University Watch: February/March edition

The University of Oxford has announced a ban on “intimate” relations between staff and students.

The new policy prohibits staff to enter intimate relationships with their current students, and are “strongly discouraged” from forming close relations with other students.

Violations would provoke disciplinary procedures after “private and informal counselling.”

The new policy will come into place from April 17 2023.

This comes after The Oxford Student, in a Freedom of Information request, found that over the past 5 years, there have been 12 sexual misconduct complaints against staff members, with five complaints upheld and one staff member suspended.

Newcastle University’s Students’ Union is facing backlash for hosting fashion brand SHEIN at its Discover Newcastle Fair in February.

Students described this decision as “contradictory” and “embarrassing” due to the company’s promotion of fast fashion.

Recent reports on fashion sustainability suggest that the company produces 6.3 million tonnes of CO2 a year, outpacing other fast-fashion outlets, leading to the coining of the term ultra-fast fashion.

This comes in the context of Newcastle University’s status as the UK’s top ranked University for sustainable development.

A poll run by Palatinate, Durham University’s student paper, has found that 37% of students agree with the statement that “Students are more likely to face racism whilst at Durham University.”

640 students responded to this statement, with 26% agreeing completely, and 15% completely disagreeing.

This comes against Freedom of Information data suggesting that there were 41 reported race/culture-related cases of hate crimes in the 2021/2022 academic year.

Overall, 65% of respondents said that racism at Durham did not massively affect their experience at Durham University.

Students from the University of Cambridge Architecture Society have demanded tuition fee refunds after strike disruption.

The group have written to the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education demanding a partial refund of 30% of Lent term tuition fees.

Whilst stating that they have been putting on their own informal meetings, the letter states that this is “no true replacement for the education we so dearly pay for.”

The letter further encourages other courses across the University of Cambridge, and architecture schools across the country, to take similar action.