Extract from President's Report to Council
Then came the really odd bit of the meeting - Hatfield. The proposal from the Principals of Hatfield, Chad's and Castle was that Hatfield go mixed next year and Chad's and Castle two years after that. Despite the lobby organised by the Men of Hatfield, and the report they had submitted, I didn't hold out much hope and when Dr Barber (Master of Hatfield) began by complementing his JCR on their campaign, I was sure we had lost it.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so we weighed in on behalf of Hatfield JCR. That's where the first surprise came - people started agreeing with us. They started making reasonable suggestions, like "If Hatfield is divided, but Chad's and Castle are both united, why make Hatfield go first? Why not one of the others?"
Then someone asked whether Senate had to decide straight away. That's when the second surprise came. We had to decide there and then, because UCCA were holding up the printing of their handbook until we decided. Well that was it. If there's one thing Senate resents, it's being forced to take a decision. That's when we knew we had a chance.
The VC was on the spot. Opinion was clearly divided. So what do Senate do when opinion is divided? Refer it to a committee. But there wasn't time. A decision had to be taken. Senate had to vote.
Fair enough, I hear you say. But Senate never votes. Council never votes. No university committee ever votes. If a meeting isn't (nearly) unanimous it's referred to a committee.
But this time they had to vote. So they did, not once, but three times. First they decided that the planned timetable wasn't acceptable. Then they decided that one men's college should go mixed next year. Then they decided that it should be Castle.
So there it is, I still don't really know how it happened. However, whatever one's views one the issue, it has to be seen as some sort of a victory for student power, even if a small one. Except to Hatfield JCR that is.