Student RESPECT

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Student RESPECT




Chairperson	Noreen Fatima

Founded	2005
Headquarters	London

Mother party	Respect – The Unity Coalition

Website	http://www.respectcoalition.org/

Student RESPECT was founded as the student wing of the Respect Party in England and Wales in 2005 to provide a united campaigning organisation of the radical left in the student movement.

It has achieved notable successes in Unions like University of Manchester in both pulling together the anti-war left and being an organisation capable of winning fulltime positions. Student Respect currently has elected officers in Leeds,Goldsmiths, Plymouth, Essex and Middlesex plus a member of the NUS National Executive Committee.

1 Campaigns
2 Organisation
3 NUS
4 Representation and Supporters
5 References

[edit] Campaigns

Student RESPECT's primary campaign since its foundation has been the Stop the War Coalition and many Student RESPECT members are leading activists within the campaign. Because of this foundation Student RESPECT have been active in organisations such as Action Iran, Campaign against Climate Change, Hands off Venezuela and various Palestine campaigns. Student RESPECT members in Manchester recently made national news with campaigns to twin with Al-Najah University in Palestine and boycott Coke in the Students Union there.^[1]

As well as an international focus Student RESPECT has been heavily involved in anti-racism work both combating Islamophobia and being a vital part of Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism campaigns. Many Student RESPECT activists have been drawn from the thousands of young people politicised by the activity of groups like the BNP - celebrations of Black History have been amongst the most successful of events across the country.

Respect became prominent to NUS campaigning with its activity around the slogan “Fund Education Not War”. In the build up to the National NUS demonstration against Fees, this slogan earned it both recognition and derision from its political opponents for bringing “wider politics” to the action. Respect has opposed the official NUS policy of means tested grants and campaigned for universal grants for all and an end to what it describes as the neo-liberal restructuring of Universities.

[edit] Organisation

Student RESPECT policy is decided at Respect National Conference where Student RESPECT delegates meet with the wider organisation to discuss the global and local situation and decide our collective response to it. Student RESPECT groups organise on many campuses in both universities and FE colleges. The majority of activity is done as part of wider campaigns particularly the Stop the War Coalition but Respect groups also organise regular events under their own banner, which are open to all students, as well as standing in Student Union elections.

Student RESPECT has an annual conference which decides the political direction of the organisation. The day long conference includes an opening session usually with the National Secretary and an elected representative of the mother organisation. Workshops on topics such as Education in the Neo-Liberal World, LGBT Liberation, Climate Change, and The War on Terror are held consisting of a talk by a Student RESPECT member and time for discussion and debate. Action Points are then decided upon at each workshop and agreed on collectively in the closing session. Conference also elects the 12 member Student RESPECT Committee (SRC) which meets once a month and sets policy and strategy in between conference as well as making NUS full time candidate recommendations. Each Student RESPECT branch is able to send 2 delegates to SRC meetings with speaking rights. The SRC also usually includes the full time organiser for the Socialist Workers Student Society in order to benefit from the time and resources this can bring to SR. More informal National Activist meetings are also a regular feature of Student RESPECT activity, giving a wider range of members a chance to feedback and make suggestions to the SRC as well as network and share ideas and experiences.

After the 2007 conference the new SRC is as follows:^[2]

Noreen Fatima, London Metropolitan University (Chair)
Rob Owen, NUS NEC (Secretary)
Dominic Kavakeb, University of Essex (Treasurer)
Estelle Cooch, London School of Economics (Communications Officer)

Non-Portfolio Officers:

Assed Baig, Staffordshire University
Marie Kamara, ?
Bill Boon, University of the West of England
Jennifer Jones, Goldsmiths, University of London
Alex Castro, University of Manchester
Hanif Leylabi, University of Leeds

Ghaith Nassar, Cardiff University

[edit] NUS

Student RESPECT is one of the biggest of the left factions in NUS and traditionally stands a slate alongside Student Broad Left. At the 2007 conference Student RESPECT played a far larger role both because of its increased involvement in national student politics and because of the increasing crisis amongst the rest of the left since the collapse of the Campaign for Free Education (CFE) and its successors around Kat Fletcher.

Student RESPECT stood four members for the National Executive. Assed Baig took 193 votes for National Secretary – Student RESPECT's biggest score to date. It was the most prominent organisation speaking against means testing and in favour of free education, anti-imperialism and anti-racism.

The left within NUS is noted for a fundamental split over anti-imperialism and Islamophobia dating back to the Socialist Workers' Student Society walking out of the United for Education slate a number of years ago over what it regarded as the AWL’s (now ENS) Islamophobic reaction to the war in Iraq. This is a difference which has been increased over the attitude of the left to FOSIS and Muslim students in general. Student RESPECT and Student Broad Left generally came out ahead at the last two conferences finishing above ENS in the full time elections, with bigger presence on campuses and having a greater say in the policy debate within NUS.

Currently Student RESPECT is involved in the campaign to 'Defend' NUS Democracy (along with Education Not for Sale and Student Broad Left) against the NUS Governance Review. It has four of its members elected to the Steering Committee.

Student RESPECT currently has Rob Owen on the NUS NEC^[3] and Dan Swain on the NUS Steering Committee.

The 2008 NUS Annual Conference saw success for Student RESPECT, with the proposed Governance Review, failing to reach the required two-thirds majority by under 20 votes, and with two members of Student RESPECT - Rob Owen and Hind Hassan - being elected to the Block of Twelve.

[edit] Representation and Supporters

Student RESPECT is currently supported by a number of Student Officers and organisations in NUS including:

Rob Owen - NUS NEC
Nik Roberts - President Middlesex
Noreen Fatima - Vice President London Metropolitan
Assed Baig - Staffordshire SU Executive
Allison Smith - Plymouth VP Education
Hind Hassan - Equality Officer Leeds, NUS NEC (elect)
Andrew Cunningham - Campaigns Officer University of Manchester
Alex Castro - Communications Officer University of Manchester
Dominic Kavakeb - Campaigns Officer Essex University
Socialist Workers' Student Society
Communist Students