Come Clean Guide PDF

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Week of action

and nationalwalkout1216 March 2012


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Background

The coalition government may have shelved its plans for an HE Bill, however the fight to stop

the Government from selling off our education goes on. Many of the most damaging reforms

the government wants to push through do not actually require legislation, and would never

have been included in the bill anyway. The government is therefore still able to push ahead

with its proposed reforms, and can potentially continue to do so without scrutiny or

opportunity to defeat. NUS wants a public debate on the issues - out in the open rather than

behind closed doors. Government needs to come clean on student funding.

At the beginning of the year NUS consulted the membership on what our campaigning

priorities for the year ahead should be. Invaluable feedback from members helped to shape

NUS policy objectives and campaign tactics for the term ahead. These tactics include:

Week of action: Monday 12 Friday 16 March

To take place on campuses across the country to demonstrate to VCs and principals that highfees, hidden course costs and a lack of bursaries are pricing students out of education, that

postgraduate students need a better deal, and that students will not stand by and let the

coalition government press ahead with its destructive plans to sell off and privatise our

universities and colleges. We want institutions to come clean on course costs and the

government to come clean on the future of our education system.

National walkout: Wednesday 14 March

A national walkout will take place on campuses across the country in the middle of the week ofaction. Students will boycott lectures and take action locally to demonstrate their opposition to

the coalition governments plans to destroy our higher education system.

Lobby of parliament: 18 April

The HE Bill may be no more, however the issues remain and we cannot let the government

push their damaging reform proposals through behind closed doors. Many MPs will not have


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been following the HE debate as closely as students have, therefore together we need to

educate our MPs about the issues so that they can question the Minister on our behalf about

the backdoor changes, and come clean on student funding.

Why a week of action?

With a range of actions taking place on campuses across the country, students will send a

clear signal to vice chancellors and principals that they wont stand by and quietly watch as

their education is diminished.

Creative, visual actions will capture the attention of local media, MPs, would-be students,

parents, and the general public, and show that people will not tolerate this coalition

government destroying our higher education system as we know it, behind closed doors with

no parliamentary mandate.

Why a national walkout?

With students unions across the country mobilising students to walkout of lectures en masse,

we will send a clear message to the government. Students unions will be able to develop a

range of actions that their students want to take, but the aim is clear: lets clear out the

lecture theatres, seminar rooms, IT suites and libraries.

The walkout will show the government what campuses will look like if they continue to press

ahead with their plans for privatisation and pricing students out of education deserted. The

last time there was a national walkout it was a huge success, with campuses coming to a

standstill across the UK, sending a clear message to parliament. Lets do it again bigger and

better.

This toolkit is designed to help students unions generate ideas for a range of local

actions that are appropriate to your institution to take place during the week of

action and national walkout. Actions on campuses will be supported by a range of

online campaigning actions developed by NUS nationally. A How to lobby your MP

briefing will also be issued in preparation for the lobby of parliament.


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Some ideas for the week of action & walkout on yourcampus

Before the action

Plan what activities you want to do and when Recruit your campaign team and allocate roles and tasks Put up posters around campus advertising the Week of Action and Walkout Promote your plans via your SU website Use social media, e.g. Facebook and Twitter to promote and create a buzz around your

planned activities.

Use your student media ask your student newspaper editor to cover the actions you plan Leaflet all the clubs and societies chairs, and ask to speak at their meetings, to get their

support for the activities

Invite your local trade union reps to get involved, and come along and to speak in the SUduring the week of action and or at teach-ins on walkout day

Hold a banner making session and invite as many people as possible. Making a big,bright banner can be an effective way of getting a message across. These are easiest to

make on old bed sheets or cheap cloth which can be bought by the metre. You can also use

this time to discuss ideas for the week of action and walkout and to break the ice if people

don't already know each other

Invite NUS NEC members to events in the week of action and/or the walkout

During the week of action

Set up stalls in the SU for students to write letters/postcards to your local MPs Set up street stalls in town to explain the issues to school students, prospective students,

parents and the general public, and encourage them to write to their local MP

Hold a march or rally around campus or in town (make sure you plan this in advance,inform the police, appoint stewards and carry out a risk assessment). Work with your local

trade union reps to build for it, and ensure local media know about it and cover it.


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Use NUSHidden Costs toolkit (launched Feb 20) to help you plan activities around thisimportant issue. For example

set up stalls with giant piggy banks for students to submit receipt slips showing howmuch they have paid in hidden costs;

display a hidden costs totaliser in your union; arrange Debt Mobs where students turn up in their lab coats which theyve had to

pay for, with the total cost of all the coats written on them;

price-tag items in the SU shop which have cost students extra to demonstrate thescale of hidden costs.

Work with your postgraduate student reps and use NUSTaught Postgraduate feescampaign packto help plan actions for a better deal for postgraduate students.

