Projects at Corpus Christi, Wadham and Pembroke have all caused unexpected delays forcing students to be moved elsewhere temporarily and forcing some colleges to slash rents by up to half.

In Wadham, building works, which are two weeks behind schedule, and fire safety problems have meant that seven students are unable to move into their rooms. Although no work has been done to those rooms, the construction of a new graduate centre is blocking access.

The college’s Accommodation Manager, Jo-Ann Wheble, told Cherwell, “We have seven students who we are temporarily accommodating in other staircases in the College because our new garden terrace, which also provides access to their allocated staircase, is not yet complete. We have communicated with the students about the issue prior to their arrival and anticipate that they will move into their allocated rooms within the next few weeks.”

In an email to the college, Wadham’s domestic bursar, Frances Lloyd, stated, “We recognize that the completion of the building work in the next few weeks will cause unavoidable disruption to students, as does all building work, and we encourage all those affected to make use of the college or other libraries during working hours.”

Charlie Davies, Housing Officer for Wadham Student Union, said, “Obviously for those seven students that have been moved it has been a problem.

“However, for the vast majority of students it isn’t really a problem. Building work is noisy, but it’s only going to be for a short period of time and fortunately it does not clash with any significant exams.”

At Pembroke, delays to the New Build, which incorporates the first intra-college bridge since Hertford’s Bridge of Sighs in 1913, have resulted in some students being moved to temporary accommodation. In an email to the college, Pembroke’s Bursar, John Church, noted, “Unfortunately, notwithstanding day and night working over the last three weeks, the contractor, Kingerlee, have not completed all the works within the agreed time scales.

“In view of this, and taking account of the need for ongoing work whilst students are in residence, it has been agreed that all rents in the New Build will be reduced by 50% from now until further notice.”

Laurence Hutton-Smith, a Maths student at Pembroke, commented, “When I arrived, my room still wasn’t entirely built, so I was moved into temporary accommodation also in the New Build. The room I’m in at the moment is very nice itself, but there’s clearly a lot left to be done. Even in the corridor I’ve been moved to other rooms are still being worked on, and construction work is loud and disruptive. I think people were generally quite shocked at just how much more needs to be done in certain areas. Despite this I am pleased by how college have handled the situation.”

At Corpus, some students who had planned to live in Kybald Twychen, a semi-detached house near to the college, have had to be moved to alternative rooms. The house, which is usually a popular choice due to its location across the road from Corpus’ main site, now has a hole in the roof and rotten beams. Due to safety concerns about the roof the college have moved students out.

Students who were intending to live there have either been offered private accommodation or half-price rent for accommodation on Banbury Road. On-site accommodation has been found for freshers. Repairs are due to be completed on Kybald Twychen after Michaelmas, when students will move back in.

Corpus accommodation officer Samuel Roberts told Cherwell, “One of the college’s oldest properties was found to be in danger of the roof collapsing. Quite correctly the college have decided to move everybody out of this building to conduct emergency repairs.”

“However, some students are having to move to Banbury Road, though they are being offered reduced rent for this inconvenience. In order to keep Freshers on site, some others have been shuffled around, though this affects only one undergraduate who has in fact received an en-suite room.” Corpus Christi College declined to comment on the current state of their accommodation.

St Aldate’s Tavern, which has been closed since last year, has reopened after a £150,000 renovation project.

Located on St Aldate’s, the pub’s new atmosphere is described by owners as “shabby chic”. The venue has been renovated before, but Clive Watson, representing the tavern, said, “This refurbishment is different from others as we have focused on linking ourselves to the local community.”

However, Watson was keen to stress that the Tavern is “not a gastropub”, and that the “city tavern style” will be maintained.

One new customer described the Tavern as a “destination pub”, and the new interior as “cosy”. The pub is owned by Merton College. However, not all Mertonians were positive: one Merton undergraduate commented, “I’ve never even heard of St Aldate’s Tavern… I wouldn’t expect any one at Merton to have heard of it either.”

The construction by Oxford University of new four- and five-storey flats for graduate students
on land overlooking Port Meadow has met with fresh opposition.

Despite the council having received no objections in February when planning permission for the Castle Mill site was first sought, groups of residents and local organisations have expressed concern at what they fear will be “lasting damage” to famous views of the city.

