Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Jawad Ahmad

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

Union Council Notes

1. Due to the current climate and racial prejudice in society, students across the nation are calling for university course reading lists to be more diverse by including more black and ethnic minority writers.
2. There is a lack of diversity in the curricula delivered by Aston University. This stifles academic freedom, presents a western history, and does not allow students to gain knowledge from the many intellectual giants of other cultures.
3. Curricula that derive from Eurocentric material narrow students' worldview and do not enable them to broaden their view of the world.
4. Aston has a very diverse campus with most students coming from BAME backgrounds, yet this is not represented in the delivery of subjects and modules.
5. BAME staff are poorly represented in senior academic and leadership roles: of 19,000 professors in the UK, only 400 are BAME women.
6. Recent data shows 80.9% of White students received a first or 2:1 compared with 67.7% of BAME students, a national attainment gap of 13.2%. At Aston the gap is 3 to 5%, with Bangladeshi students showing the largest gap of 5% in 2018 to 2019.

Union Council Believes

1. Aston should be an inclusive teaching and learning environment. Inclusivity and diversity are factors in decolonisation, but not the only factors.
2. Decolonising the curriculum enables deeper thinking about the content of our courses and how we teach them.
3. Through decolonisation, Aston will become more open and more racially and culturally aware, helping to make the university safer for all.
4. Academic schools and disciplines must be more inclusive and represent the student body.
5. The burden of tackling systemic change should not fall solely on the minority, but on everyone.
6. University staff should be representative of the student body.

Union Council Resolves

1. To ensure the Students' Union updates the Bye-laws so it continues its work with the university to decolonise Aston.
2. To lobby for the university to improve diversity among academic staff and representation of the minority.
3. To lobby for the colleges to ensure their curricula are a reflection of all.

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Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Annas Mazhar

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

Preamble

The Union supports disabled students to achieve full accessibility on the Aston University campus and in the wider community.

Union Council Notes

1. The Union acknowledges that successive Disabled Students Officers have worked extensively to raise awareness of ableism at the University, and have lobbied to improve accessibility.
2. University buildings remain architecturally inaccessible in many areas. For example, much of the Main Building is still without automatic doors.
3. Disability covers a wide range of conditions, and this diversity means there are a wide range of issues to be covered.
4. The Disabled Students' Officer has the responsibility to represent all disabled students within the Aston community.
5. There is a diverse range of disability experiences, from physical, mental, intellectual, visual and more. A Disability Committee would help the Union better understand the needs of, and advocate for, all disabled students.

Union Council Believes

1. To advocate effectively for people with varied disabilities, disabled student representation must be cross-disability and self-advocating in nature. This means the participation of people with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities who want their voices heard.
2. The University has a legal obligation to provide parity of experience for disabled students.
3. The University must do more to achieve full parity of experience for able and disabled people.

Union Council Resolves

1. To create a Disabilities Committee.
   1. The Committee shall be appointed via self-nomination and ratification by Students' Union Council so different disability experiences can raise awareness of issues from a physical, psychological, or sensory perspective.
   2. The Committee shall be chaired by the Disabled Students' Officer.
   3. The Disabled Students' Officer shall be accountable to Students' Union Council for the work and conduct of the Committee.
   4. The Disabled Students' Officer can choose to delegate chairing responsibility to another member of the committee.
   5. The Committee shall work to promote the rights of disabled students, reasonable adjustments, and the correct ways of thinking about disability through Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training.
   6. Together with the Disabled Students' Officer the Committee shall be responsible for:
      1. Internal communication with the wider Students' Union on disability-related issues.
      2. Liaison with the University on disability-related issues.
      3. Providing support to Students' Union members regarding disability issues.
2. Any full member of the Union who self identifies as disabled shall be able to nominate themselves as a member of the committee, subject to ratification by Students' Union Council and accountability via the Disabled Students' Officer and Council.

