King’s Turn AmNASTY

King’s have banned the Amnesty Cage Protest from their lawn this term, instead using the patch of grass for a “sponsored rowing event.”

Cambridge University Amnesty International have been forced to move their Lent Term cage protest for the first time in over a decade.

The cage protest, part of Amnesty’s Save the Human Appeal, has been on the lawn outside King’s for 14 years.

But after changes made at the beginning of this year, the College Council decreed that only one event should take place on the lawn each term, with only the Michaelmas spot going to Amnesty.

CUAI told The Tab that they still want to work closely with King’s, and are hopeful that they can return to the spot for Easter, when the lawn’s busy schedule will be determined by the Senior Tutor.

Grassroots campaign

King’s Bursar Keith Carne told Amnesty that if they wanted to “use [their] cage again in the Easter Term, then [they] should approach the Senior Tutor,” which The Tab understands CUAI has already done.

King’s students also seem to back the change. Tab favourite and King’s postgrad Juan Zober de Francisco told us “This isn’t a case of King’s rejecting Amnesty by any means – instead, quite simply the decision was taken to open up the front of our college for more charities to be able to use it.”

A view from the inside at the Michaelmas 2012 protest

The Amnesty Cage has been a central part of CUAI’s work in recent years, attracting volunteers, attention and a huge amount of awareness.

Previous participants who have braved the cold overnight have had encounters ranging from being fed chips by rogue drunks to meeting passers-by claiming to be part of the Burmese royal family.

Photographs by Sophie Hoare