MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged conference, international, politics, society, student, UEA, UN, united nations, university.

by George Appleyard and Louise Wiggins

The second in our series of articles from progressive and campaigning societies at UEA.

The UEA Model United Nation society was set up in 2012 and has been enabling students to engage in lively debates and negotiations over exciting world issues ever since. Members can debate matters on the UN agenda, allowing them to improve their communication and negotiation skills while engaging in current affairs. Members will also have the opportunity to analyse the way the UN works and develop their own opinions and ideas for solutions to the world’s biggest problems.

In the first year of its inception the society took a delegation of students, which had been fully trained and prepared, to the world famous London International Model United Nations Conference. Students had the opportunity to meet like-minded delegates from around the globe and contest the most important issues surrounding the notorious Millenium Development Goals. It was a great mix of serious debate and some incredible social activities.

WHERE DO ACTIVISTS COME FROM?

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, activists, campaign, campaign group, environment, group, norwich, people, people and planet, planet, student, UEA, university.

by Eliza Horton and Claire Reiderman

The first in our series of articles from progressive and campaigning societies at UEA.

Standing in a crowded sports hall on the first Tuesday of the semester surrounded by hungover freshers and the smell of stale sweat can only mean one thing – the society fair, or as its known at UEA ‘SocMart’. This year, as a new committee member for several societies, I was kept busy desperately piling all our leaflets onto the exam-sized table and leaping out at unsuspecting first years almost all day. One of these societies was People & Planet UEA, the UEA branch of the national organization founded by students with the aim of environmental and social justice. Surprisingly, given the description I have given above, the day was strangely enjoyable. It felt good to be asking students difficult questions about climate change (rather than just ‘who was playing in the LCR tonight’), to see them struggle to answer and to be able to offer them a way of educating and mobilizing themselves.

People & Planet’s strength lies in its breadth and unity – as a society it operates on two levels: the national and that of the individual university. National regional meetings are held in which campaigns are decided upon and then the students return to their respective universities and put these ideas into action. This is done through weekly society meetings where all members are welcome to share ideas (and usually biscuits); they discuss campaign methods and update the society on any current progress or plans.Continue Reading

THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH, LONDON: AN ACCOUNT

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Student and tagged activism, climate, climate change, demonstration, environment, fossil free, london, march, people's climate march, student, UEA.

by Rowan Gavin

Climate change is the defining issue of our time. For once I’m resisting the philosopher’s urge to insert the word ‘arguably’ into that sentence, because right now I really believe it. My inspiration arose from the People’s Climate March which took place around the world on Sunday the 21^st of August, and the creativity, commitment and love of the people involved.

Some months ago a coalition of climate activist groups announced their intent to organise the biggest climate change protest ever, centred around a massive march in New York. Certainly, as became apparent over the following weeks, they were creating the biggest publicity campaign for such an event that I personally had ever heard of. Inspiring videos and statements came flooding in from people all over the globe, from those whose lives were most threatened by climate change, to some of today’s most prolific and successful climate activists, and to those many compassionate individuals who simply felt they had to do something. Reasons to march, tales of previous protest actions, and reports of new additions to the movement sparked across the internet, in a slow but steady growth of solidarity and support.

Before I went to bed on Saturday night, reports and images from marches in time zones ahead of mine began to trickle in − tens of thousands were turning out in Australia, India, various pacific nations, and elsewhere. At 12.30 GMT+1 it was to be London’s turn.

WHY I DIDN’T SHAKE EDWARD ACTON’S HAND

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Community, Student and tagged economics, education, Edward Acton, graduate, graduation, norwich, opinion, politics, student, students, UEA, university.

by Ella Gilbert

Originally published at Concrete.

The grad season is upon us: the time for sweaty palms, nervous, tipsy grins and synthetic wizard robes. Thousands of third year students graduated this week amidst cheers and storms of applause celebrating three years of (mostly) hard graft. Like the rest, I was pleased that it was all over and happy that I could finally get my hands on a tangible recognition of all that work. There was one small hurdle though: the small matter of a certain pompous ceremony. I’m not sure there are many people who relish standing in a billowing Harry Potter gown in front of 800 people, but looking like a prat was lower on my agenda than it might otherwise have been. Sure, I was worried that I might stack it up the stairs or walk off the stage by the wrong exit, but more than anything I was rehearsing what I was going to say to the man I would have to refuse to shake hands with before collecting my certificate. Unfortunately for me, my ceremony was presided over by Edward Acton, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of UEA who will be replaced by David Richardson this coming September. In the run-up to this day, I’d gladly, and perhaps misguidedly, trilled that I would refuse to shake the hand of a man who had overseen such a shocking and deplorable track record of management during the course of my university career. Now, I had to stick to my guns and actually do it.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS: ARE WE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THEM?

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged education, elite, opinion, politics, private, private schools, student, study, system.

by David Grounds

After Alan Bennett gave his sermon entitled ‘Fair Play’ at King’s College Cambridge, some of the conversations in my school have turned to the issue of private schools, and why we are attending one. The phrase that I have heard more than once, is a line from Tom Lehrer’s song, ‘Selling Out’:

I’ve always found ideals,
Don’t take the place of meals.

Or, put simply, there’s no point in abolishing private schools if it isn’t going to help on anything other than an ideological level. My objection is simple: it would help. Continue Reading

THE NUS AND THE STUDENT MOVEMENT

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, BDS, boycott, discounts, left wing, NEC, NUS, NUS Extra, politics, student, UKIP.

by Elliot Folan

In the last month, two student unions have held referendums on whether to be part of the National Union of Students (NUS). The first, in Oxford, saw 52% vote in favour of leaving the NUS – a result which was later reversed after it was discovered that 1,000 anti-NUS votes had been cast fraudulently. The second, in York, saw 65% of student voters back the idea of remaining in the NUS. In both cases, the referendums were held in exam season, with turnout at 15% in Oxford and just 7% in York. Although neither referendum ultimately saw the unions leave the NUS, both the campaigns and the initial Oxford result brought to the fore the many issues that students have raised with the NUS.

DIVESTMENT, DECISIONS AND A DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged biomass, democracy, economics, fossil free, NUS, politics, student, UEA, union, unions, university.

by Elliot Folan

Last month, it was revealed that UEA plans to raise accommodation fees for university students by up to 9%. Students have already come forward to say that they would not have been able to afford the new prices, and the students’ union has raised questions about accessibility and affordability. Yet the second big story of the fee rise is an issue of democracy. It was reported – and the university declined to deny – that student union officers were told they would not be consulted on the fee rise, and that the university had no intention of consulting them at all. In other words, on an issue that is of material concern to thousands of new and continuing students on our campus, management felt it necessary to completely ignore and override the wishes of our elected representatives.

Such contempt for democratic procedure is standard practice at UEA, and they speak to a wider problem of opaque decision making and lack of accountability on our campus and in the university system generally. There are three more examples of such undemocratic decisions.

STAND UP FOR EDUCATION

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, austerity, education, politics, student.

by Fiona Edwards

Join the national demo & national student meeting on June 21st & 22nd.

On Saturday 21 June tens of thousands of people will be joining the People’s Assembly Against Austerity’s national demonstration through the streets of London to demand an end to austerity. Students will be there in force. We have, after all, got plenty to be angry and shout about.

Student

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH, LONDON: AN ACCOUNT

WHY I DIDN’T SHAKE EDWARD ACTON’S HAND

PRIVATE SCHOOLS: ARE WE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THEM?

THE NUS AND THE STUDENT MOVEMENT

DIVESTMENT, DECISIONS AND A DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

STAND UP FOR EDUCATION

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