Students Angry at Oxford U. Over Donation From Oil Baron

A donation of about $4.6-million from the foundation of an oil tycoon has sparked anger among students and faculty at Oxford University, says The Observer.

Graham Sharp, an Oxford alum, is a co-founder of the oil trading company Trafigura, which was convicted of dumping waste in the Ivory Coast that made 30,000 people sick. His Helsington Foundation has given the university a grant to support a summer school that will help needy students.

One student, Adam Bouyamourn, a second-year student, said of the university’s acceptance of Mr. Sharp’s donation: “Surely it is socially, if not globally, irresponsible to provide this tacit endorsement of Trafigura’s business practices.”