I'm Gordon Maloney, NUS Scotland VP (Communities). Students are often criticised for not contributing to their local community, but we know better.
Students aren’t just interested in what happens in the classroom and on campus; they have a greater role to play in their community and society as well.
NUS Scotland's Community Network will be campaigning on a number of issues in 2012-13, including:
Student housing
After years of successful campaigning, tenancy deposit schemes have now launched in Scotland. These schemes will protect students from rogue landlords by ensuring all disputes are mediated by an independent group.
This year, we’ll be working to get universities and private landlords to sign up to the non-profit scheme SafeDeposits Scotland.
Independence Referendum
NUS Scotland has not taken a position on the independence referendum, but we do want to help students get the details needed to make an informed choice.
This autumn, students associations’ across Scotland will be holding town hall meetings where students can ask questions and voice their view on what the future of Scotland should look like.
NUS Scotland will also asking students to sign a petition calling for 16 and 17-year-olds to be allowed to vote in the referendum and all future elections.
Environment, transport, youth unemployment and more
There are many issues that fall under our community network umbrella, such as our work to tackle social injustice and youth unemployment, our work to improve transport options for students and our efforts on environmental issues.
Get in touch with VP (Community) Gordon.maloney@nus-scotland.org.uk or Community Network Convenors Jamie.Kinlochan@nus-scotland.org.uk and Kat.Bateson@nus-scotland.org.uk to find out what we've got planned.
What can you do?