The week in higher education – 9 June 2022

Students who take part in an end-of-exam tradition at the University of Oxford known as “trashing” are facing the prospect of £150 fines. The Times reported that officials at the institution are saying the celebrations – which normally involve throwing drinks, confetti and other substances like shaving foam over each other – can cost tens of thousands of pounds to clean up and can also be a nuisance for locals. However, the Oxford Student Union said the fines were a “punitive approach” and that students were taking steps to “trash” in a more responsible way. “We also object to the paternalistic approach the university has taken which vilifies and scapegoats students,” it said. Luckily, for all the fuss about trashing, there is no history of Oxford students going on to hold high office and receiving fixed penalty notices for partying in an irresponsible way.

For fans of The Wizard of Oz, the blue and white gingham dress worn by Judy Garland’s Dorothy will always be associated with her honesty and courage. But the iconic costume is taking on a new and less appealing relevance after becoming embroiled in a bad-tempered spat over its ownership involving a US university, The Wall Street Journal reported. Catholic University in Washington DC had hoped to raise about $1.2 million (£957,000) from the sale of the dress, which was discovered in its drama department in 2021, having been lost for some 15 years. The piece of memorabilia from the 1939 film was given to the school’s head of drama, the Revd Gilbert Hartke, by the actress Mercedes McCambridge in 1973, but the late priest’s niece is now claiming the dress was donated personally to her uncle, rather than to the university. Unlike the famous movie, it’s hard to pick sides but a court hearing on 9 June was due to decide which of the two parties is the good witch and which is wicked.

People are often encouraged to embrace lifelong learning these days. Perhaps some kudos should therefore go to Max Mendoza, who has allegedly been enrolled in higher education in Bolivia for 32 years without graduating, often while being paid a salary to serve as a student leader, according to the Associated Press. Mr Mendoza, now 52, has tackled industrial engineering, agronomy and law among other subjects during that time, according to the report, and since 2018 has been president of the University Confederation of Bolivia, earning $3,000 (£2,400) a month. He has been detained and an investigation ordered into allegations, which he denies, that his tenure as a state-paid student leader amounted to a crime.

The UK’s new work visa scheme for graduates of the world’s top-ranked universities has come under fire. The “high potential individual” visa route allows anyone who graduated from a university that has featured in the top 50 of two of the main international rankings – including Times Higher Education’s – to have a two-year work visa, or three years if they have a PhD. However, it has been pointed out that 20 of the 37 institutions that currently qualify are in the US, making it very difficult for graduates from other parts of the world to qualify. “Being born in the West doesn’t make anyone a top graduate,” Miraz Rahman, professor of medicinal chemistry at King’s College London, tweeted. It has also been noted that such a scheme could even undercut the UK’s own international student strategy by enticing people to study in the US rather than the UK. Not that the UK has form for higher education policies with unintended consequences or anything.

After British education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was “hounded” out of the University of Warwick to chants of “Tory scum” and “transphobe”, it appeared the campus culture wars may have gone up a level. According to Mail Online, Mr Zahawi was ushered away from protesters by security after giving a speech to the local Conservative student association. Prior to the event, the university’s LGBTQUIA+ group Warwick Pride had issued a letter condemning the minister for defending Kathleen Stock, the philosophy professor who quit her post at the University of Sussex after being targeted by masked protesters. While Mr Zahawi was clearly unimpressed by the noisy crowd outside his talk, he spoke warmly about one of his hecklers – Joel Cooper, son of shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and ex-MP Ed Balls – praising the “very polite” question posed to him inside the session, The Times reported, adding that he was “happy to debate” the point he raised. Maybe cordial campus debate hasn’t disappeared just yet.