Description
Disabled Students Group is available for anyone who is disabled whether they be diagnosed or just discovering they have a disability.
MDXSU is currently a member of Disability Rights Uk
Disability Rights UK, Student helpline tel: 0330 995 0414
Open Tuesdays - Thursdays 11am - 1pm
Disability Rights UK, Higher Education Guide Link.
https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/sites/default/files/civicrm/IntoHE_2020_LowRes_Bookmarked.pdf
The Definition of a disability under the 2010 UK Equality Act is; “if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.”
https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010
Key points
Representation - As a committee we will work to insure all Middlesex University students with a disability are represented. Our co-presidents will each represent our two circles of disability that may intersect for some individuals. This system is put in place not to separate but to insure all voices and experiences of different disabilities are heard and valued within the group.
Training - training for staff to understand and provide an equitable, accessible and rewarding learning experience for Disabled students.
Awareness of services available to disabled students/ challenging Stigma and Descrimination
Accessibility - work to get in place reasonable adjustments to the university and individuals courses where reasonable adjustments are not already in place
Zero tolerance to discrimination - we will support students where ever necessary when taking action against members of the university be it staff or students. or with anything else that impacts members' studies.
Disabled Students group has to exist as a term of MDXSU’s membership of the National Union of Students.
Core aims of the Group
To improve the Universities accessibility for all disabled students
To challenge stigma around different Disabilities
To provide access to skills, training and opportunities for our members to learn and grow
To implement an anonymous complaints system to protect vulnerable Disabled students to give them the option to make a complaint without being left to feel vulnerable to further bullying and/or harassment.
To represent students of all disabilities on MDXSU’s Student Group Executive Committee, MDXSU’s Union council and within the general running of Disabled Students group through the Co-Presidents of Physical and Non-Physical Disabilities.
To ensure that Disabled facilities across the University are available and functioning at a high level to benefit the membership and the wider disabled population at Middlesex University.
To find out more about MDXSU Liberation Groups, please visit www.mdxsu.com/liberations.
Co- Presidents Physicial and non-physical sides of Disabled Students Group Roles and responsibilities
Based on the committee role descriptions from MDXSU
a. To organise and oversee the overall running of the society
b. To be the main point of contact between MDXSU and the society
c. Inspire and motivate the rest of the committee as well as the society members
d. To ensure those in other committee positions are fulfilling their roles
e. To read and respond to emails/communication from MDXSU and decide who needs to action the emails OR to assign a committee member the role of doing this.
f. Consult with the rest of the committee in order to define the goals of the society for the upcoming year
g. To ensure that committee members and society as a whole are inclusive to all students
h. To ensure that all committee members and society members abide by MDXSU’s Good Code of Conduct and Rules and Regulations
i. To attend all society meetings and boards they represent their constituents at within reason i.e. if a class is scheduled then they can be absent with providing apologies at least one day prior to the meeting with written collated feed back to be presented in replacement of verbal feedback.
J. All boards meetings the co- president represents Disabled students at they must read and keep up to date with any documents pertaining to the meeting
K. Any committee member of the Disabled Students Group must only discuss items relevant to the disabled students group on the groups; social media channels, email system, whatsapp group and any other form of communication system pertaining to the group.
L. The Disabled students group is not a platform for any committee members personal views they must only represent the views and goals of the group decided by all the groups committee members at group meetings, whilst representing the views of its members at MDXSU and Middlesex University boards.
M. All committee members will support the needs of the disabled student liberation group members at the groups meetings. The priority is ensuring members feel listened to their feedback is being acted on positively and there needs are being met within reason at the students group meetings and any other activities run by the disabled students liberation group. This does not mean committee members of this group cannot participate in activities it means that they need to ensure the members needs are put first for example at a pizza evening committee members can eat and talk to the members the main priority being all the members get food and are enjoying themselves.
N. When planning activities the activities must be organised based on members feed back and what the members say they will enjoy not what committee members want to do.
