The Oxford Student - Volume 75 Issue 5

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Profile

Interview with Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein

Comment New benefit cuts put pressure on welfare departments

Music

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Page 20

Lily James captivates as Natasha Rostova in War and Peace

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Screen

Review of Rhianna’s longawaited album

12.02.2016 Volume 75, Issue 5 oxfordstudent.com

Bop-goers wreak havoc in Magdalen College OxStu News Team The deans and college officials at Magdalen College have been piecing together evidence following a bop on Saturday in which behaviour described as “unacceptable” led to significant damage to college property and altercations with college staff. Initial reports were of damage to a number of college spaces, including both common rooms, as well as mess on the lawn in Magdalen’s famous cloisters, damage to a staircase, and damage to the outside toilets near where

Somerville College was named after Mary Somerville, a Scottish science writer and polymath.

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Image: Thomas Phillips

Mary Somerville to appear on Scottish £10 note

• Controversy over alleged “likebotting” led to her winning Alys Key

News Reporter

The namesake of an Oxford College will appear on the Scottish £10 note. Following a week-long public vote on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Facebook page, Mary Somerville, after whom Somerville College is named, was announced the winner. The competition invited users to like the Scottish scientist they would most like to see on the banknote from a shortlist of Somerville, James Clerk Maxwell, Thomas Telford. Despite Mary Somerville leading the competition for some time, Thomas Telford had the most likes by the close of voting. However, suspicions were raised after a sudden surge of likes on Sunday the 7th of February,

the final day for voting, put Telford into the lead. On Sunday morning Telford’s picture had around 500 likes, but at time of writing it had 5,117 votes. Mary Somerville had accrued 4,356 likes and James Clerk Maxwell had 2,123. Concerns were raised on both Facebook and Twitter about the sudden rise in likes. Many suggested the involvement of “likebotting”, whereby high numbers of “bot” accounts are used to automatically like a post. “It was an absolute shock to see Telford in the lead, after days of having only a few hundred votes,” said Somerville College’s

All Somerville students and alumni will share in our joy

Communications Officer. Following the complaints, RBS told The Oxford Student on Tuesday, “we are looking to establish if these votes were genuine.”

Somerville had been the clear leader throughout the process In a subsequent press release on Wednesday, RBS announced Mary Somerville as the winner of the competition. They also addressed the perceived irregularities in the public vote. “Following concerns over a huge influx of last minute votes for Thomas Telford from outside of the UK, RBS decided to choose Mary Somerville as the winner. Somerville had been the clear leader throughout the

process with the vast majority of her votes coming from the UK.” Dr Alice Prochaska, Principal of Somerville College, said in an exclusive comment to The Oxford Student: “I am thrilled that Mary Somerville will receive this recognition. All Somerville students and alumni will share in our joy at seeing this great woman recognised for her contributions.” Also commenting on the announcement, Malcolm Buchanan, Chair of RBS’s Scotland board said: “Mary Somerville’s immense contribution to science and her determination to succeed against all the odds clearly resonate as much today as they did during her lifetime.” Somerville students, who had been disappointed to see Mary

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Where the Wild Things are See pages 26 and 27


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