EXCLUSIVE: An interview with Pat and Sunny

So, tell us how the announcement came about.

Pat Mathewson: “The sentiment has been there for a long time. I realised sometime during my second year that things needed to change – the Club was stagnant and stuck in old ways that claimed to be ‘traditional’.  As members we were promised so much. Kate Kennedy shows this great potential that can’t be realised without the admission of women members.”

Sunny Moodie: “Change needed to happen from the inside out – we have been canvassing internally for months and months, since last year. We’re so aware of the bad image the Club has because of the exclusion of women. The real issue is how should public institutions operate in this day and age? The Kate Kennedy club can’t carry on the way it has. I can’t believe I didn’t see it straight away from first year.”

What’s your motivation for resigning and the creation of the Kate Kennedy Fellowship?

Sunny: “It’s not just about equal admission opportunities for women students. The Kate Kennedy Club is founded on traditions of charity work and strengthening town and gown relations. The potential of the Club is crushed without the admission of women which would allow greater work to be done, more money to be raised, it could all be done better and bigger.”

Pat: “The reason they give for not allowing women admission is that it would affect the ‘camaraderie’ of the Club. This is a poor argument that doesn’t stand up – it is logically impossible for them to continue as a club.”

How do you feel about Principal Louise Richardson’s supportive mass email?

Sunny: “It is more than kind that she supported us…but we are small stewards in something that is much bigger than just the two of us.”

What next?

Sunny: “The opportunity for change is now. We are calling for students, if they really believe in this issue, to come forward and support us. Email the KK Club, our rector, the SRC, the President – shout it from the rooftops if you really believe in this issue like we do.”

Pat: “We are happy with our decision – but a lot has been sacrificed. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do – we’ve lost a lot of good friends. This is a forward looking move – there’s nothing bitter about it. This is just the beginning. It is definitely a case of ‘to be continued’. It’s little about what’s old and broken, but now what’s new and right.”

Written by the newsstand team