Note from Matt. This month I’d like to re-post a blog written by Aaron Kiely, black students’ officer at the National Union of Students.

This February marks the ninth annual LGBT History Month. Just as Black History Month in October commemorates and celebrates the lives and achievements of black people throughout history, LGBT History Month is an important opportunity to reflect on the history of the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities.

These months are a chance for us to remember the struggles that have occurred throughout history against oppression, prejudice and misunderstanding. Racism, homophobia and transphobia are still all too prevalent in society so these months must also be used to raise awareness of the continuing fight for liberation.

LGBT History Month is a chance for us to remember inspirational black LGBT people including Simon Nkoli, founder of Africa’s first black gay group the Saturday Group; Audre Lorde, who in her own words was a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”; American civil rights activist James Baldwin; Bayard Rustin and many more.

The black LGBT communities are as diverse as any other. Sports stars like Olympian Nicola Adams, John Amaechi and Sheryl Swoopes; artists including playwright Rikki Beadle-Blair and singer Tracy Chapman; political activists Linda Bellos and Angela Davis; and celebrities like Skin of Skunk Anansie and television presenter Gok Wan prove that black LGBT people are a part of every facet of society.

It is no surprise that the unity between the black and LGBT communities has a long and proud history – from Harvey Milk aligning his struggle for LGBT equality to the civil rights struggles of the African-American community in America, to the unity between these communities in campaigning against fascism in the present day.

We must always remember that we have common enemies: the British National Party’s former director of publicity Mark Collett declared that Aids is a “friendly disease because blacks and gays have it”, and the English Defence League stand against all diversity in our multicultural society; rampaging through towns and cities attacking mosques and gay bars alike.

A staunch reminder of the necessity for our communities to work together are the London nailbombings that targeted the African Caribbean community in Brixton, the Asian community in Brick Lane, and the LGBT community in Soho. This is why we must make no concessions to homophobia or racism in our society.

We should welcome the fact that the LGBT community stood alongside the Muslim community in 2011 in opposing attempts by the EDL to march through Tower Hamlets under the guise of a Pride march. We should fully support initiatives like Love Music Hate Homophobia and Love Music Hate Racism. UK Black Pride has grown into one of the premier events of the LGBT calendar and is about celebrating our rich and diverse Black LGBT communities.

Our joint campaigning work leaves us much to be proud of and should be remembered in both Black History Month and LGBT History Month.

I welcome the joint work within the student movement of LGBT and black students’ campaigns in NUS, against our common forms of oppression. Such unity is, indeed, black and LGBT history in the making. I hope you’ll join me and others in celebrating LGBT History Month this February.

The Black Students’ Campaign is proud to join with the LGBT Campaign in calling for equal marriage. Last year we made a formal submission to the equal marriage consultation and we are delighted to see the groundswell of support for this measure from across society.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights organisation in the US, has affirmed its support for equal marriage, viewing it as a civil right. It should be remembered that interracial marriage was illegal until the US Supreme Court declared anti-miscegenation (anti-interracial marriage) laws unconstitutional in 1967.

However, in Britain there is still lots more campaigning to do and we urge you to make your voice heard through contacting your MP and asking them to ‘come out for equal marriage’, joining the national lobby of Parliament and joining the Twitter ‘Thunderclap’!

You can read more and get involved here.

Have a great LGBT History Month!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MidKent College)

One of the things I look forward to least about this time of year is writing Christmas cards. Choosing what design to go with, digging out people’s addresses, realising you haven’t quite got enough cards for the amount of people you need to send them to…

This year however I’ve got excited over Christmas cards. I have about 200 sitting on my desk and I can’t wait to deliver them on Friday. These aren’t ordinary Christmas cards though, and they’re all for one special person.

This week members of MidKent College Students’ Union spent a day asking their fellow students to sign Christmas cards for equal marriage. In total the students collected over 350 signatures and cards, which we will be delivering to local Conservative MP Rehman Chishti.

