Student Union - gakusei kumiai

A voluntary organization that comprehensively deals with student friendship, mutual aid, and self-governance, which has developed especially in universities in the UK (student unions). It is said that the prototype was formed at the same time as the birth of universities in medieval Europe, but it has not necessarily developed uniformly due to the diversity of changes in the university system in each country. In the UK, which remains today, at the university level, it combines both the role of a university co-op, such as providing casual social gatherings and cheap entertainment and daily necessities, and the so-called student self-government organization function, and actively engages in student support activities such as peer support, while the national organization that unites them, NUS (National Union of Students) , is also active, mainly focusing on protecting students' rights. Students are automatically enrolled at the time of enrollment, and receive various benefits, mainly in terms of welfare. It is run by student representatives elected by election, but in some universities, alumni also cooperate. In a broad sense, student unions include student councils, cooperatives, and student health insurance associations found at Japanese universities, but in Japan and many other countries, there are not many British-style student unions that integrate all of these.
Author: Masaru Hashimoto

Source : Heibonsha "University Encyclopedia" About the University Encyclopedia Information

とくにイギリス（学生組合）の大学で発達している学生の親睦・相互扶助・自治などを総合的に扱う自主組織。古くは，中世ヨーロッパにおける大学の発祥と同時にその原型が形成されたといわれるが，各国での大学制度の変遷の多様性の中で，必ずしも一様な発展を遂げたわけではない。現在に残るイギリスの場合，各大学レベルでたとえば気軽な社交場や娯楽・生活物資の安価な提供といった大学生協的な役割といわゆる学生自治組織機能の両面をあわせ持ち，ピアサポートとしての学生支援活動も積極的に展開する一方，それらを束ねる全国組織NUS（National Union of Students）も学生の権利保障を中心に活発に活動している。学生は入学と同時に自動加入という形をとり，主として福利厚生面でのさまざまな特典を得ることになる。運営には選挙で選ばれた学生代表があたるが，大学によっては卒業生が協力しているケースもある。広義で捉えれば，日本の各大学にみられる学生自治会や生活協同組合あるいは学生健康保険組合なども学生組合の一種であるが，日本をはじめ多くの国では，それらを統合するイギリス型の学生組合はあまり見られない。
著者: 橋本勝

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