Less than 0.5% of students attended KU Students’ Union annual meeting today despite a heavy-handed threat from the Union President to cut funding to University societies and sport teams.

The minimum number of students needed to make decisions at the annual meeting is 100, and in an attempt to boost attendance Kingston Students’ Union President, TJ Esubiyi, emailed sports and society captains threatening to slash their funds if members did not come.

In the email sent last week, Mr Esubiyi said: “We encourage all students to attend, but there is a constitutional expectation that each club or society sends at least one member – if you don’t, we have the right to stop your funding.”

His threat proved futile however as numbers at the ASM fell below the minimum needed to get motions passed.

Numbers peaked at 105 students, but after Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Scott’s address, which opened the meeting, interest waned and numbers went on to fall to around 90.

The poor attendance at the annual meeting in the Clattern lecture theatre was in contrast with the student diner at Penryhn Road, where over 100 students were getting lunch when the meeting began. The student bars were also well populated with more people drinking in the Penrhyn Road and Knights Park bars than attended the meeting.

Hannah Robinson, 19, a first year Drama and Psychology student, who was in the SU bar while the meeting was going ahead said: "I had an email that lectures were going to be cancelled today but I had other work commitments."

Kayleigh Pickering, Vice President for Student Support, maintained, however, that the meeting had been a success. “I think it went well. Obviously it was a shame not to have more people here and I did expect a better turn out given the support for the SOS [Support Our Sports] campaign.”

Mr Esubiyi’s  email ensured that the vast majority of people attending the ASM were in fact from sporting clubs. A representative from Kingston Hockey club said that he would not have been there without the threat. While other sports captains in attendance said they were aware that the union had the power to cut their funding if they hadn’t turned up.

Sports captains were expected to attend to support the motion raised by Rhiannon Hiscocks, Vice President of Activities, that commits the Student Union to keeping the current SOS campaign going for at least the next three years.

Jobbo Borg, Kingston Netball President said: “I wasn’t even aware we could get our funding cut, we are here to make sure the motion gets passed.”

The proposal, in spite of receiving unanimous support, was not officially passed however as less than the mandatory amount needed to vote on motions were in attendance.