History
The Halls were opened in 1972 with John Flynn as warden. He served until his retirement in 1996. Dr Marc Schmidt is the current warden.
John Flynn's time at the hall was remembered with the 'John Flynn Award', which is presented to a student or group of students who show outstanding dedication to Oak House. This award has been won only once, by the Freshers' Team of 2005.
Furthermore, residents celebrate John Flynn's time at Oak House with the competition for the John Flynn Cup. This cup is played for at the end of each semester on FIFA 10. However the competition sparked controversy when the inaugural winner was a current resident of Owens Park.
Ben Elton, writer of Blackadder, is said to have been one of its alumni.
It was also the setting for the infamous 'Bottle Girl' video.
Read more about this topic: Oak House
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of persecution is a history of endeavors to cheat nature, to make water run up hill, to twist a rope of sand.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)