A lesson from my student days

(Photo: Justin Grimes)

It's a very long time since I've written anything here. It's not because I haven't had the urge, just that the urge hasn't been strong enough to override the pressures of time and other activities.

Several times in the last few months I have related a story from my days as a student at Portsmouth Polytechnic (now University). This particular story involves the miners' strike of the 1980s. Please put aside whether you agree or disagree with the politics of the subject matter, my point is the principle of what happened. If you were a staunch supporter of the miners' strike and therefore have a difficulty with the story, then please replace it in your mind and in the story with some issue you don't agree with, or at least one you wouldn't support with money. I'm no football fan so for me, sponsoring a football game would work perfectly well as the replacement subject matter - see it doesn't even have to be political.

The Portsmouth Polytechnic Students' Union (PPSU) had an open meeting every week, on Wednesday if I remember correctly. It was never very well attended. I had been to one once, I think when someone attacked a club of which I was a member in one of the union newsletters. The small number of regulars were the usual suspects, political animals such as Socialist Workers and Conservative group members.

The first most members of the PPSU heard of the focus of this story was in just such a newsletter. It was reported that those assembled at one of these weekly meetings had voted to donate a decent-sized amount of money to a fund set up by or for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to support striking miners and their families. Someone who had been at the meeting was trying get the matter discussed again at the next week's meeting and invited people to come along to support his motion.

This article caused discussion to travel quickly around the student body and even normally apolitical members considered their position on this matter. The following Wednesday came quickly and on arriving at the Ents Hall (the union's entertainments venue) it was clear this was not a normal weekly meeting. The hall, not a small room, more often heaving to the sounds of the likes of Phil Lynott, George Melly, Misty in Roots or The Housemartins (just some I attended), was packed to overflowing.

The motion was read out and rather than counting hands in the usual way - doing so would be impossible, it was decided that there would be division as in the House of Commons. Those in favour of the donation (if I remember correctly) would leave by the main exit into the union building's lobby, and those against would leave by the fire exit into the car park. When we were all called back into the hall it was announced that the donation had been overturned.