Patrick Greenfield – Yes
When my parents were at university, being a student meant something radically different. National student solidarity played an important role in determining the key political issues and furthering the progression of British civil rights. My mother’s involvement with the student feminist movement helped forge her future career, and whilst my aunt’s political drive has mellowed with age, she has never been able to shake off her Trotskyite indulgences. Simply, students demanded a better world in which freedom, equality and fairness were prioritised. Contemporary Britain, however, has no desire to stimulate students of the big ideas. Hordes of moronic public school students desperate to hone their financial service skills take precedence and, lamentably, the University of York now derives an unnerving amount of pride from the quantity of vapid ‘lads’ who realise their dream of working in the HR department of KPMG. Therefore, the composition of student solidarity must be seriously reconsidered to accommodate this depressing revolution in aspiration. Simply, what is the point of the National Union of Students?
Notwithstanding their stagnant structure and their bureaucratic inadequacies, can the NUS continue to justify their mandate? Is there a need for national student solidarity anymore? Student politics is quickly dismissed nationally and university is increasingly becoming an opportunity reserved for Britain’s middle classes. Certainly, the NUS has done little to halt the relentless attack on student life over the last 20 years, and they also preserve incestuously close relationships with the governmental institutions that perpetuate the corrosion of the student experience. Eye wateringly high fees, socially inaccessible institutions and a crushing debt are commonly accepted parts of student life. Thanks for all the hard work NUS, you have really done a great job protecting university education.
So what would leaving NUS mean for YUSU? Students would benefit from a York-centric Union that solely acts in the interest of students that go to the University of York. Several hardworking members of YUSU have made incredible progress in the provision of student services but there is much more that needs to change. With a more powerful mandate, who knows what they could achieve?
Milo Boyd – No
The National Union of Students has, in recent times, come under fire. Described by York’s own Free Lunch as an organisation “drenched in bureaucracy” and having been fractured by the secession of Universities such as Imperial and St Andrew’s, its position is increasingly unstable. With the mood of 2010’s student protests rapidly fading into a mere memory, uncertain times are inevitable for the UK’s university population. The NUS is an invaluable body. Despite being best known for the irresistible NUS card, the roles they perform slightly behind the scenes remain as important as at anytime in their 80 year tenure. Working in co-ordination with the European Union of Students, they offer both a national and international platform, channelling the political and social malcontent of an intellectually active area of society. Were it not for this outlet, the student voice would carry considerably less clout and likely be lost in melee of media noise. This platform is, for some, as much a hindrance as it is a help. The age-old criticism of unions resonates around their inability to voice the concern of everyone; the power of one unified statement necessarily clouding the diversity of opinion present within its members. This is a flaw, but one which the NUS looks to overcome with its democratic election process and constant interaction with Universities. To those who argue that the NUS detracts attention from immanent and changeable university issues, I would suggest this is a product more of the current student apathy than of any fault of the NUS.
The NUS is not a perfect institution. It is a union which can, much like Unite, be suspect of being too money focused and a convenient graduate employment program. The cosy relationship it holds with the government is, to many, equally unattractive. We should be careful, however, of throwing the baby out with the bath water. By taking a keener interest in the NUS, applauding its successes as well as chastising its misdemeanours and pushing for reforms, we can mould our union into a union that represents us.
The NUS offers a chance to unite under a common ideal, to tap into the core of the intellectual sector and be part of a body that can make real, significant and much needed changes in a society divided.