Last Union Council meeting of the year and after 3 hours, numerous votes, an incredibly close election and much discussion, we’re done! – a very sleepy Democracy Officer gives you a round-up of events:

Election of Chair & Deputy Chair of Council

One of the closest elections I have seen in 4 years!  With two exceptionally strong candidates I know I’m not alone in saying I struggled to cast my vote but I’m sure the eventual winner, Erin Davies, will be brilliant as our first female Chair of Council.  She will be brilliantly supported by Deputy Chair Oliver Rice.

Democracy Review Phase 2

It’s not the full changes proposed here but it’s all steps in the right direction…

This means:

Union Council will now be called Student Council

There will be dedicated seats for sports, societies, campaigns and PGs

We won’t just be passing Policy after Policy now, if it’s something that affects the Union then a simple statement will do…

Democracy Review Phase 3

This one was all about common sense.  We looked at every single Union Policy and examined them all – where possible putting content in the Bye Laws or Job Descriptions, putting some on the ‘Boycott List’, merging some, transferring some from Policy to ‘Union Regulations & Principles’ and lapsing others.  I’ll be working on this today so details will be out shortly…

In other news…

The proposed Student Trustees were ratified.

Contract Workers’ Rights was amended and passed.

NUS National Demonstration passed.

The Future of Bath Place passed.

Opposition to Sexual Entertainment Venues passed.

More details on Democracy Review to follow and usual get in touch with any and all questions!

It’s been a year of great highs and significant lows.  This has been the year of Bacardi, of Eden Springs.  The year of the General Meeting that was, then wasn’t and then was again.  The year of proxy voting ‘scandals’ and re-elections and record breaking turnout.  But the project which has dominated my year through all of that?  The Democracy Review.

In my manifesto this year I promised you ‘democracy for the 21^st Century’ and a democratic system with ‘decision-making where it belongs’.  Yes, yes, I know – vacuous politician terms, but I couldn’t be specific.  It wasn’t my place to deliver reform and it wasn’t my place to promise changes without learning first.  And wow have I learnt.  I’ve scoured other Unions’ websites, read document after document produced by the NUS, poured over your feedback in three years of the Big 5, two Rant Weeks and a Democracy Review survey and read through notes from seven years of Sabb teams.  I’ve been helped by an invaluable Working Group of students and a staff team second to none, dedicated to the extreme and equally passionate about making things better because do we know that there are things wrong with Union Democracy.

So, what did you tell us?

You don’t like long meetings

You don’t like decisions being made on your behalf

You like online voting

You don’t like our jargon and our bureaucracy

You think we talk about the wrong issues

You don’t know how to find out what’s going on

You don’t know who the decision-makers are

Throughout this process I’ve boiled all those issues into three key goals, to make Union Democracy more:

simple (to understand and be involved in)

accessible (all year round and regardless of time available)

relevant (to Warwick students’ lives)

And did we consider everything.  From committees and Officers and by-laws and procedures to appendices and more.  But enough on how we got here, the important thing is that we are here.

The Union Democracy Review

So, what happens next?  Well this is where things get complicated…

Without boring you with details, it isn’t possible to make all these changes without amending our Memorandum & Articles of Association and this can only be done through a General Meeting (no, this isn’t some ridiculous joke…).  I will be taking to the last meeting of Union Council a range of important changes but for now I am looking for your thoughts and feedback on the overall system linked to here.

So, for the second time this year I find myself writing a blog about a Boar headline.   Last time (about Bacardi) I was writing because I was angry, angry because the headline gave the wrong impression and would lead to people misinterpreting the facts.  And unfortunately all I can say is ‘here we go again’. 

Is the Summer Party overpriced?  It is my genuine belief that it is not.  The event is sixteen hours long (if you’re hard-core enough to last it all), with 14 acts, a free funfair, inflatable activities and a huge range of food and drink.  It’s a great end-of-term event with a great atmosphere and hopefully great weather (touch wood).  No, I haven’t heard of all the acts, but as the Boar’s Deputy Editor says ‘a select group of people appear to confuse a university SU event with Glastonbury festival’.

A few minutes ago I did a search through this year’s Big 5 results, and every single comment about the Summer Party was positive.  It’s ‘amazing’ with ‘the largest range of music and activities all in one place’ where you ‘love the atmosphere’.  The only times that cost is mentioned it is complemented as ‘worth the cost’, ‘good value for money’ and for not having a ‘huge price tag’.  You said that.  This isn’t spin, it’s feedback and I don’t need to be an analyst to know that students like the biggest event Warwick SU puts on.  Even the beloved Boar have called the event a ‘triumph’ in the past.

