Oxford Union
Encyclopedia
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford
, Britain
, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford
. Founded in 1823, it is Britain's second oldest University Union (only the Cambridge Union Society
is older), and has gained a worldwide reputation for the cut and thrust of its debate, proving a valuable training ground for many future politician
s from Britain and other countries.
in favour of its objectives and members, and governed by its rules (which form a multi-partite contract
between the members).
Since its foundation, it has been independent of the University: historically, this was because the Victorian University restricted junior members from discussing certain issues (for example, theology). Despite such restrictions since being lifted, it has remained entirely separate from the University, and is constitutionally bound to remain so.
Only members of Oxford University are eligible to become life members of the Union, but students at certain other educational institutions are entitled to join for the duration of their time in Oxford. These institutions are:
Shorter membership is also extended to those participating in some visiting study programmes in Oxford.
The Union buildings are owned by a separate charitable trust
, the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust.
, and on St Michael's Street
. The original Union buildings were designed by Alfred Waterhouse
and opened in 1879. This was about a decade after the completion of the Cambridge Union's premises, also designed by Waterhouse, and the exterior of the two buildings was very similar.
A debating chamber was subsequently added, but the Union's growing membership meant that it became too small, and is now the "Old Library". The Old Library is best known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
, Edward Burne-Jones
and William Morris
, known as the Oxford Union murals
. The current debating chamber, and several further extensions to the main buildings were added over the next forty years. The final extension was designed in a conventional Gothic Revival
style by Walter Mills
and Thorpe and built in 1910-11. It provides a dining room and a second library, together with basement library stacks.
Many of the rooms in the Union are named after figures from the Union's past, such as the Goodman Library, with its oriel windows, and the wood-panelled MacMillan
Room with barrel ceiling. The buildings have gradually been added to with paintings and statues of past presidents and prominent members.
The Gladstone Room also contains William Ewart Gladstone
's original cabinet table, semi-circular in design so that he could look all his ministers in the eye as he held forth.
In the debating chamber there are busts of such notables as Roy Jenkins
, Edward Heath
, Michael Heseltine
, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
and William Ewart Gladstone
. There is also a grand piano in the debating chambers known as the "Bartlet-Jones Piano" after the Oxford University Music Society
president who found it dusty and forgotten in a cupboard in the Holywell Music Room
and placed it on permanent loan to the Union. The piano was unveiled by Vladimir Ashkenazy
, who famously refused to play it in front of the packed chamber because he "had not warmed up". The despatch boxes which continue to be used in Union debates are modelled on those in the House of Commons, and were offered to the House during World War II
.
The buildings were used as a location for the films Oxford Blues
(1984) and The Madness of King George
(1994).
2011
Competitive debating is the preserve of a minority of members of the Union. The Union's best debaters compete internationally against other top debating societies, and the Oxford Union regularly fields one of the most successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championship
(which the Union hosted in 1993) and the European Universities Debating Championship
. The Union also runs the prestigious Oxford Schools' Debating Competition and Oxford Intervarsity Debating Competition competitions, which respectively attract schools and universities from around the world, as well as running a number of internal debating competitions. The Oxford Union is currently only the reigning European and British & Irish Champion in University Debating, having lost the World debating title in the final against Sydney University Debating team at the recent World University Debating Championships in Turkey.
Chamber debating, including the debates (known as Public Business Meetings) with invited guest speakers for which the Union is best known, tends to be less formalised (even if more formal) than competitive debates, and the manner of delivery is closer to public speaking, with audience engagement far more important.
Public Business Meeting debates also have voting. At the end of the debate, the audience votes on the proposition by exiting the hall through a door, the right-hand side of which is marked 'ayes' and the left-hand side 'noes'. This follows the style of the British Parliament, which votes this way if it is necessary to "divide the House".
The Oxford Union has been described as the "world's most prestigious debating society".
(OUSU). OUSU is the officially recognised student representative body of the University of Oxford. The Oxford Union, despite being composed largely of students, is not a part of the University.
Following a particularly bad period in the 1970s, the Union buildings were sold to a charitable trust ("OLDUT", the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust), and the Oxford Union Society was granted a licence to occupy the building.
Several parts of what were historically the Union buildings and grounds were subsequently either sold or made the subject of long leases, including an area of land around the rear of the debating chamber, part of the Union cellars (adjoining that now occupied by the Purple Turtle), and part of what was formerly the Steward's house (now occupied by the Landmark Trust). OLDUT has subsequently paid for the refurbishment and maintenance of the Union buildings, both from its own resources and by securing private donations and grant funding.
As a result of OLDUT's creation, the future of the physical Union is now secured, so that even if the Oxford Union Society were to cease to be, or to fail financially, the buildings would not be lost. In addition, OLDUT provides some financial support for the running of the Union in those areas where the Union undertakes activities which match OLDUT's charitable objectives - particularly the operation of the Union's library.
