he Independent Student Newspaper Issue 807 Friday 26th February 2016 Published in Cambridge since 1947 www.varsity.co.uk 5 News: PalSoc demonstration 6-7 News: CUSU elections 18 Culture: Watersprite 27 heatre: Tristram Shandy 2 Presidential SIMON LOCK candidate under ire ● Former Trinity College Students’ Union committee unhappy with the leadership of ex-President and current CUSU candidate ● Documents revealed in which all 15 members of the committee set out their grievances with this plan and the 15 individual Ultimately, however, it was concluded statements were not compiled into that “this chat room” is “redundant” Varsity News Team an oicial letter. Screenshots seen and “any further discussion can be exclusively by Varsity reveal that the made in the committee group so that committee decided to abandon the we can also include Cornelius.” A number of allegations have emerged letter in a group thread on Facebook. he contents of this unsent calling into question Cornelius Ro- One member commented, “I really document has now been revealed emer’s leadership of the Trinity Col- don’t think we should go ahead with to Varsity through an anonymous lege Students’ Union (TCSU). Roemer this. Not because he’s necessarily source. Speaking on their motivations, was the TCSU President between doing a better job than before (which I the source told Varsity: “he position 2015 and 2016, ending his term on 29 don’t think he is), but because I dislike of CUSU President is an important January, and is currently running for the alternative to him being pres.” he one: a role in its very nature puts the position of Cambridge University writer continued: “I fully supported the oice holder as the face of the Students’ Union President. going ahead with concerted organised University itself, and its student body. Documents seen by Varsity reveal action asking him to step down, but I am uncomfortable with the notion a lack of conidence in Roemer’s in my opinion this window has long of ‘leaking’ information and I am REVEALED: presidency among members of his closed. Now all we would achieve is very sorry it has come to this, but I committee. It has emerged that in severely damaging our reputation and think it is important that people are Michaelmas Term the committee capacity as committee […]”. Another aware of what Cornelius was like as considered writing a letter questioning contributor wrote that “I believe TCSU President. Many people have his continuing suitability for the Cornelius is doing better judging from legitimate criticisms of the way they St Edmund’s role of President. At the point of the last committee meeting. Our role were treated by him during his time on composition, a document consisting now is to keep advising him in order to the committee, and in some cases he of 15 individual statements from each keep it that way.” made the roles which we took - not for of the committee’s elected oicials Others on the committee expressed pay, or personal gain - not only diicult accused Roemer of an abrasive reservations: “I ind it slightly but also caused unhappiness. I do not dodgy donor leadership style, alienating a number concerning that the people who were think it was right to allow him to run of oicers and isolating the TCSU afected the most haven’t said for it for CUSU President citing his time at from senior college oicials. to stop… It’s easy for people to forget the TCSU without people knowing SEE PAGE 4 However, the committee later when people feel attacked when time what happened on his committee.” decided against moving forward passes if their [sic] not directly afected.” Continued on page 3 INSIDE: EU REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS BEGIN, REGENI CASE DEVELOPMENTS, STUDENT ACQUITTED 2 Editorial Friday 26th February 2016 And what do you mean by that? As is wholly conventional at this time his is not to suggest that successive which will not be shared by those among their actual content. Everyone would of year in Cambridge, the starting pistol CUSU Presidents have failed to deliver us who get ired up by, or even involved like to see better student representation was ired yesterday on one of the short- material change – indeed, CUSU’s con- in, the various competing campaigns. If – the goal is wholly uncontroversial – est (and probably dullest) races around. stitution has been amended with sur- only the rest of us could break through but the problem is exactly that: everyone prising frequency in recent years in or- our general indiference towards student wants to see better student representa- For those of us who are now seeing the der to accommodate various changes. politics without the assistance of edible tion. When seeking election, populism CUSU Presidential election for the nth Instead, this is perhaps indicative of a stimuli... of this sort is, to a certain extent, inevi- time, the excitement really does begin to certain lack of imagination among the table: what is an election but a form of wear thin. Somehow it lacks the thrill of candidates, and among the student body What does all of this mean for the cur- popularity contest? going to the polling station for the irst as a whole. Can we ind nothing else to rent elections? To use what surely now time to vote in a general election, and moan about? Is there really nothing else constitutes a Cambridge cliché when it his does not, however, excuse mindless this year’s candidates don’t even seem to about the nature of our representation at comes to talking about CUSU, we are drivel. As the Labour Party found out at be ofering jam sandwiches to win our a university level which we would rather apathetic. Just as the word ‘apathy’ is the last general election, high talk with attention and/or votes. Boo, hiss. seek to change? horrendously overused at this particular little concrete planning behind it will not juncture in the Cambridge year, so too win over the average pragmatic voter. If Gimmicks aside, very little changes from Clearly not, it would seem; the idea that are the words which we’ve already picked candidates are going to use these words year to year when it comes to the cam- the candidates with the most fundamen- up on – ‘engagement’, ‘representation’, to describe their goals, they have to mean paigns run by the prospective CUSU tally radical policy ideas (or at least as and ‘transparency’ – words which will, them, understand them (and their impli- Presidents. Each will (though presum- radical as CUSU ever gets) tend to fall by in all likelihood, feature in some capacity cations), and give a sense of how they ably not in the same words as their ri- the wayside does not strike us as being in the manifesto of the eventual victor. could be achieved. Until a candidate can vals) call for ‘more engagement’, ‘more particularly surprising. show us that such meaning resides in representation,’ ‘more transparency’, and Our apathy is, it seems, as much a re- their words, forgive me if I don’t endorse EDITORIAL maybe even ‘more power.’ his is, of course, a rather cynical view to action to the emptily platitudinous way one of them – as if you care what I think take of the whole process, and it is one in which such words are used, as it is to anyway! E James Sutton @.. M E Callum Hale-homson @.. B M Mark Curtis @.. A E Tom Freeman @ .. N E Jack Higgins & Joe Robinson (Senior), Anna Menin & Harry Curtis (Deputies) @.. S N C Sarah Collins, Daniel Gayne, Elizabeth Howcroft, Esha Marwaha, Kaya Wong & Siyang Wei C E Ethan Axelrod @.. I E Louis Ashworth (Senior) & Steven Daly (Deputy) @.. C E James Dilley (Senior), Charlotte Taylor, Anna Jennings & Maya De Silva Wijeyeratne (Deputies) @.. S E Nicole Rossides @.. E Imogen Shaw & Meg Honigmann @.. C E Will Roberts & Katie Wetherall @.. T E Eleanor Costello @.. F E Laura Day & Vicki Bowden @.. R E Charlotte Giford @.. M E Michael Davin @.. S E Ravi Willder & Felix Schlichter @.. I E Alice Chilcott & heo Demolder @.. O E Charlie horpe & Ellie Matthews C S-E Imran Marashli P E Simon Lock @.. I Ben Waters, Emma Wood, Luke Johnson, Ben Brown V B Dr Michael Franklin (Chairman), Prof. Peter Robinson, Dr Tim Harris, Michael Derringer, Michael Curtis, Talia Zybutz (VarSoc President), Tom Freeman, James Sutton, Eleanor Deeley, Callum Hale-homson, Rebekah-Miron Clayton (he Mays) ©VARSITY PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2016. All rights reserved. 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