Oxford University Labour Club have defiantly renounced their affiliation from ‘Labour Students’ following a vote last Wednesday.

Labour Students is the national umbrella organisation for all student Labour clubs and is responsible for their co-ordination and for building bridges between them and the central Labour party.  It holds annual conferences, arranges social events and campaigns and sets policy stances.

OULC voted 19 votes to six to end their association with the organisation. The decision was taken with co-chairs Kat Shields and Jack Evans abstaining, believing that the decision should rest with the club membership.

In an open letter to the organisation, OULC said, “This was not a course of action we were happy to take, or one we took lightly.”

The transparency of the Labour Students’ internal democracy appears to have been an important factor in determining the vote. The letter, which appears on OULC’s web-
site, stated, “we could no longer remain within an institution whose democratic failings we feel increasingly threaten to undermine its positive work”.

OULC noted that every position on the Labour Students Exec had been elected unopposed in this year’s elections. One student was also supposedly told not to oppose a particular candidate, as the lines of succession had already been pre-determined.

The letter also questioned the lack of availability of Labour Students’ constitution to members, asking, “How can individual clubs be expected to argue for change if they can’t even consult the constitution?”

OULC also stated that during the recent election, the official campaigning materials OULC received from Labour Students were insufficient, forcing OULC to create and finance their own.

The disaffiliation has, however, provoked hostile reactions. Wes Streeting, Ex-President of the NUS who stood as the Labour Student’s candidate, tweeted the following day that he hoped “no Labour MPs will now speak at the club”.

Criticism has also surfaced in Oxford. A letter signed by three former OULC chairpersons claims that the disaffiliation has left OULC “cast adrift” and states that while Labour Students may not be a perfect organisation, the work that they do and the resources that it presents to OULC are invaluable.

Kat Shields, current co-chair of OULC, has responded to the criticism by stating that the vote was not taken out of spite and that previous efforts to alter the dynamic of Labour Students from within had simply met too much opposition.

Hoping to re-join as soon as significant changes had been made, Shields stated that the vote was not simply a protest vote but one designed “to inspire a discussion and bring about reform”..

It has also been questioned why Tony Blair, who distanced himself from student politics while at Oxford, was recently made an honorary member of the OULC. The co-chairs of OULC stated that the honorary membership was largely out of recognition for his career in national politics.

Oxford Council have published a provisional decision to reduce the opening hours of popular student club The Bridge, following violence around the venue. The club could formerly stay open until 3am, but under new regulations will be forced to shut an hour earlier for a three month period.

The Council stated on their website before Tuesday’s hearing, “Thames Valley Police are seeking a review based on the grounds the operators are not upholding their obligations under the four objectives of the Licensing Act most notably the prevention of crime and disorder.”

Police licensing officer Alex Bloomfield said the decision to request a review was made after an incident at Halloween. The club has had many problems with disorderly and anti-social behaviour outside the venue. In October, four men were arrested after a brawl outside The Bridge, which saw two people being taken to hospital, one with serious head injuries.

The Council said that the committee questioned whether the problems were circumstantial or caused by poor running of the premises and said that the Committee came to a decision based upon the evidence provided by both parties.

The news has been met with disappointment from students. St Hugh’s first year Teddy Mears said, “Going to Bridge on a Thursday is an integral part of the week for any St Hugh’s student, and it’s a good way to get to know everyone at college, so it would be a shame if it were to close earlier.”

Phil Davidson, the manager of the club, told Cherwell, “although we have attended a recent review of the club’s licence no finite decision was reached as we indicated that we wished to appeal the panel’s findings. Until such time as that appeal has been heard our opening hours remain the same as they are now.

“Our view is that we fail to see how an hour lopped off our trading times will have any impact on perceived problems at the club, particularly as according to the police statistics over 50% of our ‘problems’ relate to lost/stolen items.”

A third of Oxford Opportunity Bursaries awarded to current first years were given to students from independent schools, Cherwell can reveal.

This comes just weeks after tutors at the University’s Congregation called for a “radical” overhaul to Oxford’s approach to Access Schemes, which many tutors feel still do not go far enough to reach students beyond a certain “cultural and social elite.”

The University had not intended to publish the statistic that one third of bursary recipients are educated within the independent sector, but Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, recently disclosed this figure during comments he made at a Teach First presentation in Somerville College last week.

The statistics were later confirmed by the University Press Office, who stated that “Of students coming to Oxford University with household incomes under £25k, who then automatically qualify for a full Oxford Opportunity Bursary, 31.6% are from schools in the independent sector.”

The University admitted that the bursaries are “automatic, based on income” and they are “blind to all other factors.”

