BREAKING: All motions pass in Spring 2024 All Student Vote

All five motions proposed as part of the Warwick Students’ Union (SU) Spring 2024 All Student Vote (ASV) have passed. These include motions to “better support students with part-time jobs”, “Guarantee the Right to Food for the Warwick Community”, and to “Protect ‘Angels’ in Pop!”.

In total, there were 662 voters who cast 3045 votes cumulatively. The number of voters in last term’s ASV was over double this number; 1630 students voted in the Autumn 2023 ASV casting a total of 14054 votes.

The first four of the motions passed were campaigned for by ‘Empower Warwick’, a left-wing student activist organisation. They used their Instagram platform to explain what the motions were and why they were proposed. In addition to this, they explained what the ASV is and why they believed students should exercise their right to vote.

The first of the motions campaigned for by Empower Warwick, which received the most votes, was for the “SU to better support students with part-time jobs”. This received 640 votes, with 564 students voting for, 40 voting against, and 36 abstaining. The document for this motion stated that 69% of students are “forced” to work as per data from the National Union of Students (NUS). It asked the SU to support these students, ensuring that all SU staff have “a good standard of working conditions and fair pay”.

Empower Warwick said: “We voted to support students working part-time, because we recognised that the University and this government have created conditions where students need to work part-time, yet at the same time failed to support them.”

There were 520 students that voted in favour of Warwick SU providing more accessible transport. One element of this motion was that it called for subsidised modes of transport for those who cannot afford to commute. Only 27 people voted against this motion, with 44 abstaining.

The third motion that passed was for the SU “to support the return of cash on campus”. This motion was the one that received the most votes that were not in favour of its passage. 100 voted against and 75 abstained. Ultimately, it still passed, with 406 voting in favour. It mandates that the SU “retains a commitment to offering cash payment at all SU outlets”.

We also voted to make our whole food system more sustainable and fair

Empower Warwick

The motion ‘Warwick Food for All’ passed with 485 votes. With only 52 votes against, and 65 abstaining, it is a motion that aims to “guarantee the right to food for the Warwick Community”. This term has seen free breakfasts being offered in the SU building’s Green Room, and the motion called for this to become a “long-term” fixture at Warwick. It also asked for a University-wide food bank to help students cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

This motion follows on from last term’s ASV, where a motion mandating that all SU-owned outlets transition to a completely plant-based menu passed.

Empower Warwick spoke on the final motion that they supported, telling The Boar: “We also continued our fight for a more sustainable and fair campus. After voting for a plant-based campus, we also voted to make our whole food system more sustainable and fair.”

Obviously I’m very pleased the motion has passed as the tradition of ending Pop! with ‘Angels’ means a lot to me, and many others it seems

Harry Williams, Social Secretary of Mixed Netball Society

The final motion passed in this term’s ASV was to protect ‘Angels’ in Pop!. This motion had 344 students vote for, 85 against, and 202 abstain, making it the motion that received the most abstentions.

It has been tradition for Pop! to end with the playing of ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams. However, last term this was no longer the case. Numerous societies came together and dressed as angels for their Week 10 circles resulting in the song being played again at the end of the night.

This idea for societies to use the theme of angels was started by Harry Williams, Social Secretary of Mixed Netball Society.

Harry supported this motion, telling The Boar: “Obviously I’m very pleased the motion has passed as the tradition of ending Pop! with ‘Angels’ means a lot to me, and many others it seems.”

He added: “I do find it quite funny that something as random and ridiculous as a specific song not being played at the end of a club night has brought so many people together, but then I also think it’s quite beautiful. There are friends I rarely see anymore as they graduated, and some of my last memories of them are standing in a big circle at the end of Pop! singing ‘Angels’.”

A summary of all five of the motions can be read here.