The Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947 Messing about on the river - Lent Bumps crowd the Cam as the Boat Race buildup begins Slack students still Mark’s Mountain being burgled • Six-year low turnout “frankly appalling” Rachel Cooper • HE Funding Officer’s re-election rejected & Jamie Munk A ROBBERY at Queens’ College on • Biggest JCR disaffiliates on the same night Wednesday night brings the number of thefts from central happy with CUSU. The problem is that President-elect Ferguson told Cambridge college rooms reported Raj Bavishi people don’t feel like [CUSU] is rele- Varsity, “I’m really looking forward to in the last fortnight to a total of vant.” He promised “judge my working with the new team, though seven. In all cases, there was no LESS THAN 16 percent of Cambridge’s presidency on next year’s turnout”. of course I don’t want to be seen as evidence of forced entry, with 18,000 students cast their vote on In the only other contested position, the CUSU President while there is thieves climbing through open Wednesday to narrowly elect Mark Ashley Aarons beat Grey Baker for the already one who is still serving.” windows and walking through Ferguson as the next CUSU President. role of Services Officer. Three other Current President Laura Walsh unlocked doors. HE Funding Officer, Dan Swain, the sabbatical positions were won by Dave said, “he’ll be great – Ferg will fix In response, Varsity has this only member of the current Exec Ewings – Academic Affairs, Luke [CUSU]”. But Vicki Mann confided week conducted an investigation running for re-election was compre- Pickering – Access and Harriet in Varsity, “I wept when I heard the into all areas of college security, hensively beaten by Lianna Wood Boulding – Women’s. The position of election results”. highlighting the ease with which who received nearly twice the number Welfare and Graduates Officer will be Whilst Emmanuel College’s refer- intruders can access college facili- of Swain’s votes. In a further indict- filled in a by-election early next term. endum regarding CUSU affiliation was ties and students’ property. In nine ment of this Exec’s perceived failings, Jacob Head, Aneaka Kellay, inquorate and invalid, TCSU voted to out of thirteen central colleges, we Trinty College Student Union (TCSU), Charlotte Richer, Fleur Brading, Jacob disaffiliate by a narrow margin of six gained access to private areas, the University’s largest undergraduate Bard-Rosenberg and Lianna Wood students. Gavin Johnstone, TCSU including student sets, a laundry common room, voted to disaffiliate were elected part-time Exec officers. President said he felt “Trinity students room, and cooking facilities. from CUSU on the same day. chose to disaffiliate in the hope that it In the recent spate of thefts, After the first round count of the would send a message to CUSU to rooms at Sidney Sussex, King’s, 2893 votes, Ferguson trailed Dave improve the way it runs itself, some- Queen’s, Pembroke and Caius were Smith by 20 votes on 816. But after thing which will hopefully benefit targeted, with the loss of thousands the distribution of Nadia Khan and students at all Cambridge Colleges.” of pounds worth of property. At RON’s votes, Ferguson came out on Upon hearing news of the disaf- Pembroke, two adjacent rooms were top with 1065 to 1001 votes. filiation, Ferguson burgled within a week. When asked whether the 4.5 immediately sent an email to A first-year student lost his percent of Cambridge students Johnstone expressing his computer, iPod and cash when a that his 816 first prefer- sadness at TCSU’s decision. He thief entered through an open ence votes represented told Varsity “I’m not surprised window, whilst his neighbour lost a gave him a mandate, he that so many students feel laptop. On March 3, a laptop and simply responded “the low alienated but we need to games console were taken from a turnout presents us with convince Trinity students ground floor room in Bodley’s Court a challenge.” that disaffiliation is not the at King’s, and two days later, a Cllr Colin Rosenthal, answer.” laptop and violin were stolen from a who aided the count Issues of CUSU council room in Sidney. labelled the turnout, “frankly voting rights and affiliation Police and college staff expressed appalling” with Jacob Bard- fees are yet to be clarified. concern about the incidents, high- Rosenberg saying, “it’s fucking Although entitled to services lighting the lax attitude of students disgraceful”. provided by CUSU, at last towards security. King’s College had the highest night’s Exec meeting, Mann Detective Sergeant Sam Kerr of proportion of voters with 40.1 stated, “why should I waste my Cambridgeshire Police told Varsity, percent turning out. However, time on people who aren’t paying “a