WHEN OTHERs DECIDE ON YOUR BEHALF, WHO ARE THE REAL LUNATICS?
This time of the year again when the Union wants you to get involved in politics. The AGM – the apex of student politics. Or is it?
So what’s wrong with the AGM?
Well, they give you a chance to vote once a year and go to the odd meeting, and for the rest of the year you are represented by paid officers. Is that really enough for you? Is that all you can do to get involved politically during your time at Leeds University?
No, of course its not!!!
…and what’s the alternative then?
LUNATICS believe we should introduce a system of participatory democracy. This isnt just tinkering around with the present system. It means real, meaningful change and a move to politics without politicians, based on consensus decision-making involving everyone, and not using voting.
How would it work?
The students in each school or department would choose a delegate for about 2 months. Bigger departments might be able to elect more than one. These delegates are temporary, fully recallable and answerable to their department. All these delegates, maybe 30 across the whole university, would attend a Student Congress.
This Congress would have no chairperson or leader and would replace all the bureaucrats, paid sabbaticals and executives in the union. It would be the ONLY decision making body. All decisions would be made by finding consensus between all the delegates rather than voting. Meetings would be far more frequent.
RECLAIM YOUR DESIRES
NO MORE VOTING OR POLITICIANS
YES TO A POPULAR STUDENT CONGRESS
LUNATICS: Leeds University Anarchist Tea-drinkers and Insurrectionist Cake-eaterS
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Comments
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Limitations of Consensus Politics!
10.02.2004 13:51
What if Tories or left of centre blairites get elected?
In most student unions, the unions hate more radical actions.
Say the majority wanted to occupuy the university against for instance a war/fees, would we really bow to the consensus and say no?
The Incredible Hulk
I agree but...
11.02.2004 16:02
Good luck anyway though.
Catherine
e-mail:
katieplum75@yahoo.co.uk
Could it be...
11.02.2004 17:10
A well-known armchair insurrectionary outfit residing in the Leeds area?
Run by the genius but twisted minds of Munkle and Death to the Oppressor.
Last year's Leeds AGM was a classic episode in elected union officers shafting Leeds students by presenting them with a new constitution minutes before the AGM and then telling bare-faced lies such as 'if you don't pass it, we can't go on' and 'there are no constitutional changes'. Speed-reading found that a rather major constitutional change had taken place: the deletion of monthly 'Ordinary General Meetings', the students' only mechanism to hold the 'exec' to account in-between AGMs.
Fucking liars. And what did the Leeds University Union-financed newspaper report on?
"Fascist students democratically vote to ban The Sun from the union shop until it stopped being racist (indefinite ban really)"
A conspiracy? Nah, never.
Stuart