Update

Posted on April 14, 2012 by wo

Hello all,

First of all, apologies for not blogging as avidly as I am meant to.

I don’t have that long left as Women’s Officer, and I’m going to focusing on my essays and exams from now on but there are a few things that I hope to achieve with the Women’s Association and Cross-Liberation group.

 

These are ideas for Guild Council motions:

 

Last Guild Council of this year:

 

1. Women’s Open Places

Extending general Open Places to 12 position and make SIX of them women-only.

 

2. Liberation Autonomy

Changing the bye-laws so that Liberation Officers can only be held to account by their Associations, not Guild Council. This makes it both easier for Associations to remove their Officers, and harder for a Guild Council primarily non-Lib from removing them.

 

3. Mandating VPW / Liberation Officers to lobby the University for better welfare

Mandating the VPW and WO to work together and with the Women’s Association to lobby the University to ensure welfare and counselling can provide for victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, discrimination and bullying (all groups), abuse, violent relationships – and to so confidentially.

 

4. Sabb Officer

Mandate the President, VPDR and VPW to look into how other institutions use Equality/Diversity/Liberation Sabbatical Officers, how effective they are and whether their is a need for them at university of Birmingham. To report back to 1st Guild Council of next year. - Work with Liberation Officers (new and old) / Working groups with Associations.

 

 

1st Guild Council of next year:

 

1. Liberation Room

People have suggested perhaps we try and get a room for the Liberation Associations to share.

 

2. The Guild & Liberation Assocations

Considering the general perception of Lib groups in Guild Council, and the common misconception that we are mere student groups,  it makes sense to write a Guild belief distinguishing the two.

 

“The Guild believes that Liberation Associations have a role in the Guild of Students that extends far beyond that of the average student group, being political associations seeking equality, accessibility and empowerment for marginalised groups within the student population and society as a whole; disabled people, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people and women. As such, they are fundamental to the Guild being a truly representative institution and becoming a safe place for all students”.

 

3. Formalising the Cross-Liberation Group.

 

 

 

*****************************************************

 

* Equality and Access Sabbatical Position

Now this is going to take a lot of work and probably won’t be able to go through Guild Council for a while, but we need to be thinking about it and come to a decision as a large cross-Liberation group whether we want to change VPW position or make a new one. I personally think a different one would be a lot better, but we have to consider University / Guild money.

 

 

In addition, the Women’s Association are planning some really great events. Self-defence classes with Muay Thai, a Sex-Positive event and much more! Keep your eyes and ears open.

That’s all for now! :)

 

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Censorship in the Guild

Posted on March 2, 2012 by wo

Today, a Women’s Officer candidate was asked – at the request of Guild Elections Committee – to remove some of her posters from around campus because they quoted statistics from the NUS Hidden Marks report about the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment on campuses [1]. They are upsetting.

 

This decision came after complaints from a small number of students who felt that they were upsetting statements, reminding them (or potentially reminding victims) of bad experiences. As such, the candidate has chosen to remove them and not appeal the decision, because she never intended to offend anyone and this instance wasn’t worth the battle.

 

However, this note is being written to argue that this was a very poor decision made by elections committee for the following reasons:

1. It inhibits the ability of activists and campaigners to raise awareness about very important issues.

2. It sets a very dangerous precedent, which harms freedom of speech used for the best intentions.

 

1. It inhibits awareness raising.

 

The NUS Hidden Marks report is a study of over 2,000 female students in Universities in England and Wales. It reveals some shocking statistics, a selection of which I have outlined below:

  • 1 in 7 survey respondents have experienced some kind of verbal or non-verbal harassment in and around their institution. This includes groping, flashing, unwanted sexual comments.
  • 12% of respondents had been subject to stalking.
  • Over 1 in 10 had been a victim of serious physical violence.
  • 7% have been subject to serious sexual assault.
  • In the majority of cases in all incident categories the perpetrator was known to the victim.
  • 81% of victims of serious sexual assault knew their attacker.
  • 89% of stalkers were men.
  • 73% of the perpetrators of physical violence were men.
  • Students were the majority of perpetrators in most categories, except for ‘physical violence’ where just under half were students (48%).

 

This is shocking and upsetting – especially for those who may have been victim to harassment or assault (and statistics suggest there are many). However, sexual assault on campuses is too big an issue to silence. The statistics should be evidence enough that we should be shouting about this as loud as we can and trying our hardest to find the cause, change attitudes on campus and help the students who need it.

