Decolonising Education: Confronting racism on campus conference
Saturday 16 February, 12-4.30pm @ Hamilton House, WC1H 9BD
Speakers include:
Kate Osamor MP • Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, poet and activist • Priya Gopal, Academic at University of Cambridge • Colette Levy, hidden child from Vichy France • Nita Sanghera, UCU Vice-President • Myriam Kane, NUS NEC • Naima Omar, Student Stand Up to Racism • more tbc
Sessions include:
Decolonising education • Challenging Islamophobia and Prevent • Kicking fascists off campus • Defending migrant students & workers • Confronting institutional racism • Confronting antisemitism and hate crimes
We have seen a massive rise in racism across society, from Tommy Robinson here to Trump in the US.
Students are often on the sharp end of this. Muslim students are treated as suspects from the Prevent agenda, EU nationals have their rights threatened by Brexit, and BAME students face institutional racism.
We have also recently seen attempts by the far right to gain a foothold on campus with groups like Generation Identity appearing at universities including Manchester, Bristol, Wolverhampton and Birkbeck.
This conference will bring together students, staff and education workers to discuss how we can decolonise our campuses and make them free from racism.
How can we confront the rise of the racist and fascist right? – Campus tour organised by Stand Up to Racism
- If you want to set up an event at your campus, email us at info@standuptoracism.org.uk
Tour dates so far:
- Thursday 11 October – Uni of Manchester. Speakers include: Afzal Khan MP for Gorton; Nita Sanghera UCU Vice President; Shirin Hirsch Stand Up to Racism and UCU. Facebook even here.
- Tuesday 16 October – Imperial College London. Speakers include: Steven Saxby Parliamentary candidate for Cities of London & Westminster; Moyra Samuels Justice4Grenfell and more tbc
- Tuesday 16 October – Oxford University. Speakers include Nita Sanghera UCU Vice President and more tbc.
- Thursday 18 October – Newcastle University. Speakers include: Paul Holborow founder of the Anti-Nazi League and more tbc. Facebook event here
- Thursday 25 October – Cambridge University. Speakers include Daniel Zeichner MP for Cambridge; Manali Desai Cambridge UCU; Sofia Ropek-Hewson President of Cambridge Graduate Union; Zareen Taj Cambridge Stand Up to Racism. Facebook event here.
- Tuesday 30 October – Sheffield Hallam University. Speakers include Magid Magid Lord Mayor of Sheffield and more
- Wednesday 31 October – Lancaster University. UCU Black History Month roundtable with Nita Sanghera UCU Vice President, Julie Hearn and more tbc
- Thursday 1 November – York University. with Rachel Maskell MP, Nita Sanghera UCU Vice President and more tbc
Stand Up to Racism and Student Stand Up to Racism are teaming up with members of the University and College Union (UCU) to organise a national campus tour this term. It will include a series of meetings, debates and workshops on campuses and colleges across the country.
We will be discussing how we can mobilise against the racist and fascist right. From Trump to Tommy Robinson, we are experiencing the biggest rise in support for fascism, the far right, racism, Islamophobia and Antisemitism since the 1930s.
In Britain fascists and racists are mobilising on a scale not seen for decades. We must unite against this threat.
Racism is felt particularly sharply in our educational institutions, and not just with recent developments including Generation Identity attempting to build among students. Muslim students are targeted by Prevent, BAME students face institutional racism and EU nationals are having their rights to work and study used as a bargaining chip in Brexit.
We have to get organised. We’re encouraging all anti-racist students and staff to hold an event that can help us build a mass movement against racism on campus.
Students against Trump – let’s organise!
- Join the student bloc on the Together Against Trump demo here
It’s been confirmed Donald Trump is visiting the UK on Friday 13 July. Join the student bloc against him!
His visit is set to see the biggest protest seen in a generation. Student Stand Up to Racsim is calling for students to walk out opf school or college on the day that Trump arrives and join protests to send a clear message: Trump and his bigotry are not welcome here.
Main demo event page here
Student Stand Up to Racism groups around the country are organising walk outs, protests and sit ins on local campuses. Watch this space for more details
- Get a list of all students at your college interested in protesting against Trump and add them to a whatsapp group to organise.
- Get in touch with your local Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) group to see if they can help. If you’re outside London, SUTR groups have organised local protests and there will be transport to London on 13 July.
- Hold an organising meeting against Trump at lunchtime
- Join the student bloc on 13 July in London
Solidarity with refugees: convoy to Calais on Saturday 5 May
Student Stand Up to Racism is taking a coach over to Calais on Saturday 5 May to deliver solidarity and donations to Care4Calaisand the refugees in the area.
