1: there are around 20 themes and you can make your own with a theme editor
2: For Maemo, the default OS on the tablets there are only a few basic text editors. To edit Word documents you need to install Debian or one of the alternative windowmanagers .(see the wiki) which takes some work. Google Docs also works in the browser. There is an Abiword port but it is note quite finished yet.
3: not sure
4: normal http proxies should work. Don't know if your university has some special requirements.
5: no idea, I never use the standard headphones
6: yes
7: For Maemo there is only Microb and a port of Midori. For other browsers you need to install Debian or one of the alternative windowmanagers.