 

The report also revealed that of the students who were seriously sexually assaulted only 4%reported to their University and only 10% reported to the police. They gave the following reasons for not reporting it:

- ‘I didn’t think it was serious enough to report’: 45%

- ‘I didn’t think that what happended was a crime: 42%

- ‘I thought I could handle it myself’: 46%

- ‘I felt ashamed or embarrassed’: 50%

- ‘I thought I would be blamed for what happened’: 43%

- ‘I didn’t think I would feelcomfortable talking to the police about it’: 33%

- ‘I didn’t want my parents/family to find out’: 33%

- ‘I didn’t think I would be believed’: 33%

- ‘I didn’t want my friends to find out’: 25%

 

Now, it is obvious that being seriously sexually assaulted will leave lasting scars on anyone, that will affect their everyday lives, their University work, their physical and mental health etc. If only 4% of students are informing their University, this means zero mitigations, zero consideration and zero help. If they aren’t reporting it to the police it means zero justice.

 

If as an institution we are committed to helping students and providing a safe campus, raising awareness about the issues at hand should be a no.1 priority. Sending out the message that these students are not alone and that they should not be ashamed or embarassed, and that it is the fault of the perpetrator not the victim are all part and parcel of ensuring that sexual assault and harassment are taken seriously on this campus.

 

With so few students reporting these issues, the University is able to get away with welfare services that focus on exam stress, family bereavement and stopping smoking [2] – leaving serious issues like sexual harassment, assault and rape to be handled alone.

 

By silencing this issue we are perpetuating a myth that campuses are safe and that sexual assault is uncommon. We are hiding and downplaying a prevalent issue, making these students feel isolated, embarrassed and unwilling to ask for help. Over 40% of victims of ‘serious sexual assault’ had told nobody: not friends, family, welfare tutors - nobody.  

 

If we want to create a safe space, where students are encouraged to show self-awareness and respect to female students then publicly raising awareness about and condemning sexual harassment, assault and rape is a necessary first step.

 

In short, it is upsetting for a reason.

By its very nature, sexual assault is upsetting. 

 

2. It sets a dangerous precedent.

 

I think it is fairly obvious that raising awareness may involve (in the majority of cases) sharing upsetting information.

In this instance it was a candidate running for a Guild position.

 

Next time it could be a focused campaign about a major contravention of human rights somewhere in the world.

It could be a campaign raising awareness about the insitutiionalised oppression or persecution of a group of people in this country or elsewhere.

It could be a campaign informing students of an environmental catastrophe that had resulted in a very high death toll, soaring cancer rates and the destruction of important ecosystems.

It could be a boycott campaign raising awareness about how products sold on campus are made by workers in sub-human conditions.

 

The possibilities are endless.

 

I am worried that if our Guild is willing to apply this kind of censorship because it is upsetting, then there is little stopping similar censorship handcuffing Guild Officers, student groups, student activists from making a real difference on their campus.

 

The world is an upsetting place, and lots of bad things happen. We will never change anything if we silence those few passionate individuals who care enough to face the upsetting facts head on.

I implore the Guild to stop censoring its members.

 

 

I see campaigning around sexual assault and harassment on campus as central to the role of Women’s Officer. If our WO candidates aren’t allowed to raise awareness in their campaign, what chance do we have of them campaigning during their time in office? There is a big problem on our campuses, revealed by this NUS report. Its time we faced it and tried to solve it rather than burying our heads in the sand in the guise of ensuring a minority of studens are not upset.

 

Safe space does not mean hiding widespread sexism and violence.

 

What the heck were Elections Committee thinking?

 

*************************************************************

[1] NUS Hidden Marks Report can be found here:

http://www.nus.org.uk/Global/NUS_hidden_marks_report_2nd_edition_web.pdf

 

[2] http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/studentlife/counselling/help.shtml

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Liberation, sexual objectification and Women’s Week.

Posted on January 23, 2012 by wo

Hello all,

I’m in the library at the moment and am working on an essay, so this will be a quick one but here’s an update of some of the stuff I’m doing and how you can get involved:

1) Cross-Liberation group: just over a week ago we had the first meeting of the cross0liberation group, open to all Associations and Liberation Officers. The plan is have regular meetings so we can decide on collective objectives, assist each other in our individual aims and address the fact that many students belong to two or more Liberation groups.

In this meeting we decided on three Guild Council motions – detailed below the post.
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/329908133697431/

Anyone who identifies with any of the Liberation groups (Women, Ethnic Minorities, Disabled, LGBTQ) should definitely consider joining. The more people who attend meetings (which will probably take place about once a month) the stronger we will be and we’ll be able to effect greater change.

