Students Not Spies

Do you want to be spied on? Do you want your room to be searched? Do you want prayer rooms and other places of religious importance to be intruded? Do you want limitations to be placed on events and speakers we can have here in St Andrews? Do you want more IT filters to be placed on our student network?

If the answer to these questions is ‘no!’ then please support the Student Representative Council (SRC) in their attempts to prevent the new Counter Terrorism and Security Bill going through Parliament. We have launched a petition to protect students and prevent Scottish McCarthyism. So far we have nearly 300 supporters but we hope that many more signatures will join the list.

The Bill is being sponsored by the Home Secretary Theresa May and will apply to all UK higher education institutions. Although the Scottish government will review the bill to make it more applicable to Scottish universities, they are currently leaving in the most alarming elements of the proposals.

Ostensibly, this bill is aimed to prevent ‘radicalization’ and protect against any terrorist threats we may be facing. However, we are not terrorists, nor in need of prevention from becoming ‘radicalized’, nor are we spies- we are students.

This bill would allow for greater intervention into student life. All of those questions that I asked will become a reality if this bill is passed. Cleaners and other members of our community will be trained in anti-terrorism and to spot signs of radicalization. If students fall under suspicion then they can have their room searched without giving permission. This is, in my opinion, unacceptable.

This bill is currently being rushed through Parliament without proper consideration. We need to halt it and speak out as a unanimous student body to express concern at these violations of our privacy.

Say ‘no!’ and sign today to prevent a culture of suspicion and spying.

#studentsnotspies