Debating Society Constitution Amendment Referendum - January 2026

Summary of proposed changes

• Removes mandatory biweekly committee meetings & makes them "as needed"
• Removes that the President shall ensure the constitution is upheld to its exact word (because some things were subjective & have been argued over) & instead says the President shall ensure the spirit of the constitution is upheld & that SU requirements are met to the exact word
• Removes that the Treasurer must maintain a record of the treasury status so they can give comm reports upon request & replaces it with the Treasurer must maintain awareness of the status of the treasury to give immediate general status updates and, if requested, a detailed report.
• Removes that the welfare officer is responsible for handling welfare incidents at external events, and replaces it with the welfare officer is responsible for handling welfare incidents, particularly those arising during official society events or activities, but can also request help from the President if needed
• Removes that the VP chairs the committee in the President's absence and makes it so that the Treasurer replaces the President
• Makes the "Officers of Debating" and "Directors of Debating" into Training Officers (what we've called them for the last what must be 5+ years)
• Removes Officers of the Mace, their role is obsolete (they existed to help run Monday night debates and organize Foundation Dinner, but VP organizes Monday night debates with help from Conveners & committee and Foundation Dinner is run by VP, Social Sec, and Secretary if needed
• It previously had several different types of conveners that each do a specific competition, but we now have 1 team of conveners that work together to do all competitions
• Removes first-year representative and Tech Officer (we found both roles very unnecessary last year)
• Gives the secretary responsibility for answering emails and helping the social secretary as needed
• Removes that wine be handed out at public debate events, we wouldn't even be allowed to do that because we host them in UCL rooms
• Removes day of the week specifications like "Thursday trainings" and "Monday night events" to allow for flexible scheduling
• Moves the Foundation Dinner into Core Activities because it is tradition.
• Notes Training Officers and Convenors may have one person who bears more responsibility.
• Requests more regular scheduling for socials (every 2 months) and public events (every month).
• Notes Training Officers should allocate competition slots in an equitable manner. 

Download current constitution

Download proposed constitution