THE OXFORD UNION has introduced a new balloting system with the aim of making the society more transparent. The Union Press Office has released a statement announcing that in future, attendees who wish to attend a highly anticipated event will be chosen by random ballot.

The release states, “In the interest of transparency, the process will take place at a public meeting, open to any member of the society.” Members who have expressed an interest in the event will receive a number; the selected numbers will consequently be announced on a big screen at a meeting.

There have only been two balloted events in the past two years – the film premiere of the Rum Diaries with Johnny Depp last year and PSY’s visit in Michaelmas.

Maria Rioumine, President of the Oxford Union , told Cherwell, “There’s stuff to change. It will be a long-time process, but it’s a start to making the Union better.”

She said that besides the random ballot, committee guest lists will be abolished: “Friends of committee members will no longer be given priority and the President will only be allowed to bring two friends along to President’s Drinks.

“Instead we hope to reward the participation of our members by inviting anyone who makes a floor speech on the night to attend the drinks event after the debate.”

Stringer and his wife, Jennifer Pat­terson, have donated the money in order to help Merton forge partner­ships with state schools around the UK.

Sir Howard studied Modern His­tory at the college and graduated in 1961. He has been Chairman and CEO of Sony since June 2005. Stringer was knighted in 1999, has an honorary fel­lowship from Merton, and has nine Emmys to his name. His net worth is currently estimated at upwards of $60 million.

The access scheme at Merton has developed partnerships with schools in Wiltshire, Dorset and the London Borough of Merton. Over the last three years, 65.1 per cent of students accepted at Merton have come from maintained schools.

Professor Martin Taylor, Warden of Merton College, told Cherwell, “The Stringer-Patterson gift to Merton Col­lege for access and schools liaison was an amazing present. It is one which will be of lasting value.”

He continued, “Our full-time Schools Liaison and Access Officer offers a range of activities to help the very best students, regardless of background, make informed deci­sions about studying at Merton and within the University of Oxford.”

Jack Morel-Paulo, Merton JCR Ac­cess Rep, told Cherwell, “We’re obvi­ously very pleased and incredibly thankful for Sir Howard’s generos­ity. Although Merton is already one of the colleges with the best record for equal admissions, there’s always more work to be done busting myths and making sure ability is the only thing which dictates whether some­one applies or not.”

At present, Mansfield College comes closest to state school–private school proportionality: in 2012, 84.7 per cent of accepted students were educated in the maintained sector. Pembroke College currently comes last, with just 47% of 2012 acceptances from maintained schools, despite the maintained sector educating 93% of the total UK school population.

Joe Collin, Access and Equalities Representative on the St Anne’s JCR Committee, responded to the news, saying, “Donations like this cannot be celebrated enough. When just one visit to a school can change an entire class’s perception of Oxford, and perhaps lead to them applying, imagine what such a large sum could achieve.”

The University of Oxford has re­cently received a number of particu­larly generous philanthropic dona­tions, designed to promote access work.

In July last year Oxford alumnus Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman made a £75 million commit­ment, which, in combination with a “matched funding challenge” from the University, will eventually pro­duce £300 million in the shape of financial support for Oxford under­graduates from disadvantaged back­grounds.

FIGURES FROM the Office for National Statistics show an annual increase in suicides among students in England and Wales from 2007 to 2011, despite a decrease during the first half of the decade. Peaking at 127 suicides in 2010, student suicides rose by 36 per cent overall.

The increase was greatest among female students, with numbers almost
doubling in the period. Yet male suicides continue to be more common, with 375 men taking their lives compared to 143 women.

The increase bucks a former trend from the period 1997-2006, when
student suicides decreased by 29 per cent.

Katie Colliver, OUSU Vice-President for Welfare and Equal Opportunities, told Cherwell, “The Counselling Service has seen an increase in use in recent years and whilst this may be linked to the greater pressure students are experiencing in the current economic climate, we can also hope that this is a positive sign that more people are seeking help.”

