I'm Pieter, and I'm running to be one of our NUS delegates.
I am currently the Education Chair for University of Derby and was a student representative
In practice, the conferences are mostly an opportunity for student officers to learn from each other's experiences. There are also opportunities, though, for delegates to help shape the priorities of the NUS' officer team.
The priorities I would push for as a delegate are:
- Resolving the issues behind the ongoing industrial action. There are currently 18 days of UCU strikes planned just for February and March. There could also be a marking boycott in the summer, disrupting degrees and postponing graduations. I believe that a top priority for the NUS should be pressuring universities to resolve their disputes with staff. I believe that means repairing their pensions, paying them properly, and making their working conditions more equitable and sustainable.
- Defending and advocating for all rights with students. As a student movement, we have a voice on social issues: the only choice we must make is between staying silent while these students are maligned and misrepresented or speaking up with them. I believe that the NUS could and should be doing more to reinforce and amplify the voices of all students.
- Solving the NUS' own problems. A lot has happened in the NUS since its last conference. Whatever other perspectives you have, it is important that all students can express their voices at these conferences. At this conference, delegates need to hold the NUS to its commitments to reform.
- Make university education accessible.
- Eradicate barriers.
- Ensure those who are not heard, are.
No student should be left behind.
A vote for me is a vote for unity, solidarity, and promotion of student voice.