- Britain鈥檚 best-known student society has been embroiled in its 鈥渄irtiest election in living memory鈥, The Daily Telegraph reported on 19 June. Allegations of blackmail, computer hacking and sexism marred this year鈥檚 contest for officer positions at the Oxford Union, the paper said. The troubled election has now led to the resignation of Cai Wilshaw, 19, who stepped down as secretary after the discovery of emails by student paper Cherwell which rivals said showed he had tried to hack into people鈥檚 computers and send 鈥渕isogynistic messages鈥. The emails included photographs of Amelia Hamer, who stood for election as librarian, and captions with sexual references. Ms Hamer has said she felt 鈥渧ictim-ised by the sexist and misogynist nature鈥 of the images. However, Mr Wilshaw said his own computer had been hacked by a rival who had tried to blackmail him with the offending emails, which he said were not motivated by sexism.
- Universities are 鈥渂urying their heads in the sand鈥 over the extent of student sex work, The Independent reported on 21 June. Next to an account of its undercover sting on the phoney Sponsor a Scholar website, whose founder Mark Lancaster admitted at Southwark Crown Court last week to luring young women into having sex with him on the promise of escort work, the paper reported the findings of an academic study on the student sex trade. Up to 6 per cent of students could be employed in part-time sex work, such as pole or lap dancing, escorting or prostitution, according to academics at the universities of Kingston and Leeds. They estimated that the 鈥渉igher education economy鈥 for such services could be worth 拢355 million, or 拢2.1 million per university.
- The Sunday Times is again drawing attention to its favourite subject of late: the exodus of bright students to US universities after 拢9,000 tuition fees were introduced here. A whopping nine students have turned down places at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, mostly to attend Ivy League universities in the US, after they were put off by Oxbridge鈥檚 鈥渆litism and higher fees鈥, the paper reported on 23聽June. 鈥淓xperts predicted that it could be the start of a brain drain of children abroad,鈥 it added, with education minister David Laws saying that he was 鈥渄eeply concerned by the situation and planned to intervene鈥. The paper said the nine students were among 64 who attended Sutton Trust summer camps, of whom 21 accepted places at US universities this year. It鈥檚 a fun story 鈥 combining lofty middle-class aspiration, the American dream and talented young Brits 鈥 but UK universities shouldn鈥檛 be too worried yet: while 21 are heading stateside, about 465,000 students will start full-time courses this autumn if last year鈥檚 intake is matched.
- The University of Stirling has been attacked for 鈥渟hameful鈥 behaviour after spending about 拢150,000 renovating the vice-chancellor鈥檚 house during a period when it was making redundancies to plug a budget deficit. The Sunday Herald reported that Gerry McCormac鈥檚 on-campus grace and favour home had been fitted with a 拢22,000 kitchen, 拢45,000 worth of landscaping, and 拢6,789 in floor coverings. Intriguingly, the planning application for the revamped garden said it would offer 鈥渟oaring views over a Himalayan crag garden perched above the university parkland campus鈥. Stirling has pointed out that the listed building is also used for university events 鈥 but has shed no light on how it had replicated the world鈥檚 highest mountain range in the vice-chancellor鈥檚 backyard.
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