On walkout day

You could set an alternative timetable, including:

Pickets: where practical work with your local trade union reps to encourage students andlecturers to gather outside entrances to academic buildings to explain whats going on and

persuade fellow students and colleagues to boycott lectures. NUS is not able to sanction any

attempts to stop normal activities, such as deliveries of goods, entrance of staff or any

physical attempts to force students not to enter college buildings. More detailed information

on the legal situation on pickets is explained in the frequently asked questions section of

this briefing.

Stunts: creative, visual stunts that will capture peoples attention and make a good photoop so that you can invite local media to come along and cover it, e.g. hold a Come Clean

march or rally, or shutdown the power in the SU for a minute to signify the end of

education as we know it. Invite local media outlets to come and cover it.

Harness the talents of your clubs and societies, for example: Invite your dance society to organise a flashmob dance of unaccountable politicians/

private profiteers in suits to represent the villains who want to steal our higher

education system away from us for a quick buck;

Invite your drama society to put on a play during a teach-in, or perform some streettheatre on campus - a cleverly constructed and well-planned piece of street theatre

can be more effective than simply standing around and is more likely to attract press

coverage;


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Invite your film society to make short films, e.g. about the impact hidden coursecosts are having on students at your institution, and encourage them to cover the

campaigning actions during the week of action and walkout;

Invite your sports teams to get involved, for example by wearing black arm bands tosignify the end of higher education as we know it;

Invite music societies to write songs about the issues, and get students to performthese on campus, in teach-ins, and at social events.

Teach-ins: invite lecturers and students who are boycotting their lectures, to run their ownalternative lectures and debates on what they want from their institution and their own

vision for higher education; get your clubs and societies involved by providing some

entertainment, e.g. drama and music as outlined above.

Banner drop: outside your SU or an appropriate university building (ensure you getpermission first). Set a time for its unfurling, organise a crowd with placards to stand in

front of it and invite local media to take photos and interview students about why they are

taking action

Social activities: organise social events in the SU on the day and evening of the walkoutto encourage students to come along and take part in campaign activities


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Countdown to the week of action & walkoutFour weeks to go

Its vital for SUs to secure agreement from the institution that students will not beacademically penalised for this action - as is their right

Decide what activities your SU will do for the week of action and walkout (see Someideas section in this guide)

Recruit your campaign team and allocate roles within the team e.g press, publicity

Set a budget for your campaign actions Start publicising the action and activities via your website, student media, posters, flyers,

Student Council, clubs and societies, lecture shouts, etc

Contact:

Your activists: invite them to a briefing on the campaign and try to get them to commit toat least an hour a week to build for the action

Course reps, clubs and societies, Student Council members: invite them to a briefingtoo, suggest ways they can get involved (see Some ideas section in this guide)

Local UCU and other trade union reps: to inform them of the action and enlist theirsupport. Invite them to join in your activities, speak in debates/ at rallies etc during the

week of action and/or walkout day

Heads of department: let them know whats going on, they may well be supportive too

Three weeks to go

Ensure your campaign team are well briefed Flyer students in lecture theatres, halls, the SU, cafes, bars etc Set up a Facebook event, invite everyone you know to join it, and ask them to invite

everyone they know too

Tweet about what youre doing, use the official hashtags #nusweekofaction #nuswalkoutand #comeclean to create a buzz and get the actions trending

Blitz halls of residence with flyers Organise the literature for the stall in the SU


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Write an article for the student newspaper If you plan to hold a march or rally in town start planning this now, inform the police, work

with them to agree a route, conduct a risk assessment, recruit your stewards.

Organise social activities for the day and evening of the walkoutContact:

Your vice chancellor/ principal: let them know of the activities planned for walkout day Heads of departments: explaining the activities planned for walkout day Local media (not just press but TV, radio and local websites too!): issue a press release

with details of the actions you are planning

Student media Students: via an all-student e-mail if you can, to let them know what is happening Your local MP: find out what they think about the issues; invite them to come along to

visit your SU during the week of action; arrange to make an appointment to meet with

them in their constituency office during the week of action, where you could present them

with letters/signed postcards from your members; arrange an appointment to meet with

them at Westminster during the Come Clean lobby of parliament on 18 April. NUS NEC members: invite them to come along and help you campaign during the week of

action and/or the walkout

Two weeks to go

Do lecture shouts ask staff for a couple of minutes before a lecture begins to letstudents know your plans and urge them to get involved. Encourage the Exec, SU

councillors and course reps to do the same and speak to as many captive audiences as

possible! Have a banner and placard making session Continue publicising the week of action and walkout with posters and leaflets Set up a stall in the SU to give out info about week of action and walkout Keep updating your Facebook event page Keep tweeting about your actions and asking students to tweet and retweet too.


