nus booklet

8/6/2019 NUS Booklet

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A view of the referendum.

Should join the

National Union of Students?

Referendum: 1st & 2nd of April 2010Vote on myDundee



On April 1st and 2nd DUSA will be hosting an

online referendum on joining the National

Union of Students (NUS). At the time of writing

there are over sixty student unions in Scotland

that are affiliated to the NUS. DUSA is one of the

three major Student Associations in Scotland

that are not members, the others being our

counterparts from Glasgow University and

St Andrews.

It has been 15 years since Dundee University

students were asked the question. Since thenhundreds of thousands of students have come and gone and not one of

them has had a vote on joining. This year we have tried to make DUSA more

transparent and more democratic and it is in that spirit that we will be

holding the vote.

NUS is a national campaigning body with a membership of around seven

million students. They have regular access to decision makers in the UK andEurope, although with membership of any national body like this there is

always a financial cost.

Between now and the campaign DUSA will be funding and providing

resources for both a YES and a NO campaign. This publication has been seen

and agreed to by both campaigns and the referendum’s returning officer.

Regardless of your opinions I hope that you all get involved and that you

encourage your friends to take part.

Best of luck to both campaigns - let the debate commence.

Andrew Smith, DUSA President



What is DUSA?Dundee University Students’ Association is an independent charitable body that represents the students of

Dundee socially, politically and academically. We are based in the Union and organise events and initiatives for

students on a number of different fronts.

We represent students during appeals and disputes, we play host to over seventy affiliated societies, we

organise a number of social events and nights throughout the year and fund an online TV channel, an online Radio

station and an independent magazine. We also cater for students in terms of retail, food and drink and have been

noted by Times Higher Education for being the best Student Union in Scotland, and in the top 5 in the UK for two

years in a row. Our representation system seeks to put students at the centre of decision making and policy. In Feb

2010 the Student Representative Council voted to host a referendum on joining NUS.

This publication seeks to provide an overview of all of the key functions of the NUS and to try to measure what theimpact would be from an objective perspective.

What is the NUS?NUS is a national campaigning body. The aims of the NUS are to:

o Promote, defend and extend the rights of students across the UK;o Develop and champion strong students’ associations.

NUS is a national organisation with separate autonomous bodies to represent members in Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland. If DUSA were to join the NUS we would have representation at both a Scottish and a UK level.

NUS Scotland has four antonymous Liberation Campaigns. They represent self defining Women, LGBT students,

Disabled students and Black students. Each of these campaigns is headed by an elected officer and holds anannual conference.

Twice a year delegates from all affiliated Scottish Unions attend the NUS Scotland conference to debate and agree

policy and vote for a President and the rest of the committee. There are 3 full time officers: the President, the

Depute Officer and the Women’s Officer. They are supported by an elected Scottish Executive committee and a full

time staff.

The goal is that NUS work on behalf of members on issues that would be inefficient or ineffective for student

associations to do on their own. Areas of work are determined by NUS members.

If affiliated, DUSA would remain an independent and autonomous body in its own right and will remain

independent of NUS.



What does the NUS do? The NUS campaigns on the policies chosen by its membership at democratic events. Campaigns are run on a

number of different fronts ranging from direct lobbying to mass actions.

NUS supports student associations to develop by offering:

• Training for students, association officers and staff;

• Democracy and governance advice, including election facilitation;

• Strategic planning for student associations to help them prepare for the future;

• Legal advice on national issues affecting the student movement, such as charity compliance;

• Advice on attracting new funding sources from external funding.

NUS represents students at members’ associations on the Scottish Funding Council (decides how much money

goes to which universities), Scottish Government committees, and sector committees such as the Quality

Assurance Agency.

NUS campaigns on national student issues including: student hardship, sector funding, learning and teaching,

student housing, and support student associations to campaign locally on student issues through training, advice

and research.

What is NUSSL?National Union of Student Services Limited (NUSSL) is the buying consortium owned in part by the NUS. NUSSL is

the purchasing service open to NUS affiliated Unions and purchases products in large quantities in an attempt toreduce the costs.

At present DUSA is part of the Northern Services consortium which works in the same way. DUSA can affiliate to

NUS and not join NUSSL, and some current NUS members do not buy through the NUSSL consortium.

NUSSL does not have any power over the events, estates or pricing of student associations’ commercial services.

DUSA undertook a price comparison exercise to determine the potential impact of NUSSL membership. At the

time of writing the exercise is incomplete but the results will be published as soon as they are ready. If there is a

yes vote then any decision about joining NUSSL or staying with Northern Services will be made by DUSA based on

the financial merits of the case.



Cost of NUS Membership

What would DUSA get?If DUSA affiliated to NUS, we would be able to influence and participate in the policies and campaigns of the

organisation. DUSA students would be able to visit a number of national conferences and training events. DUSA

would also be offered help in a number of areas including dispute resolution and access to NUS research andwould have potential new funding options available for individual projects and campaigns.

