Black Students' Campaign Update, December 2006
Welcome to the last Black Students' Campaign update before the end of term. It's been an active, fulfilling and inspiring term, and our campaign has continued to grow and move forward with a hugely successful first term conference and lots of important campaigning going on both locally on campus and nationally.
As ever, if you need advice, support or materials for running campaigns on your campus please do not hesitate to contact me. Many of the materials launched this term are available on our website www.officeronline.co.uk/black. I have had many requests for the NUS Black Students' Handbooks since Conference - if you want some more, just ask! A number of events are being planned for next term and details of these will be sent out early in the New Year, along with a national mailing to all universities and colleges.
One thing to watch out for will be the NUS Black Students Campaign regional meetings that will take place in the week beginning the 5th of February. This will be an opportunity to build on some of the themes of conference and get even more students from your students' union and your region involved in the campaign. Further details will follow shortly.
In unity,
Ruqayyah Collector
NUS Conference 2007 - make sure Black students have a say - deadlines to have your say in the running of NUS are looming!
As part of its aim to get 200 Black students as delegates to NUS Conference 2007, the NUS Black Students' Campaign is encouraging its members to approach their students' unions now to find out when elections take place and what the procedure for being a candidate is.
Many students' unions are holding their elections at the moment, and some have already passed - contact the campaign for advice and support on ensuring you are able to fully participate in the process.
It is vital that Black students are well represented at National Conference, to ensure that our priorities and interests are at the heart of our national movement. For help with writing manifestos or advice on standing and winning an election in your union, contact me at ruqs@nus.org.uk
Help make inequality illegal! - Make sure your views are heard on the Discrimination Law Review
The Discrimination Law Review is the biggest shake-up of equality legislation in a generation. Black communities have expressed deep concern that the decision to abolish the CRE and the failure to include specific provision to deal with race in the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights could result in issues of racism being marginalised. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A BLACK STUDENT KNOWN TO DECISION-MAKERS IN GOVERNMENT.
Many of you who were at our Winter Conference filled in our Black Students' Campaign questionnaire on the DLR, which we will use in our submission to government. If you have not yet filled it out, please take 5 minutes to do so by clicking here. Please also forward it on to any other contacts who would be able to fill it out. Please email them back to the campaign at ruqs@nus.org.uk
Unite Against Fascism - Stop the BNP in the May elections
On Saturday 9th December the NUS Black Students Campaign along with other student anti-racists, was central to the successful Unite Against Fascism (UAF) rally in Dagenham, London. The rally was called to show opposition to a BNP demonstration aimed at whipping up racist hatred. The BNP already has twelve councillors in the area which has seen a recent increase in racist violence.
Fascism stands for the murder of millions, the annihilation of entire communities and the complete destruction of democracy and human rights through violence.
On the day around 500 anti-fascists heavily outnumbered the 70 or so BNP supporters showing once again that the overwhelming majority rejects the politics of race hate.
However, with the Fascist British National Party receiving the highest ever vote for a Fascist party in British history in recent elections, its is vital that student anti-racists are getting active to stop the BNP in the next round of local council elections in May.
Unite Against Fascism can help you to get students mobilised in the run up to the elections by organising stalls, speaker meetings, leafleting and other activities.
It is important that students are registered to vote. If your Students' Union isn't running a voter registration drive, encourage them to do so or organise one through your Black student groups, Muslim, Jewish and other faith societies, and LGBT groups.
For more information about running a voter registration drive visit the Electoral Commission www.electoralcommission.org.uk or Operation Black Vote www.obv.org.uk
The elections are only taking place in some areas but students can register in their term time or their home address. Find out if elections are taking place near you by visiting www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and typing in your postcode.
UAF are also holding a one-day national conference on 17 February 2007 to prepare the campaign against the BNP and ensure that anti-fascists turn out to vote and stop the BNP. More details will be available in the new year. Please keep the date free.
Statement launched to defend freedom of religion, conscience and thought and oppose Islamophobia
In November, a rally took place in Westminster central Hall in London, organized by the British Muslim Initiative and the human rights group Liberty, to 'Defend freedom of religion, conscience and thought - End attacks on Muslims'. Numerous speakers including from all the mainstream political parties, faith communities and journalists, spoke on the need to oppose the growing climate of intolerance and racism, and defend multiculturalism. The NUS Black Students' Campaign was also present, as were other black community organisations such as the 1990 Trust.
A statement is being circulated by the coalition. Please sign up to the alliance's statement below, and encourage your Student Union to do the same.
"We believe that our most fundamental human rights include the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and cultural expression.
"These rights, which must be defended for all groups in society, are presently severely threatened by the rise in hostility and attacks against the Muslim communities. This constitutes an attack on the civil and religious liberties of all of us.
"It took hundreds of years of struggles, including international and civil wars, to establish these rights subject only to the proportionate protection of the human rights and freedoms of others.
"We believe that at this time it is necessary for democrats, of all faiths and none, to come together to defend these fundamental freedoms, and that our society must be true to its values of mutual respect."
A model motion to pass in your union is available here. For more information visit: www.bminitiative.net
Stop and Search powers questioned by Senior counter terrorism police officer
Britain's senior counter terrorism police officer has questioned the value of stop and search powers.
Andy Hayman, the Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner responsible for anti-terror probes, said few arrests or charges arose from such searches. "It is very unlikely that a terrorist is going to be carrying bomb-making equipment around... in the street," he told a London police authority hearing. It was "a big price to pay" given some people feel unfairly targeted, he said.
In an NUS press release this week, the NUS Black Students' Campaign welcomed the comments. Asian people are 18 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people and African Caribbean people 27 times more likely. Our concern is that stop and search is being used to unfairly target young black people; stigmatising or isolating any communities are counterproductive in the fight against terrorism, as community intelligence is the most effective weapon against it. We therefore call on the police to rethink their stop and search policy, and spend more time combating the 600% increase in racist attacks on the Black communities after the London bombings.
To order more 'Stop and Search – Know your Rights' cards to distribute to students please email me at ruqs@nus.org.uk. For the full press release by the campaign please visit the press section of the NUS website.
Government report reveals extent of institutional racism in education
Black African-Caribbean pupils are three times more likely to be excluded than white, and five times less likely to be on the official register of gifted and talented students. A Whitehall report, has blamed teachers prejudice against Caribbean-origin pupils.
Read the full report from the Independent at http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2062500.ece
Racism and mental health questionnaire
Vern de Maynard, a student at London South Bank University, has got in touch with the Black Students' Campaign to ask if any Black students of African and African-Caribbean descent could spend a few minutes filling in his questionnaire. Vern is working on research looking into the connection between racism and mental health.
As the recent successful NUS lobby of Parliament made clear, Black communities often bear the brunt of poor mental health policy, and are set to suffer even more under new legislation proposed by the Government. Please take the time to help Vern's research project by visiting: Vern de Maynard
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