Despite the importance of OLDUT in preserving the fabric of the Union, the relationship between OLDUT and OUS has at times been strained. OLDUT is first and foremost a charitable trust, and it has objectives which do not always match those of what is primarily a student society.
, Mother Teresa
, former US Presidents Richard Nixon
, Jimmy Carter
and Ronald Reagan
, US diplomat Henry Kissinger
, former US Presidential nominee Senator John McCain
, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
, former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange
, Russian politician and former finance minister Grigory Yavlinsky, notable barrister and prime-ministerial spouse Cherie Booth QC
, Sinn Féin
leader Gerry Adams
, physicist Stephen Hawking
, biologist Richard Dawkins
debating creationist A. E. Wilder-Smith
, savant Kim Peek
, comedian and writer Stephen Fry
, former US Attorney General and Senator Robert Kennedy, actors Pierce Brosnan
, Clint Eastwood
, Ewan McGregor
and Martin Sheen
, Malcolm X
, O.J. Simpson, footballer Diego Maradona
, rock star Jon Bon Jovi
, pop star legend Michael Jackson
, composer Burt Bacharach
, televangelist Jerry Falwell
, magician David Blaine
, TV talk show host Jerry Springer
, singer Barry White
, puppet Kermit the Frog
, actress Judi Dench
, singer Gerard Way
, fashion journalist Anna Wintour
, international model Katia Elizarova
, scientist Albert Einstein
, musical humourist and conductor Gerard Hoffnung
, porn star Ron Jeremy
, pop star Shakira
, UFC president Dana White
, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik
, the RH David Ruskin and the actor Johnny Depp
.
, most famously by debating and passing the motion "This House would under no circumstances fight for its King and country
" in 1933.
What is generally forgotten (but arguably more significant as an example of the Union's commitment to freedom of speech) is that an attempt was made by several prominent Union members (including Randolph Churchill
) to expunge this motion and the result of the debate from the Union's minute book. This attempt was roundly defeated — in a meeting far better attended than the original debate. Sir Edward Heath records in his memoirs that Randolph Churchill
was then chased around Oxford by undergraduates who intended to debag him (i.e. humiliate him by removing his trousers), and was then fined by the police for being illegally parked.
More recently, controversial debates at the Union have included "This House Would Abolish the Welfare State" in 2011. The motion fell, but the debate was particularly well-attended on account of the high-profile speaker line-up and current government spending cuts.
called the Oxford Union "the last bastion of free speech in the Western world", a quotation which continues to feature prominently in the Union's publicity. However, the Union's commitment to free speech has not enabled it to resist pressure to deny platforms to controversial speakers.
was met with a campaign of resistance in 1998. This opposition, coupled with police advice following a series of racially motivated nail-bombings
in London, resulted in the cancellation of the debate.
to speak in a debate on censorship in 2001 was met by a coordinated campaign by left-wing, Jewish, and anti-fascist groups, together with the elected leadership of the Oxford University Student Union
, to have the invitation withdrawn. Despite the fact that there was no mechanism in the Union's constitution by which members could compel the President — who is responsible for organising debates — to either cancel a debate or withdraw an invitation to a particular speaker, attempts were made to pass a Union motion ordering her to do so. Following a particularly bitter meeting of Union members, and a subsequent meeting of the Union's governing body, the Standing Committee, the President decided the debate would have to be cancelled. However, Irving was allowed to speak at a Union debate in 2007.
after Nitschke had already accepted the invitation. Nitschke received a second email cancelling the invite in the interests of there being a "fair debate", and was told other speakers were unwilling to speak alongside him. The debate topic was the legalisation of assisted suicide, a field in which Nitschke is prominent. The reason given by Oxford Union president Corey Dixon was that two other speakers "disagree with his particular take on [assisted suicide]". According to Dixon, the speakers who successfully pressured the Union to withdraw Nitschke's invitation were a member of the public, whose brother had undergone assisted death, and British euthanasia campaigner Dr Michael Irwin
. However, Dr Irwin later denied that he had applied pressure to exclude Nitschke.
The Oxford Union then released a statement explaining the decision: "An administrative decision was made to ensure we had three speakers on each side of the debate, which was proving difficult due to Dr Nitschke's attendance. It is always in the interests of the Oxford Union to ensure a balanced debate with as wide-ranging views as possible represented. There may have been miscommunication between the Oxford Union and Dr Nitschke. We certainly hope that no offence has been caused. The Oxford Union is a politically-neutral institution and holds no opinion on Dr Nitschke's views."
Nitschke commented that "This famous society has a long tradition of championing free speech. To suggest that my views on end-of-life issues are inappropriate simply because I believe that all rational elderly adults should have access to the best end-of-life information beggars belief." He also called the act "an almost unprecedented act of censorship". Nitschke gave a series of lectures across the UK at the time the debate was held.
