Officer Blogs

Presidential Report from NUS Conference 2008

I’ve been meaning to write my blog for quite a while but something has always gotten in the way of it. Now I’m bedridden by some horrible bug I’ve picked up at NUS Conference so I have a bit of time on my hands….so here goes.

Where to start? Well, let me begin with my most recent presidential adventures. The 1st to the 3rd of April saw me leading the York delegates over the Pennines to sunny Blackpool for the NUS Annual Conference.

I went to Annual Conference last year and didn’t dare to speak in front of the near 2000 delegates from all over the country. Conference can be a very intimidating place especially with all the factions bidding for your votes, leaflets being thrust in your face, shouting, booing and cheering.

However, this year was a very different affair. I am proud to say that YUSU had two motions passes at NUS Conference, one regarding ethical investment and another regarding responsible drinking and Carnage UK. Both had massive support from conference floor with over 95% of delegates voting in favour of the motions. This is no mean feat; even the most harmless motions usually seem to provoke massive debate at conference!

For many other unions having motions passed is really not a big deal. But here at York this is the first time we have submitted motions, taken part in compositing, spoken and lobbied for motions and had them passed. Back in November when we held our referendum on NUS Affiliation it was clear that both sides of the debate wanted to shape, direct and change our national union. And this is the first step in doing so. Sadly the governance review failed to pass, just 13 votes short of the 2/3rds majority. This is a clear instruction for change for the membership, but also a clear instruction for better consultation. But I believe NUS not only should change but needs to change and most definitely will change.

Finally, the participation of our delegates is not without mention. This year our delegate election process received a massive turnout – from just over 100 votes last year to well over 1000 this year. And your delegates most certainly made excellent use of their mandate. Our delegates followed policy set by you, questioned voting procedures, submitted procedural motions, tried to take speeches, submitted statements, actively participated in election campaigns, asked questions of candidates, engaged in debate off conference floor, attended fringe events, visited stalls, networked with other delegates and much, much more.

York – they did you proud.

NUS Conference is perhaps the most exhilarating ways of shaping our NUS and it comes but once a year. Make use of it, run for delegation next time round and help shape your national union.

Anne-Marie Canning, 5th April

AU President: March 08

With the much anticipated 2012 Olympics coming to London, sport has been thrust into the limelight. Thanks to the successful Olympic bid, the government, councils, schools and even the University is beginning to sit up and take sport more seriously.

The sports centre is due to be refurbished over the next few months; and with over 1100 people voting on the Sport at York motion in last month’s UGM, this really is an exciting time for those involved in sport at York.

With the introduction of top-up fees, prospective students want more than just a university with a good academic reputation; whether it’s sport, RAG or a good bar, the ‘Student Experience’ is becoming increasingly important. Potential students are choosing other universities over York, where academia is just as strong, but the sports facilities are better.

The development of Heslington East is the perfect opportunity for York to put itself on the sporting map. Universities such as Durham, Bristol and Warwick have proved that academic and sporting excellence can go hand in hand, and the AU and its members need to ensure that investment in sport needs to continue.

Another area that the AU is committed to, in line with the national targets set by the London 2012 sustainability plan, is increasing participation and volunteering in sport.

The Sports Volunteer Programme and Coach Education Schemes offer students the opportunity to gain coaching qualifications the chance to use your skills either within your university club, or in the local community.

We will automatically subsidise 20% of the cost of coaching courses for AU members, and if you plan to use your qualification for the benefit of your club, we will subsidise a further 20%. If you are willing to volunteer your time in the community we will fund up to 80% of the course.

It is one of the most rewarding experiences you will have in your time at University; knowing that you are making a difference, and giving kids an opportunity to try out a sport they may not have tried before. Just think - you could be coaching the next Jonny Wilkinson or Steven Gerrard!

It looks great on your CV, but more importantly, it’s a hell of a lot of fun – for more information about gaining a coaching qualification or volunteering, either regularly or on an ad hoc basis, contact Naomi on auvolunteer@yusu.org.

Jo Carter, 26th March

Officer Report, 28 Feb 2008

Since the last UGM, I have:

- Assisted Battle of the Bands
- Attended meetings with North Yorkshire Police to discuss ways of making campus safer
- Attended a Physics Concourse refurbishment
- Successfully ran the biggest Viking Raid to date
- Attended a Higher York meeting where we discussed various initiatives for later this year, and further collaboration of Students' Unions in York.
- Attended the RAG parade dressed as Spongebob!
- Discussed the Fresher's Services Exhibition and how we can make it better for next year
- Ran a Marketing campaign to University staff to promote Your:Shop and Your:Print. This included giving out 3,000 valentine's day cards and promoting the services we offer.
- Met numerous University staff and lobbied for support in the takeover of the Langwith bar space
- Attended a Strategic Transport Meeting where we discussed various initiatives at the University and how money should be spent to improve travel arrangements for staff and students.
- Met a University representative to give a debreif of Freshers' week and gave input into the paper in progress to discuss possible changes.
- Met numerous shop fitters to discuss refurbishment works for Your:Shop this summer
- Attended a meeting with First York where we discussed some new student initiatives for trial of lower prices and the extension of the service to 2.30am in the morning from Autumn 2008.
- Attended Student Services Committee where I presented the proposal on the takeover of Langwith bar, amongst other issues.
- Attended a meeting to discuss printing costs of the student newspapers
- Met with the University with regards to portering charges to student societies
- Discussed plans to launch a Mystery Shopper program for University catering outlets and will be conducting the pilot along with one other University staff member.
- Met with the University to discuss electronic event booking forms and we are piloting the project for major event booking forms next term.
- Attended numerous Union committees including Finance Committee, Exec and Senate, where we allocated money to additional societies and made a committment to support the purchase of new boats to UYWSC.

