Students get wise at NUS activism 2011

The Students Union building at the Goldsmith College in London was bursting with about 1000 students from all over the country as the National Union of Students (NUS) opened its largest-ever conference on student activism on 19^th November.

The convention brought together young adults from universities and colleges across the United Kingdom and campaigners from non-governmental organisations.  Its aim was, as the NUS’ president Liam Burns explained: “...to discuss... the new challenges and new opportunities we face as campaigners.”

After an opening plenary, which set the scene for lively discussions over the course of the day, the participants attended their respective workshops, which could be chosen from an extensive list of more than 60 topics.

The issues debated by the students ranged from financial worries, such as the impact of bursaries and fee waivers on university funding, to equality issues, including gendering, disabled activities and multiculturalism, or health matters, such as sex education and drug policy.

Surrey student and Stag Editor Jack White attended a session on the university access agreements on bursaries and fee waivers – sure to become a hot topic at Surrey over the next year – as well as a feedback session on putting cash in students’ pockets and a discussion of student apathy and concrete methods to tackle it.

The workshops were led by campaigning organisations such as Oxfam and Save the Children as well as trade unions and student activists.

Attending students had the opportunity, for example, to participate in round table discussions and panel debates, take part in training sessions and theatre workshops or visit a film screening.

At the end of a day of interactive workshops, the students met again for a rally concerning the next steps for student movement.

President Liam Burns urged all interested students: “The days of campaigns being run entirely from the centre are in many ways over, if they ever really existed. This event points to a future where students are empowered to put themselves in the driving seat.”

Students not participating in workshops were able to collect information about campaigning and discuss with activists at a number of stalls on campus. Organisations from all across the social and political spectrum, dealing for example with poverty, climate change and racism, participated in the assembly.

On the same day that students gathered in London, campaigning and student activism were focussed on by the first-ever NUS conference in Scotland. Its participants met at the Edinburgh Napier University. Due to a video link between the two conferences, students in London and Edinburgh were able to catch up on the other conference’s progress on several occasions throughout the day.