Oxford Union
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:OxfordUnion20040228CopyrightKaihsuTai.png The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a private debating society in the city of Oxford, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1823 using the Cambridge Union as a model, and gained a worldwide reputation for the cut and thrust of its debate, proving a valuable training ground for many future British prime ministers.
Contents |
Status and Membership
The Oxford Union is an unincorporated association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members, and governed by its rules (which form a multi-partite contract between the members).
Only members of Oxford University are eligible to become life members of the Union, but students at Oxford Brookes University and certain other educational institutions are entitled to join for the duration of their time in Oxford. Shorter membership is also extended to those participating in some visiting study programmes in Oxford.
The Union buildings are owned by a separate charitable trust, the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust.
The Union buildings
The Oxford Union buildings are located in Frewin Court, off Cornmarket Street, and on St. Michael's Street. The original Union buildings were designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1879. This was about a decade after the completion of the Cambridge Union's premises, also designed by Waterhouse, and the exterior of the two buildings was very similar.
Image:OxfordUnionTwo20040228CopyrightKaihsuTai.png A debating chamber was subsequently added, but the Union's growing membership meant that it became too small, and is now the "Old Library". The current debating chamber, and several further extensions to the main buildings were added over the next forty years. The final extension was completed in 1922, adding a dining room and a second library, together with basement library stacks.
Some rooms in the Union are named for figures from the Union's past (Macmillan Room, Goodman Library).
The cellars of the Union have been used as a night club for several decades, and are now run by a third party, under the brand "Purple Turtle". The Purple Turtle was opened by former Deputy Prime Minister and Union President Michael Heseltine.
Debating
Debating at the Oxford Union takes two forms, competitive debating, and chamber debating.
Competitive debating is the preserve of a minority of members of the Union. The Union's best debaters compete internationally against other top debating societies, and the Oxford Union regularly fields one of the most successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championship (which the Union hosted in 1993) and the European Universities Debating Championship. The Union also runs a number of internal debating competitions, an prestigious annual intervarsity tournament, and a schools debating competition.
Chamber debating, including the debates (known as Public Business Meetings) with invited guest speakers for which the Union is best known, tends to be less formalised (even if more formal) than competitive debates, and the manner of delivery is closer to public speaking, with audience engagement far more important.
The Union and the Student Union
The Oxford Union is often confused with the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU). OUSU is the officially recognised student representative body of the University of Oxford, and all members of the University are members of OUSU. Unlike almost all other British university student unions, OUSU has no central building to provide a venue for students, only a set of administrative offices, and does not generally organise social events. This stems largely from the fact that each of the University's Colleges has its own Junior Common Room, or JCR which provides many of the functions, albeit on a smaller scale, that would otherwise be provided by a central student union.
OLDUT and OUS
It is not generally recognised (either by the outside world, or the Union's members) that the Oxford Union Society does not own its buildings. The Union was never financially secure, and its position was not helped by its termly changes of junior (i.e. student) officers. There was also a significant level of historic debt, associated with the erection of its buildings.
Following a particularly bad period in the 1970s, the Union buildings were sold to a charitable trust ("OLDUT", the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust), and the Oxford Union Society was granted a licence to occupy the building.
Several parts of what were historically the Union buildings and grounds were subsequently either sold or made the subject of long leases, including an area of land around the rear of the debating chamber, part of the Union cellars (adjoining that now occupied by the Purple Turtle), and part of what was formerly the Steward's house (now occupied by the Landmark Trust). OLDUT has subsequently paid for the refurbishment and maintenance of the Union buildings, both from its own resources and by securing private donations and grant funding.
As a result of OLDUT's creation, the future of the physical Union is now secured, so that even if the Oxford Union Society were to cease to be, or to fail financially, the buildings would not be lost. In addition, OLDUT provides some financial support for the running of the Union in those areas where the Union undertakes activities which match OLDUT's charitable objectives - particularly the operation of the Union's library.
Despite the importance of OLDUT in preserving the fabric of the Union Union, the relationship between OLDUT and OUS has at times been strained. OLDUT is first and foremost a charitable trust, and it has objectives which do not always match those of what is primarily a student society. It sometimes been suspected by members of the Union that OLDUT has desired and achieved a role in the running of the Union which had no basis in the Union's own constitution and did not involve the vast majority of its ordinary members. Whatever the truth of this, OLDUT would clearly prefer the Union to be run on a more professional basis.