The announcement of the Government’s plans for equal marriage should have been a moment of celebration for the LGBT community – a step closer towards a fairer society where marriage and civil partnerships are open to all regardless of gender or sexuality. Instead we were forced to watch waves of MPs get up in the House of Commons to attack the idea that people in love should be allowed the right to marry, and to seek assurances that religious groups would still be allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples. The message to LGBT people from these MPs could not have been clearer or more damaging – you are a second-class citizen.

I was hurt to see Gillingham and Rainham MP Rehman Chishti come out against equal marriage – that the people who are meant to represent us consider it their role to deny entire groups of society the same rights as everyone else is a disgrace.

I’m proud of the diversity of our College, and I’m proud of the 350 students, both LGBT and straight, who took the time to express their support for equal marriage. We’ll be making a special Christmas delivery to Mr Chishti’s office to challenge his views, and to make it clear that separate isn’t equal.

But this campaign isn’t just about marriage. It’s about more than that. It’s about the message our MPs send to young LGBT people when they talk about ‘normal marriage’; the damage they do to young people questioning their sexuality or gender identity who hear their representatives talk about them as if their identity is something to be ashamed of, something to be kept separate from ‘normal’ society.

All I want for Christmas this year is an equal marriage bill. As one of my students said yesterday – “…to follow your heart and not have to worry about what others say … That would be a perfect Christmas gift.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MidKent College)

So it’s nearly the holidays and I wanted to write a blog before we break up on a few important things that have happened since I last blogged.

Demonstration
One of the main things we were working towards this term was the NUS National Demonstration. As students in further education we face many attacks from the Government – from the scrapping of EMA to huge course fees and massive cuts to education. As a movement of students it’s important we stand up against fees and cuts, which hit disadvantaged students hardest.

It’s been two years since the National Union of Students (NUS) last organised a national demonstration against fees and cuts. This year students overwhelmingly voted for the NUS to organise a national demonstration, uniting students to march against the Government’s disastrous attacks on our education system.

Students at the NUS demonstration

We spent a long time preparing for the event and on 21 November I was proud to lead a coach of our students up to London for the national demonstration. We were marching under the slogan ‘Scrap Fees and Cuts – Bring Back EMA’, with many students making their own placards and banners with their individual messages and slogans.

As we got closer to London you could feel the excitement building as we prepared to march to defend education. Despite the cold and the rain turnout was good, with 10,000 students from universities and colleges from across the country marching past Parliament. I couldn’t have been more proud of the students who took part, and did such a great job standing up for students, not just at MidKent, but colleges and universities across the country.

Liberation
We’ve had some great developments in the Students’ Union through this first term and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved, not least the creation of liberation officers. The liberation officers are four special positions on the Students’ Union executive committee, representing specific groups of students.

The liberation officers are: LGBT officer, black students’ officer, women’s officer and disabled students’ officer. These positions are filled by self-defining students (i.e. students who define themselves as being part of these groups). The LGBT officer represents self-defining lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans students; the black students’ officer represents self-defining black students (of African, Asian, Arab, Caribbean and mixed heritage); the women’s officer represents self-defining women, and the disabled students’ officer represents self-defining disabled students (we use a social model of disability, which views societal barriers to participation as causing disability, rather than focussing on individual medical diagnoses. Students with dyslexia, mental ill health, ADHD and wheelchair users may define themselves as disabled – but these examples are certainly not exhaustive!)

These positions exist to give a voice to groups of students who might typically be under-represented in the College and the wider society, or who face discrimination, prejudice or barriers in their education.

Liberation from discrimination is something that millions of students across Britain are still fighting for. Oppression for students today can mean anything from name-calling to violent attacks and death.

We have a responsibility to represent these groups of students, campaign for their liberation, celebrate their diversity, and ensure that our college exercises zero tolerance of discrimination.

As a students’ union we want to build a society (within the College and in general life) where everyone has equal opportunities; but we should also recognise that equality doesn’t mean ‘treating everyone the same’ as the illustration below shows:

Some areas of society still favour certain groups over others, and we need to make sure that all students are treated fairly. Having liberation officers ensures that the students who are affected by discrimination and prejudice are in a position to challenge this oppression and campaign for their liberation.

