King’s Uni Challenge team vows to include women, trans or non-binary students

This year KCLSU, who organise the University Challenge, are making sure that the team is “representative of the student body” by entering a team in which at least half of the contestants are “self-defining women, trans or non-binary students” into the competition.

The change was announced in an email sent to students a few weeks earlier.

Speaking to The Tab, second year English student Naomi Smart said: “I understand what they’re trying to do, but I think they’re trying too hard to be PC.

“If you pick the best candidates, diversity should take care of itself.”

First year English student, Seyi Bamgbaiye, agrees with the above statement, saying that the movement was “trying to overcompensate with political correctness.”

However, in making the first step to change the panel it could inspire more students to apply (especially those who wouldn’t normally do so) and perhaps encourage other universities to diversify their teams also.