It’s not war! Mixed success for anti-military policies

A motion calling for the union to cut ties with the armed forces has been AXED – but military job ads have been banned from campus.

Alasdair Ibbotson’s proposal that the union sever ties with Tayforth UOTC will now not be proposed at the first General Meeting of the semester.

MOTION STALLED: UOTC members in Freshers’ Week 2013, which they will presumably be free to do again in 2014.

The University Officer Training Corps (UOTC or OTC) is a branch of the British Army that “presents students with a unique opportunity to challenge themselves by partaking in military exercises”.

Rumours of the motion caused much debate on Facebook, especially in the wake of Union President Johannes Butscher’s recent anti-military recruitment policy.

Because of the union’s recent decision to scrap but also reinstate its policy on support the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Butscher argued that video screen adverts for jobs in the Navy should not be seen on campus.

SCREEN AND SHOUT: You won’t see the Navy on this screen anymore when you go for a piss.

Butscher posted on Facebook, saying that Stirling Students Union “oppose military recruitment on campus” because it is “a career in an industry which develops and operates nuclear weapons and asks people to take actions which may kill other people”.

He also said the action meant that the company that manages the union’s video advert screens  “suffered a financial loss”.

However, Ibbotson’s proposal – which was drafted by union presidential candidate Conn O’Neill – was not based on any ethical grounds.

BOARD ALREADY: OTC advertising is still allowed for now on union display boards.

It is understood by The Tab that in the motion the OTC was slammed as discriminatory for disallowing candidates to join if they are not British, or if they are over 32 or disabled.

These restrictions are recognised as “arguably practical”, but do not stop being a violation of the union’s equal opportunities policy.

The motion would have said: “Given the clear contradictions with the union’s equal opportunities policy, the armed forces and the OTC must be prevented from having a presence at union organised events.”

Conn O’Neill wishes to make it clear: “I am not necessarily opposed to the existence of the OTC or even their being on campus to recruit but I am opposed to a society being allowed to affiliate with the Union when in clear breach of an equal opportunities policy.”

He also added that: “A career in the armed forces is an honourable one and due recognition should be given to anyone who chooses to pursue such a career.”