Notable Speakers
The Oxford Union has a long history of hosting international figures and celebrities.[1] Previous guests have included the Dalai Lama, Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, Winston Churchill, Jenna Jameson, Diego Maradona, Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Uri Geller, Jon Bon Jovi, OJ Simpson, David Blaine, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Ron Jeremy, Michael Jackson, Jerry Springer, Jerry Hall and Kermit the Frog.
Free Speech
The Oxford Union has long associated itself with freedom of speech, most famously by debating and passing the motion "This House would under no circumstances fight for its King and country" in 1933.
What is generally forgotten (but arguably more significant as an example of the Union's commitment to freedom of speech) is that an attempt was made by several prominent Union members (including Randolph Churchill) to expunge this motion and the result of the debate from the Union's minute book. This attempt was roundly defeated - in a meeting far better attended than the original debate.
Harold MacMillan called the Oxford Union "...the last bastion of free speech in the Western world.", a quote which continues to feature prominently in the Union's publicity.
However, the Union's commitment to free speech has been tested by pressure to deny platforms to controversial speakers. An invitation to the historian David Irving to speak in a debate on censorship in 2001 was met by a coordinated campaign by left-wing, Jewish, and anti-facist groups, together with the elected leadership of the Oxford University Student Union, to have the invitation withdrawn. Despite the fact that there was no mechanism in the Union's constitution by which members could compel the President - who is responsible for organising debates - to either cancel a debate or withdraw an invitation to a particular speaker, attempts were made to pass a Union motion ordering her to do so. Following a particularly bitter meeting of Union members, and a subsequent meeting of the Union's governing body, the Standing Committee, the President decided the debate would have to be cancelled.[2]
A previous debate which was to have involved the far-right leader John Tyndall was met with a similar campaign in 1998, although that debate was cancelled on police advice following a series of racially motivated nail-bombings in London, rather than as a result of the opposition.[3]
Governance
The Oxford Union is run by the Standing Committee, consisting of the junior officers (President, Junior Librarian, Junior Treasurer, and Secretary), the junior officers elect (President-elect and Junior Treasurer-elect), five elected members, any former junior officers who have chosen to serve, and the Chairman of the Consultative Committee. The Standing Committee is also attended ex-officio by the Returning Officer (responsible for the conduct of the Union's elections and for advising on the interpretation of the Union's rules). The Union also has two senior officers, the Senior Librarian and Senior Treasurer (generally Oxford academics but must be members of the Union) who advise the Standing Committee.
The junior officers each have specific areas of responsibility, such as debates (President), "speaker meetings" (President and Librarian), sponsorship and funding (Junior Treasurer), and social events (Secretary). The junior officers-elect spend a term preparing their area, before assuming their office.
A number of other committee run or advise the running of various aspects of the Union, including the Wines and Spirits Committee (the Union's bar), the Cellar Management Committee (responsible for liaison with the management of the Purple Turtle), the Library Committe (responsible principally for library acquisitions), and the Finance Committee (which advises the Standing Committee on financial matters). Two further committees, the Secretary's Committee and the Consultative Committee, are not, despite their names, committees.
The Secretary's Committee consists of nine elected members who assist at the Union's social functions, and is generally the first stage for any aspiring Union politician.
The Consultative Committee is a weekly public meeting held during term time, at which members can informally question the junior officers and members of the Union's committees on the performance of their duties.
The Chairman of the Consultative Committe (who is elected termly, but in a ballot conducted at the final meeting of the term, not during the Union's main election) is the Union's publicity officer, responsible for publishing publicity, and for the management of the Union's website.
The day to day management of the Union is partly conducted by professional staff, principally the Bursar and the Steward.
Past officers
Famous past presidents include:
- Tariq Ali
- Herbert Henry Asquith
- Tony Benn
- Benazir Bhutto
- Kevin Brennan
- Robin Day
- Patric Laurence Dickinson
- William Ewart Gladstone
- William Hague
- Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
- Edward Heath
- Anthony Howard
- Boris Johnson
- Robert Ensor
- Lakshman Kadirgamar
- Henry Edward Cardinal Manning
- Jeremy Thorpe
Other officers of the Union who have achieved political success include Harold Macmillan, Ann Widdecombe and Roy Jenkins.
Elections
The Union holds elections in the penultimate week of each University term, in order to allow members of the society to choose officers and committee members for the following term. The elections are held to fill the offices of President-elect, Librarian, Treasurer-elect and Secretary, as well as 5 elected positions on the Standing Committee and 9 positions on the Secretary's Committee.
References
- BBC News article on the cancellation of the debate involving John Tyndall
- BBC News article on the cancellation of the debate involving David Irving
- BBC News general article on Oxford Union history