Cambridge students vote YES to keep class lists

The students of Cambridge have spoken, and they have voted to keep the tradition of class lists, with a looking to reforming the system instead of abolishing it.

YES and NO campaigns have run on either side of the CUSU referendum question: “Should CUSU campaign to keep the Class Lists with an easier opt- out process?”.

According to CUSU’s preliminary results, 55.23% voted YES, whereas 44.6% voted NO, giving the YES campaign a majority just shy of 11%. The yes-voter threshold of 10% was reached.

The referendum has been hotly contested over the past week. Despite the 4,758 students who voted, turnout was lower than for the NUS referendum last Easter term.

The YES result means CUSU must campaign for students to have the right to opt-out of their results being published on an unconditional basis. This would break away from the current system which demands proof of exceptional circumstances and involves liaising with your DoS, Tutor and the Senate House.

“This is democracy manifest.”

This decision can however be overruled by another student referendum, but for now, the result will determine CUSU’s course of action regarding class lists, regardless of previous policy.

In response to the result, Jack Drury from the YES Campaign said: “It has taken 2633 people to overturn a decision made by two dozen at CUSU Council: an issue on which there was unanimous agreement in Council is apparently not so clear cut. We didn’t expect, when we set up the campaign months ago, to overcome the CUSU inertia, but we reached the petition threshold, waited patiently for this referendum, and campaigned for students to be able to express their views. We are delighted that they have.”

He added: “We applaud the no campaign for their commitment to welfare, but ultimately it is clear students don’t want to be spoken for. CUSU must accept the result of this referendum and change the nature of their representations to the University accordingly.”

The final decision on the fate of class lists lies with a Regent House ballot that will be held between November 28th and December 8th.