On Monday evening I was approached by a student, who informed me that their friend had expressed to them their concerns over what happened at Womens’ Superteams Aftermath, a Union event, this weekend. The person in question was present at the event, and said she left in disgust, after taking photos as evidence of the event.

I proceeded to work with the individuals to prepare a fully factual statement outlining the allegations and providing the photos given to me. The article was presented to The Courier, the student paper, for publication on their website. The article had an embargo placed upon it to give Ben Meakin a chance to response to the allegations. The Courier rejected publishing the story as election regulations prevent articles naming candidates, and Ben did not respond for comment. At some point after 11pm, an individual I had not spoken to published the article to facebook. At this point, several people shared the article on facebook, including myself, and not much else happened until the morning.

On Tuesday morning, I was contacted by a member of AUGS Elections Committee, who told me to delete the link to the article, and that if anyone else published the article, it would be held as an election offence against me. I complied immediately with this request, despite protesting that the article was unrelated to the elections. At this time, I entered a complaint to Elections Committee regarding a statement from Ben Meakin posted to facebook, which indirectly attacked me and referenced the University’s development of a “mega dairy”.  No action was taken by elections committee, and the statement in question is still visible.

As the day progressed, more people began to comment on the article, and the statements made by Ben. The majority of this discussion took place on Ben’s facebook wall, as I and all my friends had complied with the request to remove the article. I now regret accepting the ruling of Elections Committee as it meant that almost all discussion of the accusations were limited to Ben Meakin’s wall, allowing for a grossly distorted perception to arise. I believe had I acted differently at this point, and not complied with the requests to delete all reference to the allegations, I would not be facing the harassment and threats that I have been receiving since the news broke.

Naturally, as discussion grew, the NUS became involved, and several officers called for the NUS Wales Women’s Officer to denounce Ben Meakin’s support, and to issue a statement on the alleged behaviour. Stephanie Lloyd, the NUSW Women’s Officer, complied and did just that, whilst NUSW President Luke Young contacted Ben Meakin and asked him to resign from WNEC. Later that day, Ben published a statement of “regret” for actions, and announced his resignation from WNEC.

At this point, comments intensified, with several people accusing me of “ruining” Ben’s life and career, of trying to “drag his name through the mud”. I can categorically state that I published a relatively neutral article highlighting accusations made against the President of a Students Union, and my intention was nothing more than to make it clear that this allegations had been made. I was later criticised by other Officers for “singling out” Ben in the article. My response to this was that I was not informed other officers were present, I had no evidence to suggest other officers were present, and that had I been informed and had evidence to show other Officers being involved, I would have published this too.

Yesterday afternoon, I was in a meeting in the Union, discussing an upcoming referendum, when an individual entered the room, asked if I was the one who wrote the article, and began accusing me of lying and making other such remarks. After the conclusion of the meeting, I went to lectures, where I learned I had now been accused of “running” from Ben and failing to talk to those involved who were “willing”. As a result, I stated I would meet Ben on Tuesday evening, and I did so after lectures concluded. Entering Ben’s office, I began discussing with him everything that had happened, however with him were several other officers and individuals, many of which spoke against me. After several minutes of this, the Education Officer raised the point that it was entirely unfair to have this many people speaking against me whilst I was alone. One person left, and shortly thereafter the Education Officer asked to speak to Ben alone. Everyone walked outside the office, and several people began to speak in a manner suggesting they would defend Ben’s actions. Feeling surrounded, I felt compelled to leave, and I went to a safe place, where I waited for over an hour before a friend could escort me home.

For the past 30 hours, I have seen increasingly aggressive remarks towards me, many making reference to “tracking me down”, and one today saying “Think we shpuld definatly [sic] start looking to trip Andrew Tindall up with anything we find after what he has done to ben meakin”, later going on to suggest physically attacking me on a night out. Additionally, looking at stats for this website reveals an increased number of people searching for my personal details, including my address. Others have searched for terms such as “Andrew Tindall scum”.

The harassment, abuse, and threats I have received as a result of raising the issue of institutionalised sexism and allegations against a full time officer mean I have been left feeling unsafe in the student union, and across campus as a whole, to the point I have now missed lectures to avoid the risk of being harassed whilst walking around campus alone. As a result of a fear for my own safety, and feeling that my Union does not represent me, or the welfare of its students, and that institutionalised objectification of women is tolerated, I wrote to the Guild President to withdraw my membership of Aberystwyth Guild of Students, thereby removing myself from the election campaign, removing any notion that the Guild represents my views, and removing permission for me to enter the unsafe space that is that Union. I have also submitted a complaint regarding the allegations, as well as complaints dealing with those who have made threats and personal attacks against me.

I will make no further statement on this matter unless the situation changes.

On Monday evening I was approached by a student, who informed me that their friend had expressed to them their concerns over what happened at Womens’ Superteams Aftermath, a Union...

Last night (Tuesday 21st Feb, 2012), Aberystwyth Guild of Students (AUGS) held its first General Meeting of the semester, which saw a record number of motions on the agenda.

