Varsity Issue 893

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Interviews 15 No.893 Friday 15th October 2021 varsity.co.uk

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The Independent Student Newspaper since 1947

Outrage at Medwards President’s fertility comments Jacob Freedland Deputy News Editor Esmé Kenney News Correspondent Aoife Petrie News Correspondent Public outrage has surfaced over the new Medwards President, Dorothy Byrne’s, plea to students to start a conversation around fertility. Among the critics is well-known alumna, Zoah Hedges-Stock, who attacked the new President following her recent proposals to teach female students about their own fertility. Writing on Twitter on 11th October, Hedges-Stock, who was the first traveller to graduate from Cambridge, said that she was “ashamed that this is my college” and that she “wouldn’t feel com-

fortable donating to the college whilst the President seems to hold such a narrow view of both womanhood and the intellect of her students.” Hedges-Stock’s reaction was sparked after the Sunday Times reported last weekend that Byrne is seeking to introduce a series of seminars designed to help young women understand that their fertility can dramatically drop after the age of 35. Byrne said: “We are teaching about consent, we are teaching about harassment but we are not teaching them the facts about their own fertility. It is a woman’s right to choose to have a baby.” Her focus on fertility stems in part from the falling national birth rate, which has dipped from 1.92 children per woman in England and Wales in 2011 to just 1.53 this year. Bryne says that better knowledge of fertility would “empower” young women. She believes that society has “swung too far one way” by not questioning “girls” on their future family plans and current dating lives. She cited herself as a victim of this trend, saying that having put her career in television news first, what “gets lost along the way is that you forget to have a baby, which I nearly did.” Thanks to IVF, Byrne is a single parent, having given birth to her only daughter at the age of 45. After a deluge of criticism, Byrne has relented on her suggestions for formal Story continued page 2 ▶

‘I am ashamed that this is my college’

▲ Her focus on fertility stems in part from the falling national birth rate, which has dipped from 1.92 children per woman in England and Wales in 2011 to just 1.53 this year (MICHAEL DERRINGER, MURRAY EDWARDS, KIM FYSON)

SU defends trans students in face of tabloid media storm Akshata Kapoor Deputy Editor Content note: this article contains mentions of transphobic ideology and links articles that discuss transphobia The SU released a statement today (14/10) reinforcing their “commitment to protecting trans students and ensuring they have a safe university in which to live, study and socialise.” In an article published on (13/10), the Daily Mail criticised the Cambridge SU pro-trans guide on ‘How to Spot TERF

Ideology’. The article contends with the idea published in the guide that being a woman is not just down to ‘biological sex’. Milo Eyre-Morgan, the Cambridge SU Women’s Officer, wrote the guide and tweeted about it, saying that they were “so excited about getting the update of this amazing resource together.” The guide clarifies that “Trans liberation is part of feminism. Fighting for autonomy and freedom must be a fight for everyone, and there should be no room for transphobia or TERFs in feminist organising.” It aims to help raise awareness

about how to spot and deal with TERF ideology and “how to make spaces trans inclusive.” Inflammatory comments in the last 24-hours to the guide tweeted on 11/10 by Eyre-Morgan include calling it “deceitful garbage” and “delusional ramblings”. In response to the comments directed towards the guide, the SU released a statement (14/10) defending the publication of the guide: “The guide was printed after being approved through our normal democratic processes at Student Council at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.” The Daily Mail article comes after

their backlash against the Sussex UCU for publishing a statement in solidarity with trans and non-binary communities, a statement which Kathleen Stock, Professor of Philosophy, claims “has just effectively ended my career at Sussex University.” Stock has been criticized for her trans-exclusionary views. In response to protests against Stock, a University of Sussex spokesperson commented that “as a university community, we must be able to have complex discussions without bullying or harassment” and that it will not tolerate threats to “academic freedoms.”

An anonymous JCR Women’s Officer told Varsity that they supported the creation of the guide and “hope the university produces a statement in defence of Milo and much of the content of the guide.” While the Cambridge SU statement recognised the need to support trans rights “at a time when trans people are subject to an incredibly hostile political and media environment,” it also clarified that the ‘How to Spot TERF Ideology’ guide was originally published in 2019 and “was not produced in response to any recent events.”

Inside ● Music as medicine Pg.14 ● A student’s search for umami Pg.20-21 ● Exploring black cinematic narratives Pg.27


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