THE FUTURE OF STUDENTS’ UNIONS – BEYOND TUITION FEES #4

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, Arts SU, Beyond Tuition Fees, block grants, bureaucracy, Charities Act 2011, Charities Commission, charity law, checks and balances, co-operatives, consumer culture, consumerism, corbyn, democracy, Education Act 1994, Free Education, grassroots, hierarchy, higher education, Labour, legislation, Lincoln SU, NUS, online voting, Parliament, policy, politics, representation, sabbatical officers, Sahaya James, Stop the Elephant Development, student activism, students' unions, SU finance, trade unions, transparency, trustees, tuition fees, UAL, uk, union bars, university management.

By Bradley Allsop and Calum Watt

It is a time of extraordinary potential for change in UK Higher Education. Labour’s promise to end tuition fees has defied the critics and united many behind Corbyn’s political project. But what will the implications for universities be if this comes to pass? And what can we do to leverage this progress? In this series, the Norwich Radical and Bright Green are bringing together perspectives from across the sector to explore these questions.

Students’ Unions are meant to defend students’ rights, fighting with and for them during their time at university and beyond. However, modern SUs are often dominated by corporate thinking, consumer culture and cosy collusion with university management. Radical, grassroots democracy is often muted or discouraged, channelled instead into more temperate, gradual and piecemeal avenues by Unions centralised in their functioning and timid in their approach.

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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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IGNITING STUDENT ACTIVISM #1 – FIRST STEPS

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, call to action, campaign planning, campaigning, campaigns, change, commitment, deadlines, direct action, divestment, Education Act 1994, email campaigns, empowerment, energy, fossil free, fossil fuels, goals, Igniting Student Activism, leafleting, local media, machinery of state, MPs, petitions, politics, protests, raising awareness, recruitment, research, sabbatical officers, social media, state, strategy, student activism, student media, students, students' unions, tactics, targeting, time, universities, young people.

by Bradley Allsop and 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.

Continue Reading

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