This statistic carries implications for Oxford’s access schemes. Some tutors have expressed concern that Oxford is not going far enough in targeting its access policies at those who need it most.

Bernard Sufrin, Fellow and Tutor in Computer Science at Worcester College, said, “While quality education in schools is rationed by price it’s not really surprising that low-income families that believe in the importance of education will do their best to find their way past the rationing machinery; and who can blame the tiny numbers of such families who can do so, for taking advantage of every available scholarship, grant, or bursary?

“But these individual ‘rags-to-Oxbridge’ narratives allow our ruling elites to continue pretending that any poor child can succeed academically as long as they have the innate talent.” 

Sufrin continued, “Our ruling elites have never put enough resources into building an education system which provides appropriate pathways for the talents of every individual to be nurtured to their full potential. So taking the message ‘think Oxbridge’ at people who hadn’t is never going to affect the educational chances of more than a handful; and I think we need to do a whole lot more than that.”

The University stress that bursaries are “simply a function of household income”.

The Press Office maintain that “the purpose of bursaries is to assist with living costs for those whose parents won’t be able to help them out in that regard.”

A spokesperson said, “You get [bursaries] automatically based on your household income. The University does not ‘choose’ who to give them to”.

John Parrington, a Fellow and Tutor in Physiological Sciences at Worcester College, also voiced concern that Oxford’s undergraduates are still being selected from a narrow pool of applicants.

He said, “I think is the central problem with the whole fees and bursaries question. The big difficulty with having huge fees compensated for by bursaries to the ‘deserving poor’ is that one will inevitably get into these debates about who is most deserving of such bursaries.

“There’s a danger in assuming that even if Oxford did dramatically increase its intake from state schools, if these are the highly selective type, it could still mean a huge proportion of school students out there in Britain at non-selective state schools are not really getting a look in when it comes to getting to Oxford.

Parrington continued, “Oxford still has a long way to go really to reach out to students from less privileged backgrounds. It would make a huge difference if we could go back to the more ‘level playing field’ that I had the benefit of when I was an applicant to Cambridge, and without which it is doubtful that I would be sitting here in Oxford as a University Lecturer and Tutor.”
A spokesperson from the University Press Office was quick to stress that these statistics merely demonstrate Oxford’s commitment to recruiting the best and most able students.
She said, “At most independent schools, bursaries and scholarships are given on the basis of strong academic talent as well as need.
“People on low incomes who have been supported through independent school are therefore by definition likely to be particularly able, and therefore well represented at top universities.”

Hannah Cusworth, a third year History and Politics student, gave an impassioned speech before Congregation about her own background, where she mentioned not only how an Oxford Opportunity Bursary had enabled her to come here, but how financial assistance had allowed her to go to an independent school.

Cusworth said, “I was surprised to learn that a third of full Oxford Opportunity Bursaries go to students who come from the independent sector.

“I suppose this shows that not everyone who goes to private school is from a very well-off family. A lot of students educated in the state sector

who are now at Oxford went to very high achieving selective state schools.
“But I still believe that, one the whole, the state/independent divide says a lot about the educational advantage and support that student likely received.

“Almost every student with AAA is applying to Oxbridge so we need to work more closely with the more disadvantaged state schools whose students have the grades and are applying to Oxford but who miss out on a place.

“Bursaries should ensure that any student who is bright enough to come to Oxford, whatever school they went to, isn’t put off by the costs.”

Alex Bulfin, OUSU VP for Access and Academic Affairs, admitted that given “national statistics on progression from school to university and elite university”, it was “self-evident” that students from independent schools, will have been more exposed and encouraged to pursue higher education at top universities such as Oxford, than students from state schools.

Asked whether bursaries should be used to encourage those who have been educated within the state sector, Bulfin said, “The primary aim of bursaries is not recruitment but student support. I think there are far more significant cultural barriers that prevent people from making an initial application or even picking up the prospectus to see what bursaries we offer.”

Bulfin shifted the debate away from access, to one of financial support. He said, “The primary purpose of bursaries is to ensure people have enough money to live on while at university and that no-one has to decline their place for financial reasons. To that extent they are less about access than student support.

“However some enhanced bursaries, such as the current Oxford Opportunity Bursary, also give students the possibility of reducing the amount they have to borrow from the Government, which does give them an element of access and student recruitment.”
Oxford’s access schemes have come under close scrutiny recently, as many feel the rise in tuition fees could deter bright students who are from less financially able backgrounds, if they are not encouraged to apply by their school or family.

Oxford are expected to announce the level at which they will set their fees for students beginning university in 2012 in early March. It is believed that Oxford will follow Cambridge’s lead in raising fees to the highest cap of £9,000 per year.

