Does the NUS represent me?

The last few weeks have seen widespread ridicule of the National Union of Students over their recent conference in Brighton. The controversial election of Malia Bouattia made headlines, partly because of an open letter signed by presidents of Jewish Societies across the country voicing concern over her comments about Zionism, comments she has yet to apologise for.

The conference also applauded a speech opposing the commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day, and passed policy seeking the end of mandatory GCSE English and Maths. This follows previous NUS news stories such as banning an anti-racism campaigner, telling gay men they don’t face oppression, banning clapping and having to qualify their condemnation of ISIS.

The NUS is not only unrepresentative, it can be both a hindrance and an embarrassment to students.

You might think this was all bad enough, but these headlines only skim the surface to how unrepresentative and undemocratic the NUS actually is. The NUS president is elected by only a few hundred delegates, of whom many are not subject to campus-wide elections.

National conference can be very difficult to navigate for inexperienced delegates, leaving it to factionalist infighting by self-absorbed groups who do not have the best interests of students at heart. The NUS is not only unrepresentative, it can be both a hindrance and an embarrassment to students.

Sam Fry

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I don’t feel represented by the NUS. I don’t believe that the NUS as a governing body could possibly represent the students of Britain. The sheer quantity of students now makes this an unreasonable ask. Thus I don’t find the lack of representation the problem with NUS.

It is more important that the NUS protects and supports students than represents them, and this is their key failure. The problem with the NUS is that it only protects a small majority of students. It doesn’t offer support to many of the more conservative students, claiming they incite hatred in a bid to shut them down. This is unacceptable and the NUS should not abuse its power in such a way.

I don’t believe that the NUS as a governing body could possibly represent the students of Britain

Students need to feel that the NUS protects their rights in all aspects of their life. They need to feel their freedoms of speech and choice are respected and the current NUS do not offer this protection. Voices that conform to the extreme liberalism of the NUS are protected and nourished, but any who disagree are hushed by no platform policies.

I may disagree with a particular movement but I can’t shut it down simply on the basis of that. This is the method of the NUS. By doing so they alienate large numbers of the student body and isolate many who feel unrepresented and unsupported by such a neo-liberal body.

Katherine Sorab

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The NUS is an essential component of student life and of universities. There are no reasons or circumstances to leave the NUS as not only one of its 600 members, but as one of the best universities in the country. Persuading students to vote against NUS membership has been an overdue yearning to campaign; in particular to dispel the ‘lefties’ as the primary dominators of student politics.

The resources, democracy and legal advice we invaluably gain through NUS membership trumps tyrannical dogmatic rumours that the wrong person was elected as president. Our relationship with the NUS should be one of indebtedness rather than fraternisation.

Our relationship with the NUS should be one of indebtedness rather than fraternisation.

There is no better way to be a guru of student politics, regardless of your political views, ethnicity, gender or background than to participate in this organisation in which we save £80,000. The more credence the anti-NUS movement gains, the more recitation key NUS schemes, which students have previously ignored, will receive.

Copious examples include long term targets such as reducing the carbon footprint and fighting to ensure we receive student feedback for our work. If you can’t decide what the NUS does for students, then you can assume a previous lack of involvement in student politics.

Henry Riley

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Before living and studying in the UK, I had never head of the NUS. After living here for eight months, I’m sad to say that I still don’t know what the NUS does for me. Sure, I’ve heard of the insane discounts it gives you and I’ve been keeping up with the current controversy. This doesn’t mean that I feel like they’re doing their job.

I’ve also heard that, because of the NUS, I don’t have to pay council tax while living on campus. So yes, because of them, my life is easier. But does it represent me? That’s a different question. I don’t identify with many of the groups that the NUS works with but that doesn’t mean I disagree with what they do.

I don’t identify with many of the groups that the NUS works with but that doesn’t mean I disagree with what they do.

The NUS once ran a “Donation Not Discrimination” campaign to destigmatise LGBT blood donation. Though I don’t identify with this, I fully support it. Their website boasts that they are “7 million voices”, but is this true? How can such a small organisation speak up for virtually all students in the UK?

I personally think having a National Union of Students is a great idea. Yes, I believe that we, as students, are stronger when we work together. But no, I don’t think that the NUS is currently fulfilling its role in uniting us. If it was, well, then I wouldn’t have had to answer this question. And I certainly wouldn’t have needed to Google “NUS” before doing so.

Clara Paniago