Although never quite an Internet phenomenon of massive proportions, Offcourse became a minor underground ‘hit’ amongst students in dissident political forums and achieved something of a ‘cult’ following to whom I extend my appreciation and gratitude.

“Who’s afraid of the NUS?” was the question I asked myself as a disaffected student in 2004. I answered that question in the form of an article, which I left unpublished. Instead, I decided to amuse people of like mind and enrage those not with the scathing parody: “Offcourse: The Silly Student Voice”

I doubt the face of the NUS and its harem of Student Unions has been seriously bloodied but I’d like to think at least a few egos have been infuriated.

Most importantly I very much hope that in this age of information and communication, people who can see through the anachronistic NUS discourse of unilateral student representation have seen that you are not alone. Dissident opinion is still opinion, and no measure of cumbersome procedure and PC talking shop will ever stop it from being so.

Unfortunately, I am now too disconnected from the student world to legitimately continue my work here.

But I will leave you with this: Is it the students who are disaffected from their representative Union bureaucracy or is it the Student Union establishment, continuing in its old ways despite the infinite liberties afforded by massive overhauls in communications technology, which has become disaffected from us?

offcoursemail@googlemail.com