Edinburgh University Anarchist Society

Great news from EUSA in that we are now an official Edinburgh University society, along with all the advantages that brings. This feels like a big step towards bringing anarchism into the mainstream of student political thought and activism.

Tonight (Thursday 18th February) there will be our regular social upstairs in the Meadow Bar, starting at about 7:30, please feel free to come along and bring anyone, anarchist or not, who is interested and/or interesting. Some informal chat and discussion shall hopefully ensue, and hopefully someone from the Anarchist Federation will be along, too. It will cost you nothing to get in, the Meadow Bar is kindly lending us their space for nothing, on the understanding that we’ll buy a few drinks.

The first edition of Polemic is imminent! Hamish brought the draft first copy along to the meeting yesterday and it is looking very good. The fascinating combination of traditional anarchist thought and EUAS members’ contributions shall be distributed across campus soon, so watch this space.

This Saturday the “Scottish Defence League” plan to have a march in Edinburgh. They are an offshoot of the English Defence League. We, the EUAS, plan to show solidarity with our friends in Edinburgh’s Muslim community, and our outspoken support for a multicultural society, by marching to oppose them along with many other students. We believe that they are an ignorant racist and harmful organisation and we wish to show that their views are very much in the minority.

I would like to urge everyone and anyone who is opposed to racism to turn out along with us and our allies in Unite Against Fascism and the Anti-Fascist Alliance. The SDL’s Glasgow demonstration was an utter failure as they were far outnumbered by supporters of diversity in Scotland, and we wish to repeat their experience in Edinburgh.

We will be meeting the students’ group on the Mound (outside the National Gallery) at 10am on Saturday. We plan for a peaceful demonstration. We are not like the SDL.

In other news, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is going to be holding a street event for an international day of action soon, more information on this will be posted as it comes in.

It was also discussed at the meeting our getting involved with a Permaculture group in Edinburgh, again, more will be posted as it comes in, but we can hopefully help out on the allotment, as well as host talks for group members who’d like to spread the message.

Lastly, we will be promoting an Anarchist film festival to be hosted by the Edinburgh branch of the Anarchist Federation, to be held on the 20th of March at the Banshee Labyrinth on Niddry Street. There is an excellent choice of films on all day, visit the website for more details.

That’s a big update, but there is a lot going on! Hopefully we will see you all tonight.

The Refreshers’ fair went well. Although not technically a society, we got a table in a relatively good spot thanks mainly to the apathy of the Edinburgh University Labour Society (thanks!*). We garnered a fair level of interest and have a few more people on the mailing list. As society membership is free it is fairly ad-hoc with regard to whether you are a member or not, but in general we know who comes to meetings regularly and is willing to get involved with things, and that works as some sort of guide. It would probably be un-anarchic to have a membership list, anyway! You can see some pictures of our lovely stall, complete with hand-sewn flag on the events page. Again, thanks to Emma for that, as I doubt we would have had nearly as much interest without as striking an advert as that flag. A few meetings later I think the focus at the moment are our socials, plus the magazine Polemic. I have added an articles and writings page and posted something up there, by no means does everything for the magazine have to be posted or anything, however as most new members come across the website first it might be good to have a few theoretical pieces up to explain where we are with regard to anarchism in general. Also posted is a response to the editorial concerning us in the most recent edition of the Student paper, an interesting read most weeks, and free in most university buildings, so definitely worth a look.

We have another social on Thursday night upstairs in the Meadow bar at 7:30pm: slight edit on this front-  we aim to book the Meadows Bar every other Thursday, but that’s not been possible this week, so we can convene in the entrance of Teviot and commandeer a room that’s fairly free, so 7:30pm in Teviot. As usual, all are welcome, and we aim to make this a fortnightly event. Administrative and general tea-and-anarchy meetings continue to be at 3pm in the Forest cafe, to which any and all people are welcome to meet us and talk all things anarchic.

