The Spectator Wrapped: Cambridge infantilisation misses out on top spot

The Spectator has announced that their piece on the alleged declining standards at Cambridge, by former Classics fellow David Butterfield, was the paper’s second most-read article of the year. The piece was one among such classics as ‘Can Meghan and Harry stoop any lower? ’ and a review of BBC’s Wolf Hall which argued that the best part about the adaptation was its lack of diversity. Butterfield laments the growing prominence of content warnings in Cambridge, and argues that students being allowed deadline extensions for supervision essays marks the downfall of a once-great institution. Varsity responded to Butterfield back in November, arguing that: “When Butterfield says he wants Cambridge to be an ‘elite’ institution, he doesn’t mean it in an academic or intellectual sense. He wants it to be a collection of people who look and think like him.”

SU sends Sabbs six feet under in 2025 ins and outs

Cambridge SU are jumping on the trend bandwagon this new year, as they ring in 2025 with their ins and outs for the terms ahead. The list, posted on the undergrad SU Instagram account, proclaims “the old sabbatical officer structure” to be “out,” and features a black-and-white photograph of the affected officers next to an image of a gravestone which reads “RIP”. The tongue-in-cheek Instagram post comes after a student took to Camfess to protest the “majority white SU […] scrapping the one guaranteed BME position to save money” while spending £34,000 on an activities manager. “The Cambridge culture of overwork” (out) – David Butterfield won’t be pleased – and being offered tea by your supervisor (in) were also included on the list.

Cambridge philosophy professor reappears in new Cunk on Life

Clare fellow and Professor of Philosophy of Religion Douglas Hedley was featured in the latest instalment of Philomena Cunk’s journey of knowledge. The professor, who also appeared in Cunk on Earth in 2022, was quizzed on all things philosophy by the satirist, including whether or not God really is everywhere, including in cupboards. In a review from The Guardian, Hedley is described as “tweed, corduroy, Heseltine mane,” and says that Diane Morgan, with her deadpan delivery and complete lack of shame, is “peerless”.

Flu flares up fivefold in the East

There are five times the number of patients in hospitals with flu across the East of England than this time last year, new reports show. Increasing from 103 to 506 patients in hospital beds at 13 trusts across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk on 28 December. The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) has reported a 53% increase in the number of ambulances waiting for more than an hour to hand over patients compared to last year. EEAST declared its highest alert level on New Year’s Eve, saying it had received an “unprecedented level” of 999 calls.