LSE Students' Union News

Nona Buckley-Irvine, LSE Students’ Union’s General Secretary, said

“After considered deliberation and a wide investigation, LSE Men’s Rugby Club will be disbanded for the rest of the academic year and not be allowed to represent LSE or LSESU. They will be withdrawn from any competitions already entered into.

These decisions are not easy. However, it is right for our Athletics’ Union, our Students’ Union, and the university to make this move. We hope that this will enable our community to draw a line under this incident, and focus on the overwhelmingly positive contribution that other sports clubs have on our time at LSE.

The booklets distributed by the Rugby Club are clearly sexist, and demonstrate a culture within a club that is unable to challenge misogyny, sexism and homophobia. This culture, and how leaders within the Club have allowed it to prevail, has brought shame onto the Club itself, the Athletics’ Union and the wider student community.

It is important to note that in our investigations with members, the Club was blamed as the body who produced, edited, and gave out the booklet. Not one person within the Club was willing to take personal responsibility for the booklets. In this case, responsibility does have to fall onto both individuals and the Club as a whole, and individuals will be sanctioned separately in addition to this decision concerning the Club.

The persistence in which the Club references ‘polys’ and abusing ‘polys’ is not fitting of the LSE community. This snobbery towards students from other universities is unacceptable. The LSE is a great institution, but that doesn’t excuse elitism or classism. The perpetrators should know that they are extremely lucky to have been granted a place at one of the country’s top universities, and references such as these are a complete abuse of their privileged position.

What makes this incident even more shocking is that is so far removed from the experiences of over 2,500 students playing for over 50 sports clubs at LSE.

These sanctions will be part of a wider programme of positive action. The impact of this controversy has affected the AU and our community in an unprecedented fashion. Our reputation needs to be upheld, and our strong positive sporting atmosphere highlighted. LSE sport is fantastic; the actions of a minority do not stand for clubs as a whole. We will work with clubs to highlight our successes, our positive social events, and the leaders within them.

Our actions in disbanding the club demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, and our commitment to challenging cultures that allow misogyny, sexism or homophobia to exist. However, we do want students at LSE to play rugby - but our greater obligation is to lay to rest the existing culture and seek to establish a new one for the club. We hope that this will create a fantastic opportunity to start anew in a year’s time.

These past few days have been incredibly difficult. But, we have been so proud to stand together as a Union and be able to discuss these issues and openly condemn acts of misogyny, sexism, homophobia, and classism. The hosting of women’s only and LGBT only spaces is indicative of a Union of students that want to work together to be an inclusive, positive community. We are a strong, diverse, and active community. We can lead the way. It’s time to start moving forward together in really tackling issues of discrimination, and together we can.”

NOTES

1. Nona Buckley-Irvine, LSESU General Secretary, will be available for comment via su.generalsecretary@lse.ac.uk
   
2. There are nearly 11,000 students studying at LSE, with nearly 7,000 joining societies in 2013/14 and nearly 50% of all undergraduates voting
3. Over 2,500 students joined LSE sports clubs in 2013/14 representing over 50 sports clubs
4. The Women’s Rugby Club is a separate club, and their statement can be read here.
   
5. The previous statement, released on Sunday 5 October can be read here.