Petition for a referendum

This petition now has signatures from 1058 Durham Students' Union members, which exceeds the required 3% threshold, and so has been accepted. You can vote in the referendum itself from 10pm on Monday 8 March.

For reference, the original petition was:

We, the undersigned, call for a referendum to be held on the following motion.

DSU Notes:

  1. The referendum in 2009 in which students opted to retain DSU's affiliation to the National Union of Students (NUS).
  2. That, in February 2010, Durham Union Society proposed to hold a debate on multiculturalism, in which students and invited guests would have had the opportunity to debate against BNP representatives.
  3. A letter sent by the NUS Black Students' Officer and NUS LGBT Officer to DSU, DUS and the University in which they said:

    "The debating society should cancel this event and offer apologies for the offence that it has caused. [...] Should you fail to listen to our advice you will have a colossal demonstration on your hands. The National Union of Students, Unite Against Fascism, and other anti-fascist organisations are already mobilising nationally and organising coach loads of students to demonstrate at your university on Friday evening. This will no doubt bring with it a lot of negative media attention and if any students are hurt in and around this event responsibility will lie with you."

  4. That, in response to the threats of protest, Durham Union Society was forced to cancel the event.

DSU Believes:

  1. That Durham students and Durham University had weighed up the issues surrounding the proposed debate, and had made an informed decision to hold this event.
  2. That it is completely unacceptable for the NUS to threaten its own members and seek to stifle debate with threats of legal action and potentially violent action.
  3. That organising this campaign of intimidation is not a good use of the money that DSU pays to NUS each year.
  4. That NUS has forfeited its claim to represent DSU members on a large scale, instead actively working against the opinions and interests of DSU members.

DSU Resolves:

To end its affiliation to the National Union of Students.

1058 signatures have been received so far. At least 529 are required for the petition to be accepted.