*It’s alright by the way, we don’t think the Tories turned up either as the Classics Society had their stall, so the balance was maintained. Oh, apart from the SNP Society, who looked rather pleased to see us occupying the Labour stall. Still, we’re not political, we’re anarchists, so we don’t really mind.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The Refreshers’ Fair, an ideal time to recruit potential anarchists, is on Tuesday. We intend, with the aid of our newly sewn flag, to have a pirate stall there, as we are not yet recognised as a society, but soon will be with our finalised constitution, as approved at the meeting today. I (Charlie) shall be around from 10am at Potterow for the fair to start at 11, and would greatly appreciate some help with running the stall. This will be mainly giving out the flyers Joe is making for us, and generally talking to people about anarchism and why they should join the society. We will have a list of emails for people who want to be added to the mailing list and other such practical things. Again, the more the merrier with regard to that. If you have any relevant material you’d like to distribute bring it along.

The improved constitution is on the relevant page, take a glance if you haven’t seen it yet. It will be mailed to EUSA and hopefully we can become a University society sooner rather than later.

The Thursday after the Refreshers’ Fair (21st January) we will be holding an informal anarchism discussion over drinks upstairs in the Meadow Bar starting at 7:30pm. Everyone with an interest is welcome, anarchist or not, and hopefully some interesting discussion will ensue.

Also discussed was the society magazine, Polemic, which we agreed should be at least a monthly publication. We will print with our own money and distribute it around the University and Edinburgh at large. If you would like to contribute an article, please email one of us.

We have a busy week ahead. We shall hopefully meet on Tuesday at the Refreshers’ fair. If not, our usual administration and planning meeting will be on Wednesday in the Forest Cafe at 3pm as usual, and our social in the Meadow Bar is 7:30pm the day after.

At the moment the constitution is being edited collaboratively on Google Wave. You still need to be invited to join, and I have 2 invites left, though I’m sure other members have more. If you’d like to join what is an impressive collaboration tool, just email the usual address (goodwinct@gmail.com) and I can probably find an invite.

EUSA asked us to rework the constitution to clear up some questions they had.

Edinburgh University Anarchist Society Constitution

The name of the society shall be “Edinburgh University Anarchist Society”. The aims of the society shall be to pursue goals conducive to a free and equal anarchist society, and to promote the ideas of equality, liberty and respect for both humanity and the environment, through non-violent activities such as leafleting, handing out free food and drink, film viewings, as well as debate and discussion to raise the profile of anarchism as a constructive ideal of a non-hierarchical socialism, and to encourage the abandonment of consumerist and capitalist ideals. We also wish to act as a meeting point for anarchist students, to provide them with a group that they can talk to about the subject, as well as to socialise. The society also aims to raise awareness of the anarchist ideal through debate and discussion among students. The society shall abide by any applicable laws, bye-laws and guidelines of the Edinburgh University Students’ Association in relation to recognised societies. The society is willing to work with other organisations that share our values.

Compulsory Clauses

• Membership shall be open to all matriculated students of Edinburgh University.
• Membership shall be at least 75% matriculated students of Edinburgh University.
• All members who are not matriculated students of Edinburgh University shall pay at least twice the annual subscription.
• The President, Secretary and Treasurer of the society shall be matriculated students of Edinburgh University.
• The President shall be ultimately responsible for the conduct of the society.
• The Secretary shall be responsible to the President for the administration of the society.
• The Treasurer shall be responsible to the President for the finances of the society.
• All office-bearers shall be subject to election annually.
• All members who are matriculated students of Edinburgh University shall be entitled to stand and to vote in elections.
• All members must receive at least 14 days written notification of the annual general meeting and of elections not held at the AGM.
• The society shall also inform the Societies’ Centre of the date, time and place of the society’s AGM.
• Constitutional amendments shall require a two-thirds majority at a general meeting open to all members; 14 days notice of which shall be given.
• The AGM of the society must take place between week 7 and week 11 of semester 2.
• The quorum of a general meeting shall be two thirds of members.
• The society’s cheques must require two signatories; one must be the Treasurer and the other President or Secretary.
• The society has taken and will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that our meetings, events and socials are accessible to all, irrespective of any disability.
• The society has ensured and will continue to ensure that it complies with any relevant data protection legislation.
• The society believes that discrimination or harassment, direct or indirect, based on a person’s gender, age (except where it relates to licensing laws), race, skin colour, nationality, religious belief, socio-economic background, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, family situation, domestic responsibilities or any other irrelevant distinction, is detrimental to the society, the University and wider society, and will not be tolerated.

