Bindis, Bindel and Yiannopoulos: What else have the SU banned?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, then you’ll probably have heard about the banning of both Julie Bindel and Milo Yiannopoulos from debating the question: From Liberation to Censorship: Does Modern Feminism have a Problem with Free Speech? The ban comes shortly after SU night Pangaea banned bindis and other garments that were a form of cultural appropriation from their nights.

Here’s a summary of other things the uni has banned over the years.

Starting back in 2003, a calendar called “The Girls of Manchester Universities 2003” was banned due to “sexploitation”, possibly offending  “a majority of students” and that it could put off potential students from choosing Manchester.

In 2010, a proposal was put forth to ban the Armed Forces from both recruiting and setting up stalls on campus. Those supporting the bid argued that it was “completely unacceptable” that the military should be allowed to recruit young people to fight in “massively unpopular” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After a union meeting, the motion was thrown out, yet this didn’t stop a Royal Navy unit from being turned away from recruiting in 2013 as, “Welcome week is not the appropriate time for recruitment to the armed forces.”

More recently, a move which has seen light in many unis around the country, The Sun was banned from being sold in the SU shop. Manchester was the seventeenth uni in the country to do this, which was largely down to the “No More Page 3” campaign.

Following the ban, The Mancunion asked 155 random students on campus if they agreed with the ban, with 59% saying they disagreed.