Students plan protest vigil outside Union

Student campaigners at Oxford are organising a “peaceful vigil” outside the Union buildings to take place this week. The protest, planned for this Thursday, will take place at 7:30pm to coincide with one of the debating society’s weekly debates.

The event information says, “We are holding a dignified, peaceful vigil to express our anger and concern about the culture within the Oxford Union”. The students behind the event have spoken out against the Union stating: “The Union’s casual response [to recent allegations against president Ben Sullivan] has been deeply distressing”.

On 7th May, Ben Sullivan was arrested on suspicion of alleged rape and attempted rape. He is currently on bail without charge.

The students outline a number of objections to last week’s debate at the Union discussing a vote of no confidence in Sullivan. At the debate, students voted to scrap the motion with 254 votes in favour to 101 against.

Students met in the chamber to debate a no confidence motion against Ben Sullivan last week

The students behind the vigil claim that the debate was not appropriately handled. On the Facebook event page for the vigil, they allege that:

•  Men shouted “irrelevant” at a woman talking about experiences of sexual abuse
• A speaker made a ‘joke’ false rape allegation at a member of the audience, to show the “frivolity” of alleging you were raped
• The same speaker showed no regard for the fact that survivors of sexual violence attended the debate, being verbally and physically aggressive during his speech and screaming that the President was innocent, despite individuals in the chamber becoming visibly distressed
• Ben Sullivan had promised not to be at the debate, but stood by the doors as people were voting hugging his friends as they came out

One of the event’s organisers, Aliya Yule, told the Tab, “The event was organised by a group of students who left the No Confidence debate on Thursday feeling very angry and distressed by the way in which the debate was conducted, and who have been horrified by the casual conduct of Union in response to the rape allegations brought against the President.

“We want to clearly show that what happened on Thursday highlights a regrettable culture within the Union that will not be stood for by students of Oxford”.

She explained the aims of the vigil: “First, we hope that the vigil will raise awareness about the Union’s recent actions, and will highlight that members of the Union are deeply unhappy about the way the Union is currently being run.

“Secondly, we are calling for an open conversation about union reform: we want change both constitutionally and in the culture that pervades the Union”. 

“We hope that the vigil will be a peaceful way for students to voice their anger at how casually the Union has treated the allegations, at how poorly the No Confidence debate was conducted last Thursday, and at how recent events have highlighted a deeply unpleasant culture within the Union”.

So far, over a hundred students have indicated that they will be attending the vigil.

A Union spokesman said: “Last Thursday the Oxford Union Chamber voted overwhelmingly, by 254 to 101, to dismiss the Motion of No Confidence against the President. Members of the Society spoke on both sides of the debate expressing their own private opinions. On the basis of that debate, the Chamber voted as it did.

“The Union’s response to current events is as ever guided by our Members, who showed they believe a No Confidence Motion is inappropriate at this point. We understand that a vigil is to be held on Thursday, the aim of which is to encourage institutions to take every rape allegation seriously.

“This is an aim we applaud and that is why the Members had a free and open debate last Thursday (which lasted almost two hours) on how to respond to the current situation. They decided that the Union can take allegations of sexual violence seriously without passing a Motion of No Confidence, which could have had a number of unintended consequences.”

For more information about the event, click here.