HANNA ZIADY: Students’ lavish revelries show up inequalities in Britain

Cambridge University’s legendary “May Week” came to an end on Sunday, highlighting the spectacular wealth of the institution’s storied colleges, and the divide between them and city residents on the other side of their walls. 

May Week, or May Ball week, marks the end of the academic year and involves Cambridge University’s colleges (similar to halls or residences in SA) throwing lavish parties for students.

Trinity Boat Club held the first May Ball in 1866. Today, Trinity College’s May Ball remains one of the most extravagant. This year it was said to have served the same Champagne as was served at the Oscars — to match up to the oysters with which it was paired of course. The college’s 2016 ball cost more than £300,000 (R5.5m) to put on, according to a publicly available budget. This was entirely covered by ticket sales.

As you’ve probably by now realised, these are not your average three-course-dinner-and-dancing balls. Tickets range from £100 to £280 and – not surprisingly given the price – attendees expect to be wowed as they indulge in eight hours of revelry.

On arrival, guests are given a booklet outlining the various entertainments on offer throughout the evening and where to find them. Entertainment ranges from cheese and wine tastings, choir performances, jazz ensembles and stand-up comedy, to calligraphy lessons, gambling, bumper cars, Ferris wheel rides and ice-skating. Chart-topping artists are standard. Some of the college balls, such as Trinity, St John’s and Queens, put on fireworks displays.

Guests who decide not to pay extra for a four-course meal need not worry, as food stalls provide unlimited food and drink throughout the night to suit every palate, from artisanal gin cocktails to authentic Italian food. An occasional ice sculpture or chocolate fountain may also feature. Breakfast is served from about 4am, in time for “survivor photos” of those with the stamina to last until dawn.

For those not so fortunate to attend these balls, a favourite tradition among Cambridge students and residents alike is to watch the fireworks from punts, prosecco in hand, on the River Cam. It was while sitting on one of these punts and watching the St John’s fireworks display, as well as the college’s ball-goers on the bridge overhead, that it struck me how vividly these balls capture Cambridge’s so-called “town and gown” divide. This refers to the city’s two distinct communities: the nonacademic population and those within the university community.

While it is true that there were some students on those punts who were attending other May balls (us included), there seemed to be many more families and ordinary Cambridge residents. The small size of the city (population estimates range from 130,000 to 140,000) makes the town and gown divide starker, as it means the university tends to dominate.

It is further exacerbated by the fact that it is among the most unequal cities in the UK. A 2018 report by the Centre for Cities think tank found that Cambridge had the worst income inequality of any UK city for two years running. The top 6% of earners in Cambridge took home 19% of total income, with the bottom 20% claiming just 2% of the total, according to an article published at the time in The Guardian.

High-paid academic jobs play a part, as does a thriving start-up scene, referred to as “silicon fen”, which attracts highly skilled tech entrepreneurs and their investors. The likes of Amazon, ARM, Apple and Microsoft have large Cambridge offices, while AstraZeneca’s global corporate headquarters are based here.

Given that many university graduates will go on to join tech businesses in Cambridge, or start their own ventures here, one can only hope that they recognise how uniquely privileged they are, May balls and all. Perhaps then some of them will use their skills to build technology and come up with solutions that help solve inequality – a pressing global challenge SA understands all too well.

• Ziady writes from Cambridge, the UK.