The fact that loads of SOAS students attended the new members day school on Saturday demonstrates that not only is there a renewed fighting spirit but that it is our politics that can provide answers to the madness that is going on in the world, and students are looking to us for guidance.
We started the term with a variety of events to agitate, educate and organise and our strategy has paid off. We hired the Renoir cinema for a Unite Against Fascism event and over 200 people attended the filmshowing of This is England. We put a call out for immediate action to fight the BNP who were staying in the local area. 30 people stayed behind to start straight away.
They then set up a LMHR society which attracted another 200 sigh-ups at Freshers Fayre. At which, SWSS had a great response.
The following week a Stop the War mtg on Pakistan, Afghanistan & the Spread of War had 55 people followed by plans for a Die-in next Tuesday (tmrw). Jonathon Neal did a brilliant mtg on Climate Change at which we had 65 people.
At a caucus just before our UGM, having already seen us being active on campus, more non-members gathered around us and then clearly followed us when voting. The UGM had about 200 people (our quoracy is only 50) and we passed and opposed some very important motions including unanimous support for both the demonstration at the Bank of England and the People Before Profit Charter, defending staff against job cuts at SOAS, passed a motion condemning the racist persident at Kings and Notthingham colleges, defeated a Disaffiliation from NUS motion, and opposed the upcoming Miss University pageant.
The debate was of a high level and we smashed the right repeatedly getting the loudest cheers. Even though the mtg was 2 1/2 hrs long, and there was plenty of procedural motions and 'taking parts' which confused a lot of new students, we pulled many people with us and we came out buzzing if not bewildered!
We believe the success of the UGM is mainly due to the fact that we have taken student democracy very seriously, have consistently fought to bring back politics into the student movement and shown what can be done when we stand up for the oppressed and exploited.
SOAS SWSS is now raring to go to build for a Die-in on Tuesday and for the direct action against the Bank of England.
We started the term with a variety of events to agitate, educate and organise and our strategy has paid off. We hired the Renoir cinema for a Unite Against Fascism event and over 200 people attended the filmshowing of This is England. We put a call out for immediate action to fight the BNP who were staying in the local area. 30 people stayed behind to start straight away.
They then set up a LMHR society which attracted another 200 sigh-ups at Freshers Fayre. At which, SWSS had a great response.
The following week a Stop the War mtg on Pakistan, Afghanistan & the Spread of War had 55 people followed by plans for a Die-in next Tuesday (tmrw). Jonathon Neal did a brilliant mtg on Climate Change at which we had 65 people.
At a caucus just before our UGM, having already seen us being active on campus, more non-members gathered around us and then clearly followed us when voting. The UGM had about 200 people (our quoracy is only 50) and we passed and opposed some very important motions including unanimous support for both the demonstration at the Bank of England and the People Before Profit Charter, defending staff against job cuts at SOAS, passed a motion condemning the racist persident at Kings and Notthingham colleges, defeated a Disaffiliation from NUS motion, and opposed the upcoming Miss University pageant.
The debate was of a high level and we smashed the right repeatedly getting the loudest cheers. Even though the mtg was 2 1/2 hrs long, and there was plenty of procedural motions and 'taking parts' which confused a lot of new students, we pulled many people with us and we came out buzzing if not bewildered!
We believe the success of the UGM is mainly due to the fact that we have taken student democracy very seriously, have consistently fought to bring back politics into the student movement and shown what can be done when we stand up for the oppressed and exploited.
SOAS SWSS is now raring to go to build for a Die-in on Tuesday and for the direct action against the Bank of England.
No comments:
Post a Comment