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Archive for the ‘Photographs’ Category

Officers and Committee for Lent 2011

Following the Elections and TGM, the following members are elected to serve as the Executive and Committee for Lent Term 2011

Officers

Chairman

Callum Wood, Queens’ College

poel.jpg poel picture by HughBurling

Vice-Chairman

Christopher G. Poel, Queens’ College

Junior Treasurer

Sophie PricePeterhouse

Campaigns Officer

James Wakeley, Clare College

Secretary

Mr Ed Turnham, Christ’s College

egistrar

Matt Johnson, Queens’ College

Committee

Rachael HarrisonRachaelharrisonCaius College

Robert Thomasthomas.jpg thomas picture by HughBurling Trinity College

William Hess Peterhouse

Edward Ng-Cordell Downing

Nicholas CrawfordCaius College

Christian Gowers
Caius College

James Mottram
Selwyn College

John Messent
Caius College

Officers and Committee – Michaelmas 2010

Tagged: Photographs

Following the Elections and TGM, the following members are elected to serve as the Executive and Committee for Michaelmas 2010

Officers

Chairman

Fergus McGhee, Trinity College

Vice-Chairman

Callum Wood, Queens’ College

Junior Treasurer

Christopher Stanton Peterhouse

Rachaelharrison

Campaigns Officer

Rachael Harrison, Gonville and Caius College

Secretary

Matt Johnson, Queens’ College

poel.jpg poel picture by HughBurling

Registrar

Christopher G. Poel, Queens’ College

Committee

Laura Brazier New Hall

Robert Thomasthomas.jpg thomas picture by HughBurling Trinity College

Aidan SneeAidan SneeCaius

Edward Ng-Cordell Edward Ng CordellDowning

Aaron Schroeder-Willis Trinity College

Mr Edward Turnhamturnham.jpg turnham picture by HughBurling
Christ’s College

Albert BeardowAlbertChrist’s College

Joseph Sanderson sanderson.jpg sanderson picture by HughBurling
Jesus College

Election Night

Tagged: Conservative Party, democracy, General Election, Photographs

I thought this looked quite nice.

Association Rules

Tagged: Callum Wood, Letters, Matthew Parris, The Times

Officers and Committee for Lent 2010

Following the Elections and TGM of 28th November the following members are elected to serve as the Executive and Committee for Lent 2009

Officers

Gavinprofile

Chairman

Gavin Rice, Queens’ College

n511956653_1627343_43391

Vice-ChairmanJohn Oxley, Gonville and Caius College

Fergus McGhee

Junior TreasurerFergus McGhee, Trinity College

Rachaelharrison

Campaigns OfficerRachael Harrison, Gonville and Caius College

poel

SecretaryChristopher G. Poel, Queens’ College
callumathuff
RegistrarCallum Wood, Queens’ College

Committee

Christian GowersGowersCaius College

Ben SlingoCardinalSlingoSt Peter’s College

Albert BeardowAlbertChrist’s College

Officers and Committee for Michaelmas 2009

Following the Elections and TGM of 12th June, the following members are elected to serve as the Executive and Committee for Michaelmas 2009

Officers

6490_666269947889_36820920_39701859_6404598_n1

Chairman
Caroline Cummins, Newnham College

n506181923_788053_8645

Vice-Chairman
Gavin Rice, Queens’ College

Fergus McGhee

Junior Treasurer
Fergus McGhee, Trinity College

Jazzy with Cazzy - Copy

Campaigns Officer
Callum Wood, Queens’ College

charles

Secretary
Charles Read, Christ’s College
n511956653_1627343_43391
Registrar
John Oxley, Gonville and Caius College

Committee

Daniel BenedykDaniel BenedykChrist’s College

Miss Dominique Isten637237586_555148_610

Homerton

Alex Kungn515129413_1814597_9723

Magdalene College

Alex Cakiralex-cakirSt John’s College
Miss Emma KirbykirbySidney Sussex College Christopher G PoelpoelQueens’ College
Hugh BurlingHugh Burling[Chairman Easter '09] Ben SlingoSlingoPeterhouse

The Cambridge Union is Proud of Margaret Thatcher

Tagged: Cambridge Union Society, economics, freedom, Labour, Left-wing, markets, Reagan, Thatcher

Cambridge Union rightly voted in favour of the motion “This House is proud of Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister”. John Redwood, james-sharpe-in-the-chairPeter Lilley and Edward Leigh did a great job of standing up for Mrs Thatcher. Our own James Winfield Arthur Edward Sharpe III chaired the debate, resplendent in his white tie outfit. See him in action here.

