In which Nickers closes the term with difficult decisions but optimism for the time ahead

With illness and conferences it’s been an odd few weeks – I’m working on the STADIA report at the moment and you’ll see that in a separate Blog. This covers the non-Conference work I’ve been doing, and I should really start with Student Council.

Student Council was eventful – thanks and praise should go out to Emily Beardsmore, the newly instated Chair, for facing a challenging meeting with efficient and decisive guidance. The call to censure Dave Lewis fell dramatically (10 votes against censure, 4 votes for), and I’m very glad it did – Dave works immensely hard and he is always centred on the members, not any personal sense of grandeur or importance. It’s just a shame this failed attempt didn’t get reported anywhere because it’s a real boost to the President’s popularity and the backing of Council signifies the backing of everyday students. All three of the proposed motions I spoke for passed without any opposition, so particularly the Governance work that the Union’s been doing can go ahead now. This is very exciting indeed; I’m hoping to share some of our practice with other Union’s in the area through SEANUS (next meeting 15th December) and get tips for the constitution and regulation review.

After a few days away (2 days sick, at LGBT Conference over the weekend for SEANUS and then at STADIA for a further three days) I returned to sort out my hundreds of e-mails. I attended the Nightline social which was really nice and have been planning out the events for next term. Highlights include, of course, the Volunteers party, a week of supporting student activities, even more RU Ready Training and RAGS week during week 6 (this looks like it’ll be fantastic – I don’t want to spoil any surprises but the committee are already working very hard on it).

One of the nicest things that has happened in the last few weeks was the chance for Dave and I to chat to a couple of guys in Mondial over our lunch break about the Union, 3Sixty and our plans. We really don’t get enough time to do this, and I certainly left it feeling glad to have had the opportunity to chat to some ‘grassroots’ students instead of answering e-mails. More of this next term I hope…

There have been very serious issues with the RUSU Forums and difficult decisions have been made. This is a very unpleasant business and I hope that students are understanding about the situation.

The potential closure of Sociology has led to a swift response from the Executive – I’ve been getting people to sign our petition as the first stage of the opposition campaign. If you haven’t signed it I really hope that you do so – it’s one of several available at Reception.

My STADIA report will appear shortly, but for now I’ll leave you with best wishes for a happy and restful break and an expectation of great things for next term.

Nickers x