The Oxford Union (College Girls 2)

[coalescent]

So, the second installment of C4's documentary focused on this example of Union Hackery. Since I never got anywhere near the Union scene - never even went to a Union Ball, despite being a member - it made interesting viewing. What struck me most was that everyone involved seemed to be very deliberately playing at being a politician. For all that Lucy Aitkens clearly wanted to reach the top of the greasy pole, and however serious the participants claimed they were, it still seemed to me that for all concerned it was merely an extravagant and glorious game. Children dressing up in their parent's clothes and trying to be grown-up.

Despite that, I still don't see the Union as a bad thing. It's archaic and extravagant and very likely corrupt, but Oxford would be the poorer for its lost. Not because it would miss out on the occasional interesting speakers that turn up, and certainly not because the student newspapers would have to find something else to write about; but just because it adds colour.

(And whatever the Hacks may think, the average student really doesn't care about the politics - winning candidates in the elections pick up several hundred votes, hardly a representative sample)

I wonder whether there are equivalent institutions at other universities? I'm assuming the Cambridge and Durham Union Societies are at least superficially similar, but beyond that I don't know.

Google is a remarkable thing. It seems Ms Aitkens went on to found a website (this was after she became Union President and was criticised by Ted Heath, you understand), and that last September she was studying in New York.

Comments

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming the Oxford Union is much the same as the Cambridge one - a members-only club which has debates and speakers, and corrupt elections.

I approve of ours in general, because it does have entertaining speakers, like John Malkovich coming to slag off Labour MPs and get in the paper, and because the free debate is usually entertaining. Plus it gives Varsity and the Cam Student, our two newspapers, something else to argue over other than the University branch of the Tory Party.

Shame I forgot to watch College Girls tonight, it sounded more interesting than last week's.

LUU

[ex-toastie256.livejournal.com]

Leeds UU claims to be the largest student union in the country. The resulting amount of money coming under control of the executive leads to outside interest from various political/charitable institutions seeking alliances, and so suffers from never actually debating any student issues. We just get Nazi and anti-Nazi fighting (both violently, and both seeking to deny each other speech platforms (ironic for anti-facists)), pro-choice/pro-life arguments and other similarly heated discussions. Over the past few years, each AGM has required a significant police presence, with no useful progress ever being made. Go Leeds.

Re: LUU

[snowking.livejournal.com]

Wow. EUSA just ran things incompentently and lost money.

Re: LUU

[malenfant.livejournal.com]

Leeds UU claims to be the largest student union in the country.

Ah, the Oxford Union isn't a student union, you see. The student union is OUSU. Confusing, I know.

OUSU doesn't have the Nazis, as far as I know, but does have a fairly vocal pro-life lobby. :-/

Unions ahoy

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Oxford Union isn't a student union, you see. The student union is OUSU. Confusing, I know.

Yeah, we have the Union, the Student's Union, and the Union Society. It gets damn confusing.

Our Student's Union is fairly crap, due to a lot of the powere being in the hands of the colleges anyway, and because for about the past 10 years they have been trying to acquire a central union building and failing miserably. In the elections this year we had 5 candidates for President, of which one was a guy whose main manifesto pledge was to "build more hills" as Cambridge was too flat, and one was Winston, the Churchill College football mascot, ie a man in a giant dog costume.

Winston came 3rd.

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

You didn't happen to tape it did you? I forgot :( Have I been spotted in the background yet?

[malenfant.livejournal.com]

'Fraid not, on either count. It is a very nicely produced series, though; if they ever released it on DVD, I'd almost be tempted to buy it.

[(Anonymous)]

I have both of them currently in the TiVo. At some point they will go to video I suspect. I can probably add you to the list of people interested in borrowing them.

David

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Yay :) Thanks!

[luciencarter.livejournal.com]

You idiot, Harvard is not in New York, and Lucy climbs no "greasy pole." Get your facts straight before you unjustly criticize someone you don't even know.

[malenfant.livejournal.com]

Quite right about the New York point; I gacked the link from another website and clearly wasn't concentrating when I posted it. My bad.

As for the criticism--You're quite right that I don't know her, but I specifically said as much in the post. This was a reaction to College Girls, in that it was about a part of Oxford I didn't experience, and it didn't seem to me to pain a favourable portrait. I'm sorry if you (or she) are offended.

Wow

[luciencarter.livejournal.com]

An honest, rare apology. I'm really impressed and therefore I'm sure whatever God you believe in now absolves you from whatever he had in store for your previously unjustified slander.

Have a nice life,
Lucien