Durham University has had to apologise after students planned a ‘Thatcher’s Government vs. the miners’ themed rugby party.
The event was organised by a group of students who appear to have been members of Trevelyan College Rugby Club.
Members of the team were told to dress as ‘m-i-n-e-r-s’, with instructions for ‘flat caps, filth and a general disregard for personal safety’.
The ‘forwards vs backs event’ invitation read: ‘Think pickaxes. Think headlamps. Think 12 per cent unemployment in 1984…’
Durham University has had to apologise after students planned a ‘Thatcher’s Government vs. the miners’ themed rugby party. The event was organised by a group of students who appear to have been members of Trevelyan College Rugby Club
Meanwhile, the ‘backs’ were told to dress as members of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.
The Facebook post said: ‘You are to elect one member to come as the Iron Lady herself. We want variety too, so a few working-class-beating-bobbys wouldn’t go amiss.
‘Nor would a few Falklands war heroes. You get the gist.’
The party, which has now been cancelled, was described as ‘a confrontation higher than the Battle of Orgreave’ and illustrated by an image of striking miners clashing with a line of policemen.
The ‘Battle of Orgreave’ was one of the most violent clashes of the miners’ strike, taking place at the Orgreave coke plant in South Yorkshire in June 1984.
A total of 95 miners were arrested and faced long prison sentences.
But the case against them collapsed, and police were accused of disproportionate violence and unprovoked assault.
Activists have long called for an inquiry into whether police used excessive force and sparked the violence against the strikers.
The Durham Miners’ Association said they had ‘deep concerns’ about the party, which has been condemned as ‘wholly unacceptable’ by the university.
The Battle of Orgreave (pictured above) was one of the most violent clashes of the miners’ strike, taking place at the Orgreave coke plant in South Yorkshire in June 1984
It is not the first time the North-east Russell Group University has come under fire for its societies.
Earlier this year it apologised after its Islamic Society handed out terror booklets written by a hate preacher, saying ‘every Muslim should be a terrorist’.
Last year the Durham University Champagne Society was investigated after its summer ball turned into a drug and alcohol-fuelled ‘orgy’, where students risked their lives by running naked into a lake.
Owen Adams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Durham University, said: ‘Durham University and Trevelyan College utterly deplore this event which is wholly unacceptable.
‘The event has been cancelled by the students concerned. We are speaking to those students and we are considering what further action to take in due course.
‘Durham University is extremely proud of the positive contribution it makes to Durham City and North East England and our place in the rich heritage of this region.
‘We know that most students are active and positive residents of their communities. For example, students undertook more than 14,000 hours of volunteering last year.’ He said the university ‘reserves the right to take appropriate action’ against students who fall short of its standards.
The Miners’ Association, who had pledged to write to the university about the event, described the response as ‘swift and appropriate action’.