Reinstate Edd Bauer

Reinstate Edd Bauer! Defend the right to campaign! For democracy in our SUs!

See here for more details.

Birmingham University Guild of Students VP Education and NCAFC national committee Edd Bauer was arrested for fighting fees and cuts. As a result, the bureaucracy of his student union has… no, not congratulated him, but suspended him from office!

On 27 September, Birmingham University Guild of Students sabbatical Edd Bauer (also a member of the national committee of the NCAFC) was released on bail. He had spent ten days in prison without trial for his part in a banner drop at Lib Dem conference (see here). The decision to grant Edd bail came following a NCAFC-organised demonstration outside the court. Two other Birmingham student activists are also on bail.
On returning to the Guild, he found that he had been suspended by its (unelected) General Manager! He is banned from even entering the union premises.
Edd should be congratulated, not punished. And if the Guild bureaucrats can get away with this, it will be an outrage against Birmingham University students’ democratic rights. And it will set a precedent that any left-wing student union officer, any campaigning student union officer, anywhere, is fair game for removal from above. As the fight against the Tories’ cuts heats up, this is a major threat to student activism.
We need to fight for Edd’s reinstatement as part of the campaign to reclaim control of our student unions from unelected, non-student bureaucrats, and put control back in the hands of students and their elected representatives.

What you can do:

1. Sign the petition in defence of Edd here.

2. Email a message of protest to the President of the Guild: president@guild.bham.ac.uk

3. Pass a motion through your SU, union branch etc supporting Edd’s campaign. A model motion will appear soon.

4. If you’re a Birmingham student, come to the meeting to discuss the campaign for Edd’s reinstatement and democracy in Birmingham University Guild of Students: 5pm, Monday 3 October, in the Nuffield Learning Centre (R28 on campus map).

5. Visit the campaign website bannerdropsarenotacrime.wordpress.com

For more information call us on 07775 763 7505.