Last Guild Council report: the remixed version

Officer Report – June 16th

Alex Wright

LGBTQO

Last one. L

“There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.”

- Joni Mitchell

Recent Activities

• Myself, the VPW and LGBTQO elect met with Housing and Accommodation Services to discuss issues around bullying in halls. Sadly this was quite unproductive, there are many flaws within the system and it seems it would take more effort, cross-departmental effort and cost to fix it than anyone is willing to. This is a shame, especially as our relationship with the Equality and Diversity branch of Student Life is becoming stronger. I know the work on this isn’t done yet, Emma and I spoke earlier in the year about the potential of a high visibility ‘safe-space’ campaign in halls for early next academic year so the work continues.
• I attended a discussion forum created by Birmingham LGBTQ to discuss the issues facing the community about representation at Pride. It was great to see such a good turnout, especially from pub representatives and pride planners.
• I was thrilled to steward at the ‘Pride is a Protest’ event, a great communal effort spearheaded by some of Birmingham’s finest, calling against the commercialisation of Pride and advocating a real grassroots call for true liberation. Around 400 people attended. Magic.
• Unfortunately I was not able to attend (because my bloody coach broke down! Grr) but work is underway by the LGBTQ association on Freshers 2008. Makes you feel your age.
• I was chuffed to attend the meeting of the Guild’s new Autonomous Liberation Working Group. See kids, write a motion and it may well come to pass! We discussed the nature of liberation and its place at the heart of the Guild and how to make our liberation officers both accountable and representative. I’m tweaking the report Simon and Sarah have sent me as I type this and it all looks very promising. Liberation has the potential to create some of our best activists so giving it this level of attention and looking at its future has been very useful.

So what did we do this year?

• Raised hundreds of pounds via Homophobia is Gay 2 for training and campaigning. The Biggest, Best and Baddest LGBTQ event we’ve ever had.
• Won NUS LGBT Campaign of the year and saw Birmingham alumnus Lucy Brookes win a position on the NEC.
• Met with the university to discuss issues facing LGBTQ students in halls and in applying for accommodation.
• Changed our representation to make it leaner, meaner and more effective.
• Submitted policy to NUS LGBT conference.
• Ran a great range of events and socials.
• Saw our activists go beyond the Guild and create a real grassroots community campaign, already spawning a tribute for Manchester pride.
• Ran activism academies with WMANUS and took 10 activists to be trained at an NUS LGBT liberation event.
• Worked to see autonomous liberation on the agenda.
• Saw our policy of Trans accessibility actualised with Gender Neutral Toilets on Phase 1 of the Guild redevelopment to be carried out over the summer.
• Scared James Long.

• And more… I’m tired. I’m writing this at 2 a.m.

The Other Bit

Us non-sabbs don’t get farewell speeches but I’d feel amiss if I didn’t write something. Well, writing it down means the Indy chairs can edit it though. Still I’m not sure everyone gets how amazing the Indy chairs are. Will is just lovely, Fabs is a legend in several known universes and Hannah has balanced all this with a demanding post-grad course, her own election campaign and a job yet still has time to meet you for a drink. I would not have survived this year without Emma O’Dwyer and Charmian Werren who have been my best mates and worst enemies. Sometimes you need a slap to look at where you’re really at and sometimes you need that pick me up. I love them both a lot. Elaine Bagshaw is the best heterosexual the LGBTQ has ever had. Gaz Hughes and Sabrina Francis both helped me out loads last summer when I had no idea how anything worked. Sarah Bolt has been an amazing advocate for liberation and remembers the LGBTQ where others may forget. Kiran Rashid rocks my socks. All LGBTQ committee members for their dedication and general amazing-ness. Ben Whitehouse for beign a great port of call when things seemingly ground to a halt. To be honest I’m disappointed with how I handled this year, with the health and family issues I’ve had and their impact on my academic work I feel I should have known when to put myself first and realise when I wasn’t being effective. I’m proud of what has happened though and know that Emma will deliver in the upcoming year with a fierce passion known only to the Irish. Sorry to those I’ve missed out; again… tired. Now it’s 2:30am!