O. To maintain the core aim of this group which is Liberation (as per the NUS definition of Liberation groups) for Disabled Students which this group should make happen through running campaigns that are informed by disabled students and disabled alumni voices. Not the University and not the individual thoughts and views of the committee members of Disabled Students group.
P. Collect feedback from disabled students and Middlesex University alumni to present impartially, non biased and solution based feedback to relevant Middlesex University Boards including these which Disabled students liberation currently has a seat on; Wellbeing Partnership, Disability support Frame Work – this groups accessibility sub group, and this groups key stake holders group. Union council and any other groups the committee gains membership on
Q. Ensure the Group works towards the pre-set NUS Goal of liberation groups which is to liberate Disabled Students from oppression. Which is from Societal, University and world oppression.
Definition of oppression
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/oppression
a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom:
Every human being has the right to freedom from oppression.
War, famine and oppression have forced people in the region to flee from their homes.
R. Co-presidents will enable and facilitate discussions around disabilities and the problems students face. In a way that encourages quiet voices to speak and they do not dominate with their own opinions and views. They should ensure all voices are heard not just the ones they favour.
Hostile work environment
Definition of Hostile work environment
All committee members will behave in a professional and empathetic not sympathetic manner towards members. Any hostile behavior will not be tolerated see definition
All committee members will complete mandatory safeguarding training from the university to insure the leaders are equipped to support students and themselves as the groups nature will bring up topics that are often traumatic and serious in nature. As being disabled makes you far more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation than the able-bodied population.
As such it is needed that students who volunteer as part of the committee have the necessary knowledge to successfully fulfil the role.
This includes a knowledge of the equality act, three main models of disability: charity, social and medical models of disability.
NUS Definition of Liberation Groups “NUS liberation networks are here to support and signpost Black*, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women students campaigners across the 4 Nations. Liberation is important to NUS because our identities affect our participation, achievement and progression in education.
We use the term ‘liberation’ because we believe that working on these issues is about liberation – freedom from the oppression people face because of their identities.
Very rarely do our identities fall neatly under one label – humans are by their nature multi-faceted with several interwoven identities. Intersectionality recognises this particularly in the context of the oppressions faced by different groups. The oppression experienced by a particular group is compounded when you belong to more than one of them. We take an intersectional approach to our work to ensure that the many parts of our identities are included when talking about a part of our identity so as to not focus on single issues causes.”
The co-presidents should be accountable to the membership by holding a disability assembly every month during term time where both co-presidents will produce accountability reports that are sent 1 week prior to the assembly and students will be able to hold the co-presidents account for their elected roles. This will be available in written and voice recorded format. The accountability report will detail the work they have done for the past month
The accountability reports from each co-president will be presented and both co-presidents must be attend all of the assembly that will be 2hours once a month at a time that the members not the committee members vote works for the majority of members. This will be available to participate both online and in person.
The content of the accountability reports will be as follows what points on their elected manifestos they have achieved and what work each co- president has done individually to achieve the points they have described in their accountability reports.
The accountability reports will both describe what work they are doing individually to insure that the points of their manifestos are completed by the end of their terms in May.
The accountability reports will be in plain English, British Sign language translated.
These will be no more than 100 words per point to cut out waffle these points will be truthful and each accountability report will be stored in an archive that will sit with the MDXSU student groups co-ordinator and will be available to anyone upon request. This ensures an accurate historic record of the groups activities, actions and changes within the university is accurately maintained.
Further to this their will be written minuets and recordings at each assembly recorded by the disabled student liberation groups secretary or a committee member in a non-leadership position not the co-presidents or vice president. A maximum of two weeks after the assembly the minuets of the meeting will be made publicly available to all members of the group after being sent out to all attendees for approval the Monday of the third week after the assembly there will be a grace period where attendees will be asked for any edits or corrections to ensure the document is as accurate as possible. Once the one week correction period has passed on the Monday of the fourth week after the assembly the minuets and recording relate to the recording and minuets of the meeting will be sent out to all members of the group and MDXSU’s Student Groups Co-ordinator.
