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 […]
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Student 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 readingThe Huffington Post: When It Comes To Anti-Semitism, The NUS Just Doesn’t Get It
With the release of the Home Affairs Select Committee’s (HASC) much publicised report concerning anti-Semitism in the UK, campus tensions facing Jewish students have once more become a pressing issue of public discourse. Amid the general rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK, the British press has notably covered alleged anti-Semitic behaviour within the National […]
Continue readingHome Affairs Committee report slams NUS leadership
Yesterday saw the release of the Home Affairs Select Committee’s (HASC) report into antisemitism in the UK, which included a significant section on campus antisemitism. While this section began by detailing the controversy around Oxford University Labour Club, as well as Baroness Royall’s report into the matter, the focus was on the National Union 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 readingThe Sunday Times: Corbyn aide: Ignore anti-terror laws (£)
A senior member of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign team has called on people to break anti-terrorism laws. In a recording obtained by The Sunday Times, Shelly Asquith dismissed the threat of “so-called Islamic extremism” and laid out a programme of “grassroots activism” to make Prevent, the government’s anti-terror strategy, “truly unworkable”. She stated: “Are we […]
Continue readingNUS leadership accused of ‘antisemitic rhetoric’ by student leaders
The long-running controversy over past comments made by National Union of Students (NUS) President, Malia Bouattia, continued today with the release of an open letter signed by three NUS vice presidents and dozens of other student leaders. While Bouattia was not named in the letter, the signatories wrote that:“NUS’ Leadership has rightly come under increased […]
Continue reading‘Students not Suspects’ at Queen Mary
A new year has only just begun on university campuses, and the National Union of Students’ (NUS) anti-Prevent agenda has been quick off the block to pick up where it left off last year. This has taken the form of the ‘Students Not Suspects’ campaign, which hosted an event in association with Queen Mary University […]
Continue readingNew NUS President sparks further controversy
The new academic year has barely started, yet the new President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Malia Bouattia, has once again sparked controversy. During her time as NUS Black Students’ Officer, Bouattia infamously opposed a motion condemning Islamic State, and earlier this year 50 Presidents of Jewish student societies criticised her for previously […]
Continue readingNUS delegate’s rant shows wider problem in student movement
Daniel Yahia, a student at the University of Edinburgh elected as a National Union of Students (NUS) delegate, has been accused of using antisemitic language on his Facebook page When discussing Nir Bitton, an Israeli footballer who plays for Celtic, Mr Yahia wrote: “Sick of seeing Celtic fans creaming themselves over Nir Bitton. We are […]
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