Amendment to Governing Document AGD1114 Amendment to UCLU Byelaws: Motion to re - democratise UCLU Proposer: Ben Towse Seconder: Michael Chessum Passed: Union Council, 20 March 2012 This Union Notes: 1. Union Council is much smaller this year than previously. 2. Union Council has been criticised this year as small and unrepresentative. 3. Only ten faculty reps exist this year, with none of the reserved positions for postgraduates. 4. Hall reps were not elected this year. This Union Believes: 1. Academic representation is core to its mission, including proper representation of all sectors of the student body. 2. Representation of students in halls is crucial as rents are rising and the privatisation of halls becomes increasingly plausible. 3. Union Council should be larger and more representative of the broad student body, especially since policy creation via forums has proven impractical. 4. UCLU should provide structures in which students in halls and faculties can organise democratically to campaign on issues of importance to them and hold legitimacy when they do so. 5. Electing Hall and Faculty Reps at forum meetings makes no sense and has been proven unfeasible. 6. Postgraduates constitute over 40% of the student body, and taught and research postgraduates have very distinct needs and concerns. This Union Resolves: 1. To reintroduce a full complement of hall and faculty reps. 2. To ensure that undergraduates and taught and research postgraduates are all represented academically. 3. To make Council broad and representative by including all faculty reps. 4. To achieve these resolutions by making the attached amendments to the Bye-Laws. Section 3 – Forums Amend: 10.c.iv. Officers within the Forum shall include 50 Faculty Reps (divided amongst the Faculties in accordance with the Bye-Laws on elections), Part-Time Students’ Officer, Mature Students’ Officer. Section 4 – Union Council Amend: 5. t. Faculty Reps (50, divided amongst the Faculties in accordance with the Bye-Laws on elections) 5. u. First Year Representatives (5) Amend: 10. Quorum shall be 25% plus one of elected members, with Sabbatical Officers not contributing to quoracy. Insert: 10.a. Union Council members who fail to attend 2 consecutive Council meetings without offering apologies shall be ignored in the calculation of quoracy until they resume attending. The Chair shall contact the officer to notify them within 1 working day of the second meeting. If the officer fails to attend a third consecutive meeting without offering apologies, the Chair shall notify Council and the Officer’s constituents. Section 8 - Union Officers Amend: First Year Representatives 51. The First Year Representatives shall: a. Be in their first year of undergraduate study at UCL. b. Be responsible for representing the needs of first year undergraduates to the Union. c. Seek to proactively improve the engagement of first year students in Union activities. Section 9 – Elections Amend: 11.d. Shall be elected in a UCLU election in the first term of the academic year that they are to hold office for. Amend: 12.a. Shall represent the interests of students within their Faculty to the Union, on Union Council, and to College. Amend: 12.d. Shall be elected in a UCLU election in the first term of the academic year that they are to hold office for. Delete: 12.e. The Faculty Representative receiving the highest number of votes in a Faculty Representative election shall represent that Faculty on Union Council. If this Faculty Representative does not wish to take up this role, the next highest scoring candidate will take up the role, and so on. Amend: 13. a. shall represent the interests of students of their status within their Faculty to the Union and College Amend: 14. All Faculties shall elect at least one Faculty Rep from each of the following student statuses, provided that each exists within the Faculty: a. Undergraduate (UG) b. Postgraduate Taught (PGT) c. Postgraduate Research (PGR) (including PhD and MRes students) Insert: 15. The remaining Faculty Reps shall be allocated on the following basis: a. The remaining Faculty Reps shall be divided amongst the Faculties in proportion to their student numbers b. Once allocated to faculties, these Faculty Reps shall be elected as UG, PGT or PGR in proportion to the make-up of their Faculty Insert: Section 15 – Faculty and Halls Assemblies 1. Faculty Assemblies and Halls Assemblies shall be open meetings to enable the students of a particular Faculty or Halls to: a. Organise and coordinate campaigning relating to their Faculty or Halls, b. Raise issues affecting them as a member of their Faculty or Halls, c. Ask questions of, and hear reports from, their Faculty Representative(s) or Halls Representative. 2. Faculty Representatives shall be responsible for organising and facilitating Faculty Assemblies, and shall ensure that a record is made of the discussions and action points. The Education and Campaigns Officer and the Education Officer shall help and advise Faculty Representatives in this task. 3. Halls Representatives shall be responsible for organising and facilitating Halls Assemblies, and shall ensure that a record is made of the discussions and action points. The Welfare and International Officer and the Community Officer shall help and advise Halls Representatives in this task. 4. A Faculty Assembly may be called by any Faculty Representative or by the Education and Campaigns Officer or the Education Officer. The Faculty Representatives in a particular faculty must call a Faculty Assembly within five working days of a request from at least 5 students of their Faculty. 5. A Halls Assembly may be called by any Halls Representative or by the Welfare and International Officer or the Community Officer. A Halls Representative must call a Halls Assembly within five working days of a request from at least 5 students from their Halls. 6. Faculty Assemblies may include all students within a Faculty, or alternatively issues affecting undergraduates, taught postgraduates and research postgraduates may be addressed in specific Faculty Assemblies for specific groups.