The Cambridge Union

Not to be confused with Cambridge University Students' Union.
The Cambridge Union Society

The logo and tagline of the Cambridge Union
Formation 1815
Type Student Debating Union
Headquarters Cambridge
Location 9A Bridge St Cambridge, CB2 1UB
President Katherine Dunbar, Magdalene
Vice President Leyla Gumusdis, Peterhouse
Chair of Trustees Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury
Affiliations World Universities Debating Council
Website cus.org

The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as "The Cambridge Union", is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest continuously running debating society in the world.[1] Additionally, the Cambridge Union has served as a model for the foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities, including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union. The Union is a private society with membership open to all students of Cambridge University or Anglia Ruskin University, and is completely separate from the Cambridge University Students' Union. The Union became a registered charity in May 2010.

The Union has hosted political and other figures in its chamber, both state- and international-based, including the Dalai Lama, President Ronald Reagan, Professor Germaine Greer, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, and Clint Eastwood. Speakers from the 21st century include academics Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams, former British Prime Ministers John Major, former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, comedian Dara Ó Briain, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Olympic legend Lord Coe, comedian and activist Russell Brand, and actor Sir Ian McKellen.[2]

History of the Union

A debate at the Cambridge Union Society (c. 1887). There is no longer a dress code for members attending debates today.

The Cambridge Union was founded on 13 February 1815. Several years after it was founded, on 24 March 1817, the Union was temporarily shut down by the University. In 1821 the Union was allowed to reform, under strict guidelines.[1]

The Union's Bridge Street premises (52°12′31″N 0°07′10″E / 52.20861°N 0.11944°E / 52.20861; 0.11944) were designed by Alfred Waterhouse (who went on to design the Oxford Union Society's building) and formally opened on 30 October 1866. An additional wing was added several decades later. The future radical Liberal politician, Sir Charles Dilke, was the President chiefly responsible for construction. Included among the building's many rooms are the debating chamber, a dining room, bar, snooker room, the Keynes Library and various offices.[1]

Although Cambridge escaped virtually undamaged from the widespread bombing destruction of World War II, the Union's building was hit by a bomb dropped during one attack. The explosion caused extensive damage to the Union's library.[1]

Modern developments

The Union is legally a self-funded charity that owns and has full control over its private property and buildings in the Cambridge city centre. It enjoys strong relations with the university, and allows other student societies to hire rooms for a nominal cost. Guests are sometimes admitted to Union events for a charge.[1][3]

After more than 200 years, The Cambridge Union is best known for its debates, which often receive national and international media attention. The top members of its debating team compete internationally against other top debating societies. The Union also organises talks by visiting speakers and a wide array of events throughout the academic year.[1][3]

The Cambridge Union is sometimes confused with the Cambridge University Students' Union, the student representative body set up in 1971; consequently, the term 'President of the Union' may cause confusion. Although The Cambridge Union has never functioned as a students' union in the modern sense, it did briefly affiliate to the UK's National Union of Students in 1924.[4]

In 2015 the Union celebrated its bicentenary; a committee composed of former and current Officers was put together to organise a range of events to mark the occasion. This included special debates, dinners and parties in Cambridge and, for the first time in its history, in London.[5]

2016 redevelopment project

In January 2015 the Union announced a £7.5m refurbishment project to begin in late 2016 to address major structural problems and to expand existing facilities, subject to approval by planners, to include a new Wine Bar on the ground floor and a Jazz & Comedy Club in the basement (in the old home of the Cambridge Footlights). It also announced a plan to use the revenue generated from the new building to reduce membership fees to make the Union more accessible to students from lower income backgrounds, and to increase the size of its competitive debating activities for disadvantaged children and students.[6]

The development is to be partially financed through the leasing of disused parts of its site to Trinity College in a deal worth £4.5 million.[7]

Membership of the Union

The Cambridge Union receives no formal funding from the University and raises funds for event expenses and building maintenance through membership fees and sponsorship. Membership is open to students at the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University.[8] Members are able to bring guests to certain functions provided that the guests would not be allowed to purchase membership.[9] Social events and events organised by external bodies are occasionally open to the public, with discounts for Union members[9]

