NUS leaders attempt to stop anti-racism debate

The NUS steering committee has ruled out of order nine motions submitted by Student Respect to be discussed at NUS Conference 2007.

The motion, passed in various forms by nine student unions, appears in its original form below. It describes the climate of Islamophobia that currently exists in Britain and especially in universities, supports the right of women to wear the hijab and niqab, and aims to strengthen the current anti-fascist stance of the NUS. It was passed by the student unions at: Portsmouth, UWE, Manchester, University of the Arts, SOAS, Swansea, Leicester, Cambridge and Sussex.

The motions have apparently been ruled out of order on the basis that they were submitted into the wrong zone (they were submitted for discussion in the Welfare debate, the other three zones being Strong and Active Unions, Society and Citizenship and Education).

The decision by the steering committee is being challenged on the following grounds:

• The issues addressed in the motion, racism and Islamophobia in general and the "no platform" policy in particular, are very much issues that concern students' welfare. No other zone fits this discussion better. The welfare zone contains other motions on racism that have been accepted.
• At last year's conference, Student Respect and other organisations and individuals submitted very similar policy (on Islamophobia and the no platform policy) to the Welfare zone, which was accepted without being questioned. There was absolutely no indication that any changes had been made to the process this year that would result in these motions now being applicable to a different zone.
• One of the motions submitted and accepted in the Welfare zone, whilst coming at the issue from a completely different angle, is very similar in terms of its context. Motion 703, entitled "Anti-Semitism: A Definition", refers to a general context of anti-semitism and goes on to talk about the NUS's no platform policy. While we disagree with aspects of this motion, we agree with the steering committee that it should be discussed in the Welfare debate, and that therefore so should the Student Respect motions.
• The fact that this motion was passed by nine student unions (more than any other single motion that has been submitted) show there is a strong desire amongst NUS's membership to debate these issues in the Welfare zone. Ruling them out of order is therefore a large attack on democracy (as was another decision by the steering committee which has meant that there will be no debate at all on international students).
• The recent change in the method of submitting motions to conference has not been accompanied by any changes to the NUS constitution and standing orders, and as such relies on a large amount of interpretation and therefore subjectivity from the steering committee. The inconsistency highlighted in the above points does nothing to instill confidence among students fighting to get their voices heard.

We, the undersigned, demand that these motions are accepted into the Welfare zone.

• Suzie Wylie, NUS NEC
• Noreen Fatima, Vice-President London Metropolitan University Student Union, Student Respect chair
• University of Manchester Student Union
• Swansea University Student Union
• Cardinal Newman College Student Union, Preston
• John Collins, President, Imperial College Union
• Ben Harris, Vice President (Education and Welfare), Imperial College Union
• SOAS Student Union
• University of Portsmouth Student Union
• University of Sussex Student Union
• University of the West of England Student Union
• Kat Rayson, President, University of Plymouth Student Union
• Katie Shaw, Vice President Education and Welfare, University of Plymouth Student Union
• Assed Baig, non-portfolio Executive officer, Staffordshire University Student Union
• Issahaku Kotomah, President, Middlesex University Student Union
• Abu Shohid, President, London Metropolitan University Student Union
• Monty Sultan, Communications Officer, London Metropolitan University Student Union
• Reena Begum, Diversity Officer, London Metropolitan University Student Union
  

To add your name of that of your student union, email students@respectcoalition.org

National Committee

This is where the Student Respect National Committee lets you know what's going on. What they are up to, date and times of national committee meetings and general stuff from us.

Noreen Fatima, London Metropolitan University (Chair)
Rob Owen, Manchester University (Secretary)
Dominic Kavakeb, Essex University (Treasurer)
Colin Smith, SWP student organiser (Communications Officer)

Non-Portfolio Officers:
Assed Baig, Staffordshire University
Malika Barakat, Queen Mary, University of London
Bill Boon, University of the West of England
Jennifer Jones, Goldsmiths College
Sian Ruddick, Swansea University
Alison Smith, Plymouth University
Clare Solomon, SOAS
Harri Sutherland-Kay, Portsmouth University

Student Respect hails Conference success

Over 100 delegates came to Student Respect's first full conference last weekend. They represented Student Respect groups from around the country and the event was a fantastic opportunity to discuss the way forward for Student Respect. In the opening session John Rees, Respect National Secretary and Tower Hamlets councillor Rania Khan spoke on 'Britain after Blair'. They highlighted the redundancy of the New Labour leadership and the importance of continuing to build the Respect alternative on the campuses and beyond.

In the closing rally, George Galloway MP, Lindsey German (Stop the War Coalition convenor) and Respect mayoral candidate for Newham, Abdurahman Jafar discussed the issues around "War and Imperialism".

But perhaps the most important part of the day was the workshops. These provided a real opportunity for activists to share experiences and ideas, and to chart the way forward for Student Respect in the coming months in each of these areas. Yvonne Ridley's workshop on Islamophobia was particularly well attended, as were the student-led discussions on Climate Change and Palestine. In the latter workshop, Student Respect member Hanif Leylabi described the recent victory in twinning Leeds University students' union with a university in Birzeit, Palestine.

The conference also elected a twelve-member National Committee, which will sit for a year and oversee the running of Student Respect at a national level. Committee meetings will also be open to two delegates per university Student Respect group. The results of the committee elections are shown below. Heather Humphreys from the outgoing provisional committee gave a brief report of the outgoing committee's work, which included the drawing up of Student Respect's NUS motions that have now been passed through many students' unions, and the publication of several important national statements and leaflets.

The newly elected Chair of Student Respect, Noreen Fatima, a Vice-President of London Metropolitan University's students' union, closed the conference. She welcomed the impressive turnout and highlighted the importance of students returning to their campuses and putting the day's discussion into practice. The conference provided an excellent opportunity to focus everyone's minds on the coming months and the need to continue the fantastic work Student Respect has been doing, both in the ground and in the students' unions and NUS.

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Student Respect National Committee – election results

Noreen Fatima, London Metropolitan University (Chair)
Rob Owen, Manchester University (Secretary)
Dominic Kavakeb, Essex University (Treasurer)
Colin Smith, SWP student organiser (Communications Officer)

Non-Portfolio Officers:
Assed Baig, Staffordshire University
Malika Barakat, Queen Mary, University of London
Bill Boon, University of the West of England
Jennifer Jones, Goldsmiths College
Sian Ruddick, Swansea University
Alison Smith, Plymouth University
Clare Solomon, SOAS
Harri Sutherland-Kay, Portsmouth University