Annual General Meeting fail

There was another shockingly low turn-out for the Union’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Friday, which was less of a “Big Debate” and more of a “Big Embarrassment”, only being able to attract 40 attendees and failing to reach quorum.

For any motions to be passed at the AGM in order to become Union policy, the meeting must become quorate – where a minimum of 101 must attend.

Questions were fielded to the panel over why the cost of entry to Top-B has been increased to £2 from last year’s cost of £1. Mike Pidgeon, Communications Officer, said that the event in its previous form did not make enough money and that the Union needed more cash to pay for the student services it offers. The choice, he suggested, was to either keep entry to the event at £2 entry, or to put an end to the drink promotions (or at least increase their prices).

Some members of the small audience also raised a few concerns on whether the cheap drinks at Top B encouraged too much drinking. Andy Glyde was keen to counter these claims, by stressing that students are adults and that it is ultimately the choice of every student if they want to drink or not. Pidge added that the Union had professional first aid staff in case anything goes wrong.

Students’ Union President, Stuart “Tommo” Thomson, opened with a speech to the small AGM audience. Quoting the Boar, Thomson said that this year was a “Hollywood blockbuster”, adding that there were a lot of challenges this year for the Union, mainly due to the rebuild.

The first issue to be debated was a motion for a lecture-free Freshers’ week, which would be joined with the international students’ ‘Orientation Week’. Tommo spoke in favour of the motion. He said that ‘intro08’, the event organised by the University for Freshers, was a complete failure since most Freshers did not have the time to attend them as they had to meet academic commitments. This, he said, will also reduce segregation between home and international students. There will however be introductory lectures during the Week 0, this will allow departments to be able to have a full first week of teaching in week 1.

Andy Glyde, the Governance and Finance Officer, positioned himself against the motion for a lecture-free Freshers’ Week. He argued that having an extra week will mean that Freshers will have to pay an extra week of rent, further stating that previously the Union has had this policy for many years and that nothing happened.

Campaigns Formal Coordinator, Michael Jones, replied to Glyde’s argument by drawing on the analogy with recycling in halls of residence, which the Union was campaigning for many years but which the University only agreed to last year.

The next motion to be debated was one to lobby the University to ensure that all Freshers live on Campus. The real crux of this motion is that it would prioritise first years over third and second years. Steph Jones, the Welfare Officer, spoke in favour of the motion, claiming that there are currently 90 – (down from 130 last year) – first years living off campus in Liberty Park and that 140 first years were sharing a room in Westwood. First year students, she argued, do not know Coventry or Leamington and can feel isolated if they are not on

campus.

Some raised the point that first years should not be prioritised over students with disabilities and students who spent a year abroad. The motion was amended to make it clear that students with “specific needs” will always have priority. The Welfare Officer said that the aim of the motion was to make more rooms on campus available to Freshers instead of giving them to 3rd and 4th years who choose to live on campus by convenience rather than because they need to. She also said that the University has plans to build a new hall of residence behind Rootes. The motion was passed unanimously.

Andy Glyde than made a presentation about the finances of the Union. He announced that the Union had made a deficit of £299k but that this was better than the budgeted loss of £340k. He expects that the Union will have a deficit of £719k this year due to the rebuilding work. However, he does predict that next year the Union will make a profit. The motions passed at the AGM will now go on to the Union Council, who will decide if they want to pass these or not.