Your Guide To Your SUM Download the Ideas at thestudentsunion.co.uk/sum Join in the conversation
#TheSUatUWESUM
The Students’ Union at UWE Welcome to The Students’ Union Meeting. This booklet will tell you everything about The SUM this year and what to expect. It’s an amazing opportunity to make positive changes to your Students’ Union. If you have an Idea about something you’d like to see happen you can submit it and attend The SUM where it can be made policy and be acted upon. In previous years the Ideas put forward at The SUM have resulted in The Students’ Union adopting the Bristol Pound at our outlets, adding more Officer positions to the union executive, banning pay day lenders from advertising on campus and installing water fountains in all spaces controlled by The Students’ Union.
How will The SUM happen? 18:00 – Registration will start. We’ll scan in your Student ID card on the way in to 2B025 so that we have a record of who has attended (so remember to bring your student card to the meeting!) 18:30 – The meeting will start once we reach the minimum number of students we need to attend The SUM for the Ideas to be passed. According to our constitution, we must have at least 150 students in attendance for the meeting to happen.
The Chair of Meetings will start the meeting. This will be Shaun Lomax who was elected on 30th October. The full meeting agenda will be available from thestudentsunion.co.uk/sum on 10 November.
The meeting schedule: 1. Welcome and Introduction from The Students’ Union President 2. Agree the minutes (record of notes) from last years’ SUM 3. Receive a report from the board of Trustees who run the union and approve any new members 4. Receive a report of the annual financial accounts of the Union from an elected Officer 5. Vote to approve external affiliations – companies The Students’ Union at UWE signs up to like NUS and BUCS. 6. To hear which policies have expired and are no longer policies of The Students’ Union at UWE. 7. The Ideas will be debated.
How was the order of Ideas decided? The Ideas will go in alphabetical order so that attendees are aware of how the meeting will run beforehand.
What’s an Idea?
How are they debated?
Ideas are issues that are discussed at Student Council or The Students’ Union Meeting which, if successfully passed, can set policy of The Students’ Union.
Here is how the ideas are debated: 1. 1st Speaker for (Idea Holder) 2. 1st Speaker against 3. 2nd Speaker for 4. 2nd Speaker against 5. 1st Summary of idea by Idea Holder
Motions are divided in to the following sections: This Students’ Union Knows These are facts which are relevant to the topic of the Idea The Students’ Union Believes These are opinions that the Idea Holder believes to be true The Students’ Union Will These are the actions the Idea Holder wants to see take place to make change The Students’ Union Chooses This is which Officer the Idea Holder wants to take responsibility for the Idea
Each Idea has an Idea Holder. The Idea Holder is the student who came up with the Idea.
There may be more rounds of speaking if there is a need.
Meeting action At any point, any member of the union can call a meeting action (other than during a vote, unless the meeting action relates to the conduct of that vote) and shall be discussed immediately in accordance with the order of debate. Meeting actions may be proposed as follows: 1. That the chairperson takes a further round of speeches 2. That the chairperson moves straight to the vote (and there are no more speeches for or against) 3. That the meeting be adjourned (remember you must have reasonable grounds for this) 4. That the vote be by secret ballot 5. That the vote be recounted 6. To vote on different parts of a proposal separately
STUDENTS’ UNION MEETING VOTING CARD
LOST
When discussing an Idea, you can also suggest a change to be made. However, please remember that these should not alter the scope of the Idea, and that the chair of meetings has the final ruling on whether or not to accept a change.
VOTE If you would like help understanding procedure please display this card and we will come and help you.
7. Not to take a vote on the issue under discussion 8. That the meeting has no confidence in the chairperson. (In which case the chairperson shall vacate the chair and shall be afforded the opportunity to speak against the procedural motion).
Hold your vote card up this way to vote
Full meeting rules can be found in the constitution at thestudentsunion.co.uk/union/constitution *Students can opt out of The Students’ Union membership by visiting thestudentsunion.co.uk *Students can opt out of the union by writing to the General Manager of The Students’ Union.
LOST If you would like help understanding procedure please display this card and we will come and help you.
VOTE
>> Every UWE student is by default a member of The Students’ Union and therefore can vote at The SUM* >> Each member has one vote >> Staff present cannot vote >> You can vote by holding up your vote card which you are given on the way in
STUDENTS’ UNION MEETING VOTING CARD
Voting
Hold your vote card up this way if you need assistance with the procedures and staff will come and help you
THE IDEA SUBMISSION PROCESS
After The SUM Any Ideas passed at The SUM will become policy of The Students’ Union at UWE for 3 years. At any time you can see an update on each policy at thestudentsunion.co.uk/policies You are invited to come and join us for post-SUM Drinks at The Students’ Union Bar at Frenchay from 21:00 where you can chat about what went on at The SUM. There will be live entertainment as well as drinks offers.
