The Oxford Union sparked controversy by inviting world-famous pimp and brothel owner Dennis Hof, accompanied by sex worker Cami Parker, to speak in a debate about prostitution on Thursday.

At the debate, responding to the claim that prostitution exploited women, Hof said, “Exploitation is on us men who don’t get enough variety and quality.”

Speaking to Cherwell after the debate, Hof commented, “You’re a smart group of students and if you take the emotion out of it, then you’ll definitely agree with me.” He also argued that his brothels were “much better than others.”

However, Julie Bindel, co-founder of Justice for Women, who has twice visited Hof’s brothels and also participated in the debate, said, “I saw the most emotionally damaged women [there] that I have ever seen.”

When questioned on the suitability of inviting a pimp to speak in the debate, the Union commented, “The Oxford Union recognises Dennis Hof as a controversial and outspoken figure in his field. However, the Union advocates freedom of speech, and anyone who speaks in debates can and will be challenged.”

Before speaking, Hof told The Sun that over the course of the debate, entitled ‘This House Would Recognise Prostitution as a Legitimate Business’, he intended to show attendees “how my ranch is the model of prostitution – I think they are going to like it.”

He added, “My life has been a party for 20 years. When you legalise prostitution you take out all of the criminal elements and get safer sex. These girls are educated, young businesswomen.”

Much of the criticism of the Union over the issue has centred on its decision to invite a pimp, rather than approaching prostitutes directly. Sarah Pine from the OUSU Women’s Campaign commented, “We welcome debate on such an important issue, but inviting Dennis Hof is irresponsible. We support women who want to sell their bodies, but this does not change the fact that pimps exploit women.

“Inviting a pimp undermines women’s autonomy in this business: the Union is foolish to not recognise that prostitutes are the most important people to listen to on the subject of prostitution.”

Simone Webb, a first year PPE student at Hertford and contributor to The Guardian on feminist issues, told Cherwell that she was, “worried that his voice is being given precedence over the sex worker whom he says is coming.”

Hof, however, argued that it is businessmen to whom the sex industry should be entrusted, saying, “The message is this: You got a 1,096-year-old county and you still have not learned how to deal with prostitution. And Nevada has got it right. We know how to take it out of the hands of the criminals; Nevada does, and puts it in the hands of the businessman in the county. Right now, a fortune [in prostitution] is going to an underground criminal society.”

Hof is also planning to use his visit to the UK to meet with David Cameron and Boris Johnson to discuss the possibility of legalising sex work nationally. He commented, “I want there to be an Olympic 2012 brothel. Legal prostitution would bring in a billion pounds to your economy; it would sort out all your problems. It would be a good thing for your country, I’m telling you”

Some students expressed concern over the content of the speech. First year classicist Mona Damian had hoped that he would use the debate, “to discuss the legalisation of prostitution as a topic, as opposed to merely using it as an opportunity to promote his own business.”

However, a Union member leaving the debate said, “Hof’’s views livened things up and distracted from the feminist ranting. He seemed like a friendly guy and his friend, although quiet, was an important asset.”

A new scheme has been drawn up by Watkin Jones to build student accommodation on a controversial plot in St. Clements.

A previous project sparked months of protests from residents, 140 businesses and the University, with objections about a loss of car parking and the impact on an area of conservation near Magdalen college.

The original £8m plans were to provide 141 students with accommodation, reducing the number of car parking spaces in the area from 120 to 76. Traders claimed the lack of spaces could seriously damage their business, as shoppers could have nowhere to park for about a year. The scheme was eventually rejected by counsellors.

Watkin Jones came back with a new suggestion a year later. As well as reducing the height of buildings, the developers say the new scheme will provide 80 car parking places, six more than the earlier scheme. As St Clement’s car park would have to close for a year of building work, new plans have been drawn up to provide a temporary car park for 65 vehicles off Marston Road. The plans include new public toilets and the landscaping of the riverbank.

After a design competition, Manchester based firm Hodder and Jones have drawn up a plan, which features two rows of student flats either side of a pedestrian street, connected by a glass bridge. The idea is to maintain the former street pattern, once occupied by the historic Pensons Gardens, and to enhance views from the flats of the River Cherwell and meadows.

Roger Smith, of planning consultants Savills, said, “We consider that this is a much better proposal, which takes account of the conservation area, the amenity of local residents and provides a greater level of temporary parking during the period of construction.”

