Student RESPECT
Encyclopedia
Student RESPECT was founded as the student wing of the Respect Party
in England
and Wales
in 2005 to provide a united campaigning organisation of the radical left in the student movement.
It has achieved notable successes in Unions like University of Manchester
in both pulling together the anti-war left and being an organisation capable of winning fulltime positions. Student Respect currently has elected officers in Leeds,Goldsmiths, Plymouth, Essex and Middlesex plus a member of the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) National Executive Committee.
Although the recent loss of several sabbatical positions in University of Manchester
to a moderate coalition including the position of General Secretary to a prominent Labour Student has drawn into doubt how popular Student Respect are with grassroots students.
Following the decision of the SWP leadership in Autumn 2007 to break its alliance with George Galloway
MP, Cllr Salma Yaqoob
and others, and the ruling, after a protracted legal dispute, that Galloway's wing of Respect were the rightful bearers to the name Respect, the SWP gave up on the Student Respect brand and began organising through other names. Student Respect is now recognised as the organisation of students within the current Respect Party, with active students on a number of campuses across the country.
, Hands off Venezuela
and various Palestine campaigns. Student RESPECT members in Manchester recently made national news with campaigns to twin with Al-Najah University in Palestine and boycott Coca-Cola
in the Students Union there.
As well as an international focus Student RESPECT has been heavily involved in anti-racism work both combating Islamophobia and being a vital part of Unite Against Fascism
and Love Music Hate Racism
campaigns. Many Student RESPECT activists have been drawn from the thousands of young people politicised by the activity of groups like the British National Party
- celebrations of Black History have been amongst the most successful of events across the country.
Respect became prominent to NUS campaigning with its activity around the slogan “Fund Education Not War”. In the build up to the National NUS demonstration against Fees, this slogan earned it both recognition and derision from its political opponents for bringing “wider politics” to the action. Respect has opposed the official NUS policy of means tested grants and campaigned for universal grants for all and an end to what it describes as the neo-liberal restructuring of Universities.
colleges. The majority of activity is done as part of wider campaigns particularly the Stop the War Coalition
but Respect groups also organise regular events under their own banner, which are open to all students, as well as standing in Student Union elections.
Student RESPECT has an annual conference which decides the political direction of the organisation. The day long conference includes an opening session usually with the National Secretary and an elected representative of the mother organisation. Workshops on topics such as Education in the Neo-Liberal World, LGBT Liberation, Climate Change, and The War on Terror are held consisting of a talk by a Student RESPECT member and time for discussion and debate. Action Points are then decided upon at each workshop and agreed on collectively in the closing session. Conference also elects the 12 member Student RESPECT Committee (SRC) which meets once a month and sets policy and strategy in between conference as well as making NUS full time candidate recommendations. Each Student RESPECT branch is able to send two delegates to SRC meetings with speaking rights. The SRC also usually includes the full time organiser for the Socialist Workers Student Society in order to benefit from the time and resources this can bring to SR. More informal National Activist meetings are also a regular feature of Student RESPECT activity, giving a wider range of members a chance to feedback and make suggestions to the SRC as well as network and share ideas and experiences.
After the 2007 conference the new SRC is as follows:
Non-Portfolio Officers:
. At the 2007 conference Student RESPECT played a far larger role both because of its increased involvement in national student politics and because of the increasing crisis amongst the rest of the left since the collapse of the Campaign for Free Education
(CFE) and its successors around Kat Fletcher
.
Student RESPECT stood four members for the National Executive. Assed Baig took 193 votes for National Secretary – Student RESPECT's biggest score to date. It was the most prominent organisation speaking against means testing and in favour of free education, anti-imperialism and anti-racism.
The left within NUS is noted for a fundamental split over anti-imperialism and Islamophobia
dating back to the Socialist Workers' Student Society
walking out of the United for Education slate a number of years ago over what it regarded as the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
’s (now Education Not for Sale
, ENS) Islamophobic reaction to the war in Iraq. This is a difference which has been increased over the attitude of the left to Federation of Student Islamic Societies
and Muslim students in general. Student RESPECT and Student Broad Left generally came out ahead at the last two conferences finishing above ENS in the full time elections, with bigger presence on campuses and having a greater say in the policy debate within NUS.
Currently Student RESPECT is involved in the campaign to 'Defend' NUS Democracy (along with Education Not for Sale and Student Broad Left) against the NUS Governance Review. It has four of its members elected to the Steering Committee.
Student RESPECT currently has Rob Owen on the NUS NEC and Dan Swain on the NUS Steering Committee.
The 2008 NUS Annual Conference saw success for Student RESPECT, with the proposed Governance Review, failing to reach the required two-thirds majority by fewer than 20 votes, and with two members of Student RESPECT - Rob Owen and Hind Hassan - being elected to the Block of Twelve.
