IGNITING STUDENT ACTIVISM #3 – WORKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, burnout, call to action, campaign planning, campaigning, campaigns, change, commitment, conferences, deadlines, democracy, determination, direct action, divestment, Education Act 1994, email campaigns, empowerment, energy, fossil free, Fossil Free QUB, fossil fuels, future, future focus, goals, handover, health, Igniting Student Activism, justice, leafleting, local media, machinery of state, Margaret Mead, mental health, MPs, networking, petitions, politics, progress, protests, Queens' University Belfast, raising awareness, recruitment, research, sabbatical officers, sacrifice, self care, social justice, social media, state, strategy, student activism, student media, student union elections, students, students' unions, tactics, targeting, the good fight, training, universities, workshops, young people.

by Bradley Allsop & Calum Watt

Rarely in our lifetimes has there been a more exciting time for young people to engage in politics. Change is in the air and nowhere else offers more opportunities to engage in this conversation, to learn valuable skills and to help shape society than university campuses. This series of articles seeks to offer some guidance for those aiming to ignite student activism at their institutions. Drawing on our experiences as campaigners we hope to highlight some common challenges and give you some advice on how to combat them.

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TAKING ON THE SPECTRE THAT HAUNTS HIGHER EDUCATION

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged 1968 student demonstrations, academia, academics, apolitical, arms trade, autonomy, Belfast, Campaign for Lincoln Democracy, capitalism, co-operative HE, consumerism, democracy, divestment, economics, elections, elitism, employability, fossil free, Fossil Free QUB, fossil fuels, grassroots, leisure, Lincoln, Lincoln Social Science Centre, management, market, marketisation, national student survey, neoliberalism, occupy, privatisation, profit, protests, Queens' University Belfast, student accommodation, student activism, student experience, student life, student loans, students, students' unions, SU officers, tobacco, tuition fees, universities, University of Lincoln.

By Bradley Allsop

We’ve all seen the headlines – tripled tuition fees, retroactive changes to the student loan book, the nefarious uses of the National Student Survey. Often treated as isolated issues, these policies are in reality the foot soldiers in a war being waged to undermine the very foundations of our universities, twisting them from hallowed halls of challenge and transformation into bland centres for corporate training and indoctrination. This spectre haunts academics, senior managers and even Students’ Unions alike, forcing them all to dance to the mantra of the market, to the profit agenda. This spectre’s name is capitalism.

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