Thanks to everyone who put their faith in me, voted for me and has let me have this opportunity. Sometimes good things to happen to gay, northern, ginger Jews. Never take freedoms or equality for granted. There is so much more to do.

Peace out.

Alex

x.

NUS report

I know it's hideously delayed. It's been on my facebook notes for a while and I figured I should put it up here:

Sc-sc-scandalous

OK, home and somewhat rested. So here goes...

Last year I wrote this little doozy about my experiences as a first time delegate. Wow, I feel naive in retrospect... and I usually feel quite naive anyway but that's another matter. There's a lot to talk about this year, Governance, Antisemitism, the air of cynicsm and the measure of change.

This year's conference is in danger of being lost under its own reputation. It's easy to look back and say 'that's the conference where they lost the governance review'. I won't. This is the conference where we created a clear approach for the 2009 fees review, where we demanded adequate pastoral care for religious students, where we finally passed policy to support students campaigning to stop genocide in Darfur, where we decided to fight against the HMO lobby, take a stand for student parents, look at how we campaign on sexual heath, get serious about FE.... the list goes on. If that's a failure then well done us.

Governance is evidently not the be all and end all. I was proud to vote as my Guild had mandated and I am (wait for it) shocked and appalled by those who broke mandates, ignoring their unions as 'right wing bodies' and putting their own interests above those whom they represent. Foul, foul, foul. That's what representations means sometimes, anyone who has been a student officer knows that sometimes the decisions we have to make aren't the decisions we personally would have wanted but you deal with it. If you fail to deliver on a mandate on something as simple as a vote, you lose legitimcacy in as long a time as it takes for your hand to hit sky.

Antisemitism was back this year in force. After the tense debate at conference 2007 for Jewish students to define antisemitism based on a European wide definition that would protect them, abuse was hurled as they left conference floor successful. A policy that was tested within seconds of its own creation. This year was no exception with some hideous literature distributed at the event and when the peddlars of it ignored the ban placed upon them and returned the police had to be invited to remove them. As Daniel Rosenstone said, I am proud to be a member of a NUS that can and will defend my rights as a student. I hope that we can continue to do this, students deserve no less. I also felt touched that our national president spoke out on this in her leaving speech. This is serious, the changing tone that abuse on the basis of faith is second-class discrimination needs to be stopped.

I was also proud to support some amazing candidates for elections. Wes will doubtless be an amazing president and Joel, Ed, Elizabeth and Yemi can inspire some amazing activists as block members. I want to make a little shout out for Hollie Williams. I first met Hollie on the WMANUS funbus last year on the way up to Blackpool and her enthusiasm was infectious. She's an amazing girl and I'm chuffed to see her get on the block, she was so worried about it and how she would be percieved. I hope her victory means she now has the confidence to be the voice for campaigning in FE institutions that she has been and will continue to be. Much love also to Sarah, I know you didn't win but you put your heart and soul into it and that demands respect.

Something this year about conference felt a little bit hurt, shadowy even. It wasn't as accessible as last year in more ways than the ones that many disabled students kept being forced to state. The tone of the collonade was forceful and weird and certain students and groups are massively responsible for this. I won't name names but several in my delegation and many who I spoke to felt similarly. Debate is as debate does and the second it is turned nasty, everyone suffers. An ability to not sneer at the efforts of others goes a long way. As I've said before, mocking those who dare to try is just unecessary.

As the single LGBTQ delegate from one of the biggest universities in the country (hmm, one to work on Birmingham?) I attended the LGBT fring, T-time, looking at issues Trans students face on campus. One speaker spoke of his fear of using toilets and the abuse he had suffered simply by daring to go for a slash. This made me so glad that Birmingham LGBTQ has fought for, and won on this issue, passing policy to create Gender Neutral toilets. Next academic year, when the building work is done, we'll be rightfully proud of our development towards becoming a trans inclusive union.

I'm about to keel over but on an end note, I saw the best and the worst of our movement the past few days. I'm sure Wes will continue to push for change and a union that can truly respond to its members, it'll just take a little more time but I have every faith. Good things come to those who...