“Suggestions that there was a lack of consultation over these buildings are unfair,” said a spokeswoman for the University. ‘The University consulted extensively about the Castle Mill accommodation plans with local councillors, local residents, the City and County councils, and allotment holders, through meetings, public events, display boards, plans and views.’

‘Outline planning approval already existed for a building on this site not much lower than the current buildings, and the University secured planning approval for this particular project through the usual rigorous processes.”

In a recent statement a spokeswoman for Oxford City Council mirrored the University’s comments, “When planning applications are submitted, there is a consultation period for the public to submit their objections. For this application no objections were received by the council raising concerns about the impact of the development on views from Port Meadow.”

However, Sir Fergus Millar, former Oxford University professor of ancient history, claimed, ‘Port Meadow has been preserved as public land for the people of Oxford for more than 1,000 years. Until recently it has been protected as open grazing land, which is not overlooked by large buildings, in which anyone can walk peacefully without their views being obstructed by obtrusive development. But now anyone walking on the meadow will see to the south four large blocks of five to six storeys under constructionIt is scandalous. Oxford University ought to be ashamed of itself.”

Three PPEists are eschewing conventional methods of revision and choosing instead to sing about their studies. Brasenose third years Eylon Aslan-Levy and Tommy Peto, and Balliol student Ramin Sabi are in the process of preparing for their coming exams by writing a musical centred around their philosophy topics.

The comedy John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice: The Musical!, originally conceived as a joke, follows Professor John Rawls on an all-singing, all-dancing romp through 2,500 years of political philosophy. Eylon Levy described the production as “a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek, camp and intellectually profound addition to the musical theatre canon”, as well as a primary source of revision for the three finalists.

Brasenose Political Theory tutor, Ian Carrol, argued that the musical will ensure academic success. He said, “While operetta may strike some as an unusual revision technique, recent Brasenose College Norrington success means that students at other colleges could be expected to follow suit as early as next year. A sequel, covering ‘Anarchy, State, and Utopia,’ would be particularly well received.”

Ramin Sabi said, “In terms of the time taken from our revision to work on this – you can’t put a price on fun! Except for certain failure in any collections that have no connection to political philosophy.” Tommy Peto expressed other concerns, adding, “I am worried that my street cred wouldn’t be able to handle it, particularly given it’s already at a low ebb.”

As what may be the world’s first feature-length musical about political philosophy, “John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice: The Musical!” tracks the journey of John Rawls as he travels back through time to converse (in song) with a selection of political philosophers, including Plato, Locke, Rousseau and Mill. However, the journey is not as smooth as he hoped: as he pursues his love interest, the beautiful student Fairness, through history, he must escape the evil designs of his libertarian arch-nemesis, Robert Nozick.

The ultimate question, answered through comic lyricism and wit, is whether Rawls will achieve his goal of defining Justice as Fairness.

An Australian Senator who compared legalising gay marriage to allowing polygamy and bestiality withdrew at the last minute from a speaking engagement last week at St Hugh’s.

Cory Bernardi, who was forced to resign as parliamentary secretary to the opposition party leader owing to his statements, was scheduled to speak at the European Young Conservative Freedom Summit but cancelled at the last moment, claiming, ‘I contacted the organisers yesterday to say that my attendance at their conference had become a distraction.”

He added, “I had intended to talk about Australia and the Commonwealth, but that message would be lost, and I don’t want to drag an unrelated issue into this important conference.”

Bernardi, who came under criticism earlier this year for making “anti-Muslim” statements, has not apologised for the speech he made in Parliament in which he stated, “The next step [to legalising gay marriage] is having three people that love each other be able to enter into a permanent union endorsed by society, or four people. There are even some creepy people out there, who say that it’s OK to have consensual sexual relations between humans and animals.”

Prior to Bernardi’s withdrawal from the conference, the organiser of the summit and chairman of Conservative Future, Ben Howlett, asserted, “As someone who has attended dozens of pride marches across the UK, I condemn his comments.”

Bernardi withdrew from the engagement the next day via a statement issued by summit organisers.

St Hugh’s JCR Vice President, Andrew Wilson told Cherwell the JCR Committee were “very happy that Mr Bernardi took the correct decision and did not address the EYC Freedom Summit after he expressed some frankly unacceptable opinions about homosexual marriage.”

