Voluntary Student Unionism - Arguments and Issues - The Civil Rights Argument

The Civil Rights Argument

Requiring membership of student organisations may be seen by some as a form of forced unionisation, which some see as contrary to the principle of freedom of association. Alternatively it may be seen as being required to belong to a professional organisation, in which case it would merely be a means of ensuring standards – though student unions hold no regulatory role (or authority).

Supporters of VSU compare the compulsory charging of membership levies to extortion. Those who argue that a student union is roughly equivalent to a workers' union note that compelling, or forbidding, union membership is illegal in Australian workplaces. Others note that student unions are not structured like trade unions, have different goals and methods and have become in modern time, providers of important services providers for students.

Supporters of VSU argue that leadership of student organisations tend to be particularly drawn from the Left, which they argue is reflective of an aggressive leftist culture in universities, but which is not representative of the whole student body. This is seen in New Zealand universities, also. Opponents of VSU state that electoral processes are open to students of any political persuasion and that students have the right to vote for whichever candidates they feel represent them. Additional to this any elected representative can be rolled from a position by means of a vote of no confidence from the membership.

In a similar vein, opponents of VSU argue that it silences students' voices by removing universal membership of a student organisation. The National Union of Students (NUS) is an umbrella organisation for most (though not all) representative and advocacy-providing student organisations; at present it organises national programs and days of action (for example) and undertakes activities such as parliamentary submissions and media relations. It is probable that the NUS's activities will be severely curtailed as VSU has left many student unions unable to pay full dues to the NUS. The fact that any given student union would also represent a significantly smaller part of their university's student body would make it much harder to gain media attention and funds to be an effective pressure group. VSU supporters counter that the NUS and member bodies used students' money for political ends, some of which were supported by only left wing students.