Colliver encouraged students with concerns about their mental health to seek advice, continuing, “It is always better to seek help early, so if there is something on your mind, or you are concerned about changes in a friend’s behaviour, then it is worth making an appointment with your GP or the Counselling Service.”

The National Union of Students suggests that financial pressure can undermine students’ mental health. Hannah Paterson, NUS Disabled Students Officer, said, “Financial and debt pressures add to the stress of student life, and NUS research shows that even small amounts of debt can badly affect student well-being.”

The NUS fears that student support could be cut by universities in future. Paterson added, “With increasing financial pressures on institutions, support services can be the first thing to be cut, but it’s at times like this that it’s more important than ever that our universities protect counselling services.”

A spokesperson for Nightline, Oxford’s night-time counselling service, stated, “As far as we’re aware, Oxford students are no more likely to experience suicidal feelings than they would be elsewhere, and as far as we know there are no studies indicating a higher risk.”

A study at the Oxford Centre for Suicide Research agrees, concluding, “Contrary to earlier findings and popular belief, suicide rates among Oxford University students do not differ from those in other young people. Rates of DSH [deliberate selfharm] are significantly lower than in other young people.”

The statistics come a year after the Royal College of Psychiatrists called for help for depressed students. A report emphasised alcohol’s role in causing mental health problems, suggesting “steps should be taken to curtail inducements to consume alcohol, for example ‘happy hours’ and sales of cheap alcoholic drinks on campus”.

An Oxford University spokesman said, “Students who are struggling to cope personally or academically, or who have any kind of problem, will find a range of support available at many levels – college, university, Student Union, and the local Primary Care Trust where relevant.”

The Oxford Counselling Service is free for university members, giving individual counselling, workshops and self-help resources. The university also provides Nightline, a service which offers support for students from 8am until 8pm during term time. OUSU runs ‘Mind Your Head’, a campaign which helps students with their mental health. Its website states, “We want to create a more welcoming culture for people who have experienced mental health problems, to encourage every student to look after their mental wellbeing.”

Oxford Counselling Service can be contacted on 01865 270300. Nightline can be contacted on 01865 270270.

A RECENT STUDY has challenged the role played by personal statements during the university application process.

The research, commissioned by the Sutton Trust, and carried out by Dr Steven Jones of Manchester Uni­versity, compared the success of 309 university applicants with equivalent grades from independent and state schools. It concluded that rather than helping equalise opportunity, appli­cants from lower- or middle-income families were at a disadvantage when it came to their personal statement.

The study found that independent school students were more likely to submit statements that were care­fully worded and written in an aca­demically appropriate way. They were also more likely to include references to unusual or expensive activities or work experience. Dr Jones said that by contrast, “State school applicants appear to receive less help compos­ing their statement, often struggling to draw on suitable work and life ex­perience.”

The Trust calls for changes to be made to the process, stating, “Person­al statements should be more than an excuse to highlight past advantag­es […] and universities should make it clear that applicants are not penal­ised for having lacked opportunities due to family circumstances.”

The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl, and has funded a wide range of access and re­search projects for both schools and universities. The charity aims to pro­mote social mobility through educa­tion, and is particularly concerned with interrupting the correlation be­tween educational opportunity and family background.

A spokeswoman for Oxford Univer­sity Press Office replied to the claims, saying, “Unlike most other univer­sities, in selecting students Oxford looks at a great deal more than just predicted grades and personal state­ments. The personal statement there­fore carries less weight in the process than it would at other universities. Additionally, unlike many other uni­versities, Oxford is only interested in students’ aptitude for their chosen subject.”

She continued, “It’s worth noting in regards to the Sutton Trust sur­vey specifically that using state and independent schools as a proxy for deprivation and privilege is not ter­ribly useful – there are students from very deprived backgrounds at private schools, just as there are very affluent students in state schools.”

Martin Conway, a former History admissions tutor at Balliol, said, “All tutors in Oxford are aware of the crafting that goes into personal statements, and they are therefore only one relatively minor aspect of how we assess applications. We look at a combination of students’ exam records, school references, aptitude tests, written work, and interview performances.”

