One year ago today I was in Trafalgar Square, dipping out of work to watch the announcement of the 2012 Olympic bid winners. The memory of the whole experience is pretty vague now and has been reduced to a series of moments and images that in theory should of lasted the course and set the tone for London in the year to come. Bright and hopeful, a city of unrivalled aspirations, the images that have proved longevity are of course not the memories of communal success but the experience of shared strife after the events of the 7th July 2005.

Today I have completed my NEC induction training, and am winging my way back to London with other members of the National Executive Committee. The four days I have spent with these people have been vastly rewarding. Taking up my role as a member of the NEC came with its own set of anxieties, the fear of the bitter infighting that dominated my perception of the NUS leadership have been shattered for the mean time. Spending sessions talking frankly and openly about our boundaries, our differences and most importantly where the common points in each of our manifestos join, enabled me to build up a genuine affinity for each member of the NEC.

The recognition of the correlation of the dates and the mood of hopefulness that are shared in my feelings of 06-07-05 and 06-07-06 has made me ask questions; The last year has shown me that in a heartbeat your whole perception can be changed and that you have to ask questions, that in these periods of rapid change and turmoil, you often see the best and worst in people. I am proud of the student movement for the work it has engaged in, in the past year. Fighting Islamaphobia on campuses and tackling fascist organisations that have attempted to use the criminal tragedy of 7th July 05 for their own despicable ends. In these months student activists have stepped up their fight, marching against the BNP in Leeds, fighting racist lecturers and opposing reactionary positions adopted by a small number of lecturing staff as we saw demonstrated in the Glees report.

I hope that it will be in this spirit of positive reactions and proactive engagements that we approach our year on the NEC, I sincerely hope that the challenges we face pale in comparison to the beginning of the last academic year, but of this we have no guarantees. I will give a better account of my meetings and outputs in the next blog but I felt it important to get something out there.

DNC

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