CUSU LGBT+ ends its endorsement of Monday Rev’s in preference for a night at Kuda Credits: Skiddle
The CUSU LGBT+ Ents officers have announced that their endorsed club night will be moving to Kuda (LIFE), starting next term. This follows an ongoing conflict between the LGBT+ committee and the organisers of Spectrum/Fusion at Revs.
Ents Officer David Lowis states that he hopes “by having a fresh start, many of the issues which have previously come up will be resolved, mostly simply by there being less red tape as a result of more independence of the club”, as opposed to Revolution which was heavily constrained by the policies of its nationwide chain.
A survey on Spectrum distributed at the beginning of Michaelmas term showed that many members of the LGBT+ community were unhappy with the treatment of transgender and non-binary people at the club night. The lack of gender neutral toilets and some of the themed nights were among the concerns.
The Ents officers have previously threatened to remove their endorsement of the night. On the 8th November, Lowis sent a letter, also posted on the CUSU LGBT+ Facebook group, in response to a comment referring to “guys & girls” posted on Facebook by the Fusion team. When a member of the CUSU LGBT+ committee pointed out that this was exclusive of non-binary individuals in the LGBT+ community, the Fusion team replied, “A club night doesn’t get involved in politics. Would you rather we address everyone “males and females”?” Many expressed outrage at the Fusion team member’s lack of understanding of the issue at hand and treatment of the committee member. Lowis said that “there is a definite line of tolerance which we are not willing to see crossed, which we have seen crossed in this instance and which we are not wishing to see crossed again if you are invested in retaining CUSU LGBT+ support.”
The announcement of the newly endorsed club night shows that many of the issues expressed about Spectrum/Fusion have been discussed with the team at Kuda, and several steps forward have been made. Lowis states that “We will have a specially selected bar, as well as bouncer team in order to ensure that there will be no issues at the night. We have also been assured that there will be one completely gender neutral toilet in addition to mens’ and womens’ toilets, as well as a changing room.” The Ents officers will also be training staff on issues relevant to the LGBT+ community.
Gabriella Jeakins