YES
The NUS plays a critical role in supporting YUSU and defending the interests of students at York.
All students at York have the opportunity to shape the political direction and work of NUS; in fact it is one of the largest democratic organisations in Europe. It’s easy to criticise NUS for being ‘too removed’ from the day-to-day lives of students, but in reality their work provides benefits to us throughout our entire time as students. It was NUS who forced major change at the Student Loans Company and who successfully campaigned for 100 per cent council tax exemptions for students, saving each and every one of us money every day. It’s now NUS who are leading the way on campaigning for fairer education costs after the Liberal Democrats betrayed students on tuition fees.
The cost of our affiliation to NUS is almost entirely offset by the savings of £38,715 which YUSU make each year thanks to the centralised purchasing of stock for campus outlets. As a result of these savings, the real cost of affiliation for an entire year is just £5,285 – that’s approximately 41 pence per student. For this tiny amount, students reap the benefits of belonging to an organisation which provides vital support to those experiencing difficulties, as well as defending the interests of the student population as a whole.
Whilst it makes financial sense for us to stick with NUS, the advantages of affiliation cannot be measured purely in these terms. Working with NUS provides less tangible benefits including the provision of crucial support for the running of YUSU. Whether it’s providing expert legal advice, vital campaigning support or giving officer training, NUS is there for YUSU and its students. NUS also invests in the fight to stop discrimination against minority groups. Countless students can testify that NUS has been there for them when they’ve experienced difficulties at university because of their gender, race, disability or sexuality.
Students at York deserve a union that works for them, but this can only be achieved if you vote YES to NUS.
Benjamin Dilks is a 1st year English Literature student and a York delegate to NUS LGBT conference.
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NO
Each year, we hand over almost £45,000 to the NUS. It’s a huge sum of money, to put that in comparison, it’s almost the same amount as YUSU’s entire budget which YUSU sets aside for student societies (around £60,000).
This is money that could be spent on York students – I’m sure I’m not the only student who has found that my societies and sports clubs haven’t received the full grant we’ve asked for, is it any surprise when we’re spending such huge amounts of money on affiliation to the NUS. And it’s not just clubs and societies that miss out; it’s our colleges, welfare and volunteering organisations too.
And what is all this money going on? An organisation York students have very little influence over. Only 4 York students have a vote at NUS conference, which decides its policies, aims and leaders. Only 4 students from York were allowed to vote in the election of the new NUS President. That’s over £10,000 per vote!
Having chaired a national organisation for young people, I’ve seen firsthand the ineffectiveness of the NUS. Their refusal to work with those who don’t share their ideology; the factionalism of an organisation that promotes people based on their political colours rather than ability. They’ve been ineffective in influencing government and have forgotten about the people that really matter – you and me.
It’s about time that YUSU stopped throwing money at this organisation and kept YUSU money for York Students. The ‘benefits’ of being in the NUS are vastly exaggerated – Courtyard aren’t allowed to sell cheaper booze than the University run bars. We don’t need to send our officers on £300 training weekends on how to be “political activists”.
Let’s fund what really matters, not a club for the politically ambitious.
Alan Belmore is a 2nd year Politics and Economics student and former Chair of Liberal Youth.
“The cost of our affiliation to NUS is almost entirely offset by the savings of £38,715 which YUSU make each year thanks to the centralised purchasing of stock for campus outlets. As a result of these savings, the real cost of affiliation for an entire year is just £5,285”
These numbers were calculated by the NUS from TUCO list prices. The University (which operates the other bars on campus) goes direct to get cheaper deals and has the capacity to negotiate discounts with TUCO where necessary. The SU could do the same in order to stock the Courtyard. The net cost is likely to be greater in respect of this.
With regards to the successes claimed by the NUS; The NUS crowds out movements run independently by other groups. When in negotiations with government various other national student movements had access to MPs and the NUS refused to share materials that could be used in the argument against the changes to University education. The NUS is so deliberately obstructive because those who run it care about pleasing those in their preferred political parties, rather than caring about representing students.
