It seems that on a daily basis I am told that students at LSBU have no interest in politics, are not interested in getting active or are simply an apathetic group, and that trying to engage them on an activist level isn’t going to work. And this is something I still refuse to believe.

Two weeks ago, 70 students turned up to a Stop the War meeting entitled ‘Palestine, Israel and the conflict in Gaza’, with speeches from Lindsey German, Simon Hughes MP, and the Palestinian Ambassador, Prof. Manuel Hassassian. This is the most successful political meeting I have organised since I started studying here, and promises to create a movement that will see many more.

So where does this assumption of LSBU student apathy come from? I feel that it is easier to blame the students for their lack of involvement, than to actually challenge the real issues faced by the Union and the Institution.

The biggest problem I have seen since I started my role as Vice President nearly 7 months ago is Student Engagement. This is not an issue with students not getting involved, but rather the Union not reaching the students it is meant to serve. Students need to be informed of what is going on and when it is happening, but more importantly, why. The politics and decisions of the Union affect all it’s members, so these members need to realise it is important for them to get involved.

This is not simply a case of putting up more posters, or sending out mass emails. Neither is it a case of producing flyers and leaving them on tables in and around the bar and reception. It is about taking the time to talk to the wider population on all campuses, and to make them central to the decision making process. Without personal interaction, how do we expect our members to feel involved?

In many Universities across the country, this is best achieved through a General Meeting, but at the last AGM held in the Union, no members turned up. Why is this? It would be very easy to simply blame publicity surrounding the event, but this just misses the bigger picture completely.

A lot of focus seems to be on meeting quorate for the AGM, with little or no mention of Union General Meetings. The facilities and procedures are there, so is this a sign that Union Officers lack the knowledge required to organise these meetings, or is it an indication of a lack of engagement and accountability of Officers?

This question runs alongside the irregular and ill-attended Executive and Council meetings. From a year that started out with the best of intentions, with ideas and discussions of weekly meetings, we now face a situation in which elected representatives turn up late, ill prepared or simply not at all.

With Council spending a large portion of their time trying to find out where people are, and why individuals have not turned up to work at all, it’s little wonder that very little seems to get done. Even more worryingly, failures to meet and discuss important courses of action result in a Union that seems unable to move forward in any positive direction.

Looking at the situation from a historical perspective, the Union has taken many positive steps forwards. Serious financial losses have been turned into a system that sees finance under control, and we now have a much better perception from the point of view of the University management. We also have a very successful and well perceived Student Advice Bureau, that has proved time and again to be of ultimate benefit to students.

It seems to many, that the nature of Sabbatical Officers has changed over the last half decade. Officer’s priorities have seemed to shift towards a focus on personal agendas, unfortunately at the expense of wider student engagement. If Officers have only personal gain in mind, active and constructive participation in Union matters, including reporting on their own portfolio, is questionable.

London South Bank Students’ Union has a long history of political activism, dating back to the days of LSBU being a Polytechnic. Pictures still hang proudly on the walls near the offices above the bar, when students led marches in the early 1990’s against the poll tax and privatisations of the era. The time has come to revert back to these moments, and to forget the excuses of student apathy.

We have a unique opportunity to mobilise a strong and effective political presence, and to become part of the wider national student movement. With a student body as diverse as ours, it is imperative that we begin to challenge national politics and Government policies that affect the lives of our members, and this needs to be student led.

There seems to be a traditional view held by some at LSBUSU that sabbatical officers should lead students towards what is in their personal self-interests, and this often comes at the price of ignoring the students themselves. Sabbatical officers are there to support and guide students, but the most crucial aspect of the job is to create and maintain a democratic, student led structure for the members to become involved in.

It is not all negatives at the Union however, and this year has seen some fantastic advances. The ‘Ents Committee’ has come a long way, and is starting to become well-organised and successful in organising events. And the new Internet Café and food counter in The Rigg bar both promise to be hugely successful, and should keep commercial services running at its very best. So now is the time to start on student engagement.

The upcoming weeks and months are going to see fantastic opportunities for the members of LSBU Students’ Union to get actively involved in the very decision making processes that I have mentioned in this article. The task now is to make sure that this continues long into the future, and with a new Union building, I hope to see a refreshed, active and engaged student body.

British police announced fears on Monday, over a “Summer of Rage” hitting Britain, apparently to kick-off as “Anti-globalisation protesters, environmental activists and anti-war demonstrators are all planning events before and during the meeting of world leaders” (Reuters) at PM Gordon Brown’s G20 meeting in London.

Is it just me, or is this not at all surprising? A year of financial meltdown, massive job cuts, and huge bailouts and bonuses for the financial sector has created a massive anger and resistance to a globalised capitalist system.

A police spokesperson also told Reuters “police do believe is that there has been a re-emergence of some known activists who may attempt to once again become part of the protest scene in London”. I personally believe that the biggest threat to the corporate system lies in the emergence of a new, unified movement, bringing together Trade Unions, student groups and thousands of workers who have either felt, or face, the prospect of redundancy and financial hardship.

The protests are to kick off on the 28th March, with a ‘Put People First!’ demonstration against the G20, called by the TUC. The march is for “jobs, justice and climate.” Following this event, are protests on the 1st-2nd April against the so-called ‘war on terror’, called by the Stop the War Coalition. This will cross over with an International demonstration and counter summit at the NATO meeting in Strasbourg, France, from the 2nd until the 5th of April.

Superintendent David Hartshorn, head of Scotland Yard’s public disorder branch, believes that “suddenly there is the opportunity for people to mass protest”, as he went on to outline banks, multinational corporations and London’s financial institutions as “viable targets”.

Resistance and protests can only bring positive outcomes in the long run, as the people unite to fight a system based on corruption, greed and mass profits for the minority.

Up to 800 students marched yesterday through Central London yesterday, in a demonstration against student fees and the marketisation of the education system.

Chants such as “Education for the masses, not just for the upper classes!” rang out, as demonstrators marched from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), past the Universities UK HQ, to Kings College, the site of one recent student occupations in solidarity with Gaza.

The atmosphere was lively and peaceful, and attracted attention and support for onlookers along the route. A short sit down was held outside the University of the Arts, before the group moved onto its protest outside Kings.

Students demanded that not only should the Government reverse its policies of attacking students with a rise in fees, whilst banks and financial institutions receive billions of pounds to bail themselves out of a financial crises they created. The call went out united, “We will not pay for their crises!”

This unified movement, including organisations such as Another Education is Possible, and the union UCU, showed support and solidarity for a fresh movement to fight for a free education. Demonstrators also presented a strong anti-capitalist message, and presented arguments linking the attacks on education to the struggle against imperialism.

The day ended peacefully, and students left to go back to their campuses, many as far away as Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. The task now is to mobilise and to build, and make sure that the fight for a free education is kept at the fore of the student movement.

I took a stroll along the South Bank on Saturday with my girlfriend to catch the last night of Martin Firrell’s ‘The Question Mark Inside’, a huge projection on both the Dome and above the entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Apart from being impressive inside, the whole show did cause us both to think about life and loss, I guess exactly what it was supposed to.

For anyone who missed it, Firrell projected thoughts of the visitors to his blog relating to their own ideas and memories of what St. Paul’s means to them/the meaning of life/spirituality.

Standing there in the cold, it was quite strange to see peoples private and intimate thoughts cast up in huge letters for the world to see (at least those in London who stop to look and notice…). Has given me some extra thoughts and inspiration for the ‘Save Our Union’ campaign we’re planning, and maybe a some new ideas to get the student body here a wee bit more engaged? We’ll see I guess…