The recording and minuets will also be stored in the MDXSU archive maintained by MDXSU’s student groups co-ordinator.
Harassment awareness training
All Disabled Students Liberation groups committee members must complete mandatory Harassment awareness training as part of the MDXSU compulsory training for student groups leaders this will ensure that students in a position of power in relation to legally vulnerable individuals, have no excuse for harassing behaviour or allowing harassing behaviour to not be challenge and where necessary punished, through MDXSU’s, Middlesex Universities disciplinary procedures and where necessary criminal justice procedures. As harassment is a crime and just because you are in a position of power does not mean it cannot be exploited for personal gain and malicious intentions.
The members of committee shall not promote other societies through disabled students liberation groups channels of communication unless doing so will specifically genuinely benefit disabled students. This however will be moderate.
Assembly – a disabled student’s assembly should be held for all disabled students every month where disabled students are invited to hold the committee and the co-presidents to account for what is written in their manifestos. As well as providing an opportunity to provide feedback that will be communicated to the appropriate university and Middlesex University staff who will be invited to attend.
Campaigns – Disabled Students Group will campaign through Direct and Non Violent Direct Action to Liberate Disabled students from University, National and International oppression. This includes protests publicly where appropriate.
Committee conduct during meetings and outside of scheduled Liberation Group meetings
The committee should at all times act as representative of MDXSU and Middlesex University. Any ableist, harassing, violent, sexist exploitative or inappropriate behavior will be considered as bringing the group, university and student union into disrepute and allegations of this will be investigated by the students union students group coordinator if any allegations are proved true sanctions depending on severity will be implemented.
Consequences for not fulfilling the role
Will be a removal from post by the vote of no confidence procedure if there is sufficient evidence and statements from two committee members of the committee roles not being fulfilled. The Students Group code of conduct and committee roles descriptions will be made available to all MDXSU members to ensure transparency and giving members the opportunity to hold committee members to account.
Basic knowledge required to run for the roles of co-president of Disabled Students Group
Campaigning basic knowledge
Social models
PIP Benefits system
Equality act
Disability right and the law
How to Make long term systemic changes
Holding the role to account
Manifestos for candidates nominating themselves for positions on the MDXSU Disabled Students group committee.
The manifestos must include the following; What camp of disability their disability falls into; physical or non-physical, what points they will work to achieve once elected and why they will help disabled students, what experience and skills the candidate has to bring to the role.
Co-presidents Candidates for this position must define as disabled into the physical side or non-physical side they are running as a candidate for or both. If the case is they define into both then they must pick the side to run for that has the most impact on their ability to go about their every day lives.
Transparent removal and complaint procedures from start to end.
Any member of the student group can call the conduct of a committee member and the work of a committee member of Disabled Students Group into question as per the MDXSU Student Group Code of conduct Vote of no confidence section. The Student Groups Code of conduct must be made publicly available to all members of MDXSU having this available publicly would be the most transparent way to go about it along with the Committee role descriptions.
The co-president’s structure can only be changed through a vote at Union Council as this was where the policy was first passed. This will be done through submitting a union council policy through the Union Council positions the Co-Presidents both have or from another member of the Union council who feels they could improve this policy to benefit disabled students.
The focus of the group can not be changed as long as MDXSU is part of NUS as this dictates the main purpose of liberation for the Liberation group.
The committee roles including the roles of the co-presidents can only be changed through a union council policy procedure being followed. Of submission of a Union council policy and quorum being reached to vote on
If you have any questions about the group then please contact disabledstudents@mdxsu.com or visit the MDXSU Disabled Students' Facebook page. You can also check out the MDXSU Disabled Students Instagram to see more events and campaigns.
