Birmingham University Guild of Students VP Education and NCAFC national committee Edd Bauer was arrested for fighting fees and cuts. As a result, the bureaucracy of his student union has… no, not congratulated him, but suspended him from office!
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On 27 September, Birmingham University Guild of Students sabbatical Edd Bauer (also a member of the national committee of the NCAFC) was released on bail. He had spent ten days in prison without trial for his part in a banner drop at Lib Dem conference (see here). The decision to grant Edd bail came following a NCAFC-organised demonstration outside the court. Two other Birmingham student activists are also on bail.
On returning to the Guild, he found that he had been suspended by its (unelected) General Manager! He is banned from even entering the union premises.
Edd should be congratulated, not punished. And if the Guild bureaucrats can get away with this, it will be an outrage against Birmingham University students’ democratic rights. And it will set a precedent that any left-wing student union officer, any campaigning student union officer, anywhere, is fair game for removal from above. As the fight against the Tories’ cuts heats up, this is a major threat to student activism.
We need to fight for Edd’s reinstatement as part of the campaign to reclaim control of our student unions from unelected, non-student bureaucrats, and put control back in the hands of students and their elected representatives.
What you can do:
1. Sign the petition in defence of Edd here.
2. Email a message of protest to the President of the Guild: [email protected]
3. Pass a motion through your SU, union branch etc supporting Edd’s campaign. A model motion will appear soon.
4. If you’re a Birmingham student, come to the meeting to discuss the campaign for Edd’s reinstatement and democracy in Birmingham University Guild of Students: 5pm, Monday 3 October, in the Nuffield Learning Centre (R28 on campus map).
5. Visit the campaign website bannerdropsarenotacrime.wordpress.com
For more information call us on 07775 763 750.5.
About Ed
Edd Bauer, vice-president for education at The University of Birmingham Guild of Students, was arrested on 16th September after unfurling a banner that protested against university fees and education cuts, at the start of the Liberal Democrat party conference.
Edd Bauer was held in Aston Police station over the weekend and from Monday the 19th of September until Monday the 26th of September in Winson Green Prison. The arrest and detention for a minor act of civil disobedience was widely criticized as repressive crimalisation of peaceful protest, especially as Edd Bauer pleaded “not guilty”.
Bauer received solidarity from many quarters including local Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming who spoke in support of his bail application in court. John Hemming said: “Whilst I do not believe he should have put the banner there in the first place, the protest was peaceful and placid and I think it is dis-proportionate to keep him in prison any longer.”
The Birmingham University and College Union passed a motion in support of Edward Bauer. The National Union of Students intervened to help push for his release from jail. A letter signed by a number of high profile figures was published in the Guardian on Sunday 25th September, opposing the criminalisation of his peaceful protest.
Despite the wide ranging public support, the ongoing trial and his pledge of not guilty, the University of Birmingham Guild of Students – without any consultation with the Guild’s democratic bodies- has suspended Edward Bauer from his role as Vice President Education “indefinitely” and with “immediate effect”.
We call on the Guild of Students’ mangers to respect democracy in the students’ union and allow Edd Bauer to continue in work until the matter has been investigated and discussed at either a union general meeting or a student union council with all the information at hand. We do not consider any disciplinary valid unless it is done democratically by students at either a UGM or Student Union Council.
Signed:
Manoj Kerai, Welfare and Diversity Officer Goldsmiths Students’ Union
Dan Risdale, Vice President Education and Welfare York St John Students’ Union
Stanley Ellerby-English Activities and Development Officer, LSE Students’ Union
Ben Jackson, Education Officer, Leeds University Union
Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary, LSE Students’ Union
James Haywood, President, Goldsmiths Students’ Union
Bob Sutton, Liverpool Guild of Students
Maev McDaid, Liverpool Guild of Students
Ruth Brewer, Liverpool Guild of Students
Zahid Raja, NUS Wales NEC
Andrew Tindall, Aberystwyth Students Against Cuts
Mike Williamson, Edinburgh University Students’ Association
Vicki Baars, NUS LGBT Officer (Women’s Place)
Kanja I Sesay, NUS Black Students Officer
Matt Bond, NUS Disabled Students NEC
Sean Rillo Razcka, Vice President, University of London Union
Kelley Temple, NUS Scotland Women’s Officer
Mark Bergfeld, National Union of Students NEC
Arianna Tassinari, Co-President Welfare and Education, SOAS SU
Jade Baker, NUS Women’s Committee
Emma Kerry, NUS LGBT Committee
Alusine Alpha, Union Secretary Treasurer, University of Bradford Student Union
Izzy John, Welfare Officer, Warwick SU
Leo Boe, President, Warwick SU
Chris Luck, Democracy Officer, Warwick SU
Matthew Rogers, Societies Officer, Warwick SU
Sean Ruston, Education Officer, Warwick SU
Hannah Dee, Defend the Right to Protest
Joshi Sachdeo, Vice-Chair Birkbeck SU Executive Committee
Kai Weston, NUS LGBT Committee
James McAsh. NCAFC, Edinburgh
Michael Chessum, NUS NEC and NCAFC
Daniel Lemberger Cooper, President Royal Holloway Students’ Union
Fionnuala McGoldrick, NUS LGBT Committee
Sarah Kerton, Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer, UMSU
Sam O’Connor, University of Manchester Students’ Union
Joe Kelly NUS LGBT Committee
Liam McNulty, Cambridge Defend Education
Morgan Wild, Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU) Education Officer
Ruth Graham, CUSU Women’s Officer
Taz Rasul, CUSU Access and Funding Officer
Hannah Paterson, Welfare Officer, UMSU
Oeiisha Williams, Education Officer, Birmingham City University Students’ Union
Many dozens of delegates at Labour Party conference have signed the statement of support for Edd, but here is a small selection:
Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary
Diane Holland, Labour Party National Executive Committee
Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary
Kingsley Abrams, Unite executive and Labour councillor in Lambeth
J Darlington, Unite British Aerospace
Simon Weller, ASLEF (train drivers’) National Organiser
Ian Hodson, BFAWU (bakers’) President
Tony Woodhouse, Chair of Unite Executive
Elaine Jones, Wirral Trades Council Vice-Chair
Rhiannon Lowton, Liverpool Hope University SU Mature Students Officer
This piece is forgetting to mention that he was not arrested for protesting, he was actually arrested because his protest was causing potentially fatal danger to the public.