Malia Bouattia’s tactics will define her leadership of NUS

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United Kingdom on 2016-05-01 01:22Z by Steven

Malia Bouattia’s tactics will define her leadership of NUS

Wonkhe: Higher education: policy, people and politics.
London, England, United Kingdom
2016-04-26

Debbie McVitty, Director of Policy
University of Bedfordshire

Last week’s election of Malia Bouattia as the next President of the National Union of Students (NUS) has split the commentariat, with some celebrating the fact that she is both the first Muslim and the first Black female President of NUS, and others pointing to her record of expressing political views that some have interpreted as anti-Semitism. Over the weekend, Bouattia has sought to offer explanations and context for her comments, but in the meantime, several students’ unions have expressed their intention to disaffiliate from NUS as a consequence of her presidency. What is the higher education sector to make of all this?…

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I’m the new NUS president – and no, I’m not an antisemitic Isis sympathiser

Posted in Articles, Campus Life, Media Archive, Religion, United Kingdom on 2016-04-25 02:21Z by Steven

I’m the new NUS president – and no, I’m not an antisemitic Isis sympathiser

The Guardian
2016-04-24

Malia Bouattia


‘Some may not agree with my politics and ideologies, but I do believe the student movement has a shared goal.’ Photograph: Vicky Design/NUS website

The accusations being directed at me this week are deeply troubling and false. I want to focus on liberating education and opportunity for all

This week I became the first black woman to be elected president of the National Union of Students, and the first Muslim who will hold this position too. But instead of celebrating and publicising this incredible landmark, the media coverage has been cluttered with stories calling me a racist, an antisemite, an Islamic State sympathiser and more.

The truth is, as those who know me well understand, I’ve always been a strong campaigner against racism and fascism in all its forms. And I’d like to set a few things straight…

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Malia Bouattia’s election as NUS president proves deeply divisive

Posted in Articles, Campus Life, Media Archive, Religion, United Kingdom on 2016-04-25 02:08Z by Steven

Malia Bouattia’s election as NUS president proves deeply divisive

The Guardian
2016-04-22

Jessica Elgot


At the NUS conference, Bouattia won on the first round. Photograph: NUS/PA

Jewish student groups alarmed by her election, but the first black Muslim woman in the role has nerves of steel, and young activists love her for that

It is rare that the election of a student union president merits the flurry of headlines that greeted Malia Bouattia. But her election, as the first black Muslim woman to hold the office, has been one of the most divisive moments in the National Union of Students’ recent history…

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