The news of the arrest and imprisonment without trial of Guild Vice-President (Education) Mr Ed Bauer (see here) trickled through to me rather late. I’m very much out of the University/Guild bubble these days, and so my only sources for the story are Facebook (peer-reviewed in the unorthodox manner) and Redbrick (*spits in corner* -Nash passim).
My general impressions though are that this action is very much heavy-handed. For democracy and freedom of speech it is quite concerning. “Traffic offences” seems like a rather convenient pretext for arrest – given that noone was harmed by the protest. A mere polite word from the police should have been enough. Unfurling a banner above a busy road might seem a bit daft from a H&S perspective. But wouldn’t simply moving the protesters on have satisfied public safety requirements, without infringing democratic freedoms? Relocate the banner, continue the protest.
So why an arrest? And why 10-days detention? What evidence for a genuine danger to the public? It would be easy here to speculate, to lapse into the territory of the conspiracy theorist, but I won’t. What I will say is that the circumstances as they have been presented and the facts as available are deeply unsettling to me. Protest is an essential part of democracy, and those in positions of authority should be aiming to facilitate it, not to stifle it. My views on direct action are different to Ed’s, but I know a disproportionate response when I see one.
As for those who whisper of the impeachment of Ed from his position of VPE, they should be deeply ashamed. Not everyone may like Ed. Many will not agree with him. But most of us can see and appreciate his conviction and integrity in sticking to his principles. Ed has a mandate from the student electorate; one that was won honestly, such that none who voted for him could be surprised by his subsequent actions. I don’t believe for a minute that these actions have brought the Guild of Students (of which I am an honorary life member) into disrepute. On the contrary, such passionate defense of member’s interests is exactly what Unions are for.
There is a solidarity demonstration planned for Monday afternoon. Details are here. In all likelihood I will be popping along – legality permitting – to document events and to find out more information.
ukipboy (pete s)
/ September 25, 2011A couple of things.
1) Just because Ed didnt injure or kill anyone doesnt mean he can’t/shouldn’t be brought up on charges of endangering the public. I’m currently learning to drive at the moment, when I hopefully pass if I start weaving about in the road the police will likely stop and arrest me for dangerous driving and endangering people even if I havent hit somebody.
2) the guild clearly state that its officers cant take part in political action or words to that effect so clearly ed is now in breach of that so some sort of sanctions need to be taken. The most obvious one is chuck him out, after all he’s not a student anymore anyway, never did like that, if your going to represent students you really should be one. A more inventive punishmentwould be to strip away most of the pay he gets from the guild, after all most studetns get by on less then half of the 16,000 of so paid to him and thats an extra 8000 at least that can go to student groups or to help lower prices in jobs etc, it can also then be backed up with a threat do it again and you will be chucked out
3) on a completely different topic, how did you get honoury life membership
Chris Nash
/ September 25, 20111) Sure, sure, but I’m sceptical in this instance as to the level of peril actually faced by the general public. The Redbrick article mentions “debris” – presumably distinct to the banner itself. The banner I could see as a potential risk if its getting caught by the top of larger vehicles (double decker buses, etc.), but what is this “debris”? If its something else which the protesters themselves intentionally dropped (which I doubt), then they are no better than the idiots who throw bricks off motorway bridges. If there was loose debris on the bridge itself, which our protesters merely dislodged – well, that’s worrying in its own way, which I’m sure I don’t need to elaborate on.
2) All Guild officers are students at the time of their election. Its in the rules. Being a Guild Officer is a full time job, literally a “sabbatical”. One simply cannot be a Guild officer and a student at the same time. Most officers were students who stood for election in their final year. Occasionally they stand mid-way through their degree and complete it after their term in office. Guild officers are all students before their term in office, and often students again after (final years, masters, PhDs, etc.). As I argued during the last guild election, £16k is too high, and represents an annual increase of £1000 a year over the past 4 years. You may have noticed I didn’t win on this argument.
As for the Guild’s “no politics” rule, I think Redbrick (*spits*) are taking a deliberately broad interpretation of this rule. The precedent is that the Guild should focus on its specific area – student interests and issues – rather than pontificating endlessly about Israel vs Palestine, etc. and essentially playing political games of no consequence. Campaigning against fees is very much the Guild’s area, and the sort of political issue it is meant to engage in. Why shouldn’t a VPE, elected with a clear mandate for political action against fees, campaign against fees? I don’t see that he should be punished at all, least of all for acting on a manifesto promise. You may as well sack the Guild President for giving us the “2008-prices” loyalty card.
3) Honourary Life Membership I voted to all of the current Guild Officers at the end of each year. I was a non-sabbatical officer from 2008-2009. Its pretty much a “by default” thing, even though there is the potential for debate before the vote. Rather cheapens it that its often awarded to the non-sabbs who get elected and do sod-all. But there you are. Don’t think it means much in practice – better to affiliate as an “external member”.