Students have voted to keep the Sun on campus after voting in the ‘No more page three’ referendum.
However, the vote was nail-bitingly close, with just over 52 per cent of the 1,310 students who voted supporting the sale of the Sun.
Brian Alcorn, Vice President for Welfare and Community at the University of Lincoln Students’ Union, said: “It was a really big referendum, a lot of strong opinions, a lot of people backing and forthing on their ideas. It was a great chance to give people empowerment and a chance to express themselves and their different opinions.”
“Thanks for all having your say. That’s the most important thing,” he told students in a YouTube video announcing the results.
Those supporting the removal of the Sun from the campus shop were disappointed, but backed the result. “This was fair democracy in action and I’m glad this referendum was held. The closeness of the vote shows how important this issue is to many,” tweeted Laura Buttrick, President of the university’s feminist society.
The result sets Lincoln apart from several other universities across the UK, where campaigners succeeded in removing the tabloid from their campus shops, including Bradford, Sheffield, Cardiff, Hull, Edinburgh, Leeds Metropolitan, and Cambridge. Several Oxford colleges have also stopped selling the paper.
Only one university, the University of York, has had a vote which campaigners lost. Their student union’s welfare officer later revealed that they sell only “£65 worth of the Sun newspaper” every calendar year.
This referendum was also the first of many, it seems. Dan Sam, President of the Students’ Union, said it was just “the beginning of the Students’ Union’s efforts in engaging students in active citizenship and political debate”.
He also encouraged those who enjoyed the ability to become more involved to come to the next student council, which will be held on Friday 5 February from 12 noon.