Selwyn students have voted for their JCR to remain affiliated with the Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) for the next three years, with an 83.72 per cent majority.

Students were asked ‘Should Selwyn’s JCR remain affiliated with Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU)?’ 172 out of a possible 452 Selwyn students voted in the referendum, with only 27 voting for ‘Sexit’ – that is, to leave CUSU.

The preliminary results of online voting were revealed when voting closed at midnight on Tuesday, however this does not include votes emailed in by students not on the electoral register. These votes will be added and emailed to the student body by JCR President, Lee Robertson, on Wednesday.

Voting was open to all members of the Selwyn JCR from midnight on Sunday to midnight on Tuesday. This vote was part of a constitutional obligation whereby Selwyn must review its CUSU affiliation every three years.

Speaking to Varsity about the result, Selwyn's Female Welfare Officer Elena Cornaro said: "I'm really happy about the fact that Selwyn voted to remain affiliated with CUSU by such a big margin because it means future JCR committees will be able to get the support and training they need to provide the best possible service to the student body as a whole. In my eyes, this training and support is especially crucial for welfare-related roles, and I'm just so happy that it will continue.

"Also, I just personally like the idea that we will remain affiliated to a university wide body, which connects colleges and tries to foster a sense of community between them. There are a lot of things we're just stronger working together on rather than alone as a college or even as individuals, so I'm glad we voted to continue being a part of that community," she continued. 

Selwyn's Access Officer Gaia Lambert added: "I'm absolutely delighted with the result of the referendum - 83% is such a solid majority that it shows how much our relationship with CUSU has improved since the last referendum. Hopefully this will only improve our engagement and encourage other colleges to follow suit."

Three years ago, in Michaelmas 2013, Selwyn undergraduates also voted to stay affiliated with CUSU by a margin of 54.93%.

The result echoes Peterhouse’s recent referendum where students voted 93-58 for their JCR to remain in CUSU.

At Selwyn several JCR members made a strong campaign to remain in CUSU in the pre-vote open meeting and via Facebook profiles and email. JCR Vice President Ellen McPherson posted photos of students around college, including herself, with a whiteboard explaining why they wanted to remain in CUSU. Seven out of ten of these photos were of JCR members. Reasons included: ‘They keep rent down’, ‘They’re transparent and democratic (unlike the EU #brexit)’ and ‘I still have faith in democracy’.

Welfare Officers Elena Cornaro and Alex Goldin, along with Access Officers Gaia Lambert and Charlotte Owens used the ‘Selwyn Access’ and ‘Selwyn Welfare’ Facebook pages to post a list of reasons for affiliation and a list dissecting arguments for disaffiliation. Cornaro also included a plug to remain in her weekly welfare email. All of these officers argued that disaffiliation with CUSU would make their jobs much harder.

Clubs and Societies Officer Jacob Lange posted a status saying “All Selwynites – please vote to stay affiliated in the CUSU elections. I know CUSU gets a bad rep but without them we would loose so much support in terms of access, welfare etc. I’d normally be the first person to slag off CUSU but they are genuinely a good thing for Selwyn.”

Varsity did not discover any online evidence of a Selwyn student actively campaigning for disaffiliation.

Policy states that the JCR has to remain neutral on the matter but the individual officers are allowed to have their own opinion and campaign.

A fact sheet about the referendum and CUSU, as well of lists of reasons for and against affiliation, were sent round to the student body by the JCR President, Lee Robertson, prior to the referendum.

At last Sunday’s open meeting Selwyn students had the opportunity to question their JCR committee, disaffiliated college presidents and the CUSU president Amatey Doku on the benefits and disadvantages of continued affiliation. This open meeting revealed concerns about the quality of condoms provided by CUSU.

Corpus Christi JCR is holding a re-affiliation referendum similar to Selwyn’s, the results of which will be known on Wednesday at 10pm.