2) The Guild has written a statement on a beauty pageant that is being directed at University of Birmingham students, called ‘Miss Undergraduate Birmingham’.
The statement can be found here: http://www.guildofstudents.com/news/index.php?page=article&news_id=302333

If you, like me, are sick of sexual objectification and being judged (or those around you being judged) on false, sensational ideas of what is ‘beautiful’, and what women should be, there is a group planning an action against this event. For more information, get in touch with me (k.rogers@guild.bham.ac.uk) and I can add you in to the mailing list. Alternatively, join the cross-liberation group above.

3) International Women’s Week: 20th-24th February.

This is going to be the best week ever.

I’m organising a week to celebrate the diversity and talents of women’s on campus, raise awareness about the issues and inequalities facing women here and globally, and to give students ideas as to how they can join and continue the fight.

Maybe ‘Feminist’ might not be such a dirty word afterwards.

The ideas that have been thrown around so far and I’m working on making into a reality are:

- CARNIVAL: On Wednesday the 22nd we’re going to have music and dancing on campus, right outside the library. We’ll have speakers, including the NUS Women’s Officer Estelle Hart, rallying everyone into a feminist frenzy. We’ll have stalls from the likes of UK Feminista, Amnesty International, Global Women Strike, the Corporate University and our very own Women’s Association. We’ll have banners and posters and stickers everywhere. We’ll have space for student groups to get involved raising awareness about what they do for women, or about women round the world. We’ll have a ‘diversity and welfare’ space where you can get to know the other Liberation groups, find out what services there are on campus when you get in a tight spot and where you can quiz your VP Welfare, Luke.

- OPENING NIGHT: On the Monday we’ll hopefully be holding an amazing Talent show, with as many wonderful female student singers, dancers, comedians etc as possible! There’ll also be an Art exhibition and creative space where writers, artists, designers and poets can show off their work.
This exhibition will be up for a few days in the Guild at least.

- THE FESTIVAL OF IDEAS: I’m hoping to introduce as many students to different women’s issues from here and around the world as possible. So I’m inviting lots of really interesting speakers to hold a host of lectures, seminars and debates. We’ll be having talks on:
‘Is Feminism relevant to students?’, ‘Is Feminism relevant to men?’ alongside some really interesting lectures from specialist feminist academics. MORE INFO. ON THE WAY.

- ACTIONS: There will be a bunch of actions across the week for you to look out for. Including, on the Tuesday, the action (mentioned above) against the beauty pageant, and sexual objectification more generally. Oxfam, Amnesty International and other groups are getting involved.

- CLOSING NIGHT: The Women’s Association are hosting FAB. For a spectacular end to the week, you’ll be able to go raise some money for Breast Cancer Research and have a fab time :)

There are more things but I can’t remember….

If you want to get involved, have any of your work on display, want your society to host and event and be put into our wonderful, shiny programme, want to sing, dance or amaze an audience with any other talents, suggest some events, help me with the insane workload PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get in touch:
k.rogers@guild.bham.ac.uk
OR JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/325046194182439/

 

So that was my attempt at a quick one… back to the essay.

Lots of love Kelly x
(p.s. please get in touch about Women’s Week).

*********************************************************************************************************

GUILD MOTIONS:

Motion 1: Liberation Officers as Trustees

 

 

Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law: Bye Law 3 1.1 & Articles of Association “Trustees”

 

Bye Law 3

1.1.3 Pursuant to the Articles of Association, the Liberation Trustees shall be the

Disabled Student’s Officer, the LGBTQ Officer, the Ethnic Minority Student’s Officer and the Women’s Officer.

 

Articles of Association “Trustees”

Amend text “7. There shall be not more than fourteen Trustees. Whenever the total number of Trustees falls below fourteen, the Trustees shall appoint or elect new Trustees in accordance with Articles 25 to 27 to ensure that the composition of the

Board as specified in Article 8 is maintained” so that it reads “7. There shall be not more than eighteen Trustees. Whenever the total number of Trustees falls below eighteen… “

 

“Appointment of Trustees”: 8.6 not more than four Liberation Trustees, elected in accordance to Article 11.

 

“Liberation Trustees”:

11. The four Liberation Trustees shall be the four Liberation Officers (DSO, LGBTQO, EMSO, WO) whose identity and election by cross campus ballot shall be as set out in the Bye-Laws.

12. The Liberation Trustees shall remain in office for a term of  one year commencing in accordance with the Bye-Laws. The term of office may be shorter or longer on a transitional basis to coincide with an alteration of the year start or end.  Subject to a transitional change in the year of office”.

12.1 each Liberation Trustee must be a Member at the time of his or her election and shall continue to be a Member for the duration of their term as a Liberation Trustee.