OUSU President David Townsend agreed, saying, “Oxford is better off without the Senator’s presence, as his ability to contribute to intelligent debate is undermined by his inability to distinguish between on the one hand, two loving human beings committing to share their lives together, and on the other, a man having sex with a sheep.”

Simone Webb, President of Oxford University LGBTQsoc, said that although they “would have offered support to any students who felt threatened or upset by [Bernardi’s] comments”, they would not have protested the speaking engagement as the society is “non-political”.

She added, “On a personal level, I do not object to St Hugh’s allowing homophobic speakers; bad arguments, such as those which use the slippery slope fallacy, should be aired so they can be rejected.”

St Hugh’s LGBTQ rep Michael Holloway told Cherwell he “brought the issue to the attention of our JCR committee on Monday” and although he declined to comment on the behaviour of the college, he stated, “The LGBTQ community within college is very strong, and we do not condone the comments made by Mr Bernardi.”

This is not the first time a conference or speaker has caused controversy in Oxford in recent years. After last year’s protests and  petition sparked by Exeter hosting a conference of a reportedly anti-gay Christian group, the college reviewed its vetting measures for conference events and donated the proceeds from that conference to an LGBTQ charity. 

Owen Alun John, the LMH student who was first to raise concerns over Exeter’s conference, claimed, “Oxford still lacks a university-wide policy excluding hate preachers from its premises. As long as this continues, individuals like Mr. Bernardi will keep on coming.

“Oxford should stop running itself like some kind of lads’ holiday, where what happens in the vacation stays in the vacation. If colleges continue selling out to homophobes, hate groups and religious extremists, this is the business of every student whose education they were established to provide.”

Oxford Conservative Association were quick to distance themselves from Bernardi with President George Mawhinney stating, “His comments were rightly condemned by the Party and Conservative Future. The views of this Australian politician do not reflect the Association’s in any way.”St Hugh’s were unavailable for comment when contacted.

Mark Thompson, former Director General of the BBC, will deliver a series of lectures this November in his role as Humanitas Visiting Professor, before crossing the Atlantic to take up the reins of the New York Times.

Thompson will deliver his lectures at St Peter’s College, focusing on the importance of language in modern political debate. He will also take part in a symposium with Andrew Marr, David Willetts, Polly Toynbee and Gus O’Donnell, to discuss the ways in which language shapes and influences political discourse.

Thompson enthused, ‘These lectures spring from an abiding interest in language and argument but also from my more than three decades as a journalist and public service broadcaster wrestling with the challenge of how best to help the public understand and engage with the big policy questions of the day.’

He emphasised his attachment to the university, adding, ‘As an Oxford humanities graduate, it means a great deal to me to be asked to become the university’s first visiting professor of rhetoric and public persuasion.’

One PPE fresher said, “This news just reinforces my excitement at coming to Oxford. It has a worldwide brand that is able to draw big names in a way no other UK university can.”

One third year English student disagreed, complaining, “This is just another boring gimmick from a university that sometimes seems keener on attracting celebrities than true academic heavyweights.”

One of Oxford’s most famous crewdating venues, Jamal’s, has been sold and replaced by a new Indian restaurant.

The owners of the new eatery, Arzoo, have promised to retain a number of the perks which made the restaurant’s predecessor so popular among students, and have also undertaken a £200,000 refurbishment. They can now seat up to 186 diners.

A set menu will still be offered to groups of ten or more, and the restaurant will continue to run the BYOB policy which proved so popular among students, with corkage charged at £1 per head.In addition, around 18 new jobs have been created, while more than £10,000 was spent on creating a new menu.

Muhammad Ali, a partner and chef at Arzoo, told Cherwell that the new restaurant will “continue to welcome students at all times.” He also stressed that Jamal’s was not forced to close owing to its previous health and safety issues, but rather because the owners chose to sell. In March of this year, the restaurant was shut down by the council for a day after complaints of mice were received from owners of a neighbouring property.

Upon inspection, environmental health officers found washing basins had been disconnected, and ordered that the establishment be cleaned, sanitised and pest-proofed before reopening. Jamal’s will continue to sell online, however, and are offering a delivery service to their clients.

