Union’s fate concerns us all

The _Boar_ has often had a fraught relationship with the Student’s Union. However, perhaps now the time has come for us to rally round and help one another.

The Union is in debt. Scary debt. Enough to make it lucky that it has not closed yet. And it has to make up £80,000 by August.

The upshot of this difficult financial situation is that the Union is going to have to make cuts to services. The Union’s Board of Trustees is saying they intend to take “decisive action” to address the alarming amount of debt it is in.

There may be those who dislike the Union and believe it has gone adrift from its original remit, that is, representing the students. And they may well be right. In the recent years, it is as if the Union is selling a set of products and services instead of representing us as students.

This, combined with the Union’s dire communication during the delays to the rebuild, on top of the new less-than brilliant Copper Rooms has damaged the relationship with the SU and those it is supposed to represent.

However, let us have a look at what it would be like if there was no Union. There would be no societies. That means no sports teams, no drama societies, no Nightline, and most importantly, no Boar!

We would have no voice to stand up for the students against the University. Currently, we have a team dedicated to the welfare of students and someone to support us if we have any academic issues. The Union is also there to help us with the difficulties we may face with housing and accommodation.

There would be no place to have a quick drink or a bite to eat, apart from the Rootes Social Building and the Library Cafe. And without competition from the Union, the University could raise prices as high as they wished as there would not be anywhere else to go.

For the Union to survive, it requires help from every one of its members. Look past the corporate facade and understand why our Students’ Union exists.

The referendum last week was a crucial part in the running of it. It was your chance to ensure it represents your views, yet somehow we decided to both maintain and repeal sponsorship bans. It does not seem like we understand how the Union works and why it exists.

If you value the Union’s service, get involved to help improve it. The sabbaticals and staff are here to help you, and are always open to your suggestions.

So criticise the Union. Goodness, it sometimes needs to be criticised. But we need to ask ourselves if university life would be better off without it. This publication thinks not. For all its foibles, the Student’s Union _is_ the students. We need to preserve it in order to maintain the Warwick students’ voice on campus.