Whose University? The question has been at the forefront of student debate recently. A Varsity survey, however, reveals a surprising indifference to the issue. Only 53 per cent of students are in favour of a reading week, a campaign launched by CDE, backed by CUSU and with which WU? have expressed solidarity  – too many acronyms yet?

The #endweek5blues Facebook page exclaims: “Enough is enough. We’re demanding a reading week.” But with 12 per cent of students undecided or not knowing whether they support the measure, and a further 35 per cent opposing, this ‘demand’ is less overwhelming than such a call to arms implies.

And yet Varsity must come down with the 53 per cent. A reading week is the most logical way to organise academic learning; Manchester, Bristol, UCL and many other top universities use them, in addition to much longer terms – this is not revolutionary.

Why, then, do only a narrow majority of Cambridge students support it?

The rise of organisations like Whose University? seeking to reclaim Cambridge as a space for students and compile student testimonies is not only a reaction to a university that won’t listen: it is a reaction to a student voice that isn’t being articulated. The issues WU? and CDE draw attention to – feeling safe in college spaces, putting student welfare at the forefront of university planning, a reading week – fall exactly within the remit of what a student union should be doing: representing student interests on a university-wide scale.

Instead, the student voice is blurred: #endweek5blues, CDE, CUSU, WU?, TCS. 53 per cent of those surveyed were unsure whether CDE’s impact was positive or negative. In this complicated patchwork of organisations, it’s no wonder that half of students felt they couldn’t rally behind the campaign – who do they rally behind?

As a collegiate university, a Cambridge-wide student union will always have to do more to engage its students. However, this does not mean we should give up. We need a more integrated central union, that works with JCRs (including those that are disaffiliated) and advocates on students’ behalves, something other campaigns are taking on in its absence. What we have instead is a body with little relevance to students on a collegiate level and that doesn’t represent our collective interests to the university. A body which hasn’t even put the minutes for its reading week open meeting online as this editorial goes to press, despite it being three weeks into term. 

A reading week is an important measure, and the work of student campaigns like WU? and CDE is also important. It is unfortunate, however, that these campaigns would be much more likely to gain support and ultimately succeed if they were being led by an engaging, convincing student union. Whose University? It’s certainly not CUSU’s.