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Officer Updates

Previous Minutes

Progress

Submit a Motion

The  Big Student Meeting and Annual General Meeting took place at 2pm on the 19th of May

The Big Student Meeting is a forum for students to discuss and debate proposals, and vote on whether SUBU should support these proposals.

 
It is a safe space for students to have healthy debates. It’s incredibly important for students to be focused on debating the ideas, and not criticizing or personally attacking individuals.
 
We ensure students are able to participate in and make all key decisions for the SU and that we do our utmost to carry out the wishes of our student body.
 
Everyone has an equal view point and is entitled to their opinion.
 

Schedule and deadlines:

  • Deadline for Motions: Monday 11th May at 4pm
  • Agenda released, proxy voting open and call for amendments: Wednesday 13th May 12pm
  • Deadline for amendments: Friday 15th May 9am
  • Amendments made available: Friday 15th May 2pm
  • Deadline for Proxy Vote Forms: Monday 18th May 3pm
  • AGM and BSM: Tuesday 19th May at 2pm

 

Agenda 

Agenda

Financial Statements (inc. Trustee Board Report)

Accounts

Auditors

Affliations

AGM Minutes

BSM Minutes

Motion One: Accessible Periods

Motion Two: Eliminating Printing Costs

 

COVID-19

Given the unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in due to Covid-19, the SUBU Trustee Board sought advice from the Charity Commission (the body which regulates us and makes sure we do things fairly). We want students to be able to have a real, democratic say in the processes of SUBU but also to be safe and obey all public health requirements.

As such the following was agreed

  1. The General meeting will take place remotely using video conference and there will be no limits to the number of locations
  2. Quorum has been reduced to 50
  3. Instead of voting in person they can submit their votes in advance or ask someone else to vote for them.

 

Having someone else vote for you- Proxy Voting

If you are unable to attend the meeting but still want your voice to be heard and your vote to be counted you can have another student attend as your proxy. That means that another individual attends in your place, speaks and votes on your behalf.

You can use the webform from the 13th of May to submit your vote. You can either ask the Chair of the meeting to cast a vote on your behalf in the way you direct them or to ask another member of the Union, who is in attendance to do so. You will have to supply their details if you choose this second option.

You can submit your votes up until 3pm on 18th of May (23 hours before the meeting). If you attend the meeting after submitting votes online the submitted votes will be cancelled.

 

Amendments

If you wish to change one of the motions you may submit an amendment using this form here. This will then be voted in during the meeting. The deadline for amendments is 9am on Friday the 15th of May.

 

What is a Motion?

A motion is a statement made by an individual or group that calls for a change to be made by the Students Union, University or even the wider community.

These ‘changes’ can involve several different avenues. For example, some motions put forward can be more action based and require SUBU to simply put those actions in place once the motion has been passed in The Big Student Meeting and become policy. Whereas some motions once passed may turn into a campaign run by SUBU based on the actions that need to be taken in order to successfully fulfil the policy.

Once motions have passed and become SUBU policy, they have a two year window to be completed. However, some policies may be on going depending on the actions involved and therefore can continue to be worked on after the two year mark.

How do I submit a motion?

It’s simple; firstly follow the link on our website which will take you to a motion submission form. There you will find a template that will guide you every step of the way and help you format your motion appropriately. Once submitted you will be offered to have a sit down meeting with one of our helpful team at SUBU who will have a short discussion with you about your motion and what, if any, adjustments need to be made to the motion.

Once completed, your motion will then be submitted to The Big Student Meeting, where students can then vote for or against the motion. You will be asked to present this motion to your peers at The Big Student Meeting before it is taken to a vote, but not to worry, our team at SUBU will make sure you have plenty of support throughout and several opportunities to run through your motion and even practice presenting beforehand.

What is Policy?

Policy at SUBU is pretty simple; we are mandated to carry out and successfully enforce all motions that are passed at The Big Student Meeting by our students at Bournemouth University. These passed motions then in turn become SUBU policy.

Once the motion has passed and become policy, SUBU have a two year window to successfully implement this policy. However, these circumstances can differ based on the actions within the policy e.g. some policies may need to be updated and evaluated yearly if that was one of the requirements agreed and voted in favour of by the students.