Friday 15-12-2023 - 12:52

 

 

On the 5th December the second Union Assembly of the academic year took place, but quite differently than ever before. For the first time, Union Assembly operated in its new composition and the outcomes were fantastic.

 

 

Union Assembly was chaired by newly appointed Phoebe Teasdale and attended by Full Time Officers, Liberation & Campaign Officers, Sports Committee Members, Society League Champions, College JCR Presidents, Faculty Academic Representatives, the remaining Union Assembly delegates from the previous model, and some non-voting observers. First on the agenda was the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, and then we swiftly got into the juicier stuff.

Second on the agenda was the reports and updates from the Full Time Officers and Liberation & Campaign Officers, which gave an opportunity for Union Assembly to hold all officers to account. And hold to account they did! A plethora of questions were asked across a diverse range of officers, from scrutiny over communication methods, to eager questions about Extravs. Several Union Assembly members offered both criticism and praise, which is crucial to officer accountability.

Next up was a paper presented by Cerys, the Students’ Union President, on a proposed change to the Full-Time Officer team structure. This project had already involved consultation with Union Assembly members and other student leaders, but this meeting was the day of the big vote! The assembly voted to approve the changes to the Full Time Officer team and will have the opportunity to comment on byelaw specifics over the Michaelmas break before another vote takes place at the next meeting to formally approve the relevant bylaws. For more information you can watch a short video on Cerys’s Instagram explaining the changes. You can also read the proposal submitted to Union Assembly here.

Thomas, LGBTQ+ Officer, then presented some changes to their forum’s byelaw. After answering several questions from curious attendees, this was also passed through.

The final agenda item was presented by the entire Full Time Officer Team, with Josh, Vice President Welfare, speaking on behalf of the team. The paper concerned the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine and how the FTO team planned to respond. Attendees, after consultation with NUS’ guidance, spoke very respectfully on the matter and a collaborative discussion was had. After Union Assembly, the FTO team then wrote a statement that was published online.

The effective function of the new Union Assembly was really highlighted in the last agenda item. An item of ultimate sensitivity was brought, and a group of student leaders from a diverse range of community contexts could speak and represent their respective cohorts. Post these conversations, actions could be made that have the backing of a vast majority of students’ representatives, for the betterment of Lancaster’s student population as a whole. I am extremely happy with how the meeting went overall, and would like to give special mention to Phoebe, our chair, for an amazing job in her first run.

Just as some students attended in their capacity as observers, those who are not elected to Union Assembly are equally as welcome to join, observe and speak where appropriate. With that, please do get involved in such crucial democratic decision-making in the future. The next meeting takes place on 6th February at 3pm.