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Student Engagement, Monitoring and Action. UK Parliament Week 2020
The Political Studies Association is a proud partner of UK Parliament Week. During #UKPW the PSA will be sharing a number of blogs written by teachers and students of politics. UK Parliament Week is an annual festival that engages people from across the UK with their UK Parliament, explores what it means to them and empowers them to get involved. For more information click here.
When it comes to political action, that which is seen is usually designated to direct political influence on government action. Group or individual causes having a direct effect on the democratic and political process. Over the past year, Black Lives Matters protests which took place over the UK are a prime example of collective action, whilst Marcus Rashford’s push for free school meals can be viewed as individual action. That which is not seen unfolds through continual flow, being sustained and reproduced throughout the year and around the country – usually on the local and micro level however none-the-less participating in the democratic and political process. Though there are extensive examples of the not seen happening, here I will focus on student action in relation to human rights, showing how students participate in the democratic and political process through ‘engagement’, ‘monitoring’ and ‘action’.
Universities as academic and social institutions provide methods for individual and societal progress, a prominent example of this would be university student led societies. These help promote student engagement and enhance skills, giving students more life experience. The opportunities and work completed through societies links in with the general importance of universities being leaders in teaching, research and education.
Though societies cover a broad area of interests – from yoga to medieval re-enactment – the dominant area of political engagement is human rights. Student led societies have both independent groups – such as a human rights research society or international law society – to university sections of national human rights institutions – such as Amnesty or Save the Children. The plurality of societies brings together diverse people, thoughts and plans to approach similar end goals through independent means. Here I will lay out three ways in which collective student action participates in the democratic and political process. Though this list is not exhaustive it provides a broad and general account of this participation.
Engagement – human rights based, student lead societies promote engagement by working in conjunction with other societies and external institutions to reach the desired goals of the society, whether that be material improvement of individuals, awareness raising in the community or providing a space for people to come together and research or advocate for human rights.
Monitoring – national human rights institutions already provide institutions and resources which students can utilise to engage in the democratic and political process through accountability. One example of this is Scholars at Risk, where students are given the opportunity to ensure domestic and international governments are upholding academic freedom and free enquiry within a society. This is done by monitoring situations as they arise around the world, reporting and advocating to ensure there is democratic and political accountability.
Action – This is perhaps the most localised form of participation, where students come together and hold civil institutions to account, ensuring correct processes are being followed and raising awareness within the community. An example of this form of participation happened in 2019 when the Home Office had intentions of deporting Bamidele, a blind PhD student after the University of Dundee cancelled his student status. At the time student collective action saw communal awareness raised with a petition getting over 3,800 signatures defending Bamidele and opposing the actions by the Home Office in seeking to deport him, along with the actions of the University not providing satisfactory resources and equipment to properly fulfil his PhD. In doing this Positive Action – an independent charity which fights for housing justice for refugees - took Bamidele’s case on a pro-bono basis, holding the Home Office and University to account when dealing with the material wellbeing of a student.
These examples all show that it starts with you – many people are involved in the democratic and political process in not seen ways, whether it is by engagement through awareness raising campaigns, monitoring for news reports on freedom infringements or collective action ensuring correct procedures are being followed. Participation in the democratic and political process comes in a multiplicity of ways and is not only done by direct influence and pressure on government. Local levels of accountability are key in maintaining accountability in the democratic and political process, something student action sustains and enables throughout the entire year. Additionally, the not seen here can become the seen, with enough motivation and engagement, taking participation in the democratic and political process from the local to the global.
Jak Galbraith is a PSA Student Member, and a 4th year Philosophy and Politics student at the University of Dundee.