Mr Ali also spoke of how pleased he was to secure the restaurant, saying, “It has always been our dream to open a restaurant in Jericho but we could never find the right property. It is a very good market here and we really want the local community to come and try our food and see what we are offering.”

He added that his new restaurant is running a competition among the students of Cherwell Valley College to create a new dessert for their updated menu. “Indian restaurants are not known for desserts and we are looking to add a couple of new dishes to the menu which the students will then work on delivering in the restaurant, giving them great experience and helping their future careers,” he said. 

Mr Ali, a chef by trade, also owns the Spice Guru restaurant in Watlington, while head chef and partner Arzoo Miah runs the Arzoo restaurant in Bicester, and was the first winner of the UK Indian Chef Competition last year. 

Student reactions to news of the changeover has been mixed. One second year student from Exeter College welcomed the promised improvements, saying, “We have had some problems with Jamal’s, especially when it came to paying the bill at the end.”

He added, “I hope that Arzoo can improve on that aspect, and obviously on the health and safety standards too.”

One online commenter expressed his frustration at the new addition, posting, “Just what we need! ANOTHER Indian restaurant to add to Oxford’s 37 other outlets. Honestly.”

However, members of the notorious LMH dining society MMM were somewhat more optimistic, saying, “Jamal’s was great while it lasted, but  after the mice incident, we never really trusted them. To be honest, we didn’t really trust them before that, but it was home to many a good night. We hope to continue our streak of infamy in Arzoo, and welcome any potential suitors.”

When approached for comment on the changes to students’ dining experiences, Mr Ali told Cherwell, “It will stay exactly the same.”

OUP has sparked controversy by joining Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis in a lawsuit against the Rameshwari Photocopy Service at Delhi University regarding copyright infringement.

The lawsuit comes as a result of claims that the photocopying service has been duplicating and distributing OUP texts to students at a significantly lower price in an unauthorised and illegal manner.

The shop, and others like it on the North Campus, have since ceased from distributing materials following a notice from the Delhi High Court and pressure from the university. Although the case is directed specifically against the Rameshwari Photocopy Service, there are a number of similar establishments on campus which sell photocopies of books and book extracts at prices which students of the university can afford.

The Oxford Indian Society argues that this is the only way that some students are able to purchase materials which are essential for their courses and has urged its members to sign a petition to encourage OUP to withdraw the lawsuit to “express solidarity”.

Leading academics have also expressed concern over the issue, with Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen among those opposed to the move. Those whose works have been photocopied and distributed have also indicated that they are against the proposed legal action.

OUP author and director of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi based think tank, Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, called the move “self-defeating”, telling Cherwell, “Most of the students, particularly in state universities, are not very privileged, and library resources are few and far between. The effect on sales of publishers will be marginal. In fact I think publishers are being penny wise, pound foolish. By allowing access this way, they will create a long term readership for better books.”

He also said that he was unconcerned by his own books being photocopied, saying, “A volume I edited, The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, is one of the hottest items on the “photocopy” market.  And I don’t particularly mind. We are simply urging publishers to not take action against students who photocopy. And the small photocopying shops are also really small, first time migrants trying to do a nice business.”

An OUP India spokesperson stated, “OUP produces a wide range of high quality academic and educational titles and while we strive to disseminate our publishing as widely as possible, this must be carried out within the framework of copyright law.

“This particular issue relates to the  creation of coursepacks. These packs include entire chapters of books from OUP and other publishers and were sold and distributed by a photocopying outlet operating out of the Delhi School of Economics premises without seeking copyright clearance to do so.  This practice is a clear infringement of copyright law.

“Indian Institutions can obtain photocopying licenses through the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO) which has set tariffs for India which are among the lowest in the world. For coursepacks, the rate would be as low as Rs 0.50 (£0.06) per page.“We would encourage institutions looking to provide coursepacks for their students to work with the IRRO. Doing so will ensure seamless, efficient, and affordable access to our titles for the student community.”

An inquest held by the Oxfordshire County Coroner last week concluded that the death of David Lord, a night porter at St Catherine’s College, was caused by suicide. His death in May came as a shock to his friends, co-workers, and students, who described him as “a truly great guy who will be greatly missed.”

