Students’ unions across the UK are playing their part in the referendum campaign by funding Irish students to return home to vote on May 25th.
“Home to V8te” is a new UK-wide campaign led by the National Union of Students (NUS). The scheme allows students’ unions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to set up travel bursary funds, providing up to £110, to help students cover the cost of their travel home to Ireland.
Oxford University Students’ Union (Oxford SU) and the University of Nottingham Students’ Union are two unions that have already passed a motion giving the green light to the creation of such a bursary.
“I am very happy to be have been able to support Irish students to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming Irish referendum by proposing this motion to council”, said Katy Haigh of Oxford SU, in an email statement to The University Times. “The motion will provide up to £55 (which will be matched by the NUS travel subsidy scheme) to students who are eligible to vote but unable to finance their travel.”
Students wishing to avail of the bursary must apply through their university’s students’ union, which must have already sought the necessary permissions to set up such a fund. Application can be made through a form available on the NUS website. Students can expect to receive between £55 and £110, with £110 being the maximum political “donation” an individual can receive under Irish law.
Some questions were raised on social media about whether political preference would affect a student’s eligibility for the grant. “The bursary system will operate without prejudice as to how students will vote in the referendum”, said Haigh, “However, I encourage our student members to consider what Oxford SU’s beliefs are about abortion rights, and to reflect upon their motivations before applying to this funding: the intention behind which is to fund travel for students with limited finances, and the values behind which are distinctly pro-choice.”
“Many of us who proposed the motion hope to move home to Ireland someday. We are proud of our country and our heritage. However, we are deeply fearful of a future in which Irish women and people are denied basic bodily autonomy,” said Muireann Speed, a Trinity graduate and current Oxford student, in an email statement to The University Times. “We are immensely proud of our SU for supporting this motion and moreover our endeavors to get Irish Students home to vote.”
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) praised the campaign. Olivia Potter-Hughes, NUS-USI President, said in a press statement: “We hope that this will inspire many students across the UK to join this fight for the shared goal of reproductive justice in two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. Cross-border collaboration and solidarity are central features of abortion rights activism on the island of Ireland.”
The #HomeToVote hashtag has taken off across social media over the last few weeks as emigrants around the world share their plans to travel home to partake in the historic referendum. Irish people living abroad can only vote if they have been out of Ireland for less than 18 months, meaning that a large proportion of people eligible for returning to vote are students and recent graduates.
