► Your Voice

STUDENTS’ UNIONS: FORTY YEARS ON FROM 1968

STILL PRO-ACTIVE, CAMPAIGNING AND PROUD OF IT!

By Alison Smith

Students’ Unions have a deep-rooted culture of campaigning. For years they have fought for students’ rights and campaigned for equal access to education, but they have also been active on wider social and environmental issues. The National Union of Students’ was born out of such campaigns, and the power of student protest has been demonstrated many times.

The students occupying their lecture theatres in 1968 with their acute political slogans, debating and organising around issues of social justice, are iconic images illustrating what is possible when people join together in protest.

Some of the most important changes that have been brought about within human society have come from mass movements and campaigns involving thousands if not millions of people - from the end of slavery to women winning the vote, and from the establishment of working rights to the victories and advances that came through the civil rights movements.

Students and Students’ Unions, along with worker’s unions, have been a part of all these struggles. And there is still so much left for them to do.

The growth of apathy?

But in the last ten to twenty years, various efforts from people in government and from some within universities, have sought to turn Students’ Unions away from lobbying and campaigning, and make them solely about service provision.

A common misconception is that students today are apathetic – that they don’t care about wider issues. But in actual fact thousands of students are politically active, run campaigns, and volunteer in community projects. And unlike a decade ago, three in four students have to take on jobs whilst studying.

More reason to campaign than ever!

In fact, students now know a lot more about hardship, so they are certainly not apathetic. The burden of shouldering around £20,000 debt before the age of 25 as a result of increasing fees makes most people quite politically aware.

For some students the issue is finding the time and energy to get involved in wider issues and debates, when just getting by can be so difficult. It should be an encouraging thing that so many students still give up spare time to make their voices heard.

Given the situation many students are in and the prospect of top-up fees increasing once again, Students’ Unions need to be more pro-active than ever before. If Students’ Unions aren’t political or campaigning then we can’t represent students – the problems students face nationally are a result of political policies, so we have to be political to challenge them.

‘Political’ has become a dirty word, and is often only associated with Political Parties, so it is believed that Students’ Unions cannot be political. But this is absurd, as politics affects us all on a daily basis. If we weren’t political then we wouldn’t be active against racism, campaigning on environmental issues, or striving to improve student’s rights.

Campaigning works

We can take inspiration by recent victories delivered by student campaigns elsewhere. Two years ago in France, students took to the streets in their thousands with young workers to beat back government plans that would have meant workers under the age of 26 could be sacked from their job without being given a reason. And then in Greece, students across the country staged protests and occupations of their classrooms and succeeded in changing government policy on introducing private fee charging universities.

So, Students’ Unions are unequivocally political and campaigning organisations, here to represent students. We are also here to encourage debate and be as much a part of the educational and learning experience of the University as formal teaching.  For a list of our first term campaigns, please see below.

Get campaigning – UPSU Campaigns this term:

Anti Racism campaign and One World Week

We will be working with local and national organisations to promote a culture that challenges discrimination.

One World Week, from the 10^th – 15^th November will be a celebration of diversity and campaigns in the union and across campus, with entertainment, gigs, talks, cultural events, films, stalls and lots more.

Stop the increase in top-up fees

Students are currently facing massive problems from spiralling levels of debt, whilst some cannot afford to access higher education. A further increase in top-up fees will see a more exclusive and market driven education system.

To campaign against the lifting of the cap of top-up fees we will be holding a local rally and creating a giant ‘wall of debt’ to hang from a university building near you.

Climate Change and the Environment

We need urgent action to tackle one of the biggest problems facing humanity and prevent runaway climate change. Get involved in the student campaign to put pressure of governments to act now!

Student rights in the workplace

Students are currently one of the groups of workers most vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace – we aim to raise awareness of your legal rights and stop employers getting away with underpaying and over-working student employees.

We have loads of information on your rights at work – just come and ask at the Students’ Union reception.

Social Justice campaigns

We will be raising awareness, holding debates and joining in protest action on local, national and international social justice issues - from fighting poverty and running boycotts on unethical companies, to campaigning against human rights abuses and war. 

We will also be holding events to promote women’s rights and LGBT liberation.

If there is a social justice issue you are passionate about, get in touch about getting support for a campaign.

Healthy Living

As students’ unions we are here to promote student welfare, and healthy lifestyles can be a key part of this. In addition to promoting sport, mental well-being and running sexual health campaigns we will also be running a campaign to Keep Wednesday Afternoons Free from lectures for sports and volunteering. Keep an eye out for the petitions.

Any ideas?

If you have any other ideas for campaigns or events, please get in touch so we can see if we can help.

We need as many people as possible to get involved and make these campaigns as successful as possible so please email us and let us know what you are interested in.

campaigns@upsu.com