 

 

Statement in support of motion:

Over the past few years the power that lies with the Liberation Officers has been significantly reduced, undermining their ability to pursue the interests of their Associations and to effectively ‘liberate’ their student groups.

 

 

Being mere Guild Officers, leaves them unable to have a vote in any of the decision-making bodies. Recently, this has involved a whole range of decisions being made, resulting in the removal of the Women’s Room and the LGBTQ room, without reference to the Associations or the Officers except for inviting negligible involvement in creating an alternative ‘safe space’.

 

 

Moreover, this is also addresses the fact that currently our highest decision-making body doesn’t have a majority students, nor equal weighting between elected and appointed Trustees. Our Guild of Students is the only Union in the country where this is the case. By giving Liberation Officers positions on the Trustee Board, it ensures they have a voice in matters that affect the freedom and potential of their respective groups, whilst also preserving the Guild of Students as a mouth-piece of the student body in its entirety – including those students who have historically lacked ‘voice’ and empowerment.

 

Motion 2: Return of Liberation Rooms

Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law: Bye Law 9

 

 

Bye Law 9

Add 4.4 Liberation Rooms

4.4.1 The Liberation Associations will be provided with Association rooms (Women’s Room, Disabled Students Room, LGBTQ Student’s Room and Ethnic Minority Student’s Room) with disabled-access, to act as ‘safe space’ and to facilitate the objectives of the Associations.

4.4.2. These rooms may only be reallocated for alternative use with the express, written permission of all of the Liberation Association Chairs and the Liberation Officers, with the understanding that a wider ‘safe space’ in the Guild and on campus has been effectively established. In addition, in the case of the rooms being reallocated, the Student Equality and Diversity Committee must convene, with invitations sent to Liberation Association Committees, to draw up an action plan regarding the improvement and preservation of a campus-wide safe space and the facilitation of continued functioning of all Associations.Statement in support of motion: 

This year has seen the two Liberation rooms that did exist taken away, without asking the Liberation Associations or Liberation Officers. This contravenes any ideas of Liberation autonomy and their right to designate safe space.

 

The Associations that previously did not have rooms have suggested that it would be in their interest, enabling them to work together and empower their Association members.

 

Safe space is a right for all students. It is highly questionable whether the Guild or campus are safe spaces for the Liberation groups, so until it has been accepted by all Associations and Officers that safe space exists, and that they can function effectively without their rooms, the Liberation groups request that their rooms be returned and rooms are provided for the Birmingham Ethnic Minority Association and the Disabled and Mental Health Associaton.

 

Unions countrywide hold the right of their Liberation groups as a necessity and have provided rooms for all their Associations despite having a much more limited space in their Union buildings. The Guild of Students should respect Liberation autonomy and their right to decide how and where space space is created, and ensure their involvement from the beginning and throughout all decision-making processes affecting Liberation groups.

Motion 3: Gender-neutral Toilets

 

New belief and commitment: The Guild believes that all students have the right to live without fear of discrimination or judgement, and as such shall ensure the Guild is an inclusive, safe space by ensuring gender-neutral toilets are available in the Guild building, on every floor.

 

Statement written in support of motion:

I believe that everybody should have the right to the basic rights of life, without fear of discrimination or judgement. I believe that not having gender neutral toilets causes a great deal of discomfort to those who do not wish to use gender specific toilets, particularly trans-gender students.

 

 

This is a perfectly sustainable idea, calling for the availability of gender-neutral toilets on every floor of the Guild, alongside gender-specific toilets.

 

 

In conclusion, this is mainly about supporting every member of the Guild, and making sure that the mental health of the trans community feel supported, rather than pushed aside even more.

 

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Gender Equality and Welfare: My Christmas Agenda.

Posted on December 21, 2011 by wo

Hello,

I thought I’d give an update on to what I’ve been looking into, what I hope to achieve over the next few months and how I’ve streamlined my many, (in the most part stupid) plans into some super-awesome action plan points.

1.) I have called a cross-liberation meeting post-holidays and invited all Liberation Officer, Liberation Associations and the VPW to attend – although all are welcome. The aim of the meeting is to collaborate and share concerns about the University and Guild and where necessary informally mandate the Officers to work together to act and fulfill the needs of these groups. However, my primary reason for calling the meeting was to discuss welfare policies and how students belonging to Liberation groups want these to be structured so that students who need access to high quality welfare provision and procedures can gain it easily. The agenda of this meeting is open and I am encouraging all attendees to consider adding items to the agenda for discussion.

2) I have been looking into the current procedures surrounding issues such as harassment, discrimination and abuse. Having spent a considerable amount of time following seemingly endless hyperlinks on the University website and trying to find my way around the maze that is the Guild website I have started to realise that the information readily accessible to students is very much one-sided.