The developers hope that a planning application could be submitted in June, with a view to students moving in by September 2013.

Watkin and Jones still intend to appeal against the city council’s decision to reject the earlier scheme.

Burglars broke into a charity shop on Banbury Road this Monday and stole hundreds of pounds worth of goods.

The Helen and Douglas House vintage shop raises money for a hospice in East Oxford which cares for children and young people facing terminal illness.

The burglars forced open the back door of the shop, taking clothes and jewellery. CCTV footage has shown that at least two people were involved in the break in.

A spokesperson from the shop commented, “[The robbery] was really shocking, and it’s just upsetting that people have come wishing harm, without a thought for the work that we do.” She explained that although no cash was taken the robbers took items that represent potentially £500 of turnover, adding, “It cost us two days trading, which is a lot of money for us.”

David Cryer, the head of retail at Helen and Douglas House, said that the break in “caused a lot of distress for the staff, especially the volunteers, who come in and spend their free time making the shop look nice and generating profits for the charity.”

He added, “It is unlikely that we will be fully compensated for the break-in. In particular, the stock is not insured, as it is donated and therefore unique, and it is not possible to put an exact value on it.”

A spokesperson for the hospice told Cherwell, “We are now asking for support from local people to donate their vintage and retro items, to help us restock the shop, and also for more volunteers to help us keep the shop open for longer hours.”

The hospice costs between £4.5 million and £5 million a year to run, and the spokesperson said that charity shops form a very important part of its income. An employee at Holland and Barratt, a neighbouring shop, raised concerns about safety in the Summertown area. He said that he was worried about shoplifting, and also told Cherwell, “Lots of traders are concerned about the lack of a police presence in the area.”

Trisha Soneji, a charity rep at Regent’s commented, “It’s disgusting that people would steal from a group whose only aim is to help others. Charities rely on goodwill and to abuse that is the lowest of the low.”

Oxford’s streets will see an influx of multicoloured flags and cross-dressing this Saturday as the second annual Drag Race takes place in the city centre. The event will be hosted by Oxford Pride, a non-profit organisation founded in 2002 which describes itself as “a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life in Oxfordshire”. Through sponsorship, the event aims to raise money and awareness for the local LGBT community.

This year’s event will see large numbers of people making their way through Oxford’s streets in drag. Meeting at midday at the Jolly Farmers, the race will begin at 1pm, progressing down Cornmarket Street and Queen Street, and will finish on Paradise Street.

An information booth will be set up outside the Westgate Centre all day, where information can be found on Oxford Pride and about the wider LGBT community in Oxford.

Rafe Jeune, the Chair of the Oxford Pride Group, stressed the community-centric and family-centric nature of the event. He commented, “I am looking forward to the celebration of what we have achieved as a community, and to bringing everyone in Oxford together. Not just LGBT people, but everybody. I think it is great when we see people bringing their families who are not necessarily LGBT, and everyone celebrates together.

“This is always a fun and colourful day that helps to raise awareness of the LGBT community in Oxford while raising much needed funds”.

Some students, however, seemed confused by the notion of a Drag Race. One New College undergraduate said, “I attended this event last year hoping to compare the skills on show with my carefully honed Need for Speed ability, only to find myself surprised by the nature of the event and lack of automobiles – madness!”

Another added, “The high heels were a definite mistake. Although they made my legs look great, it wasn’t worth the pain…or the blisters the next day!”

The Student Consultancy and Community Action Groups Oxfordshire are working together to get students involved in the local community. The programme lasts 8 weeks, pairing students with local Small and Medium Enterprises, charities or community organisations.

Jon Williams, a team leader and Medicinal Chemistry DPhil candidate at Jesus, described the current student contribution, saying “there are seven teams of students working on different Community Action Group projects, including stock management at Sandford Farmer’s market and developing marketing strategy at Dean Court Community Centre.”

Williams explained the benefits brought by the programme as “mutual, in that we are able to contribute positively to the local community, whilst also developing key employability skills, such as market research, data analysis and presentation skills.

“Working with a small community organisation means there is real potential for tangible impact.” At the moment, Williams’ team is working on funding and market research at the Barracks Lane Community Garden, hoping to boost involvement in the garden.

