Student politics is an interesting world.
It has a lot of good, with people wanting to represent students and do the best for them.
It also has a lot of bad.
And since my last blog was very positive, I'm now going to concentrate on some of the negatives.
People want to think the best of others and that's a good principle to have. However, this can also lead to a lot of naivety to the true intentions. You have groups who are particularly good at taking the moral high ground on issues when their arguments are essentially all front. For one example, the Student Broad Left last year opposed porposed changes to the structure of Students' Union Council and Union committees, saying the changes were anti-democratic. However, the real reason they opposed the changes was that they had worked out how to manipulate Council as it was then, and they feared a change in the system would reduce their influence.
To be clear, I'm not saying that everyone who opposed those changes did so for this reason, but I'm in no doubt that some people did.
This is just one example. There are plenty more, particularly when it comes to NUS.
A related problem is that politics has almost become a dirty word amongst students. This means that it is almost frowned upon to mention the political motivations behind certain actions. The groups who are well aware of what is really going on are often on the far-left and don't represent the views of the majority of students. They are therefore able to manipulate situations for the benefit of their political grouping.
I don't have a problem with revolutionary socialists organising (whether their model is the Bolshevik Revolution or the Bolivarian Revolution or something else). The issue I have is that a lot of students see politics as the problem. In other words, the view is that if we had a bit less politics, then we would concentrate on the issues students care about.
However, student issues are political and it is not politics that is the problem, it is the wrong kind of politics. Being unengaged does not make politics go away, it just means that people are often naive and easily manipulated.
This obviously comes from my perspective, which is that I don't believe a Union pushing for a socialist revolution serves the interests of students well. When we say we speak for students whilst putting forward views that are grossly divergent from those of the majority of our members, we will be ignored by decision-makers.
I recognise that those on the far-left believe that students problems are all caused, at base, by capitalism and the overthrow of capitalism is the only way to address these issues. I'm not saying that the intentions of the far-left are wrong. Moreover, I commend the honesty of those who are part of a political faction who stand up and say that. However, I do disagree with the direction they think the Union should take.
I think the democratic systems we have as a Union are strong, but there is always room for improvement. I think we need to find a way of making sure the politics is out in the open (or at least the intentions behind actions), without putting those who are not politically engaged off from getting involved.
I don't know exactly how this can be achieved, but then I'm leaving soon, so it will be up to others to solve the problem!
Cheers,
Pete
Sheffield Students' Union - Amazing
It's been a bit of a marathon week with the last three evenings taken up with the Activities Awards, Sports Awards and the 'University, is it worth it?' debate respectively.
These events have been an excellent reminder of what this Union is about - the energy and enthusiasm of students.
Award ceremonies only work when people care about the awards, and at the activities and sports awards it was abundantly clear that people care about activities and sport here. This manifests itself in people giving up hours of their time for the benefit of others. Student volunteering isn't just about projects with the local community, it's also about the people who type up the minutes of their committees or who put time and effort into putting on the best possible event. This is what makes this Union what it is.
The 'University, is it worth it?' debate highlighted a different side to the Union, the more political and representative side. Nonetheless students were there in good numbers, making points to the various stakeholders on the panel. This is in a context of people saying that students are apathetic and don't care about politics. It is our job as a Union to put the interests of student front and centre when the government reviews funding arrangements for Universities and it was excellent to see last night large numbers of students who buy into that project and who buy into the notion that the interests of students should be heard. This is also what makes the Union what it is.
This organisation is an amazing place to work for a whole variety of reasons, but one of the most foremost reasons is the privillege to work for an organisation which has so many people contributing to its success. We want students to fully appreciate their membership of the Union and we need to work on this, but whether acknowledged or not, the Union is what it is because of its members and that is a glowing tribute to the students of this University.
These events have been an excellent reminder of what this Union is about - the energy and enthusiasm of students.
Award ceremonies only work when people care about the awards, and at the activities and sports awards it was abundantly clear that people care about activities and sport here. This manifests itself in people giving up hours of their time for the benefit of others. Student volunteering isn't just about projects with the local community, it's also about the people who type up the minutes of their committees or who put time and effort into putting on the best possible event. This is what makes this Union what it is.
The 'University, is it worth it?' debate highlighted a different side to the Union, the more political and representative side. Nonetheless students were there in good numbers, making points to the various stakeholders on the panel. This is in a context of people saying that students are apathetic and don't care about politics. It is our job as a Union to put the interests of student front and centre when the government reviews funding arrangements for Universities and it was excellent to see last night large numbers of students who buy into that project and who buy into the notion that the interests of students should be heard. This is also what makes the Union what it is.
This organisation is an amazing place to work for a whole variety of reasons, but one of the most foremost reasons is the privillege to work for an organisation which has so many people contributing to its success. We want students to fully appreciate their membership of the Union and we need to work on this, but whether acknowledged or not, the Union is what it is because of its members and that is a glowing tribute to the students of this University.
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