I have been able to find plenty of information on the procedures (concerning ensuring the person guilty of harassing etc is dealt with and disciplined suitably) that one should follow at both a Union and University level. These can be found here:
- Guild: http://www.mediafire.com/?b7q2bgl4op6p7tq (I can’t find it on the Guild website, and got sent mine as a pdf, so I’ve uploaded it for all to see).
- University: http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/legislation/docs/complaintsprocedure.pdf
However, while this aspect is perfectly clear it is nigh on impossible to find clear, concise routes explaining how to access welfare providers, such as counselling and support. As it happens, the Guild website does include any mention of discrimination, harassment or abuse (for any liberation group) under the tabs devoted to these welfare services. This is despite a  study by NUS called ‘Hidden Marks’ covering 2000 female students which found that 68% of respondents have been a victim of one or more kinds of sexual harassment on campus during their time as a student. Nor does the website provide any information or even suggest there is any welfare provision for those suffering from eating disorders which affects thousands of women and men across the country – including students.

Thus, using the cross-liberation meetings mentioned above, and working with the VPW I am going to try and provide an accessible set of information and advice as to what routes are available for those seeking welfare provision or support. Unbeknownst to the person who wrote the Guild website, student needs extend beyond exam preparation, stress relief and help stopping smoking.

3.) While I was doing this reading I came across the very interesting Gender Equality Scheme 2010-2013 which had some limited, but interesting facts about the staff and student make-up of our University in relation to the HE sector in general. However, this scheme pledged to produce gender data “in relation to the achievements and opportunities available to students”, most importantly IMO graduate destinations, and also relating to comosition of the staff body and development. This information was supposed to be published annually, but when trying to find it on the links provided, it was nowhere to be seen.

Therefore, I am currently trying to gain access to this information, assuming these reviews have been done acs set out by the GES Action Plan, and also to date sets published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. With these, I hope to write a report on gender equality at the University of Birmingham by the end of my time at Women’s Officer.

4) Look back to my previous posts. International Women’s Week is definitely high up on my agenda and something I’m super-psyched for. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THIS EXCITING EVENT NEXT YEAR.

There were are. Update done.
Merry Christmas everyone xx

 

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p.s.

Posted on November 30, 2011 by wo

I forgot no.5. (which is crazy since I’ve been hatching this plan since the Summer and before I even knew I was running for WO but anyway…):

MYGENERATION: The Community Action Officer (Leander Jones – lovely guy by the way, you should all participate in his Listening Campaign) and myself are hoping to start up a campaign aimed at increasing access to University to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This is important in light of proposed changes to the HE system under the Browne Review and White Paper, as well as Birmingham having some of the poorest areas in the country.

Many studies have shown that students from families on the lower end of the income scale tend to be far more debt-averse and thus, much less likely to enter HE, a disparity in opportunity that will only increase with rising fees and decreasing quality of institutions. They also tend to attend less successful schools and may suffer from feelings of disempowerment, lack of confidence and so on. (By the way, I want to stress this is not a rule, just tends to be the patterns emerging).

Thus, we have come up with the idea (maybe stolen from Oxford… ;P) of running open-days for students from local schools, involving workshops and mini-lectures showcasing UoB’s societies and departments so that the next generation of young people 1. realise that University is absolutely cracking and is possibly worth considering. 2. can be informed about the pros and cons of University education and associated debt from the people that know – the students. 3. can be offered support from the generation before them.

On point (3.) – the open-days will hopefully be followed up by an e-mentoring scheme where students are on hand (after a few clicks) to give advice, offer encouragement and provide a kind ear when teachers or parents may just not be best.

Anyway, this is something Leander and myself will be working on over Christmas – more info. to follow. Just FYI, both of us are involved in the Defend Education group on campus and actively support and often participate in direct action and awareness raising that takes place here and elsewhere – but this is a hopefully complemetary route to take to help access to HE. It’s us being proactive! :)

Anyway, watch this space for exciting updates.
Muchos love xx

Posted in Events & Ideas | Leave a comment

Hey all,

A quick update as to what is in the pipeline / what I’ve been up to:

1. The most exciting event on the horizon is the Women’s Carnival (!) I have planned for late February / March time. I will be submitted this to the Guild soon (after the dreaded deadline day), but it has been recieved with much enthusiasm already and looks very promising. Here’s the outline of the plan:

