Oxford University students at their worst
Following up on my last post, I witnessed another evening of Oxford students in action last Saturday, at Cardinals Cocktails. “Cardinals” is a recurring, well-known event on the Oxford University student social calendar, and is, according to this article, hosted by a drinking society called The Cardinals. As far as I know, they’re based at Christ Church (the “cardinal” referring to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey).
Held at the Oxford Union, a venerable debating institution whose hallowed halls have hosted an incomparable series of speakers over the years, the Hilary 2010 Cardinals Cocktails was a disgusting display of student behaviour the likes of which I’ve never seen (not even at at the few WPI fraternity parties I attended).
The main draw of the event is the unlimited alcohol on offer. Before the doors even opened, there were hundreds of tuxedoed students lined up on St Michael’s Street, all trying to get past the bouncers and into the Union’s debating chamber where drinks were being served. The night started well enough, with people generally behaving themselves and in a manner suitable to the surroundings. But by night’s end, it was an absolute mess. I witnessed people decorating the busts in the room with their sunglasses and cups of alcohol (and posing with them in pictures that undoubtedly have ended up on Facebook); a girl bawling on a bench with a huge blue bruise on her forehead, no doubt from falling down in a drunken stupor; and a male student actually vomiting his evening’s liquor consumption onto the floor of the debating chamber.
There were even students urinating in the sinks in the bathrooms (thanks, I think, to a combination of alcohol-impaired judgment and very long queues) – remember that if you ever have to wash your hands at the Oxford Union! In short, it was an awful mess and something that Oxford University, Christ Church, and all of the students and organizers involved should be deeply ashamed of. (The Oxford Union isn’t to blame – they had nothing to do with the event other than to act as its hosts, their bill, which was left on the piano, coming to something in the vicinity of £1,100 for the evening).
Unfortunately, I suspect nobody is ashamed. This being Oxford University, there is a sense of privilege and unaccountability, and with the event taking place in a private setting, there wasn’t much outward evidence of the aforementioned behaviour. It sometimes seems like Oxford and its students are so proud and full of themselves that they forget their place as members and stakeholders in the greater city community. Oxford University being what it is, there is an endless stream of good press and praise being sent in its general direction, and inflated egos inevitably result.
In writing this, I hope to bring attention to another side of Oxford University. Thinking it through, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn of the above – after all, Oxford students are just like students anywhere else, with the same vices and, in particular, the same propensity to imbibe. I’ve even heard it said that the stress of studying at Oxford can make liquor and drugs an all the more popular way to relieve the pressure.
Regardless, and in much the same way I concluded my last post, I’m seeing a miniature UK being acted out in the Oxford microcosm. This time, it’s evidence of what Ori and I perceive to be a widespread drinking problem in this country. We see it in the news, in the beer bellies of other regular Oxonians, and in the entire go-to-the-pub-every-night-and-have-four-pints culture that is common across the country. Not everybody is here is a drunk – not by any means – but alcohol certainly seems to preoccupy the British more than we think is healthy.
I’ve said enough bad things about the UK for the time being. After all, they were kind enough to let us come and stay for two years, so I should be nice. In our next post, we’ll tell you about something we really like about England: the city of Bristol, which we had the pleasure of visiting just recently. I’ll be editing my photos and posting them soon, and when I do, we’ll tell you all about it.
Held at the Oxford Union, a venerable debating institution whose hallowed halls have hosted an incomparable series of speakers over the years, the Hilary 2010 Cardinals Cocktails was a disgusting display of student behaviour the likes of which I’ve never seen (not even at at the few WPI fraternity parties I attended).
The main draw of the event is the unlimited alcohol on offer. Before the doors even opened, there were hundreds of tuxedoed students lined up on St Michael’s Street, all trying to get past the bouncers and into the Union’s debating chamber where drinks were being served. The night started well enough, with people generally behaving themselves and in a manner suitable to the surroundings. But by night’s end, it was an absolute mess. I witnessed people decorating the busts in the room with their sunglasses and cups of alcohol (and posing with them in pictures that undoubtedly have ended up on Facebook); a girl bawling on a bench with a huge blue bruise on her forehead, no doubt from falling down in a drunken stupor; and a male student actually vomiting his evening’s liquor consumption onto the floor of the debating chamber.
There were even students urinating in the sinks in the bathrooms (thanks, I think, to a combination of alcohol-impaired judgment and very long queues) – remember that if you ever have to wash your hands at the Oxford Union! In short, it was an awful mess and something that Oxford University, Christ Church, and all of the students and organizers involved should be deeply ashamed of. (The Oxford Union isn’t to blame – they had nothing to do with the event other than to act as its hosts, their bill, which was left on the piano, coming to something in the vicinity of £1,100 for the evening).
Unfortunately, I suspect nobody is ashamed. This being Oxford University, there is a sense of privilege and unaccountability, and with the event taking place in a private setting, there wasn’t much outward evidence of the aforementioned behaviour. It sometimes seems like Oxford and its students are so proud and full of themselves that they forget their place as members and stakeholders in the greater city community. Oxford University being what it is, there is an endless stream of good press and praise being sent in its general direction, and inflated egos inevitably result.
In writing this, I hope to bring attention to another side of Oxford University. Thinking it through, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn of the above – after all, Oxford students are just like students anywhere else, with the same vices and, in particular, the same propensity to imbibe. I’ve even heard it said that the stress of studying at Oxford can make liquor and drugs an all the more popular way to relieve the pressure.
Regardless, and in much the same way I concluded my last post, I’m seeing a miniature UK being acted out in the Oxford microcosm. This time, it’s evidence of what Ori and I perceive to be a widespread drinking problem in this country. We see it in the news, in the beer bellies of other regular Oxonians, and in the entire go-to-the-pub-every-night-and-have-four-pints culture that is common across the country. Not everybody is here is a drunk – not by any means – but alcohol certainly seems to preoccupy the British more than we think is healthy.
I’ve said enough bad things about the UK for the time being. After all, they were kind enough to let us come and stay for two years, so I should be nice. In our next post, we’ll tell you about something we really like about England: the city of Bristol, which we had the pleasure of visiting just recently. I’ll be editing my photos and posting them soon, and when I do, we’ll tell you all about it.
