Union democracy reviewed at Council

The last Union Council of the year took place last Monday 14th May. The meeting, which lasted for three hours, included the Chair and Deputy Chair elections as well as heated discussions on Council proposals, many of which were passed.

The Council elections resulted in third year Law and Sociology student Erin Davies gaining the position of Chair of Council, the first female to secure the position. First- year PPE student Oliver Rice obtained the position of Deputy Chair of Council.

SU Democracy Officer Chris Luck commented on the Student Union’s website: “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”. He also spoke of his confidence in the two winners.

Speaking to the _Boar_, Davies commented: “I’m absolutely ecstatic! I think it’s brilliant that next year we have 3 female sabbs and the first ever female chair of council, it’s nice to see more girls getting involved in student politics and being recognised as valuable members to the team.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Cosmo to fulfill the democracy review promise to make council simple, accessible and relevant – if I have my way there’ll be a lot more impartial orange around next year!!”

The ‘Democracy Review Phase Two’ resulted in several changes. The Union Council will now be renamed the Student Council, and Sports, Societies, Campaigns and Postgraduates will all have dedicated seats in the Council.

The ‘Democracy Review Phase Three’ included an examination of every Union policy and, wherever possible, qualifying the policies with additional content or job descriptions. The proposed Student Trustees were ratified and the Contract Workers’ Rights was amended and passed.

The full changes proposed in the review, though not fully discussed at council, included ensuring that more than two people are required to propose a suggestion, in order to guarantee relevance to the majority of the student body.

Other additions were intended at making the democratic process easier and more accessible for students. Whilst all of the proposals could not be discussed at the Council, both Phase Two and Three were passed unanimously.

A proposal to support the National Union of Students’ (NUS) National Demonstration by sending a delegate to attend the demonstration in the autumn of next year was also passed.

Furthermore a proposal on ‘The Future of Bath Place’ was met with approval. The Council resolved to mandate the Sabbatical Officers to lobby the University to reconsider Bath Place as a site for the Leamington Learning Space, “given the extensive existing student involvement and association with Bath Place and the potential for more valuable community engagement in the future”.

In addition they resolved to increase awareness about the location’s current circumstances.

The policy on ‘Financially Supporting and Advising Pregnant Students’ provoked disagreement amongst the Council’s attendees. Both Development Officer George Whitworth and Societies Officer Matt Rogers spoke out against the pregnancy policy.

Rogers and Whitworth disagreed with the policy entailing part of the hardship fund, which is to help poorer students, to be ring-fenced for female students who need to balance the demands of a family and a degree.

Rogers and Whitworth argued the case on the grounds that the hardship was rarely used, and that ring fencing a small amount would risk reducing the amount available to those who need it in other circumstances.

During the debate Welfare Officer Izzy John, who expressed her support for it, commented on the fact that the two people to speak out against the motion were men.

At the end of the debate Rogers responded that he felt his opinion was valid regardless of his sex, given that the issue was finance related. He also deplored what he described as the use of sexist stereotypes to stifle the debate.

Further controversy surrounded the debate when one councillor put forward and amendment to ‘Believes 2’ of the motion, (number 645), which states that the Union supports the right of women to have an abortion.

Third year PPE student Binita Mehta also made a speech on the issue, and the vote that followed resulted in failure for the proposed amendment.

SU President Leo Boe also put forward emergency business on nightclub Amara’s recent procurement of a sexual entertainment licence. Boe stated that he didn’t want female students at Warwick, who may socialise or live near the club, to be stigmatised by the “disgusting people coming out of that building”.

Speaking against the motion Mehta commented that the issue was one of “personal choice”, and was irritated by one councillor’s comparison of their activities to sex trafficking, arguing that the two could not be compared. Boe responded that nothing justified the objectification of women’s bodies.

The ‘Opposition to Sexual Entertainment Venues’ (SEVs) resolution was passed. The resolutions stated that: the Welfare Officer was to “put pressure on the District Council to have a zero tolerance approach to SEVs by joining the campaign”.

In addition it was resolved that the SU President and Women’s Campaigns Officer would publicise the campaign to students living in Leamington.

The meeting ended with Boe acknowledging that criticisms had been leveled at the incoming Exec team for their political positions. However Boe commented that he felt it was important for the incoming team to accept that they should keep their political views separate from their professional responsibilities.

He noted that the outgoing Sabbatical officers had never looked at anything through a “party political lens”.