- For International Women’s Day (but held either before or after Guild Officer campaigns) we hold a ‘Carnival’ style event in the middle of campus with performances by bands, singers, poets etc all day. Campus will be decked out with loads of stuff giving information about Women’s issues, posters, ballons, stickers, banners etc.
- Also on campus shall be a set of stalls with relevent student groups (Women’s Assocation, Amnesty International for example) and other groups (Fawcett Society, UK Feminista, Welfare groups and so on). There shall also be opportunity for student-run ethical businesses (of which I know we have a few at Birmingham) to showcase their produce, and an ethical swap-shop will also be there!
- In the evening a set of seminars on a number of issues, such as ’Why Feminism is relevent to Students’; ‘Why Feminism is relevent to Men’ and ‘International Women’s Issues’ (but maybe with more catchy names).
- In the evening an event through Carnival RAG which raises money for a charity.
- In the week surrounding this day we shall encourage The societies to hold themed events surrounding Women’s issues and half the money  raised shall be going to societies, half going to charity.
- A selection of mini-’actions’ on campus through out the week.
- Speakers and seminars throughout the week.

I hope everyone agrees this sounds like a really fun way to raise awareness about Women’s Issues, get them involved and interested whilst having lots of fun. I’ll be organising a focus group shortly after Christmas to discuss ideas, so anyone wanting to get involved please get in touch. I’ll also be at the next student groups mini-forum asking societies to get involved etc.

2. Connected to the Carnival above, International Women’s Day has an overarching national theme along the lines of ‘Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures’ – so I am keen to organise either speakers being sent to local sixth forms and colleges or (preferably) and event where local girls come to UoB for a set of exciting workshops.

3. I will be looking into welfare provisions for women over Christmas and see where services can be promoted better, as in line with my election manifesto.

4. I will be working closely with the Women’s Association to get attendance to this (very important) group rising :)

Anyway, that’s all for now. BACK TO ESSAYS.
:) xx

Posted on November 30, 2011 by wo | Leave a comment

Lessons from NUS’ ‘Student Activism 2011′: Democracy at the University of Birmingham.

Posted on November 20, 2011 by wo

Yesterday I attended a set of workshops at NUS’ ‘Student Activism 2011′ in London:

1. ‘Where is HE (Higher Education) going? Understanding the White Paper.
2. ‘Understanding political apathy (and defeating it).
3. Campus democracy.
4. What’s the point of Feminism? Should the women’s movement matter to students?

These have led me to formulate the following argument…
Let’s consider these points:

- 80% of the students unable to pay back their student loan back (due to low salaries) will be women under the new system proposed by the White Paper.
- Under current fees women take 50% longer than men to pay back their loans.
- Chances of employment for women are much lower than men: 70% of recruiting agencies have been asked by clients not to hire women of child-bearing age because they are ‘high risk’, and where redundancies are being made women are likely to be targeted for the same reason.
- The cuts being introduced by this coalition government are targeting the public sector, and its workforce which predominantly comprises women (65%).
- The majority of workers facing pay freezes, pay cuts and job losses are women.
- The UK has the highest gender pay-gap in the EU for full-time work (17%).

So, student political issues such as the tuition fee rise, the White Paper, cuts to courses, staff and resources means that women will be losing out even more than their male counterparts (though this is by no means trying to delegitimise their struggle) in that they have lower employment prospects, are likely to be earning less, and will take on average considerably longer to pay off this hefty debt. For these reasons, I postulate that:

1. Gender equality and women’s liberation is a student issue.
2. Student politics, and cuts to HE, is a women’s issue.

Women should be fighting hardest and shouting loudest against cuts to HE at a national and campus level. Accepting this, it is useful to recognise some important issues at hand.

First of all, on campus level, there is a very important battle we need to be involed with; that of democratising both the University and Guild of Students’ structures by ensuring that at every level of decision-making there are elected committees comprising, students, academic staff and non-academic staff. If this is achieved, HE at the University of Birmingham will truly be shaped in the interests of students and staff, presumably placing the value of education and the ‘student experience’ above that of profit. This is not a pipe dream; at University of Cambridge and University of Oxford (by no means radical institutions) the most important decision-making body is Congregation, comprising 3,700 members of the University’s academic and administrative staff – not a small group of executive managers as at the University of Birmingham.

The problem on campus does not stop at the unaccountability of the University. Perhaps a more worrying problem is the lack of student voice in the body designed to be our mouth-piece, the Guild of Students. Currently, ultimate decision-making power lies with the Trustee Board, a committee consisting of three alumni trustees (including the Chair), three lay trustees, three student trustees, a University representative and four Sabbatical Officers. Only the four Sabbatical Officers are elected meaning the ratio of unelected trustees to elected trustees  is 10:4. Considering that this body has the power to override all decisions made by Guild Council, it is safe is conclude that democracy here at the Guild of Students is merely token and can be withdrawn at any time. This is a very significant handicap when students hope to lobby the University about decisions that will directly affect their learning, their employment prospects and their student experience; such as cuts to courses, staff and learning resources – all which are taking place at our University.