Jonathan Black, a director at the Careers Service described the projects to assist local organisations as “ a progressive and value adding link between ‘town and gown’” that will “undoubtedly build a positive image of the university and its students within these groups.”

Black further stated that the programme attracts students from across the range of colleges, year-groups and subjects and provides an opportunity “to break out of the ‘bubble’ and engage with the local community, while learning useful consulting skills, experiencing team work and developing business awareness.

“Most students do not want to be consultants in their future, but see this as a way to learn what consulting is about, in a successful and supportive programme.”

The students are expected to add value to the organisations with which they work; Black expressed that the Careers Service hopes for students to come up with “well-researched and useable suggestions to the strategic problems facing these groups.”

When asked for comment on the new projects, the University press office agreed that “this community engagement has benefits not only for the individuals concerned but also for the University as a whole, deepening the University’s relationship with the city and the region.”

Moreover, the press office reiterated its goal “to make a major contribution to improving the quality of life of people in the region”, and cited the great works done by Oxford students dating back centuries: “Oxford students pioneered student volunteering in the 19th century, and the student body today is heavily involved in voluntary community activity of every kind.”

The Student Consultancy has been swiftly expanding and will have co-ordinated 47 projects and nearly 200 students over the 2011-12 academic year. The Careers Service hopes to further grow this figure to around 25 projects per term, it has recently received a grant from HEIF enabling the project to grow to 100 students a term.

Students from Worcester College have been running a ‘Lads on Library Tour’ this week. The members of Worcester College’s Breakfast Club visit a different library each day wearing matching ‘tour’ T-shirts.

The ‘lads’ have visited the Bodleian, the Radcliffe Science Library, the Radcliffe Camera, and the Taylor Institution Library. They plan to visit the English Faculty Library and the Sackler Library in the next two days.

Alex Hunt, the Library Tour President, said, “The library tour is designed to make revision a little less suicidal whilst still achieving the same productivity. Each day, we go to breakfast in our flip flops, board shorts, tour T-shirts and sunnies, and then go to the library of the day en masse and study. The next day to process is repeated but in a different library.” The T-shirts have ‘lad nicknames’ and a tour itinerary printed on the back. Forty Worcester students own them, with “at least twenty people” attending every day.

Thomas Helfer, one of the ‘lads’, said, “The tour is really the brainchild of Alex Hunt and it certainly is a fantastic way to enliven otherwise monotonous revision sessions! The morning breakfast banter is a great way to wake up and remind yourself that you’ve got stuff that probably ought to be done during the day. Furthermore, working en masse in various libraries is a big improvement from the boredom of Worcester’s two libraries, which require frequent Half Naked Half Hours to take the heat out of its greenhouse-esque design. I’ve heard several complaints from friends in other colleges that we have taken up their space which is a bit ridiculous considering the size of the libraries. As a last thought I guess I would love to see other Colleges taking part next year!”

Anand Patel, another member of the team, told Cherwell, “I am a Law Finalist. My nickname is ‘No Fun 2012’, because this was my original plan after Alex Hunt set the bar with ‘No Fun Trinity’ last year. The Tour has been great: it’s an opportunity to have a nice relaxing start to the day with breakfast in college, and a nice walk to whichever library it is. Once we get into the libraries we have been mindful that it is Finals term, and with many of us preparing for Finals ourselves, it has been all business outside of breaks.

“It’s been a great way of breaking up the monotony of revision, and is an example of The Breakfast Club’s innovative methods.” He continued, “We don’t discriminate on the basis of gender. Whilst the members of the Club are almost exclusively male, we consider ‘Lad’ to be a state of mind, or a ‘way of life’. Thus, as you may have seen or heard, there have been several women on tour this week.

“Other colleges needn’t be jealous – they may have their own methods of dealing with the ‘revision blues’. This is just the mode we have chosen, and we feel it works for us.”

A group of Oxford University engineers recently launched a battery-powered electric car, created for an international competition to build energy-efficient vehicles.

It was entered into the European leg of the Shell Eco-marathon 2012 in Rotterdam yesterday, competing against 20 other teams in the prototype battery electric vehicle class.

The goal of the Eco-marathon is to minimise the energy used to complete the 16.3km (10.1m) street course. Last year, one car travelled 842.5 km on 1 kWh of electricity. Oxford Martin School’s website describes this as ‘approximately equivalent to driving from London to Aberdeen on the energy used to do a large load of washing in an A+++ certified appliance.’

