Practicalities

9.1 Mail & Contact Details
9.2 IT
9.3 Cycling
9.4 Safety and Security
9.5 Emergency Procedures
9.6 Smoke Free Law
9.7 Families

9.1 Mail and Contact Details

All students living in Farndon Court should use Farndon Court as their main address. For students not living in Farndon Court, please use your residential address for post and deliveries.  

‘Pigeonholes’ at Farndon Court are situated on the ground floor. Pigeonholes at Linacre College are behind the Reception Office, where any mail delivered by the University Messenger Service will be sent. Internal post to other members of the University (e.g. other departments or colleges) can be posted without charge in the internal mailbox outside the Reception Office at Linacre College. For external mail, please ensure that you have the correct postage on it. Please note that the University’s internal mail service is for post only, and not parcels including books or gowns.  

It is important for students to keep their contact details updated, including any change of address in Oxford; your permanent home address; or telephone contact details. Please provide a mobile phone number which will work in the UK and which you have regular access to. Students can update their contact details using the Student Self-Service. If you are going to be away from Oxford for a period longer than two weeks, please ensure that you leave a forwarding address and inform the Academic Office (academic.office@reuben.ox.ac.uk). There is no formal requirement to obtain University permission to be away from Oxford at any time, although you should be aware of the formal residency requirements for graduate students (see above).  

Contact details such as addresses, and telephone numbers are confidential to the College unless students indicate otherwise. In accordance with the Data Protection Act you will have given consent for the College to use confidential information in appropriate circumstances by signing the University Contract. 

9.2 IT

Information about IT facilities at the university can be found on the IT Services’ website.  All students are bound by University Regulations on computing use, and should make themselves aware of what these regulations do and do not allow. Breaking the rules for network usage may lead to disconnection from the network as well as disciplinary action. 

Please note the College's Social Media Policy. Reuben values and protects freedom of expression; at the same time, the College does not tolerate posts that are offensive or derogatory relating to sex, gender reassignment, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion/belief or age, and nor does it tolerate posts that are meant to hurt, offend or denigrate an individual or are illegal under British law. 

All members with a Reuben affiliation on their University card are entitled to an email account and address of the form firstname.lastname@reuben.ox.ac.uk. This account should be created automatically when your card is issued and activation details will be sent to you. If you have any queries regarding your email account, please contact Alex Wooten, Head of IT, at it.support@reuben.ox.ac.uk. 

IT Support for Reuben students can change depending on which building or service you are needing support for. Contact details for support are detailed below.  

The Reuben IT website page is here and will be updated regularly with common IT guidance. 

Linacre College has many computers for members to use. Computer desks, as well as clear desks, can be found in the Library, the OC Tanner Study Area, and the Abraham Study Area. There are also colour and mono laser printing and scanning facilities, and network ports available for personally owned computers to be connected to the Linacre network.  
 
Details of how to connect personal computers to the Linacre wired network can be found here. Alternatively, you can email support@linacre.ox.ac.uk or telephone the IT Office on 01865 271659. 
 
Wireless access is provided via the University OWL and Eduroam services in all areas. See the University IT Services pages here.   

 9.3 Cycling

Cycling is the most convenient way of travelling around the city, but it can also be dangerous if you are unfamiliar with the rules of the road or don’t have the right equipment. For information on how to get cycling safely around Oxford, please click here.  

Please be aware that when cycling in the dark you are legally required to have white front and red rear lights as well as red rear reflectors. We would also strongly encourage you to wear a helmet. These measures can be the difference between life and death, or a serious injury, so please do not compromise your safety.  

Unfortunately, bicycle theft is a significant problem in Oxford and you are therefore strongly advised to follow the University’s guidance on bike repair and security. It is strongly recommended that you take out insurance against theft and register your bicycle with University Security Services via the Lodge. There is a bicycle shelter under the main steps into Linacre College which you can access using your University Card.   

 9.4 Safety and security

Oxford is generally a safe place to study and socialize in, but please do take care and precaution re your personal safety. The university has a helpful guide on this, please do take a few moments to read it. 

If you have any concerns regarding your safety, please ring 999 in the event of an emergency and you need the police, ambulance or fire services.  

For urgent concerns, please be aware of our resources during the evenings and nights. You can contact the Linacre College lodge on 01865 271650. They are open 24/7 and have direct contact with the University Security Services. They will be able to put you in touch with the College Duty Contact from the Welfare Team in the event of any urgent matters that arise out of office hours. 

If you have any concerns about someone acting suspiciously, please report it to the Duty Porter at Linacre Reception out of office hours, or to the Reuben College Bursar during office hours (09.00 – 16.00 hrs Mon-Fri). The College Bursar is also Reuben’s Health and Safety Officer. Please report any health and safety issues to them and they will be able to offer advice/suggestions.  

For more serious incidents you can directly contact the Oxford University Security Services (OUSS) Control Room (24/7) on 01865 (2)89999 for assistance.  

Please be aware of the “Safe Lodge” Scheme as depicted by a green circle in most College Lodges. You can ask for help to get home from any college lodge. They will contact us and arrange a taxi home for you. You will be able to take refuge in their lodge until it arrives.    

Wherever you live, please keep your room locked and make sure that external doors to residential areas are locked. Do not let anyone follow you into a residential area ('tailgating') unless you know them personally. At the Linacre site, if you don't know whether someone is a Linacre or Reuben student, they will have their own card to let themselves in. If they are a guest of a Linacre or Reuben student, they can phone their host to let them in. If you are asked to use your own card or to phone your host to enter a space, consider it a compliment: it means that the person speaking to you values your safety and security. Keep valuable items out of sight from the window- as with most major cities, burglaries can occur in Oxford.    

In the unlikely event that you ever do experience any physical danger by harassment or an attempted attack, it is most important that you inform the Welfare Dean or other college staff of the incident as soon as possible. 

9.5 Emergency Procedures

In the event of a serious accident or emergency, summon the Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service or Police by dialing 999. This number can be dialed from all telephones including those on the University network. Immediately after calling the emergency services and during normal office hours, please inform Linacre reception (01865 271650), who can inform key members of Reuben staff, or the Farndon Court Caretaker. 

Outside office hours the duty Porter at Linacre should be notified (01865 271650), who again will contact key Reuben staff. 

The fire alarms in Linacre College (which includes the Reuben Common Room) are tested at 12 noon every Monday. During all other times, it is the duty of every member of College to respond promptly and to vacate any Reuben or Linacre College property when fire alarms sound continuously, assembling immediately at designated Fire Assembly Points. Failure to comply may result in a fine from the College Dean. 

9.6 Smoke Free Law

It is against the law in England to smoke in all 'enclosed' and 'substantially enclosed' public places and workplaces – this includes all College buildings, both at Reuben and Linacre. You are respectfully requested to avoid smoking immediately outside the main College entrance at Linacre on the raised terrace and use the Designated Smoking Areas signposted around the building. This policy applies to all College members, service users, customers and visitors, and to ‘cigarette replacements’ (which include but are not limited to E-cigarettes; personal vaporizers (PVs); electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and battery-operated devices that mimic tobacco smoking). A copy of the Linacre policy is available here. 

9.7 Families

Reuben welcomes children in most parts of the college and at most events. At Linacre, highchairs are provided in the dining hall, and College members are welcome to bring children for lunches and ordinary dinners. Formal dining (Wednesdays) and dining at the Museum of Natural History (Thursdays) in term time are not usually appropriate events for children of junior school age or under, unless otherwise advertised.