This week in Cambridge saw alumni win seats for the Lib Dems in the local elections, Edward Snowden appear in Cambridge (via video link), and some furry new arrivals at Lucy Cav. 

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Lib-Lab stalemate in local elections
The Cambridge city council elections proved a mixed bag for Cambridge’s two main parties. University alumni Cheney-Anne Payne and Anthony Martinelli managed to capture Castle and Market wards for the Liberal Democrats while Labour gained their first councillor in Trumpington for over 70 years. The result means Labour has 26 seats on the council and a majority of 10 – no change from before the election.

CUSU Council crush refund claims
CUSU Council voted on Monday morning to reject a proposal calling for the students’ union to support refunds to students for missed teaching hours. The motion proved particularly controversial, provoking a number of clashes between CUSU council members and supporters of the proposal including Christ’s JCR Vice-President Oliver Jones. Despite this, the result was near unanimous, with only six students voting in favour of reimbursement and another two abstaining.

From Russia with leaks
NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden appeared at an event for the Cambridge University Ethics in Mathematics Society. Snowden, who has been granted temporary asylum by the Russian government appeared via video call from Moscow. In an email, EiM members were offered the opportunity to “try and decipher the name” in advance of the official identity revelation, using only a code. EiM have previously hosted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who is in hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Solidarity with survivors at Senate House
More than 800 ribbons were tied to the gates of Senate House by campaigners on Tuesday ahead of discussions on reforming the disciplinary procedure. The ribbons represented each signatory of a recent open letter published by CUSU Women’s Campaign. Speaking to Varsity about the significance of the ribbon tying, CUSU Women’s Officer Lola Olufemi said: “we hope this signals to survivors our continued support, that they are seen and heard by the Women’s Campaign.”

Bye-bye Rumboogie?
Perhaps the city’s most cherished institution (after Van of Life), Cindies, is under threat of closure following proposals to renovate the Lion Yard shopping centre. Aberdeen Standard Investments, the company responsible for renovations, has proposed moving the club to the basement of Lions Yard. Cindies has been at its current site under a number of guises since the 1970s. Thankfully, for Cambridge’s club connoisseurs, there are no plans for the refurbishment of Spoons.  

Guinea pigs and the end of the West?
Lucy Cavendish have (possibly) made University history by becoming the first college to adopt guinea pigs. The guinea pigs’ names have been inspired by feminist icons including Emmeline Squeakhurst and Virguinea Woolf. They have even featured in the Daily Mail and the comment section was typically nuanced in its analysis of the situation. RyanMyer from Denver, Colorado wrote: “The West is self destructing”, while Concerned79 said: “God help us if these people are the future of our country”.

Netflix and no chill
Students at Robinson were distraught after a technical problem left them unable to access Netflix. Teddy Mack, a second year MMLer, told Varsity, “without Netflix there can be no chill!” Another student, who for legal reasons must remain anonymous, said that “I bet you PornHub still works.” Robinson were quick to respond, informing their students that it was “not a College issue or block.”