Matt Burton, 28th February

My First Officer Blog :)

I've wanted to write an officer blog for a long time. In fact, it was one of the first things I wanted to do when I got elected. Then I found out that the officer blog system wasn't working. It is now!

I'll start by saying that officer blogs are a great idea. They allow ordinary YUSU officers to connect and communicate directly with students, rather than just being occasionally quoted out of context by the campus media. They also provide the campus media with more opportunities to quote YUSU officers out of context.

So what have Aimee and I been doing since we got elected? A lot of things really. But I don't have the time or memory to list it all, so for now I'm just going to do what everyone else seems to be doing - I'm going to copy and paste our officer report from this week's UGM. Enjoy!

Matthew Pallas



Since our last officer report…

We have organised our re-freshers event LGBT: Broken Ice, held jointly with the LGBT Social Society. This was very successful and enjoyable event which saw many new faces, including students for whom it was their first ever LGBT event.

We have taken 5 students to an NUS LGBT Regional Training Day held in Liverpool. This involved:
• Discussion of the problems facing LGBT students and LGBT groups in different universities.
• Discussion of how to make LGBT groups more inclusive of groups such as disabled students, bisexual students, international students, non-drinkers and women.
• Information about ways to build the capacities and strengths of LGBT groups
• Information about the impact of new LGBT Rights legislation
• Training in how to run more effective campaigns
• Information about the NUS LGBT Campaign – who they are, what they do, what campaigns they are running at the moment, how they can support us, and what resources they can provide us with.
• A chance to network with LGBT groups from other universities, including Newcastle & Northumbria Universities, who we have organised a joint social with, taking place in Newcastle tonight.

We have made significant updates to the LGBT Section of the YUSU website – www.yusu.org/lgbt. This now contains useful information on sexual health for LGBT students, a guide to trans issues, details of the LGBT Committee and of college LGBT reps, including contact details so that students know who they can turn to on a college level. More work will be done on the website over the rest of this term.

We have continued to represent LGBT students on YUSU Senate and Exec, held regular LGBT Committee meetings and continued to provide welfare support to LGBT students.

We are now very busy planning for Sex and Sexuality Week in week 7 of this term – a week of events, lectures and socials celebrating LGBT history and culture.

Aimee Gamble & Matthew Pallas

LGBT Officers, 10th February

Officer Report, Jan 2008

Since the last Union General Meeting, I’ve:

• Helped co-ordinate and run the electronic voting system for JCRC elections.
• Held by-elections and co-options for Union committee elections
• Attended the NUS Extra-ordinary conference in December
• Held numerous Finance Committees where we
o Allocated the Spring term Society budget
o Allocated the JCRC grants and passed their budgets for the year
• Held a de-breif meeting with the University on Freshers Week and the events week events
• Attended numerous meetings with the University where we’ve discussed
o Marquees for colleges next Freshers week and Heslington East
o Event booking forms and progress on making the system electronic
o Current bridge closures and the state of paths around campus, and how this will be rectified
o The shortage of storage space on campus for all groups.
o Replacement signage for Retreat Lane
o Collaborative initiatives with the University on issues such as recycling
o Discussing the impact of asbestos checks in areas of the University, including the Library.
o Various works around the University to make it more attractive, encompassing student opinion.
• Attended many Union meetings including Rules, Ents, Exec and Senate where I’ve been actioned on various counts to liaise with the University on issues that have arisen.
• Presented the Union’s annual financial report to the University Finance Committee.
• Ordered a replacement minibus for the vehicle fleet
• Submitted the NUSSL Sound Impact award with the Environment and Ethics Officers and the Union Manager.
• Held numerous event panel meetings to discuss issues that have arisen with individuals at campus events.
• Overseen web development of the YUSU website back-end and the introduction of new features to speed up use by Union officers, staff and students. To note, YUSU News, Daily Info and the Events calendar are all accessible by any University Staff member or student.
• Negotiated with York Racecourse with regards to Summer Ball and worked on new menu options. Held meetings with equipment providers and negotiating contracts. Begun to book new acts for the ball and sign contracts.
• Discussed and lobbied for additional cycle storage on campus due to increasing pressure on parking spaces.
• Trained the new treasurers and ordinary members of Finance Committee for the forthcoming year.
• Met with First York (FTR) with regards to the increased bus fares and working to try and lower the cost for students who use the bus service.
• Planned and organised the Viking Raid 2 for next week!
• Participated in meetings with regards to the Governance of the Students’ Union and changes necessary for the forthcoming Charities bill.
• Attended numerous interview sessions for new members of Union staff.
• Met with the consultant who is undertaking the Union audit and spent time discussing the workload of officers and staff.
• Submitted a counter proposal to the University with regards to campus bar closures, for YUSU to takeover the operation of one of the proposed bars to be closed.
• Wrote a paper for and attended a Student Centre working group, laying the ground work for YUSU to build a Student Centre on Heslington East with catering and bar provisions.
• Submitted a paper to the University requesting space for additional electronic signage on campus, similar to that outside the Student Centre.
• Assisted with the Battle of the Bands arrangements for 2008.
• Continued to work with the University on the success of Campus Wednesdays.
• Participated in the Media Charter review.
• Assisting with efforts to increase the marketing success of the campus papers, in light of recent printing cost increases.
• Handed over the Returning Officer role for the forthcoming YUSU Exec elections.

Matt Burton, 1st February


Page Created: 13th Aug, 2007
Last Updated: 6:57pm on 31st Jan, 2008 by Tim Fletcher