David Irving
and British National Party
leader Nick Griffin
to speak at a Union forum on the topic of free speech. Following protests by several student groups, a poll of the Union's members was taken and resulted in a two-to-one majority in favour of the invitations.
On the evening of the planned debate several hundred protesters gathered outside the Union buildings, chanting anti-fascist slogans and later preventing guests and Union members from entering the premises. Eventually succeeding in breaching the poorly-maintained security cordon, around 20 of the campaigners attempted to force their way through to the main chamber, whereupon some of the waiting audience blocked access by pushing back against the chamber doors. After students were convinced to yield to the protestors by Union staff, a sit-in protest was staged in the debating chamber, which prevented a full debate from occurring due to security concerns. A small number of the audience attempted to reason with the demonstrators. Because of a lack of security personnel, a number of students from the audience eventually came to take on the responsibilities of controlling events, in one instance preventing a scuffle from breaking out between a protestor and members of the audience, and eventually assisting police in herding protestors from the main hall. One student protestor interviewed by BBC News reported that fellow protestors played 'jingles' on the piano and danced on the President's chair http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7110000/newsid_7112900?redirect=7112905.stm&news=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1 although the truth of the latter assertion is seriously questioned by eyewitnesses. Smaller debates were eventually held with Irving and Griffin in separate rooms, amid criticism that the police and Union officials had not foreseen the degree of unrest which the controversial invitations would arouse. The President of Oxford University Student Union, Martin McCluskey, strongly criticised the decision to proceed with the debate, claiming that providing Irving and Griffin with a platform for their extreme views afforded them undue legitimacy. Some students following the event criticised the Student Union for preventing Oxford Union members (as students themselves) from exercising the right to free assembly, and accused the Oxford University Student Union of hypocrisy in seemingly restricting the rights of free speech to those individuals whose views chimed with those of the Student Union leadership (although the decision to oppose the invite had been agreed by representatives of the Student Population at a Council meeting).
The Junior Officers each have specific areas of responsibility, such as debates (President), "speaker meetings" (President and Librarian), sponsorship and funding (Treasurer), and social events (Secretary). The Junior Officers-Elect spend a term preparing their area, before assuming their office.
A number of other committee run or advise the running of various aspects of the Union, including the Wines and Spirits Committee (the Union's bar), the Cellar Management Committee (responsible for liaison with the management of the Purple Turtle), the Library Committee (responsible principally for library acquisitions and disposals), the Finance Committee (which advises the Standing Committee on financial matters), and the Debates Selection Committee (which runs competitive debating). Two further committees, the Secretary's Committee and the Consultative Committee, are not, despite their names, committees in the traditional sense.
The Secretary's Committee consists of eleven members, elected on a termly basis in the same ballot as that for the Officer and Standing Committee, who assist at the Union's social functions, and is generally the first stage for any aspiring Union politician. Although considered a committee under the rules, it only ever meets informally, and is more akin to a group of people with a particular role, rather than a committee.
The Consultative Committee holds weekly public meetings during term time, at which members can informally question the junior officers and members of the elected committees on the performance of their duties. All members of the Union are considered members of the Consultative Committee, so meetings tend to be more like an open forum.
The Chairman of the Consultative Committee (who is elected termly, but not during the Union's main elections) is a member of Standing Committee with speaking privileges but without voting rights, responsible for the Union's publicity, website and archives; setting up the Union's rooms for events; chairing Consultative Committee, directing members of the Secretary's Committee, and bringing up any matters of concern at Standing Committee.
The Returning Officer is elected from a body of Deputy Returning Officers whose members have been approved by a scrutiny committee. He is responsible for running the Society's elections and is empowered (along with the President) to interpret the Society's constitution. It remains hotly disputed whether the Returning Officer wields disproportionate influence without an electoral mandate, or maintains an essential check and balance to the powers of the President.
The day to day management of the Union is partly conducted by professional staff, principally the Bursar and the House Manager.
include:
Other Officers of the Union who have achieved political success include Ann Widdecombe
, Edwina Currie
, and Roy Jenkins
. Harold Macmillan
was Librarian of the Union before the First World War ended his university career in August 1914.
term, in order to allow members of the society to choose officers and committee members for the following term. The elections are held to fill the offices of President-elect, Librarian-elect, Treasurer-elect and Secretary, as well as five elected positions on the Standing Committee and 11 positions on the Secretary's Committee. In order to stand for election to the Secretary's Committee, members must make two speeches on different nights. For the other offices, this is increased to 4. The election for the Chairman of the Consultative Committee is held at CC on Monday of 8th week. Only members who have attended 4 of the last 8 meetings may either stand for election as Chairman or vote.
