Now there are many different views on the subject of affiliation and the pros and cons of working with and within NUS. Some of you may have seen my blog a couple of weeks ago for example about Why I didn't restand for national welfare committee, and although I spoke out about some of the issues I have with NUS I still very strongly feel that being a member brings many more advantages to all students than going it alone as an independent would.
One of the things that I have heard students say at Brighton is based around the lack of a no campaign, and I think this is key as I really want the outcome of this referendum to produce an informed answer from the students as to whether we should remain a member or not and not just a continuation of an affiliation that we have always done. So in this vain here are some links to reasons why other unions think disaffiliating may be the right way forward:
Sunderland SU
Portsmouth
Durham
However as I said I am for Brighton SU fearful sting to NUS and here are some reasons as to why:
1. Firstly I want to dispel the financial argument that is so often rolled out by potential no campaigns. Brighton SU spends around £36,000 on affiliation fees to NUS. The simple argument is that by not affiliating this money could be put into other areas of the Unions work. However in reality although we spend this money, we raise close to £20,000 back through NUS Extra card sales, which would be lost from the budget, we also sign up to NUSSL which does make significant savings on bulk order products for our shops and cafe's. This is more difficult to quantify but with the removal from NUSSL it would be safe to say further investment from the Union would be required to establish our shops and cafe's wit student friendly prices, now this would not mean addition cost, but in the long term may see less revenue being generated which in turn sees less money in the Union.
2. The sale of NUS Extra cards. I think there are 2 advantages to NUS Extra sales, firstly as mentioned above the sale of the cards generates much needed funds for the Union. However I think there is a further more important reason and that is the benefits that students who choose to buy a card get. Yes it is important for students to be able to get a free cheeseburger from McDonalds, or 10% off at topshop, but what is even more important is the opportunity for our mature students, of which we sell over half our NUS cards to, who use this to get a young persons rail card, enabling them to even be able to get to uiversity.
3. It is important to remember that NUS is a political entity, and many of the disaffiliation arguments circle around either how NUS is to central in it's ways or to left. I think this is very much a personal agreement for each individual, however I think it is always best to improve from within. If your not a member then all you can do is complain from the outside. It also seems especially at Brighton that there was a lot of hatred coming towards a person, Aaron Porter, and whether you think this is fair or not based upon his time as National President, he no longer holds this political position and things have moved on let's move on with them!
4. On another political point I think we need to stay with NUS this year because think that the priority campaign, on money in student pockets, is a fantastic opportunity for the student movement to make massive wins on behalf of it students, and this includes on the ground in unions like Brighton. It is the first time in a long while that the priority campaign has been based on a primarily welfare issue, yet still maintaining the fact that it affects all students in the UK.
5. I think that there is also an argument to be made about the different sections within NUS, whether that be the womens, black students, disability and LGBT campaigns, or the international students, mature and part time student or postgraduate student sections. Now it is clear from some of the students we have sent to events and conferences put on by these areas that they can be useful to gather views and best practises from around the country and also can make the student attending really empowered and comfortable to go about the their duties on campus with a new spring in their step. The key is about the union itself interacting more with these areas to get the most out of them.
6. Training is another area which I think the union benefits from, now I'm not going to sit here and say that all the training I have ever been on has been great and made me into a fantastic officer. But all means this is not the case however I do think in general the training provided by NUS to the officers is a good start, both in terms of personal professional development for the officer and in terms of strengthening the union as a whole. I also am a big believer that the best training opportunities are not the expensive ones but the small issue based sessions, such as interfaith relations or hate speak in campus.
7. Another service that is not perfect but is still a very valuable tool is that of NUS connect. This is a badly laid out and at times infuriating online portal that allows officers to access guidance notes and share best practice across unions and from NUS itself. As I say not perfect but compared to not having it then certainly an advantage.
8. Legal and general advice. The union does receive a large amount of support from NUS in terms of legal advice when it is required. For example over the process of the becoming a charity, it was NUS who helped to write the Unions new Constitution that is legally compliant. In the private sector this could have cost us anywhere unto and including £50,000. We also receive general advice on the best ways to run campaigns or on governmental policy from those working at NUS HQ and it's always good to know if you need advice you can pick up the phone and it's there for you!
So there is my whistle stop tour through some of the main reasons why I think that Brighton SU should remain a member of the National Union of Students (NUS). I really want this referendum to be informed so do check out the yes and no arguments being made and decide for yourself.
Voting is on student central from 10 am Tuesday 8th November through to 4 pm Thursday 10th November and there will be lots of activity happening on campus so look out for it!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Lewes,United Kingdom
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