There was however controversy at the NUS Black Students Campaign Conference 2008 where Student Respect were accused by other factions of trying to stitch-up the election of Black Students Officer although this accusation has been strongly countered by members of the faction.
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
Respect is a socialist political party in England and Wales founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community and Trade Unionism.-Policies:...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 2005 to provide a united campaigning organisation of the radical left in the student movement.
It has achieved notable successes in Unions like University of Manchester
University of Manchester Students' Union
The University of Manchester Students' Union is the representative body of students at the University of Manchester, England, and is the UK's largest students' union...
in both pulling together the anti-war left and being an organisation capable of winning fulltime positions. Student Respect currently has elected officers in Leeds,Goldsmiths, Plymouth, Essex and Middlesex plus a member of the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) National Executive Committee.
Although the recent loss of several sabbatical positions in University of Manchester
University of Manchester Students' Union
The University of Manchester Students' Union is the representative body of students at the University of Manchester, England, and is the UK's largest students' union...
to a moderate coalition including the position of General Secretary to a prominent Labour Student has drawn into doubt how popular Student Respect are with grassroots students.
Following the decision of the SWP leadership in Autumn 2007 to break its alliance with George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
MP, Cllr Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
and others, and the ruling, after a protracted legal dispute, that Galloway's wing of Respect were the rightful bearers to the name Respect, the SWP gave up on the Student Respect brand and began organising through other names. Student Respect is now recognised as the organisation of students within the current Respect Party, with active students on a number of campuses across the country.
Campaigns
Student RESPECT's primary campaign since its foundation has been the Stop the War Coalition and many Student RESPECT members are leading activists within the campaign. Because of this foundation Student RESPECT have been active in organisations such as Action Iran, Campaign against Climate ChangeCampaign against Climate Change
The Campaign against Climate Change is a UK-based pressure group that aims to raise public awareness of anthropogenic climate change through mobilizing mass demonstrations...
, Hands off Venezuela
Hands Off Venezuela
Hands Off Venezuela is a political lobby group based in the United Kingdom and with branches in many other countries. The campaign was established in December 2002, following the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002, with the aim of increasing public and political awareness in the UK and elsewhere of...
and various Palestine campaigns. Student RESPECT members in Manchester recently made national news with campaigns to twin with Al-Najah University in Palestine and boycott Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
in the Students Union there.
As well as an international focus Student RESPECT has been heavily involved in anti-racism work both combating Islamophobia and being a vital part of Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism is an anti-fascist pressure group in the United Kingdom, with support from politicians of all mainstream UK political parties...
and Love Music Hate Racism
Love Music Hate Racism
Love Music Hate Racism is a music-oriented campaign based in Britain by the Anti-Nazi League and Unite Against Fascism. The campaign involves concerts aimed at spreading an anti-racist message...
campaigns. Many Student RESPECT activists have been drawn from the thousands of young people politicised by the activity of groups like the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
- celebrations of Black History have been amongst the most successful of events across the country.
Respect became prominent to NUS campaigning with its activity around the slogan “Fund Education Not War”. In the build up to the National NUS demonstration against Fees, this slogan earned it both recognition and derision from its political opponents for bringing “wider politics” to the action. Respect has opposed the official NUS policy of means tested grants and campaigned for universal grants for all and an end to what it describes as the neo-liberal restructuring of Universities.
Organisation
Student RESPECT policy is decided at Respect National Conference where Student RESPECT delegates meet with the wider organisation to discuss the global and local situation and decide our collective response to it. Student RESPECT groups organise on many campuses in both universities and Further EducationFurther education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
colleges. The majority of activity is done as part of wider campaigns particularly the Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
but Respect groups also organise regular events under their own banner, which are open to all students, as well as standing in Student Union elections.
Student RESPECT has an annual conference which decides the political direction of the organisation. The day long conference includes an opening session usually with the National Secretary and an elected representative of the mother organisation. Workshops on topics such as Education in the Neo-Liberal World, LGBT Liberation, Climate Change, and The War on Terror are held consisting of a talk by a Student RESPECT member and time for discussion and debate. Action Points are then decided upon at each workshop and agreed on collectively in the closing session. Conference also elects the 12 member Student RESPECT Committee (SRC) which meets once a month and sets policy and strategy in between conference as well as making NUS full time candidate recommendations. Each Student RESPECT branch is able to send two delegates to SRC meetings with speaking rights. The SRC also usually includes the full time organiser for the Socialist Workers Student Society in order to benefit from the time and resources this can bring to SR. More informal National Activist meetings are also a regular feature of Student RESPECT activity, giving a wider range of members a chance to feedback and make suggestions to the SRC as well as network and share ideas and experiences.
