100-798: The Broad Left was a political faction within the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) during the 1970s. It consisted of a working relationship between the Labour Party , the Liberal Party , Plaid Cymru , the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and other, non-aligned, supporters in order to work as a single voting bloc against the Conservative and some Trotskyist student groups. It held
200-589: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in
300-669: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish
400-625: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and
500-525: A graduate tax was abandoned in favour of calls for free education funded through progressive taxation. The 2008 Conference in Blackpool was dominated by the governance review debate and vote. The proposals were for a restructuring of the running of the Union but the vote was lost by 25 votes (a two-thirds majority was required). The review was criticised for what was felt by detractors to be an attack on
600-565: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved
700-471: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between
800-565: A charity to drive improvement in students' unions. It will focus on students' union quality, talent management, equality and diversity, strategic development and turnaround, ethical and environmental work, and fundraising. Ethical and environmental work To encourage environmental sustainability , the NUS organises behavioural change programmes among staff and students, such as Green Impact, Student Switch Off, and Student Eats. NUS's ethical and environmental department originated in 1995, forming
900-635: A committee tasked with investigating allegations of environmental bad practice at Bass breweries. In 2016, the department managed the pilot year of NUS Students' Green Fund – a £5 million grant from HEFCE, supporting 25 student-led, transformative sustainability projects at students' unions across England. In 2019, this department became an independent organisation called Students Organisation for Sustainability UK. The NUS has come in for criticism from those students' unions who are not affiliated. Sen Ganesh, then president of Imperial College Union , said in 2002 that "NUS's claim to be representative of students
1000-646: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of
1100-520: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,
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#17327795812831200-557: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to
1300-468: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until
1400-417: A referendum on disaffiliation. In October 2014, NUS National Executive Committee rejected a motion to condemn the militant group Islamic State because some executive members "felt that the wording of the motion being presented would unfairly demonise all Muslims rather than solely the group of people it set out to rightfully condemn." NUS received criticism for this stance given its previous condemnation of
1500-437: Is a discount card which can be purchased by students. It is produced by NUS Services in conjunction with NUS, and affiliated students' unions receive a commission on every card sold to their members, however the card is available to all students regardless of whether they are members of an affiliated student union or not. TOTUM users are also eligible to apply for a NUS PASS -approved identification card . NUS has established
1600-959: Is an "arms length public sector body" and must therefore remain politically neutral. The NUS claimed that the removal of the posters was an attempt to "gag" the union. NUS president Toni Pearce defended the union's actions saying that the breach of a promise regarding tuition fees: "Wasn't a minor misdemeanour. It was an outright lie. We have an obligation to hold them to account for this, and we will." Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)
1700-405: Is not borne out by their work", especially as "the NUS is dominated by Labour students and this diminishes the ability to address student issues in an impartial fashion". Another criticism leveled at NUS is the absence of direct democracy in electing national officers. Officers of NUS are elected at conferences by delegates chosen by affiliated unions of NUS. Critics, from both within and outside
1800-663: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit. ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save
1900-526: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and
2000-497: The Browne Review into higher education funding. Before the 2010 General Election , the NUS invited candidates to sign a pledge not to raise tuition fees , receiving over 1000 signatories from prospective parliamentary candidates. This became a very high-profile campaign when many Liberal Democrat MPs, who all signed individual NUS pledges stating they would vote against any rise in tuition fees if elected, had to abstain or do
2100-610: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from
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#17327795812832200-669: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. American military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but
2300-808: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between
2400-741: The Federation of Student Islamic Societies and the Union of Jewish Students are deeply involved in the internal democratic processes of the NUS. NUS Services provides collective purchasing, support and marketing services to NUS-affiliated students' unions. Its shareholders consist of over 200 NUS-affiliated students' unions, and it is directed by a board and committees composed of volunteers from these shareholder unions. The Association for Managers in Students' Unions voted to merge with NUS and NUS Services in 2010. TOTUM, formerly known as NUS Extra,
2500-569: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and
2600-669: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem
2700-660: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating
2800-628: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with
2900-630: The Trotskyist group People's Democracy in 1968, which played a role in the Northern Ireland civil rights movement . Following a meeting in Galway in 1972, to combat divisions, it was agreed that a group called the NUS-USI would be founded with dual-membership to cover Northern Ireland. One of the NUS' protest campaigns which was of particular significance during the 1970s and the 1980s
