It is with a happy and sad heart that I write this blog. Happy because I have just attended the last ever NUS Students with Disabilities Conference- I am so proud that we got the name change through. Sad because for me after 3 years of being an activist in the students with disabilities campaign it was my last conference. But I will say this- it was great that this was my last ever conference because I think it was the best ever- so much debate, the greatest amount of delegates, a well fought election and superb policy for the new officer and committee to work with next year. I look forward to seeing the campaigns in action next year.

The debates that we had were so good- it is brilliant that the NUS DISABLED STUDENTS Campaign has policy about free education, cuts in adult education, to have a FE Priority Campaign (considering for our campaign a huge number of our members are on FE campuses), about disabled post graduate disabled students, that the campaign is now pro choice and proud of it, that we have policy about assisted dying and we are going to continue actions such as the disabled sports day and the sexually RevaLOOation campaign.

It was also really good that the representation at the conference ahs started to be more inclusive with the largest number of black students and international students attending the conference. For a long time, because of culture differences when it comes to disability- these 2 groups have not been engaging in the campaign but the SWD campaign has worked closely with the black students campaign to change this and I think the number of delegates demonstrates we have come a long way. The fact that for the first time ever we now have a black students place and an international student place on the committee will also mean that the representation of these students will be insured and truly effective and that hopefully more international students and disabled students will get involved.

The elections were well fought and well done to all those who stood and a huge congratulations to the new DS Officer Alex Kemp and the new committee. Here is the run down of who got elected.

Alex Kemp NUSDS Officer

Kathy Wylde Steering Committee

Nic Boardman Steering Committee

James Hughes Steering Committee

Adam Hyland Open Place Rep

Robert Warman Open Place Rep

Oli Wood Open Place Rep

Victoria Bagworth Women's Place Rep

Maria Hanson Women's Place Rep

Josephine Elms Women's Place Rep

James Piper LGBT & National Council Rep

Matt Bromley FE Rep

Beccy Sawbridge Black Students Rep (job share)

Kainde Manji Black Students Rep (job share)

Ziby Cherry Philips International Students Rep

The 3 big debates that happened at conference were changing the name for students with disabilities to the disabled students campaign, the campaign becoming pro choice and supporting the NUS Wales women’s officer. I wanted to quickly go through these debates and talk about the way I voted.

The name change

I am very proud that I was a huge supporter on changing the name of our campaign. Many people wonder why and my reasons are simple. At a time when we are trying to get many people in the UK and beyond to embrace the social model of disability, at a time when we have so many opportunities to get active and political and at a time when there needs to be a huge culture shift we need to be disabled and proud. We need to stand up and say it is society that disables us and not the other way around. Disability is a result of society's failure to adapt to the requirements of individuals with impairments. So, in my own case, when I self define as a disabled person, I am not describing my impairments, my dyslexia or mental ill health. These impairments are part of who I am. This is my reality; it's part of my culture. No; it is society's attitude to my impairments and the barriers I face as a result that disable me. It is the discrimination and stigma that I face everyday that disables me. I don’t own my disability. I am not the cause of my disabilities- society is and therefore that is why I am a disabled student.

For a few years now NUS has subscribed to the Social Model of Disability, which maintains that society and attitudes are the problem, and that the problem does not lie with the disabled. A high priority for NUS is the campaign to ensure that the Social Model is universally accepted. Yet whilst we have subscribed to the social model of disability we have still continued to call ourselves the students with disabilities campaign, whilst most of the disability movement has moved to the term disabled student. Surely the fact that we call ourselves SWD demonstrates that we do not completely subscribe to the social model. The name change now demonstrates that we are a political movement campaigning to get rid of disablism, for equality and for liberation. That we are truly are a movement that is dedicated to the social model of disability. We will be campaigning to Students’ Unions to change the name of their local campaigns and sending out model motions.

Being Pro Choice

As a woman who is disabled I am also very proud to say that our campaign is now pro choice and proud of it. It is time for non-disabled people to realize that we have the right to make decisions about our bodies, that we have the right to decide what happens to ourselves and our future. It is so wrong that anti choice campaigners are on our campuses using the issue of disability and disability cleansing as an emotive way of denying women, including disabled women, the right to choose what they do with their bodies, denying them the right to say it is my life and denying them the right to make decisions for themselves. We must remember this- being pro choice is not about being pro abortion it is about believing that ALL women have the choice what to do with their bodies and that that choice should be theirs and no one else’s. Do we want to say as a movement that we want to deny disabled women the right to make a choice, that we don’t believe disabled women have the right to decide their own future and that we want to deny disabled women their freedoms? Because if we do believe this we are the same as the disablists, the oppressors and the conservatives that we unite together to fight and campaign against. ALL women have the right to choose what they do with their bodies- full stop! This means arguing for choice and this means we must silence the disability cleansing argument. I am proud that our campaign has made a stand. A stand that is not about being pro abortion but about being pro choice, pro rights and pro freedoms.

Supporting the NUS Wales Women’s Position

I found it strange that one of the biggest debates we had was supporting the NUS Wales Women’s Officer. The position is yet again under threat by CMs in Wales and I believe that all liberation campaigns need to stand in solidarity together. An attack on one liberation campaign is an attack on them all and creating an equal opps officer does not fight for liberation, does that allow the campaigns to be run by those who self define. I do believe that all the liberation campaigns should be funded equally but that does not mean cutting one liberation budget or officer- it means resourcing and funding the other 3 to the same level!!! If they come after the women’s officers they will soon by after the disabled students officers!

So that was it. SWD Conference over and done. But we’ll be back in Blackpool in a month for Annual- OH MY GOD- SCARY!!!

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