You can book your place on the eventbrite link here and see more details on the facebook event here – this coach is for students only so please only book a place if you are a student.
The situation facing refugees is appalling. The incredibly cold winter has meant people have been left to freeze. We will bring them aid but also raise the political question of why it is our government has been complicit and responsible for the desperate situation facing refugees.
Our schedule for the day is as follows:
- We will be leaving Euston at 6am and returning at 10.30pm the same day, Saturday 5 May.
- We will be helping Care4Calais bag up donations
- We will visit the distriution sites to distribute donations to refugees.
- We will then hold a mass meeting of those on the convoy to discuss what we can do in Britain
We encourage students to raise money and donations to take over to Calais. Due to the costs of the coach and ferry, we have to charge £30.00 per person. Student unions can help cover the cost of the trip.
Students Against Racism national conference
Students Against Racism national conference hosted by Student Stand Up to Racism and Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND). See facebook event here and register here.
Saturday 3 March, 11.30am-5pm @ Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, WC1H 9BD, London. Download leaflet.
Speakers include:
Lowkey, rapper • Justice4Grenfell • Janet Alder, Justice for Christopher Alder campaign • Colette Levy, Hidden child from Vichy France • Maz Saleem, daughter of Mohammed Saleem and anti-racist activist • Aman Ali, MEND – Muslim Engagement and Development • Amal Bider, anti-racist activist and Goldsmiths BME officer • Care4Calais • Austrian anti-fascist • Faisal Haji, Kingston SU • Isabel Kingscott, MEND • Naima Omar, Stand Up to Racism
Workshops include:
• Students Stand Up to Trump • Challenging Islamophobia and Prevent on campus • Decolonising our curriculum • Building student solidarity with refugees • Defending migrant students & workers • Challenging antisemitism • LoveMusic HateRacism • Mobilising for the March Against Racism – UN Anti-Racism Day
We’ve seen a rise of racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism across Europe. Challenging it is a key priority.
Universities are often at the sharp end of this racism. The government’s Prevent agenda unfairly targets Muslim students, the rights of EU students and staff are being used as a bargaining chip in Brexit, and our curriculums don’t reflect the diverse student body.
This conference, jointly hosted by Stand Up to Racism and Muslim Engagement and Development, aims to bring together students and staff from across the country to discuss how we can build a movement on our campuses to challenge racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism.
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Student coach to Calais on 9 December – solidarity with refugees
Facebook event here
Stand Up to Racism and Care4Calais are working together to organise a solidarity convoy to Calais on Saturday 9 December. Student Stand Up to Racism are organising a coach for students as part of the convoy. You can book your place on the coach on the eventbrite link here .
The convoy will deliver donations as part of the Winter appeal for refugees still living in Calais and it’s surrounding area. We demand these refugees are allowed into Britain.
Key info:
– We are charging £25 per student. This is to cover the cost of the coach and shuttle to Calais
– The coach will leave at around 7am from Euston station to get on the shuttle from Dover. We will return at around 10pm on the Saturday night.
– Once in Calais, we will be met by Care4Calais who will update us on the situation facing refugees and how they have been building solidarity.
– We encourage you to do what you can to raise donations and solidarity – make collections, pass motions of support in your student unions, collect petitions to demand refugees are let in etc etc
The destruction of the “jungle” camp by French authorities has not ended the refugee crisis, only worsened conditions for refugees, including unaccompanied children. As the weather gets worse we want to make sure that those who have fled poverty and war do not face even worse conditions in France.
The British government has failed miserably to carry out its responsibilities to refugees, taking only a fraction of the unaccompanied refugee children under the Dubs amendment.
While making donations to help refugees we call on Theresa May to act responsibility and take in the 3,000 child refugees suggested by Lord Alf Dubs, himself a survivor of the holocaust thanks to the Kindertransport
Student walk out 20 February – stop Trump, defend migrants
A national day of action has been called against Trump on the day the petition against his state visit is discussed in Parliament. NUS President Malia Bouattia has put a call out for student walk outs across the country, and Student Stand Up to Racism is supporting this call. We’re encouraging students to organise protests, stunts or mass leafletting on your campus on this day.
Confirmed walk outs so far include:
- Bristol – facebook event here
- Kingston – facebook event here
- Manchester – facebook event here
- Queen Mary’s – facebook event here
- Sheffield Hallam – facebook event here
Hertfordshire, UCL, Essex and others are making plans for a day of action on their campuses. If you want to set something up on your campus, please get in touch – studentstanduptoracism@gmail.com
Students #StandUpToTrump
The movement against Donald Trump’s racism and bigotry has had students at the heart of it – from those in the US who have stopped the alt-right speaking on campuses, to the students here in the UK who have marched against Theresa May’s Islamophobia.
