‘active and clearly socialist’
THIS
YEAR, Socialist Students has been distinguished as the ‘active
socialists’ on campus, with an increased support for our ideas and
campaigns amongst a growing socialist layer of students.
Zena Awad, Socialist Students, national co-ordinator
The freshers’ fairs were a huge success, both for our existing
societies and individual members who campaigned in about 80 universities
in England and Wales. Many have reported a growth in our profile among
students wanting a change in society and identifying themselves as
‘clearly socialist’.
Over 1,000 students have joined Socialist Students in the last few
weeks, with others interested in and wanting discussion on socialist
ideas. Our meetings have been highly attended with the most popular ones
being on ‘What is Socialism’. Also, many have shown interest in joining
the Socialist Party and coming to Socialism 2005 (details page 5).
Socialist Students are booking minibuses in their students unions and
raising money to take students to the Socialism weekend.
Students were impressed by the material on our stalls as it is
produced by students and reflects the various campaigns our members are
involved in. Around 800 copies of the Student Socialist, our magazine,
have been sold to new members and
supporters, many of whom also bought the socialist.
Students have shown huge anger over student poverty, cuts and
privatisation on campuses, which was reflected in the great response
Southampton Socialist Students got to their ‘Make Student Poverty
History’ campaign.
Enormous concern was also expressed by students over the increase in
racism and attacks on civil rights, and the destruction of the
environment. International issues like global poverty and war are also
still in the background and were demonstrated in the good response we
got to our slogan ‘Capitalism means war and poverty, fight for
socialism’. There has been interest in discussing Latin America and
China and copies of the new Che Guevara book have been sold on many
campuses.
Low pay
Last year, Leicester Socialist Students contacted trade unions on
campus and successfully campaigned for their local students’ union to
take up issues like low pay and to promote trade union rights among
students.
As a result, this year, all freshers received a joint Socialist
Students and Amicus trade union leaflet in the post and on freshers’
fair stalls.
In Exeter, Socialist Students will be initiating the ‘Coca Killer’
campaign to build the fight for trade union rights for workers in
Colombia.
Among others, our Newcastle members have ‘adopted’ a workplace and a
couple of colleges to do activities in and to link up with International
Socialist Resistance (ISR).
In Liverpool, our members are taking up the high living costs for
students and are building the opposition to the commercialisation of NUS.
On many other campuses we are initiating campaigns in defence of our
public services and doing solidarity work with staff fighting on the
same local issues.
In the University of Manchester, Socialist Students initiated the
campaign against privatisation of student halls and has now got the
backing of the students’ union.
We are also building the anti-war movement whilst campaigning against
terrorism and racism. Socialist Students in Northumbria, Newcastle,
Durham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, York, Huddersfield and Leeds
Universities are building for the anti-BNP demonstration on 2 November
and with the Socialist Party, will be campaigning for workers’ unity.
In students’ unions where elections to NUS conference have started,
Socialist Students members are standing and campaigning for a democratic
fighting NUS and for socialism.
Up and down the country, weekly Socialist Students meetings and
stalls are now going ahead, consolidating our new members and building
for Socialism 2005.
The enormous potential that exists for building socialism on campuses
is due to the changed objective situation students find themselves in,
but also due to our clear socialist ideas and the hard work of our
members.
A LIVELY ISR (International Socialist Resistance) contingent headed
up a 300-strong demonstration against the deportation of ‘failed’ asylum
seekers in Cardiff on Saturday. Young people dominated the march against
the deportation of asylum seekers to countries like Zimbabwe and Iraq.
While the Foreign Office is warning people not to visit these countries
the Home Office is insisting it is safe for political refugees to move
back there!
The ISR’s slogans of "No to war, no to deportation, spend the
money on education" and "The workers united will never be
defeated" were taken up by the whole demo as it marched through the
city centre.
