Cambridge University union bans military from Freshers’ Fair events because their presence could ‘trigger’ students with mental health issues
- Cambridge University students voted to ban personnel from any Freshers’ Fairs
- Military personnel carrying weapons could ‘trigger’ students with anxiety issues
- The motion – proposed by union officer Stella Swain – passed with 55% approval
Cambridge University Students’ Union has said that having military personnel at their freshers’ fair is ‘alarming’ for attendees and could ‘affect’ their mental health.
Students voted in favour of banning societies from bringing firearms to the annual fairs after union welfare and rights officer Stella Swain suggested those with mental health issues could find their presence ‘triggering’.
The motion said that the presence of military personnel carrying firearms at the fair indicate ‘implicit approval of their use, despite the links between military and firearms and violence on an international scale’.
Students voted in favour of banning societies from bringing firearms to the annual fairs after union welfare and rights officer Stella Swain suggested those with mental health issues could find their presence ‘triggering’
Ms Swain, who proposed the motion which passed with 55 per cent approval, said that the union was committed to demilitarisation efforts within the university, and therefore should not be a place for ‘military organisations to recruit’.
‘The presence of firearms and military personnel at freshers’ fair is alarming and off-putting for some students, and has the potential to detrimentally affect students’ mental welfare,’ the motion said.
Former commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp labelled the motion as ‘pathetic, to say the very least,’ the Daily Telegraph reported.
‘I would suggest this is nothing to do with the military as such. It is just yet another effort, as we have seen in so many of these student motions at various universities, to undermine British society.
Cambridge University Students’ Union has said that having military personnel at their freshers’ fair is ‘alarming’ for attendees and could ‘affect’ their mental health
‘Without the Armed Forces these students wouldn’t be able to study, they are only able to because the country has been protected and defended by the British Army.’
He added that many students from the university had fought and died in the Armed Forces, and that the motion lacked respect for their sacrifice.
In 2018, the union voted down a motion to promote Remembrance Sunday citing fears about the ‘glorification’ of conflict.
MailOnline has approached CUSU for comment.