Guild Life forum: live blog
Welcome to our first Life Forum live blog from Guild Life. This week we’ll be debating the election format and hearing from Al Powell of the NUS.
19.06
The four elected councillors for Guild Life are…
Harry Anderson
Alex Coleman
Fraser Johns
Chris McCarry
19.01
While we wait for the vote, tomorrow’s forum will be University Life with Tom Bee and Pro-Vice Chancellor Kelvin Everest.
As always, 5.30pm in the International Lounge and free food!
18.52
All five candidates have given their speeches; the forum will now vote by a system of Alternative Vote.
18.46
5 candidates are running for student council, 4 will be elected by those members attending forum.
18.46
The spending cap has generated considerable debate and we’re going to work on this more here at LSMedia – what do you think of a spending cap on candidates?
What about poster-less campaigns?
18.10
Questions for us to consider:
What would encourage you to stand to be an SRO?
What would encourage you to vote?
What resources should the Guild provide for candidates?
Should candidates have a spending limit?
Should candidates run for a specific named position?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
18.09
Al Powell:
We should experiment and try to look at even the most irreverent ideas in order to reach the most democratic and representative format for elections.
18.08
Al Powell:
During elections like ours, it’s easy for fights to break out and then a group of officers that hate each other will arrive in summer expected to work with each other,
18.06
Al Powell:
Without the institution/university, we don’t have a students’ union.
With the introduction of £9k fees it is essential to elect an officer team that creates an effective campaigning union that can also work with the university.
We must question how we hold officers to account, how they fit into forums, council and our current board of trustees structure.
18.05
Al Powell:
How can we hold officers to account if they do not fit a certain role or remit?
18.04
Al Powell:
We could elect a cross-campus President and separate Faculty Presidents to deal with specific academic issues, which creates specialist knowledge of a particular academic department.
Education is the biggest issue for students currently.
18.02
Al Powell:
With our system, an officer may inherit a portfolio that they are not particularly happy or passionate about.
18.01
Al Powell, NUS
Currently the positions can span:
President
VP Sports
VP Media and Communications
VP Education/Academic
VP Welfare…
… and other set positions.
A candidate will have a proven track record in their area and be passionate about the subject.
18.00
Tom has been discussing how the Guild currently does things and whether there is a better way…
He believes Liverpool could pave the way in making change.
Now Al Powell will speak on structures at other unions.
17.57
Tom Bee:
You can vote for those running on the issues best for you and this strongly impacts on our high voter turnout.
If a small number of people run for each position, this isn’t as democratic as four being elected out of a large number of candidates.
Those who win will have shown they can listen, lobby, lead.
Is there a better way?
17.55
Tom Bee:
The current system works because of a broad portfolio across all officers and the four people best placed to be on the team.
Each officer is held to account by their fellow officers and students because the portfolios are made clear throughout the year.
Do we need to communicate better what officers do to improve how students run for office?
17.53
We currently elect four SROs: President, Deputy President and two Vice Presidents…
Other unions have elected positions e.g. VP Welfare, VP Education, etc.
This forum is to debate what system would be best for the Guild.
17.51
The Guild Structure…
The 4 forums elect 4 people to a council of 16 who develop policy and run the forums.
If policies pass the vote at Student Council they go to the Board of Trustees: the 4 SROs plus 4 Student Trustees and 4 external trustees chosen for their expertise.
You can run for council at each forum! Check the dates – http://liverpoolstudentmedia.com/2012/09/forums-return-for-the-new-term/
17.49
Sam is updating us on the officers…
Maggie has presented at Manchester on the Road to the Demo 2012 and engaged lots of students – 145 of you have signed up!
She has also picked 5 key charities for the year and been working on Societies and Schools as well as the current Arriva bus issues.
Tom has been working on teaching and learning – mid-module evaluation has been won for students. He’s been working on free dental care through the School of Dentistry.
He’s been working with police on bag safety on campus and with the university on ‘Make the most of I.T’ including VITAL, Spider and so on.
Chi-Chi has been working with international students and societies including the Society Training and Society Get Together.
She has been preparing for Black History Month this October with museums and universities across the city.
17.43
Forums are a chance to run for council, find out what’s happening at the Guild, hold officers to account and bring the issues that mean something to you to the Guild
17.42
First f0rum of the year opening now – if you’re on your way head to the International Lounge at LGoS!
19.07
That’s it for today’s Guild Life forum, look out for tomorrow’s forum here at LSMedia!