlight the horrendous treatment of gay people in Uganda. It is shocking to think that everything he describes is happening now – in 2013.”

Hannah Smith, a second year linguist at St Anne’s, agreed. “It was very different to see him speaking in person on a very serious topic, but his passion and honesty were really inspiring,” she said. “It was great to see another side to him and hear his views on homosexuality – I’ll be listening to his innuendo bingo and other work in a different light after that.”

Exeter’s LGBT rep Adam Ward, who organised the event, stated, “Scott is deservedly praised for his fantastic radio work and his brilliant contributions to Eurovision, but listening to his insights on the serious problems confronting LGBT individuals in Uganda was particularly rewarding. I’m sure his well-attended talk will make many reflect on the wider struggle for LGBT individuals in the world and appreciate that even though more can be done, we are fortunate to live in a much more welcoming society.”