Five reasons why Aberystwyth needs to leave the NUS

At Aberystwyth University we are represented by the NUS, a union that should be helping students out with real issues.

Instead it has become a divisive politically grandstanding organisation that cares more about enforcing its aggressive political agenda on students than it does about the real issues facing students.

Here are five reasons why I believe Aberystwyth University needs to leave the NUS.

1. The president has been accused of antisemitism

The newly elected president of the NUS, Malia Bouattia, has spoken of “resistance” rather than having peace talks in regards between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

She also described Birmingham University as a Zionist outpost which was a “problem”. How can we let someone who insinuates a large Jewish society as a problem lead and represent us students? At a time when anti-Semitism is becoming an increasing problem in society, we need more integration.

2. They do not represent the voice of students anymore

Just 343 people voted for Malia, who is meant to be a representative of 7 million students. Why don’t we just bring in a one member one vote system you may ask? Well they have tried that for many years and the NUS have been rejecting it for years as they clearly don’t trust the opinion of either me or you. If they do not trust the opinion of us students why should we trust them?

3. The NUS is divisive and can get nasty

They pass motions that are divisive and make students look like idiots every year. From failing to condemn Islamic state, the group that has massacred Muslims due to Islamophobia as described by Malia Boutattia.

The conference gave rounds of applause to someone arguing that the holocaust, where millions of Jews and homosexual people were murdered, “is not inclusive enough”. To even passing a motion at the LGBT conference describing “CIS gay men” being responsible for “increasing racism, biphobia and transphobia within LGBT societies” and for gay men “to stop acting like black women”.

4. We would save money

An average sized University is expected to pay around in the region of thousands of pounds towards the NUS every year. Imagine what we could do with that money if we left.

Societies and sports clubs getting the funding they need, actually repairing the broken SU sign or even holding decent events in the student union. This would be far more useful rather than wasting it by sending it off to the NUS who pay the chief executive a £100,000 a year, spend £40,000 on billboards that attack the Lib Dems, and want to spend it on “radical actions”.

Why should we have to contribute when we can spend the money on making our own Student Union and student lives better?

5. They want to control our freedom of speech and YikYak!

The NUS just passed a motion calling for YikYak to be controlled during student union elections.

They don’t like the fact that we can criticise our potential leaders on YikYak when they chalk up the entire campus like a bunch of five year olds.

The fact they are trying to control social media and free speech makes the NUS less like a union for students but more like an inspiration for 1984. I hope YikYak tell the NUS what we are all thinking and that’s to piss off.

To find out more follow the Aberystwyth against NUS Facebook page.