Now, I understand the need for editorial independence.  I understand that the Boar is there to critique the Union and University’s work.  I’m reassured that they’re not just a Union mouthpiece but sometimes they make me angry and it’s when they do something like this.  That headline is damaging.  It damages an event that has been incredibly successful, it hurts the morale of a staff team who work tirelessly (and who I will always defend to the hilt) and it risks ticket sales when the event needs to break even or the Union is at financial risk.  If the ticket price had risen dramatically and without reason then fair enough, be critical, but it hasn’t even gone up by a penny.  If you genuinely expected Lady Gaga and Eminem then I’m sorry your expectations were too high.  If you’re now wary of buying a ticket then don’t be.

I’ll be at this year’s Summer Party and I’m looking forward to it.  Hopefully I’ll see you there.

There's a strange sense of deja vu in the air in SUHQ.  The orange t-shirts are back on (fully washed I'm relieved to say), polling stations will soon be returning in the Atrium and a little ball of orange fluff is suddenly reappearing all over the place...the reason?  Another election!

Week 2 sees us holding the Welfare & Campaigns Officer re-election and like never before we need your help.  You've already busted the Student Apathy Myth but now be it through procrastination, knowing a candidate, genuine interest or a desire to never have to experience another election - Warwick students, we need you to vote now.

www.warwicksu.com/elections

If you fancy helping us spread the word with a profile picture change then feel free to make use of the below:

Happy Voting Folks!

‘Students are apathetic’ – one of the most common declarations of ‘fact’ that I’ve heard during my 5 years at Warwick.  Repeatedly we’re told that the next generation doesn’t participate, that we don’t care enough about the big issues.  We’re labelled the iPod and Harry Potter generation who frankly don’t give a damn.

To those who come out with lines like that; you have no idea how wrong you are.  We are the political generation.

I say that and I know I’m right.  Not because we spend our time talking about the Middle East, cuts and Bacardi but because of things much closer to home.  Which students haven’t grumbled about the buses?  Who hasn’t been frustrated that they can’t find the right book in the Library?  Whose accommodation is too expensive?  Who’s worried they’re not going to get a job after University?  Whether you like it or not, statements like that are political and the Officers you elect are the people who stand a chance of making a difference.

In week 8 I need your help to prove that I’m right.  No, these elections aren’t going to transform your lives; a new dawn isn’t going to rise like the heavenly utopia that some candidates may promise, but your life as a Warwick student will change.  No matter how many flyers you’re handed, posters you see, sweets you consume and stickers you hastily remove do not forget that your vote may make the crucial difference.

Call us students.  Call us consumers if you must.  But don’t call us apathetic.

In week 8 be the person that makes that difference.  Vote for the candidates who you think will deliver.

Polling: Wednesday 9am - Friday 9pm

Candidate Question Time #1

Candidate Question Time #2

So why should you bother reading this blog post?  To be frank, because a degree is no longer enough.  With graduate unemployment at a huge low you need something to help you stand out from the crowd, and the contents of this blog may well be that something…

What is a Sabbatical Officer?

A Sabbatical Officer represents all students at Warwick to the University and beyond.  They are members of the Board of Trustees of a charitable organisation with a £7 million turnover and lead the organisation in delivering for students.  Now there’s little denying that those two sentences look pretty darn good on a CV at the age of 22…

The guardian asks the question ‘is being a Sabbatical Officer the best graduate job in the world?’ and if your current Officers’ experiences are anything to go by then the answer to that question is a resounding yes.  The skills boost is easy to underestimate but project delivery, budget management, negotiation, communication and responsibility are at the centre of a Sabbs’ day-to-day life.

What is a Faculty Representative or Liberation Officer?

These positions are voluntary and done alongside your degree (a bit like being on a club or society exec).  They aren’t a huge extra demand on the workload but deliver exactly the sorts of skills employers are looking for – there are few other roles at this Uni which have you representing students in top level meetings, campaigning for change and generally delivering for the people that elected you.

*by no means am I saying these are the only reasons why you should consider running - take a look at our elections minisite for plenty more!*

Is the elections process daunting?  Well it’s not a walk in the park but it’s not impossible if you approach it sensibly.  Remember that this year we’re offering basic campaign training to all candidates and with a bit of prep I know that anyone can win.

Do you have to have been involved in the Union to stand a chance?  Not at all (in fact often the reverse is true!).  The best people for the roles are, simply, students – each and every one of you has had or is having an experience as a Warwick student and that’s the only requirement we have.

Want to find out more?  Pop in for a chat with the current Sabbatical team – you have nothing to lose!

Chris

www.warwicksu.com/elections

In a matter of weeks we’ll be calling on you to elect your Officer team for the next academic year.  Doesn’t sound like a big deal?  Well you ain’t seen nothing yet!  Campus is about to go crazy with candidates covering campus in posters, lectures bombarded with shout-outs and kitchens toured like never before…

Before that though we’re going to need some candidates, and that’s where you come in.

