Subfusc saved…with over 75% of the vote

It woz The Tab wot won it

Referendum save subfusc

The results are in from this week’s subfusc referendum – and 75.83% of you voted to save it.

And it was even more conclusive with voting for gowns and mortarboards – with 78% voting to keep them compulsory.

Turnout was high: 40.62% of the student body registered their votes. That’s a record high for Oxford, and close to a national student union record.

Results were conclusive, with 6,403 people voting to save subfusc. That’s in comparison to a measly 2040 votes for the no campaign – just 24.1%.

Harrison Edmonds, who led the Yes campaign, said: “I’m absolutely delighted.”

“It’s shown that the student body as a whole has seen through the false arguments put forward by the No campaign”.

And James Blythe VP Access and Academic Affairs, said: “This is a settled question for the next nine or ten years.”

Subfusc will now remain compulsory for exams – an outcome many, The Tab included, wanted. Arguments for saving the academic dress included centuries of tradition, and the fact that it made everyone in the exam hall equal.

No campaigners, who wanted subfusc to be scrapped as compulsory, argued that it perpetuated negative stereotypes of Oxford and contributed to mental health issues.