Statement on NUS - May 2022

You may have seen news surrounding accusations of antisemitism within the National Union of Students (NUS), and be asking, as we are, whether they are inclusive and representative of the values we share.

NUS has responded to the allegations as well as announcing an independent investigation into antisemitism that will look at recent allegations as well as historic matters and broader culture:

“NUS’ record is clear and compelling – we have been on the right side of every major social injustice of the past 100 years and we won’t be stopping now. It doesn’t mean there haven’t been mistakes or moments where we’ve fallen short of our values or what you expect of us. We are, after all, a movement of human beings. But there is an unshakable foundation upon which NUS and the student movement stands and that foundation is social justice”.

600 students’ unions are affiliated with NUS, including Christ Church Students’ Union.  It goes without saying that all students should be confident that NUS should represent them and speak for all students.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion sit within our core values, and we condemn all racism and antisemitism.  We are supportive of the action NUS are taking with external reviews, and will await the outcome, but we will also continue to use our membership of NUS to challenge the organisation on its culture.

We are a membership organisation, led by students, and you decide which organisations (such as the NUS) we are affiliated with and those that we are not affiliated with.  We last held a referendum on our membership of NUS in May 2019 with 53.96% in favour of continuing to be affiliated with NUS.

If you would like to express your opinions on our affiliation with NUS or enquire more about the referendum process, you can get in contact with Dan Bichener, Students’ Union President, directly via president@ccsu.co.uk.