On 8th May 2012, PEGGIE was revealed to public in a press launch held in Begbroke Science Park, Oxford. At the launch, the team members gave a public demonstration in assembling the car, after which driver Lucy Alexandra Mahony demonstrated the car in action.

When asked what the team hoped to achieve in the wider world through this project, Dr Bishop replied, “The University of Oxford does not have a long history of participating in eco-vehicle competitions. The motivation of entering PEGGIE is to provide a real-world application for our research. It challenges us to move beyond the ideal conditions in the lab or on the computer to design and build a robust vehicle. Other learned skills include team work and systems thinking.”

After much debate, New College JCR have passed a motion changing the constitutional specifications regarding the sexual identification of candidates who are eligible to run for the position of LGBTQ representative.

The motion proposed removing the specification in the JCR’s standing orders that candidates for the role be ‘non-straight’. It was then amended to agree that only LGBTQ-identified candidates would initially be able to stand. If no candidates came forward, or if students voted to re-open nominations, then non-LGBTQ candidates would be permitted to run. While a majority opposed the original motion, the amendment was deemed ‘friendly’ and passed with one vote against.

Second year chemist Isabelle Paterson-Taylor tabled the motion. She told Cherwell, “The changes that have taken place in the JCR are a good step towards further discussion and more integration.

“Previously, it was implied that the main qualification for the role was simply being ‘non-straight’, rather than a deep interest and involvement in the issues involved.

“I feel that if we are to account for the wide range of experience within the ‘community’, we must also accept that there are non-LGBTQ-identified people who have legitimate motivations to run for the position.”

Henry Ashwell, New’s current LGBTQ rep, seconded Paterson-Taylor’s proposal before accepting the amendment. He said, “I fully understand the frustration and arguments in favour of greater inclusion over the LGBTQ rep position. However, it was pointed out that, in elections, the voice of the LGBTQ community gets very little say on who their rep is.

‘Their unanimous voice was that they wanted someone who had experience of being LGBTQ to be in charge of LGBTQ welfare. This was a reasonable request and one which no LGBTQ rep should take lightly.”

JCR President Oscar Lee said, “A primary reason for the motion was the contradiction that a candidate had to be ‘non-straight’ even if they were transgender. This has been rectified so that any transgender candidate of any sexual orientation can stand.’

A first year at New, who identifies as LGBTQ, supported the outcome, saying, ‘People want to go to someone they can identify with and who’s had first-hand experience.”

However, a non-LGBTQ second year, who had hoped to run last year, told Cherwell, “I fully support and strongly champion the LGBTQ cause, but I’m angry that people aren’t keen to widen representation.”

OUSU LGBT rep Jess Pumphrey said, “I see no way of enforcing this rule without policing others’ identities. Who will determine whether a candidate is ‘LGBTQ enough’ to stand? Nobody has the authority to do that.

“Candidates with experience of all aspects of LGBTQ life must be rare, yet we trust our LGBTQ representatives to represent us on issues they haven’t personally experienced. It seems to me risky to prevent good and willing candidates from standing for a position which can often be undersubscribed.”

Students graduating from Oxford with a degree in Mathematics can expect to earn more than any other graduates in Britain, the latest figures have revealed.

Data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that the average salary of Oxford maths graduates is £42,589 six months after leaving university. The national average salary for maths graduates is significantly less at £23,160.

Jonathan Black, the Director of Oxford’s Careers Service, said that the reason for the earning potential of the University’s maths graduates was “essentially supply and demand.”

“We’ve recently had a period when the City has been seeking numerate and bright graduates,” he explained. “Some banks for example have stated that they want to hire engineers and mathematicians and are offering the sort of salaries to attract them to high pressure, long hours, and City-based roles.”

He also suggested a close link between the work of maths undergraduates and City financiers, saying, “I think many leavers see roles in the City as extensions of Oxford – they’re high pressure (like the tutorial system), involve frequent and important deadlines, plus there are the added attractions of great salaries to help pay down the student loan and debt, and the opportunity to work in the bright lights of London.”

First year Trinity mathematician Gideon Wakefield agreed, saying, “Maths gives you three years of experience manipulating and modeling, which is exactly what you would be doing in financial research. The only difference is that you might be modelling markets, for example.”