My NUS National Conference Report 2012

Background/Before Conference
I was elected as one of five representatives following the elections in March (as well as UBU president: Gus Baker) to attend NUS Conference in Sheffield alongside delegates from higher education (HE) and further education (FE) institutions across the England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The remainder of the delegates that were sent from Bristol were Chris and Dom (UBU Sabbatical Officers) and Jo and Georgina.In my manifesto that I was elected upon; I stood on an anti-tuition fees platform, increasing support for all students and also increasing the transparency of the NUS. The majority of people I spoke to when campaigning only knew the NUS from the discount card. This needs to change and hopefully this report will help to do that.

Elections
President
1.      Kanja Sesay – commitment to free higher education as stated in my manifesto as well as he emphasised the important role liberation (LGBT, Black, Disability) plays in the student movement


2.      Ed Marsh – impressed in the hustings that went on late into Tuesday night, arguing the case against a graduate tax and the promise of the first year fee free as a first measure to reduce fees overall.

Elected: Liam Burns (current NUS president for a second term)

Vice-President: Higher Education
1.      Michael Chessum – against tuition fees as my manifesto pledged I would do, against the government white paper to marketise/privatise our universities and his call for equality and liberation to be at the heart of the student movement

2.      Rachael Wenstone – proposal of a better funding arrangement for postgrad students, and also for part-time and mature students (my manifesto highlighted the importance of supporting all students)

Elected: Rachel Wenstone

Vice-President: Further Education
Unable to vote as HE delegate

Elected: Toni Pearce (current VP: HE for a second year)

Vice-President: Union Development
1.      Luke Young – commitment to activist training to develop our unions to be a campaigning force for good on campus. Also a commitment to end all-male panels at NUS. Equal opportunity to get involved with student activities, giving financial support to low-income students


2.      Vicki Baars – support for student unions and students to attend a national demonstration against FE and HE cuts and fees. Allow training to activists to be as inclusive as possibly e.g. online and into FE colleges. Also make the argument of education as a public good.

Elected: Vicki Baars

Vice-President: Welfare
1.      Pete Mercer – will campaign against the government who are cutting student support for vulnerable students. Also lobby for funding arrangements for postgrads. The need for greater liberation

Elected: Pete Mercer (current VP: Welfare for a second year)

Vice-President: Society and Citizenship
1.      Dannie Grufferty – commit to get at least 20 FE and HE institutions paying the Living Wage, campaign against unpaid internships, campaign not to prohibit student protests on campuses, launch a campaign to ban kettling, help to develop community organising network amongst student unions

Elected: Dannie Grufferty (current VP: Soc and Cit)

NUS Block of 15
1.      Lizi Gray (FE)
2.      Jamil Keating (FE)
3.      Caroline Dangerfield (HE)
4.      Matt Stanley (FE)
5.      Emma Meehan (HE)
6.      Michael Chessum (HE)
7.      Georgina Bavetta (HE)
8.      Furqan Naeem (HE)
9.      Mark Sewards (HE)
10.  Jamie Woodcock (HE)

Elected (places reserved for FE): Jamil Keating, Joe Vinson, Surya Prakash-Bhatta, Matt Stanley, Roshni JoshiElected: Alex Causton-Ronaldston, Michael Chessum, Caroline Dangerfield, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Jake Kitchener, Emma Meehan, Aidan Mersh, Mark Sewards, Mike Williamson, Jamie Woodcock

Motions
There were many motions and amendments voted upon at conference. I will explain the way I voted and the reasons behind this on some of the key motions brought up at conference. To discuss my whole voting record or to see the way I voted on other motions please email tp1122@bristol.ac.uk

Don’t Just Widen Participation – Deepen Participation (501) – Voted FOR
This motion called on NUS to research barriers WP students faced and to secure funding for student unions to remove financial barriers that may prevent students from partaking in extra-curricular activities.I believe it is priority of the NUS to pursue ever increasing widening participation schemes allowing students who may not usually access further and higher education to maximise their potential in education so I voted for this motion.

Right to Protest on Campus (510) – Voted FOR
This motion called on the NUS to condemn legal action taken by universities who want to prevent students from peacefully campaigning and to train student unions to work with students to protest effectively.I believe it is a fundamental right that students should be allowed to peacefully protest against their university and the NUS should protect students when universities try to stop this, therefore I voted for the motion.For the same reasons I voted for Motion 402: Defend the Right to Protest

Free Education in FE (203) – Voted FOR
This motion argued that the NUS should campaign against the introduction of fees and loans into further education and to aim to reinstate free first level 2 and 3 qualifications for allI believe that both FE and HE should be free as the country and the individual both benefit from individuals becoming more educated so should be seen as a public good and therefore I voted in favour of the motion. This motion included amendments arguing that FE should be free at all levels and the NUS should run a campaign demanding no to FE fees, stopping cuts to courses and the immediate re-instatement of EMA which I also voted in favour of.