There are 101 reasons for liberation, including…

•    On average, women are paid around 17% less than men in full-time work, and 38% less in part-time work. It will take women significantly longer to pay back their student debts than men (because of the pay gap, maternity leave, etc).
•    One in seven women students experience a serious physical or sexual assault during their time as a student.
•    Within five years of leaving college black students are paid an average of 9% less than their white peers for the same standard of work.
•    Less than 1% of college principals are black.
•    Disabled students are 10 times more likely to be the victim of bullying than their non-disabled counterparts.
•    One-third of disabled people do not feel they can enter education because of their disability.
•    One in three LGBT pupils change their future educational plans because of bullying, and three in five say it impacts directly on their school work.
•    41% of LGBT students have attempted or thought about taking their own life directly because of bullying and the same number say that they deliberately self-harm directly because of bullying.

Celebration
The winter months contain many different celebrations for religious and non-religious students alike, so in the spirit of celebration I hope that everyone has had/will have a happy…

Birth of Baha’u’llah, Diwali, Al-Hijra, Birth of Guru Nanak, Hanukkah, International Human Solidarity Day, Christmas…

AND A GREAT NEW YEAR!
Matt Stanley
Students’ Union President

Hi, and welcome to my first blog as president here at MidKent College Students’ Union.

It’s been a busy few weeks but hopefully you’re all settling into college life and enjoying starting (or getting back into) your course.

 We’ve been very busy in the Students’ Union preparing for the beginning of the year, including the Freshers’ Weeks at both campuses. There were loads of activities going on at Medway and Maidstone during these weeks, so hopefully you saw something that sparked your interest!
 The freshers’ fairs were really successful, with lots of different organisations coming in to let you know all about the different activities, events and support you can access while studying at MidKent College. The Students’ Union also held stalls at both campuses, where we were selling NUS cards and the student planner, as well as letting you know about everything we’ll be doing this year.

If you didn’t catch us at the freshers’ fairs, don’t worry – you can always check out our website at www.MKCSU.co.uk to find out more. And if you want to buy a student planner or NUS card then just pop along to the personal tutors’ office. You can also buy your NUS card online, so make sure you pick yours up today to start saving!

We’re not taking any breaks though as we move into October, and there are several things you can get involved in this month. First of all we have the first round of student voice sessions, which are the best way to get your voice heard and make sure any issues or suggestions you have are taken on board. You’ll probably see the College’s youth worker Fiona Simpson and I around a lot over the next few weeks, so watch out for your opportunity to get involved and have your voice heard.

We’ll also be holding elections for positions within the SU, so if you want to get more involved in representing students, campaigning on key issues and making sure everyone gets the best out of their time here, then why not put yourself forward?

There are different positions up for election, from the welfare and equal opportunities officer to the LGBT officer and several other positions too. It’s a great opportunity, loads of fun and is a great chance to represent your fellow students and develop yourself. You can find out more on our website and Facebook pages, so check it out!

October is also Black History Month, where we commemorate the history of black communities and celebrate the enormous contribution people of African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean heritage make to society. There will be lots going on during this month so make sure you get involved and help us celebrate Black History Month 2012!

As always you can email me at su.president@midkent.ac.uk and don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date with everything. I hope you’re all having a great first term; if you see me around campus then say hi and I look forward to seeing you getting involved in everything we have going on this month!

Your SU President,
Matt

Just to clarify, I’m not really a big fan of The Sound of Music, nor musical theatre in general -- the song just felt most appropriate

So… today’s my last day of Presidency, which can only mean the new President, Matt, joins us on Monday.  And you’ve all probably heard of his international adventures in the South Korean Government and his daring return to the UK just to be President of a small Students’ Union in some place called Kent, of course. No? How could you have not? Go read about him. Now.

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(Keep reading)

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OK. Now you’ve done that, you can have a nice old read about me! Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to… Like I said, today is my last day of Presidency, and although I am eager and excited to move on to University, I can’t help but feel a bit of sadness to leave the Students’ Union behind! It’s been a fantastic year; I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed it more than any other position I’ve found myself in! -- the pay helps!

