NI: University of Ulster – Scrap the Political Protocol

By Ciaran O’Neill, UU Coleraine Socialist Society UNIVERSITY OF Ulster’s political protocol cuts across students’ rights to speak and organise. The protocol says that, “political leaflets … may not be displayed outside the closed environment”. This in effect means students are not allowed to politically organise and could be “sanctioned” by the union if they do.

By Ciaran O’Neill, UU Coleraine Socialist Society

UNIVERSITY OF Ulster’s political protocol cuts across students’ rights to speak and organise. The protocol says that, “political leaflets … may not be displayed outside the closed environment”. This in effect means students are not allowed to politically organise and could be “sanctioned” by the union if they do.

The students’ union justifies this by saying they want to create “a politically neutral environment”. The creation of a “politically neutral environment” is simply nonsense. Even organising a protest against fees, which the union did in December last year, was a political action. This ban is completely unworkable.

The nervousness of the students union about sectarian material being distributed is understandable. The best answer to sectarian ideas is to provide an alternative – burying their heads in the sand and ignoring the problem will only make it worse. The Socialist Society campaigns to overturn the political protocol and defend student’s rights.

Total
0
Shares
Previous Article

FEE keeps Bertie from the wine and cheese!

Next Article

FEE holds successful national meeting

Related Posts
Read More

UN reports rise in global youth unemployment

Job prospects for young people are projected to remain bleak for several years. According to the latest United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) report (Global Trends for Youth) the number of unemployed young people worldwide has risen by four million since 2007.

Read More

“Why I joined the Socialist Party”

After my mother, Susie Long, died in 2007 after waiting seven months for a potentially lifesaving diagnostic procedure which private patients were receiving within days at the same hospital I naturally became concerned about the link between income inequality and inequality in health in our society.