The Union launched online membership in late 2015, which allowed any student around the world access to live streams of events for an annual subscription.[10]

Honorary Members

The Union awards honorary memberships to particularly distinguished individuals. Honorary members include:

Past speakers and debates

The Union puts on a wide variety of events for its members, but is best known for its Thursday night debates and individual speaker events. In both of these, leading figures from public life are invited to discuss something of interest to the membership. One of the Union's most famous debates in recent years was between Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams in February 2013, on the motion, 'This House Believes Religion has no place in the 21st Century', which was rejected by the assembled members.[11] The Union's debates regarding religion have also created several controversial incidents, including in October 2014, when Peter Hitchens, speaking in favour of the motion 'This House Regrets the Rise of New Atheism', appeared to break the rules of the House by physically intimidating Baron Desai after a heated exchange.[12]

Individual speakers have included British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, the first democratically elected President of Iraq Jalal Talabani,[13] Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the last President of apartheid-era South Africa, F. W. de Klerk, spiritual leader of Tibet the Dalai Lama, academic Germaine Greer, economist Ha Joon Chang, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, actors Brian Blessed, Bradley Whitford, Judi Dench, Clint Eastwood, Roger Moore[14] and Bill Nighy,[15] former head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn,[16] chat show host Jerry Springer,[17] actress and model Pamela Anderson,[18] magician David Blaine,[19] and most recently, comedian and political activist Russell Brand, American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, and second person to walk on the moon Buzz Aldrin.[2] A more complete list of past speakers is listed on their website.

Governance

The Cambridge Union is an organisation that was founded and is headed by students. Each term is planned and carried out by a mixture of elected officers and appointed student staff, with support from the organisation's non-student staff and trustees. The governance of the Cambridge Union is mandated by its Constitution.[20]

Standing Committee

Standing Committee (or 'Voting Members') is the Union's primary managerial body of 13 members, which consists of the current President, Vice-President and Officers, the President-Elect and Officers-Elect, and the Debating Officers. All Officers of the Union are elected by its membership on a termly basis, with the exception of the Vice-President and two Debating Officers, who are appointed on an annual basis.

Officers of the Union are elected a term in advance, allowing them to serve one term as an officer-elect to prepare for their following term in office.[20] Termly elected officers serve a term (and its preceding vacation) as "officer-elect", during which time they are members of Standing Committee.[21]

Full Committee

During every term, Standing Committee appoints a variety of positions within the Union including the Secretary, Head of Event Management, Head of Publicity, Head of Audio-Visual and Head of Press amongst others. They are collectively referred to as 'Full Committee' or just 'appointees' and are responsible for the day-to-day running of the Union.[22]

The Trustees

The Board of Trustees, currently chaired by Lord Chris Smith, is responsible for overseeing the long-term development of the Union's finances and property. Whilst the Trustees are not intimately involved with the day-to-day running of the Union, they maintain ultimate legal responsibility for the organization, its assets and status as a registered charity. To maintain the link between the Student management and the Trustees, the President and Vice President of the Union are traditionally appointed as Trustees for the duration of their term in office.[20]

Review Committee

The Review Committee of the Cambridge Union is a committee of former Officers appointed by Standing Committee under the guidance of the Vice President. It is responsible for handling all disciplinary matters of the Union and may also be called upon to adjudicate on electoral malpractice. No member of Review Committee may serve as an elected officer for the duration of their term.[20]

Staff

In addition to these posts the Union also maintains an employed staff consisting of a Bursar, responsible for overseeing the long-term health of the charity, Office Managers and a Bar Manager. The Union also holds contracts for catering, cleaning, building maintenance, property management, IT services and legal advice.

Members of staff are employed by the Union's subsidiary events company. The President, Vice-President, Bursar and other Trustees appointed on an ad-hoc basis serve as Directors of the company.

