On Wednesday 8th March, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, gave a presentation to Newcastle University’s Politics Society. The event provided a good chance for open and frank discussion on Prevent, the Government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, and there was a lot of time for an in-depth question and answer session with a broad range of opinions. […]
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Student Voice: Let’s have an honest discussion about Prevent
Last month, University of Warwick student, Phoebe Davies-Owen, attended a conference addressing the Prevent duty in universities. Here, she gives her take on the one-sided message being spread by the attendees, and the difficulties she faced when attempting to challenge the claims of the anti-Prevent lobby. All views are her own, and do not necessarily […]
Continue readingNUS campaign materials endorse extremist groups
Today, activists from the National Union of Students (NUS) Welfare Campaign and NUS Black Students’ Campaign are taking part in a “national day of action” against Prevent, the government counter-radicalisation policy. Part of an ongoing effort to undermine attempts to challenge extremism on campus, this follows a number of events on the issue which have […]
Continue readingFOSIS work with MEND on Islamophobia campaign
Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) aims to raise awareness of anti-Muslim hate crime across the UK. Bigotry towards Muslims remains a problem at UK universities, and groups like the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) are right to highlight this serious issue. Student Rights has logged a number of anti-Muslim incidents at universities in the past, […]
Continue readingEx-student who fought against Islamic State banned from UCL (Update: UCLU reverse decision)
UPDATE: 16/11/2015: Following a high profile campaign by UCLU Kurdish Society, the Student Union has reversed their decision to ban Macer Gifford from speaking on campus. In a statement released today, UCLU said: “On Friday 13th November, UCL finally received a response from the police, stating that they felt it would be safe and legally […]
Continue readingOpen letter shows concerns about student campaign against Prevent
Last week saw an open letter published in the Independent which targeted the UK’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, and called for it to be scrapped. Signed by over 40 senior National Union of Students (NUS) and individual student union officers, the letter damned the policy as one which: “…reinforces an ‘us’ and ‘them’ view of the […]
Continue readingNUS motion pledges to work with CAGE
Over the past two days, delegates from the National Union of Students (NUS) have been meeting in Liverpool for the organisation’s Annual Conference. Voting on new policy, the NUS once again showed its inability to challenge extremism, instead passing a motion resolving to oppose government counter-extremism work. Motion 517 declared that “NUS officers will not […]
Continue readingMEND events promoted to students
With the general election fast approaching there have been several articles in recent weeks which have revealed attempts to gain political influence by organisations connected to extremists. This afternoon, an event at the University of Manchester will host one such group, as Yusuf Thai of Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) addresses students on Islamophobia. Meanwhile, […]
Continue readingDivisive speakers to address students at SOAS
Entitled ‘The Rise of ISIS: Origin and Reality’, an event at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on Friday will feature speeches by Abdullah Al-Andalusi and Muhammad Dilwar Hussain. Given their previous output on the subject, it is likely that the speakers will focus on blaming the West for the group’s rise and […]
Continue readingIslamophobia Awareness Month sees extreme speakers at SOAS
On Tuesday it was reported that an event called ‘Criminalising Islam’, featuring several extreme speakers, would be hosted at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on 14 November. Part of Islamophobia Awareness Month, the talk will see Sulaiman Ghani and Abdullah Al-Andalusi discuss the “movement all across the globe towards the criminalising of […]
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