3000-520: The UKIP political party. Despite a statement from NUS confirming that "a new motion will be taken to the next NUS National Executive Committee meeting, which will specifically condemn the politics and methods of ISIS and offer solidarity for the Kurdish people," media coverage of the vote caused some students' union members to speculate that the NUS itself has been infiltrated by extremist sympathisers. At
3100-601: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against
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3200-594: The "no politics" clause was removed. A new era began for the NUS, where political agitation and protest became institutionalized. Straw was followed up as president by Digby Jacks , also representing the Radical Student Alliance (formed in 1966 by Fergus Nicholson) and a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. According to contemporary British government reports, the RSA was connected to
3300-587: The 1960s were from The Queen's University of Belfast (Queen's or QUB); T. William Savage and T. Geoff Martin. The 1968–69 unrest in Northern Ireland saw the onset of The Troubles and a sectarian divisiveness come to the fore. After members of the QUBSU organised a protest against the hardline Unionist politician Bill Craig , the then Minister of Home Affairs , some members such as Bernadette Devlin , Eamonn McCann and Michael Farrell decided to found
3400-465: The 1970s, the NUS came to support what it called "liberation campaigns", including; homosexual rights (the first national group to do so in 1973), radical feminism and black nationalism . At the same time, the NUS adopted a No Platform policy ; a concept pioneered by the IMG in 1972; to stifle the campus organisation and speech of nationalistic British groups that it declared to be "racist or fascist". At
3500-428: The 2019 National Conference; however after around five hours of debate, 700 delegates voted in favour of the package. Martin welcomed the vote, calling it a "momentous decision to endorse reform and deliver the vision of members". In 2020, NUS official split into two organisations: NUS UK and NUS Charity. NUS UK focuses on campaigning with students while NUS Charity focuses on supporting students' unions. In May 2022,
3600-524: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated
3700-544: The Cold War intensified. At the 1969 NUS conference, then president Trevor Fisk came up against Jack Straw (then close to Bert Ramelson of the Communist Party of Great Britain , but much later Foreign Secretary under the New Labour government of Tony Blair ) over the issue. Straw supported student protests against US military involvement in the Vietnam War , while Fisk advocated neutrality; Straw's side won and
3800-455: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought
3900-588: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group
4000-580: The International Students' Conference (created in 2004) were run to enhance the representation of the specific members they included. Post-2019 the Women's, LGBT, Trans, Disabled, and Black Students' Conferences have been merged into a single Liberation Conference and the Mature and Part-Time, Postgraduate, and International Students' Conferences are no longer in operation. In July 2014, due to
4100-472: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing
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4200-677: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of
4300-611: The NUS presidency was dominated by the Broad Left , within which the Communist Party of Great Britain (where Eurocommunism was most popular among students rather than the pro-Soviet " Tankie " anti-revisionists) predominated and usually supplied the president, but were backed up by Labour and the Liberals. They did so to work as a voting bloc against both the Conservatives and Militant . The first of these Broad Left presidents
4400-443: The NUS. Newcastle , Portsmouth , Hull and Loughbrough disaffiliated; the remainder maintained affiliation, although NUS reportedly broke campaigning rules at Oxford , Cambridge , and Christ Church . In April 2017, Bouattia was defeated in her re-election by Shakira Martin , the union's vice-president for further education, who received 56% of the vote. Martin pledged "unity", "pragmatism", and putting "NUS back into
4500-649: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,
4600-439: The National Conference. Constituent members and associate members are required to pay a subscription fee as a condition of their membership. The NUS was formed on 10 February 1922 at a meeting held at the University of London . At this meeting, the Inter-Varsity Association and the International Students Bureau (which organised student travel and had been lobbying for a national body) agreed to merge. Founding members included
4700-515: The National Union of Students is the central organisation for all affiliated unions in the UK, there are also the devolved national sub-bodies NUS Scotland in Scotland, NUS Wales ( UCM Cymru ) in Wales and NUS-USI in Northern Ireland (the latter being co-administered by the Union of Students in Ireland ). NUS is a member of the European Students' Union . There are four types of membership of NUS: Of these types of membership, only constituent members may vote on or submit policy proposals to
4800-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign
4900-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under
5000-423: The Trotskyist-led Vietnam Solidarity Campaign and had close links with the Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund (organising a protest following Rudi Dutschke 's shooting). The government report stated "If they have an ideological bible it consists of the work of Professor Herbert Marcuse , One-Dimensional Man ." In line with the Marcusian viewpoint of championing politicised minority groups , throughout
5100-679: The UK Government announced it would sever all ties with the NUS on the basis claiming that it had failed to tackle “antisemitic rot at the heart". Also in May 2022, NUS announced that Rebecca Tuck QC would lead an independent investigation into allegations of antisemitism within NUS. Following her inquiry, Shaima Dallali was dismissed as NUS President in November 2022. The independent investigation found that NUS has failed to sufficiently challenge antisemitism and hostility towards Jews in its own structures. Jewish students have been "subjected to harassment" and NUS policies have been breached. The NUS apologised to Jewish students and said it would implement
