Breaking News: Kate Kennedy Club votes to admit women

At 14:59pm today The Saint received the following statement from the Kate Kennedy Club.

The following statement is issued by the President, Committee and Members of the Kate Kennedy Club:

At an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Kate Kennedy Club on Monday 19th March 2012 a formal motion was proposed to allow all first year students, regardless of gender, to apply for membership to the Kate Kennedy Club. The motion was duly passed. The Kate Kennedy Club, therefore, looks forward to receiving applications from any first year student in the Candlemas Semester of the next academic year (2012/2013).

The Kate Kennedy Procession remains at the heart of the Kate Kennedy Club and is its founding mandate. The Club looks forward – with the support of the Kate Kennedy Trust, Procession Committee and University – to ensuring that the Procession will continue for the enjoyment of all and for the furtherance of good relationships between the Town and Gown. The Club would like to reiterate that the Procession, the Gaudie and all other traditions, which the Club has worked to maintain and promote, continue to be open to participation from the St Andrews community, both Town and Gown alike.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Kate Kennedy Procession on Saturday 14th April commencing at 2pm.

University Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Louise Richardon then released the following statement:

I am delighted to welcome the decision by the Kate Kennedy Club to open its membership to female students.

The annual Kate Kennedy Procession is an important event for the local community and we look forward to seeing the involvement of our entire community in this year’s event.

This has been a tough few weeks for many in our study body. I appreciate how difficult it must have been for the current membership of the club to arrive at this decision in light of the weight of history they have felt.  I very much hope that our students can now come together in celebrating the wonderful and unique traditions of this great university.
As we look forward to our seventh century of academic exploration, it is entirely appropriate that we are united as an open and inclusive community of students and scholars.

Association President Patrick O’Hare released the following statement:

“I would like to commend the Kate Kennedy Club on their decision to admit female students. I was sure that it would make adecision right and proper for the 21st century.

It is a sign of maturity that the Club has risen above any unease that they felt about the past few weeks and have moved swiftly to amend their membership policy. It must have been a very difficult decision to make and I hope that we can now move to heal any rifts that had opened up in the university community over the affair. The SRC looks forward to playing a constructive role in the weeks and months to come.

Clearly a cancellation of this year’s procession was the last thing anyone desired, so I’m now confident that this year’s procession can be the most inclusive ever. In the context of our 600th anniversary, we look to the past but also look to the future and must make sure that the there is a place for everyone at the University and in the celebration of its traditions.”