I’m proud to be the President of a Students’ Union that has a pro-choice stance. Supporting students to have information that helps them make informed choices about their bodies and future is a fundamental right I believe in.
It deeply concerns me that today we have, unfortunately, seen the return of pro-life groups to campus. To confirm, these are not student groups, these are external groups who seek to harass and intimidate students on campus based on the policies we pass as a democratic body.
To be clear, the SU upholds its free speech duty under the law and has both facilitated debate on this topic and supported student groups with alternative views to exist and deliver activity. In my opinion, this is not about free speech on campus, this is an external campaign group seeking to influence students ahead of a democratic vote on SU policies.
Despite our disagreement with this group and the views they hold, the Students’ Union unfortunately does not have any authority to prevent these groups from being present when they are on public property. Ahead of and after the pro-choice vote at the 2019 AGM, this group was frequently on campus and despite the SU working proactively with the University and lobbying the Police and the Council to remove them, under Freedom of Speech laws, we are unable to prevent them being there.
We know these groups and the materials they use can cause significant distress to our student body. We want you to know there is support available if you need it. Please don’t hesitate to contact our Student Advice team, the University’s Wellbeing Services, or their Disclosure Response Team . I wanted to write this blog to ensure our students were provided with information ahead of coming to campus in order to enable you to make informed choices about how you move around. If you feel their presence will negatively affect you, I encourage you to avoid the front of main building if this is something you are able to do.
The policy process at the Students’ Union mandates the SU for three years, so the pro-choice policy will lapse after this AGM and therefore has been resubmitted this year. In my opinion, reproductive rights are not something that should be debated, especially not by those who do not have a uterus. I want to emphasise, if the motion does not pass, we will not automatically adopt the opposite stance, but we will not be mandated to continue our pro-choice stance. Despite this, I assure you that I will personally continue to empower our students to make informed decisions and advocate for pro-choice. I would strongly encourage any of you who are passionate about this topic to attend AGM on Tuesday 6th December to have your voice heard.