University bans ‘overly sexualised’ advert for student ball
STUDENTS at cambridge have been forced to take down a promotional video for their May Ball – because dons say that it is ‘overly sexualised’.
the trailer for the Hughes Hall party – which has a ‘forest of sin’ theme – showed masked men and women escaping into the woods to kiss and pour champagne into each other’s mouths.
the college has now been accused of ‘censorship’ after demanding that the video be removed from the May Ball website.
the party, on June 16, will cost £96 a ticket and is due to feature burlesque and pole dancing, massages and a casino.
Georgia Ziebart, president of the college’s May Ball committee, said: ‘the trailer was removed because the college thought it was overly sexualised and may reflect badly on them. While we thought the trailer was sexy and fun, it appears we may have overstepped the mark and therefore agreed to take it down.
‘We have a meeting with the college in order to resolve the issue, and hope not to aggravate the situation any more.’
the college said that it had ‘understandable concerns’ about the content of the trailer for the party. But Joe cook, who produced the video, said: ‘if the college take issue with the video they should be promoting discussion about it, not censoring it and trying to cover it up.
‘Fortunately hundreds of people had already watched the video and i’m sure the Hughes Hall May Ball will be a great event despite this unfortunate censorship.’
in a message posted on the Facebook page for the May Ball, organisers urged students: ‘Abandon yourself to your guilty pleasures enjoying a range of sultry burlesque and pole dance performances.
‘Luxuriate and spend away your student loan in our exclusive casino. Release your inner wrath in our dodgems ride or simply relax with a massage and hang out in our shisha den.
‘Whatever you fancy, this is your night to pamper yourself and give in to temptation.’
A spokesman for Hughes Hall, which has about 600 students, said: ‘the college has a duty of care to its students, including their online welfare, and had understandable concerns about the nature and content of the May Ball trailer.
‘the student May Ball committee kindly agreed to remove the video from the May ball website and social media until we are able to have a more detailed discussion with committee members.’