After the 2007 conference the new SRC is as follows:
- Noreen Fatima, London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
(Chair) - Rob Owen, NUS NEC (Secretary)
- Dominic Kavakeb, University of EssexUniversity of EssexThe University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
(Treasurer) - Estelle Cooch, London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(Communications Officer)
Non-Portfolio Officers:
- Assed Baig, Staffordshire UniversityStaffordshire UniversityStaffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
- Marie Kamara, ?
- Bill Boon, University of the West of EnglandUniversity of the West of EnglandThe University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
- Jennifer JonesJennifer JonesPhylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
, Goldsmiths, University of London - Alex CastroAlex CastroAlex Castro is a Filipino singer, actor and performer signed to GMA Network, yet later transferred to its rival network ABS-CBN.- Performances/results :-Television:-Movies:-External links:...
, University of ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group... - Hanif Leylabi, University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
- Ghaith Nassar, Cardiff UniversityCardiff UniversityCardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
NUS
Student RESPECT is one of the biggest of the left factions in NUS and traditionally stands a slate alongside Student Broad LeftStudent Broad Left
Student Broad Left is a factional grouping operating within the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom.The group was formed in 1997 as a split from the Campaign for Free Education and first contested NUS elections in 1998...
. At the 2007 conference Student RESPECT played a far larger role both because of its increased involvement in national student politics and because of the increasing crisis amongst the rest of the left since the collapse of the Campaign for Free Education
Campaign for Free Education
The Campaign for Free Education was a left-wing grouping in the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom of those opposed to tuition fees and the abolition of student grants....
(CFE) and its successors around Kat Fletcher
Kat Fletcher
Kathryn Jane Fletcher was president of the UK National Union of Students between 2004 and 2006, the first to be elected from a political slate clearly to the left of Labour Students, who had held the position for most of the previous twenty years.-Early life:Fletcher was formerly the General...
.
Student RESPECT stood four members for the National Executive. Assed Baig took 193 votes for National Secretary – Student RESPECT's biggest score to date. It was the most prominent organisation speaking against means testing and in favour of free education, anti-imperialism and anti-racism.
The left within NUS is noted for a fundamental split over anti-imperialism and Islamophobia
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
dating back to the Socialist Workers' Student Society
Socialist Workers' Student Society
The Socialist Worker Student Society, commonly known as SWSS , is the student section of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain.Mark Bergfeld was elected onto the NUS NEC in 2010 and re-elected to the NUS NEC in 2011 with the highest number of first preference votes along with Ruby...
walking out of the United for Education slate a number of years ago over what it regarded as the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
Alliance for Workers' Liberty
The Alliance for Workers' Liberty , also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyist group in Britain. The group has a complex history but has always been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna...
’s (now Education Not for Sale
Education Not for Sale
Education Not for Sale is a radical left-wing student campaign in the United Kingdom.The name originally derives from the "European Education Not for Sale network" and was first used by socialist and other radical activists at the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom conference in...
, ENS) Islamophobic reaction to the war in Iraq. This is a difference which has been increased over the attitude of the left to Federation of Student Islamic Societies
Federation of Student Islamic Societies
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies is a national umbrella organisation aimed at supportingand representing Islamic societies at colleges and universitiesin the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...
and Muslim students in general. Student RESPECT and Student Broad Left generally came out ahead at the last two conferences finishing above ENS in the full time elections, with bigger presence on campuses and having a greater say in the policy debate within NUS.
Currently Student RESPECT is involved in the campaign to 'Defend' NUS Democracy (along with Education Not for Sale and Student Broad Left) against the NUS Governance Review. It has four of its members elected to the Steering Committee.
Student RESPECT currently has Rob Owen on the NUS NEC and Dan Swain on the NUS Steering Committee.
The 2008 NUS Annual Conference saw success for Student RESPECT, with the proposed Governance Review, failing to reach the required two-thirds majority by fewer than 20 votes, and with two members of Student RESPECT - Rob Owen and Hind Hassan - being elected to the Block of Twelve.
There was however controversy at the NUS Black Students Campaign Conference 2008 where Student Respect were accused by other factions of trying to stitch-up the election of Black Students Officer although this accusation has been strongly countered by members of the faction.
Representation and supporters
Student RESPECT is currently supported by a number of Student Officers and organisations in NUS including:- Rob Owen - NUS NEC
- Nik Roberts - President Middlesex
- Noreen Fatima - Vice President London Metropolitan
- Assed Baig - Staffordshire SU Executive
- Alison Smith - Plymouth VP Education
- Hind Hassan - NUS NEC
- Socialist Workers' Student SocietySocialist Workers' Student SocietyThe Socialist Worker Student Society, commonly known as SWSS , is the student section of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain.Mark Bergfeld was elected onto the NUS NEC in 2010 and re-elected to the NUS NEC in 2011 with the highest number of first preference votes along with Ruby...