Student Rights recently received a ‘suggested video’ on Facebook from CAGE, the controversial prisoner lobby group, which was entitled ‘10 Reasons to donate to CAGE’. The video lists some of these reasons, including their belief that they speak “truth to power”, “campaign against Prevent”, “[defend] the oppressed”, “give a voice to the voiceless” and “[do] […]
Continue readingTag Archives: cageprisoners
New report details student terrorism convictions
Yesterday’s publication of a new Henry Jackson Society report detailing all Islamist terrorism convictions in the UK between 1998 and 2015 provides the most comprehensive overview of the threat posed by Islamism-inspired terrorism to the UK. In its profiles of 258 individuals convicted of offences, ‘Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK […]
Continue readingStudents discuss extremism at York University
On Tuesday, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, was hosted by the York University Conservative Association as he gave a lecture on extremism and the Prevent Strategy at the university. Elliot examined many of the complaints from students about Prevent, seeking to debunk misunderstandings and make the case for Prevent when it comes to extremist […]
Continue readingChallenging Prevent at UCL
On Wednesday 30th September, Student Rights attended an event at University College London (UCL) entitled ‘Challenging Prevent: Defending our universities, communities and civil liberties’. The event formed part of the NUS’ launch of a Prevent helpline, whose purpose according to leaflets distributed at the event is to “support students and student union officers” and fight […]
Continue readingStudent Rights at the University of Manchester
Last week, Elliot Miller, the new National Organiser at Student Rights, led a ‘Challenging Extremism Workshop’ session at the University of Manchester. Hosted by students on 20th October, the workshop consisted of a brief presentation about the different types of extreme speakers and groups which target campuses, as well as the pros and cons of […]
Continue readingStudent Voice: Prevent and the NUS’ credibility gap on tackling extremism
Queen Mary student, Jacob Kishere, attended last month’s ‘Students not Suspects’ event at his university which saw NUS vice president, Shelly Asquith, criticised for encouraging students to ensure universities were unable to fulfill their legal duties around Prevent. Here, he gives his take on the positions taken by the speakers. All views are his own, […]
Continue readingStudents Not Suspects Conference: Campaigning with Extremists
Founded last summer, the ‘Students Not Suspects‘ campaign has now spent an academic year working to undermine Prevent, the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, on university campuses. While students should of course be free to oppose and challenge policy, Student Rights has repeatedly criticised the campaign, which is led by high profile National Union of Students (NUS) […]
Continue readingKingston VC’s comments on Prevent ignore the evidence
Professor Julius Weinberg, vice chancellor of Kingston University, has said university heads are “under a lot of pressure” not to criticise the government’s counter-radicalisation measures, collectively known as the Prevent strategy. Speaking at the University and College Union (UCU) congress in Liverpool last week, Mr Weinberg expressed his concerns Prevent might inhibit free speech and […]
Continue readingStudent campaign continues to undermine Prevent
Over the past academic year, Student Rights has frequently criticised the ‘Students Not Suspects’ campaign which has toured campuses calling on students to undermine the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent. Led by officials at the National Union of Students (NUS), the campaign has repeatedly spread misinformation and false claims about Prevent, some of which risk scaring […]
Continue readingNUS disaffiliation campaigns gaining momentum
Yesterday, students at the University of Newcastle overwhelmingly voted to leave the National Union of Students (NUS). This news comes only days after the University of Lincoln Students’ Union announced it was leaving the NUS, after students voted 881 to 804 to leave. These results are a damming indictment of NUS President-elect, Malia Bouattia, whose […]
Continue reading