We’ve had numerous wins all throughout the year, doing what a Students’ Union should do best; campaigning on behalf of the student body -- securing additional IT provision, better bus services, a more far-reaching representative body, and a supportive and social environment in the college. As such, we’ve  been rained on with recognition -- here’s some examples:

• Samantha Sadler -- NUS FE LGBT Activist of the Year 2012
• Spectrum -- Shortlisted for NUS Society Development of the Year 2012
• The Big Travel Debate -- runners up in the Speaker’s School Council Award, and shortlisted for the NUS Campaign of the Year Award
• Jo Carter -- specially commended in the NUS Staff Member of the Year Award
• Bronze NUS Be A Champion Accreditation for the work we have done with the Olympics this year

Not that we’re showing off or anything -- but, to be honest, we’ve been fantastic at our jobs! Despite all of that recognition though, the most positive advancement we’ve made is the raised recognition from our students, involving more and more than before, and having more students come to us to further their views and experiences at the college.

But, this couldn’t have been achieved without a massive thank you to the SU team this year, those who started at the beginning of the year, those who joined in the by-elections and those who still remain with us now: Jack Handley, Hannah Davies, Andy Pearce, Annabel Farman, Silas Wharton, Jack Berry, Conor Williams, Eddie Rogers, Peter Kennedy, Tom Beaney, Darren Naylor, Tuscany Roux, Naomi Thompson, Adam Hunt, Bobby Kerr, Keziah Garratt-Smithson, Gill Andrews, Samantha Sadler, Louise Wright, Connie-Rae Stone, Brendan Belton, Tom Ryan and Faith Kumson —- to name a few!

We’ve managed to establish a credible Union which has had real wins and successes, and set out a positive future for a previously less effective body. We’ve managed to get students to realise our potential and get them on board with us, and we’ve had a good time about it - it’s been a real pleasure to work with them, and I will miss both the SU and working with them.

So, today, we will relinquish our reins on the SU, handing them over to the newly-elected Students’ Union Executive Team: Matt Stanley, Tracy Blackley, Mdhamiri Á Nkemi, Dan Crosland, Tom Colgan and Emma Payne. Good luck and have fun!

But this probably won’t be the last of me! I’ve already told Matt to expect OfSted style no-notice drop-in observations -- and I’ll be back to see the Maidstone campus when it’s finished. And I’ll be taking to the streets in the NUS Demo on 21st November this year, fighting cuts to FE and for the future of our young citizens. Oh, and somebody said to me they expect to see me as Prime Minister in 20 years! Maybe… probably not!

So… goodbye -- I suppose…

You didn’t honestly think you could read a blog post with ‘Celebrations’ in the title without me posting that cliché song, did you?

I must say that the last few months have been quite remarkable for the Students’ Union -- there have been ducks, rainbows and buses galore (and on top of that a couple of certificates, trophies and good news). Well, I did say there would be lots to tell you -- especially as it’s been almost three months since I last posted -- sorry! And for that reason, you’re going to have to put up with an exceptionally long post…

Those business trips can be a bit more exciting than they sound, you know -- I’m sure my officers would agree. Over the past couple of months we’ve attended NUS LGBT Conference, NUS National Conference, NUS Mature and Part-Time Students Conference and NUS Black Students Conference -- and the representation of our students has been felt far and wide, with some resounding successes!

We’ve had a keen focus on LGBT support this year -- I mentioned in my last post how we were launching our new LGBT society -- which we did! (This is where the rainbows and ducks come in!) Students thoroughly enjoyed painting their hands and leaving their mark on the sheet, and trying to guess the sexuality of the duck! In fact, by the end of the day, I’m surprised everyone wasn’t running around with traditional war face paint on! All the paint was on the table under the sheet instead… Well, at least everyone enjoyed themselves and we managed to promote a key issue.

In fact, we promoted it so much that Samantha, our LGBT Students’ Officer for Medway actually won the National Union of Students’ Further Education Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender Student of the Year Award for 2012. When you don’t use the acronyms, that’s an awful long title compared to NUS FE LGBT Student of the Year 2012. Even that’s quite long! And then on top of that, Matt Stanley was elected to the NUS LGBT Commtittee, and Spectrum was shortlisted for Society Development of the Year Award. I think that more than proves that we won’t be leaving anyone behind and under-represented. And we are so proud of the work that Samantha has put in this year.

