What with the story of ‘Colin The Dead Eel’ hitting not only Exeposé and the Tab’s headlines, but now also spreading to the Daily Mail, it seems rather fitting to delve into the Exeposé vs. Sports Clubs debate.
An undercover Exeposé investigation revealed that EUAFC conducted welcome drinks on Wednesday 17th September in which first years were ordered to ‘bolt’ spilt pints out of shoes, disclose ‘confessions’ to other members in the room and were encouraged to kiss a dead conger eel named Colin.
It is understandable as to why this article creates some concern to both the AU and the university. It is easy to argue that such behaviour undermines the ban of “initiation-type” activities; an arrangement put in place after the death of an Exeter student eight years ago. Many others argue that these welcome drinks weren’t abnormal for nation-wide activities of sports clubs during the first few weeks of first term. Is it wrong to encourage people to have a social drink and meet people with similar interests as themselves, whether or not a conger eel comes into the equation?
Despite this, many have also claimed that they have been present at other sports team socials which engage in the historical tradition of the hierachical power of third years. This seems somewhat contradictory if EUAFC are to be sanctioned for their actions.
As girls that stand by their opinions, we’re also going to keep ours to ourselves. You decide for yourself whether you think that EUAFC deserved to be reprimanded, or whether if they do, so do every other AU club and guild society in the university.
Picture credits:http://xmedia.ex.ac.uk/wp/wordpress/