fairly common trend is emerg- the average was between 11 my wages.” ing whereby windows and doors and 14 percent with St John’s and Jesus JCRs are were left insecure and property on only 3 votes cast at also planning to hold referen- view”. Police believe that one indi- Wolfson. da on whether to remain vidual or a small group could be Ferguson affiliated to CUSU. carrying out the crimes. said, “It is >>Editorial PC Carole Langton added that R A clear that page 13 because entry was unforced, the C H E people are thieves left very few fingerprints, L C not making it difficult for police to O B O E P N apprehend the perpetrators. E J R O N >>continued on page 2 E S No. 637, 10th March, 2006 www.varsity.co.uk Not just paper dolls A private moment The Hermes legend >> Lifestyle ventures into the Ian Hislop, editor of Private Untangling the wires of our online lives delicate world of origami, Eye and Have I Got News For crumpling into paper dresses You stalwart, tells us how and accessorising with satirists deal with the seri- A cultural college crawl >> translucent orange shoes. ous, and how “cowardice” Our Arts reviewers try out the collegiate ents trail And still finds time for prevented him from printing dinner. Welcome to the fold. the Muhammed cartoons. >> page 9 Chavez, Morales & Bush >> pages 14 & 15 The rising South American Left debated >> 2 Varsity News 10.03.06 Oxford seek High Court injunction College security continued Lecturers down tools B E Oxford University has applied >>continued from front page Varsity walked unchallenged dents, Varsity was able to N J to the High Court to extend its She noted, “it makes our life into undergraduate rooms further intrude on student O N E injunction to provide protec- much more difficult when that contained hundreds of privacy. We were able to carry S tion against violence, criminal students leave their door pounds worth of electrical out a number of everyday activity and intimidation by open”. equipment, including expen- activities without detection. animal rights extremists. The Last term, Varsity investigat- sive laptops, hi-fi systems At Pembroke, having tail- Court has granted the ed the ease with which and a TV-video combo. Even gated a student into the University an interim injunc- student houses could be with neighbours on the stair- college after the gate had been tion, effective from yesterday, broken into, and revealed a cases, we had ample time to locked, we brewed up and prohibiting the use of mega- shocking level of complacen- search through the occu- drunk a cup of tea in a gyp phones, sirens, whistles and cy amongst the residents, pants’ belongings. room in New Court. At St other means of noise amplifi- with windows left unlatched Despite the recent break-in Catharine’s, Varsity ran a cation in the vicinity of the and doors unlocked. The at Bodley’s, students in the bubble bath courtesy of the biomedical research lab. Next recent rash of burglaries court continue to leave their students of J staircase, month, Oxford will seek to demonstrates that these prob- rooms unlocked. We accessed Sherlock Court. A free-to-use extend the current High Court lems remain, and this week’s a top-floor set on T staircase in laundry room at St Michael’s Order to protect University investigation highlights the spite of the visible presence of Court, Cauis, was accessed, as Academic staff picket the entrance to the Downing site staff and students and the issue of inadequate security other students in the vicinity. was the supposedly members- said, “the University appears to residents and businesses in within colleges. Sidney At Queens’, the in/out board only library at King’s. want members to work for free. the city from further intimida- porters claim that their secu- on M staircase in Friars’ Court Having taken a break to Gabriel Byng Senior management seem to be tion and harassment. rity is strong, with indicated which rooms were read the morning papers in happy for you to come in and combination locks on outer empty. The occupier of one Caius JCR, Varsity rounded off CAMBRIDGE LECTURERS complete all of your usual work First U8 conference staircase doors, but Varsity bedsit had made his absence the investigation with a buffet who took to the picket lines on without having to pay you”. He was able to access a ‘locked’ known, yet had neglected to lunch at Clare. A member of Tuesday as part of a nationwide added that staff could be carry- At the weekend, the future of staircase as a bedder had lock his door. Varsity found a staff questioned “Are you strike to campaign for pay ing out “99 percent of their international development propped open the door with a top-of-the-range laptop left from Clare? I don’t think I’ve increases have reacted with duties but for no pay”.