York Students have voted ‘Yes’ by a substantial majority, to remain affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS). The referendum entitled, “Should York remain affiliated to the NUS?”, received 751 votes in support to 263 against and 65 abstentions. The last referendum, three years ago, also saw the ‘Yes’ camp win convincingly.
Peter Spence, a second year Economics student led the debate against remaining with the NUS. He argued that the “poor reputation reflects badly on the university” and that the cost of NUS membership could be redirected for “more tangible benefits”. YUSU President, Tim Ngwena, previously commented that YUSU Sabbatical officers were split on their judgements, however, Ngwena himself appeared to support the referendum in a personal capacity. He argued that staying with the NUS has many financial benefits, and pointed to a recent £8,500 donation for a recycling unit and £600 toward preparations for the National Demo last year against fee rises. Similarly, all sabbatical officers gave public support, though not in their roles as officers.
After defeat Spence commented: “The result wasn’t entirely unexpected… I feel that given the short time frame we had to put a campaign together (I knew the referendum date four days before voting opened) it was very difficult to get the message out to students. An alarming majority of students we spoke to had no idea that a referendum was even occurring or had any idea what the NUS was.”
He added: “I’m hoping to run for an NUS delegate position if possible to try and achieve some change from within the organisation and correct some of its many failings.”
A recent referendum at Durham University returned a 60% ‘Yes’ vote to re-affiliate, after a shaky experience away from the NUS, while notable universities such University of St Andrews and the University of Southampton are currently unaffiliated to the NUS.
Of the seven other Union General Meeting (UGM) motions up for discussion, four were passed and three were defeated. The turnout was high and all motions reached the required levels of quoracy.
Motions of particular interest included ‘Motion 6: A clear stance on invited speakers’, defeated by just one vote. Following Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al‐Kawthari speech on “Misconceptions About Islam” last term, the motion, proposed by LGBT Officer Emma Brownbill, was concerned with the welfare of the student body which it argued should take priority over freedom of speech.
Motion 4 concerning the display of ‘Lads Mags’ in Your: Shop, proposed by the Women’s Committee and seconded by Emma Brownbill, argued that ‘Lads Mags’ should be covered up on the behalf of the welfare of all York students. Your: Shop agreed to cover up ‘Lads Mags’ after their refit in 2008 following a UGM submitted by Women’s committee in 2007 but YUSU policy on ‘Lads Mags’ lapsed. This time however, the motion was defeated, by 496 votes to 412. Academic Affairs Officer Ben Humphrys was one of those speaking against the motion at the Union General Meeting.
Motion 7 proposing an ‘Alternative Freshers’ Week’ was also defeated. Students voted ‘No’ by 583 votes to 475 to plans to offer next years’ Freshers an alternative option to the traditional YUSU and JCRC events. A Freshers’ week run by specific societies was seen as a potential alternative for students who are perhaps not yet 18 and are therefore unable to attend certain Freshers’ week events, or for students who do not drink or wish to attend certain types of venue for religious, cultural, health and other personal reasons.