Cambridge Union Society

The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Cambridge Union, is a private debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Throughout its nearly two centuries of continuous operation, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of free speech and open debate. Additionally, as one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the world, the Cambridge Union served as a model for the subsequent foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union.

The Cambridge Union was founded on February 13th, 1815 as a union of three debating societies and quickly rose to prominence in University life. Early officers have included the historian and essayist, Thomas Babington Macaulay and many subsequent Presidents and officers have gone on to become influential leaders in a wide variety of fields and professions. Just a few years after it was founded, the Union was even temporarily shut down by the University for being too contentious. Although the Union currently maintains good relations with the University, it is legally a self-funded private members' club which owns and has full control over its private property and buildings covering about 1/3 of a city block in the Cambridge city centre.

After nearly 200 years, the Cambridge Union is still best known for its debates which often receive national or international media attention. However, it also organises lectures by visiting speakers, film evenings and other social events for its members. The top members of its debating team compete internationally against other top debating societies, and Cambridge regularly fields one of the most successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championships.

Its current Bridge Street premises () were designed by Alfred Waterhouse and formally opened on October 30th, 1866, with an additional wing to the building added several decades later. The future radical Liberal politician, Sir Charles Dilke, was the President largely responsible for construction. Included among the building's many rooms are the famous debating chamber, a dining room, bar, snooker room, library, lounge rooms, a members' movie theatre and various offices. Recently, the Society's building has prooved to be a popular filming location with scenes for several British television programs and an upcoming feature length motion picture shot on the premises.

The Cambridge Union is sometimes confused with the Cambridge University Students' Union, the representative body for undergraduate students set up much more recently in 1971. Similarly, the term 'President of the Union' is also occasionally misused, for example, in reference to Charles Clarke, a former president of the students' union .

Membership of the Society

The Cambridge Union is a private society and traditionally membership is only open to members of the University of Cambridge, although more recently membership has been made available to students at several other educational institutions in Cambridge. The society is not open to the general public; however, members are often able to bring guests to certain functions and some events are made available to the public for free or through the purchase of a ticket.

The society awards honorary memberships to particularly distinguished individuals including the recent presentation of an honorary membership to former Chief UN Weapons Inspector Dr. Hans Blix. The Cambridge Union also maintains reciprocal membership policies with similar societies such as the Yale Political Union, Oxford Union Society and Durham Union Society.

Events of the Society

The Union is most famous for its debates, typically held on Thursday evenings during University Terms, although many other events such as speaker meetings or entertainments are also popular with members. Some traditional debating motions, such as “This House Has No Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government” are typically held once per year, although most motions for debate are novel and selected by the current President for that term. To maintain the highest quality of intellectual discussion, the Union seeks to bring in top experts and figures relevant to the motion up for debate. Traditionally, the proposition and opposition each feature three speakers, alternating between the two sides, and at the conclusion of the debate the members of the house divide and vote on the motion by exiting the debating chamber through one of three doors for “Ayes,” “Noes,” or “Abstention.” Union officials quickly tally the vote by counting the number of members walking through each door, and the final result is then officially announced a few moments later, usually in the Union’s bar, by the Secretary and Vice President.

The Union also continues to attract eminent speakers from the UK and across the globe. Recent visitors have included President Reagan, Queen Noor of Jordan, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Gillian Anderson, Michael Moore, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Secretary General of NATO, and Bruce Forsyth as well as a multitude of British politicians.

The Society’s Leadership

The Standing Committee, the Union’s primary day-to-day managing body, consists of the current President, Secretary and Officers, the President-Elect and Officers-Elect, any ex officio Presidents or Secretaries currently resident in Cambridge, and three senior positions, filled by senior members of the University of MA standing or higher, consisting of the Senior Treasurer, Senior Librarian, and Steward. The standing committee appoints or elects several positions in the society including the Secretary/Vice-President and the Executive Department which includes positions such as the Director of Recruitment, Director of Communications, Director of Information Technology and a Press Secretary.

Description of Major Positions

President - The President is the Chairman of Debates and is also responsible for overseeing the planning of other events during their term in office. They are assisted by the Senior Officer, Ents Officer and Treasurer for their term. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

Secretary and Vice President - The Secretary and Vice President (SVP) is the chief executive office within the Society and is responsible for managing the general business of the society, its premises and maintaining official records. The SVP is also Chairman of the Executive Department with the unique Constitutional authority to appoint any member to an Executive Directorship to assist in running the Society. Term in office is one calendar year (March-March).