I’m going to make you angry now. So angry you might explode with rage and decide to add a comment to the bottom of this post… not that I’m fishing for them or anything…

BUSES. TRAINS. You either hate them or detest them. Well that’s the general reaction we have had from the student body at the college over the past few years. And that was it. Enough was enough. We weren’t going to put up with students not having their voices heard on something that could easily affect their success at college. E-mails were sent, phone calls were made, conversations were had and before we knew it there was a debate being held on travel in the college building and, my oh my, people were certainly passionate with their views. Well don’t let it be said that they were left unheard, because we’ve already heard back that more buses are going to be diverted into the Medway campus on college mornings. Success, I think! BUT, it’s never far enough, so don’t think we’ve settled for that or anything. We’re students!

And then we got angry about something else -- actually we’d been annoyed about it for a while, but it’s about now that we started expressing it - the NUS National Conference arrived and we had something to shout about. Faith (BAME Officer), Peter (Equal Opportunities Officer), Matt (President-elect) and myself headed off to Sheffield to make sure the student voice was heard. And what were we shouting about? I’m dragging this on a bit aren’t I? The new stop and search measures. You see, the Education Act of 2011 gave more powers for staff at colleges to stop students where they think circumstances are exceptional or there are reasons to suspect. We don’t have a problem with stopping and searching when there are suspicions that harm could be done, but these terms in law, they just don’t define it for us. They’re too loose. They’re too open to abuse. They’re too… flexible. So we presented a motion and have caused NUS to have a focus on making sure nothing goes wrong for the next 3 years. Oh and then Matt got elected onto the National Executive Council of the NUS too.

And then we had the Students’ Union’s Elections for the Executive Committee for next year. I’ll be quick on this one. Let’s just say there was an improvement in our turnout. Last year, there were 107 votes placed in total. This year, there were 333. And we are very pleased with that -- only a true reflection of the work we’ve put in this year and the brilliant campaigning of the candidates.

Well, I can announce (if you didn’t notice earlier) that Matt Stanley is the new President of MidKent College Students’ Union for next year -- and I am sure he will do a good job!

But, that’s it for the year from me -- I have around 30 days left as President, and I’ve loved it. But I will post one more blog before I go… so keep your eyes peeled. I might have even more to say than in this post!

Well I might do if I could…

I don’t even have time for that sentence itself these days, let alone time to actually follow through with its implications! Conference season has arrived. Election season is coming. We’re arguing. We’re complaining. We’re shouting. We’re making a mess. We’re showing everyone what we’re made of. I could go on…

MKCSU is in its prime – I’ve never seen it so active! I’ve got to be honest,  its increasing capacity sends shivers down my spine and I think this Cheshire cat smile has become permanently fixed on my face. So why are we still complaining? We’re students – that’s what we do. Plus, solving one problem just means we’ve got more time for the next one.

If only I had time for all these new clubs and societies popping up!

LGBT* Month is out of the way, thankfully. I hate it. It’s despicable.

What did you say!? (insert angry face here)

I hate it. LGBT month is just an excuse for creating further discrimination. It’s basically saying “let’s celebrate our differences”. Don’t worry – I feel the same about Black history month, and basically every other day in the year that celebrates our “differences”. How many times have I heard, “Oh well it can wait until LGBT month” – someone remind me why we can’t celebrate all year round, and not celebrate our differences, but simply campaign to make people less discriminative and aware of those around them. That’s my dream.

I don’t want LGBT month. I want LGBT year. 365 (or in the case of this year, 366) days of shoving these facts in people’s faces. And that’s what our new MKCSU Spectrum group seeks to achieve; help, support and awareness for our young LGBT people, no matter who they are or what time of year it is.

We’re all going on a summer holiday!

Well when I say “we”, I mean a few SU officers.

When I say “summer”, I mean spring.

When I say “holiday”, I mean “business trip”.

But “A few SU Officers are all going on a spring business trip” doesn’t quite have the same ring, and I don’t think Cliff Richard could fit it in.

