With next week's NUS conference looking to reform the organisation to meet the needs of the 21st century, those fighting for and against the governance review have resorted to letters in the Guardian slagging each other off.

Those opposing the review kicked off the very public argument on Tuesday, with a letter to the Guardian accusing "the leadership" of wanting to return the NUS back to the 1950s. According to the authors of the letter, back then the NUS was a "network of rightwing students associated with the CIA".

This letter triggered a response from the National Executive Committee, claiming only a "small but vocal group of Socialist Worker supporters" were against the reforms, before explaining why reforms were necessary in a fairly agitated tone.

Those opposed to reforms are crying foul, as the chair of the conference session discussing the reforms will be Kat Stark, a pro-reform member of the NEC. It is claimed that she will have arranged with the NEC to ensure the "correct" people from both sides are called, in order strengthen the pro-reform viewpoint. An anti-reform meeting has been banished to a nearby bar, while a pro-reform meeting is being held inside the conference venue itself. Both sides look set to use every trick they can to gain an advantage.

The public bitch-fight is unlikely to show the wider public that NUS is a sensible, united organisation, but rather highlights the deep divisions caused by the "revolutionary" elements. Quite how it helps normal students in general is lost on this reporter.

In other news, the two failed ICU presidential candidates have shirked their responsibilities, with ACC Chair Luke Taylor dropping out at the last minute due to project commitments, following Jon Matthews withdrawal shortly after results were announced.

We know many Live! readers have no time for the NUS, but this conference promises to provide some entertaining stories (but probably in the same sense that a car crash is "entertaining" to rubber-neckers).

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