SU22 - Aidan Moran for Campaigns and Engagement officer

Aidan Moran

I’ve been involved in political campaigning since before I did my GCSEs. I grew up knowing the full force of austerity crashing down around me, with most interactions I had at a young age being about cuts to benefits and the NHS or the rise of the far-right having dominance over our streets and the confidence to commit attacks on any group that didn’t fit their perfect image. 

It wasn’t long before I was engrossed in anti-austerity and antifascist organising. I remember taking my then-girlfriend on a very romantic trip to London to join in the People’s Assembly Against Austerity March and dragging my family to an antifascist counter-demonstration.

I quickly began to see what worked and what didn’t. When I became more involved in organising against the fascist presence in my area, I was frequently assaulted for my role as an antifascist, largely because our group didn’t just occasionally have counter-demonstrations half a mile away from the police to speak to ourselves, but because we actively engaged with the communities that the far-right attempted to recruit from.

We listened to their concerns and had the dialogue with them, and constantly made the case that there wasn’t a conflict between British and non-British, white and non-white or Christians and non-Christians but that the conflict was between those who had power and those who didn’t. Then we were able to be much more creative in how we combatted the far right and the austerity politics because then our campaign was driven by the communities, not by political posturing.

I learnt a lot from this experience and was able to put this into practice when organising my workplace to take industrial action. I learnt a lot more, however, when I went to the West Bank and worked with the Palestinians. I learnt more about oppression and violence than I’d ever like to, and how Palestinians were able to resist. I also learnt that even some random teenager from Sunderland can think quickly and efficiently when under tear gas and sniper fire. 

Before I came to university I’d known political advocacy to be based on the principle that there are two sides that matter: those that have power and those who don’t. Those who have power maintain it through wealth and dominating the narrative. Those of us who don’t can only challenge it through disrupting the narrative and the streams of income through creative ways.

But when I came to Queen’s I was utterly shocked by the way political activism works here. Students have so many issues but the political engagement was never focused on that, instead preferring to exemplify politicians and hold parades rather than protests. Many were shocked when I talked about my experiences as a teenager but for many from my background, these were actions that were necessary for our survival. I feel like an oddity here whereas back home I feel like my experiences are nothing special. 

This isn’t to say every student should be getting arrested or exposing themselves to intense violence in Palestine, but there are multitudes of issues students do care about that no one is giving any direction in how to deal with it. Students share infographics about Palestine but don’t get involved with any Palestinian campaigns. We constantly complain on QUBLove but we seem to be unaware that we can actually change the situation. 

This isn’t frustration or dismissal of the student body; I think there are thousands of students who would be incredible if they got involved but there seem to be no avenues for them to do so. Protest culture is dead, as is the idea that we can make the change we want to see in the world. While I do have experience in leadership, I don’t see this role as being about that. I want to use this role to empower students to take actions into their own hands, to have more discussions and realise that every student has the power to make real change, but only when we work together. 

To see all the candidates running, visit the QUBSU website