Students' Feats

Apart from sports and academics, where do Exeter students win their laurels? Gareth enjoys mooting and Karan is a journalist and guest of the Guardian.
If you're an Exeter student, don't hesitate to contact us or Sara Adams and tell us what you do. We know everyone's got their extracurricular activities to be proud of!

Blogging the Oxford Experience

http://oxford-2006.livejournal.com/

Birgit Mikus wrote a blog during her stay at Exeter College and Oxford University. You can find it on http://oxford-2006.livejournal.com/

Here's a short excerpt from one of her posts, which is absolutely taken out of life:

Dear tourists:

Yes, I live here in college.
Yes, that implies I'm a student.

I'm both a bit flattered and indignant that this impresses you so much.

But, if you visit this beautiful college:
- don't gape at me.
- don't try to take photos of me (especially not when I have my arms full of dirty laundry).
No, I won't pose with you for a photo either.
Why?
Well, I am not the tourist attraction here.
Go take a photo of the chapel.

Charity Hitch to Morocco

www.roadtomorocco.org

Imagine a classroom. Now...take away the books, the desks, the chairs, and then the windows. Remove the roof as well for good measure. Next, place an under-trained teacher in front of 80 children, many of whom have walked three miles to school. These are the conditions in which many children in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa are trying to learn...

...and that's not cool at all.

In mid-March, my friend Dan Nicolau (Balliol) and I are going to hitch-hike from Oxford to Morocco if we are able to raise enough money for Link Community Development, a UK charity that builds schools and trains teachers in the poorest parts of Uganda, Ghana and South Africa. Our goal is 1000 pounds.

We are writing to ask you to help us raise money for this great cause. We're not too sure how we're going to get there or what will go right or wrong along the way, but by donating you can help to ensure that severely under-privileged children in Africa get a chance at an education, something which all of us on this list have been very lucky to receive and usually take for granted.

We promise great stories, videos and pictures of the trip! We'll even send out regular e-mail or blog updates for those of you that make donations.
And any donations over 5 pounds will get a little present back from Morocco!

To make a donation, point to www.roadtomorocco.org. The money is transferred safely and goes directly to the charity.

Thanks in advance,

Dan and Nachi

LCD's work has improved education in some of the poorest areas of Africa. Thanks to LCD, over half a million children in Africa have had a better education, have achieved more at school, and have a better chance of a job. LCD is a group of partner organizations based in Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and the UK. It works in the heart of schools and their communities in some of the poorest areas of sub-Saharan Africa. It's work has improved the quality of education received by over 500,000 children, giving them the chance of a better and brighter future. Visit www.lcd.org.uk for more information.

Exeter Lawyer Wins Laurels

Gareth Tilley, an Australian student reading for the BCL at Exeter in 2005/06, together with James Chegwidden of Magdalen College, have won the Shearman & Sterling University of Oxford Mooting Competition, undefeated.

46 teams entered the competition, and the top 12 were selected to contest the oral rounds last Saturday at St Catherine's College. Gareth and James defeated a team from Brasenose in the grand final, judged by Mr Justice Walker of the High Court of England and Wales. In addition to prize money of 500 pounds, they will both take up seasonal clerkships in the London office of law firm Shearman & Sterling.

Karan Singh guest of the Guardian

Karan Singh is a journalist with the Hindustan Times in Delhi and currently on sabbatical as a graduate student at Oxford. He has been a guest of the Guardian for the past few days and will shortly begin an internship with the BBC.

from: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/[...], 28 June 2006

Sara Adams and Conquer-Space.net

Sara Adams, currently IT officer of the MCR, came to Oxford to do her MSc in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science (MFoCS). Amongst others she develops an online game called Conquer-Space.net together with her fiance. More precicely, it is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game and simulates the futuristic setting of colonising and conquering of space.

Although both main developers are German the game can be both played in German and English. It is an OpenSource project, so others can get the source code and check it out, possibly fix bugs or modify parts to their needs.