BREAKING: Fellows to VOTE on whether class lists should go

The Regent House has delayed abolishing public class lists after 25 Fellows asked for a ballot. 

The CUSU-led Campaign to abolish class lists has encountered another hurdle after 25 Fellows requested that the proposal is voted on by the members’ of the Regent House. The University Council had approved the abolition of class lists from 1 October 2016 and submitted a Grace to the Regent House – the official governing body of the University.

Maybe no more?

The 3000 members of the Regent House are mainly Fellows and have the ultimate right to approve – or reject – proposals from the University Council. If 25 members request a ballot, any proposal goes to a referendum of all members

A University spokesperson said: “Members of the Regent House will vote on proposals concerning the public display of class-lists, following receipt of a request for a ballot signed by 25 members of the Regent House, in accordance with the University’s Statutes and Ordinances. The timetable for the vote will be published in due course.”

They’ve got the final say

The democracy overload will continue with students also likely to have an opportunity to vote on whether the tradition should continue. A petition launched by the ‘Save the Class List’ group has currently got at least 700 signatures, a significant amount more than the 350 needed to force CUSU to hold a referendum. While the CUSU referendum will not be binding, a vote to retain class lists would be a significant departure from past CUSU policy

While unlike the Regent House vote, the CUSU referendum will not be binding, a vote to retain class lists would be a significant departure from past CUSU policy. If students voted in favour of retaining class lists (as they did in a 2012 Consultation), the current CUSU Sabbatical Officers would be bound to campaign for that option. Outgoing President Priscilla Mensah was a strong opponent of class lists and CUSU Council last year voted to abolish them.

It seems the referenda just keep on coming.