9th July 2001

Ben Monks, the National Secretary of the National Union of Students has attacked educationet.org as a 'Lie-Ridden website' as part of a response to an official executive question put to him by editor, Joe Rukin. As part of a co-ordinated effort by the 'Save our Union' campaign group, students have been encourage to send executive questions to members of the national executive committee of NUS about the recent budget cuts. Any student can do this, and full time NEC members have to reply within a fortnight. Questions were sent to President Owain James, Treasurer Geraint Hopkins and Secretary Ben Monks. Whilst James has failed to reply (which puts him in breach of the constitution), Monks and Hopkins have. Unfortunately the only response so far from Hopkins was to offer to 'talk it over at the bar' at NUS Convention. Luckily for him, I won't be going to Convention. The original question is below, followed by Monks' response and the subsequesnt reply sent to him. If you want to do the same, all you have to do is hit the emails below. There is a copy of the motion to hold an emergency national conference through this link

Owain James owain@nus.org.uk
Geraint Hopkins geraint@nus.org.uk
Ben Monks ben@nus.org.uk

Hello,

Besides making an official request to observe the next NEC meeting on behalf of my union, I would like to ask these 'executive questions' to you.

Why have you decided to close the women's unit? (I don't want any crap about there being a 0.5 FTE increase in staff, the women's unit is meant to be a dedicated women's unit, as defined by POLICY set at conference -which is allegedly the sovereign body of NUS-, not a amalgamation of all liberation campaigns which is NOT policy) On the subject of policy, why are you not appointing a DEDICATED LGB staff member, again, as defined by POLICY?

Do you feel that not inviting all NEC members to a meeting, proposing a 30-page document which cuts to the bone of NUS's activities as a UNION and dictating that it must be discussed there and then without a hint of cutting back on NUSSL, NUS Ents, your expenses, etc, etc, etc is anything approaching democracy?

Is it that the liberation campaigns are becoming too powerful and are not under your control??

How do you feel about the fact that despite the fact Conference voted almost unanimously to have a Full-Time Black students officer there will not be one? Does this make you feel proud as race-hate grips parts of the country?

Do you think that not mailing 'inactive unions' is what an 'inclusive union' would do at a time when students need a union more than before? Also do you think that mailing them every eight weeks to see if they want to go back on the mailing list (yeah you'll do that!) will mean you save any money anyway?

If you had been working on these cuts for 'two months', as stated at the ENEC, 11th June, that takes us back to 11th April at the very latest, just two weeks after NUS conference at which the declared expected shortfall was just £29,000. Am I to believe that over a quarter of a million disappeared in a fortnight, or that the NEC lied to the sovereign body of the union?

Are you trying to deconstruct NUS from within, as you fear a backlash from Tony's next set of 'student-bashing' policies?

Do you care about anything but your own career prospects, and if not, can you get to sleep at night?

Are you running scared?

I hope you can answer these questions within the prescribed timescale. And no, I'm not going to go away!

Joe Rukin.

Monks' Reply

Joe,

I'll respond to your questions although I'm sure they'll find their way onto your lie-ridden website and so will be disregarded by both you and your readership.

When was staff support for the Women's Unit defined by Conference policy? As you won't take any "crap", I shan't bother answering the rest of your questions with a bit of reality about money in the student movement.

Every member of the NEC was invited to the meeting where the cuts were discussed. In the meeting, everyone went throught the paper with a fine-tooth comb together. Literally hundreds of questions were raised, and answered in that meeting. Hence the meeting lasted over four hours. It was also made clear to everyone there that matters could be brought back to the NEC at any time to alter any decisions which were made. At yesterday's meeting of the NEC, they were.

For the record, NUS puts no money into NUSSL or NUS Ents. Both support themselves financially whilst being accountable to the student movement. Over the course of the last year the National Treasurer (Helen Aspell) signed off most of my expenses. If you want to know more about them, why don't you ask her, if you are still speaking that is.

I'm glad that the Liberation are strong and are growing stronger in NUS. You forget that it was Labour Students who set up the Women's Campaign years and years ago. I don't think "control" really comes into it when you have a thriving set of politically autonomous campaigns.

Your lies about the threat to the creation of the position of a full time Black Students Officer have come from a different planet. How dare you use the most disturbing and disgraceful manifestation of racial hatred in the UK for decades to support your lie?

If you spent thousands and thousands of pounds of someone else's money on a mailing system that you knew didn't work, would you sit by and let it go on? I'm certainly not going to let our resources carry on going in the bin.

No money has disappeared. If you bothered to find out the facts than you would see that the £300,000 savings are based on a prediction of the deficit in the future. Some people's politics might jab them into just making a short term response but that would only leave NUS a non-existent wreck in the future real world. Again, if you want a more detailled explanation of what happened in the run up to Conference, why not ask Aspell?