Treasurer - The Treasurer, officially called the Junior Treasurer, is responsible for raising sponsorship funds for their term, maintaining relations with corporations and local businesses, running merchandising operations, and organising any other general fundraising activities. The Junior Treasurer is not intimately involved with the overall finances of the Society as this is more in line with the role of the Senior Treasurer. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

Senior Officer - The Senior Officer is responsible for organising the term's lineup of guest speaker meetings and holds an archaic oversight role as Chair of the Library Committee. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

Entertainments Officer - The Entertainments, or Ents, Officer is responsible for organising the term's lineup of social events including bops, tastings and other events such as aerobics nights or speed dating. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

Director of Debating - The office of Director of Debating is often jointly held by two individuals who are responsible for organizing the Society's activities in relation to competitive debating. Term in office is one calendar year (March-March).

External Committee - The members of the External Committee assist the officers with their duties and, in practice, also work alongside the members of the House Committee in staffing events. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

House Committee - The members of the House Committee are responsible for providing staffing for events including checking membership cards at the door or serving as fire stewards when the Debating Chamber is in use. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (~14-23 weeks).

The Senior Officers - The Senior Treasurer is responsible for maintaining a day-to-day eye on the Society's finances. The Steward is responsible for advising the Standing Committee on legal and code matters. The Senior Librarian is responsible for the administration of the Society's extensive library. Each of the Senior Officers hold one year terms, but it is common for the same individual to serve many successive terms.

In addition to these posts the Society also maintains an employed staff consisting of an accountant, office managers, a bar manager and additional contracted service employees for cleaning and catering.

Presidents of the Cambridge Union Society include John Maynard Keynes, Rab Butler, Archbishop Michael Ramsey, Douglas Hurd (former British Foreign Secretary), Ken Clarke (former British Chancellor of the Exchequer), Michael Howard (former Home Secretary and former leader of the Conservative Party), Chris Smith and Arianna Huffington. Recent Presidents and Officers have continued to move into the law, academia, the media and politics. Recent former Presidents include Clare Balding, one of the BBC's leading sports broadcasters, Chris Kelly, a Cambridge University Lecturer on Roman History and Rana Mitter, an Oxford University Lecturer in the History and Politics of Modern China. Others are following the 'traditional' route into politics. Gavin Barwell is Head of Operations at Conservative Central Office. Several ex-Presidents were parliamentary candidates in the 2001 and 2005 general elections. However, increasing numbers of Union Presidents and Officers of the last decade have gone on to careers in business, and management consultancy in particular.

Interesting Facts and Trivia on The Cambridge Union Society

Nazis Bomb the Union: Although Cambridge escaped virtually undamaged from the massive destruction of World War II in Europe, the Union's building was hit by a bomb dropped during one aerial attack. The explosion caused extensive damage to the Society's library and even today some books show clearly visible shrapnel wounds.

Fictional Presidents: In addition to the long list of real life distinguished individuals that have been former Presidents and Officers of the Cambridge Union, Will Bailey, a fictional character on The West Wing, a US television drama series, claimed to have been a "former president of Cambridge Union on a Marshall Scholarship." In the real world, the Treasurer for Lent 2006 and Secretary and Vice President 2006-7 is a Marshall Scholar.

National Union of Students: Despite the Cambridge Union Society never having been a students' union in the modern sense, it did briefly affiliate to the UK's National Union of Students in 1924.

Interesting aspects of the constitution: The Cambridge Union is famous within the University for having a very long and complicated constitution; it is a common rumour that the constitution is longer than the entire Constitution of Canada. This is in fact untrue, but only just: a quick count puts the Union constitution at 31309 words while the complete Constitution of Canada is 31575 words long .

For some time, one of the more obscure rules was a Presidential Interpretation brought into effect on 8 March 1956 by the then President Mr M. D. Rosenhead of St John's College: "In Chapter IV, Section 9, the word "dog" applies to any centipede". The section in question reads "No member shall bring or allow to be brought a dog into the Society’s premises unless it be a guidedog". However, all such interpretations are recorded in an official Presidential Interpretations Book and the Union's constitution was updated to reflect the original wording: ...quadruped.

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References

1815 establishments | British student societies | Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge | Presidents of the Cambridge Union Society | Student debating societies