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. Founded in 1823, it is Britain's second oldest University Union (only the Cambridge Union Society
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
is older), and has gained a worldwide reputation for the cut and thrust of its debate, proving a valuable training ground for many future politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s from Britain and other countries.
Status and membership
The Oxford Union is an unincorporated association, holding its property in trustTrust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
in favour of its objectives and members, and governed by its rules (which form a multi-partite contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
between the members).
Since its foundation, it has been independent of the University: historically, this was because the Victorian University restricted junior members from discussing certain issues (for example, theology). Despite such restrictions since being lifted, it has remained entirely separate from the University, and is constitutionally bound to remain so.
Only members of Oxford University are eligible to become life members of the Union, but students at certain other educational institutions are entitled to join for the duration of their time in Oxford. These institutions are:
- Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
- Oxford Centre for Islamic StudiesOxford Centre for Islamic StudiesThe Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognised Independent Centre of the University of Oxford, England. It was established in 1985 with the aim of encouraging the academic study of Islam and the Muslim world. The centre's Patron is Prince Charles.A new building for the centre is situated to...
- Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies
- Ripon College, Cuddesdon
- Ruskin College
- St Stephen’s HouseSt Stephen's House, OxfordSt Stephen’s House, Oxford , is an Anglican theological college and one of six religious Permanent Private Halls of the University of Oxford, England...
Shorter membership is also extended to those participating in some visiting study programmes in Oxford.
The Union buildings are owned by a separate charitable trust
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
, the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust.
Union buildings
The Oxford Union buildings are located in Frewin Court, off Cornmarket StreetCornmarket Street
Cornmarket Street is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north-south between Carfax Tower and Magdalen Street.Retailers in Cornmarket include:* Austin Reed...
, and on St Michael's Street
St Michael's Street, Oxford
St Michael's Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs between New Inn Hall Street to the west and Cornmarket to the east, with Ship Street almost opposite....
. The original Union buildings were designed by Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
and opened in 1879. This was about a decade after the completion of the Cambridge Union's premises, also designed by Waterhouse, and the exterior of the two buildings was very similar.
A debating chamber was subsequently added, but the Union's growing membership meant that it became too small, and is now the "Old Library". The Old Library is best known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
, Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
and William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, known as the Oxford Union murals
Oxford Union murals
The Oxford Union murals are a series of mural decorations in the Oxford Union library building. The series was executed by a team of Pre-Raphaelite artists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones...
. The current debating chamber, and several further extensions to the main buildings were added over the next forty years. The final extension was designed in a conventional Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style by Walter Mills
Walter Edward Mills
Walter Edward Mills was an English architect.Mills was articled to the architect Henry Edward Cooper of Bloomsbury in 1868. He established his own independent practice in Banbury, Oxfordshire in about 1875, where by 1881 he had premises at 13, High Street....
and Thorpe and built in 1910-11. It provides a dining room and a second library, together with basement library stacks.
Many of the rooms in the Union are named after figures from the Union's past, such as the Goodman Library, with its oriel windows, and the wood-panelled MacMillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
Room with barrel ceiling. The buildings have gradually been added to with paintings and statues of past presidents and prominent members.
The Gladstone Room also contains William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's original cabinet table, semi-circular in design so that he could look all his ministers in the eye as he held forth.
In the debating chamber there are busts of such notables as Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
and William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. There is also a grand piano in the debating chambers known as the "Bartlet-Jones Piano" after the Oxford University Music Society
Oxford University Music Society
Formed in 1867, the Oxford University Music Society is one of the oldest societies in Oxford University. It was founded to promote the appreciation and performance of music within the University...
president who found it dusty and forgotten in a cupboard in the Holywell Music Room
Holywell Music Room
The Holywell Music Room is the city of Oxford's chamber music hall, situated in Holywell Street in the city centre, attached to Wadham College. It is said to be the oldest, purpose built music room in Europe, and hence England's first concert hall....
and placed it on permanent loan to the Union. The piano was unveiled by Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, who famously refused to play it in front of the packed chamber because he "had not warmed up". The despatch boxes which continue to be used in Union debates are modelled on those in the House of Commons, and were offered to the House during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The buildings were used as a location for the films Oxford Blues
Oxford Blues
Oxford Blues is a 1984 film written and directed by Robert Boris and starred Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy and Amanda Pays. It is a remake of the 1938 MGM film A Yank at Oxford.-Plot:...
(1984) and The Madness of King George
The Madness of King George
The Madness of King George is a 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play, The Madness of George III. It tells the true story of George III's deteriorating mental health, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales, particularly...
(1994).
Leadership
Officers of the Union, Michaelmas TermMichaelmas term
Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic years of the following British and Irish universities:*University of Cambridge*University of Oxford*University of St...
