hackbash

UPDATED: I might be wrong about some of this post; see comments

Here’s a question: should a union act to represent the interests of its members, or to sell them a product?

Let me tell you why I ask. I’ve been researching an article on robberies that affect students, and what they can do to protect themselves. Students often have computers, iPods and other gadgets, yet they live in crappy accommodation and don’t always have the best idea of how to look after themselves.

They’re often out late (tchh, kids these days), so it’s probably no surprise that they get targeted for robbery and muggings. One in three students is the victim of crime each year: it depends where you study, but the overall chances are that you’ll be a victim during a three-year degree.

The Home Office has a pretty useful student safety site, but I wondered what the National Union of Students had to say on the matter.

Surprisingly little, if you look on the NUS website. There’s a house-hunting checklist containing plenty of sensible safety questions, but it’s not too easy to find. There’s a bit about bullying in the campaigns section, but nothing there or in student life that covers student safety in general.

A little help

So I looked in the help and advice section. The front page has a list of the “top questions been [sic] asked now” – I couldn’t help but notice that they all cover the NUS Extra Card. Don’t students have anything else on their mind?

Just as a bit of background at this point, the Extra card costs £10, and entitles the student to a range of (largely unremarkable) discounts. Call me an old cynic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the union received a small commission when they’re used.

You might notice something that doesn’t quite add up about that list of top questions. None of them are links, and don’t they look just a little, well, static? Let’s have a look at the page source:

For those who don’t know, that’s a manually-created list.

I decided to “Visit the Knowledgebase and get [my] questions answered”. Looks more like it, doesn’t it? There’s ten “Hot topics” and the “Top 10 frequently asked questions”. Granted they all look a little familiar, but hey, the two lists are ordered differently, so at least they’re dynamic, right?

Let’s have a look at this page’s source to check (you’ll need Internet Explorer to see this one yourself):

Wow. Another two manually-created lists. [UPDATE: or maybe not - see comments] To a cynical mind it might appear that whoever put the site together has gone to great lengths to make it look like the most popular topics and the most commonly-asked questions all pertain to the NUS Extra Card. They’ve even thought to differ the two lists’ order so they look like they’ve been dynamically generated.

I decided to search for keywords related to the information I was after. Safety draws a blank. So does accommodation. I found myself wondering what else students might be concerned about. Grant and fees both bombed. Burglary doesn’t show up any results, nor does mugging.

But perhaps I’m being too specific here. Maybe I should try university. Ah; seven links, all to entries related to the NUS Extra Card.

Extra! Extra! – read all about it and nothing else

Frankly, it’s a fucking good job I’m not a student looking for any advice on how to stay safe at university, isn’t it? It may be that the site’s new and the content’s patchy, but heading a static list of questions about a discount card with “top questions been asked now” is misleading, and an insult to students’ intelligence.

And just in case you’re still in any doubt as to the focus of this particular part of nus.org.uk, try clicking the top left link: “If this doesn’t answer your question, click here.” Have a think about all the things a student might need to ask their union. And then look at the email address: enquiries@nusextra.co.uk

Tags: commercialism, NUS, NUS Extra Card, safety, students