Book Burning
A burning of the European Constitution took place outside the Union last week in an incident after the weekly post-debate President's Drinks. The President and his guests, many of them members of Oxford University Conservative Association, watched as the text was set alight by Josh Pull after the Union had passed the motion: "This house would never accept the proposed European Constitution".
The burning of the document was accompanied by applause and a rousing rendition of such nationalist anthems as "God Save the Queen" and "No Surrender to the IRA." Marcus Walker, the President of the Oxford Union, denied that anyone present might have been offended, saying "singing the national anthem is just a patriotic thing some people chose to do".
Walker emphasised to The OxStu that opposition to the European Constitution transcends party divisions, stating that the evening's antics should not be construed as "the hijacking of pressie drinks by Tory bigots", but rather as "people getting pissed and burning the European constitution...just a bit of fun really...It wasn't a serious political protest".
One third-year present at the burning, who wishes to remain nameless, said that whilst the burning was all in good fun, it "left me a little uncomfortable... perhaps because I wasn't drunk enough".
13th Nov 2003