Xiaohongshu
back to Democracy Review
Our current structures:
The Students' Union is a registered Charity and has a Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees ensures the Union has the necessary financial and structural stability to carry out its aims effectively. The Board of Trustees makes major decisions on legal and financial issues and ensures that the Union is delivering on the political policy set by its democratic bodies.
The Union operates under our Memorandum & Articles of Association. This sets out the powers and responsibilities of the Trustees but also notes things like the quoracy (minimum level required for a meeting to be valid) for all student meetings.
The Bye Laws of the organisation outline the more detailed structures of the Union's processes.
Why do we need a Democracy Review:
There were three main reasons why we've launched a Democracy Review this year.
1. Low engagement:
We have a history of inquorate General Assemblies (our last quorate All Student Meeting was in 2011) and low voter turnout in elections and referenda. In short, we have a large and diverse student population which aren't adequately involved in shaping the Union's policies.
2. Democracy & Governance Review:
In 2016 the Union began a review which had hoped to cover mass democratic engagement but instead prioritised the student officer portfolios and changes to the Board of Trustees.
3. Our Strategic Plan:
The Union's Strategic Plan 125 and Beyond explicitly states: “We need to include student decision making in our day-to-day work and at all levels of their Union. We need to offer effective mass democratic events throughout the year that help us remain relevant and adaptable to the changing needs of our members…We will create an online space for our students to share their ideas for change, enabling the membership to discuss, vote and inform Union Council on the way they want to see our services and policies change.”
What are the main issues
As part of the Democracy Review a group of student leaders and staff at the Union worked to summarise some of the main issues facing the Union.
- Lack of awareness of Union's existence and relevance
- Difficult for students to understand our structures and access information
- Existing policy is not relevant/students don't think what the Union discuses is important to them
- Not much variety in students who submit motions and agenda items
- Low turnout in our elections (ranges between 7-16% voter turnout)
- Not much debate at Council or other student meetings
- Duplicative policy
- Not many advertised opportunities to collaborate on things outside
- Union Councillors not engaged in meaningful debates
- Lack of accountability and follow through on policy and manifesto promises
- Lack of transparency
- Quoracy too high for all student meetings
- Less active student media