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Contact:

Your Student Council, course reps and clubs and societies; let them know whatactivities you have already planned for the week of action and walkout day and find out

what they are planning to do -start to encourage a competitive edge, especially if little has

been done, raise and praise those who are involved

One week to go

Final push:

Send speakers out to do as many lecture shouts as possible about the week of action andwalkout

Continue publicising the week of action and walkout with posters and leaflets Continue to have a stall in the SU to give out info about week of action and walkout Send your press release to the local media Organise the students who will stand outside academic building entrances to picket on

walkout day

During the week of action

Send speakers out to do as many lecture shouts as possible about the walkout Continue publicising the walkout with posters and leaflets Set up stalls in the SU for students to write letters/postcards to your local MPs Set up street stalls in town to explain the issues to school students, prospective students,

parents and the general public, and encourage them to write to their local MP

Brief student picketers on how to picket (see the frequently asked questions section inthis guide for more info on the legal situation and pickets)

Create publicity material for building entrances Publicise the support you have from your vice-chancellor/principal, heads of department

and staff unions to students

Turn the SU into a campaign headquarters: plan protest activities to take place duringthe week of action and on the day of the walkout, and encourage students to call into the

SU to take part

Go along to your local MPs surgery and present them with letters/signed postcardsfrom your members


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On walkout day

Leaflet halls of residence with a wake up leaflet advising them not to attend lectures Decorate the SU (or alternative venue) so all students are aware it is the campaign HQ Do a banner drop (see Some ideas section) Hold teach-ins (see Some ideas section) Ensure there are students at the academic building entrances you plan to picket Organise a stunt, e.g. a power shutdown, flashmob, some street theatre and invite local

media along to cover it (see Some ideas section)

Line up some students to be at hand to do interviews with local media journalists arealways interested in hearing from ordinary students and what they think about how

government plans will affect them.

The aftermath

Tell NUS how your week of action and walkout went how many students participated?How many lecture theatres were deserted? Did your lecturers, VCs or principals support

you?


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Some frequently asked questions

Q. Our SU elections are held during the week of the walkout - what can we do?

A. Many students unions whose elections fall during the week of action and walkout are

worried that students will stay away from campus and will not vote in students union

elections. In fact, your elections coinciding with the week of action is a huge opportunity to

both increase voter turnout, and involve more students in the Come Clean campaign.

To ensure that students participate in the action and still exercise their democratic rights in SUelections you can:

1. Declare 14 March an official campaigning day and strongly encourage all candidates toget out and campaign both for themselves and Come Clean.

2. Encourage questions about the Come Clean campaign at candidates hustings3. Ensure that students have the opportunity to vote in their halls of residence on 14

March

4. Ensure there are plenty of ballot boxes and staff to cope with the influx of students inthe students union

5. Consider extending the voting period for an extra day6. Ensure all candidates are aware of the walkout and encourage them to inform voters of

the importance of the action as well as the need to vote.

Q. Our SU is in college buildings - how can it be the campaign headquarters?

A. If youre concerned that the SU isnt big enough to allow students to use it as a campaign

headquarters, or youre worried that because its in university/college buildings they may be

tempted to go to lectures, you could:

1. Ask for permission to use a larger space within the institution2. Identify and get permission to use a venue near the institution as the campaign HQ,

e.g. a local community hall.

Q. What are the legal implications of picketing?

A. In order to be effective on the day of the walkout you need to be aware of certain facts of

law. We would encourage SUs to organise groups of students to peacefully explain the reasons


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for the walkout. However there are limits to this:

1. Students should not attempt to physically prevent entry to buildings or rooms. Anyphysical restraint is likely to lead to, or itself constitute, a breach of the peace or a

public order offence. Physically blocking access is also likely to constitute a civil wrong

for which participants could be sued in the civil courts.

2. Students should not try and stop lecturers and other institutional staff enteringbuildings, and lecture halls, even by non-physical means. If they did, they would be

inducing them to breach their employment contracts, which is a civil wrong. Industrial

relations law grants immunity to certain participants in lawful industrial action from

being sued in the civil courts. However, this immunity only extends to employees (at

the place being picketed) and their trade union representatives.

3. Participating students should not carry offensive weapons.4. Participants should not use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour which

are likely to provide a breach of the peace. The Public Order Act 1986 s5 makes it a

criminal offence to use `threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or

disorderly behaviour or to display `any writing, sign or other visible representation

which is threatening or abusive or insulting where someone present is `likely to be

caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby. However, if the words or behaviour are

reasonable in the circumstances then they will be acceptable. On the whole, as long as

participants stick to political statements rather than personal abuse, they should not fall

foul of the Act.5. It is unlikely the police would feel the need to get involved, but if they did then it is an

offence to obstruct a police officer in the course of his/her duty.

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