Individual Clauses

• The positions of President, Treasurer and Secretary shall hold no formal powers except those mandated by the University.
• Membership of the society shall be free of charge.
• The society is not, and is not affiliated with, any political party, and does not believe in the justification of a State.
• The society does not engage in harmful or violent activity, and believes it is detrimental to the cause of a free and equal society.
• The society is willing to consider any and all points of view, but are committed to bringing about wide scale societal change though peaceful demonstration, boycott, debate, discussion and education.
• The society supports and condones “anarchism” in the purest sense: A society in the absence of rulers and authority over people and based on the free association of equal individuals. This is our shared end goal.

The meeting last week consisted mainly of filling in the forms necessary to become a student society, and the assignment of the largely arbitrary office positions mandated by the university. The official office-bearers are as follows:

• President: Joe
• Secretary: Charlie
• Treasurer: Emma

The President’s function is largely as person for the university to contact and to act as official representative and spokesperson, although any member can speak for the society. All decisions will be made at meetings by general consensus and if necessary a show of hands vote, and all communications received will be mailed directly to all members on the mailing list. As Secretary, I will simply continue to take minutes from meeting and post them to the website, as well as sending out most of the administration communications, although anybody can email the list if they choose to. As we have made the society free to join, the Treasurer will not have a great deal to do, though if we need funds for a particular cause we shall have to organise donations or similar. As there were not many members present at the time, if anyone has a problem with the office-bearer posts as they are, please feel free to bring it up at the next meeting, and if necessary we can vote on them again.

Discussed at the meeting this week were a number of proposals for activities with which to launch the society, assuming the University grants us full society status.

It was suggested that we produce a small magazine or pamphlet of our ideas, tailored to issues around Edinburgh University and add them as a “free supplement” to the Journal and Student newspapers, as well as leaving them on library bookshelves. We can also give them out directly to inform people of our existence and our ideas.

If we get any funds, it might be an idea to invest them in a library of anarchist materials, that we can keep at someone’s house and use it as a resource for leaflet-making, as well as free borrowing to spread ideas.

We should also get a stall at the Refreshers’ Fair, for which we will possibly have a physical incarnation of the flag to hang behind the stall, and if we have some leaflets or newsheets to give out, as well as some of the larger pamphlets.

In the immediate future, it was also suggested that we have a film showing and discussion, for which we may be able to get a lecture theatre, just depending on the level of interest.

In terms of the Film Festival that the Anarchist Federation suggested, I was emailed a list of possible films, so we should probably watch these at some point and see what we think of them:

Anarchist Film Festival Edinburgh (or other title)

February 2010

11:00- 12:00 De toda la vida 60 mins

12:00- 12:30 Potentiality of Storming Heaven 23 mins

12:15- 14:00 The Rebel Patagonia 110 mins

14:00 – 16:30 Matewan 135 mins

17:00- 19:15 Army of Crime 139 mins

19:30- 21:00 What to Do in Case of Fire? (Was tun, wenn’s brennt?)

It was also suggested that we invite Benjamin Franks to speak – he lectures at Glasgow University and is the author of Rebel Alliances.

The Constitution will also be updated to the one we submitted to the University.

Hope to see you all on Wednesday at 3 as usual. If you have any questions/thoughts/observations feel free to email the list or my personal address, or leave a comment below.

We now have twenty signatures! Thanks to everyone for signing up.

It was suggested today that the Society should definitely have a practical focus to it, and although discussing the finer points of stateless communism is tremendous fun, we should be more than a talking shop.

We were joined today by Edu, a student anarchist from Barcelona who suggested a number of  activities that we could possibly get involved with, and angles that the society could take. The following is a summary of the main ideas that came out of the discussion.