2011
- President: Isabelle Westbury, Hertford CollegeHertford College, OxfordHertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
- Librarian: Isabel Ernst, St Catherine's College
- Treasurer: James Freeland, Brasenose CollegeBrasenose College, OxfordBrasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
- Secretary: Miles Coates, Worcester CollegeWorcester College, OxfordWorcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
- President-Elect: Lauren Pringle, Wadham CollegeWadham College, OxfordWadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
- Librarian-Elect: Luke Eaton, Jesus CollegeJesus College, OxfordJesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
- Treasurer-Elect: John Lee, Hertford CollegeHertford College, OxfordHertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
Debating
Debating at the Oxford Union takes two forms — competitive debating and chamber debating.Competitive debating is the preserve of a minority of members of the Union. The Union's best debaters compete internationally against other top debating societies, and the Oxford Union regularly fields one of the most successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championship
World Universities Debating Championship
The World Universities Debating Championship is the world's largest debating tournament, and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. It is a parliamentary debating event, held using the British Parliamentary Debate format. Each year, the event is hosted by a university...
(which the Union hosted in 1993) and the European Universities Debating Championship
European Universities Debating Championship
The European Universities Debating Championship is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Europe. The competition uses the British Parliamentary Debate format .The championships as they are known today were first held in Rotterdam, Netherlands at Erasmus University from 8–11...
. The Union also runs the prestigious Oxford Schools' Debating Competition and Oxford Intervarsity Debating Competition competitions, which respectively attract schools and universities from around the world, as well as running a number of internal debating competitions. The Oxford Union is currently only the reigning European and British & Irish Champion in University Debating, having lost the World debating title in the final against Sydney University Debating team at the recent World University Debating Championships in Turkey.
Chamber debating, including the debates (known as Public Business Meetings) with invited guest speakers for which the Union is best known, tends to be less formalised (even if more formal) than competitive debates, and the manner of delivery is closer to public speaking, with audience engagement far more important.
Public Business Meeting debates also have voting. At the end of the debate, the audience votes on the proposition by exiting the hall through a door, the right-hand side of which is marked 'ayes' and the left-hand side 'noes'. This follows the style of the British Parliament, which votes this way if it is necessary to "divide the House".
The Oxford Union has been described as the "world's most prestigious debating society".
The Union and the Student Union
The Oxford Union is often confused with the Oxford University Student UnionOxford University Student Union
The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford by its acronym, OUSU . It exists to represent Oxford University students in the University's decision-making, to act as the voice for students in the national higher...
(OUSU). OUSU is the officially recognised student representative body of the University of Oxford. The Oxford Union, despite being composed largely of students, is not a part of the University.
OLDUT and OUS
It is not generally recognised (either by the outside world, or the Union's members) that the Oxford Union Society does not own its buildings. The Oxford Union was never financially secure, and its position was not helped by its termly changes of junior (i.e. student) officers. There was also a significant level of historic debt, associated with the erection of its buildings.Following a particularly bad period in the 1970s, the Union buildings were sold to a charitable trust ("OLDUT", the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust), and the Oxford Union Society was granted a licence to occupy the building.
Several parts of what were historically the Union buildings and grounds were subsequently either sold or made the subject of long leases, including an area of land around the rear of the debating chamber, part of the Union cellars (adjoining that now occupied by the Purple Turtle), and part of what was formerly the Steward's house (now occupied by the Landmark Trust). OLDUT has subsequently paid for the refurbishment and maintenance of the Union buildings, both from its own resources and by securing private donations and grant funding.
As a result of OLDUT's creation, the future of the physical Union is now secured, so that even if the Oxford Union Society were to cease to be, or to fail financially, the buildings would not be lost. In addition, OLDUT provides some financial support for the running of the Union in those areas where the Union undertakes activities which match OLDUT's charitable objectives - particularly the operation of the Union's library.
Despite the importance of OLDUT in preserving the fabric of the Union, the relationship between OLDUT and OUS has at times been strained. OLDUT is first and foremost a charitable trust, and it has objectives which do not always match those of what is primarily a student society.
Notable speakers
The Oxford Union has a long history of hosting international figures and celebrities. Previous guests have included the Dalai Lama, Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, former US Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, US diplomat Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, former US Presidential nominee Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
, former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange
David Lange
David Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a...
, Russian politician and former finance minister Grigory Yavlinsky, notable barrister and prime-ministerial spouse Cherie Booth QC
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
, Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
leader Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
, physicist Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
, biologist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
debating creationist A. E. Wilder-Smith
A. E. Wilder-Smith
Professor Arthur Ernest Wilder-Smith, Ph.D. , Dr. es Science , D. Sc., P.D., F.R.S.C. , more commonly known as A. E. Wilder-Smith, was an organic-chemist, humanitarian, lecturer and author.-Biography:He became a professor of pharmacology at the University of Illinois Medical Center in 1963...
