By Emily Beever, NUS Scotland Women’s Officer

Last week, in the final days of voter registration, nearly 450,000 under 35s registered to vote joining the hundreds of thousands of others who had already done so. While we hear all the time that young people are apathetic, these figures paint a very different picture of a generation that want to make their voices heard. The EU referendum is a vote that young people care about - it’s a decision they will have to live with for a lifetime.

We are a generation that has benefitted from EU membership - the freedom of movement for study, travel and work is just one. We could see those benefits stripped away if the UK votes to leave the EU. Would they be replaced by better conditions? Not likely. Unfortunately those leading the Leave campaign haven’t given us answers about what life outside the EU looks like.

On a personal level, mobility and freedom of movement within the EU is incredibly important to me. Studying a degree in a modern language at a Scottish university I was expected to spend one year in a country that spoke that language. Through the Erasmus + scheme I spent a year in Cologne, Germany and it was genuinely life-changing, both for me personally but also for my career prospects. The experience of living in a country and speaking another language, all of the interesting people I met and places I travelled to. Without the Erasmus + grant, this would not have been possible for me or many of my classmates.

Research from NUS Scotland backed this up showing that studying abroad, even short term, raises employability and is transformative for the individual. That said, only a small percentage of students studying in Scotland study abroad – and we need to get better at ensuring these opportunities are taken up in order to ensure our students are equipped for operating in a globalised workplace. Leaving the EU will hinder, not help our progress here. For the UK students who do study abroad, they benefit from markedly cheaper or free tuition fees. Leaving the EU will mean losing the benefits of inclusion in the Erasmus + scheme and the attractiveness of low tuition fees in other EU member states.

Of course, it will not just be Scottish students impacted by Brexit. We benefit from EU students studying here. Scotland is an attractive place for EU students to study. There are currently around 20,000 EU students studying in Scottish universities bringing with them knowledge, skills, and cultural diversity. Research from Universities UK has shown that EU students generate more than £400 million for the Scottish economy. If we left the EU, these students would be charged international student fees of upwards of £9,000. Studying in Scotland won’t look so attractive then. Brexit would mean plummeting recruitment of EU students and putting a huge financial risk on our universities.

Furthermore, the UK is becoming an increasingly hostile host country to study in due to aggressive immigration controls which would also likely further disincentives the attractiveness of studying in the UK. We know there is strong feeling to loosen these restrictions in Scotland, in particular through post-study work visas, but because immigration isn’t a devolved issue, we have little say. Brexit will be bad news for students.

For me, the EU is not and indeed, should not, be solely about trade. People in the UK benefit hugely from the social justice and environmental directives. Likewise, our influence within the EU means our progressive values encourage other EU states to be progressive too. The politicians backing Brexit - I’m looking at you Nigel Farage- have openly scoffed about EU decisions that bolster women’s equality or workers' rights. The rights to equal pay for work of equal value has been a game changer for women in the UK since 1983 when the EU had to force the UK government to implement the principle.It doesn’t give me much hope that EU equality directives are described as “costly” or merely as “red tape” to be challenged by Brexiteers.

Those on the Leave side are also quick to overlook the support EU funding has provided in recent times of economic hardship. As we saw youth unemployment rise, money from the European Social Fund (ESF) and its partners provided hundreds of millions of pounds to help young people across Scotland. In 2014 and 2015, £110m was split between areas in south west Scotland alone, providing support helping thousands into jobs. In 2014, further funding helped create 3,500 extra college places.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) has been awarded £60m from the European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 programmes. Again, this will be a lifeline for thousands of young people and is vital funding that we simply would not see outside of the EU.

EU membership has given us diverse communities and campuses. It’s enabled younger generations to experience an educational journey alongside students and academics from all corners of the globe, expanding their cultural and social knowledge and understanding. It has contributed to the creation of cohesive communities and a socially tolerant society.

On the 23rd June I will proudly be voting to remain in the EU because I can’t imagine my life without the myriad of benefits it adds.