It’s official: EUSA declares it is a feminist

Edinburgh has become the first officially feminist university in the country, after student reps voted for the motion “EUSA is a feminist”.

Vice President of Services Kirsty Haigh’s motion “EUSA is a feminist” sailed through at a meeting last night, meaning EUSA is now a “pro feminist organisation”.

The news is the latest in a new wave of gender politics at Edinburgh, which became the first student union to ban Blurred Lines and held a debate on ‘lad culture’.

Chuffed: Kirsty Haigh proposed the motion

According to the motion, EUSA will: “Promote intersectional Feminism to the student body and challenge negative connotation around the word and ideology.”

Kirsty Haigh hopes that her motion will allow for gender-related issues to be more openly discussed within the University. She told The Student: “I’m really glad we can have a discussion about what is feminism and what it can do for the student body.”

Symbolic: Alex Munyard said the motion was more about the sentiment than concrete action

Vice President of Academic Affairs, Alex Munyard said the passing of the motion is “more of a symbolic statement” and that it was “about the sentiment rather than concrete action”.

The motion says everyone should be a feminist because it is “the way forward to creating a more equal society” and “Everyone understands that gender is a social construct.”

Some students had raised concerns about the plans, with Women’s Liberation Convenor Sarah Moffat saying: ““Some feminists believe [males] can [be feminists], others don’t.”

Other said the motion risked alienating the wider student population, many of whom do not identify as feminists. However, the motion suggests that this may only be the case because “there are students on campus who do not know or understand the term feminism.”

EUSA was the first student union to ban Blurred Lines

The news will further raise Edinburgh’s profile as a crucible of radical politics. Earlier in the year we hit the headlines as the first university to ban Robin Thicke’s number one Blurred Lines from playing in student buildings.

The number one by Robin Thicke caused controversy because of  lyrics including: ”He don’t smack that ass and pull your hair like that” and ”I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two.”

At the time, Kirsty Haigh said: “EUSA vice president Kirsty Haigh said: “The decision to ban Blurred Lines from our venues has been taken as it promotes an unhealthy attitude towards sex and consent.

“There is a zero tolerance towards sexual harassment, a policy to end lad culture on campus and a safe space policy – all of which this song violates.”

The track has since been outlawed by dozens of student unions, and the declaration of feminism could now spread across the country too.

So now EUSA is back in business, let’s see what happens next.