The
Cambridge
19th October 2017 Vol. 19 Michaelmas Issue 2 www.tcs.cam.ac.uk
Union harassment allegations uncovered
Student
Frustration as online Union ticketing crashes Ali Chard News Editor
U
Chrystel Papi Deputy News Editor
F
ollowing the news of allegations of sexual harassment by a frequent guest speaker towards the members of the committee, the Cambridge Union has ensured that the concerned perpetuator will not be invited back. It was early this morning that Tim Squirrell, former Cambridge Union president, took to Twitter to confess by stating how a “well-known” and “frequent invitee” sexually harassed “several” of the committee members during his term as president. Out of “fear of libel accusations” Squirrel refrains from naming this specific individual, but assures that “they are a lawyer and appear in papers regularly.” He also added that “later committees have had other speakers do similar.” Squirrell admits to have initially “failed to act.” He only “informally” asked that the alleged perpetuator would not be invited to return and neglected to assure that he be “officially blacklisted.” Now, having taken the matter into his own hands, Squirrel has “finally”
contacted current committees, informing them of the issue. The Cambridge Student has approached the Cambridge Union for comment, who has said they will release a statement by the end of the day. The story will be updated on the TCS website. The news came today together with the official announcement on behalf of the University of Cambridge of a new initiative to safeguard respectable relations between students and staff members. Affirming its zero-tolerance position on the issue of sexual harassment and assault, this new approach aims to discourage intimate student-staff relationships. Tackling the rising rage against the culture of harassment is not an easy task, and while not looking for “forgiveness or flagellation,” Squirrell can only try “not to be complicit again,” though rightfully asking whether one has “done everything you can to stop harassment?”
An ochre-coloured hue was seen over Cambridge on Monday, October 17th, as Hurricane Ophelia passed. Photograph by Ada Günther.
nion members were unable to book tickets to see Anthony Scaramucci after the Union website crashed, after members were informed by email and on the Union Facebook page that tickets would be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis from 10 am on 17th October. When members tried to book the tickets the webpage was unresponsive. Members reported being able to enter some details in the system but being unable to submit the request. A member commented on the Union Facebook page, “Nice to know the money we spent goes towards quality IT” The Union did apologise to those complaining on the Facebook page saying, “the ballot has been paused due to too many people logging in”. The initial response from the Union left members unsure if tickets were sold out or if the ballot was just temporarily paused. One member commented, “Is the ballot still paused or can I now trust the site when it says the spots have all been taken? Quite confused.”. By 4.30pm on 17th October the Union had come up with a solution posting on its Facebook page, “*SCARAMUCCI apology and next steps*”. They went on to say they would allow people to apply for tickets from 8pm until midnight. The ticket winners will be drawn in a ballot tomorrow morning. Tickets for the event were also available on the door on the night on a first-come-first-serve basis.