Contrary to popular belief there is no campaign to "deconstruct NUS from within" except the one to make it into an incubation unit for the revolution, but again, I'm not the best person to ask about that.

Yes, I do care about things other than my own career, like student welfare and the future of the student movement. And yes, I can sleep at night.

No, I'm not running scared.

I think taht answers your questions and I look forward to a disgusted response from you.

Yours, Ben Monks

Our Response

Ben,

Thank you for responding to my executive questions. As you may expect I now have some more questions for you, and will repeat those questions which you failed to answer.

As you rightly point out, the women's unit was set up by Labour students 'years and years ago', before they became the 'Blair Youth'. This is the conference policy I was referring to. Just because it isn't a policy which wasn't passed last year, doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but does I suppose mean you will treat it like it doesn't exist. Do you not feel informing me you'd "respond to my questions" and then just 42 words later saying "I shan't bother answering the rest of your questions" is a sensible ploy to evade questions or a bit of a silly one that makes you look like you have no intention of answering a question?

That would be a question like;
"If you had been working on these cuts for 'two months', as stated at the ENEC, 11th June, that takes us back to 11th April at the very latest, just two weeks after NUS conference at which the declared expected shortfall was just £29,800. Am I to believe that over a quarter of a million disappeared in a fortnight, or that the NEC lied to the sovereign body of the union?"

I was however glad that you confirmed that the £300,000 shortfall on which you have based your cuts is imaginary. Why did that National president tell the Times Higher Education Supplement that it was only £140,000 (Page 9, 29th June 2001)? And again, why was conference given the impression that only £29,800 worth of cuts were necessary.

You say that no money has disappeared. So why implement cuts now before they are necessary? If you are going to pull a figure out of the air, you should have documentary supporting evidence that cuts are necessary.

If you do care about student welfare and the future of the student movement. What are you going to do to make sure FEs which are currently poorly served by NUS will be better served when they have less information and less contact? And don't tell me to ask VP FEUD, she can only work with the money and resources she is given. Their level of disenfranchisation has increased since NUS areas were deconstructed and must now be thinking of disaffiliation. Is this why you expect there to be a future shortfall of £200,000 in affiliation fees given that you were only £40,000 short this year at the last count? Don't you think this will "leave NUS a non-existent wreck in the future real world"?

As for 'Every member of the NEC' being invited on June 11th, they tell me otherwise, to take it up with them. As for the question I asked you, do you think that presenting a document at the meeting (aren't YOU constitutionally required to make sure all NEC members have papers at least a week in advance of any meeting?) and forcing it through is constitutional, when the effect of that policy is to supersede policy passed at NUS conference, the unions sovereign body?

You said "I don't think "control" really comes into it when you have a thriving set of politically autonomous campaigns." Do you really think removing the women's unit, taking LGBs staff member off them before they've even started bunching all the liberation support together and refusing to make BSO full time really constitute a future of autonomy for these campaigns?

As you predicted there is a hint of disgust to my reply. If as you say; "Your lies about the threat to the creation of the position of a full time Black Students Officer have come from a different planet." then your following comment is in a parallel universe "How dare you use the most disturbing and disgraceful manifestation of racial hatred in the UK for decades to support your lie?" Now that is really out of order Ben. I would just exactly like to know what part of my question, "How do you feel about the fact that despite the fact Conference voted almost unanimously to have a Full-Time Black students officer there will not be one?" is a lie? Dennis doesn't seem to think he is full-time, NUS has policy to have a FT BSO, but as a result of the order-paper-fudge does not have the constitutional requirement to have one. Highlighting the current problems with fascists in the north was merely underling the fact we NEED the post to go full-time as the situation has been coming for a while, as anyone with eyes could tell you (I could also have quoted the 'institutional racism' in education. See my lie-ridden website www.educationet.org/z0042.html)

Is there really a popular belief that you are trying to "deconstruct NUS from within"? It was just something which I thought you were doing myself, I didn't realise so many people shared my view!

Have you overspent on that nice refurb/renovation at NUS HQ? I suppose the bill that would go in the next years accounts, for which you expecting losses to be over 1000% of what they are now! (Based on £29,800 this year and £300,000 next year)

Sweet Dreams!
Joe

P.S. I was impressed by the old "incubation unit for the revolution" jab. It doesn't matter how little you know about people, you just always have to get that one in to anyone who could be 'mad' enough to show dissent. All I want is someone reasonable in charge. Half-Decent would do!

P.P.S. I am extremely touched to know you regularly visit my website and wonder if you wish to be put on my mailing list to be kept in touch when future updates are published? I consider the fact you believe it to be 'lie-ridden' as the greatest complement you could have given me.

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