York Union enjoys success
Adam Seldon Adam Seldon (22) is the co-founder of the York Union, a student-run organisation that has brought Alastair Campbell, Tanya Byron, Mark Lawson and many other high-profile speakers to York.
Established in 2013, the York Union aims to host engaging talks, interviews and debates that contribute to the intellectual life of the University and surrounding area. It grew from the foundations of Nouse Events, set up by Adam and fellow student Harry Lambert in 2012.
Adam, from Brighton, who will graduate with a degree in History, says: “In our first year at York, Harry and I went to a number of talks at the University, but found some were poorly attended and not well-advertised, and often the speakers were not of a high calibre.
“To address this, in our second year Harry suggested we set up Nouse Events. This was affiliated to the student newspaper Nouse, and attracted some big-name speakers such as Jeremy Paxman and George Galloway. At the end of our second year we expanded Nouse Events to form the York Union, an independent body modelled on the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, widely regarded as some of the finest speaking chambers in the world.”
The York Union’s first event was a debate on religion, chaired by Adam, which took place before a packed audience. Subsequent debates have covered topics including immigration, happiness and Thatcherism.
Adam says: “The York Union has had a very successful first year attracting some great speakers including Jonathan Powell, Downing Street Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Tony Blair, journalist Mark Lawson and Adam Boulton, Political Editor for Sky News.
“It’s been really good to see so many members of the local community attend as well as students. We also attracted funding from KPMG and have linked up with other University societies such as The Yorker, Nouse and the Debating Society to organise events.”
Adam has also played a full part in Derwent College life, including twice organising a Derwent team to compete in the Tough Guy Competition – a 15km assault course and cross-country run. In addition, he was shortlisted for The Guardian student columnist of the year for his work with Nouse and is involved in Lauriston Lights, a charity which is raising children’s aspirations in Newham through a summer programme delivered by University volunteers.
Adam, who is going to study towards a Masters degree in Political Theory at the London School of Economics, is leaving the York Union in the hands of a new committee and is confident it will continue to thrive.
Adam received a BA (First class honours) in History on 16 July.