, savant Kim Peek
Kim Peek
Laurence Kim Peek was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had a photographic or eidetic memory, but also social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt,...
, comedian and writer Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, former US Attorney General and Senator Robert Kennedy, actors Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
and Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, O.J. Simpson, footballer Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
, rock star Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, pop star legend Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, composer Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, televangelist Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, magician David Blaine
David Blaine
David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
, TV talk show host Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
, singer Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, puppet Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
, actress Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, singer Gerard Way
Gerard Way
Gerard Arthur Way is an American musician and comic book writer who has served as lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance since its formation in 2001...
, fashion journalist Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
, international model Katia Elizarova
Katia Elizarova
Katia Elizarova is a Russian model.-Background:...
, scientist Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, musical humourist and conductor Gerard Hoffnung
Gerard Hoffnung
Gerard Hoffnung was an artist and musician, best known for his humorous works.- Early years :Born in Berlin, and named Gerhard, he was the only child of a well-to-do Jewish couple, Hildegard and Ludwig Hoffnung...
, porn star Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
, pop star Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
, UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik
Zakir Naik
Zakir Abdul Karim Naik is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation , a non-profit organization that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist...
, the RH David Ruskin and the actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
.
Free speech
The Oxford Union has long associated itself with freedom of speechFreedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, most famously by debating and passing the motion "This House would under no circumstances fight for its King and country
The King and Country debate
The King and Country debate was a discussion at the Oxford Union debating society on 9 February 1933 of the resolution: "That this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country". It was passed by 275 votes to 153, and became one of the most well-known and notorious debates...
" in 1933.
What is generally forgotten (but arguably more significant as an example of the Union's commitment to freedom of speech) is that an attempt was made by several prominent Union members (including Randolph Churchill
Randolph Churchill
Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill, MBE was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston from 1940 to 1945....
) to expunge this motion and the result of the debate from the Union's minute book. This attempt was roundly defeated — in a meeting far better attended than the original debate. Sir Edward Heath records in his memoirs that Randolph Churchill
Randolph Churchill
Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill, MBE was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston from 1940 to 1945....
was then chased around Oxford by undergraduates who intended to debag him (i.e. humiliate him by removing his trousers), and was then fined by the police for being illegally parked.
More recently, controversial debates at the Union have included "This House Would Abolish the Welfare State" in 2011. The motion fell, but the debate was particularly well-attended on account of the high-profile speaker line-up and current government spending cuts.
Speakers denied a platform
Harold MacmillanHarold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
called the Oxford Union "the last bastion of free speech in the Western world", a quotation which continues to feature prominently in the Union's publicity. However, the Union's commitment to free speech has not enabled it to resist pressure to deny platforms to controversial speakers.
John Tyndall
A debate that was to have involved the far-right leader John TyndallJohn Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
was met with a campaign of resistance in 1998. This opposition, coupled with police advice following a series of racially motivated nail-bombings
David Copeland
David John Copeland is a former member of the British National Party and the National Socialist Movement, who became known as the "London Nail Bomber" after a 13-day bombing campaign in April 1999 aimed at London's black, Bangladeshi and gay communities.Over three successive weekends between 17...
in London, resulted in the cancellation of the debate.
David Irving
An invitation to the controversial historian and writer David IrvingDavid Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
to speak in a debate on censorship in 2001 was met by a coordinated campaign by left-wing, Jewish, and anti-fascist groups, together with the elected leadership of the Oxford University Student Union
Oxford University Student Union
The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford by its acronym, OUSU . It exists to represent Oxford University students in the University's decision-making, to act as the voice for students in the national higher...
, to have the invitation withdrawn. Despite the fact that there was no mechanism in the Union's constitution by which members could compel the President — who is responsible for organising debates — to either cancel a debate or withdraw an invitation to a particular speaker, attempts were made to pass a Union motion ordering her to do so. Following a particularly bitter meeting of Union members, and a subsequent meeting of the Union's governing body, the Standing Committee, the President decided the debate would have to be cancelled. However, Irving was allowed to speak at a Union debate in 2007.
Philip Nitschke
In March, 2009, the Union withdrew an invitation to euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip NitschkePhilip Nitschke
Dr. Philip Nitschke is an Australian medical doctor, humanist, author and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before...
after Nitschke had already accepted the invitation. Nitschke received a second email cancelling the invite in the interests of there being a "fair debate", and was told other speakers were unwilling to speak alongside him. The debate topic was the legalisation of assisted suicide, a field in which Nitschke is prominent. The reason given by Oxford Union president Corey Dixon was that two other speakers "disagree with his particular take on [assisted suicide]". According to Dixon, the speakers who successfully pressured the Union to withdraw Nitschke's invitation were a member of the public, whose brother had undergone assisted death, and British euthanasia campaigner Dr Michael Irwin
Michael Irwin
Michael Henry Knox Irwin is a retired GP and former medical director of the United Nations. He is a humanist and secularist activist and a campaigner for voluntary euthanasia.-Life:...
