Eating disorders at university can Liz FREE be catastrophic – without help Take a Fraser copy e Road to How to handle mental health at Lawn of Recovery Oxbridge the Dead An experience at Cambridge News Where has all the grass gone? Features News Better Together? It’s Scotland’s turn to ght for an exit Comment Cambridge’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1947 No. 814 Friday 21st October 2016 varsity.co.uk Referendum fever grips Cambridge ● CUSU sets November date ● ‘Sex Club’ for Class Lists referendum prepares for Pexit vote CUSU will give an indication to the way Ankur Desai students feel about Class Lists, and so Deputy News Editor could in uence the way members of Regent House vote. A referendum to change CUSU’s stance CUSU initially voted to oppose public Harry Curtis on abolishing Class Lists will run from display of Class Lists at a council meeting Senior News Editor the 1st - 3rd November, it has been an- in November last year, where there were nounced. 20 votes to zero in favour of abolition, In what seems to be be- All students who are members of with four abstentions. is came ater coming something of a Michaelmas tra- CUSU will be allowed to vote in the a petition by ‘Our Grade, Our Choice’, dition, a Cambridge JCR will be asking election, presented with the question: which called for the University to allow its members whether or not they ought “should CUSU campaign to keep the students to opt out from the Class Lists to remain a liated to CUSU later this Class Lists, with an easier opt-out proc- based solely on their preference for do- term. ess?” ing so. is petition was sent to the Uni- is year it is the turn of Peterhouse’s It is understood that the ‘Save the versity, who then backed a review of the JCR – the grandiosely named Sexcente- Class List’ campaign will become the usage of Class Lists. nary Club (or, less grandiosely, the ‘Sex main campaigning group in support of However, the move to abolish the Club’ for short) – to decide whether their an opt-out system. A bidding process to Class Lists was opposed by the campaign future lies with or away from the Univer- become the o cial group for supporting group ‘Save the Class List’, who created sity-wide union, when they vote in a ref- the ‘No’ option will open shortly. a petition that gained more than the 350 erendum on the matter in Week Four. is is the third referendum of the cal- signatures needed to trigger a CUSU ref- e referendum, which is scheduled endar year, following a vote on CUSU’s erendum. e group supports an opt-out to run between the 28th and 29th Oc- a liation to NUS and on the creation system, as opposed to complete aboli- tober, with a debate to be held on 26th of a full-time Disabled Students’ O cer tion of the Lists. October, comes on the heels of a letter for CUSU. In April, results from the University’s sent to the Sex Club’s Committee in is vote will not formally decide internal consultation on the future of the Easter term, claiming that CUSU had whether the Class Lists will be abolished lists, revealed by a Varsity Freedom of In- “let down Jewish students” in the way or not, which will be decided by a vote formation request, revealed that none of they had dealt with the furore over Ma- of the University’s Regent House – com- the stake-holding bodies consulted sup- lia Bouattia’s controversial election to prised of over 5,000 senior academics ported the idea of an opt-out system. the presidency of the National Union of and sta members – towards the end of Reasons for the lack of support have Students (NUS). Michaelmas term. However, it has been not been fully laid out, but may relate to suggested that the referendum held by extra costs which could be incurred. Could Peterhouse be heading for the exit? JOHN TURNER Continued on page 7 ▶ 2 Friday 21st October 2016 EDITORIAL News Brace yourself for the drop Lawn of nd just like that, we’ve reached the peak of the roller coaster. here’s a short stop, a rush of anticipation, and then the plummet begins. the Dead Referenda, continued debates Aover Palestine and, bizarrely, a plague of lawn-munching bugs has descended upon us. For those who feared the worst after a couple of weeks with the types of incidents which could occur anywhere, you can exhale. What’s eating Cambridge is itself again. Where does that leave your average student? One thing’s for sure – you’re about to see a lot of campaigning. For freshers, this may come as a system shock: the mass proile pic changes, constant invites Cambridge to voting events and ‘personalised’ private messages from campaigners. Going on prior form, we should expect gratuitous rule-breaking, dodgy dealing and maybe some gentle back-stabbing. Also, we should expect