SDLP Youth has today launched an online petition at www.AbolishProtocol.com. The petition signed by students urges the University of Ulster to abolish the Political Protocol.

SDLP Youth Vice Chair Peter Armstrong said: “The University of Ulster Students Union has for many years caused problems for political societies who wish to organise on UU campuses. This campaign aims to change this by abolishing the Political Protocol and urging the Students Union to stop censoring student societies.

“We welcome the support of all students, of all political persuasions, who believe their freedom of speech is being censored by the University of Ulster at its four campuses - Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown, and Magee.”

University of Ulster student Mark McKeown added: “We have been trying to set up a society for years, but the Students Union banned us from recruiting, censored our campaigns and threatened to throw us off campus.”

“A Political Protocol does not exist at any other University in the UK or Ireland. We just want a normal situation where groups of students can set up student societies. We want the Protocol abolished so we can have the same freedoms that societies at Queens University enjoy.”

SDLP Youth have welcomed Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody’s visit to Stormont to lobby for more funding from DCAL for the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast.

Speaking on the issue Katherine McCloskey, Chair of Queen’s SDLP Youth said; “It is vital that this project receives the necessary funding in order to ensure that up and coming musicians in the North get the start that they need in the music industry.

“It is clear that in the North there are many talented, young people who are passionate about music. You only have to look at the last decade to see the wealth of talent that is emerging from this small population. We need to ensure that there is somewhere for the next generation of Duke Special’s, Snow Patrol’s etc, to nurture their unique talent.”

Two local girls of Down High School, Downpatrick have spent a very interesting week on work experience with Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie.

The lower sixth form students Victoria Smyth and Amy Jackson spent a week brushing shoulders with high profiled politicians in the corridors of Parliament Buildings in Stormont.

The two girls are both studying politics at Down High School, and were thrilled to have the opportunity to see politics working, in the Assembly.

Speaking after her work based learning Victoria Smyth said, “Work Experience at Stormont was a fascinating and challenging experience. From the very beginning of the day there was copious amounts of work and activities to keep us busy - from running down to collect the list of scheduled Assembly amendments, to playing a “Who’s Who?” game of MLAs, there was never a dull moment!

“At the very beginning of the day, the DUP‘s Sammy Wilson MLA caused something of a drama in the SDLP Office when he failed to propose his motion on Youth Funding. The SDLP’s Dolores Kelly then had to be quickly located in order to propose her own motion, which had jumped forward from its scheduled time due to Mr. Wilson’s absence.”

Amy Jackson added, “We spent a lot of time with the SDLP Press Office learning about the various mechanisms of public relation and we even got to sit in the “Green Room” of Stormont Live. As we walked around the building, many familiar faces appeared. MLAs, Councillors, Ministers and MPs from every party were hurrying past us on every turn. We met some very impressive and prominent figures, including SDLP leader Mark Durkan MLA MP, and Dr Alasdair McDonnell MLA MP.”

Both girls really enjoyed their experience and concluded: “The whole Stormont experience was wholly interesting and fulfilling, and time there was well spent! We would like to extend thanks to everyone at the SDLP Offices and in particular to Minister Margaret Ritchie MLA.”

An SDLP Spokeswoman said, “Victoria and Amy are a credit to their school Down High School in Downpatrick and to their families. They were very interested in everything that was going on and were very eager to carry out all their duties to the highest possible standards. I have no doubt we will see these two girls back in Stormont someday, maybe even as MLAs or as political journalists.”

SDLP Employment and Learning Spokesperson Alex Attwood MLA led a delegation of SDLP Youth to the University of Ulster to meet with the Vice Chancellor and push for radical change in the University and Students Unions treatment of political societies.

The ‘political protocol’ is a policy adopted by the university and the students union to ‘govern’ how political societies function on campus. SDLP Youth have been challenging the protocol for a number of years at the University as it restricts very basic freedoms.

The protocol has caused much contention and SDLP representatives have been asked to leave the UU Campus, as it doesn’t allow representatives to be present on Fresher’s Fayre, a busy day for all societies.

Speaking after the meeting SDLP Youth representative, Councillor Matthew McDermott said,

“the meeting was very positive and productive. SDLP Youth have been at the forefront of fighting to have this restriction removed. It seems that there could now at last be movement on the protocol and restrictions on political societies lifted.

The Vice Chancellor acknowledged that the North has moved forward, that political activity at university was very important for students and that the ‘political protocol should be looked at.

He agreed to seek that the Student Union president revisit the area and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the protocol and its arbitrary conditions.

Political activity is very important to many students and the protocol is unjustified, unfair and discriminatory against those who wish to express their political opinion. We have always argued for its immediate abandonment and for political societies to be treated like any other society.”