New Constitution

The Beginning of a new era...
For year and years and years and years everybody involved in the running or democracy at the SU has run away screaming when the word constitution has been mentioned.

Let me explain why...
It is because the current constitution is longer than the constitution of the USA!

A constitution should be a governing document that clearly and simply details the principles behind how an organisation works. However the mammoth document hanging over the heads of everybody at OBSU is so detailed that it allows for absolutely no flexibility and insists on mind numbing beaurocracy instead of allowing for efficiency.

We thought we ought to change it and that is exactly what we have done!

It has taken the best part of nine months but we are in the final stages of agreeing a brand new constitution of just 13 pages of guiding principles. This is extremely exciting as the constitution has been a barrier to student participation in Union democracy and has also made change and progress very difficult in the past.

We are undertaking some more student consultation on the finished article very shortly and the final challenge is to get 150 students at the Annual General Meeting on the 11th October to vote to adopt the new constitution. Sounds simple, but the SU has only enjoyed one quorate meeting in the last 3 yrs so we'll see!

Any questions about this or any other issue email me on obsu.cdc@brookes.ac.uk

University Redevelopment

University Masterplan 'Space to Think'
The Students' Union continues to play and important part in the University's masterplannig process which will, over the next 10-15yrs transform the appearance of all Oxford Brookes campuses. As one of the lead officers involved i continue to play a key part in representing student opinion as the process continues.

The 'Space to Think' project represents a massive investment by Brookes Uni. The project involves the complete redesign of existing university sites and campuses to ensure that students continue to receive a high quality education in buildings that are fit for purpose.

I think we can agree that many of the current buildings are less than ideal. There is a massive backlog of maintenance for many of these buildings and this is one of the reasons that the University decided that it makes more sense to start again than to continue struggling to maintain buildings that really aren't all that good anyway!

So, the redevelopment is happening and it's really important that the Students' Union ensures that the student voice is represented during this process because it will be students that suffer if the buildings are not up to scratch.

Understandably the biggest concern that students over the next few years are going to have is the disruption to their university experience. It is true also that some students are unlikely to experience many of the benefits that students further down the line will. With these thoughts in mind it is important to remember that the reputation of the university that awarded you your degree is can be just as important as the degree itself. Brookes has built up a very good reputation and is consistently named as one of the top new universities in the country. This good reputation can only continue if Brookes ensures that its lecturers have the kind of world class facilities they need to enable students to fulfil there potential. As a graduate of Brookes i want my degree to mean as much in 30 years time as it does today. This is why i fully support the 'Space to Think' project and why the Students' Union and Brookes are working very closely together to minimise the impact of the redevelopment on the university experience.

For more information check out the Brookes website

Any questions about this or any other subject email me obsu.cdc@brookes.ac.uk