September 2018
Article shared by Rose of Dawn:
'DISAFFILIATE NOW: A LIBERALIST TAKE ON THE FAILURE OF THE NUS – PART 1: FEUDAL FEUDING'
The author, Alison Ordnung exmines NUS representation from a liberalist perspective.
The section about the Liberation groups is particularly relevent to this thread:
Previously it has been discussed that is a person identifies as non binary trans woman and is attracted to women or queer they can represent NUS Trans, LGBT+ and Women's groups.
(extract)
"Consequently, the women’s society includes many who aren’t women by their own identification – they identify as non-binary, genderqueer, or genderfluid, but still have a seat at the table of the Women’s campaign. To say the NUS Women’s campaign represents women is deeply misleading. If you don’t share their identity politics, you will likely have nothing to do with them, beyond funding them.
The Liberation officers are voted in at their own conferences, attendance of which is de facto limited. Consequently, with identity politics in effect voting is also limited within the conferences caucuses – this results in tiny numbers of voters granting grand sounding positions:
NUS Trans Officer – (61 votes, ran unopposed)
NUS Trans Campaign – Black Students Officer (6 votes, ran unopposed)
NUS Women’s Officer – (111 votes, ran unopposed)
NUS Women’s Lesbian Officer – (8 Votes, unopposed)
NUS LGBT Disabled Students Rep – (14 votes, unopposed)
NUS LGBT Open Place – (144 Votes, Contested)
NUS LGBT Women’s Place – (56 Votes, Contested)
NUS LGBT Black Students – (14 Votes, Uncontested)
NUS Trans FE Representative – (2 Votes, Unopposed)
In the 2018/19 Women’s committee only 2 of the 9 positions were contested, the rest being mere formalities. Women make up the majority of students, but 111 votes in an uncontested election selected their representative." (continues)
liberalists.org.uk/disaffiliate-now-a-liberalist-take-on-the-failure-of-the-nus-part-1-feudal-feuding/