{"id":356,"date":"2018-02-15T17:48:43","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T17:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=356"},"modified":"2018-02-15T18:05:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T18:05:37","slug":"student-citizens-advice-bureau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/15\/student-citizens-advice-bureau\/","title":{"rendered":"STUDENT CITIZENS’ ADVICE BUREAU?"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘To govern is to choose. To appear to be unable to choose is to appear to be unable to govern.’ So said a wise person… well, OK, actually it was Nigel Lawson. Still, it’s a good quote.<\/span><\/p>\n

LUSU’s executive committee has decided against taking a position on the UCU strike. They report that, ‘Lancaster University Students’ Union sympathises with the position of the UCU and their members, but in the best interests of our students we do not wish to see this action go ahead and believe all sides of the debate have a part to play in reducing the impact on our members’ education. It was decided that we as your students’ union would take the position of supportive communication, in that we will endeavour to provide impartial information pertaining to both sides of the dispute, making sure that each of you are supported, empowered and informed enough to take your own stance on this matter. We understand that this is a big issue and there will be students on either side of the argument, therefore our priority is reducing the impact on your academia.’<\/span><\/p>\n

They’ve been as good as their word. What should students do? Well, LUSU has produced two infographics. ‘If you support UCU strike action…’ then you can lobby the VC and ask your lecturers how you can support them. But ‘If you don’t support UCU strike action…’ then you can lobby the VC and encourage academic support from your lecturers. That’ll tell them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some readers may feel relieved that, at least, LUSU hasn’t come out against the UCU and NUS position on the strike. But, others will argue, the duty of a students’ union is to take a decision and fight hard for it. Are students really getting ‘value for money’ when their union behaves more like the Citizens’ Advice Bureau than a representative body?<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years ago LUSU abolished most of its democratic decision-making processes, removing Union Council and replacing it with a labyrinthine system of ‘student juries’ and referendums, to be called upon to reach a consensus – slowly – whenever the executive proposed doing anything contentious. Non-resolutions like the current position on strike action are, as we predicted, the result.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘To govern is to choose. To appear to be unable to choose is to appear to be unable to govern.’ So said a wise person… well, OK, actually it was Nigel Lawson. Still, it’s a good quote. LUSU’s executive committee … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[208,232,20,179],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-democracy","tag-issue-173","tag-lusu","tag-strike"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-5K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1209,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2020\/02\/19\/subtext-192-strike-while-the-subtext-is-hot\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":0},"title":"subtext 192 – ‘strike while the subtext is hot’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 19 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details: http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, strike, casualisation, lancaster exchange, student politics, emeriti, gender stereotyping, new build, spineless, university future, widden's review, penguins, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL 'Ultimately our aim is to protect our community's wellbeing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":376,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/22\/prevarication-newsflash\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":1},"title":"PREVARICATION NEWSFLASH","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 22 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On the eve of pensions strike, Lancaster UCU members were cheered by a report in that day's Times that VC Mark Smith had joined ten other university leaders in calling for a return to national negotiations. This represented a fundamental change in his position but, alas, it proved to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "newsflash"","block_context":{"text":"newsflash","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/newsflash\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":814,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/11\/08\/union-silo-blues\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":2},"title":"UNION SILO BLUES","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 8 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year the five main UK Higher Education unions (including the three recognised at Lancaster University) haggle and bargain over pay rates for staff in the sector with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA, acronym fans!). This year the unions' joint claim was for an increase of 7.5% or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":403,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/tales-from-the-picket-lines-and-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":3},"title":"TALES FROM THE PICKET LINES (AND BEYOND)","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"PICKET\u2019S GOT TALENT Picture it: The angry mob of workers, wearing dirty hi-vis jackets, furiously clutching placards as, with red faces and protruding eyes, they scream \u2018SCAB!\u2019 at passing colleagues who dare to go into work. Now picture the exact opposite, and you might have some idea of how Lancaster\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":331,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/01\/strike\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":4},"title":"STRIKE!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The dates have been announced, and it's the biggest strike in UCU history. Fourteen days of action in four consecutive weeks, taking place at Lancaster and 60 other universities: Thursday to Friday in Week 16, Monday to Wednesday in Week 17, Monday to Thursday in Week 18 and Monday to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":354,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/15\/student-activism-shows-some-signs-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":5},"title":"STUDENT ACTIVISM SHOWS SOME SIGNS OF LIFE","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"subtext counted 66 people at Lancaster UCU's 'Everything students need to know about the strike' meeting on Tuesday 13 February in the Faraday Lecture Theatre, which was either disappointingly low or surprisingly high, depending on your expectations. The lead presenter, Dr Jacob Phelps, started off by stressing how dull pensions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}