Today we launch our Officer Elections minisite (suitably covered with this year’s elections mascot) giving you details on why you should consider running, what you can run for and why it all matters.  Take a note of the elections timeline and until you’ve read the job descriptions don’t rule out running – if some of your current officers' experiences are to go by, running could be the best decision you make.

Take a look and watch out for updates – if you want to pop in and talk about the process, learn more about any role or just get more information then remember that our doors are always open.

Prepare for a lot of orange,

Chris

democracy@warwicksu.com

Council meeting number 4 – what a meeting that was!  If I were to try and summarise it succinctly I think I’d go with – significant, long and exciting (I know, I know – I’m a democracy geek…).

I haven’t got long (workload just exploded) so apologies that this summary is a bit rushed:

Sabbatical Officer Role Changes

To be short – the proposal passed!  The Sabb Roles going forwards to the Officer Elections 2012 are:

President

Education

Democracy & Development

Welfare & Campaigns

Postgraduate

Societies

Sports

 The inclusion of a PG Officer is a big change in the Union and we hope a welcome one.  Full job descriptions and details of the elections process will go live soon at our rather snazzy looking elections website…

Part-Time Officer Role Changes

Again I’m pleased to say that the proposal passed.  This was phase one of the Democracy Review that the Democracy Review Working Group has been working on for a couple of months and is part of our move to make Union Democracy more simple, relevant and accessible.

The roles up for election are:

UG Arts

UG Social Sciences

UG Engineering and Experimental Sciences

UG Physics and Formal Sciences

Women’s Officer

Disabled Students Officer

LGBTUA+ Officer

Ethnic Minorities Officer

 Again, watch out for job descriptions shortly…

Proxy Voting

Our proposal here was about fixing what people weren’t happy about last time – the basics are that proxy votes now have to be submitted by the person who is giving their vote as opposed to the person who would hold it.  The amendments to the form that needs filling in removes (hopefully) the controversy from last time.

Living Wage

Here a proposed amendment was defeated.  Following a lot of discussion and a presentation on the Union’s finances it became clear that while the Union is still mandated to work towards the living wage (as outlined in Policy 712), it is simply not possible for that implementation to happen this year.

New policy: National Representation of UA+ Students

An uncontroversial policy, this mandates the delegates to NUS LGBT Conferences ‘to vote in favour of motions designed to include students who identify as asexual, queer, or other marginalised romantic/sexual orientations or gender identities’

New policy: Boycott Eden Springs

Here a motion passed to campaign for the University to cancel its contract with Eden Springs UK, Ltd. (a company which supplies water for water coolers).  I’ll post a link to the full motion when I can…

They’re your highlights – full minutes will be up over the next few days so watch this space.

So, what’s next in the world of your Democracy Officer?

• General Meeting – deadline for the submission of motions is Monday 23^rd 4pm
• Democracy Review phase 2 – looking at structure and decision-making process, how can we make Union Democracy more simple, accessible and relevant?
• Officer Elections 2012 – this big one.  Who will run?  Who will you vote for?  Why does it all matter? 

Exciting times ahead!

Ho ho hello!

Thought I'd do a quick blog post to let you know what happens in your Union over the holiday period.  The first thing to say I guess is that we're all still here!  Things don't shut down in Warwick SU just because most of the students have gone home.

Some of the things that we're working on this festive period:

- RANT week responses -

You ranted and you ranted in your hundreds.  To those that did, a big thank you, to those that still want to you can at www.warwicksu.com/rantweek.  It's taking some time to compile all the rants but watch out in term 2 when we'll update you on what we're doing about them!

- Relax Housing Campaign -

Team Welfare is working super hard on our 2 Housing Days which will take place early next term.  Remember the message: don't panic into signing any housing contracts now, it's still early and there's plenty of time.  If you rush you might get it wrong and end up in a horrible situation for a year.  Relax!

- Varsity -

Team Sport is gearing up for the 21st Varsity tournament as we take on the local 'Uni' Coventry and show them why we're the best University in the area.  Make sure you buy your T-shirt, learn some songs and join us for all the matches - your Uni needs you!

- Education Quality -

As £9k fees loom on the horizon, Team Education are working non-stop on how we work to get students the best experience possible for their money.  From contact hours to personal tutoring, facilities to course costs - there's plenty of lobbying to be done to make student life as good as it can be.

- Officer Elections 2012 -

And Team Democracy (woop!) are working on bringing you the biggest and the best Officer Elections Warwick has ever seen. It's our mission to get plenty of you running in the elections and all of you voting - watch this space, things are about to get very orange!

So there are some highlights of what's happening in your Union this festive period... 

On behalf of your Sabbatical Team 2011/12 it just leaves me to wish everyone a relaxing and fun-filled break!

See you in 2012!