It is obvious that if decisions were made by students, academic staff and non-academic staff in a Parliament-style congregation, as showcased by Oxbridge, education and accessibility would be the main priority. We would have the power to influence issues at hand such as the University’s decision to spend £600 million on improving the aesthetic quality of our campus, £65 million on knocking down and rebuilding our library where our Sports Centre is now and £45 million pounds on moving the Sports Centre to where the Gun & Barrels pub now stands. It is not for me to comment on these investments, but for the student and staff bodies, who together have the greatest idea where such investments should be heading in order to ensure the University of Birmingham is a quality educative institution; not merely a beautiful campus.

What can we do? 

- The Guild of Students is currently our primary vehicle for being heard, and as such it must be a priority to transform it into a democratic body. By all means, this is a difficult task considering the shackles we currently bear in the form of the unaccountable Trustee Board, but Guild Council must express its wishes for a democratic system of decision-making. A motion has been submitted to Guild Council calling for an expression of the belief that regular AGMs (General Meetings with the decision-making power above that of the Trustee Board should be called by the Trustee Board. Many Student Unions around the country already have AGMs as a mandatory part of their democratic process. At last Guild Council this did not pass through steering; a decision justified by the fact that it will have no actual effect, but I argue that if we don’t express our wish for democracy the Trustee will be udner no pressure to oblige. Lobby your Guild Councillors, Student Reps and RAs to support this motion. 

- Attend the meeting held every Monday at 6pm in Nuffield Learning Centre, which discuss HE issues, and plan actions to combat the detrimental changes outlined by the White Paper and planned by University management.

- Support the Staff Strike on November 30th. Show the love for your lecturers and your support staff by standing with them against cuts to wages and pensions and job losses. Student-to-staff ratios are ever increasing, threatening the quality of our education here at University of Birmingham. Cuts to wages and pensions may lead to top academics leaving for better conditions elsewhere at other institutions or in the private sector. If the quality and diveristy of University of Birmingham’s staff depreciates, so will the standing of our institution. This is very significant, because if in 10 years we sink to becoming a second or third-class institution, our employment prospects will sink to match this.

- Engage with HE issues. There are many outlets for expressing dissent, or calling for the democratisation of this University. If we are successful we have the opportunity to mitigate the effects of government decisions or stop them altogether, meaning as students we won’t be suffering the losses to our student experience.

This is an issue that affects students and staff, now and in the future. Women face a lot of discrimination in the workplace and rising fees and declining quality is a cost that is far from just.

 Make your voice heard.

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Why the Women’s Officer has a Responsibility to Campaign on National Gender Issues.

Posted on November 6, 2011 by wo

This is a note I posted on Facebook during my campaign. It was aimed not only my opponent (who responded, very well, and we had a good debate) but at students who I had been talking to on campus. Just thought I’d share it on here…

Whilst running for Women’s Officer I have come across some interesting (to be polite) ideas which I felt needed a response. In one of my shout-outs where I pointed out that the UK has the widest gender-pay gap in the EU for full-time work, a (female) student replied that “if women worked harder, they’d get paid the same”. Secondly, the practical solutions offered as “down to earth” feminist policies seem to me to be quite bizarre, and I’d like to challenge them and replace them with my own suggestions.

The proposition of ‘workshops’ where women are taught to be assertive in the workplace is a policy I fundamentally disagree with and one which is couched in the overriding patriarchal discourse that underpins our society. Discrimination in the workplace does not take place because women aren’t as assertive as their male-counterparts (and implying that it does smacks of entrenched patriarchal ideology to be honest); it is because of existing discriminatory structures which limit women’s capabilities to further their careers.

- First of all, research has shown that employers are more resistant to women’s attempts to exert influence and be assertive than to men’s. A 2007 study by Carnegie Mellon and Harvard researchers divided 119 volunteers into random groups and were asked to play the role of interviewer for a hypothetical job. They were briefed on all the ‘candidates’ all of whom were described as exceptionally qualified and talented, the variable being that some candidates accepted the offered salary whilst others tried to negotiate. The pattern that emerged was that female candidates who negotiated were far more likely to be penalised for negotiating than males, with them being perceived as ‘less nice’. Further studies confirmed this: across all experiments male volunteers were less willing to work with women who negotiated. This suggests that it is not lack of assertiveness on female employees’ behalf that stops their progress, but a set of unwritten codes in the workplace about ‘appropriate’ gender behaviour. Unless we challenge the basic underlying problem here, teaching UoB graduates to be assertive will have no effect whatsoever, however hard that is to accept.

