On Monday the Union's Executive Committee voted on several key policies, including the decision to support the Mayor of London's rent freeze campaign as well as plans to hold a referendum on our NUS affiliation.
The Executive Committee makes the final decisions on policy implementation. The ideas discussed at this stage have previously been approved by your elected reps at our Activities Zone, Education Zone and Welfare and Community Zone meetings.
Support for a rent freeze in London
Our decision to publicly support the Mayor of London's London-wide, two-year rent freeze campaign, was driven by our determination to support students struggling with living costs. The rent-freeze campaign has gained publicity rapidly, with millions of Londoners affected by soaring rent prices, among other essential living costs. Find out more about how we can help you with living costs here.
Referendum on NUS membership
A referendum on the Union's NUS affiliation was proposed by Education Officer, Hamza Ahmed, which 73% of attendees supported. The referendum question, 'Should the Union continue to be affiliated with the National Union of Students UK (NUS UK)?’, will be included in a Leadership Race Open Meeting on Thursday 9 March - you are invited to attend this meeting.
RUMS Clubs and Societies
A policy to re-affiliate RUMS Clubs and Societies was passed by the Executive Committee. RUMS (Royal Free and University College Medical School) clubs and societies can now apply for re-affiliation if disaffiliated. Campaigners for the RUMS policy argue that medical students need RUMS-specific clubs and societies because medical students' have varied and busy timetables, making normal clubs and societies less accessible.
Sustainability training
Finally, the Committee ratified the inclusion of Sustainability training as a union policy. At present, there is scope for the training to be based on the Active Bystander model.
Do you have an idea for how to improve student life at UCL? You can submit it here.