HSU head to National Conference
President Joe hits the road
NUS Conference returns!
The last in-person national conference took place in 2019, with 2020 and 2021 happening virtually due to the pandemic
This year NUS were able to hold a physical conference in the wonderful city of Liverpool. President: Representation Joe Goodenough leapt at the chance to join tens of thousands of other students and student representatives to head to the home of the Beatles and represent the voices of students at Hartpury University and College. This year was particularly significant as in 2022 NUS is celebrating its Centenary!
Read on to hear from Joe about how he took part in electing the national leaders of the student movement and fed into discussions about how to improve the lives of students across the country!
NUS National Conference 2022
Joe Goodenough (HSU President: Representation)
Hi, I’m Joe Goodenough, the current President: Representation for HSU. I am a third year Ag Student with an interest in Mental health and sustainable food systems.
About the conference
The conference is a two day event, hosted by NUS (National Union of Students) with the aim of bringing Student unions together to discuss issues which all students face. The two main aims are to elect the new committee (every two years) and to decide on the key policies for NUS.
Day 1
Opening
The day kicked off with an upbeat welcome from Hillary Gyebi-Ababio (Vice President HE) and Matt Crilly (NUS Scotland President), introducing the conferences, and beginning the celebration of 100 years of NUS and highlighting the history of being proudly radical since 1922.
This was followed by a speech from the current NUS President, Larissa Kennedy about 100 years of students coming together and how often students are on the right side of history. From campaigning for free health care 10 years before the start of the NHS to the lobbying of Barclays Bank during the Apartheid Period.
Christy Ku is a poet, performer, activist and wordsmith and spoke eloquently and radically about her life and about what it is like being a woman. It was a lovely experience to see how poetry can be used to protest. The comment that resonated with me was ‘it’s always the end of the world’ which appears to be a cynical comment but was meant to show how we should all live our own life and do what we want to do because life is short.
Candidate speeches
The most crucial part of the conference is deciding the new Vice President FE, Vice President HE, and President for NUS for the next two years. Each category had four nominations who all took very different styles to portray their points.
In these elections I only got to vote FE although I represent FE and HE due to the current set up you can only choose one Initially Hartpury SU was ratified as an FE students union because of the set up at the time but we feel the restriction in voting rights is unhelpful and is something which needs to be changed in the future for greater representation.
The Winners were later announced Congratulations to Bernie Savage (VP FE), Chloe Field (VP HE) and Shaima Dallali (NUS President)
Workshop 1 – South-West and Wales
The afternoon consisted of a large workshop in which we got to network with other SU officials. We then split down into smaller groups to discuss topics such as free education, decolonisation of the education system, sexual violence and the cost of living.
Day 2
Workshop 2 – Fight for Funds
The second day began with all delegates choosing what workshop they would like to attend. I chose the Fight for Funds section. The proposed motion covered the inequalities of the apprentice minimum wage of £4.80 per hour, post graduate funding, mature student support and hardship funds. All of the delegates decided the proposal was not up to scratch. Suggestions were made to: include FE funding, disabled students support, and to investigate international student fees.
Alternative workshops included: international student experience, accessibility for all, housing cooperatives, and gender-based violence.
Summaries of the proposal are available on the NUS website
Workshop 3 – Reimagining Education
We started off by breaking down the issues with education highlighting capitalist, archaic, and selfish mindsets some students feel their universities can foster. After discussing these issues we began to discuss how we envision education to be rebuilt, reimagining from the ground up. Ideas which came up were student-decided assessments, free education for all, life skills and being embedded into society, creating an asset to society.
The day was finished off with a closing speech by Larissa Kennedy (NUS President), aimed to empower students to go back and put what we earnt into practice.
A word from Sophie, our Rep Coordinator (supporting staff)
“This was my first time at national conference, and it was fantastic. It was great to see so many likeminded students coming together to discuss such important matters.
My role at this event was to support Joe, which involved everything from organising transport to buying shaving foam! I was also able to meet other SU staff members to discuss ideas and plans going forward - picking up some great tips to implement back at Hartpury.
I’d like to say a HUGE congratulations to all who stood for the presidency roles - that takes some courage and there was serious competition!
All in all, a great experience and I hope to attend again next year.”
My take home message:
Overall the experience was one I will remember for a long time, and I would advise any future representatives to go.
