Arts p18
Fashion p26
Features p17
Cambridge student Olly Rees on his nostalgic project When I Grow Up
Laid-back style on the banks of the River Cam
A. C. Grayling on not keeping the faith
FRIDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2010
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1947
ISSUE NO 727 | VARSITY.CO.UK
Union member banned for life ■ Peterhouse student facing disciplinary action for alleged verbal abuse against Lauren Booth ■ Societies question decision to invite Gabriel Latner to speak at the controversial debate NATASHA PESARAN
The Cambridge Union Society is embroiled in controversy after President James Counsell banned a member for life for allegedly verbally abusing a speaker at a debate. Gabriel Latner, a second-year Law student at Peterhouse, was handed the ban after he refused to apologize to fellow proposition speaker Lauren Booth for making a comment that was deemed inappropriate last Thursday at the Union debate, “This House believes Israel is a rogue state.” According to Latner’s account, the incident began when he told Booth that he was Jewish and had volunteered with the Israeli Army. Latner believes this information contributed to Booth’s unease with him speaking for the proposition. On Booth’s request, Latner was moved from first to second speaker for the proposition. Before getting up to speak, he turned to Booth and said, “I am going to nail you to the fucking wall up there.” Booth later complained about Latner’s comment to Counsell, who then confronted Latner, and requested that he apologise to Booth. When Latner refused to do so, Counsell had Latner escorted off the premises and told him he was banned for life for disrupting a Union event and verbally abusing a guest on the Society’s premises. Speaking to Varsity, Counsell said, “Gabe had ten minutes to address an audience of 800, during which time he was representing the Union and all its membership to our guests
and the wider world watching. His decision to verbally abuse one of our female guests using sexual language has done enormous levels of harm to the reputation of our Union, as well as crossing all boundaries of basic human decency. “I should remind our members that our speakers participate for free because of our reputation, and that anybody personally connected to Lauren Booth will now almost certainly avoid us like the plague. This includes, amongst many others, Cherie Booth and Tony Blair. “Any member who behaves in this way will be punished, let alone who does so whilst representing the Union as the President’s personal guest.” In response, Latner has decided to appeal Counsell’s decision with the Union’s Review Committee. The substance of Latner’s appeal hinges on his contention that his actions in no way disrupted the event, do not constitute verbal abuse, and were not sufficient grounds for a lifetime ban from the Union. Moreover, Latner believes that Counsell lacked the authority to ban him and did not follow the procedural requirements for disciplinary action, as laid out in the Union constitution. In particular, Latner contends that Counsell failed to conduct a “Presidential investigation” before imposing a penalty, as the Union’s Constitution stipulates. Counsell, on the other hand, argues that an investigation was conducted, since he spoke to all parties involved in the incident, CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ANDREW GRIFFIN
Graduate Union nominees announced CATHY BUEKER
Nominees for the Graduate Union (GU) upcoming elections were announced on Wednesday. The positions to be filled are Academic Affairs Director, Environmental Director, Events Director, Family Director, International Director, Secretary, Treasurer, and Welfare Director. The current GU President is Amina Rai, who was elected in the spring. The nominees for each position are running as joint candidate pairs, with the exception of Environmental Director. The nominee for that position, Fran Boait, is running alone. All candidates are running unopposed. There were no nominations for the position of Families Director, which entails addressing issues for student parents at the University, and coordinating resources for students’ children and spouses. Arash Moavenian and Ankita Kankani, standing for International Director, seek to introduce programs to help international students, who make up half the graduate population, become acclimated to the UK. They propose a Heathrow and Gatwick pickup scheme for new grads, as well as a bicycle orientation “to help students become familiar with the UK road and traffic rules”. Online voting will begin on 1st November and finish on 3rd November. Paper voting will commence at the Graduate Union the next day. Results are due to be announced at 4pm on 7th November.
Gabriel Latner outside the Cambridge Union Society
Uni development under fire
Luke Hawksbee loses News Interview: out to RON Three Faiths Forum
Plans for a major new development site in North West Cambridge have been criticised as unsafe and unprofitable by Cambridge academics. The site is intended for student and staff accommodation and research ❯❯p3 facilities.
Luke Hawksbee has failed to secure sufficient votes in the by-election for the position of CUSU Coordinator, despite running unopposed. The turnout for the election was only 2.6 per cent of the student population, with only 583 votes ❯❯p3 cast.
Debbie Danon, Education Manager of Three Faiths Forum talks about encouraging dialogue and confronting prejudice between those of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faiths through educational programs in both faith and ❯❯p8 non-faith schools.
Ridley Hall denied new accommodation
Protests at funding cuts
Ridley Hall fails to receive planning permission to extend its buildings to accommodate a growing community of students. Plans to provide new bedrooms and auditoriums have been rejected following a number of objections from ❯❯p4 nearby residents.
Following on the heels of last week’s comprehensive spending review, which outlined a 36 per cent cut in the universities’ budget, Cambridge students are expressing concern about what the cuts will mean for the University’s ❯❯p7 access schemes.
The Essay p12 Browne changes help Cam: Vernon Bogdanor 43 > 9 771758 444002