Thursday, March 28Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Democracy

NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns
News

NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns

A source at NUS (National Union of Students) has revealed that due to a crippling £3million debt, cuts may be made to vital liberation and democracy campaign budgets. The National Union of Students is a ‘voluntary membership organisation of 600 students' unions, amounting to more than 95 per cent of all higher and further education unions in the UK’. Their aim is to support and defend students rights through a unified and collective voice which seeks to promote equality, democracy and fair opportunities to students across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. NUS Liberation campaigns ‘support and fights for the rights of POC, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women students’. The campaigns range from ‘Stop and Scrap Universal Credit’, responding to the Gender Recognition Act, and cal...
#votebecause
News

#votebecause

A disappointingly overcast morning last Friday turned into a beautiful sunny day, perfect for the next aspect in Royal Holloway’s #votebecause campaign. Kim Deasy, the Press and Communications Officer, explained that they hope that the campaign will encourage students to register and use their right to vote in the upcoming general election. Today’s task was to spell the word vote using staff and students with an aerial photo, a creative and visually exciting way to involve lots of people in the campaign and raise awareness. I spoke to two students involved in the photo. Jing said ‘As an exchange student, to be part of it, to get involved in politics and activities, to prompt democracy, is worthwhile and brilliant’. Hannah, a first year, emphasised the importance of this campaign: ‘Young pe...
Features

General Meeting 14/10/2014: ‘The Devil is in the Detail’

Excited chatter fills the SU Main Hall as students file in, more or less thrilled about being at the year’s first General Meeting (GM). As the clock strikes 18:08, we’re still waiting to begin. Purple dots the SU Main Hall as the Executive Committee 2014-15 file in and spread out across the hall. Tonight, the students are joined by SU Contract staff, here to learn more about the GM and the democratic structures in place at the SU, in line with CEO Ian Dancy’s policy of taking staff back to the floor. Finally starting at 18:24 (24 minutes later than planned, but 6 minutes earlier than expected), Chair, Gillian Craig makes a tentative start, explaining how the GM works to newcomers: the fact that the GM is a safe space, that all are invited to speak and express their opinions, and that...