Why I’ll vote YES

If you think it’s ok that NUS gets to speak to Government on behalf of students, without taking any notice of what St Andrews students say, then vote NO.

If you think that it’s ok that only 15 students out of the 9,135 at St Andrews are from poorer backgrounds, then vote NO.*

If you think accommodation is fine as it is in St Andrews and that students aren’t being ripped off, then vote NO.

If you think we are well equipped to support our International students if the Government decides they need to leave the country, then vote NO.

If you think that everything about our Students’ Association is perfect and can’t possibly benefit from additional support then vote NO.

If you think a mural on the wall in the Union Bar is more important than all these things, then vote NO.

You could say that this referendum comes down to what you believe in.

NUS is the voice of students in Scotland and the UK. We can debate all day about whether NUS is saying the right things to Government, we would argue that although NUS Scotland is achieving a lot already, the chances of winning are only increased if we get involved and help out.

St Andrews is great, but it’s a problem that only 15 students from poorer backgrounds are here. NUS Scotland has led a campaign recently to protect college funding in Scotland, that not only protected the funding, but increased it. This will mean hundreds of thousands of pupils across Scotland will have a chance to get the qualifications to come here, but there’s so much more to do to make our University accessible to everyone who has the ability and desire to be here.

We all know students here are getting ripped off every day by landlords who’ve got away with it for far too long, NUS has already helped to secure a tenancy deposit scheme that saves over £200 per student on average, by holding your deposits in an independent account. It is now working with government to try and slow down theincrease in student rents over the last decade. This is work that is happening right now that St Andrews, with some of the highest rents in the UK, could really benefit from and we aren’t part of it.  

We have all seen the recent case of International Students being threatened with deportation at London Metropolitan University. NUS intervened in the case and now those students are still in the country studying at university. This video, of actual students, explains the situation far better than we ever could. No one is saying that our International students are under threat of deportation right now, but the point is that this is an example of a problem we simply couldn’t fight alone if it were to happen here. Not least because of the £40,000 legal fees.

We love our Students’ Association, but how can sharing ideas with other students’ unions and associations, getting professional training and advice be a bad thing? We get to pick and choose which of NUS’ services we take advantage of, whether it’s a new website through the multi-million pound digital platform or whether it’s through the NUS extra discount.

Yes, when we are full members, the Students’ Association will need to pay £19,000 in membership fees (that’s before we get any income back, like through NUS extra) but let’s put that into context. We currently have £1.7 million in the bank just sat there, we turn over £3.7 million per year, we also spent £18,000 on the mural on the wall in the Bar last year.** No one is saying National Representation is cheap; we only have to look at the billions spent in the US Presidential campaigns to see how much people can spend on persuading and campaigning, we would argue NUS offers good value.

In a post the other day, Ben Adams described NUS as ‘megaphone-wielding Trotskyists’, I mean NUS President Liam Burns  has a bit of a dodge fashion sense but wouldn’t describe him like that! If you’d like to see the response to that article from our campaign mascot and all round fact-checker, Bogart, the link is here.  

This debate is in danger of descending into a conversation about money alone, we owe to our fellow students, future students and students all around the country to talk about the real issues in this debate, Stand up For St Andrews Nationally and vote Yes to NUS.

Voting is online here and closes at 6pm Friday

No one is saying NUS is perfect, I don’t think any students’ union is, let alone the biggest one! But we think that we’ve got a much better chance of solving the big problems if we do it with other students and other students association, whilst keeping everything we love about student life in St Andrews.

Click here for ‘Why I’ll vote NO’

*Editor’s correction: The University took 15 scottish students from deprived backgrounds last year

**Editor’s correction: It has been pointed out the correct cost for the mural was closer to £3000