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#17327795812835200-453: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but
5300-411: The United Kingdom , or its predecessor or constituent states, is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . National Union of Students (United Kingdom) The National Union of Students ( NUS ) is a confederation of student unions in the United Kingdom . Around 600 student unions are affiliated, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in the UK. Although
5400-473: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in
5500-743: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,
5600-511: The building. With an attendance of over 50,000 people, it was the largest British demonstration since the Iraq War protest . This led to various more demos until the rise in tuition fees was passed. The day before the vote to allow a rise in tuition fees, the Daily Telegraph reported that they had seen emails that suggested Aaron Porter had supported, rather than increase tuition fees , cuts of up to 80% should be made to student support packages including grants and loans. Porter responded to
5700-415: The claims on NUS Connect that "In all of these meetings and communications we stated our firm and clear opposition to cuts" and that the distortion of the discussions was "political desperation from a coalition government losing the arguments on its own policies". On 9 April 2014 the National Union of Students passed policy at its national conference to reverse its position on education funding. The call for
5800-422: The climate emergency and ecological crisis. The Fairtrade Foundation collaborated with the NUS in awarding The Fairtrade Universities and Colleges Award, which started as a pilot in 2017. As of 2020, twelve universities had achieved Fairtrade status. Under the leadership of Wes Streeting the NUS abandoned its long-standing commitment to free education and backed a graduate tax as its preferred outcome of
5900-428: The cost of education. At an estimated cost of £40,000 and consisting of a social media campaign alongside billboards, the campaign was well-received by many students, but also came under criticism for being politically motivated specifically against Liberal Democrat MPs as opposed to members of all parties. Posters promoting the campaign were also removed from several railway stations on the grounds that Network Rail
6000-438: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine
6100-438: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in
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#17327795812836200-507: The creation of a new NUS London area, the first NUS London conference was held. Most of these conferences, and in particular the elections held at them, are contested by factions including Conservative , Labour Students , the Young Liberals , National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts , the Organised Independents , Young Independence , Socialist Students , Socialist Workers' Student Society , Student RESPECT and Liberation Left . In addition to these political factions, interest groups such as
6300-418: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along
6400-415: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began
6500-597: The first black NUS president, who later led the race relations group the Runnymede Trust ) and David Aaronovitch (who was then a Eurocommunist, but later became a journalist aligned to neoconservatism ). From 1982 with the election of Neil Stewart , until Andrew Pakes stood down in 2000, the presidency of the National Union of Students was controlled by the National Organisation of Labour Students, which shortened its name to Labour Students in 1994. Notable NUS Presidents of this period included Phil Woolas , Maeve Sherlock and Stephen Twigg . The Fairtrade NUS Campaign
6600-413: The following executive meeting on 3 December 2014, a similar motion, which condemned ISIS, expressed solidarity with the Kurdish people, and called on NUS to challenge "Islamophobia and all forms of racism being whipped up" was resubmitted and easily passed. At the 2016 NUS conference, Malia Bouattia was elected president with 50.9% of the vote defeating Megan Dunn who had sought re-election. Bouattia
6700-482: The hands of its membership". Moderate groups such as the Organised Independents and Union of Jewish Students sought to reform the organisation to prevent further disaffiliations, passing major democratic reform motions . The changes, developed from "two [years] of consultation with hundreds of students' unions, [as well as] legal and expert advice," were described as "the most comprehensive and wide-ranging structural reforms in NUS history". On 2 November 2018, it
6800-454: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near
6900-402: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive
7000-416: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and
7100-420: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised
7200-405: The mid-2000s, NUS faced a financial crisis, caused by a coinciding of spiraling expenditure and decreasing income. A series of measures were proposed to address this, of which the most controversial included a series of changes to the constitutional and democratic processes. In 2004, two emergency conferences passed some of the changes proposed, albeit not without fierce dispute between those claiming
7300-480: The onset of the Cold War , the National Union of Students had adopted a "no politics" clause in its charter in an attempt to distance itself from its 1930s flirtations with communism . During the 1950s, it had thus concerned itself with collective bargaining over student grants, teaching salaries and education. This apolitical consensus was challenged in concert with the international protests of 1968 and as
7400-550: The opposite as part of their coalition agreement. The NUS, under new leader Aaron Porter , organised a national protest attended by thousands in November 2010, demanding an end to education cuts. The march route passed Whitehall and the Conservative Party headquarters at Millbank Tower . As they marched past the building, some protesters diverted in to the courtyard of Millbank Tower and began an occupation of
