Kick 'Em Off Campus plots student newspaper disruption

Anti-military recruitment group Kick ’Em Off Campus have been discussing plans to disrupt the production of Forge Press, leaked documents have revealed.

In emails sent to members who signed up to the group’s mailing list, Kick ’Em Off Campus’ activists plotted ways of interfering with the paper’s content and distribution.

The group has recently discussed occupying the Media Hub, producing a document and inserting it into copies of the paper, and stealing the printing press.

The reason behind the plans is that Kick ’Em Off Campus activists are angry at the opinions expressed in Kyle Christie’s comment piece ‘The military are not responsible for politics’, published in Forge Press on Friday, October 10.

On Tuesday, October 14, Kick ’Em Off Campus sent an email to Forge Press stating they would like a right of reply to Kyle Christie’s article.

The email said: "In the spirit of free and open debate we would like the opportunity to respond to this article and put across what we believe to be the genuine objectives of the campaign. This may be either in the form of an interview with a spokesperson from the campaign or the space to write our own article."

Forge Press Editor Ciaran Jones replied to the group, inviting them to send in a letter.

On Saturday, October 25, Kick ’Em Off Campus responded with a 912 word letter.

In reply, Forge Press invited the group to amend their letter to a more practical word count of about 350 words. Kick ‘Em Off Campus have not yet responded to this email.

The leaked documents show that in response to Forge Press’ reply of Tuesday, October 28, an email was circulated later that day to Kick ’Em Off Campus members stating: "This is complete bullshit. Personally I think with should go with option two of slipping them [copies of the email correspondence between Kick ’Em Off Campus and Forge Press] into the paper and maybe posting it around the University. We will discuss it tonight."

The Kick ’Em Off Campus group held a meeting on Tuesday, October 28, where items on the agenda included: "Debate on Monday, petitioning and the doing better thereof, recruitment fair, Forge Press the bastards, and putting a petition forward to Union Council as referendum."

At the meeting Kick ’Em Off Campus activists started to plan action against Forge Press. Minutes of the meeting read: "Occupy their (Forge Press’) offices? Steal the printing press? Remind them that nobody else ever writes to them either. Make a point about the role of the newspaper and who has ownership."

Later on the document states Kick ’Em Off Campus will print out their letter and the Forge Press response, and slip it into the papers. They also state that they intend to put up posters around the Union.

Dave Hurst, Union President, said: "After seeing email evidence that Forge Press did give the group a chance to respond, and no reply has been received, it would seem rather hasty for certain individuals to attack the paper before they have actually been ignored.

"If a group is misrepresented then it is entirely fair that a group have the chance to rebut it. I believe this to have happened in an acceptable way.

"I agree that there are issues. Some of the potentially planned activity would not only affect Forge Press, but would be stealing from the Union itself and, in effect, other students.

"If Forge Press failed to allow a rebuttal then a complaint would need to be lodged with press complaints first."

In the October 28 meeting, plans for a protest at the Yorkshire Autumn Graduate Recruitment Fair were discussed, as well as ideas for their debate at the Debating Society on Monday, November 3.

At the debate, entitled ‘This House would Kick ’Em Off Campus’, the audience overwhelmingly voted to keep Officer Training Corps (OTC) and military recruitment on campus, based on both the vote of conscience (what debaters really think) and competence (which side argued most effectively).

Kick ’Em Off Campus have now collected the required 50 signatures to force Union Council to discuss the issue of military recruitment on campus.

The Union Council has the power to put any issue to referendum. If Council chose not to support a referendum for the Kick ’Em Off Campus campaign, the group would have to collect 960 signatures to force a referendum.

Rob Golledge