Members of RAG and the LGBTQ  community successfully joined hands all the way around the Rad Cam last Saturday to spread a positive message about expressing sexuality.

The SSHH event, or ‘Same Sex Hand Holding’, brought members of both groups together in encircling the iconic Oxford building.

Radhika Goyal, an E&M student and one of the organisers of the event, told Cherwell, “It was great! The rationale was to spread a positive message about feeling comfortable about expressing sexuality in public.

“Despite living in a liberal environment, it is still the case that same sex couples can encounter negativity or taboo.”

High attendance meant that unlike last year’s attempt, a full circle was made around the domed building despite heavy winds and rain.

One onlooker commented, “I think it’s a great idea. It’s good to make a message and they’ve done it in a clever way. I hope it makes a difference.”

Alistair Nichols, a student from Corpus Christi who took part in the event, said, “The aim of the event was to make people feel comfortable about displaying their sexuality.

The event, the second of its kind, marks a general campaign to improve the expression of sexuality at Oxford. A RAG member commented, “this is an important opportunity to spread a positive message.”

RAG and LGBTQ have not yet confirmed any future plans, although Goyal suggested that an event on a bigger scale in Trinity may be forthcoming.

The age-old Oxford tradition of crewdating and dining in hall have recently made a very modern transition to the internet, with the launches of Crewdater.com, Venn.com and Hallsurfing.com.

The premiss of Crewdater and Venn  is to make the crewdating scene more accessible. The founders of Crewdater, who are Oxford undergraduates, stated that, “We wanted more crewdates and thought there must be a way to make it easier to find them, so the premiss of the website is just to make it easier. We also wanted to expand crewdating beyond sports teams to give more people a way of finding groups of people to go out with.

“It would be a shame if people missed out on what is a great Oxford tradition just because they aren’t in a sports team,” they said.

Tom Raynor of Venn summed up the new site, saying, “In short it makes crewdates easier, cheaper, and hopefully more fun.”
The team behind Crewdate, Maz Jaderberg, Ben Rickett and Nick Pointer, told Cherwell that they came up with the concept due to the experience of badly run social events.
Both websites  were said to be in development around the same time, but according to the founders of Crewdater they were “completely unaware of each other”.

There is rivalry between the two sites. The founders of Crewdater said, “To be honest, [Venn] have done a solid job, but we reckon they are making the same mistakes Crewdates.com did three years ago, in particular by making every member of the crew sign up to the site. Personally, we think it’s part of the fun of a crewdate is to not know who you are about to be meeting”.  

Tom Raynor said, “There isn’t a reason that teams couldn’t be on both sites. Obviously the market that Venn is going for is much, much bigger than just Oxford, but I expect Oxford students will end up using the site which is easiest and gets them the best deals – which will hopefully be us.”

The sites significantly update the crewdating concept. Crewdater  boasts a ‘date-page’ that puts teams head-to-head and allows public and  private posts, the latter of which only fellow team members can see. The website is also accessible through Facebook.

Tom Raynor said that Venn has had “a hell of a lot” of interest, continuing, “We’ve only been up and running for four days and we already have 71 teams on the site.”  Venn offer free beer and wine to the first four teams from each college to register.

A Trinity student stated that “After my last crewdate, which naming no names (St. Hilda’s rugby) involved a boy vomiting out of first floor window of At Thai and then vomiting over himself whilst the rest of the team took to smashing glasses for sconce announcement, I would very much like to have the opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff from now on”.

Crewdater.com has combatted privacy and abuse worries raised by some students. “All comments, profiles and photos are monitored and offensive content is automatically removed.

“There’s a fine line though between regulation and stifling freedom of speech, and we don’t want people to feel like their views are being censored.”

Tom Raynor issued a similar statement, saying, “We keep an eye on any obvious abuse, which we can remove, and if abuse is reported to us, it is dealt with very quickly.”

Crewdater’s founders told Cherwell the future was bright. “While there is the possibility of expanding to other universities, our number one focus is on providing the best service to students in Oxford.”They are about to launch a partnership with Varsity Events, which will mean every crew gets queue jump, discounted entry and the possibility of VIP tables and drinks.

Venn.com has ambitions further afield, stating, “We will be launching in Brookes next week, and have already had unsolicited requests to join from Cambridge, Exeter, Newcastle, Durham, and London. Once complete, the site won’t just be for students, but for grads and young professionals as well.”

Another website modernising Oxford traditions, Hallsurfing.com, allows students to invite guests to their colleges to experience eating in different halls and is proving to be a popular concept.