Another tutor also claimed, “It is almost unknown for anyone to get a place because of a good personal statement.”

One second-year Maths student said, “I don’t think the research high­lights anything we, and the Univer­sity, didn’t already know – going on expensive work experience doesn’t mean anything if you can’t keep up in the interview.” They added, “This type of research is really important, but the charity ought to be careful not to depict the situation too negatively. We want to be encouraging students from all social backgrounds to apply. The fees have put enough people off university, the focus should be on helping students, rather than mak­ing them feel like they’ll be at a disad­vantage”.

Sam Atwell, Access and Admissions Officer at Balliol, claimed, “Some of the recommendations seem a bit daft. Calling on colleges to provide more practical support for students during the admissions process seems to miss the point: these schools ei­ther don’t know how to provide help, or don’t have the resources. They may have a primary concern in devoting their resources to ensuring all stu­dents leave with an adequate level of Maths and English.”

A MOTION proposing a delegation of Oxford students to visit Burma this year was passed unopposed at Wednesday’s OUSU Council meeting.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese oppo­sition politician and Chairperson of the National League for Democracy, invited Oxford students to her home country when she visited St Hugh’s college in June last year to collect her honorary doctorate.

Since then, OUSU, together with OxHub, has planned to select a dele­gation to spend a week in Burma, and hopes to link to a counterpart delega­tion of Burmese students who might be able to make a reciprocal visit to Oxford. Planned activities for the week include discussion seminars with the counterpart delegation, vis­its to selected Burmese development initiatives and outings to youth-led programmes or projects.

After decades of military dicta­torship, Burmese politics has more recently been marked by steps to re­form its government. Its progress has been met with encouragement inter­nationally and, in the past year, rep­resentatives from several countries, including Foreign Secretary William Hague, have made historic visits to the country.

Sarah Santhosham, OUSU VP (Char­ities and Community), told Cher­well, “The proposed exchange trip to Burma offers an exciting learning opportunity for students who have made a significant impact on their community to share their experience of civic leadership and development with Burmese youth, and participate in the reintegration of Burma into the academic community through cross-cultural exchange.”

She added, “An exchange like this is particularly meaningful at this time when Burma is transiting towards democracy. Forging a partnership be­tween Oxford and Burmese students will hopefully lead to an ongoing relationship where we can exchange ideas between our two student com­munities.”

OUSU President David J Townsend, said, “This proposal emerged from an invitation given by Dr Aung San Suu Kyi to OUSU last summer, and with the University’s backing we’re now in a position to accept that invitation.”

He continued, “While the re-en­gagement of Burma with the interna­tional community has been continu­ing apace, as evidenced by official visits from political leaders of Aus­tralia, the US and the UK, naturally we will be monitoring the situation as it evolves, and taking diplomatic advice on the matter. Re-engagement re­quires more than just diplomatic and economic connections, though: it re­quires a connection between young people, and students in particular, if it is to be meaningful and lasting. OUSU, on behalf of the Oxford stu­dent body, would be proud to be part of that re-engagement.”

Nora Godkin, Co-President and Founder of the Oxford Burma Alli­ance, commented, “I think it’s great that Oxford students are showing an interest in Burma and in the lives of their Burmese counterparts, as now is really the time to lend our support to the Burmese people who are trying to use the current international at­tention to usher in real and positive change.”

In addition, she noted, “It would be great if this opportunity could be used to forge lasting relationships be­tween Oxford students and Burmese young people – something the Oxford Burma Alliance aims to do through a number of projects – as both sides can learn from and support each other.”

OUSU hopes to forge an ongoing partnership with a Burmese delega­tion, which could make a return visit to Oxford in the future. It hopes to en­gage Oxford students beyond those selected to partake in the visit. San­thosham said, “OUSU is currently ex­ploring a number of options to make the exchange longer lasting and im­pactful for the wider student body.”