• We should work to improve the press of anarchism as an alternative system among students, as the controversy-obsessed corporate news media do not represent anarchists the way we would like to appear. We can spread the word by postering and leafleting, as well as making available anarchist texts and pamphlets so people can explore anarchism.
• The society can also act as a focal point for students with left-libertarian beliefs, and allow us to plan and organise as a group.
• We can campaign on issues that matter to students, and vote on important EUSA issues at meetings.
• We could give out meals/coffee on the street, both to promote autonomy and sharing without the corruption of money, and to show people what anarchism is in fact about.
• If we have contact with important speakers in the field, we can host talks and seminars about anarchism in theory and practice.
• We can work with other organisations to organise events.

We intend to do this all within the rules of Edinburgh University with regard to societies, as we believe the advantages of being able to work with the university far outweigh the disadvantages.

Two of us went to the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh last Saturday to attend the Anarchist Federation meeting, and it was brought up there that EUAS could host a film night as a good introductory event, and AF members would be available to discuss and make literature available for those attending.

With regard to the constitution, it was suggested that the clause regarding constructive rather than destructive anarchism be replaced, as it is our belief that anarchy is a constructive concept, however the perception may be. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts, either here or on the constitution page.

Lastly, we would like to have a social at some point, and Friday evening seems as good a time as any. I shall email with further details.

The next meeting will be at 3pm on Wednesday, not at 1pm.

Thanks to those who came along to the meeting earlier today, there were less of us but we now have fourteen signatures on the initial membership form, pushing closer to our target of twenty!

A number of things were discussed, namely that we need a constitution as soon as possible, and we need to meet together to decide that at some point. A provisional one is here on the website, with compulsory clauses and some suggested optional ones. Please use the comments facility to suggest anything you may want to add.

We also want to organise a theoretical “What is Anarchism?” type discussion, and it was suggested that it would help initially to be in communication with experienced and well-informed Anarchists to help solidify our ideas. We will obviously differ on some points, but of course that is what will make the discussion interesting.

Posters and pamphlets also came up, and as well as posters advertising meetings and events, we could publish a small one or two-sided pamphlet basically defining Anarchism and saying a little bit about what we stand for as a student anarchist group.

As well as the theoretical discussions, we can show practical solidarity and further spread an idea of our aims by practical solidarity with other groups we identify. For example, being closely linked with the Food co-op society, the feminist society and others and organising events along with these groups. We also intend to support the various student aid and charitable societies.

On a housekeeping note, we can get hold of a form which will allow us not to charge any membership fees for joining the society, and a mailing list on a riseup account is in the process of being set up. In the meantime, emails will be sent from various personal accounts.

It was decided and agreed upon that the president and other roles defined as necessary within the rules governing student societies would be powerless and arbitrary designations and would be picked by all willing members drawing straws for the various posts.

Lastly, we plan to have a social starting in the Teviot at 7 on Saturday evening. It would be great to see as many people as possible there, and bring your interested friends as well!

Thanks to everyone who turned up to the meeting we had on Wednesday, in which we decided finally on the name and some of the possible activities for the Edinburgh University Anarchist Society. Full minutes from the meeting will be posted by Joe soon. Apparently rumours have been getting round about the society and at the moment we have 9 signed-up members, just under half what we will need to be fully-fledged as a university society.

Our next meeting will be in the Forest Cafe on Wednesday 30th September at 1pm. If you’re interested at all, have been to the first meeting or not, it would be great to see you there.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=7539039801526254985&q=the+forest+cafe,+edinburgh&hl=en

Come along with any ideas about issues you’d like to raise or get the society to campaign on. Again, minutes from the meeting will be posted soon.

Unfortunately we were too slow with the Freshers’ Fair stall. It would be good to arrange a meeting at some point, and I have noticed that we have had a number of new members on the site recently. Please get in contact if you are interested in being part of the group, or just chatting about Anarchism, no experience required.

My email address is: goodwinct@gmail.com

I will not have permanent access to the internet (I am using the library at the moment) until a week on Saturday, but I will check my email here as often as I can.