New words blog

Students from several universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, are threatening to vote to break away from the National Union of Students.It follows the controversial election of new president, Malia Bouattia, the NUS's first black female Muslim leader.Ms Bouattia has been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks - including calling the University of Birmingham "something of a Zionist outpost". She has insisted her argument was political rather than one of religion. Harry Samuels, an NUS delegate from the University of Oxford, told BBC Newsnight the appointment of Ms Bouattia was undemocratic, as she was not elected under a system of "one member, one vote". "It's not just about Malia in particular," he said."Obviously her election enshrines the fact that NUS no longer represents all students, but there are other grievances we have with the rest of the organisation, there are other reasons we think that the organisation is no longer reformable. "It's the mixture of those … [Read more...] about Students threaten to split from NUS over new president

YouTuber PewDiePie has announced he will be taking a break from the video-sharing platform, saying he is “very tired”. With 102 million subscribers, the Swedish vlogger and comedian was for many years the platform’s most popular star but was overtaken earlier this year by T-Series, an Indian record label which now has around 120 million subscribers. PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is known for his video-game commentary, but has also been the centre of controversy due to accusations of racism and antisemitism. Sharing his decision in a video, PewDiePie said: “I am taking a break from YouTube next year,” he said. “I wanted to say it in advance because I made up my mind. I’m tired. I’m feeling very tired. I don’t know if you can tell. Just so you know, early next year I’ll be away for a little while. I’ll explain that later but I wanted to give a heads-up.” In 2017, he used the n-word against another … [Read more...] about YouTuber PewDiePie to take break from platform as ‘very tired’

The National Union of Students has elected its first black Muslim woman president, Malia Bouattia.But her previous comments have caused controversy and claims of anti-Semitism in student politics.Ms Bouattia was the co-author of an article describing Birmingham University as "something of a Zionist outpost".She has also been accused of not supporting a motion condemning the so-called Islamic State.But the NUS says this was because she disputed the wording of the motion and not the principle.Disputed language"Some committee members felt that the wording of the motion being presented would unfairly demonise all Muslims rather than solely the group of people it set out to rightfully condemn," said an NUS spokeswoman about the vote in 2014.The NUS says a subsequent motion condemned "the politics and methods of ISIS" and that this re-worded policy was supported by Ms Bouattia."NUS does not support ISIS and has always condemned violent terrorism," said a union spokeswoman.The newly-elected … [Read more...] about National Union of Students elects Malia Bouattia as president