Ted Kennedy Club

The Ted Kennedy Club is a liberal club in St Andrews. It was established in 2005 at the University of St Andrews as a spoof of the socially exclusive Kate Kennedy Club. It has since evolved into a full university society, and acts as a counterweight to the conservative Kate Kennedy and Strafford Clubs at the University of St Andrews. Considering that both the Strafford and the Kate Kennedy Clubs are apolitical, the "Ted Kennedy Club" appears to have very little purpose at all. The club runs charity events and hosts guest speakers. Its membership is open to all who want to join.

Foundation

The inspiration for the Ted Kennedy Club came from several influences, including despair at the largely conservative political scene and a desire to improve the quality of political dialogue at St Andrews. The club has no official relation to Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, although many of the founding members admire his policies including calling for universal healthcare for Americans.
Its first meeting, in November 2005, was not without its organisational difficulties. The club pioneered an eye-catching spoof logo for its flyer, but the flyer was frequently torn down by other students. Also, nobody was sure how to start or run a university society, information easily found by asking the Student Union, which nobody bothered to do. There is now an established committee, which has growing experience in dealing with the .

Aims

The Ted Kennedy Club has three aims:

#Promoting the values of liberalism in St Andrews
#Enhancing the quality of political dialogue in St Andrews
#Improving the standard of parties in St Andrews

Relationship to Ted Kennedy

Senator Kennedy is aware of the existence of the club and sent a letter of support for our aims and activities in January 2006. The club has an official external affiliation to the Massachusetts Democratic Party. The club would have worked with the University to invite Ted Kennedy to receive an honorary degree, but its policy for selecting candidates for an honorary degree excludes serving politicians. Nevertheless, the club should not be viewed as a branch of Democrats Abroad.

Membership

Anybody and everybody is allowed to join the Ted Kennedy Club. There is currently around 30 paid members and a mailing list of 130. Elections are held each year to establish a committee. The committee is currently Frank O'Donnell (President), Gordon Wentz (Vice-President), Fiona Hyslop (Treasurer), Becky Chambers (Secretary), Chris Bennett (Events Organiser), Nick Pooley (Publicity), John Reeks (Honours Rep) and Louise Cowan (SubHonours Rep). An EGM will be held on November 16th to elect members to the new positions of Clothing Rep and First Year Rep.

Upcoming Events

Dr Ben Thirkell-White of the St Andrews International Relations department will be giving a lecture entitled "The Future of the IMF" on Thursday November 16th at 7:00pm, School II, St Salvator's Quad. The club is planning to work with the University to invite US Ambassador Tuttle for a debate in spring 2007.

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