a fantastic, if lawed, display of the democratic act on display in courts? Cambridge. Turnout for the two previous referenda this year has been unprecedented – a sizable number of students are engaged and informed about what’s going on, and exercise their votes with care and consideration. Every vote does count – our vote on NUS membership, a hugely emotive issue, produced a lively, heartfelt and strong debate. hat the eventual ● A cocktail of crows, grubs, and outcome was so narrow testiied not only to the nuanced way in which the issue of ailiation afected students, but also to why holding referenda is such the EU is causing a headache for an important practice. he role of the student press in this process is an important one – the pressures of work and life can Cambridge’s gardeners make it diicult, if not impossible, to maintain a clear understanding about what is going on. We attempt to approach these delicate areas with balance, and endeavour to give a platform to all sides in debates. his matches with the wider aim of Varsity as a paper: we are here to inform and entertain, but also to train and develop, and allow people to cut their teeth. If you think an opinion isn’t being heard, tell us. hough dreadfully young by Cantabrigian standards, we’re still old enough (approaching our 70th re- birthday) to be somewhat of an institution. Despite this, we are never more than the sum of our parts. We always need you – the student, staf member or Cambridge resident – and what you can bring us. Want to ind out more or get involved? Our emails are sandy soil like the soil at Selwyn. Wolf- ▲ Fountain below... Sophie Penney son and Robinson don’t have the prob- Court at Murray Senior News Correspondent lem because they’re on clay”. Edwards has editors Louis Ashworth and Callum Hale-homson [email protected] Steve Elstub, the head gardener of been ravaged deputy editor Millie Brierley [email protected] Iconic Cambridge courts are being dis- Clare College, expanded on this, say- (PHOTOGRAPH: magazine editor Kitty Grady [email protected] business manager Mark Curtis [email protected] igured, as crows attack the lawns of at ing: “here are light soils around the SOPHIE PENNEY) associate editor Jack Higgins [email protected] least seven colleges. River Cam because of the silts. his is an news editors Anna Menin, Harry Curtis & Daniel Gayne (Senior), Jesus and Pembroke have had to open, free draining soil that helps grubs Siyang Wei, Matt Gutteridge, Sam Harrison & Ankur Desai (Deputies) re-turf entire lawns, and signs are up to grow at a larger rate. his means that [email protected] senior news correspondents Amy Gee & Sophie Penney around colleges about the problem, colleges closer to the river have been political editor Joe Robinson [email protected] while at least ive other colleges, includ- more afected by the grub. Colleges away investigations editor Tom Richardson [email protected] ing St Catharine’s, Emmanuel, Murray from the river have heavier land, mean- comment editors heo Demolder (Senior), Peter Chappell, Emily Robb, Edwards, Selwyn and Clare, have seen ing it is more diicult for the adult chafer Haroun Mahmud & Carl Wikeley (Deputies) [email protected] interviews editors Anna Jennings, Elizabeth Howcroft & Patrick lawns destroyed as a constant battle is beetle to lay in”. Wernham [email protected] waged between gardeners and crows. In terms of spreading from one col- science editor Jon Wall [email protected] However, the birds are not the root of lege to the other, Gallant explained that features editors Katie Wetherall & Richelle George [email protected] the problem. his year central Cambridge the chafer beetle cannot ly very far or culture editors Jon Cooper & Sarah-Jane Tollan [email protected] fashion editor Agustin Ferrari Braun [email protected] has seen an inlux of large populations very high, so it is unlikely to travel from theatre editors Mimi Robson & Lana Crowe [email protected] of chafer grubs, the soil-dwelling larvae college to college. However, he said that music editor Karl Schwonik [email protected] of chafer beetles. hese grubs feed on Selwyn’s infestation had come over from reviews editors Olivia Childs & Rosie Best [email protected] the roots of the grass, making the lawn the Sidgwick site. sport editors Keir Baker (Senior), Tom Higgins Toon & Charlie Stone (Deputies) [email protected] vulnerable to damage. Adding insult to injury is the fact sport reporters Paul Hyland (Senior), Devarshi Lodhia (Deputy) Crows like to feed on these grubs, ▼ he chafer grub that the main control measure for this online editor Imran Marashli [email protected] and the weakened grass roots mean is the root of the problem has been outlawed by the EU.