Included in the agenda were two motions written by me on introducing Liberation Officers and Section Officers to the Guild Executive. With support from the Guild Education Officer, and the NUS and NUS Wales Liberation and Section Officers, we set out a viable policy that after much support, has now been passed, in what can only be described as a monumental leap forward for representation within our Union.

As a result of the new policy, The Guild Executive now includes LGBT+ Officer, Women’s Officer, Disabled Students Officer, BME Students Officer as part of a Liberations Executive, and a Mature Students Officer, Postgraduate Students Officer, and International Students Officer as Sections Executive. As part-time officers, elected only by their respective liberations/sections, these new officers will be working hard with the existing part-time Equalities Officer, and the NUS Wales team on delivering hard-hitting campaigns for the previously unrepresented students they will now be supporting.

For any questions about the motions, or these new officer positions at Aber Guild, contact me at andrew@andrewtindall.com or at ajt7@aber.ac.uk, or in the comments section below.

Last night (Tuesday 21st Feb, 2012), Aberystwyth Guild of Students (AUGS) held its first General Meeting of the semester, which saw a record number of motions on the agenda. Included...

'Fools Rush In' - Students queue in the cold, desperate for accommodation (photo credit: Aberystwyth University Lib Dems)

Despite pleas from the Guild for students to remain calm and make informed decisions on accommodation, in a campaign they term ‘Fools Rush In’; students were today seen queuing outside Alexanders Estate Agents in the cold – some from as early as 6am – desperate to get a room for next year from the newly released student property list.

Today’s scenes comes just months after the university was forced to put bunk-beds into single rooms, and ask non-UK European students to defer entry, in a bid to make enough room available for incoming undergraduates who arrived this September.

It’s nothing new that there’s a crisis in the accommodation sector in Aberystwyth. Every year since 2007, students have been left out in the cold, and every year the University says it’s resolved the issue, only for the problem to inevitably arise again due to lack of real action coupled with rising admissions. In 2008, 56 students were left in hotels; whilst in 2010 83 had no accommodation and several dropped out as a result. This academic year, 600 students ended up in bunk-beds, whilst international students were told to stay away.

The crisis has meant many students have felt the pressure to sign onto private property for second year just a few months into their first semester, leaving them paying extortionate rents for housing that often fails to meet quality and lacking proper licensing.

With a seeming lack of real action from the University, the Union, or private landlords, is it time for students to step up to the plate and get involved in the Council, to ensure better regulation, and student housing provision? Or maybe the Union should revisit the idea of a student letting agency or housing co-operative. One thing’s for certain, for yet another year, the welfare of students has been sidelined in favour of private sector profit.

Despite pleas from the Guild for students to remain calm and make informed decisions on accommodation, in a campaign they term ‘Fools Rush In’; students were today seen queuing outside...

Banner: Defend Education / Amyddiffyn Addysg

On the eve of the NCAFC’s National Demonstration against the marketisation of education, Aberystwyth University Guild of Students held its first General Meeting of the year, where a record number of people attended due to new rules in place regarding society attendance.

During the General Meeting, several motions were debated on a range of issues, including opposition to starbucks in the union (fell 97-102), the student accommodation crisis, and more.

At the General Meeting, students passed a vote of no confidence in the Minister for Universities & Science, David Willetts. The motion also condemns Leighton Andrews, the Minister for Education & Skills in the Welsh Assembly, who is responsible for Higher Education policy in Wales. In doing so students have sent a clear message to Westminster, and to Cardiff: You’re wrong on tuition fees, you’re wrong on funding cuts, and you’re wrong on mergers.

Students also passed a motion supporting a walk out on November 30th to join the local demonstration organised by trade unions and the local anti-cuts groups: Ceredigion Against The Cuts, and Aber Radical Forum.

[1] Full text of motion of no confidence in minister for universities & science

http://nov9.strikenow.org.uk/

On the eve of the NCAFC’s National Demonstration against the marketisation of education, Aberystwyth University Guild of Students held its first General Meeting of the year, where a record number...

Last month I sent a Freedom of Information Request to Ceredigion County Council to find out how many properties owned by the state or by private non-individual bodies were long-term empty properties.

Today, a day late, the Council responded with a list of 93 properties, including addresses and the group owning the property.

I’ll write a proper post on this later this week, hopefully, but for now I’ll just drop some key things I’ve noticed so far, as well as the data.

• There are a total of 93 properties within Ceredigion classes as long-term empty
  
• Aberystwyth University has 5 (possibly 6?) long-term empty properties
• Ceredigion County Council has 6 such properties
• 40 of the properties are within Aberystwyth

I will be meeting with the student paper, The Courier, tomorrow to go through this in detail and check facts, so we can bring you the full story .

Dataset: Spreadsheet of addresses and owners of long term empty property in Ceredigion.

Last month I sent a Freedom of Information Request to Ceredigion County Council to find out how many properties owned by the state or by private non-individual bodies were long-term...