The Penguin Drinking Society's Tie
The members of an Oxford Drinking Society have been suspended en masse this week over a leaked email thread.
Hertford College got hold of the emails which listed the fit female freshers the boys planned to invite to a crewdate (Oxford’s version of a swap).
After the crewdate went ahead successfully (with the girls organising a repeat date for the following term), someone hacked into one of their computers and plastered the content of the emails on posters across Hertford.
In an inexplicable over-reaction, the college suspended all 15 drinking society members included on the thread without charge, even those who had not contributed.
It is understood that at least 8 those suspended were finalists – under the terms of the suspension they are banned from tutorials (aka supervisions), using the college library and have been made to vacate their rooms.
It remains unclear if they will be allowed to sit their exams next term.
One college official told The Tab, "I can confirm that we are investigating possible breaches of our disciplinary code and that a number of undergraduates have been suspended whilst that process takes its course."
The Dean of Hertford College has also laid into the whistleblower who put the posters up saying that their actions went “well beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour, even in jest”.
“Now is a good time for all to reflect on the privilege of College membership and focus on the main purpose of being at Oxford.”
The list, which was sent in a private email thread between Hertford College’s Penguin society’s members, has attracted criticism from the college’s female welfare officer for being sexist and predatory.
However, there has been considerable confusion across Oxford over why such behaviour has been punished so harshly by the disciplinary powers at Hertford. The last time the college suspended a student they had headbutted someone so hard that they were put into a coma, but their suspension only lasted one day.
Will Ford, a second year undergrad from Oxford, exclusively told The Tab that “It’s definitely an overreaction; no-one really gets what the big fuss is about – it’s not as if conversations like that don’t happen in every college”
Laura Winwood, a Hertford student explained, “As it stands we have not yet been officially informed by college as to the events that took place nor the basis for their decision to take disciplinary action”
It is rumoured that the worst the 15 can be found guilty of is misuse of their internet connection. Oxford’s rules stipulate a breach of this kind includes using the internet for anything other than work purposes – including going on Facebook or using Spotify.
Students at the college have been told that their bar will be closed for the foreseeable future as both the bar manager and treasurer are members of the Penguins. In effect this punishes the whole college as well.
The Penguins, a newly formed Oxford Drinking Society with trademark maroon ties, have already acquired quite a reputation within Oxford
With initiations that include swimming in the Cherwell, eating raw squid and running around Oxford naked, the society has caused anger throughout the college both for giving the members of the JCR a bad reputation for ‘Bullingdon-eque’ antics.
One student who watched the group’s initiations said "They had to dismember a squid. Someone who failed had to eat half of one. Bits of squid ended up back in college and there was lots of vomit everywhere."
The incident has called into question comparisons between Oxford’s underground drinking society scene and Cambridge’s open obsession with the groups.
One undergrad, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Tab how this sort of behaviour “goes on all the time at Cambridge. It’s inherent to the way in which drinking society’s work; who’s going to be invited out on which swap, who’s going to be initiated in which drinking society”
A third year student from St John’s said “can you imagine what would happen to most undergraduates if their college got hold of private drinking society threads. What they wrote looks fairly tame to be honest!”
Trust the tab to come down on the side of the boozing lads!
The female drinking societies at my college have a weekly list of the fittest men in college, will their suspension be imminent I wonder?
sexism…which I hate. I mean really hate….I've said it in meetings and everything!
Talk about impartial reporting – "inexplicable overreaction", etc etc. It's one thing to rate a girl as she walks past with your friends, but to create a kind of 'sex shortlist' is creepy, degrading and predatory – it's astonising that so many people at cambridge and oxford can't see that. But then again what would you expect from public school toffs who see girls as objects, just things to be pulled, and themselves as god's gift to women. I'm so sick of having to put up with these kind of idiots.
Talk about impartial commenting – "public school toffs", etc etc. Bitter much?
good point well made, old chap
I agree though, it is largely those boys that have been public school that display a disgraceful attitude towards women.
This is mindless stereotyping and quite frankly rubbish. Your school has absolutely no relevance to how you view women.
with respect that's simply not true; quite obviously certain environments foster certain attitudes; and a elitist (all public schools are in a sense, elitist) and especially single-sex institution, can, in a minority of cases, engender some very odd views. This is not so much stereotyping as speaking from observation and common sense.
With respect, that's the worst rebuttal I've read in a while. Hilariously enough, you shoot yourself in the foot with your own duelling pistol. You firstly narrow it down to "single-sex institution[s]", and then narrow it down infinitely further by admitting it's in "a minority of cases". So, from "observation and common sense", I can deduce that about 0.154 of the 15 men involved fall under your generalisation.
"having to put up with these kind of idiots"… by the sounds of it you are an oxbridge reject, the kind of person who will be serving us dinner, taking our cash at petrol stations et cetera. for what its worth though, i'll try and have the correct change such that you won't have to "put up" with our "kind" for longer than absolutely necessary.
Firstly I don't think that as a commentor there's any obligation to be impartial, secondly I'm obviously not a reject, nor 'bitter' – I'm at Cambridge like pretty much everyone else here, thirdly, you're only affirming my observations about certain ugly elements of oxbridge culture with your arrogance and false sense of superiority.
Quite obviously to brand these sexist members of this Oxford drinking soc as 'public school toffs' is a generalisation – but, like all generalistions it has a grounding in reality. Are you honestly disputing this?
steady raving feminist, put your dildo away and head into the real world, it a bit rich to paint all people at oxbridge as 'public school toffs' when you are complaining about how they paint all girls as objects.
chip on the shoulder perhaps?
yes?
thought so, now fuck off.
couldn't have put it better myself.
Well I went to Oxford and a rather good public school and having read this left wing Cambridge rubbish have come to the considered opinion that you just need a good hard f*ck
Is it now Tab policy to lift headlines directly from the Cherwell?
They got banned mostly because of actions prior to the email thread.
Repeated trashings of Hertford property etc. Majority feeling within Hertford is that they got what was coming to them.
Btw, yes, this is insider knowledge. herp derp.
Standard.
does it say anywhere which birds were listed as fit?…could do with a bit of facebook browsing inspiration.
i can't see anything wrong with rating people among yourselves and even making a list. who cares, it's private. the tard who hacked the emails and put the list up around college is to blame for something actually malicious. tard.
What a bunch of fucking geeks for s start. Who wears Penguin ties? it's no wonder they can't get laid.