. However, Dr Irwin later denied that he had applied pressure to exclude Nitschke.
The Oxford Union then released a statement explaining the decision: "An administrative decision was made to ensure we had three speakers on each side of the debate, which was proving difficult due to Dr Nitschke's attendance. It is always in the interests of the Oxford Union to ensure a balanced debate with as wide-ranging views as possible represented. There may have been miscommunication between the Oxford Union and Dr Nitschke. We certainly hope that no offence has been caused. The Oxford Union is a politically-neutral institution and holds no opinion on Dr Nitschke's views."
Nitschke commented that "This famous society has a long tradition of championing free speech. To suggest that my views on end-of-life issues are inappropriate simply because I believe that all rational elderly adults should have access to the best end-of-life information beggars belief." He also called the act "an almost unprecedented act of censorship". Nitschke gave a series of lectures across the UK at the time the debate was held.
Irving/Griffin controversy
In November 2007, President Luke Tryl sparked controversy by inviting Holocaust denierHolocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
and British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
leader Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
to speak at a Union forum on the topic of free speech. Following protests by several student groups, a poll of the Union's members was taken and resulted in a two-to-one majority in favour of the invitations.
On the evening of the planned debate several hundred protesters gathered outside the Union buildings, chanting anti-fascist slogans and later preventing guests and Union members from entering the premises. Eventually succeeding in breaching the poorly-maintained security cordon, around 20 of the campaigners attempted to force their way through to the main chamber, whereupon some of the waiting audience blocked access by pushing back against the chamber doors. After students were convinced to yield to the protestors by Union staff, a sit-in protest was staged in the debating chamber, which prevented a full debate from occurring due to security concerns. A small number of the audience attempted to reason with the demonstrators. Because of a lack of security personnel, a number of students from the audience eventually came to take on the responsibilities of controlling events, in one instance preventing a scuffle from breaking out between a protestor and members of the audience, and eventually assisting police in herding protestors from the main hall. One student protestor interviewed by BBC News reported that fellow protestors played 'jingles' on the piano and danced on the President's chair http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7110000/newsid_7112900?redirect=7112905.stm&news=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1 although the truth of the latter assertion is seriously questioned by eyewitnesses. Smaller debates were eventually held with Irving and Griffin in separate rooms, amid criticism that the police and Union officials had not foreseen the degree of unrest which the controversial invitations would arouse. The President of Oxford University Student Union, Martin McCluskey, strongly criticised the decision to proceed with the debate, claiming that providing Irving and Griffin with a platform for their extreme views afforded them undue legitimacy. Some students following the event criticised the Student Union for preventing Oxford Union members (as students themselves) from exercising the right to free assembly, and accused the Oxford University Student Union of hypocrisy in seemingly restricting the rights of free speech to those individuals whose views chimed with those of the Student Union leadership (although the decision to oppose the invite had been agreed by representatives of the Student Population at a Council meeting).
Governance
The Oxford Union is run by the Standing Committee which is elected termly and is constituted by the Junior Officers (the current President, President-Elect, Junior Librarian, Junior Treasurer, Librarian-Elect, Treasurer-Elect, and the Secretary), five elected members and recent Junior Officers (who have chosen to serve). The Chairman of the Consultative Committee is a member of Standing Committee without vote, and the Returning Officer (responsible for the conduct of the Union's elections and for advising on the interpretation of the Union's rules), the Bursar, and the Chairman of the Debates Selection Committee are non-members with speaking rights. The Union also has two Senior Officers, the Senior Librarian and Senior Treasurer (generally Oxford academics but must be members of the Union) who advise the Standing Committee.The Junior Officers each have specific areas of responsibility, such as debates (President), "speaker meetings" (President and Librarian), sponsorship and funding (Treasurer), and social events (Secretary). The Junior Officers-Elect spend a term preparing their area, before assuming their office.
A number of other committee run or advise the running of various aspects of the Union, including the Wines and Spirits Committee (the Union's bar), the Cellar Management Committee (responsible for liaison with the management of the Purple Turtle), the Library Committee (responsible principally for library acquisitions and disposals), the Finance Committee (which advises the Standing Committee on financial matters), and the Debates Selection Committee (which runs competitive debating). Two further committees, the Secretary's Committee and the Consultative Committee, are not, despite their names, committees in the traditional sense.
The Secretary's Committee consists of eleven members, elected on a termly basis in the same ballot as that for the Officer and Standing Committee, who assist at the Union's social functions, and is generally the first stage for any aspiring Union politician. Although considered a committee under the rules, it only ever meets informally, and is more akin to a group of people with a particular role, rather than a committee.
