The Union of Students acknowledges the recent announcement that The Government will temporarily disengage with the National Union of Students (NUS) following recent antisemitism allegations
The Union of Students acknowledges the recent announcement that The Government will temporarily disengage with the National Union of Students (NUS) following recent antisemitism allegations.
As such, the NUS will be removed from all Department for Education groups and be replaced with alternative student representation, such as from the Office for Student’s student panel or from individual student unions, to ensure all students’ views are reflected fairly in conversations about higher education. The Department for Education is asking other bodies, including the Office for Students, to take similar action.
NUS has responded to the allegations:
“NUS’ record is clear and compelling – we have been on the right side of every major social injustice of the past 100 years and we won’t be stopping now. It doesn’t mean there haven’t been mistakes or moments where we’ve fallen short of our values or what you expect of us. We are, after all, a movement of human beings. But there is an unshakable foundation upon which NUS and the student movement stands and that foundation is social justice”.
NUS has called an independent investigation into the allegations.
Vice President Education, Nina Cupric says, “We acknowledge the complex nature of the situation and are working to better understand the impacts. I can however with complete clarity say that as a Union we stand against any form of antisemitism, hate or bullying. We are keen to hear your thoughts on the situation, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
As a Union, we stand to represent the interests of all students.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion sit within our core values as a Union of Students; Students sit at the heart of everything we do: in championing student voice, celebrating diversity and pushing for greater equality.
The Union strives to surpass all our legal obligations and we want to go above and beyond to foster a community where our students and staff feel confident and proud to be themselves. In all derivatives and avenues of the Union, we will ensure our practices and activities across our organisation are inclusive, so every student feels a sense of belonging and equal access to all the development opportunities in which we offer.
Going forward, The Union is looking to implement a student voice mechanism whereby students will be able to vote on whether we continue with our affiliation with the NUS, year on year. Please join us at our AGM on the 25th of May to vote on this and other proposals.