Past officers

Notable past Presidents and Officers include:

In addition to the long list of real life distinguished individuals that served as officers of the Cambridge Union during their time in Cambridge, Will Bailey, a fictional character on The West Wing, a US television drama series, claimed to have been a "former president of the Cambridge Union on a Marshall Scholarship", as well as MacKenzie McHale, a fictional character in the hit US series, The Newsroom.

Constitution

The Cambridge Union was famous within the University for having a very long and complicated constitution; it is a common rumour that the constitution is longer than the entire Constitution of Canada. This was in fact untrue, but only just: a quick count puts the old Union constitution in question at 31,309 words[23] while the complete Constitution of Canada is 31,575 words long.[24] If the University's rules on Single Transferable Voting are included, then this Constitution was indeed longer than that of Canada. These rules are referenced within this old constitution, but are not contained. By comparison, the rules of the Oxford Union Society total over 45,000 words, not including the Standing Orders and Schedules.

Recordings and streaming

YouTube

On 9 May 2011, the Union launched its online public video service CUS-Connect, whereby recordings of past events and interviews were uploaded for free viewing. These have since been transferred the Union's YouTube channel titled 'The Cambridge Union'.[25] Before 2014, the Union only occasionally live-streamed popular events, with the first ever live stream held on 12 May 2011, in which Stephen Fry debated Radio 1 DJ Kissy Sell Out on the motion: "This House believes that classical music is irrelevant to today's youth".

Members' streaming service

As part of its bicentennial celebrations in 2015, the Union launched a permanent live streaming service, to be integrated with a new automatic multi-camera rig in the Main Chamber. The new service includes the ability for "virtual" attendees to contribute to debates via questions and comments to be read out on the floor of the Union. The streaming service is hosted on the Union's website and is available only to members.[26]

Controversy

Hosting of speakers

The Cambridge Union, like its Oxford counterpart, is no stranger to controversy over its choice of speakers. Protests have been arranged by students against the appearance of Universities Minister David Willetts, Government Minister Eric Pickles,[27] during which the building was broken into, former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn,[28] Marine Le Pen[29] and Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange.[30] Most recently, the hosting of Germaine Greer caused a public row between the Union and the Cambridge Students' Union's LGBT+ group, due to Greer's alleged transmisogyny towards Rachael Padman. [31]

The LGBT+ group continues to boycott all LGBT+ events at the Cambridge Union having declared it to no longer represent a 'safe space'.[32]

Responding to these criticisms, the Union is often quoted as upholding the universal right to free speech, against the principles of No Platform passed by the National Union of Students and upheld by a few groups within Cambridge.[33][34][35]

2015 Counter-Terrorism Bill

Lobbying by former Union Presidents Lord Deben and Lord Lamont resulted in the specific exclusion of the Cambridge and Oxford Unions from the Government's counter-terrorism bill, amid fears it could restrict free debate. Deben argued that the provisions within the bill would have prevented the hosting of British Union of Fascists' leader Oswald Mosley in the 1950s, concluding that the bill threatened "an essential British value".[36] The National Union of Students used the exclusion to argue that the passage of the Bill was too rapid and ill-thought out, whilst both the Oxford and Cambridge Union reaffirmed that they were not legally part of their respective Universities and thus were never subject to the bill in the first place.[37]

Strong opposition to the bill from Liberal Democrats and senior Conservative peers eventually resulted in the shelving of provisions regarding Universities' until after the 2015 General Election.[38] The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 eventually clarified that Higher Education institutions must retain particular regard to the duty to ensure freedom of speech and the importance of academic freedom within University societies,[39] although it is unclear whether this applies to the Union.

