Face it. An inordinate proportion of Cambridge societies are formed on obnoxious and selfish hedonism. Penile drinking societies are regularly encountered falling out of Cindies, triumphantly guffawing to fellow chimps, apple VKs and posh bitches in tow. And it’s all sponsored by Jack Wills.

Well, Student Community Action is trying this non-selfish thing out. Just for lols. They’re a group which volunteer to help Cambridge’s most disadvantaged citizens, working with children and the elderly. Jonny Walker, an SPS student at Homerton runs SCA. He was a nice chappy when I interviewed him, passionate about his cause and all that. He is part of the ‘Big Siblings’ scheme which provides underprivileged kids with a ‘big sibling’. They’re given an allowance by the charity in order that their kid can be taken to the cinema or to play a sport. Chosen when they are in their first or second years the big sibling often remains with their child throughout their university career. 300 nice laddies and lasses currently make up Student Community Action, and this number is only going up.

I was lightly suspicious before interviewing Johnny. It smelt a bit like ‘nice rich Cambridge people sweep in and save the wretched poor from a life of crime and single parent families’. I was waiting for an annoying worthy do-gooder who thought he could change the class system by reading Byron to broken families. But I was most definitely wrong. He’s perfectly down-to-earth, sweet-natured and bloody generous with his time and energy.

 I asked him if the problems were centred around a class issue. Cambridge’s image is eclipsed by the affluent academia. Statistics ignore the homeless people outside Sainsbury’s in the pouring rain. He seemed reluctant to agree that class was the problem. But he did agree with me that university life here can be ‘alienating’, and working in the community was a way of achieving something ‘authentic’.

SCA’s work can only be positive. Student work in deprived areas bridges the chasm between middle class studentdom and the rest of ignored Cambridge. A battle of the bands fundraiser is rumoured to be taking place at Soul Tree in the next few weeks. Go along and support a decent cause.