“to put that in comparison, it’s almost the same amount as YUSU’s entire budget which YUSU sets aside for student societies (around £60,000).”
Where exactly did Belmore magic these figures up from?
Probably YUSU’s Clubs and Societies Resources and Participation Report (Page 2):
http://www.k3hosting.com/yusu/YUSU%20Clubs%20and%20Societies%20report.pdf
If you’re so dubious as to NUS’s figures on the massive savings we make, why are they all over your posters and literature?
They at least show that there is at least a quantifiable net financial cost. It’s impossible to construct accurate figures when (despite asking to be alerted in advance when the referendum would be) our campaign was alerted to when voting opened only 4 days before.
Surely you appreciate the absurdity of using list purchases and comparing only with purchasing consortia rather than direct suppliers as well. List prices aren’t accurate representations of what anybody pays, and it’s impossible to construct a hypothetical list of what prices things would be (University prices for example are kept confidential for the bars they run).
Regardless of how much we do or don’t save, the cost per student is still relatively miniscule. Perhaps if you had any experience of needing help or support from an organisation like NUS you’d be less inclined to rubbish the brilliant work they do.
Also, is it any wonder that NUS is reluctant to cooperate with the youth wing of the Liberal Democrats – a party which lies to students and clearly has no intention of defending young people’s interests. It’s pretty pathetic that Lib Dems are now campaigning to leave NUS just because as a democratic organisation it largely rejects their views. If the Lib Dems had any popular support they could campaign and organise within NUS just like any other political organisation, rather than slagging it off without any real grounds. The No campaign is a cynical plot to snatch away the voice of University of York students just because it doesn’t conform the unpopular Lib Dem / Tory agenda.
Who says I’ve not used services which are associated with the NUS at York? If you’re willing to give up your anonymity, please contact me if you want more on this subject.
I presume you also have an explanation for why Anarcho-syndicalist activists have also supported the No2NUS campaign?
Vote Yes:
You will of course recognise that when I chaired Liberal Youth, I put in an amendment to the motion accepting the coalition agreement opposing any rise in fees. I also spoke at that special conference and said that it would be a disgrace if any Lib Dem MP voted against the fee hike. Liberal Youth actively campaigned against fees and the fact that so many MPs rebelled is in no small part due to the sterling efforts of my successor, Martin Shapland.
It therefore surprises me that you think Liberal Youth somehow has diverging aims from the NUS when it comes to fees (indeed unlike the NUS, Liberal Youth was campaigning for the abolition of fees), its also why I was surprised that the NUS refused to engage with Liberal Youth on the issue.
@Vote Yes
Dragging up Belmore’s association with Liberal Youth is a bit bloody disingenuous.
It’s not the fact that the Liberal Youth bloc make up a relatively small proportion of the Union that renders it undemocratic- it’s the executive’s consistent opposition to any form of direct elections of Union leadership positions by the national student body.
What does the average student care about Aaron Porter or Wes Streeting? How much direct input did they have into deciding who gets the job of representing their interests on the national stage? Election of a single delegate who’s damned likely to vote on group lines places the people that should care the most at a remove too far from the Union- Yes campaigners tend to gloss over that delightful little fact.
In the last round of NUS Presidential elections, a candidate who counted “STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH OUR BROTHERS IN GAZA AND PALESTINE” amongst his leading manifesto pledges got an enormous proportion of the vote. Whether that’d be the case under direct elections from the students he hoped to represent is very much up for grabs.
The NUS elite has consistently opposed any measures with the potential to break their control. And, hell- look at the way the NUS chooses to wield its power! The Durham censorship controversy of last year- is that the sort of approach we want in our National Union? What business *is* it of the National Union what a University Debating Society decides to do with itself?
For that reason alone, I’m voting no.