Student Stand Up to Racism brings together all students who want to fight racism, Islamophobia & antisemitism on campus. Over the past year we’ve organised convoys to Calais, student blocs on protests and have launched a pamphlet against Prevent.
In the coming weeks there are two crucial dates for students to mobilise for:
- Day of Action against Trump on 20 February: A national day of action has been called against Trump on the day the petition against his state visit is discussed in Parliament. NUS President Malia Bouattia has put a call out for student walk outs, and Student Stand Up to Racism is supporting this call. We’re encouraging students to organised protests, stunts or mass leafletting on your campus on this day.
- Student bloc on #MarchAgainstRacism – A student bloc has been organised for the March Against Racism on 18 March. Students from outside of London are organising coaches on the day, and London campuses are organising day of mass leafletting.
Please get in touch if you want some help mobilising for these two events – contact us at studentstanduptoracism@gmail.com
Convoy to Calais on 10 December – solidarity with refugees
Student Stand Up to Racism is organising a student coach on the Stand Up to Racism winter convoy to France to show solidarity with refugees. Those in the camp in Calais have seen their homes demolished and face racism from Marine Le Pen and the Front National. We say these refugees should be let into Britain.
We’re encouraging students to raise money and donations in your workplaces, universities and communities to take over to refugee camps in France on 10 December. Once in Calais, we’ll be holding a meeting with volunteers on the ground, refugees, and anti-racists in France. We’ll also be helping out in the distribution centres.
We’ll be leaving London early on Saturday 10 December and will return late that night.
Unfortunately due to costs of the coach and the ferry, we’re having to charge £25 per seat on the coach. We encourage students to ask their student unions, UCU branches, local Stand Up to Racism groups to sponsor them for the trip, and to do a report back meeting on the trip. Please get in touch if you would like help doing this, or if you have any questions
To register your place, please message our facebook page or email studentstanduptoracism@gma
See the facebook event here
Plans for the autumn term
Student Stand Up to Racism aims to build a network of activists who can respond to racism on campus.
We’ve organised convoys to Calais, mass meetings on campuses and student blocs on protests.
At our recent organising meeting we agreed on the following anti-racist initiatives in the coming months:
- November (Islamophobia Awareness Week) – Student SUTR has organized a joint week of action with MEND against Islamophobia in education, starting on November 21st. We hope to have as many events as possible – panel discussions, SU events, MEND islamophobia exhibition, islamophobia workshops etc
- 19 November – SUTR bloc on UCU & NUS demo. Facebook event here
- 10 December – National day of student action in support of refugees, including student convoy to refugee camps in France. This should be accompanied by fundraising and political events in the lead up to Dec 10 to raise awareness for it.
- 27 January -2017 – Holocaust memorial day
If you want to get involved with Student Stand Up to Racism, or want to set something up at your university or college, email us at studentstanduptoracism@gmail.com or message us on our facebook page
Student Stand Up to Racism statement on the building of a wall in Calais
Build a wall, and whose going to pay for it?
The mindless politics of Donald Trump has arrived in Calais with Robert Goodswill announcing plans to build a £1.9 million wall to keep refugees out of the U.K.
This head in the sand response to the refugee crisis would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.
Unicefs announcement that there are now 8 million child refugees and 50 million child migrants worldwide shows the scale of the crisis.
But rather than acting on Lord Alf Dubs amendment to allow unaccompanied child refugees into the UK Theresa May’s government chooses to put its faith in concrete and barbed wire.
Refugees are not an enemy to be kept from our ramparts. They are people who deserve our care and support.
Trump and May want to build walls but to tackle the refugee crisis and act as decent human beings we should be tearing walls down.
Signed:
Naima Omar, Student Stand Up to Racism & Uni of Herts
Shelly Asquith, NUS Vice President Welfare
Shakira Martin, NUS Vice President FE
Patrick Tatarian; Beatrice Carey; Daisy Bow Du Toit; Haider Chaudry, Kingston Student Union Officers
Antony Hamilton, Student Stand Up to Racism & Uni of Herts
Nadia Sayed, Queen Mary University of London
Enaab Mohammed, Queen Mary University of London
Korkor Kanor, University of East Anglia
Richard Donnelly, Uni of Kingston
Chris Newlove, Uni of Kingston