Lifelong Learning (204) – Voted FOR
This links to the previous motion, arguing that there should be universal access to level 2 and level 3 qualifications which I believe the furthering an individual’s education and potential at any age of their life is a fundamental right.

Public Role of Higher Education (302) – Voted FOR
This motion argued the NUS needed to research the social and economic benefits of higher education in wider society and to promote the value of higher education in the local community and need for higher education to be a public good. Amendments included the need to win public guarantees with political parties to reinvest funding in HE, develop links with trade unions advocate the value of education and the need for the NUS to lobby universities to be the drive of social mobility: all of which I voted in favour of.

Access and Admissions (304) – Voted FOR
The motion called on the NUS to lobby for a post-results application system to universities, to lobby institutions to use contextual data in admissions and to further the work done to widen participation.I believe a post-results application system will be a fairer way of applying to university taking into consideration actual rather than predicted results and contextual offers allow students from poorer backgrounds to get into university based upon their potential therefore I voted in favour of the motion.

Higher Education Bill (305) – Voted FOR
This motion condemns the use of profit in the education sector, the privatisation and sell-off of our education, calls for the student movement to work with the trade union movement and other allies to raise the profile of this. It also calls for NUS to oppose private providers in the education sector and oppose outsourcing of teaching activitiesI believe education is a public good and should be argued for within wider society, and the private sector should not have a role in the further and higher education sector therefore I voted in favour of the motion.Amongst the amendments for this motion, there was a call for a National Demonstration in the autumn term 2012 which I voted in favour of. I voted in favour because I believe the government is callously and ideologically attacking further and higher education and young people through the introduction of FE fees, tripling of HE tuition fees, cutting of the EMA, cuts to teaching grants and high interest rates on student debt. I believe that the only way that students will have their voice heard by the government is through a mass demonstration combining both HE and FE students. Other amendments included opposing the White Paper for fees in higher education and support a national campaign against it which I did vote for however I voted against an indefinite national student strike if the HE bill is passed.

Support for Students Taking a Year from Study (606) – Voted FOR
This motion calls for greater information provision and information retention detailing the differing experiences of students taking a year from study. It also called for Student Finance to provide greater support and information for these students considering taking a year from study.I believe in supporting all students financially and socially so students are given the full details so can make a properly informed decision when deciding whether to take a year from study so I voted for this motion.

Password Protection (704) – Voted FOR
This motion highlighted that the NUS Connect website is password protected, deterring many activists and students getting fully involved with democracy within the NUS. Part of my manifesto pledge was to increase transparency in the NUS so a small change such as removing this password protection would help students know more about the NUS’ role so I voted in favour of this motion.

Overview
At national conference, there was a heavy dominance of sabbatical officers at times feeling like that the NUS actually stands for the National Union of Sabbatical Officers. Although their expertise in issues such as higher education policy and the running of unions is extremely useful in the functioning of the NUS, the main positions in NUS are mostly filled by former sabbatical officers most who could have possibly completed another degree since leaving university. Do they represent student’s interests now? It would be interesting to find out the percentage of students and percentage of sabbatical officers that attended conference. However sabbatical officers mostly ran for positions so could be a reason why I felt like sabbatical officers were dominant.

The biggest thing that came out of my time at conference, was the amount of procedural motions that were put forward (no I didn’t really know what they were until I arrived either) meaning that a lot of time was wasted discussing the democratic procedures of conference rather than the policies that everyone came to discuss. In addition to that there were a large number of amendments made to motions which seemed to waste time. Although it is vital that we get motions correct at times it felt like people were using amendments to make an impromptu motion.

Also there was not enough time to discuss motions that was proposed by unions, who spent a lot of time writing and preparing them which ultimately didn’t get heard. Although the priority ballot was meant to ensure that those with the most interest were debated, most never got heard (even those at the top of the ballot) as recommendations from zone committees were discussed before. For example in the Education Zone no ordinary motions were discussed meaning that students didn’t have the opportunity to put their case forward in front of National Conference for important issues such as Security in Colleges and the future funding arrangements of higher education, which will all now be handed over to the NEC to discuss and vote upon.Although in this overview I have focused on negative aspects of the conference (mainly concerning the procedures rather than what was actually discussed), on the whole it was a great experience and privilege to represent the Bristol student body on a national level. Influencing NUS policy for the forthcoming year and electing representatives highlighted the important role that the NUS plays in the student movement. It is important that Bristol plays a key role in the NUS as when students combine as a national force, we can achieve far more than we can as a union on our own. That’s why it is vitally important that Bristol and the NUS as a whole supports the National Demo that was mandated by conference, takes as many students as we can to campaign against this government’s attack on FE and HE as a public good. However I think over the next year it is imperative that the NUS engages more with the student body to ensure that students know the NUS does so much more than just get them 10% off in River Island!

To discuss any of this report and my experience at NUS National Conference feel free to email me at tp1122@bristol.ac.uk