In the past few weeks, a new Instagram account has popped up, announcing itself as the new Student Union for the University of Exeter. To those who have not come across this account yet, this all might be a little confusing. Is the Guild not the UOE’s version of a student union? And if not, who is this new student union that seems to have stepped into the spotlight?
On this Instagram account (yourstudentunion_uoe), Your Student Union have posted an introductory statement, explaining who they are. We also spoke directly to Your Student Union, to get a better understanding of why they’ve formed and what their goals are moving forward into the academic year.
All students should be familiar with the student Guild, who are, by definition, supposed to act as representatives for the student body. The Guild’s function is to act as a student union; Exeposé has previously reported that that use of the word ‘Guild’ instead of union is due to its roots in craft groups who would join together for the purposes of protection from government regulation. However, Your Student Union have criticised this, saying on their Instagram that “The Guild insists they are our student union, but isn’t brave enough to even bear the name”. The Guild is currently run by a board of trustees, many of whom are voted in by the student body at the end of each academic year.
Your Student Union have stated that it was ‘time for a union for students, by students’. We asked Your Student Union why they think their group was important and what the Guild is not currently achieving. They replied: “The Guild is sorely failing in its role as a democratic mechanism to lobby the university on behalf of its students. A ‘union’ is an activist organisation first and foremost, but the Guild has lost this powerful identity. We’re not trying to replace the whole institution of the Guild, but are filling the void left by their inability to effectively campaign for social justice”.
“The Guild is sorely failing in its role as a democratic mechanism to lobby the university on behalf of its students.”
Your Student Union
Recently the group held an alternative fresher’s fair, with the Intersectional Societies Coalition. Throughout this fair they spoke about how this movement was built from the way the Guild handled the Islamophobic comments made at a Freedom society event. They highlighted how encouraging it was to see so many people come together to try and make change. In their statement they wrote: “When the Guild failed to call out and take meaningful action to prevent Freedom Society’s abhorrent racism, a bunch of students came together to shut down one of their pub events. At the same time, a network of networks bloomed as the Intersectional Societies Coalition got over 70 societies involved in an Instagram campaign and signed onto an open letter to the Guild in just three days”.
Another key point they mentioned was the response the university and Guild had to the pro-Palestine encampments on campus last year. Exeposé previously reported that the university had changed their guidelines to protesting on campus. The speakers at the alternative fresher’s fair claimed that the university told them that the student Guild had been fully informed about these changes, while the Guild told them they had no idea about them. In a direct statement to us, Your Student Union commented: “Exeposé just published an article about the University signing up to an ‘anti-protest coaching webinar’. Where is the Guild? Where is the uproar? Our protest rights are being stripped, and our so-called union is too busy handing out free tote bags to intervene. We need a student’s union that boldly confronts injustice – it’s clear that the Guild aren’t brave enough to be that union, so we’ll have to do it ourselves”.
In response to the creation of this new student union, we reached out to the Guild for a comment. They said: “We’re aware that a group of students have set up an alternative ‘students’ union’ and recently hosted an event to share their ideas. We respect and value students using their voices – we share the same passion for making and empowering students to make change. Freedom of expression and open debate are core to student life.”
“We respect and value students using their voices – we share the same passion for making and empowering students to make change. “
Exeter Student’s Guild
As your Students’ Guild, we’re an independent charity, led by students. Our top priority is to help all students love their time at Exeter. Sometimes that means working with the University to make change happen, and sometimes it means holding them to account – always with your voices at the centre”. They also highlighted that they are currently carrying out a representation review. This is said to be aimed at getting rid of the one-size-fits-all attitude there is currently towards representation. They also noted that they are constantly wanting to hear from student voices and that if you have any thoughts, there is a current suggestion form available on their website.
Another key concern that was brought up by Your Student Union, was that the Guild was mostly funded by the university and therefore could not stand up against them in any meaningful way. Exeposé decided to research this claim and looked into the Guild’s funding through their government tax accounts. We found that in 2024, the majority of the Guild’s income came from donations and grants. In total the Guild had an income of £8,169,489 from donations and legacies for the year. £3,089,716 of this money came from a yearly university block grant; £517,868 of this money was the estimated worth of physical space and buildings the university lets the guild use. The remaining £4,561,905 was listed under grants and donations, but specific information about who donated this money was not listed.
When we asked Your Student Union about their goals, they stated that they plan on expanding and bringing more societies into the Intersectional Societies Coalition, and they also plan to hold training sessions. These sessions would cover topics such as: how to facilitate a group discussion, the ins and outs of non-violent protest, first aid, and accessibility. They told us: “Ultimately, our goal is to create a mass movement of empowered students who can hold those in power accountable and collaborate to create material change”. They also told us that they plan to hold general assemblies where everyone can come together to find solutions for the problems and issues facing students at the UOE. They signposted their Instagram account for all future information about when and where these assemblies will take place.
In addition, they highlighted how these assemblies will be a chance for people to come as individuals or as groups to “build an alternative democratic model, so the ideas and structures we’re suggesting are not set in stone, and coming to the general assemblies is an opportunity for people to help create something new”.
They signposted their Instagram account for all future information about when and where these assemblies will take place.
Finally, we asked them if there was any other message they thought needed to be shared to the student body. They expressed criticism towards the way protests are currently handled by the Student Guild: “They parrot concerns about noise-levels affecting people with sensory sensitivities, not realising that a lot of the protestors themselves are also neurodivergent and share the same struggles. They love to tell us that there are ‘proper avenues’ for taking our concerns to the University, and that we can come to them for support for our campaigns. But let’s look at student activism for Palestine on campus. There have been protests most weeks for 2 years in the Forum. There was an encampment on the green of Queen’s Drive for 50 days in 2024. All of these protests have been completely non-violent, but the Guild and University consistently send officers to observe and police us”.
“All of these protests have been completely non-violent, but the Guild and University consistently send officers to observe and police us”.
Your Student Union
Overall, their final point, which seems to be the driving force behind the whole movement, was simply: “If the channels to affect meaningful change are there, they are clearly ineffective. That’s why we’re forced to turn to protest”. This group was only established in the last month so what they will achieve as a collective remains to be seen. If you want to learn more information about Your Student Union, you can find it on their Instagram (yourstudentunion_uoe).