But nevertheless, like I said, it’s conference season! And we’re off to represent our students on a national level, deciding the future of students, and what we want the NUS to be working on over the next three years. It’s almost as exciting as a summer holiday! In fact, for me, it’s probably more exciting. I love my job.

But I’ll tell you more about all of that when we’re finished and back!  There’ll be lots to tell you,  I promise.

Meetings never go to plan, do they? You never stick to schedule, and the agenda begins to lose all meaning. It’s just a document that encourages people to think that there’s something in mind when the meeting is organised. More often than not you end up incredibly off topic, discussing something that is in no way related to the meeting whatsoever…

(yes, I have thrown in a picture of penguins because they’re my favourite animal)

…and when you finally get back on topic, you’re at least twenty minutes behind schedule… and then the process starts again, so inevitably, you end up finishing at least forty minutes late. This is true of the Students’ Union meetings. No matter how much contingency time I stick into that agenda, we will always end up staying later than usual -- and yet they all complain! Perhaps, I should just add a ‘general chat’ item to the agenda, but I doubt that would deal with the problem.

So, having had our elections last month, the Students’ Union has now successfully filled 17 places, and now these officers are being put through the horrifying tasks of having their mugshot plastered around College and sitting through the comprehensive safeguarding training. I don’t think I’ll hear the end of their complaints…

…but I suppose that’s what the Students’ Union is for… complaining.

Wait! No we’re not. We’re for making change happen. We are the change, you see. (Sneaking in a bit of NUS advertising there).

And right now, with the help of our very active and passionate students, we are attempting to combat the difficulties faced by students in travelling to College via their own means or public transport. It is an issue that everyone faces, but with the cuts to EMA and ALG and Care to Learn, it’s getting more and more difficult for our students. So, what are we doing? Well we’re involving ourselves with the Get on the Bus Campaign (I’m doing it again…) and speaking to the local Kent Students’ Unions to see how we can all work together to tackle a problem that affects a large number of students.

So, the new officers’ inductions, and their grimace worthy icebreakers, out of the way, it’s time to get everyone involved in the action. With the travel campaign, the wheels are in motion (no pun intended) and everyone starts after Christmas. Our students have voices, you see, and it’s high time that everyone listened.

But for now… Merry Christmas!

James… and a bit of Shakin’ Stevens.

If I were to tell you about everything that has happened in the last month, then I could be writing for days. MidKent College has been in a frenzy of student activity, inspiring talks and tired souls since the term began.

Of course, we are celebrating the London 2012 Olympics this year and have been promoting the values and opportunities associated with them since before our students even walked into the College – meaning that when a mixture of students and staff decided to crazily run the 16 mile distance between our two campuses, there was a warm reception to both the departure and the arrival of the runners, something that truly helped bring our campuses together. To add to it, the exhausted runners (including myself) and those interested students were treated to a inspirational talk by Larry Achike, a British Triple-Jumper who will most likely be in the Olympics for Britain next year – and as with any celebrity, we made sure we got our autographs and photos from him! After nearly half an hour of pulling him to one side for photos and the other to sign yet another part of his life away, he eventually broke free and escaped the College so fast some of us didn’t notice (I suppose you should keep an eye on a professional athlete in retrospect).

Even this half term was quite tiring – while everyone has been off enjoying their half term, I, like many other student representatives around the country, have attended the National Union of Students’ (NUS) Zone Conference. Gathering information faster than my mind could process it, the NUS definitely got me thinking about ways we can really get the best for our students from more student involvement to events and activities. Plus, there was always the fact that we were staying in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool that made it that more appealing (although I wouldn’t stay there again). From this though, MidKent College and indeed the Southern region has gained a number of student representatives within the NUS, myself on the Welfare Committee. This is a step which will benefit not just those at MidKent College but one that students all across the United Kingdom will also benefit from. (Not that it’s a daunting task really…)

Plans for this month? What I said about last month applies again – so many ideas means I could keep on rambling for days if you get me going; so I won’t. Well, maybe just a little bit – more course representative meetings, the Students’ Union elections with an exceptional 14 candidates standing for a wide range of positions and the finalising of the plans for the Winter Prom are priorities. But that’s only a start for what we have planned.

Watch this space to find out more.

Happy November!