- In terms of practical solutions, they can be found at a national level. As long as unequal division of childcare is heavily institutionalised, with the amount of statutory maternity leave far exceeding that of paternity leave, employers will see women of child-bearing age as high-risk and avoid employing and promoting them. If the division of child-care was left to the parents to divvy up, as in other European countries, employers wouldn’t be able to discriminate to such a great degree; because they won’t be able to pin-point ‘high-risk’ candidates. This is massively beneficial for men as well, with many men wishing to have greater participation in caring for their child.

- Finally, as long as women remain the primary care-givers (and traditions tend to take a long time to change), they will remain stuck beneath the glass ceiling until flexible working hours become standard practice in the UK. It is very difficult for working mothers to compete with those unencumbered with the tasks of taking children to school and picking them up, for example. Women are commonly faced with the choice of maximising their career or starting a family.

To some, national debates over gender issues do not seem like ‘student politics’, and perhaps beyond the remit of a mere Guild Officer. But as far as I see it, as long as the female graduates leaving the University of Birmingham are faced with discrimination, it should be the responsibility of the Women’s Officer to take part in the national debate which might actually achieve real change, push for national demonstrations, rally the students at her University to participate in the process of improving their own prospects, and fight discrimination in the workplace at its very core. That is why a campaigning, protesting, fighting Student Union is a vital component of the University experience. Afterall, who wants to graduate top of their year just to be sacked when becoming pregnant?

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What’s Coming Up?

Posted on November 6, 2011 by wo

Hi all :)

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me, helped with my campaign, and supported me, enabling me to become Women’s Officer! It is a great privilege and a role I’m looking forward to very much.

Secondly, I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention an event that I’ve been organising, with my society (Student Broad Left) and with the support of Women’s Assocation, since before my election:
‘Reclaim the Mic’ Open-Mic Night!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=282061491827890

It’s happening on the 23rd November, 8pm, in the Underground. We currently have a line-up of comedians, singers, musicians, bands and are hoping to get much more! Every single penny raised is going towards subsidising buses to the ‘Reclaim the Night’ demo in London on 26th November, organised by London Feminist Network.

This bring me to my next event: the buses are being put on my Women’s Assocation and Student Broad Left Society for (hopefully) £5 return! http://www.reclaimthenight.org/
To get tickets get in touch with myself (k.rogers@guild.bham.ac.uk), Women’s Assocation(womens@guild.bham.ac.uk) or Broad Left (broadleft@guild.bham.ac.uk). This event is raising awareness about domestic violence (which affects 1 in every 4 women in this country sometime during their lifetime) and cuts that are affecting women. For example, cuts to legal aid that will mean large numbers of rape, domestic violence and family cases will not reach court (which in the context of a justice system which currently has a rape conviction rate of 6.5%, is pretty scary…)

Now to put across my ideas, and what I’d like to get started on over the next month or so:

- “Women’s Council”: this will hopefully take the form of an online forum, where I will post up Council motions, deadlines for motions, and discussion topics surrounding the theme of women’s issues nationally and on campus. This I can have an accurate feed telling me what women want in their motions, and for me to stand up and defend / speak about in Council.

- Charity Fundraisers: ‘Girls Night In’ Film Nights / Ethical ‘Swap Shops’ / Theatre and music nights and so forth to raise money for charities that can have a real affect on Women’s lives, perhaps through councilling, support-centres, accomodation for women escaping violence and so forth.

- Speaker events: there are lots of people I personally admire and lots of groups that are great for introducing people to the topic of feminism and gender issues. Kat Banyard, author of ‘The Equality Illusion’ (an excellent book which you all should read), has told us that she is happy to come and speak – time and place TBC. Other speakers I will be contacting are Laurie Penny, journalist and author of ‘Meat Market’; Helena Kennedy, barrister on a number of top Human Rights and rape cases and loud proponent of equal rights for Women; London Feminist Network. Any other ideas would be much appreciated! :)

- Feminist Art: with the permission of the University and the Guild, I am hoping to start a series of feminist art pieces to be displayed around campus highlighting gender issues. This could involve scupture, chalk murals, posters or whatever. So if anyone is arty and want’s to get involved, PLEASE get in touch (k.rogers@guild.bham.ac.uk).

Ok… I think that’s it for now. Just wanted to get my ideas out there. Any questions, suggestions or problems please get in touch!
Also, everyone follow me on Twitter (kellyjaderogers), for updates of what’s going on.

Much love,
Kelly xxx

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