by Alex Jennings on Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:44 am
I indeed find it frightening that I am the only person on the BoT that remembers debates Pre-Peter. God, I'm one of the only currently matriculated students that remembers the Weigler, um, incident.
At any rate, this is what I'd like to say. I have sat through incredibly painful debates in my time at St Andrews - some the fault of the speakers in them, some the motion, some the audience - and the need to drink has been high. However, in all my time here, I have never shown up to the Chamber so drunk that I have been falling over and making an ass of myself. I have never heckled from the audience in an inappropriate way. I also daresay that all of these things have not been epidemic in the recent years (at least in my memory).
No, the biggest problem with the UDS is not that it ever actually was an Old Boys' Club, a Drinking Society and a Safe Haven for those somewhere to the right of Ghengis Khan, the biggest problem is that some silly people within the society believe it used to be and do all they can to "emulate the old ways."
All you have to do is look at this thread. There are people who have been involved in the society longer than any of us currently at this university have and they agree that the behaviour and decorum that we are describing is unacceptable. It has always been unacceptable. The people that we have had problems with in the past few years have been relatively few in number - but they have been vocal. They are the ones who shout, "Gown" over and over again and intimidate people not to speak. They are the ones that bring bottles of wine into the chamber and drink them ostentatiously during the debate. These are the people who are rude and nonsensical during floor speeches.
The problem isn't so much drunkenness. The problem is much deeper than that. The debating society is not an old boys' club. It's not a drinking club. Moreover, it has not been traditionally a club to maintain incredibly right-wing beliefs. I wonder if some of these people have ever spoken to or met our predecessors. Sexist and prejudiced behaviour needs to be ruled out of order. If you do not understand the difference between good-natured jokes amongst speakers at the table and making comments that are offensive and petty, you shouldn't be saying them at all.
[hr]
"Look, I told you when we met that I was not a leprechaun, that I was from Rhode Island, and that I was half Korean, but you said it didn't matter."
"Look, I told you when we met that I was not a leprechaun, that I was from Rhode Island, and that I was half Korean, but you said it didn't matter."