As students across the country settle into their new homes and grapple with the difficulties of reading lists, lecture halls and making new friends, my work at NUS also reminds me of others who are spending this time fighting the anti-democracy forces in Burma, fighting against oppression in Zimbabwe and fighting for their lives in Darfur. Students have so often been at the forefront of social and political change that we are now relied on by pro-democracy and peace movements across the globe as a vital constituency for any campaigning movement. As the National Union of Students in the UK, we have made the crisis in Darfur a priority campaign for this very reason, and we know that students will do their utmost to contribute to the end of violence and establishment of long-term peace for the people of Darfur.

I was so proud to be speaking in the media and at the Day for Darfur demonstration in London last month: proud that so many young people came out to steward and participate. Prouder still that it seems many of our messages are finally filtering down and through to students and young people who have so often made such an impassioned difference in the past on issues relating to Southern Africa, the Middle East and Poverty. We must always recognise the responsibility we have to never allow people to pass conflicts by and work with them to channel passion and energy into making the world a better place to be.

For new undergraduates and student officers across the globe, Darfur may often be the last thing on our minds this autumn. With so much to take in, to learn, and to experience, there are many other demands on our time and thoughts; however, we must also keep in mind the plight of the Darfuri people, terrorised, displaced and too often forgotten by the international community, and we as the NUS will work to unite the student body behind the people of Darfur and make sure that by the time our new students graduate, we will be on the road to a long-lasting peace in the region.

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