NUS has attracted funding from external sources to run specific projects for students associations:

• Students without Borders- researching the international student experience;

• Student Footprints- training students to run carbon auditing in student associations;

• Think Positive- student mental health project, researching and improving student mental health provision;• Class representative training and student-led learning and teaching awards.



Why I am voting YES:Craig Kelly 3rd Year: I should probably give you a bit of background. I was really

excited when the idea of having a referendum on NUS membership was firstmooted. Not because I wanted to join, but because a referendum was the perfect

way to finish the Year of Democracy. My initial thoughts were against membership;

it seemed expensive, I saw little benefits and we seem to do fine on our own. DUSA

is the best commercial student union in Scotland and the fourth best in the UK. But

I moved from being against, to straddling the fence, and finally to a position of

firmly supporting DUSA joining the NUS.

This came about as I familiarised myself with the organisation, their work and the

general ethos of union collectivism.

Ultimately for a strong campaigning voice and to stand up and take our position

within the wider student community we should join NUS. The sky will not fall in of

we don’t, actually all the things I mention DUSA will strive to achieve on its own.

The NUS will be an extra weapon in DUSA’s armoury when it comes to tackling the

big challenges – such as cuts to higher education – which are inevitably ahead.

Connor McElwaine 1st Year: I’m voting YES2NUS because of their record. NUS have

delivered through their campaigns and lobbying; £1,200 for the poorest studentsin Scotland last year, £2m additional investment in childcare funds for student

parents, £200 saved per student on lost tenancy deposits, to name but a few. What

it really comes down to is that Dundee students deserve to have their voices heard

on the decisions that shape their lives.

Look to the future. There are clear signs higher education funding will be under

threat. Students are living £2000 under the poverty line, Scotland has the worst

record in the UK of accepting poorer students, and university hardship funds arestretched to breaking point in the face of increased applications. Our own univer-

sity is undertaking a review of courses, already making sounds of cuts to courses,

lecturers and students.

Let me clear up some myths – If we joined, NUS would have absolutely no power

over our bars, our events, our campaigns or our policies. To say otherwise is wrong.

We would run NUS, not the other way about.

NUS has put literally thousands of pounds back into students’ pockets. I believe thecost of a pint is more than worth it. What about you?

Craig Kelly

Connor McElwaine, First year student



What would joining NUS mean for us, it would mean forking out over the next

three years alone more than£60k. After that DUSA would have to find more than£30k just to stay in NUS. So what do we get for that?

What we won’t have is more than £30kto spend on what we do in Dundee. DUSA

just now spends a little more than £30k on societies alone just now. What would

you like to see DUSA stopping spending money on so that it can pay an NUS

Affiliation fee?

Just think for a moment about what it is that DUSA does. We have the best Union

in Scotland, and one of the best in the UK. We did that. You, me, all of us. We voted

for the people who run DUSA that made it the best Union in Scotland. Our bars

are first class. We have dozens of societies that get great support from DUSA. Year

on year DUSA is getting better at representing your views.

NUS tell us it’s about being a voice for students. From Library opening hours to

student support services DUSA has made a real change in our University. In BrianCox as our Rector we have someone that can really help us be heard at a national

level without the help of NUS.

But one of the best things about DUSA is that it is YOUR voice that is heard. YOU

pick the people who represent you and you hold them to account.

With NUS you don't get to pick the people who represent you. NUS doesn't wantyou, they want DUSA. They don't want you to be a member they only want DUSA

to be a member. You won’t get to vote for the President of NUS if we join. At best

you can stand to be one of the people who gets to vote for the President.

DUSA is the best Union in Scotland. We did that, you and me. And we can make it

better.

We don't need NUS to keep being the best and getting better.

Keep DUSA free, vote No to NUS.

Iain Menzies

Why I am voting NO:



This booklet has been produced by DUSA. Contact President Andew Smith,

[email protected] or 01382 386002.

DUSA is a Registered Charity No SC016047www.dusa.co.uk

Next Steps

There will be a debate taking place inMono on Tuesday 30th March at 5:30pm,

open to all. To vote simply log in to your My Dundeeon Thursday April 1st or Friday April 2ndbetween 9:00am on April 1st and 5:00pmon April 2nd.

Useful Internet Links

www.dusa.co.uk

www.nus.org.uk

www.yes2nus.org

www.chessonline.org.uk

www.scotland.gov.uk/Home

DUSA Executive contact details:

President - Andrew Smith,

[email protected]

01382 386002

NUS President - Liam Burns

[email protected]

0131 556 6598

YES Campaign Contact -

Connor Mcelwaine

[email protected]

NO Campaign Contact -

Rebecca Ward

[email protected]

Referendum returning officer -

Alan [email protected]

Referendum returning officer -

Fiona O’ Donnell

[email protected]

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