Come discuss the result at PORT AND CHEESE on SATURDAY 9th MAY in the Green Room of Caius College. £6 for members else £8 .

Excerpt from John Redwood’s Blog:

“I said five things that I felt needed saying.

1. Margaret in office was always most concerned personally about people around her, supporting them in dredwood-speakingifficulties, writing notes to them at times of trouble and showing great courtesy. She would always ask what could the UK do to help whenever she heard of a tragedy anywhere in the world. She was the best boss I ever worked for.

2. She helped Ronnie Reagan win the Cold War. Surely it is good news that Eastern Europe has been liberated from the grip of communism? That was only possible because the Western alliance was resolute in the 1980s.

3. At home she introduced demcoracy to the Unions. She wanted Aurthur Scragill to ballot his members about a strike. His failure to do so split his Union, and represented a challenge to the legal authority of Parliament.

4. She allowed many more people to buy their own home, and shares in the business they worked for. She believed in empowering more people through ownership. She championed the worker and the saver against the vested interests of the establishment.redwood-replying

5. She taxed the rich more . She knew that if you set lower and more realistic rates of tax, the rich will come here, stay here, create jobs here. It worked. Mr Blair kept those rates. Mr Brown is changing them in a way which will damage both the country and his party.”

 

 

 

Coming Up:

CUCA Speaker Meetings are FREE and OPEN TO ALL

Owen Paterson (with CUIS)

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

-11th May  – Kennedy Room of CUS at 715.

Michael Howard 

Home Secretary ’93-’97 (crime down 18%); Party Leader ’03-’05 (seats up to 198); President of CUCA

12th May – Kennedy Room of CUS at 7pmmichaelhoward

For Dinner with our speakers afterwards, please contact the Chairman (hdpb2)

Officers and Committee, Easter 2009

Following the TGM of 27th Februray, the following members are elected to serve as the Executive and Committee for Easter 2009

Officers

hugh-burling

Chairman
Hugh Burling, St John’s College

caroline

Vice-Chairman
Caroline Cummins, Newnham College

Fergus McGhee

Junior Treasurer
Fergus McGhee, Trinity College

Callum Wood, Campaigns Officer 2009


Campaigns Officer
Callum Wood, Queens’ College

gavin-hugh-henry

Secretary
Gavin Rice, Queens’ College

charles

Registrar
Charles Read, Christ’s College

Committee

henry Henry Walton – Magdalene College

nick-copy Nick Hobbs- Magdalene College

n637237586_555148_610 Dominique Iste – Homerton

n515129413_1814597_9723 Alex Kung – Magdalene College

joxley John Oxley – Gonville and Caius

aaron Aaron Schroeder – Trinity College

stanton Christopher Stanton – Peterhouse

CUCA Commiitee Easter 09

Good and irrelevant discrimination

Tagged: discrimination, education, equality

“It especially annoys me when racists are accused of ‘discrimination.’ The ability to discriminate is a precious facility; by judging all members of one ‘race’ to be the same, the racist precisely shows himself incapable of discrimination.”

Attributed to Christopher Hitchens

“Discrimination” is condemned widely nowadays, but usually not understood. Without committing the etymological fallacy, the word “discrimination” comes from the Latin “discriminare”, meaning “to divide”, which comes from “discernere”, to discern. Someone who can discriminate is someone who can tell the difference between things or people, and treat different things or people differently. We discriminate all the time: it’s part of ordinary life. Clearly, some (most) discrimination is good.

In the case of universities, an admissions tutor who admits the most intelligent or promising students is discriminating between candidates: namely, the good-enough candidates and the not-good-enough candidates. This discrimination is good because it is relevant. If we failed in our duty to discriminate between candidates, given the limited supply of places at Cambridge University, we would end up admitting worse candidates at the expense of better ones.

If, on the other hand, admissions tutors were to be influenced by irrelevant factors, such as race or background, and discriminate on those grounds, we would also end up admitting sub-par candidates.

Too often, people criticise “discrimination” when they really should be criticising “irrelevant discrimination”. Discriminating on irrelevant grounds creates sub-optimal outcomes, but failing to discriminate on relevant grounds also creates sub-optimal outcomes. We have a duty not to discriminate on irrelevant grounds, but we also have a duty to discriminate on relevant grounds. Sloppiness with language prevents useful debate on this issue from taking place.