Referendum on Julian Assange

The Union called a referendum on the hosting of Julian Assange on 22 October 2015, arguing that his residency in the Ecuadorian Embassy meant he was outside the jurisdiction of UK Law, and thus required the consultation of its members considering a lack of past precedent. The referendum passed with 76.9% of the vote. Turnout was 1463.[40]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parkinson, Stephen (2009). Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union. London: Icon Books.
  2. 1 2 "Speakers at the Union". cus.org.
  3. 1 2 "History of the Union". cus.org.
  4. ↑ "History of the Union | The Cambridge Union". cus.org. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  5. ↑ "2015 Celebrations". Cambridge Union Society. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Union moves to save 149-year-old home" (pdf) (Press release). Cambridge Union Society. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Union moves to save 149-year-old home" (pdf) (Press release). Cambridge Union Society. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Join online". cus.org.
  9. 1 2 "Our Guest Policy". cus.org. Cambridge Union Society. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.cus.org/join
  11. ↑ "Dawkins defeated in Cambridge Union religion debate". The Cambridge Student.
  12. ↑ "Peter Hitchens and Lord Desai post debate clash: This House Regrets the Rise of New Atheism". YouTube. 11 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "President Talabani visiting the Cambridge Union (Hosted by Pres. Ali Al-Ansari)". in.com.
  14. ↑ "Connery is a good actor; it's a pity I can't understand what he's saying.". Varsity Online.
  15. ↑ "Bill Nighy Interview, The Cambridge Union Society". YouTube. 19 August 2012.
  16. ↑ Caroline Davies. "Cambridge students protest against Dominique Strauss-Kahn visit". the Guardian.
  17. ↑ Poppy Damon. "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry". The Tab Cambridge.
  18. ↑ "Pamela Anderson takes to the stage at Cambridge Union – Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  19. ↑ "David Blaine at the Cambridge Union". YouTube. 4 October 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Full Committee of the Cambridge Union (Lent 2015)". cus.org.
  21. ↑ "Full Committee of the Cambridge Union (Lent 2015)". cus.org.
  22. ↑ "The Constitution". cus.org.
  23. ↑ "Cambridge Union Constitution". Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  24. ↑ "The Constitution of Canada". Retrieved 2005-12-05.
  25. ↑ "The Cambridge Union Society" (Video upload). The Cambridge Union Society on YouTube. Google Inc. March 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "CUS Live". Cambridge Union Society. Retrieved 9 April 2015. (registration required (help)).
  27. ↑ "Outrage over student protest at Cambridge Union – Union security staff "Out of control"". The Cambridge Student.
  28. ↑ "Disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn gives Cambridge Union address flanked by 6 bodyguards – Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  29. ↑ "Marine Le Pen sparks Cambridge protests". Telegraph.co.uk. 19 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "Protest planned over Julian Assange appearance". Cambridge News.
  31. ↑ Ivers, Charlotte (22 January 2015). "CUSU are angry about the Union… again". The Tab. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "#BOYCOTTUNIONDRINKS GERMAINE GREER'S UNION INVITATION UNACCEPTABLE". GetRealCambridge.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  33. ↑ Max Toomey. "LE PEN: AS IT HAPPENED". The Tab Cambridge.
  34. ↑ Will Heilpern. "DO ONE DAVID WILLETTS: Cambridge students tell Uni minister to 'Fuck Off'". The Tab Cambridge.
  35. ↑ Helen Cahill. "Union Courts Controversy Once More". The Tab Cambridge.
  36. ↑ Morris, Nigel (13 March 2015). "Oxford and Cambridge unions win exemption allowing extremists to preach on campus". The Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  37. ↑ Travis, Alan (13 March 2015). "Oxford and Cambridge Unions avoid terror ban on extremist speakers". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  38. ↑ Travis, Alan (20 March 2015). "Theresa May drops rules on ordering universities to ban extremist speakers". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  39. ↑ http://www.safecampuscommunities.ac.uk/the-prevent-agenda/what-prevent-means-to-higher-education-institutions
  40. ↑ http://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2015/10/22/union-vote-assange-will-speak-at-union-after-tense-debate-and-withering-comments-from-wikileaks-supporters-59442

Further reading

  • Cradock, Percy (1953). Recollections of the Cambridge Union 1815–1939. Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes. 
  • Parkinson, Stephen (2009). Arena of Ambition: A History of the Cambridge Union. London: Icon Books. 
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