This paper reported on the unexpected death of the twenty-three year old earlier in the year, but the investigation was yet to be completed so details were unknown. An inquest was concluded on Tuesday 25th September. Testimony from police, friends and emergency service workers was heard, along with the results of the post mortem examination.

The inquest heard that when Mr Lord did not come into work on the 5th of May, the St Catherine’s College called his home. Mr Lord’s housemate, Samuel O’Brien, entered his room and found him sitting at his desk, his head covered by a plastic bag. A suicide note was later found on his computer by paramedics attending the scene.

The post mortem examination found the cause of death to be suffocation. At the inquest it was revealed that Mr Lord had been unable to come to terms with the recent suicide of a close friend several months earlier, and had been taking prescription anti-depressants and tranquillisers.

St Catherine’s College has expressed its sympathies to Mr Lord’s family, and the college flag was flown at half mast as a symbol of mourning until his funeral, at the Master’s request. The Master, Professor Roger Ainsworth, said Lord was “always friendly, helpful and enthusiastic” and that he “will be greatly missed.”

His fellow porters expressed similar sentiments, saying he was “a valued colleague.” The College Bursar, James Bennet, said, “David’s death came as a great shock to us all at St Catherine’s. He was a much loved and well respected colleague and friend to many here. He will be very much missed by us all.”

Students also expressed their grief and shock at his death, with Gareth Morgan, a third year biochemist, describing him as “a very nice guy, very sharp and extremely intelligent” and adding that he was “really selfless.”

Oxford’s student union has been ranked joint worst in the country according to a student satisfaction survey published last week.

Results published by the National Student Survey gave the student union (OUSU) a student satisfaction rating of just 39%, placing it joint last with Oxford Brookes. At the other end of scale, the University of Sheffield’s student union had the highest satisfaction rating at 95%.

One second year English student said, “I’ve been here a year and apart from the response to the removal of the HFL (History Faculty Library), I can’t think of one significant thing that they’ve introduced. If OUSU wants support and input from the students they need to make themselves known to the students.”

Basil Vincent, ex-JCR President of Keble College, said, “I think that this survey reflects an unfortunate reality about OUSU. The excellent work it does is often unknown to students, who instead see the institution as a bit irrelevant. I’ve seen first-hand just how crucial OUSU is to maintaining student welfare in Oxford, and so I’m a bit disappointed to see it come last.” 

Unlike in universities such as Sheffield, Oxford does not have a central social hub as part of the student union, as that function is often provided by JCRs.The view that collegiate systems reduce student satisfaction seems to be backed up by the fact that Cambridge University student union received a similarly low satisfaction rating of only 46%.

Sam Allen, a Maths student from Sheffield University, explained why he believed his student union deserved the rating it received. “The building is smack bang in the middle of the university so it’s a great point to meet. All the staff are really helpful and informative and there’s everything there from club nights, to banking and coffee shops.”

Oxford Brookes Students’ Union faces similar challenges. Adam Frost, a second year student at the university, claimed, “The union definitely has a presence at Brookes; however for my part I have never had to deal with them.” 

He continued, “I feel that there is more that could be done to improve the union. I for one don’t even know whether an SU bar exists at Brookes, or what it is responsible for. It needs to make itself and its services better known to students.”

OUSU’s current President, David Townsend, stated “OUSU has difficulties with student engagement, and the NSS score reflects that. OUSU can’t blame these idiosyncrasies for all of its problems.”

However, he was positive about OUSU’s capacity to address these problems, claiming that the chance to do so was “one of the big reasons why the current year’s sabbatical officers chose to run for office.” He also said that, “Where students have interacted with OUSU and know what it does, the numbers are overwhelmingly positive, so it’s clear that OUSU has to get better at communicating what it does and at supporting students’ departmental representatives, as you would expect of a Student Union at any other university.”

Townsend also suggested that an improved communications strategy and ongoing professionalisation of its operations will lead to an “upward trend” in student satisfaction.

Felix Neate, former Corpus Christi OUSU Officer, disagreed with the survey, commenting, “I don’t think the fact that OUSU is irrelevant to the average Oxford student makes it the worst student union. No one actually wants to hear from them, so the fact that they’re inaudible really works in their favour.”