7500-456: The organisation's democratic accountability. Its supporters however defended the review as providing a more 'innovative' corporate structure which was hoped to make it more credible in negotiating policy, rather than simply 'reactive'. This was not well received by many in the executive with President, Gemma Tumelty, vowing to press ahead with reform. The perceived lack of progress on governance reform also prompted Imperial College Union to hold
7600-501: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered
7700-761: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after
7800-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook
7900-422: The proposals were necessary reforms to maintain the existence of the organisation and those arguing that they were aimed at curbing democracy and involvement. The 2006 NUS Conference passed a policy which enabled NUS to launch NUS Extra in September 2006. In the run up to the 2015 general election the NUS launched its Liar Liar campaign aimed at unseating members of Parliament (MPs) who broke promises regarding
8000-537: The report's recommendations. The NUS holds national conferences once a year. National Conference is the sovereign body of NUS, and is where NUS policy is decided. Regional Conferences are run to enhance the representation of members from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Prior to the 2019 reforms other conferences such as Women's Conference, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans Students' Conference (changed as of 2004), Disabled Students' Conference, Black Students' Conference, Mature and Part-Time Students' Conference and
8100-411: The student movement, have argued that consultation by unions with their members over who should represent the students' union at national conferences is often minimal, and some have argued in favour of changes to the NUS constitution that would result in a one-member-one-vote policy. The NUS has also been criticised for prioritisation of NUS Extra over campaigning on issues which affect students. In
8200-894: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with
8300-582: The time, this was aimed at the National Front and the Monday Club (a faction in the Federation of Conservative Students ). The union was also involved in affairs in Northern Ireland , where most higher education establishments there were members of both the NUS and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), though this differed from case to case. Indeed, two presidents of the NUS earlier on in
8400-522: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated
8500-592: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War
8600-724: The union presidency and dominated the NUS Executive from 1973, until losing control of the Executive to the National Organisation of Labour Students in 1982. The Broad Left movement should not be confused with the Student Broad Left movement, a later NUS faction. Those elected to the NUS executive on the Broad Left ticket include the following: This article related to the politics of
8700-529: The unions of University of Birmingham , Birkbeck, University of London , London School of Economics , Imperial College (who first left in 1923 and have subsequently rejoined and left three times, the last time being in June 2008), King's College London (who supplied the first President, Sir Ivison Macadam ) and the University of Bristol . In the aftermath of the Second World War and with
8800-627: Was Charles Clarke (later a Home Secretary under Blair) who as a member of the Clause Four Group , won the National Organisation of Labour Students back from Militant influence. Other presidents included Sue Slipman (who began on the Eurocommunist wing on the Communist Party of Great Britain but ended up a founding member of the Social Democratic Party by 1981), Trevor Phillips (a Broad Left independent and
8900-596: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of
9000-455: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended
9100-433: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing
9200-888: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of
9300-683: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of
9400-474: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by
9500-523: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted
9600-481: Was reported that the NUS faced bankruptcy. The 2017 reforms had not been delivered, and several years of financial mismanagement had created a significant decline in resources. Martin wrote to members that the union would be "taking urgent action to stabilise", with reforms being developed for "consideration and refinement with the help of our members". Martin faced criticism for developing a drastic programme of financial, governance and campaigning reforms for approval by
9700-771: Was soon subject to several allegations of antisemitism ; an October 2016 report by the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee described her comments as "outright racism", and said that she was not taking issues of antisemitism on university campuses seriously enough. Bouattia was condemned by over 300 Jewish student leaders, the Union of Jewish Students and Oxford University Student Union . In response to her election, students at Durham , Loughborough , Hull , Aberystwyth , Oxford , Cambridge , Manchester , Essex , York , King's College London , Nottingham , UWE , Leicester , Queen Mary University of London and Reading University began campaigning to disaffiliate from
9800-578: Was started by students at the University of Edinburgh in autumn 2005. The campaign, which has now been joined by numerous other students' unions in Britain, is calling for 100% of the hot beverages (tea, coffee, hot chocolate , etc.) sold by member unions of the NUS to be accredited with the Fairtrade Markchart . The campaign has since been extended into Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), an educational charity responding to
9900-637: Was the boycott campaign against National Party governed South Africa as part of the Anti-Apartheid Movement . In 1970, NUS vice president Tony Klug visited South Africa and met with Steve Biko of the SASO among others. Members also attempted to disrupt South African rugby and cricket matches in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. In the 1980s, the NUS played a significant role in getting Barclay's Bank to divest from South Africa, attacking it as " Boerclay Bank". Throughout this period,
10000-579: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as
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