CapX: The NUS campaign that undermines the fight against extremism

Student politics has always been a site of radical dissent. In theory, there is nothing wrong with this. It is perfectly legitimate to question the wisdom of conventional beliefs or government policy. However, a line must be drawn. ​In recent years, the National Union of Students (NUS) has promoted “Students Not Suspects”, a student-led campaign […]

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UWE Student Union President legitimises MEND extremists

A recent report by The Henry Jackson Society entitled ‘MEND: Islamists Masquerading As Civil Libertarians’ highlights that MEND meets the government’s definition of extremism. Several senior officials in MEND have expressed sympathy for terrorism both in the UK and overseas, peddled anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and attacked liberal Muslim groups who challenge extremism. MEND has been […]

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Student Rights at Newcastle University

On Wednesday 8th March, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, gave a presentation to Newcastle University’s Politics Society. The event provided a good chance for open and frank discussion on Prevent, the Government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, and there was a lot of time for an in-depth question and answer session with a broad range of opinions. […]

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New report details student terrorism convictions

Yesterday’s publication of a new Henry Jackson Society report detailing all Islamist terrorism convictions in the UK between 1998 and 2015 provides the most comprehensive overview of the threat posed by Islamism-inspired terrorism to the UK. In its profiles of 258 individuals convicted of offences, ‘Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK […]

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Students discuss extremism at York University

On Tuesday, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, was hosted by the York University Conservative Association as he gave a lecture on extremism and the Prevent Strategy at the university. Elliot examined many of the complaints from students about Prevent, seeking to debunk misunderstandings and make the case for Prevent when it comes to extremist […]

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Student Rights on-campus in Durham and Cambridge

On Thursday 26 January, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, gave a presentation to the Atheist, Secular and Humanist Society (AHS) at Durham University, focusing on challenging extremism and the Prevent Duty. Angelos Sofocleous, President of the Durham AHS, speaking after the event, said it was: “A very insightful and informative talk. It has definitely […]

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The Telegraph: Universities monitored your emails long before Prevent – don’t believe the NUS’s fake news

King’s College London (KCL) has been criticised this week  for supposedly ‘spying on student’s emails’ in what has been described an outrageous invasion of their privacy. ​It is claimed that the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, Prevent, which aims to stop people being drawn into terrorism, is the problem.The President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Malia […]

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Friends of al-Aqsa and campus activism

Since the start of the 2016-17 academic year, Student Rights has seen a concerted attempt by Friends of al-Aqsa to target students across the UK. In November, the group used Twitter to target student societies at 39 universities, promoting its ‘Hands off al-Aqsa’ campaign, and has since been advertising volunteer days to student activists. These […]

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Student Rights at UCL

On Thursday 1st December, Elliot Miller, National Organiser at Student Rights, gave a workshop on challenging extremism on campuses to around 40 students at University College London (UCL). The hour-long session involved a presentation examining the varied forms of extreme or intolerant speakers and groups invited onto campuses, and a lengthy question and answer session. […]

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