The Consultative Committee holds weekly public meetings during term time, at which members can informally question the junior officers and members of the elected committees on the performance of their duties. All members of the Union are considered members of the Consultative Committee, so meetings tend to be more like an open forum.
The Chairman of the Consultative Committee (who is elected termly, but not during the Union's main elections) is a member of Standing Committee with speaking privileges but without voting rights, responsible for the Union's publicity, website and archives; setting up the Union's rooms for events; chairing Consultative Committee, directing members of the Secretary's Committee, and bringing up any matters of concern at Standing Committee.
The Returning Officer is elected from a body of Deputy Returning Officers whose members have been approved by a scrutiny committee. He is responsible for running the Society's elections and is empowered (along with the President) to interpret the Society's constitution. It remains hotly disputed whether the Returning Officer wields disproportionate influence without an electoral mandate, or maintains an essential check and balance to the powers of the President.
The day to day management of the Union is partly conducted by professional staff, principally the Bursar and the House Manager.
Past officers
Notable past Presidents of the Oxford UnionPresidents of the Oxford Union
Past Presidents of the Oxford Union are listed below, with their College and term & year in which they served, if known. Iterum indicates that a person was serving a second term as President ....
include:
- Tariq AliTariq AliTariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
- Herbert Henry Asquith
- Lalith AthulathmudaliLalith AthulathmudaliLalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali , PC was a Sri Lankan politician of the United National Party and former Cabinet Minister of Trade, National Security, Agriculture, Education and deputy minister of defence.-Early life and teaching career:Born to a family of Lawyers, his...
- Ruzwana BashirRuzwana BashirRuzwana Bashir was the first British-born Asian woman to become President of the Oxford Union and is a Fulbright Scholar.-Early life:Bashir was educated at Skipton Girls' High School, in North Yorkshire...
- Hilaire BellocHilaire BellocJoseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
- Tony BennTony BennAnthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
- Benazir BhuttoBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
- Gyles BrandrethGyles BrandrethGyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
- John Buchan
- Robin DayRobin DaySir Robin Day, OBE was a British political broadcaster and commentator. His obituary in the Guardian stated that "he was the most outstanding television journalist of his generation...
- Michael FootMichael FootMichael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
- William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
- William HagueWilliam HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
- Michael HeseltineMichael HeseltineMichael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
- Edward HeathEdward HeathSir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
- Christopher HollisChristopher HollisMaurice Christopher Hollis, known as Christopher Hollis was a British schoolmaster, university teacher, author and Conservative politician.-Life:...
- Anthony HowardAnthony Howard (journalist)Anthony Michell Howard, CBE was a prominent British journalist, broadcaster and writer. He was the editor of the New Statesman, The Listener and the deputy editor of The Observer...
- Boris JohnsonBoris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
- Lakshman KadirgamarLakshman KadirgamarSri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar PC was a Sri Lankan diplomat, politician and a lawyer. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassination in August 2005...
- Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury
- David LewisDavid Lewis (politician)David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
- Henry Edward Manning
- John Playfair PriceJohn Playfair PriceJohn Playfair Price was a British diplomat, and a former President of the Oxford Union.-Early life:The son of William Arthur Price by his marriage to Edith Octavia Playfair, Price was educated at Gresham's School and New College, Oxford, where he was an Honorary Exhibitioner and President of the...
- Julian PriestleyJulian PriestleySir Julian Priestley , Secretary-General of the European Parliament from 1997-2007.He was educated at St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth, and Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1972 with an honours degree in philosophy, politics and economics . He was President of the Oxford Union and...
- Montek Singh AhluwaliaMontek Singh AhluwaliaMontek Singh Ahluwalia is an Indian economist and civil servant. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Republic of India. He was previously the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary Fund.-Early life and education:Montek...
- Andrew SullivanAndrew SullivanAndrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
- Jeremy ThorpeJeremy ThorpeJohn Jeremy Thorpe is a British former politician who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976 and was the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979. His political career was damaged when an acquaintance, Norman Scott, claimed to have had a love affair with Thorpe at a time...
Other Officers of the Union who have achieved political success include Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
, Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie
Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...
, and Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
. Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
was Librarian of the Union before the First World War ended his university career in August 1914.
Elections
The Union holds elections in the penultimate (7th) week of each UniversityUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
term, in order to allow members of the society to choose officers and committee members for the following term. The elections are held to fill the offices of President-elect, Librarian-elect, Treasurer-elect and Secretary, as well as five elected positions on the Standing Committee and 11 positions on the Secretary's Committee. In order to stand for election to the Secretary's Committee, members must make two speeches on different nights. For the other offices, this is increased to 4. The election for the Chairman of the Consultative Committee is held at CC on Monday of 8th week. Only members who have attended 4 of the last 8 meetings may either stand for election as Chairman or vote.