A motion to declare war on Trinity was proposed to the Wadham SU at its inaugural meeting. It called for a siege engine to “forcibly break down” Trinity’s gates, annex its lawn and fine Wadhamites inviting Trinitarians to College, among other state of war initiatives.
Though Trinity is the historic rival of Balliol, Wadham SU’s Officer Report noted that the feud has “died down somewhat.”
Joe Miles, Wadham’s SU officer and initiator of the war motion, concurred that, “I didn’t think Balliol was doing enough.”
Moreover, Trinity’s recent expansion, which the Officer Report clarified as, “flaunting its obnoxiously large lawn in close proximity to the Wadham grounds,” has raised eyebrows among some of Wadham’s SU officers. As Miles noted, “I have long warned of the threat posed by Trinity to our way of life and our heritage, and I could not stand by and do nothing.”
The war motion, however, failed to pass through Wadham’s SU committee.
Anya Metzer, President of Wadham’s SU, stated that, “most of the SU felt that our time could be better spent on other projects and really by-and-large Trinity do not pose any immediate threat to the security of Wadham College.”
Reflecting on the motion’s defeat, Miles stated, “Wadham has opted not to take a military stance, and I have since accepted I was wrong to initiate hostilities since diplomacy would be a much more preferable option.”
He went on, “I would be interested in speaking to the chair of Trinity’s JCR and seeing if we can resolve our differences amicably.”
Meanwhile, news of Wadham’s war motion was met with extreme skepticism at Trinity. Kyran Schmidt, Trinity JCR’s Publicity and Campaign officer, remarked, “Wadham are a bunch of dorks.”
Similarly, an undergraduate from Trinity stated, “Wadhamites are an inspiration for birth control.”
