FREE Take a copy
Menna Rawlings
Queens’ first female president p.10
Debate on the
dancefloor
p.22
No.940 Friday 28th November 2025 varsity.co.uk The Independent Student Newspaper since 1947 ▼ ISAAC OHRINGER
Uni registers controversial Women’s Soc Junior Proctor confirms registration, despite student backlash p.3 ▶
Colleges cut support for transinclusive footy league
Govt warned Uni over PalSoc speaker event
Captains to vote on whether to exclude trans players p.3 ▶
Divestment vote delayed
● Journalist called Oct 7 a ‘great day’ ● DfE counter-terror unit flagged concerns ● Event cancelled in Oct Charlie Rowan and Wilf Vall Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor The Department for Education’s (DfE) counter-terror team contacted the University of Cambridge to “raise concerns” about a student event featuring a Palestinian journalist who called the October 7 attacks a “great day,” documents obtained by Varsity show. The event, which was organised by the Cambridge University Palestine Solidarity Society (PalSoc), was due to host Palestinian journalist Abubaker
Abed at Newnham College to speak about “journalism, Gaza, and the role of action in shaping narratives”. However, after it emerged that Abed had posted tweets celebrating proscribed terror group Hamas’s attacks on October 7th, 2023, PalSoc cancelled the event. Now, internal documents seen by Varsity reveal that the DfE flagged the event under their counter-terror protocols, and contacted the University to “raise concerns”. Varsity understands that the event or-
ganisers were not contacted by government officials prior to its cancellation. At the University’s Prevent Committee meeting, where the DfE’s communications were discussed, unnamed attendees expressed concerns about the potential for officials to intervene in “lawful free speech” on campus. The committee is charged with ensuring that the University meets its “obligations” to the Prevent counter-terrorism scheme and the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act. Members of the committee also point-
ed to previous allegations from Prevent officials “that the higher education sector was under-referring individuals to Prevent,” though these concerns had since been quelled. Prior to the meeting, Abed, who left Gaza in April 2024 and now lives in the UK, referred to members of Hamas, a proscribed organisation in the UK, as part of the “resistance” or as “resistance fighters” and called the October 7th massacre a “great day” on X – formerly Continued on page 3 ▶
Uni Council to now vote in Feb on arms investment p.4 ▶
Vet school survives another year RCVS extends ‘conditional’ accreditation after period of uncertainty p.6 ▶
Inside ● The rise of pro-Palestine activism p.12 ● A gift guide that keeps on giving p.20 ● Jingle alt the way... p.26