Mansfield in; Cherwell out
Mansfield JCR has voted to stay affiliated to OUSU by 54 votes to 31 in a referendum held on Monday, whilst Wadham SU has cancelled its subscription to the Cherwell newspaper over a related matter.
Mansfield's disaffiliation motion followed an advertisement placed in last week's
Cherwell by Aled George, the newspaper's News Editor and member of Mansfield College, encouraging Mansfield students to "vote no in Monday's referendum, disaffiliate from OUSU."
James Coatsworth, Mansfield JCR President, told The OxStu: "I'm pleased by the result of the election. I would, of course, have stood by the JCR, whatever they had decided. Aled played by the rules, but I didn't think that the advertisement in Cherwell was necessary, and in the end it was not effective."
Aled George commented: "I moved the referendum in an attempt to initiate discussion on OUSU reform. I fully believe in the necessity of student unions in principle, yet regard the present situation as an anathema to the proper representation of student interests. I feel that Mansfield has reaffiliated with a mandate for reform."
Mansfield's decision coincides with a Wadham SU meeting on Sunday that voted in favour of cancelling the College's subscription to Cherwell. A major factor in the SU's decision was a letter printed in Cherwell credited to an anonymous Wadham student concerning OUSU.
Wadham SU President Rob Vance declined to comment on the matter. However, in a letter to Cherwell, which has been seen by The OxStu, he explained the decision, stating that the motion was "in response to what were felt to be a series of errors and misjudgements on the part of your editorial team."
He added that Wadham SU wanted to show "solidarity with Mansfield JCR in preserving the integrity of their referendum" and that "student newspapers should not abuse their position within the University."
The letter outlines the fact that Wadham SU were unhappy with George's advertisement and the published letter "purporting to be from a Wadham student, which we strongly believe not to have been the case."
The SU's letter went on to refer to Cherwell's "inaccurate reporting of sensitive information." Wadham students criticised the Cherwell's misidentification of the President of J-Soc as an anti-semite three weeks ago, for which the newspaper issued an apology.
It is hoped that the college's de-subscription from Cherwell will not be permanent, though, according to Wadham sources. For the present, it is expected that the de-subscription will last until the end of Trinity 2004.
A Cherwell spokesperson told The OxStu: "We hope that Wadham will continue to support all forms of student journalism by re-subscribing to Cherwell in the near future. Cherwell reserves the right to accept any advertisement from paying individuals and companies."
19th Feb 2004