I was pleased, therefore, to read that Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard has condemned attempts by the government to encourage universities to recruit more pupils from state schools.

Obviously admissions tutors should only take into account a candidate’s ability. There is no such thing as “positive [irrelevant] discrimination”: any irrelevant discrimination is bad.

As Thomas Sowell has pointed out, “You are not doing anybody a favor by sending them where they are more likely to fail, rather than where they are more likely to succeed.”

In the case of “affirmative action” in the US, “where the racial preferences in admissions are not as great, the differences in graduation rates are not as great. The critics of affirmative action were right: Racial preferences reduce the prospects of black students graduating.”

Discriminating on the grounds of race is irrelevant discrimination and reduces efficiency and overall welfare. Discriminating on the grounds of what school someone went to is also irrelevant discrimination and will have the same effect, ultimately hurting those it is intended to help.

41% of the students at Cambridge went to private school, but private schools educate only 7% of the pupils in the country. Why do so many more (proportionally) private school pupils get into Cambridge?

One explanation would be discrimination in their favour. However, there is no evidence for this1. Laudably, the copies of our UCAS forms that are given to admissions tutors do not mention which schools we went to. There is no reason to believe that Cambridge admissions tutors do not simply admit whichever candidates seem the best.

This leads us to the conclusion that private schooled pupils are better, on average. This may be because the pupils were better in the first place, because private schools are selective. Or it may be because private schools make their pupils better, through better teaching. It is probably a bit of both.

We can fix both problems by closing state-run schools, and making paying for education through a voucher system the state’s only involvement. That way, the market can improve the schools, something the government cannot do, but everyone would still be able to go to school regardless of their income.

The government are putting pressure on universities because they do not want to admit the real cause of state-schooled-pupil under-achievement: government involvement in education.

“A spokesman for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills insisted that any measures to encourage widening participation at universities were voluntary. ‘We value the independence of universities, but we also want to get the best students into the best courses,’ he said.”

Note the implication that universities are using their “independence” to discriminate against the “best students”, without any evidence to back it up. On the contrary, universities are using their independence to admit the best students, and it is the government that wants them to apply other criteria. And voluntary measures are merely a prelude to non-voluntary ones, of course. There is a chilling effect here, because universities are likely to do what they know the government wants, even without it asking, in an attempt to forestall more government meddling, since the government provides the money. As another vice-chancellor said: “The Government gives me a cheque every year. I have a public duty to do what the Government says.”

I applaud Cambridge University’s long-term project to become financially independent of the government, so that it can pay for the education of the best pupils, regardless of their financial background, without being subject to government meddling.

—

1. There is a tendency to assume that disparity in figures automatically implies bad discrimination. Both of the poisonous candidates for the CUSU Women’s Sabbatical Officer mentioned that more men than women studied maths at Cambridge, and of those, proportionally more achieved firsts. They ignorantly assumed this was caused by irrelevant discrimination. Of course, it is actually due to the fact that maths geniuses are more likely to be men. While men and women have the same average ability at maths, variance is higher in men, so there are more male maths geniuses and male maths morons. This is explained by Charles Murray in “The Inequality Taboo”. The following diagram (not to scale) shows this intuitively:

See also http://clubtroppo.com.au/2008/04/06/inequality-how-much-is-too-much/

Photos, Michaelmas 2006

Chairman: Julia Beck

Michael Howard MP with Julia Beck
Michael Howard MP with Julia Beck, Michaelmas 2006 Chairman

Julia’s Chairman’s Dinner

Alex, Tim, Stephen, Julia
Alex, Tim, Stephen, Julia

Katy, Stephen
Katy, Stephen

Nick, Katy, Richard
Nick, Katy, Richard

Xander, Julia
Xander, Julia

Alex, Julia
Alex, Julia

Tim, Julia
Tim, Julia

Port Parties

Tim, Julia
Tim, Julia

 

Kate, Tom
Kate, Tom

Tim, Julia
Tim, Julia

 

Julia, Natasha
Julia, Natasha

 

Alphamouse, Maz, Jim, Mark
Alphamouse, Maz, Jim, Mark

 

Gwilym, Julia, Ed
Gwilym, Julia, Ed

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