Oxford life
Sir: I hope Mercurius Oxoniensis will accept the thanks of an undergraduate for his forthright statement of the events which have disturbed Oxford life this term. The Student Representaive Council, having been refused the constitutionally necessary permission of the University, decided to go ahead with the election of a sabbatical President and declared its "autonomy." The otherwise regrettable failure of the University to assert its authority and regain control has had a fortunate effect; last week an unexpectedly high poll (27 per cent) produced the election of a moderate candidate. The day before a massive poll in Cambridge had procured the election of a Conservative President of the Cambridge Students' Union.
We now wait to see how long the Socialist Societies (' SocSoc ') of both Universities will retain their loyalty to the democratic process. We suspect that their support for sabbatical Presidents may cease to apply when the President's politics are wrong!
Do not lose faith in the Junior Members, Mercurius. When we are truly united (as opposed to the sham unity of a meeting with a quorum of 250 where the SocSoc fights the Communist Party for control) we are not only politically moderate; we know how to make our views stick. Commonsense iS coming back into fashion here, and the artificial war sedulously fostered between the Senior and Junior Members is nearly over.
Andrew Turek Hertford College, Junior Common Room, Oxford
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