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Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Safa-Atiya Ahmed (Vice President Welfare)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

Union Council Notes

1. A mature student is someone aged 21 or over going to university after a break from full-time education. This means anyone over 21 at the start of undergraduate study, or over 25 at the start of postgraduate study.
2. Mature students often balance study alongside work, childcare, or other caring responsibilities.
3. We have a Mature Students' Common Room in the Students' Union building, but no specific officer representation for the voices and views of mature students.

Union Council Believes

1. The Mature Students' Officer shall be a mature student.
2. The Mature Students' Officer will be elected in the Students' Union elections.
3. The Officer would communicate their work in whatever format they feel appropriate, whether in person or online.

Union Council Resolves

1. The Officer will represent Aston's mature students' community and be their voice on the issues they face.
2. The Officer will listen to and address concerns surrounding their academic experience.
3. The Officer shall engage with the University, Union, and other relevant organisations to achieve improvements for mature students.

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Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Paige Dawson (LGBT+ Officer)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

Union Council Notes

1. The current title for the officer representing the Aston LGBTQ+ community is "LGBT+ Students' Officer".
2. A poll by the LGBT+ Students' Officer found that out of 60 Aston students, 65% were in favour of re-naming the position to LGBTQ+ Officer.

Union Council Believes

1. Aston Students' Union should be understanding of the desire for the LGBTQ+ community to be represented fairly.
2. This inclusivity will improve the wellbeing of those associated with the Students' Union.
3. Students should be represented by the acronym or title that is most appropriate to them.

Union Council Resolves

1. To mandate the change in title of the "LGBT+ Students' Officer" to "LGBTQ+ Students' Officer".

Actions

Currently no actions have been taken in relation to this policy.

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Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Safa-Atiya Ahmed (Vice President Welfare)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

Union Council Notes

1. The UK Government's Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a statutory requirement on public bodies, including universities, to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism" through the implementation of Prevent.
2. According to the Prevent Strategy, potential indicators of "radicalism" or "extremism" include:
   1. "a need for identity, meaning and belonging"
   2. "a desire for political or moral change"
   3. "relevant mental health issues"
3. The Prevent duty has been used to create a surveillance architecture that polices voiced opinions, and has been used to shut down politicised conversations within institutions, notably on the topic of Palestine.
4. Under Prevent, students have been reported for being "at risk of radicalisation" merely for taking an interest in political affairs in class, or for observing their religion more closely.
5. The Government's approach is flawed; its concepts of "extremism" and "radicalism" are ill-defined and open to abuse.
6. The NUS and UCU have both passed motions opposing the Act and Prevent. At present, 31 Students' Unions have passed similar motions, with Warwick University also condemning Prevent.
7. In January 2019 the government announced an "independent review" of Prevent.
8. The terms of that review are likely to be narrow and focused mostly on building support for Prevent rather than dealing with its root issues.

Union Council Believes

1. Students are not suspects.
2. Universities are places for education, not surveillance.
3. Islamophobia is rising across Europe. We do not tolerate Islamophobia at the Union.
4. The government-identified "warning signs" of "radicalisation" are problematic and dangerously affect those with mental health difficulties.
5. There is no legal definition for terms such as radicalisation and extremism; they reflect the government's political agenda.
6. The implementation of Prevent isolates Muslim students and undermines the civil liberties of other groups such as environmental, political, and humanitarian activists.
7. As a charity, the Union is not legally bound to engage with Prevent and should seek a non-compliant approach.

Union Council Resolves

1. To mandate the Officers of this Union to oppose, and not engage with or implement, any Prevent duty measures, in solidarity with students of all backgrounds and beliefs.
2. To constructively challenge the university, where legally possible, on the development and implementation of the Prevent Strategy.
3. To ensure students are aware of their rights and what help is available should they be concerned about Prevent.
4. To support and lead Islamophobia Awareness Month as an annual initiative.
5. To lobby the university to be open and transparent about how it engages with Prevent, including the material used to train staff and students.

Actions

Currently no actions have been taken in relation to this policy.

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