Catch Up - stuff thats happened '07

Ok so as i've previously mentioned, i wasn't hugely efficient at blogging last year but that obviously doesn't mean that i haven't done anything - it was because i was so hard at work that i just couldn't fit in the time for all the blogging...or something like that!

We have a new Constitution
The new constitution was passed without amendments by the University Board of Governors. We are now in the process of a phased implimentation of the new constitution. It is planned that whatever can be adopted easily straight away will be and stuff that requires a lot of planning or starting particular projects again will either be started later in the year or held back until the new academic year begins.

There is a Promotions Team
It has taken a while to set up succesfully but we now have strong leadership within the team and it is going from strength to strength. The job of the promotions team is primarily to promote Union clubnights, although than can be used far more widely across the whole o the Union. There is always a big group of them at Peachy and Pleasuredome and they are making a ral difference to the atmosphere on the night. If you think that you might be intersted in promotions then please email me obsu.cdc@brookes.ac.uk

Union Council voted to boycott the BNP
Union Council decided unanimously to boycott the 'debate' being held at the Oxford Union to which the leader of the BNP as well as holocaust denier David Irving were invited. The event was billed as an attempt to explore the limits of free speech, with the student leaders of the Oxford Union (not to be confused with Oxford University Students' Union) reassuring everyone not to worry about the type of people they had invited because they would 'crush them in debate'. The decision to boycott the event and request that it be cancelled was chiefly taken on the grounds of student safety. It was felt that because of the well documented violent tendencies of some followers of the BNP that any event involving the leader of that party was likely to attract dangerous people. In the end the were large demonstrations against the event but nobody was injured, although as expected the event made national news giving the BNP the publicity that it wanted. Hopefully the Oxford Union has learnt something from this experience and won't be as naive in the future.

Facebook Policy passed
Not just Facebook actually - the policy concerns raising awareness among students about how private information or pictures that they post on sites such as facebook, myspace etc really are. With reported cases of bullying and intimidation as well as disciplinaries resulting from information people have posted/viewed on social networking sites. Publicity advertising the potential hazards of public social networking sites will be going out during this semester.

Pullens Lane Policy renewed
The old policy mandating the Union to lobby for improved lighting on the Pullens Lane lapsed this year and so a new policy was passed reaffirming the Unions commitment to promoting student safety.

Attended NUS Extraordinary Conference
The Union took 10 delegates to the NUS Extraordinary Conference in Leicester on the 4th December. The event was to debate the changes proposed in the Governance Review commisioned by NUS, similar to our own review which looked at the constitution. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the proposed changes to how NUS is structured and run. For the proposals to be formally adopted it has to be passed at 2 conferences and the NUS Annual conference will be the second hearing an will be held early this year. If you are interested in going to NUS conferences then you need to stand for election to become and NUS Delegate. The OBSU Elections 2008 start in week2 so keep your eyes open.

There was other stuff going on, as well as a vast list of achievements by all the Officers but these are just some of the highlights for me!

New Year's Resolution

I have made an important resolution for the new year and that is...to blog!
My effort at blogging last year couldn't be described as anything other than laughable. I hope you will be pleased to hear that i am a reformed character - i have even set aside time in my diary every week specifically protected for blogging purposes, so watch this space.

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