The Oxford Union is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious student societies (Photo by … [+]
It is one of the oldest and most prestigious university societies in the world and a magnet for world leaders and entertainers alike, but now it is facing calls to be shut down altogether.
But this week it has been caught in a row that has raised questions over its future, amid claims it is elitist and out-of-touch.
The Oxford Union has long been considered a training ground for British politicians, honing the debating skills of a succession of prime ministers, from William Gladstone in the 19th century to the present incumbent, Boris Johnson.
And as one of the world’s premier university debating societies, it has a global reach, attracting speakers from Ronald Reagan to the Dalai Lama, via Elton John and Diego Maradona.
But this week it has been mired in controversy over the treatment of a blind student. Ebenezer Azamati was manhandled out a debate as he tried to return to a seat he had reserved, as other students looked on.
Mr Azamati, who is black and from Ghana, was dragged out of the chamber by his ankles but was originally treated as the aggressor and threatened with expulsion, accused of ‘violent misconduct’.
The charge was dropped and amid widespread outrage, including a condemnation from Oxford University itself, which is independent of the Union, and the Union apologized to Mr Azamati, although by then much of the damage had been done.
In an attempt to take the heat out of the situation, the president of the Union, Brendan McGrath, announced he was stepping down, promising that his successor would implement reforms including diversity training for both staff and students, with the aim of ‘fostering a culture of respect and inclusion’.
But today a former head of one of the university’s constituent colleges said the union should be shut down and replaced by a university-run society, that would provide a more inclusive environment to debate the great issues of the day.
Mark Damazer, who was master of St Peter’s College until earlier this year, said the Union was ‘palpably in disgrace’, and even though the university was not involved, it too had seen its reputation besmirched.
Writing in The Times, Mr Damazer said the furore should not have been left to a ‘twentysomething student’, and that the university and its colleges were in a better position to organize debates.
He also criticized the situation where Oxford’s ‘principal forum for debate’ was in the hands of a private club, where membership costs £170 ($220), putting it out of reach for some students.
This also contributed to a ‘laboured’ desire to make waves by inviting controversial speakers, including Marine Le Pen, Steve Bannon and Katie Hopkins, he said.
Instead, the university could run a society that was free to join and would still have the pulling power to attract speakers, ‘without all of the flim-flam and “training ground” aspects of the union,’ he added.
The university has become more alert to accusations of elitism in recent years. amid claims that it is off-putting for potential students from underrepresented backgrounds.
There is particular sensitivity over the shortage of black students: a third of Oxford’s colleges have admitted fewer than five black students from the U.K. over the last three years, with only one admitted to study geography, two for physics and none for biological science.
Given this, it is no wonder that the university has been keen to distance itself from the Union, but it will be hard to shake the damage the row has done to Oxford’s appeal to black students.
