UPDATE 1st June:
York and Nottingham universities have started voting over whether the quit the National Union of Students as a growing tide of institutions ditch the fractious union.
Have just voted for York to disaffiliate from the NUS, hope others will see the sense and vote likewise #NoThanksNUS
— Joe Pollock (@JPollock1996) June 1, 2016
Tensions have soared since firebrand Malia Bouattia – widely accused of being an anti-Semite – was elected president of the NUS.
Polls opened this morning at both universities – which join Oxford and Essex in holding polls this week – the results of which will be announced tomorrow.
MORE: How Oxford’s Cuntry Living safe space turned on me
Newcastle, Lincoln and Hull have already voted to quit – while Loughborough could follow depending on the decision of its union board of trustees.
Should we stay affiliated with the NUS? Voting opens 1st June.
Details here: https://t.co/u9XfLXypaY #NUSReferendum
— UoN Students' Union (@UoNSU) May 20, 2016
As many as eight major universities could quit in the coming days, with more clamouring for the chance to have a say.
UPDATE 31st May:
Oxford University is today voting whether to ditch the National Union of Students – the latest in a string of major universities on the cusp of quitting.
Polls opened this morning and will stay that way until Thursday afternoon, with the result due that evening.
Very glad to have just voted 'No' in the Oxford NUS referendum.
— N.M. Ratnam (@NMRatnam) May 31, 2016
While I'm not a student anymore I really hope Oxford vote to disaffiliate from NUS this week. #NUSNoThanks #Oxit
— Louis Gill (@Louisjsgill) May 31, 2016
Oxford’s out campaign cites a lack of democratic accountability in the NUS, its love of radical and divisive policies which few students care for.
MORE: How Oxford’s Cuntry Living safe space cabal turned on me
But the referendum, as is the case in other universities, is seen as a vote of no confidence in new president Malia Bouattia, who has been widely accused of anti-Semitism and famously refused to condemn ISIS.
Chief Rabbi condemns Oxford anti-Semitism in Union speech #antisemitism #oxford #nus https://t.co/V7ZdVh9i84 pic.twitter.com/qT7Pb4Lt9h
— The Oxford Student (@TheOxStu) May 30, 2016
The University of Essex is also voting on membership, and will return a decision on Thursday.
So far Newcastle, Lincoln and Hull have committed to leaving.
Loughborough held a vote, which returned a majority for leave, but was not binding due to a low turnout. The decision will be made by a mixture of faculty and student representatives.
massively disappointed Cambridge stays in the NUS. Hope Oxford et al go in the other direction
— Oliver Goldstein (@olivergoldstein) May 27, 2016
Warwick and Cambridge have voted to stay, while Worcester got too few votes, meaning it will remain.
Votes are still to come at York, Durham and Nottingham, while other students’ unions are campaigning to have their say.
More: NUS wants Rachel Dolezal-Style “Politically Black”
UPDATE 29th May:
A vote at the University of Loughborough showed a clear majority for leaving the NUS.
Just seen that Loughborough have voted to leave the NUS. It’s all falling apart and they just won’t learn…
— James (@JamesMCR90) May 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/Chevans93/status/736314806282641408
1,175 students voted to leave, versus 893 who said stay. However, the contest failed to reach a threshold of 4,000 votes, which means the result is not binding.
The students’ union’s board of trustees will now decide – but the will of the students is clear.
UPDATE: 24th May
The University of Hull has today joined Newcastle and Lincoln in ditching the NUS.
62% of students decided they’ve had it with the union, increasingly derided as a nest of joyless anti-Semites, and will go their own way.
BREAKING: Hull students vote to disaffiliate from @nusuk #huuref https://t.co/3b9pAXN7hS pic.twitter.com/TxOx18OKBo
— HullUniversityUnion (@Hullstudent) May 24, 2016
Voting in has opened at Cambridge and Worcester, with York and Loughborough among those still to come.
Warwick University also made its decision earlier this week, and will stay.
——
Original article:
Troubles continue to pile up for the National Union of Students in the wake of firebrand Malia Bouattia taking its highest office.
Thousands of students were horrified when the 28-year-old – most famous for refusing to condemn ISIS – took office, and campaigns immediately sprung up to abandon the body.
MORE: 17 skirmishes in Britain’s campus culture wars
The universities of Lincoln and Newcastle have already quit the bloc, while Warwick University will decide later this week whether to leave.
Ballots are also due at Oxford, Worcester, Loughborough, York and Cambridge in the coming weeks.
Leave campaigners argue that the NUS has abandoned its duty to represent the concerns of students, in favour of pursuing a hard-left agenda with a disproportionate focus on Israel-Palestine and picking fights with former student allies who hold views deemed incorrect.
The NUS is also in the front line of UK higher education’s war on fun, which has coincided with young men fleeing universities in droves.
NUS is lost I'm afraid. It's had good leadership from Megan Dunn, but it no longer represents students well. https://t.co/LkeXh1XCkr
— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) April 20, 2016
Many are taking their cues from university Jewish societies, who wrote en masse to Bouattia with a raft of concerns ahead of her election.
MORE: The NUS has been engulfed by fake diversity
The former president described her alma mater, the university of Birmingham, as a “Zionist outpost” while she was a student there, and seemed to view its large Jewish population as a problem.
The union has in recent years been criticized by David Cameron, and even former NUS president Wes Streeting, now a Labour MP, said the organization is now “lost”.
Its claim to a real mandate to represent young people in Britain will be further eroded should skeptical universities decide the jettison the NUS in the days to come.