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You have an Idea about something you want to change at the University or The Students’ Union, or there is a something you want The Students’ Union to campaign on.
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The Students’ Union at UWE is committed to our core value of inclusivity and will take a zero tolerance approach to language or behaviour that is racist, sexist, homophobic, threatening or violent, that could cause offence to a student with a disability as well as any other student that feels harassed, bullied or discriminated against. The chair of meetings reserves the right to ask any member to leave the meeting should they be in conflict with this policy. Should you feel anyone is in contravention of this policy please report to a member of staff.
At the SUM you or someone on your behalf will need to put forward a case as to why it should become The Students’ Union policy.
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The Students’ Union at UWE Safer Spaces Policy
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Once the Chair decides to close the discussion the students in attendance will be able to vote for or against your Idea.
If more than half of the students in attendance vote for your Idea it will become The Students’ Union policy for three years.
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There may be opposition to your idea in which case fellow students can argue why the Idea shouldn’t become The Students’ Union policy
There will also be an opportunity for fellow students to suggest amendments to your Idea which can either be accepted by you or put to a vote.
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You write the Idea down on an online submission form which once completed will become an item for discussion at the SUM.
The Officer you decided to be responsible for the Idea will then work to make it happen.
Students will then be able to check on the progress of the Idea through contacting the Officer responsible or from checking on the policies page of The Students’ Union website.
Your essential questions answered Q. I want to see The SUM, but I can’t make it. What do I do? A. You can watch The SUM live online and get involved by tweeting questions and opinion to @TheSUatUWEand by using the hashtag #TheSUatUWESUM. There will also be photographs available on The Students’ Union at UWE Flickr afterwards and videos made too.
Q. How do I submit an Idea? A. All the Idea submissions for The SUM are completed online through thestudentsunion.co.uk/sum The deadline for Ideas is Sunday 1 November at 23:59. If you miss this you can always submit one for Student Council – email Lauren Conen vpeducation@uwe. ac.uk to submit one or for any questions.
Q. Can I cast a vote without attending the meeting? A. Unfortunately not. We don’t currently have the technology for proxy voting, but is certainly something we aim to do in future.
Q. Do you provide transport? A. We’ve chosen a location that is easily accessible via public transport on the basis that most students should find it easy to get there. If you have any concerns about getting to The SUM then email vpeducation@uwe.ac.uk
Q. I want to put an Idea through but I can’t attend, what do I do? A. You can still submit an Idea without being there but your seconder must speak for the Idea on your behalf. Q. How long is The SUM? A. We’ll aim to get through all the Ideas in a timely manner. The length of the meeting depends on how long these take to be discussed, but we’ll aim to finish by 9pm.. Q. I’m a Student Rep, do I get paid for attending The SUM? A. You’ll be attending The SUM as a student yourself, rather than as a representative, so you won’t be paid for attending this meeting.
Q. If I have a disability, can I request support? A. Of course, please email Lauren Conen vpeducation@uwe.ac.uk with at least five working days’ notice so we can arrange something for you. Q. Can I bring someone who is not a UWE Student? A. The SUM is a meeting only for UWE Students. Any queries please email vpeducation@uwe.ac.uk. Remember, anyone can watch live online.
Q. Can I submit questions for the elected Officers in advance? A. Yes, you can. Please send any questions to Lauren Conen vpeducation@uwe.ac.uk at least five working days before the meeting. Q. Will the elected Officer reports be available online afterwards? A. Yes, they will be made available for download at thestudentsunion.co.uk/sum Q. What happens if we lose the minimum amount of students needed for the meeting? A. If at any point we have less than 150 students we must stop the meeting. If this happens then any Ideas left to be debated will be deferred to the next Student Council meeting, which is in Febuary. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you have any other questions about The SUM please get in touch with Lauren Conen (vpeducation@uwe.ac.uk)
Jargon Buster SUM Students’ Union Meeting Amendment A change or alteration made to part of a motion Chair The student elected to be in charge of the meeting Constitution The self-set rules the union must abide by Minutes A record of the notes from the meeting
If you have any questions please ask a member of staff wearing a Students’ Union T-shirt. Enjoy The SUM!
THE STUDENTS’ UNION
ELECTIONS 2016 THINK YOU WOULD BE GOOD AT REPRESENTING 30,000 STUDENTS?
NOMINATIONS OPEN
3 FEBRUARY NOMINATIONS CLOSE 26 FEBRUARY
VOTING 6–12 MARCH
LIKE WHAT YOU’VE HEARD TODAY; THINK YOU COULD DO BETTER? YOU COULD BE STOOD HERE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR 5 FULL-TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE THESTUDENTSUNION.CO.UK/ELECTIONS
AFTER THE SUM You are invited to come and join us for postSUM drinks at The Students’ Union Bar at Frenchay from 21:00 where you can chat about what went on at The SUM. There will be live entertainment as well as drinks offers.