Humanist Students

Humanist Students is the national umbrella organisation for free-thinking, atheist, humanist and secular student societies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[1] Its aim is to provide a national voice for non-religious student societies in the UK and help coordinate national activities.[1]

Humanist Students
Formation2008
TypeNonprofit organisation
PurposeSupporting atheist, humanist and secular student groups
Region served
United Kingdom and Ireland
President
James Dart
Websitehumanists.uk/students
"S is for Secularism" campaign
Nicola Young Jackson represented the Non-Prophet Week and the AHS at the 2012 Secular Europe March in London.

The group is a membership body composed of student societies in higher education institutes across the UK and Ireland. In 2012, it became the student section of the Humanists UK (then known as the British Humanist Association), the UK charity which promotes Humanism and secularism in Britain.[2][3] Until 2017, it was known as the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Students, and later simply Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Students (AHS). In 2017, member societies voted to rename the AHS 'Humanist Students', as well as introducing new structural changes, such as the direct election of the President of Humanist Students by the members of individual societies each year.[4]

Through Humanists UK, the organisation is represented internationally as part of Young Humanists International, the youth wing of Humanists International.

Aims and objectives

As 'The AHS', Humanist Students was set up to support both established and newly-forming atheist, humanist and secular student groups and give voice which could be heard nationally.[2] It hoped to achieve this by providing a network, resources and a joint platform for these societies through which they could make their needs and views known on both a national and international level.[2]

According to their own website the AHS' vision is "to see a thriving atheist, humanist or secular student society in every institute of Higher Education in the UK and Republic of Ireland".[3] They do this by running a variety of events, providing useful information to societies and representing its members on a national and international scale.[3]

Organisational structure

The AHS is run by a committee composed of representatives from each society, namely the president and an elected representative.[5] From the committee the executive, composed of a president, secretary, membership officer, and treasurer, are then elected to form the core leadership body of the organisation.

There is also a sovereign decision making body within the AHS called the "Caucus". This consists of two representatives from each member society, the executive and the board.[3] They are responsible for electing the executive to manage the organisation on their behalf, determining and directing major policy choices and ratifying applications for membership.[3]

It is one of several sections of Humanists UK, alongside others such as Young Humanists (for 18-35s), LGBT Humanists UK (an LGBT section), and Defence Humanists (for military personnel).

See also

Notes
  1. "What we Do". AHS. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  2. British Humanist Association (19 February 2009). "BHA: Atheist, humanist and secular student groups launch new national federation" (Press release). Opinion Formers. Politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. "FAQ". AHS.
  4. "Humanist Students". Humanists UK. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  5. "The Team". AHS.
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